Chapter 32: Su Bai’s “Aunt”

Chapter 32 Su Bai’s "Aunt"

"Meet again in ten years?" Feng Ling looked bewildered.

"It’s nothing."

Su Bai knew that, in Feng Ling’s eyes, he was just a shy newcomer—someone who, like her, had only experienced the newbie level and was as clueless as a newborn in the complex Nightmare World.

If Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie were still around, Su Bai would have done nothing but put on a shy smile. After all, his goal was to lower his presence until no one paid him any attention.

But Feng Ling was different.

Looking at Feng Ling, with the bloodstains removed and dressed plainly, with two pigtails rarely seen on a university campus and a pair of glasses with frames so worn they were rusting and peeling, Su Bai lowered his head in thought for a moment before deciding to say something.

"Feng... classmate." Su Bai’s bangs and glasses made his expression hard to read. "Even though most of the supernaturals are still playing house, why did we players recover our memories so quickly?"

Su Bai emphasized the word "memories."

"Maybe it’s because the players are too weak. After all, the administrator kept saying the White Side was at a disadvantage from the start." Still lost in confusion, Feng Ling answered instinctively. "By the time most of the ghosts in the neighborhood regain their memories, us newcomers will probably be done for."

"True." Even Su Bai, as he was now, couldn’t handle a situation where hundreds of ghosts went out of control simultaneously.

"Ding—" The elevator opened in front of Su Bai, interrupting their conversation.

Su Bai glanced inside the elevator. Though he didn’t use the black umbrella’s power, he could sense that there were no other dirty things inside.

"I’ll head upstairs first. It was really nice meeting you." Su Bai waved as he stepped into the elevator, smiling shyly. "Don’t worry, if it’s you, I’m sure you’ll be fine."

"Thank you." Feng Ling remained somewhat confused, unsure why this dark-skinned boy seemed to trust her, one of the only two newcomers, so much.

"Maybe he was just trying to comfort me?" Feng Ling muttered to herself after the elevator doors closed, then shook her head and headed toward the staircase on the other side. Ever since regaining her memories, she had avoided taking the elevator. Though she could have entered with Su Bai just now, he was going to the fourth floor, while her "home" was on the sixth. She was terrified that something might get in when the elevator doors opened midway.

Even if most of the ghosts in the neighborhood were still playing house, Feng Ling had no desire to share a confined space with something like the red-dressed ghost who hanged herself.

Better to take the stairs.

×

As a visitor, Su Bai had more freedom with his time compared to other players. After all, it was perfectly normal for visitors to be an hour or two late or even stand up their appointments entirely. He didn’t need to abide by the "family’s" curfew or return "home" punctually for meals.

Earlier, when handling the elevator ghost, he had tried to avoid making unnecessary noise, but the commotion still caught the attention of the "coughing ghost" outside the residential building who was preparing to bury the female ghost—even scaring it away.

That wasn’t a big deal, but what Su Bai never expected was that Feng Ling would rush to rescue someone under the tree as it happened because the "coughing ghost" had left.

After saving Feng Ling, Su Bai went to Room 204 as planned. His arrival and Feng Ling’s were almost simultaneous, with Su Bai just a step ahead, thanks to taking the elevator.

Perhaps it was because newcomers kept arriving one after another that Ning Yan, who already disliked newcomers, grew increasingly impatient.

In any case, since Su Bai entered "Happy Neighborhood," he had yet to visit the "aunt" in Room 402. Aside from knowing she had never married or had children, the only other information he had was that she had taken in over a dozen stray cats.

When the elevator reached the fourth floor, Su Bai saw a bright, clean hallway similar to the other floors.

Unlike the other floors, however, Su Bai heard the sound of cats meowing as soon as he stepped out.

One after another, some near, some far, some low, some high.

"Happy Neighborhood" was home to hundreds of ghosts, and though there were only four residential buildings with possibly vacant rooms, it was impossible for only one household to occupy an entire floor. So, after the meowing continued for a while, Su Bai heard someone in Room 401 pounding hard on the wall.

The resident of Room 401 was clearly irritable and incredibly strong—the sound of the pounding was loud even to Su Bai.

But the resident’s protests had no effect. The meowing didn’t stop; instead, it grew louder and more intense, making even Su Bai's hair stand on end.

"Just playing my role?" Su Bai glanced at the door of Room 401 as he passed. Though the neighbor clearly had strong feelings about the meowing, they didn’t step outside. The other residents aside from Room 401 seemed not to exist, making no sound at all.

Whether it was Room 401, Room 402, or any other door in the building, all were painted a clean white, without any stains or scratches, with no couplets or fortune characters pasted on them.

Too clean, too bright, too white—it made the hallway feel lacking any human warmth or vitality.

But "Happy Neighborhood" wasn’t meant for living people anyway, so Su Bai saw no need to overthink it. He walked directly to the door of Room 402 and knocked.

"Meow—"

After he knocked, a succession of meows rose and fell inside.

"Who is it? Is it Xiao Bai?" An ageless voice came from within. It sounded strange, like shattered glass or bricks pieced back together. Stranger, even, than the hoarse voice Su Bai was deliberately putting on.

"Aunt?" Though Su Bai’s character was her nephew, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall what this "aunt" looked like. Perhaps the power of "Happy Neighborhood" wasn't powerful enough yet.

"Come in. The door isn’t locked."

As the voice spoke, Su Bai noticed that the door of Room 402 was already slightly ajar. He gave it a push, and the white-painted door "squeaked" open, revealing numerous glowing eyes in the darkness behind it.

"Meow—meow."

The cats’ eyes were fixed intently on Su Bai, appearing even more eerie and terrifying in the dark.

"Xiao Bai, thank you for visiting me."

"Squeak—"

The "aunt’s" voice came from further inside. Su Bai pushed the door fully open, allowing the hallway light to pour into the dark room. Only then could he barely discern the "aunt’s" living room. Cats of various colors were perched on the sofa, coffee table, rug, and even the refrigerator by the door, their differently colored eyes staring motionlessly on Su Bai standing in the doorway.

Su Bai wasn’t frightened—he actually liked cats.

Following the squeaking sound in the room, he spotted a figure lying on a rocking chair by the window.

It had to be Su Bai’s "aunt."

"Finally, someone has come to see me." The figure on the rocking chair wore a strange dress made of patches of different colored fabric and a hat made of similar patches. The figure rocked back and forth with the chair’s motion.

Perhaps deeply moved, the "aunt’s" voice, though broken, was tinged with sobs.

"These cats have such big appetites. If no one had come, they would have truly run out of things to eat."