Chapter 38: Traction

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Gu Yunxi knocked on the door of her niece’s room next door.

The fact was, there simply weren’t enough rooms, and there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, since she’d already brought Lin Yu along, she couldn’t just leave him unattended.

After some thought, she decided to give her own room to Lin Yu and sleep together with Xiao Ling herself.

As for letting Lin Yu meet Yeling—he could just forget about it!

Maybe she was being a bit calculating. If Lin Yu really was a Resonator, then building a good relationship between him and Xiao Ling wouldn’t hurt.

But unfortunately, he insisted on denying it. So, she decided to treat him as if he wasn’t.

“Huh? What’s Xiao Ling doing? Why hasn’t she opened the door yet?”

Gu Yunxi looked in puzzlement at the tightly shut door, then raised her hand and knocked again.

This time, a voice quickly responded from inside—it was Yeling.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me. Xiao Ling, open the door.”

The door swung open, and Yeling stood in the doorway wrapped in just a bath towel, her face flushed pink, and her damp hair still dripping. She looked like she had just finished bathing.

“Auntie, what brings you here?”

“Let’s talk inside.” Gu Yunxi subconsciously glanced at the next room, then entered together with Yeling.

Inside the room.

Yeling sat at her vanity table, while Gu Yunxi grabbed a small stool to stand on and help her brush her hair.

“So, Auntie, you mean the bathroom pipes in your room burst, so you have to sleep with me tonight?”

That excuse wasn’t her idea—it was Lin Yu’s.

At the time, she was skeptical, doubting her niece would fall for such a lame reason.

But unexpectedly, she heard Yeling continue at once:

“Okay! Auntie, do you want to take a bath? The tub here has little duckies.”

“…?”

Gu Yunxi slowly made a question mark in her mind. She believed it so easily? Didn’t even doubt it?

And who on earth needs little duckies for a bath!

Just like that, Gu Yunxi walked into the bathroom a little dazed.

She actually believed it. How did that kid know this excuse would definitely work?

Wait, wasn’t his expression a bit odd when he said it?

Gu Yunxi rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

As for this, Lin Yu naturally wasn’t about to tell her why.

Because, back then, he’d used this very trick to end up sharing a room with Yeling, and then…

Gu Yunxi thought it over for a long time but still couldn’t figure it out, so she gave up. Anyway, her goal was achieved, and Xiao Ling hadn’t questioned anything. Not bad.

“Right, she mentioned little duckies…”

She thought about it, and since the things were there, why not use them? Why couldn’t she?

She looked around but couldn’t find them.

She scratched her head. That can’t be right—Xiao Ling said they’re here. Should I ask her?

Yeling was lounging in her chair scrolling on her phone when she vaguely heard her aunt’s muffled voice coming from the bathroom.

“Xiao Ling… y-you, come here a sec.”

Yeling set down her phone and went to the bathroom. “What’s wrong, Auntie?”

Gu Yunxi had her head lowered, her voice squeezed out like it was stuck in her throat. “Um, the… the little duckies, where are they?”

Hearing this, Yeling’s eyes instantly lit up. Grinning, she opened the cabinet overhead, pulled out two little yellow ducks, and tossed them into the bathtub.

Gu Yunxi turned away. “A-alright, you can go now.”

Noticing her aunt was embarrassed, Yeling couldn’t resist teasing her. She squatted down and hugged Gu Yunxi’s petite frame from behind.

“Auntie~ need me to carry you into the tub? Can you get in by yourself?”

If it were anyone else, Gu Yunxi would’ve already thrown them over her shoulder and followed up with a war stomp, but facing her niece, she could only stamp her foot.

“O-okay! Get out! You’re so cheeky!”

“Hahaha~”

For a moment, the bathroom filled with laughter as crisp as a lark’s song.

After a while, Gu Yunxi buried half her face in the water, casting a resentful glance at the departing Yeling.

Just then, a little yellow duck floated by her face. She raised a fist and punched. “It’s all your fault!”

The two of them weren’t mother and daughter, but their bond was even deeper, and this sort of playful fooling around was very common.

Ah… this dream again…

Yeling found herself standing in the park where she had met Lin Yu.

She looked down at her hands. They didn’t look any different, but she felt as if she had grown older.

Hmm? I… can control this dream now?

Before, it was always first-person perspective, but she had no control over anything—she could only watch helplessly.

But this time, something felt a little different.

She tried moving her body, and sure enough, aside from the surreal feeling of being in a dream, she could actually control herself this time.

So, next… do I still need to go there?

The ‘there’ she referred to was the residence she always went to in these dreams, where she would see a corpse lying in a pool of blood.

When she saw that boy in the park, she recognized him at first glance.

Lin Yu… who are you, really…

Even though she could control herself this time, she still found herself slowly walking toward that place.

Maybe… maybe this time, she’ll find something different?

Humans feel not just fear, but also curiosity about the unknown.

She entered the elevator and pressed the button for that floor.

The elevator rose slowly, the floor numbers climbing.

“Ding.”

The metal doors opened. She hesitated for a moment, then walked out.

The corridor wasn’t big, but this time it felt especially long.

At last, she arrived at the half-open door.

She knew what she’d see when she opened it, but this time, something seemed different.

“Lin Yu, you said you’d only ever love me.”

“Liar! You fooled everyone!”

“This way… this way, we can be together forever…”

Someone’s here? And… it isn’t just one woman—could it be…

From these words, she instantly deduced what was going on inside. Lin Yu had been killed by these women.

The moment this thought appeared, a nameless rage surged into her mind. She flung open the door.

As expected, five women stood inside the room. They shared one thing in common: she couldn’t see their faces.

It was as if a layer of impenetrable fog covered each of their faces.

“What are you doing!”

For the first time, she spoke in her dream. She was sure, though her voice sounded more mature, it was definitely her own.

Her shout drew the women’s attention, and they turned to face her.

“You?”

“It’s you!”

“Even you can’t stop this.”

As soon as one woman finished speaking, she slashed the throat of the man slumped on the bed with her knife.

Yes, it was that face—one she’d seen countless times in dreams, and once in reality.

But this time, his expression was different: surprise, regret, and a strange hint of relief.

His lips, stained with blood, moved, voiceless, but Yeling seemed to know what he was saying.

“I’m sorry…”

Sorry? Sorry for what? For whom? Me…?

Why, why, why!

Her body trembled, her mind ablaze with fury—a rage she’d never felt in these dreams before.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Now, she had only one thought: all these women had to die!

Her pupils turned entirely black as darkness spread from her feet.

This was her ability: “Dark River.”

Two-dimensional black shadows rapidly spread, engulfing the women in the room without the slightest resistance or even a scream. They all fell into the “river,” not even leaving a speck of dust behind.

“Crash,” the sound of shattering glass echoed.

The darkness vanished. She staggered forward, rushing to the dying man on the bed.

But just as she was about to reach him, everything went black, and she woke up.

“Ha… ha…” Heavy breaths echoed in the quiet room.

She tried to move her arms, only to find someone hugging her tightly.

Turning her head, she saw Gu Yunxi sound asleep, mumbling, “Hehehe, my Xiao Ling… is the best, gorilla… you can’t compete…”—strange words no one could understand.

Yeling curled her lips in a smile, her gaze drifting to the wall of the next room.

For some reason, she had a powerful premonition that the person she was looking for was in the next room.

She slipped her arm out from under her aunt’s and replaced it with a pillow, then got out of bed, threw on a nightgown at random, and walked barefoot and silent to the room next door.

At the door, she instinctively glanced around, took a deep breath and let it out, then raised her hand.

“Knock, knock, knock.”