Suyang didnât tell me our destination, but he drove us out of the urban district.
As I noticed fewer and fewer buildings around us, I began to feel very uneasy. Were we heading to the ends of the Earth? Why was I feeling a sense of dread?
âAre we going very far?â Deep down, I was feeling restless because I was worried Suyang would bury me or something. Plus, these places naturally have more graves and ghosts....
âYes. Today, weâre going to go on an adventure.â Suyang calmly reply. His face revealed nothing.
My heart was pounding. I gulped down my saliva and stretched out my neck. I nervously asked, âAdventure? What adventure?â
Suyang had an unknown smile on his face as he unhurriedly stated, âHave you heard of the case from 12 years ago? A man with mental disorders broke into a private hospital in the middle of the night and set the place on fire. As a result, 13 people died and 21 people were injured. Due to the incident, the hospital closed down. Now, itâs just an abandoned building in the suburbs.â
âFrom a f-fire....?â My fists were tightly clenched. Based on my experiences, the ghosts who have died in fires definitely had the scariest appearances.
Their bodies were black and burnt. Their clothes were ripped and torn. Not only that, their faces were covered in scars....simply imagining them gave me goosebumps.
Suyang was testing me.
I readjusted my mood. I must not demonstrate any weaknesses now. âWhy are we going to that kind of place all of a sudden? Based on what I could recall, youâre very afraid of ghosts. Arenât you worried we will encounter ghosts later on?â
âToday, weâre going to experience it to see if ghosts really exist. It has been too long since Iâve gotten any inspiration. It is time for me to find a new trigger.â
âDo you have to be so extreme? Itâs an abandoned building. It already sounds scary enough. Plus, everything inside is probably burnt or destroyed....â
I was freaking out on the inside. Based on my abilities, I should be staying away from places like that. I didnât want to be near ghosts that have died unjustly.
âAre you scared?â Suyang stopped the car on the side. His eyes were cold as he stared at me. I felt like he was trying to interrogate me.
âI am just afraid that youâll be scared. I remember whenever I said the word âghostâ, you would freak out. If we really encounter something, what are you going to do then?â I turned my head away and didnât want to face Suyangâs accusing face.
Since I wouldnât admit to anything, Suyang started the car again. Five minutes later, we arrived at the legendary cage of grieving spirits. There was no escape now. We were at the specialized hospital of Ling Shan.
So scary!
Although it was daytime, the appearance of the hospital alone was already frightening enough.
But then again, the incident happened 12 years ago. Even if there were ghosts, they should be gone by now, right? I tried to comfort myself.
Suyang stopped the car at the parking lot. I was tightly holding onto my seatbelt and wouldnât exit the car.
âIâm asking you for the final time. That day, outside of the television station, who were you talking to?â Suyangâs expression was grave.
âWho was I speaking to? Aside from you and me, there were no one else! I was just talking to myself.â I was trying to act clueless and stupid until the very end.
I didnât know why I was still lying at this point. Perhaps.... I was really afraid that Suyang would leave me. I didnât have the confidence that he would remain by my side if he knew I could see the things that scared him the very most. I wasnât sure if he would continue treating me the same way.
I loved him. But I was so insecure. To me, the feeling was still quite hazy...
After he heard my response, Suyang seemed to be deep in thought. His hands were around the steering wheel as he deeply sighed.
It was as if he had made up his mind internally. Then, he unbuckled both our seatbelts and stated, âAlright, since these are your final words, letâs get off the car.â
âWeâre r-really getting off?â I had no choice, so I reluctantly got off.
Eh? Aside from us, there was also another car in the parking lot.
In addition, the car looked rather familiar...
Wherever I go, I always see this brilliant blue Lamborghini...
âSuyang! Lin Yixin!â While I was trying to think of where I had seen this car before, Shen Shaoqian waved and yelled from the hospital entrance.
Why is he here?
I was curious and accidentally noticed Suyangâs shaky hands....he was sweating! So, he was actually freaking out! Wow, Iâm speechless. Why did he have to go so far...
âIâve been waiting so long for you guys! Letâs go!â Shen Shaoqian didnât seem nervous at all. He had a camera in his hands as he dangled around. âIâm a bit nervous. How about you guys?â
I rolled my eyes at him. How was he nervous? He seemed so excited.
Whereas for me, I could already sense a bad atmosphere. What if I really see a scary ghost? If that happens, I wouldnât be able to hide it anymore.
âIâm fineâ Suyang tried to act like he was indifferent, but the sweat running down his forehead and his shaky hands betrayed him.
Keep acting! If worse comes to worse, we will both die from fright. Weâll see how long you can keep this act up!
Shen Shaoqian relentlessly beat me to making fun of Suyang. He pointed at him and laughed, âLook at you! Your lips are turning pale. And you say you arenât scared? Ever since you were young, you had always been a chicken. Especially when it came to ghost stuff....â
I secretly peeked at Suyang. He was so anxious that he didnât even bother to argue with Shen Shaoqian.
Neither of us wanted to lose, but in reality, neither of us had an advantage either.
âAre you two planning to back out last minute?â Based on our reactions, Shen Shaoqian were forcefully pushing us forward. âYou guys wanted to come, so no backing out!â
Just like that, we were standing at the hospital entrance.
So scary! The light from outside did not shine into the hospital at all. It was as if the door separated the world of the living and the world of the dead.
Shen Shaoqian was becoming more and more enthusiastic now. He was leading us, âAlright. We will enter now. From now on, this camera will be recording down everything in this abandoned hospital. We will become history.â
I harshly smacked him, âWhat do you mean âbecome historyâ? Canât you choose a better term?â
Shen Shaoqian innocently looked at me, âI didnât choose the wrong term... havenât you heard? In the past, those who have tried recording here all ended up losing their minds.... Afterwards, people were curious to know what they had seen. But when they looked through their recordings, there was nothing else except for pitch blackness....â
âAre you serious?â I gulped down my saliva. My heart was beating a few times faster than its usual rate.
I began taking steps that were more tiny than the ladies from the ancient era. I grabbed onto Suyangâs hand, but his hand was sweating like mad. Seeing this, I secretly wanted to chuckle.
We were finally inside. We looked around but there was only pitch blackness. My heart was turning black along with it.
On the contrary, Shen Shaoqian wasnât scared at all. The moment he entered, he headed straight towards the second floor. Suyang and I didnât follow, and he disappeared within our sights.
âHave you gotten your inspiration yet? If so, letâs leave!â I quietly whispered.
âWeâre not leaving unless you tell me who you were talking to that day!â Suyang stubbornly stated with determination. He wanted me to tell the truth.
âI already told you, I was talking to myself! If you wonât believe me, thatâs not my fault!â
This was not the time to tell the truth. Honestly, if I could, I would probably hide it from Suyang forever.
As I have mentioned previously, based on his fear of ghosts, I had no confidence that he would like my supernatural abilities. This gamble wasnât one I dared to risk.
âIf we donât follow Shaoqian, we are really going to lose him.â Suyang released my hand and quickly walked upstairs.
If Suyang the chicken was brave enough to do this, I must not lose to him!
Thinking of this, I held onto the railing and slowly walked up the stairs.
On my way, I tried to reassure myself. Youâll be fine! Itâll be okay! Remember what ghosts are made of? Theyâre just nothingness. Even though you can see them, they canât do anything to you! Just calm down.... Itâs fine. Itâs fine....
There was no purpose for me to be here. I was just wandering around. Currently, my priority was to locate Shen Shaoqian and Suyang.
To be honest, I was quite envious of them. Even if there were ghosts, neither of them could see them!
While I was lost in thought, Suyang was also gone from my field of vision.
âSuyang.. Shen Shaoqian...â I lightly called amongst the ruins.