Song Nanxing said without changing his expression, “Is your memory getting worse? Every time you have to say the same thing again. I suggest you see a doctor. Memory loss can be a big problem or a small one; it’s better not to ignore it.”
“You’re right.” The security guard said sincerely, “Thank you. I have indeed been feeling unwell lately. It’s time I go to the hospital.”
He fumbled on his body, finally pulling out a bunch of keys and handing them to Song Nanxing. “Take these keys as compensation. You’re generous, so don’t report me to the property management.”
Song Nanxing took the keys and generously expressed understanding, smiling, “Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against a patient.”
Seeing that Song Nanxing accepted his apology, the security guard dragged his heavy chains and clanked away.
After confirming the guard was truly deceived and wouldn’t launch a surprise attack, Song Nanxing continued walking forward. Suddenly, a huge mantis-like bladed arm shot out and blocked his path.
Song Nanxing’s gaze followed the bladed arm and turned to see the person blocking him also looked very much like a mantis.
A human female body topped with a mantid triangular head, with three pairs of red compound eyes looking at Song Nanxing with ill intent: “You’re from Building 6 too? Which floor do you live on?”
Song Nanxing replied, “Ninth floor, you too? Which unit? How come I haven’t seen you before?”
The mantis-head’s compound eyes scanned him repeatedly, as if trying to confirm if he was lying. But Song Nanxing’s expression was calm and relaxed, showing no sign of deceit. She could only reluctantly say, “I live in 701. Isn’t there only a young couple living on the ninth floor? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
A couple lives on the ninth floor?
Song Nanxing recalled the vision the plush rabbit showed him. Unit 901 should be vacant, and 902 should only have Jing Shao living there.
He felt suspicious and glanced at the mantis-head, planning to gather more information.
“I just moved here not long ago. I’m a homebody and don’t go out much.” He pursed his lips with a slight smile, looking a little shy. “I have run into the lady from 902 once or twice and thought she lived alone. Turns out there’s a couple?”
The mantis-head perked up at his ignorance of such a big gossip. The two antennae on her forehead knocked excitedly against each other. “The newlywed couple in 902 — the woman’s a surgeon, and the man’s a teacher. A perfect match of talent and beauty. But the doctor’s a bit off her rocker. Her husband says it’s because she’s been exposed to too many patients at the hospital — a mild case of spiritual contamination. Sometimes she can’t recognize people and always imagines someone is trying to hurt her, causing a ruckus at home late at night.”
“But her husband is quite decent. Every time he sees us neighbors, he brings fruits or snacks, saying if his wife acts up again, please be understanding.”
“You live next door to them and haven’t heard her causing a fuss in the middle of the night?” The mantis-head asked eagerly, waving her huge bladed arms so close to Song Nanxing’s face that they nearly brushed past several times.
Song Nanxing said, “I’m a heavy sleeper, so I haven’t really noticed. I’ll pay attention tonight.”
The mantis-head looked unconvinced but had no way to challenge him, so she watched him leave unwillingly.
Song Nanxing didn’t look back, clutching the plush rabbit as he walked toward Building 6.
Behind him, the mantis-head’s gaze lingered for a long time, unwilling to let go. Only when Song Nanxing rounded a corner did that solid-looking stare finally vanish.
The sky gradually darkened, the faint outline of the sun disappeared, and night fell.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Song Nanxing tensed, guarding against what might come from behind.
A tall figure brushed past him and kept walking forward.
Song Nanxing froze for a moment, then called out, “Jing Rao!”
Jing Rao didn’t turn around, as if she hadn’t heard, and continued forward.
Song Nanxing quickly caught up. Seeing her clearly again, he was stunned — it was definitely Jing Shao, but her features were much fresher, looking only in her early twenties.
She wore a simple white dress, without the sensual charm he remembered. Her aura was far less mature and commanding than before.
Jing Rao passed by the dazed Song Nanxing and entered the Building 6 lobby.
Song Nanxing snapped out of it and hurried after her.
Jing Rao stood with two monstrous neighbors, waiting for the elevator.
The monsters all turned their heads in unison and stared at Song Nanxing when they saw him approach.
Song Nanxing maintained a normal expression and stood beside Jing Rao.
The elevator stopped at the first floor, and Song Nanxing entered with Jing Rao, surrounded by the two monsters.
The man on the elevator panel opened his mouth wide, revealing a malicious smile.
Jing Rao acted as if she noticed nothing and pressed the button for the ninth floor.
The two monsters riding with them seemed to know her and spoke, “Doctor Jing, off work already? I heard the number of contaminated patients has increased lately. The hospital must be busy.”
Jing Rao was obviously not close with them and nodded, answering casually.
The elevator stopped quickly on the ninth floor, and Jing Rao stepped out.
Song Nanxing hurried after her.
The two monsters remained in the elevator, watching Song Nanxing with hostile eyes until the doors closed again, then descended with the elevator.
Song Nanxing glanced back and followed Jing Rao into Unit 902.
902 was a three-bedroom, two-living room layout, decorated in a warm natural wood style.
After entering, Jing Rao called out “Ke Le” twice but got no response before heading to the kitchen to cook dinner.
Song Nanxing examined her too youthful, fresh face, wondering what had happened in the meantime.
The plush rabbit in his arms also seemed puzzled. It clung to his arm and craned its neck, staring intently at Jing Rao. Its long ears twitched, clearly confused.
Outside, it was already fully dark — night had fallen.
Jing Rao ate a simple dinner, took a shower, and went to rest in the bedroom.
Since men and women have their boundaries, Song Nanxing didn’t follow into the bedroom but sat in the living room, pondering whether to go look for the puppet and the little octopus now or wait until dawn.
With monsters everywhere in the community, he didn’t trust the safety of nighttime. After thinking it over, he decided to wait until morning.
The light in Jing Rao’s bedroom had gone out, obviously she had fallen asleep.
With the plush rabbit holding the phone light for him, Song Nanxing held the plush in one arm and searched through the drawers with the other, trying to find any clues in Jing Shao’s home.
Suddenly, faint rustling sounds came from the bedroom. Song Nanxing quickly turned off the phone and stood silently in the dark.
The rustling continued but didn’t sound like Jing Rao getting up.
Song Nanxing frowned, hesitated briefly, then quietly approached the bedroom door with the plush rabbit and slowly cracked it open.
The light was dim inside. The bed was diagonally opposite the door.
His eyes adjusted to the dark, lit by the faint outside light, and he saw something crawling out from under the bed — about 1.7 to 1.8 meters long, limbs roughly human-shaped.
As it squeezed out, its body warped like flowing liquid.
Once fully out, the flowing shape solidified into a man.
The man crawled on all fours; the exposed skin was faintly covered with fuzz. He climbed onto Jing Rao’s bed using hands and feet, stretching out a long tongue to lick her face.
After a few licks, he opened his mouth wide and extended a slender tubular tongue deep into Jing Rao’s nasal cavity. The thin tongue squirmed as if sucking something.
Jing Rao, still half asleep, was disturbed and murmured, “Ke Le, stop it,” then fell back asleep.
Song Nanxing frowned and quietly returned to the living room, grabbed the tennis racket hanging on the wall, and silently slipped back into the bedroom.
The man, unaware, was still absorbed in licking Jing Rao’s face.
Song Nanxing gripped the racket and suddenly struck the back of the man’s head with its frame.
Caught off guard, the man’s fuzz bristled in fright. He was so scared he didn’t resist and let out a miserable howl before leaping off the bed and quickly diving back under it.
Song Nanxing stepped back, bent down to look under the bed.
But there was nothing. The monster had vanished somewhere.
He stood up, glanced at Jing Rao, who slept obliviously, and decided to place the plush rabbit beside her pillow. Holding the racket, he sat down against the wall.
*****
The sky brightened quickly.
Song Nanxing noticed time here seemed to flow much faster.
At nine in the morning, Jing Rao got up and left for work.
Song Nanxing hugged the plush rabbit and followed her into the elevator.
The elevator stopped at the eighth floor, and a man entered, head lowered, standing in the corner. Jing Rao was looking at her phone and didn’t notice.
But Song Nanxing immediately recognized him — the man from last night.
In daylight, the man wore a decent shirt and slacks, his fuzz hidden, and his face looked very gentle, appearing just over thirty.
If Song Nanxing hadn’t seen his face closely last night, he wouldn’t have connected this kind, honest-looking man to the monster.
The man stood just behind Jing Rao at an angle, eyes fixed tightly on her.
Jing Rao was completely unaware. The elevator reached the first floor, and she put away her phone and walked out.
Occasionally, someone greeted her, and she responded politely but with little warmth.
Behind her, the man frequently greeted other residents actively.
After Jing Rao left the community, the man and Song Nanxing stopped simultaneously.
The man’s gaze followed Jing Rao’s retreating figure until she was out of sight, then reluctantly withdrew his eyes and gave Song Nanxing a slightly hostile glance. “Are you a new resident? I haven’t seen you before.”
Song Nanxing studied him, sure he hadn’t recognized him.
He smiled and said, “Yes. You live on the eighth floor?”
The man shook his head. “I live on the ninth floor, right next to you in 902. That was my wife just now.”
Song Nanxing’s brow twitched. Jokingly, he said, “Then why did you come up from the eighth floor just now? And your wife didn’t seem very familiar with you.”
The man smiled helplessly, looking very troubled. “Jing Shao had a relapse this morning and was throwing a tantrum, not recognizing anyone. I was trying to avoid upsetting her, so I played along and pretended not to know her, then took her out. Otherwise, it’d be chaos.”
While they spoke, a resident who knew the man came over. “Song Yunqiao, what’s wrong with your wife this time?”
Hearing the name, Song Nanxing’s eyes changed subtly, and he turned sharply to look at the man.
Song Yunqiao still wore that helpless expression. “Ah, her delusions flared again. She insists she doesn’t know me. I don’t dare upset her, so I just play along to get her out the door. I have to cook dinner later, and she’ll probably be normal again when she gets home tonight.”
The neighbor clicked their tongue and said, “That’s so hard. Why don’t you take her to the Psychiatric Center?”
Song Yunqiao replied, “She refuses to go, and I can’t force her. I’m afraid it’ll make her condition worse. Besides, she only sometimes fails to recognize people. It doesn’t affect daily life.”
The neighbor said, “Doctor Jing is truly blessed to have you.”
Song Nanxing listened, having pieced everything together. A cold chill ran down his spine.
Song Yunqiao chatted with other residents for a while longer, then said he had to go cook dinner.
Song Nanxing didn’t follow. He looked at the gray sky and decided to search for the little octopus and the puppet while it was still light.
He hugged the plush rabbit and walked in another direction.
Not far off, rustling came from the greenery on his right. He instinctively moved away slightly.
The next second, a large dog covered in sharp spikes burst out from the bushes, rolling on the ground.
The plush rabbit’s ears perked up anxiously, its red eyes glaring fiercely at the dog.
The dog continued rolling, letting out mournful cries, its massive body blocking the entire path.
Song Nanxing hugged the plush rabbit tighter, planning to turn around and take another route, when a familiar blue arm emerged from the dog’s right eye.
Song Nanxing paused, puzzled.
He looked carefully and saw the little octopus crawl out from the dog’s right eye socket, swimming excitedly toward him.
It looked very happy, twisting its eight arms in the air, then proudly circled above the now motionless dog’s corpse.
Song Nanxing praised its bravery, “Well done.”
The jelly-like round head shrank slightly at the compliment and returned, rubbing against Song Nanxing’s shoulder.
The plush rabbit glanced at it, then turned its head away, showing the back of its head.
The little octopus immediately lost some of its joy. It had wanted to find Nanxing yesterday but encountered the dog instead. Seeing scraps of fabric from the plush rabbit on the dog’s spikes, it had chased the dog.
Although the dog was weak, it was very good at hiding, and the octopus searched for a long time.
The octopus lowered its arms and tugged the plush rabbit’s long ears behind its head. “Big dog, eaten.”
“Tastes awful.”
The plush rabbit glared at it and hugged its ears into its arms, refusing to let it pull.
The little octopus muttered, “So rude.”
“Not cute at all.”
*****
Song Nanxing toured the entire community with the little octopus and plush rabbit before dusk but didn’t find the puppet.
Seeing it was already dark, he guessed Jing Rao would soon be off work and returned to wait under Building 6.
Sure enough, Jing Rao came back shortly.
She looked mentally exhausted, her face full of fatigue. Entering the elevator, she didn’t stand as straight as before, leaning against the wall, appearing haggard and weak.
Song Nanxing followed her back to 902.
Jing Rao’s routine was fixed. She made dinner, ate, took a shower, then went to the living room and took a bottle of medicine from the drawer beside the coffee table.
Song Nanxing glanced at the label — it was medicine for treating spiritual contamination.
Jing Rao seemed reluctant to take the medicine. She filled a glass of water at the dispenser, then irritably set the cup on the coffee table and went to the study.
After she left, Song Yunqiao stealthily emerged from the bedroom.
Unlike his human appearance during the day, he was now on all fours, covered with messy brownish-yellow fur, his body crouched, tiptoeing cautiously toward the coffee table.
He was so nervous he didn’t notice Song Nanxing hiding in the kitchen.
He looked toward the study, opened his mouth wide, and extended his tubular tongue. A few drops of pale yellow liquid dripped into the water cup.
He seemed about to stir the water with his tongue when Jing Shao suddenly emerged from the study.
Startled, he hurriedly tiptoed back to the bedroom, unaware the cup had been tilted and some water spilled.
Jing Rao returned, poured out four pills from the bottle, and raised the cup to take the medicine, but her hand suddenly froze.
She stared at the spilled drops on the coffee table, furrowed her brows, and looked around. “Ke Le?”
No response.
She recalled that Ke Le had been hiding under the bed recently, only coming up to the bed at night.
A bad feeling brewed in her heart. Jing Shao hesitated and carried the water and pills into the washroom.
When she came out, she casually left the empty cup on the table and went back to rest in the bedroom.
Long after the bedroom light went out, rustling began under the bed again, with slight trembling transmitted through the bed frame.
Jing Shao pretended to sleep, tightly gripping a scalpel hidden under the covers.
Song Yunqiao crawled out from under the bed and climbed onto it, greedily staring at Jing Rao.
Just as he was about to lower his head to lick her face, the seemingly asleep Jing Rao suddenly opened her eyes and coldly stared at him in the dark.
Startled, Song Yunqiao instinctively wanted to flee.
But Jing Rao was quicker. Without hesitation, she plunged the scalpel into his lower back and then flicked on the light.
Song Yunqiao screamed miserably, clutching the wound and rolling on the floor.
The bedroom light revealed his hideous, twisted appearance.
Jing Rao looked at him in disbelief, “Song Yunqiao, how could it be you?”
Her expression shifted, and she tightened her grip on the bleeding scalpel. “How did you get into my house? How long have you been here?”
Song Yunqiao lay on the floor, admitting guilt and begging, “Doctor Jing, I know I was wrong. I just like you too much.”
Jing Rao’s eyes scanned the room. Remembering Ke Le was nowhere to be seen during the day, she asked sharply, “Where’s my dog?”
Song Yunqiao shivered and stammered, “If I tell you where the dog is, will you let me go?”
Jing Rao glared at him coldly. “Where is Ke Le?”
He said, “In the storage room cabinet.”
Hearing this, Jing Rao immediately turned and headed for the storage room.
Song Yunqiao scrambled out the door, and at that moment, a scream came from the storage room.
Song Nanxing chased after Song Yunqiao, watching him rush down from the eighth floor, frantically banging on the doors: “Help! Someone help! My wife’s gone mad!”
His voice echoed down the hallway. Not only did the eighth-floor residents open their doors, but several units below also joined in.
Seeing Song Yunqiao covered in blood, everyone clamored, “What happened?”
Song Yunqiao said, “My wife’s spiritual contamination and delusions worsened. She suddenly stabbed me last night. She still has the knife and is unstable. I’m afraid she’ll hurt herself. Please help and call the Psychiatric Center.”
Song Nanxing thought, this is bad, and quickly retreated to 902, locking the door tight, then went to find Jing Rao.
Jing Rao was slumped in the storage room, with an open cabinet in front of her containing the corpse of a teddy dog. Except for the head, the rest below the neck was devoured.
The scalpel lay beside her. Her face was pale, trembling uncontrollably.
A deep, gruesome wound gradually appeared on her smooth face.
Song Nanxing reached out to pull her up, “The monsters are coming. Hide first.”
He hadn’t expected Jing Rao to see him. Holding the other’s wrist, Jing Rao suddenly looked at him with deep, mysterious eyes. “Who are you?”
Song Nanxing was stunned but quickly said, “There’s no time to explain now. Song Yunqiao and the monsters are coming…”
Before he could finish, the door unlocked — Song Yunqiao opened it with a key, excitement on his face as he pointed at Jing Rao.
“Thanks for your help. Watch out for the knife. Don’t let her hurt herself. Just tie her up.”
Monsters crowded inside, eyes gleaming greedily, stepping closer to Jing Rao and Song Nanxing.
Song Nanxing’s jaw tightened, and he retreated with Jing Rao toward the kitchen, grabbing a fruit knife from the countertop. “Can you hold them off?” he asked the little octopus.
The little octopus jumped down from his shoulder, instantly stretching its eight blue arms, fiercely pulling the onrushing monsters toward itself.
Only Song Yunqiao remained at the doorway.
“Get downstairs first!”
Song Nanxing kicked Song Yunqiao fiercely, knocking him out of the doorway. The startled Song Yunqiao lost balance and tumbled down the stairs.
Jing Rao looked at Song Nanxing in surprise but didn’t hesitate and followed him running downstairs.
I knew it was coming be man, fck this manipulator victim-blaming guy.
“He fumbled on his body, finally pulling out a bunch of keys and handing them to Song Nanxing. “Take these keys as compensation. You’re generous, so don’t report me to the property management.””
Damn, just like that? I understand if it’s just his supposed room key, but the whole buiding damn keys?