"What did you call ?"
Grep froze for a mont, after all, it had been a very long ti since anyone had addressed him this way. Listening to such a title did bring back so nostalgia, and he also had many things he wanted to clarify.
"I didnt say anything, Mr. 71 must have heard wrong, right? Its raining outside, lets go in and talk."
The creaky, rust-covered door hinges screeched as they moved.
The wet umbrella was stored in an upright bin by the door,
Oddly, the interior of the villa felt more oppressive than its exterior suggested, nowhere near as spacious.
It was more like a Japanese villa, without an open hallentering ant facing a straight entryway and stairs leading to the Second Floor.
At that mont,
a white-haired lady with a mask erged from a room at the end of the hallway, wearing only a high-collared sweater. The hem of the sweater covered half of her thighs, making them appear long and pale.
"This is my lady, Jessica.
She suffers from a contagious disease and needs to wear a mask at all tis. I hope Detective sir wont mind. As long as you can help us find and remove the source of the peeping in the house, I am willing to pay five tis or even more."
"All right."
Grep sized up the masked silver-haired lady, confirming that he had never seen her before. For so reason, the longer he looked at her, the more his teeth seed to ache.
Under the white-haired ladys guidance, they went to the living room to dine together.
However, as Grep took off his shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor of the entranceway, a sudden feeling of being watched struck him, and he quickly turned toward the stairs leading to the Second Floor.
He didnt see any ghostly figures, but at the end of the staircase, he saw a spoon,
Though it was an Ordinary spoon, Grep felt as though his eyes were about to be scooped out. When he looked carefully, the smooth surface of the spoon reflected light, seemingly showing a black-haired woman covering her face on the Second Floor above the steps.
With a blink, the spoon had vanished.
An unease spread within him, yet the presence of William in front of him was more concerning to Grep, speculating more on the purpose behind Williams appearance.
Nevertheless, since William made no declaration, he continued to maintain his constructed identity as a detective.
The living room and the dining room were adjacent to each other, with the dining table full of lavish food.
Grep looked around carelessly, making sure there were no problems before he chose to sit down. He imdiately noticed a strand of hair inside the sandwich in front of him.
However, the hair was black,
and neither the Master of the house played by William, nor his lady had that hair color. For Safety reasons, Grep chose not to eat for the ti being, instead opting to chat with the two of them first.
"Speaking of which, is it just the two of you living here?"
"Indeed, my lady isnt well, so we decided not to have children. We have lived here for decades, but strange things began occurring frequently starting three months ago.
I used to work as a technical consultant at a steel plant, not often at ho, and my lady was the first to notice the problem.
She always felt like there was soone standing behind the shower curtain while she was bathing.
Initially, I thought it was just the stress due to the frequent reports of awful news, and she was getting a bit anxious being ho alone, so I took leave to stay with her for a while.
But even I began to feel that sa strangeness when I was at ho.
During my showers, I too felt soone behind the curtain, and over ti, the frequency of this sensation of being watched grew.
Under the bed, behind the wardrobe, the back of the couch, or on the windows.
Until one day, sothing truly went wrong."
The house Master played by William said this as he also invited the lady to sit down, and they began to recount the strange occurrences over a glass of fresh milk with cornflakes.
"Two weeks ago, I started sleeping badly due to a persistent feeling of being watched,"
"One morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. and couldnt fall back asleep, so I thought Id go for a run to relax. Later, I happened to pass by a 24-hour fast-food restaurant, so I sat inside to rest and grabbed a bite to eat."
"When it was about 8 oclock, I suddenly rembered the lady alone at ho and wondered if she might be scared, so I called her."
As he said this, William, looking every bit the considerate husband, tightly grasped the back of his wifes hand.
"From the other end of the phone ca a trembling voice. The lady said I was sleeping next to her, lying on my side, face unseen..."
Hearing this, I rushed ho as fast as I could.
But by the ti I got there, the lady had already fainted from fright. When she ca to, her spirits were continually unstable, so I quit my job to stay with her at ho."
"Why not move out?"
"This has already been our third ho, and even when we were in the hospital room, the feeling of being watched never vanished. The thing that is watching us isnt inhabiting a particular house, but stalking the two of us.
Weve tried many thods to no avail.
A few days ago, I ca across your information in the corner of an ordinary newspaper and thought Id give it a shot. Unfortunately, when I ca to visit, you didnt respond, and the door wasnt locked.
So I took the liberty of leaving a letter on the table, locked the door for you, and left."
After finishing, William also bit into a sandwich, which seed to have a black hair sticking out of it.
Grep noticed but said nothing, "Alright, Ive got a general idea. Today Ill conduct a full-house inspection for you. If nothing turns up, well consider other options."
Just as Grep was preparing to stand up for the inspection,
Slam! His arm was suddenly pressed down hard by William sitting across the table, the force so great that it made his arm ache.
William wore a chilling smile, "Mr. 71, dont you like the food my wife prepared? You seem to have not eaten a single bite."
"Im not much for breakfast. An empty stomach and a bottle of whiskey help clear my mind, making my investigation more effective. If its alright, I can take the food to go and have it as a midnight snack later?"
With that, Grep placed the bottle of whiskey the taxi driver had given him on the table, and William slowly let go.
"I see, I dont know you well enough... Drinking on an empty stomach isnt good on the guts, and it greatly increases the risk of gastrointestinal cancer, not to ntion ordinary gastrointestinal diseases, which can make your body sll."
Grep spread his hands, "Living long enough in a city like this is enough;
theres no need to live too long. Once Im sure I have cancer, Ill head straight to a tall building to experience the sensation of falling while drunk, to see if I can drop directly into that wine-steeped hell."
"Mr. 71, you are truly interesting. Its no wonder God gifted you with such an Eye. The rest of the ti, feel free to search any area of the house;
there are no limitations. If you have any problems, call us anyti."
"Then Ill start with the Second Floor."
Grep left the dining room, pausing for a mont in the entrance hall.
His Third Eye suddenly opened at the center of his forehead, peering through the walls to observe William and his wife eating,
William wasnt using utensils but was eating with his hands.
The lady sat beside him, cutting the food with a knife and fork, stuffing it into her mouth from under a face mask, chewing slowly and deliberately,
This stark contrast created a slightly eerie scene,
but considering William as the Master of the house, who had given up a well-paying job to stay ho with his wife, bearing the psychological pressure of being watched, it was sowhat understandable.
"What in the world is William up to, calling out my na but still continuing to act? Is he trying to communicate sothing through the act, or is he deliberately testing ?
Hes getting more cunning..."
While Grep was Thinking, he had already stepped onto the stairway to the Second Floor, but before he could fully ascend,
Giggle, giggle, giggle~
A series of low, hoarse bubbling sounds ca from the Deep of the throat, emanating from above, as if soone was about to crawl out from around the corner of the stairs.
Reviews
All reviews (0)