The noon sun was rather blinding. The woman and the boy stood in front of the haunted house, and even after
"He's been wanting to visit the haunted house for a long now. I promised him we'd come — could you please help?" The woman fished a hundred-yuan bill out of her bag. "Nothing bad will happen."
Chen Ge didn't take the money. A hint of doubt crept into his voice. "Why is it so important that you go inside? The boy looks only eight or nine. The haunted house has a complicated environment that could easily traumatize a child."
The woman gave a bitter smile. She didn't answer Chen Ge's question. Instead, she turned and gently ruffled the boy's soft hair. "
Before she could finish, the boy slapped her hand away. He didn't like being touched by anyone, even with the best of intentions.
No matter what the woman said, the boy stood rooted at the haunted house entrance and refused to budge. Every so often he looked up, his gaze carrying a mix of timidity, self-doubt, and a faint thread of coldness.
"Fan Yu?" Chen Ge's attention had now shifted squarely onto the child. It was the first time he'd encountered such an odd boy.
He crouched down to eye level. "Can you tell me why you want to go inside? It's very dark in there, and there are scary things."
The boy's eyes darted away. He kept glancing at Chen Ge's shadow and didn't say a single word.
The woman, perhaps worried Chen Ge would feel awkward, quickly stepped in. "Xiao Yu is different from other children. He rarely talks to people. I hope you won't mind."
"Not at all." Chen Ge could see the two of them weren't going anywhere, and standing in the blazing sun wasn't doing anyone any favors. His tone softened. "Tell you what — I won't charge you for tickets. I'll go in with you, but we can only look around the outer perimeter."
"Thank you so much, sir!"
"First, sign the liability waiver — both the adult and the child. Once inside, don't touch any props, don't run, and stay behind me." Chen Ge lifted the opaque door curtain and placed two copies of the waiver in front of the woman and the boy. Normally only the guardian's signature was required, but in order to glean as much information about the boy as possible, he asked the child to sign as well.
Once both had signed, Chen Ge led them into the ghost marriage scene.
"A couple in life, buried together in death — that is the ghost marriage."
He gave them a brief rundown of the backstory. The three of them stood at the entrance of a courtyard house lit by white paper lanterns. The woman looked nervous, clutching the strap of her bag. The boy hung his head, and whether from fear or some other reason, it was impossible to tell.
Dead trees swayed. Paper money blanketed the ground, crinkling underfoot. Chen Ge pushed open the courtyard gate. "This is what the interior looks like. You can just stand outside and look. We have strict rules — children under fourteen aren't allowed inside."
The moment he finished speaking, the little boy — who had been perfectly quiet until now — suddenly bolted past him into the courtyard. Neither adult had time to react.
"Fan Yu!" The woman and Chen Ge both rushed in after him, only to find the boy standing next to the dry well in the center of the yard. His upper body was half-submerged in the well opening, as though he were searching for something.
"I'm so sorry, I'm truly sorry." The woman hurried to apologize to Chen Ge while reaching for the boy's arm. But the child who had been so quiet and shy just moments ago suddenly seemed like an entirely different person. He not only wrenched his arm free with startling force, but raked his fingernails across her skin, looking for all the world like a startled stray cat.
"His emotions swing a little too wildly." The dry well in the center of the courtyard was merely a prop and didn't go very deep, so Chen Ge wasn't worried about an accident. What intrigued him was why the boy was so fixated on the well.
He lingered at the well's edge for two or three minutes. Perhaps he hadn't found what he was looking for, because he finally, reluctantly let go. He was different from ordinary children — or rather, different from ordinary people. The eerier and more unsettling the environment, the more excited this boy became.
"Well, since you're already inside, I might as well show you around." Chen Ge's full attention remained on the child. He was on the short side even for his age, with delicate features and large eyes that looked like polished black gems.
"This ghost marriage scene is modeled after a traditional courtyard house. The east and west wing rooms were typically where younger relatives would live." He casually pushed open the door to the east wing. Without the slightest warning, a female ghost in a red bridal gown lunged out from behind it.