My House of Horrors

Be it in life or death, this was the first time that Qiumei had received such a compliment. Her parents had imprisoned when she was young, and it had been her grandmother who took care of her. Due to the lack of attention and love from immediate parents since she was young, Qiumei’s personality had always been different from others. She was straight-forward, and some might even call her tomboyish.

As she grew older, Qiumei matured into her personality. When she decided to bid her past self goodbye and tried to work hard for once in her life, she ran into Wenyu. Before the flower had the chance to bloom, it was cut off. But due to her harsh childhood, Qiumei was not defeated by the sudden accident. She retained her personality, and that was why Chen Ge admired her.

After watching Chang Gu’s movies, Chen Ge still had no exact idea why Wenyu would enroll at the School of Afterlife and had even less of an idea why the Left Oculus would appear. He had no idea what the relationship between Wenyu and her older brother was, but he knew very well that in this whole incident, Qiumei was the most innocent party.

A strange audience appeared in theater, and stranger than this group of audience was this living man who came onstage. Qiumei’s functioning right eye slowly opened. The bloodshot eye spoke of confusion. She was comforted by the man’s words, but something just did not sit well with her.

As she turned her neck around, Qiumei stared at Chang Gu, who sat in the middle of the seat. As if sensing something, Chang Gu lifted his head, which he had kept lowered until then. Like he had come to a decision, he sighed lightly. His eyelids fluttered, and Chang Gu finally opened his eyes.

“Who are you?” Chang Gu’s left eye was as big as a normal person’s eye, but there was a ring of redness around the eyeball. His right eye, which should have been normal, looked scarier. The pupil appeared to have dissolved, and the only thing that remained was an eye that was run through with cracks.

“My left eye is Wenyu’s left eye, but the operation was not successful. This eye can merely see simple changes in color, and occasionally, I can catch glimpses of things other people wouldn’t.”

When Chang Gu spoke, he stared right at Qiumei in front of the screen. After the botched operation, only a part of the left eye’s power remained. “My right eye is already completely blind, and I can’t even give you the exact reason why. Perhaps it’s the curse of the Left Oculus.” Chang Gu coughed violently before closing his eyes again, but after only opening his eye for a few seconds, his left eye was already crying tears of blood.

“Looks like my prediction is all correct.” Chen Ge was still standing on stage. There were only several steps between him and Qiumei.

“Whether you’re right or not doesn’t matter anymore.” It took a long time before Chang Gu stopped coughing. “I can cooperate with you, but how do you expect me to believe what you said?”

Chen Ge was afraid that Chang Gu refused communication. As long as there was a chance, he had the means to befriend the guy. Taking out his phone, Chen Ge looked at the local news at Jiujiang. “I have no need to lie to you. These news articles are all proof of my statement. If you still don’t believe me, you can go online yourself to search for information on my Haunted House.”

Chen Ge showcased sincerity, but Chang Gu did not buy his story so easily. A person who relied on local crime news to prove his worth was not going to be someone simple. Working with the man might be similar to befriending a tiger—he could be eaten the next moment.

“If you are willing to cooperate, you can come back with me to the Haunted House today. Every single sentence that I’ve said is real.” The countdown for the School of Afterlife was almost up, and Chen Ge was antsy about missing it. “This will only benefit two of us. I will give you a whole morning to think about it. I will come back tomorrow night.

“Wenyu’s condition is probably not that positive, I am worried about my parents as well. Technically, we share the same goal. However, I never force others into things that they are not willing to do. If you agree, then I will come back tonight to share everything I know with you.”

Standing on the stage, there was an indescribable loneliness in Chen Ge’s eyes. “We are the same type of person. No one will help us in this world other than ourselves.”

Seeing the loneliness in Chen Ge’s eyes, Chang Gu held his bleeding eye. Looking at the roomful of ghosts, he felt a certain kinship to Chen Ge. “Let me think about it…”

“No problem, it is my sincere wish to help you because I know that helping you is helping myself.” Chen Ge was a big-picture thinker, and that was reflected in his way of thinking. “Wenyu and the school are the thing that you care about the most. I know my visit is rather sudden, and I can understand your suspicion and caution toward me. To dissolve the gap between us, I am willing to allow this Red Specter to follow me home. Ghosts are best at reading people’s hearts; you can have her observe me closely and see whether I am lying to you or not.”

“You are willing to let a ghost follow you home?” This was the first time that Chang Gu had encountered a request like that in his life.

“If you are worried about Qiumei’s safety, I can ask my friends to stay behind to act as hostages.” Chen Ge thought that he was not being unreasonable. For all parties involved, it was the fairest action.

“Letting your friends stay behind as hostage?” Chang Gu shivered. If they really stayed, it was hard to say who the hostage would be. “There’s no need for that, I believe in you.”

Chang Gu wanted to say something else, but Chen Ge had already turned to Qiumei.

“The first time you trusted others, you lost your freedom; the second time you trusted other, you lost your life; today, you are given a third choice.” Chen Ge was just a normal person, but standing before Qiumei, he showed no trace of fear. His voice was powerful and warm.

“Come, I’ll help you see a different side of the world.” Chen Ge opened the comic. When the girl was hesitating, before she even understood the scope of the situation, she was already pulled into the book. Qiumei did not resist. As Chen Ge closed the comic, the black phone vibrated.

Taking it out, Chen Ge glanced at the new message.

“Congratulations Specter’s Favored for discovering a rare Red Specter—Qiumei!

“Qiumei (Red Specter): She turned into a Red Specter due to a unique reason and doesn’t possess much resentment. She possesses a Red Specter’s power only in the movies. After leaving the movies, her power drastically decreases, and she cannot activate her special power.

“Qiumei’s Special Power: ??? (Will be unlocked after becoming an official Haunted House employee)”

After reading the message, Chen Ge was surprised. Qiumei was indeed a very special Red Specter.

Isn’t this kind of unique worker the exact thing that I’m looking for? Chen Ge put his phone away and waved at Chang Gu, appearing very happy.

Chang Gu, who sat in the middle of theater, held the bleeding left eye in his hand, and at that moment, he felt like he had lost something.