Wang Qi had been trying to convince Chen Ge to leave the whole time — from a stranger's perspective, his enthusiasm was way over the top.
Chen Ge hadn't agreed right away. After hearing Wang Qi's story, he had a nagging feeling the man was hiding something.
"I've told you everything I can. It's not too late to leave now, but after midnight, the apartment building will become something else entirely." With that, Wang Qi dusted himself off, turned, and walked out of the building.
Only after his silhouette vanished into the darkness did Chen Ge snap out of it. He had originally planned to talk to the tenants inside and get a better sense of the situation, but now his doubts hadn't decreased — they'd only multiplied.
"There's definitely something off about that guy. Is he really just crazy?" Recalling Wang Qi's clouded eyes, Chen Ge felt uneasy. That man's gaze had been full of exhaustion and pain — not the kind you could fake. "It seems he really did love his wife."
Chen Ge headed back. As he passed the woman's room on the first floor, he hesitated for a moment, then tried knocking on the door.
"Hey, new guy." The woman's door didn't budge, but the door behind Chen Ge cracked open halfway. A tall, gaunt man leaned against the frame.
He looked to be in his thirties, completely unkempt — his hair and beard had almost grown into one another. On the back of his exposed hand was a tattoo of a peony.
"Who are you?" Chen Ge turned around cautiously.
"That guy who was just handing out missing-person flyers — he's not a tenant here. There's something wrong up here." The tall, thin man tapped his own temple. "Don't believe a single word he says. Get too close to him and you'll end up in trouble."
This was the first time Chen Ge had seen the gaunt man. Despite looking like a mess, his tone of voice was the most normal of anyone Chen Ge had encountered so far. "His behavior really is strange, but maybe it's because his wife disappeared and the shock was too much for him."
"Did he tell you his fiancée vanished near this apartment building?"
"Mm."
"And did he say the police told him that, which is why he keeps coming here to look?"
"Exactly."
"Heh." The gaunt man let out a dry laugh. "I've lived here for nine months and I've never once seen a cop show up. That lunatic is lying to you. Talking about ghosts and vengeful spirits — pure nonsense."
He fished a cheap cigarette from his pocket and stuck it between his lips. "How could there be ghosts in this world? At most, it's someone pretending to be one. Anyway, it's getting late — you should get back to your own room."
Chen Ge thanked him and turned to leave.
Walking up the stairs, his mind was still churning. "One of them is definitely lying. But which one?"
He must have been lost in thought, because by the time he came back to himself, he was already on the third floor.
Faded paint marked the floor number on the corner of the stairwell. The motion-sensor light overhead cast a dim, weak glow. Chen Ge looked both ways — this floor hadn't been renovated. The ground was filthy, burn marks were scattered everywhere, and the wall plaster had peeled away in large patches, like a network of intersecting scars.
"Why was only the third floor left untouched? Not enough funds, or was there some other reason?"
The sensor light went out almost immediately, plunging the entire apartment building into abrupt darkness.