The silent night was shattered by a sharp metallic clink.
A woman with black hair in a white dress ascended the stairs, tapping a sharp knife against the railings as she walked.
She wore high heels with thin straps, the smooth surface stained with dried blood. Her dress appeared soaked in blood, filthy and ragged. Her black hair seemed to be matted against her scalp with some sticky substance, obscuring her face. The visible parts of her skin were unnaturally pale, her eyes bulging, and her cracked lips moved, whispering something under her breath.
“Knock, knock—”
She reached the door of an apartment on the third floor and tapped the doorknob with the hilt of her knife. Then she pressed herself tightly against the door, her eye peering through the peephole, quietly observing, the tip of her knife resting in the door’s crack.
After waiting for a moment and hearing no sound from inside, she tilted her head, bent down, and peered through the gap beneath the old wooden door.
Not finding anything, the woman stood back up and removed an earring from her left ear—it was actually a bloodstained keychain! Hanging from it was a rusty key.
She inserted the key into the lock, twisted it twice with a “click” and the door creaked open.
Moonlight filtered into the simple living room, faintly illuminating the furniture.
Her eyes darted around as she slowly stepped inside. She moved between two bedrooms, one with the door tightly shut and the other wide open.
As if recalling something, she grinned and turned toward the closed room, gripping the doorknob…
But just as she was about to push the door open, she stopped, turning instead to look at the open doorway—hiding there, are we?
She leisurely walked to the open door, sliding the knife’s tip along the wooden surface, producing a soft but nerve-wracking sound, as if deliberately taunting whoever was hiding in the darkness.
The room was entirely visible, with nowhere to hide except behind the door.
She approached the door, tapping the doorknob with the hilt of her knife, then slowly bent down and peeked under the door—what expression would she see?
A smile of anticipation froze on her lips when she saw that there was no one behind the door.
“Rustle—”
Suddenly, a sharp sound came from above, like a blade scraping against the wall, causing some plaster to fall onto her head.
The woman hesitated, tilting her head with a look of childlike confusion, and glanced up at the ceiling.
There, a figure balanced on top of the door, wedged into the corner of the ceiling, using the walls for support. A head poked out, looking down at her.
“Sister, are you looking for me?”
The girl stared at her expressionlessly, her hair falling over her face, covering part of her eyes, making her look strange and unsettling.
“What a coincidence, I’ve been waiting for you too.”
The girl suddenly jumped down from the ceiling, landing right in front of her. She widened her eyes and said in an eerie voice, “Does no one in your family have to take the college entrance exam?”
The woman seemed momentarily dazed, then clumsily scrambled to her feet and lunged at the girl with her knife without saying a word.
“Ah! So scary!”
The girl let out a dramatic scream, stepping back and leaving the room.
The woman, now seemingly excited, chased after her even faster.
The girl crashed into another bedroom, hastily hiding inside. The woman followed closely behind but tripped on something as she passed the doorframe, causing her to stumble to the floor, the knife plunging into the wooden floorboards.
“Ah! You have a weapon?”
The girl screamed in terror, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the floor.
Seizing the moment, the woman pinned her down and pulled the knife free, stabbing toward her. The girl instinctively raised her arm to block, and the blade cut deep into her arm, blood gushing out.
“Help!!!”
Overcome by the will to survive, the girl fought back, wildly swinging the screwdriver she had been using for protection.
“I’m just a normal high school student! My family doesn’t have any money—don’t kill me!”
The woman swung the knife again, but just as she did, the terrified girl suddenly raised her head, grabbed her hand mid-air, and smiled sweetly. Without changing her expression, she drove the screwdriver straight into the woman’s palm.
“Sister, does it hurt?”
The woman, thin and weak, lost her strength as the screwdriver pierced through her hand. She stared blankly at the girl, her fingers losing their grip, and the knife clattered to the floor.
“Tong Yang…” The woman looked at her in confusion, her lips moving as she whispered.
“You do know me, huh?” Tong Yang narrowed her eyes, flipping over and pinning the woman beneath her. “Mind if I ask, do you have any idea how important the college entrance exam is to a third-year student?”
“Tong Yang?” The woman seemed to lose all strength to fight back. Her blood-soaked hand struggled to rise, her eyes blankly staring at Tong Yang’s face. Her trembling fingers, smeared with blood, gently touched her cheek. “Tong Yang…”
The weak light of the night bathed both of them. The hair that had been covering the woman’s face fell to the side, and Tong Yang finally saw that pale face—it looked familiar.
“Who are you?” Tong Yang asked, her mind clouded with fragments of memories.
“I’m… I’m…” The woman looked confused, as if unsure of herself. “I’m… your mother…”
Tong Yang froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. She murmured, “Mom?”
In that split second of hesitation, the woman took the chance to grab the knife from the floor and thrust it toward Tong Yang’s throat.
Tong Yang reacted quickly, rolling to the side to dodge the attack. Even so, the blade grazed her neck, and warm blood began to flow, soaking her clothes.
“You’re not dead…” Tong Yang muttered to herself, not even paying attention to the wound on her neck. “So, you’re not dead after all?”
The woman sprang up, lifting the knife and lunging at Tong Yang again.
Tong Yang raised her blood-streaked face, her expression dark and ominous. Moving swiftly and with precision, she sidestepped and drove the bloodied screwdriver straight into the woman’s chest.
“Ah…”
The woman let out a low moan, but as if she didn’t care about her injury, she continued to press the knife toward Tong Yang’s throat.
“Damn it, why aren’t you dead yet? You and that idiot dad of mine should have died together!”
Tong Yang kicked the woman away, immediately lunging after her and grabbing her by the throat. “You want to kill me? Isn’t it you who deserves to die? Huh? ‘Mom’?”
“You’re the one who should die, huh?”
The intense choking turned the woman’s face blue, yet she still desperately swung the knife, her eyes filled with hatred, as if she wanted to devour Tong Yang whole.
“You’re the one who should die!”
“Why didn’t my irresponsible parents just die themselves?”
“I’m about to leave this place! I’m about to escape this parasite-like life! Why now? Why at this moment?”
“You want to ruin me, don’t you? ‘Mom’? You’re so cruel!”
The woman was on the brink of passing out from lack of air. Tong Yang’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, and an overwhelming hatred consumed her, driving her to the edge of reason. All the negative emotions she had ever suppressed exploded in that moment.
She tightened her grip on the woman’s throat, demanding answers, one question after another.
The woman was far weaker than she had imagined. She barely struggled before she stopped breathing in Tong Yang’s hands.
Tong Yang’s fingers pressed against the woman’s neck, feeling her life slip away. Warm blood pooled on the floor, covering her face, hands, and clothes with the sticky, nauseating substance.
After the furious outburst, the anger that had been choking her chest finally eased. A strange sense of satisfaction spread through her. She sat on top of the woman’s body, covering her face with her hands, and began to laugh uncontrollably. Her voice echoed through the silent room.
“So, you’re ‘Mom’?” Tong Yang’s laughter carried a hint of something between anger and a sob, trembling with emotion. “Then who was that woman I saw crushed to death seven years ago?”
Even if they looked alike, there was no way she could be her mother.
The thrill in her mind gradually cooled in the darkness.
The “mother” she had killed no longer had any breath in her, lying there like a broken, bloody doll.
The pain from her injuries soon replaced the excitement in her mind. Tong Yang staggered to her feet, her body weak from both the psychological and physical toll. Even though she had killed someone, it had been in self-defense. She needed to report this to the police quickly so they could handle the situation. She just hoped it wouldn’t affect the college entrance exam.
It shouldn’t… affect the exam, right?
Blood was still flowing from the wounds on her arm and neck. After that intense burst of emotion, her body felt drained. Tong Yang leaned against the wall, stepping through the sticky blood on the floor as she slowly made her way out. There was no signal in the residential area; she had to leave and report this to the police as soon as possible.
What bad luck… When Tong Le came back, she’d have to switch rooms with him. A child shouldn’t stay in a room where someone had died.
But the college entrance exam was just around the corner. As long as she met the requirements and received the full scholarship, she could take Tong Le and leave this place behind.
Tong Yang made it to the living room, but her legs suddenly gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. Her eyelids grew heavy, and that familiar feeling of exhaustion washed over her…
Damn it…
Was she really going to die again?
If she had known, she would have just stabbed her to death right away!
In her endless frustration, Tong Yang’s consciousness slowly faded.
She didn’t know if she would have another chance to start over. What a shame.
If there were a next time, she would definitely stab “Mom” to death with a single strike.
Time passed unknowingly, and as she drifted into sleep, Tong Yang’s tired body gradually felt lighter and more comfortable.
Gentle sunlight warmed her face, its brightness a little too sharp.
She furrowed her brow in discomfort and raised her hand to block the light, only for a sharp pain to shoot through her arm.
“Don’t move!”
At the same time, a stern voice snapped at her.
“Who?” Tong Yang slowly opened her eyes. The familiar, moldy ceiling greeted her. Sitting beside her was an elderly woman with gray hair.
“Sigh, child, you’ve finally woken up?” The old woman gently tucked her arm back under the warm blanket, adjusting the covers for her. “No matter how much pressure your exams are putting on you, you can’t be doing things like this.”
“What?”
Tong Yang lifted her arm in confusion, seeing that it was wrapped in layers of bandages, blood seeping through them.
The memories of collapsing suddenly flooded back, and Tong Yang bolted upright, only to wince as the movement pulled at the wound on her neck.
“What’s the date today?!” she asked urgently.
The old woman was startled by her outburst and scolded her with a glare. “It’s May 29th. Don’t worry, the school has already arranged for your leave.”
“May 29th…” Tong Yang muttered to herself, a joyful expression on her face. “I survived?”
The old woman rolled her eyes at her crazy behavior. “The wounds aren’t deep. You won’t die. Last night, I wanted to call 120, but you were so delirious from the pain that you kept insisting you had no money, and told me to call the police first. What’s that about? Calling the police isn’t going to save you on medical bills.”
“Did you call the police? What did they say? I should be protected under self-defense laws, right? Even though I’m not sure who she was, I still…” Tong Yang rambled on, her face pale. “If I go to jail, I’m done for!”
The old woman gave her a skeptical look. “Did self-harm become a crime while I wasn’t paying attention? I don’t know about that, but I called a doctor from the clinic to patch you up! Oh, by the way, your medical bill was 450 yuan. I covered it.”
Tong Yang stared at her in shock. “What are you talking about? What self-harm?”
“Yeah, last night, you made such a ruckus. I didn’t dare go upstairs alone, so I called the old man from next door. When we got inside, we saw you stabbing yourself with a knife, covered in blood!”
Tong Yang stared at her in disbelief. She suddenly threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed barefoot, and quickly left the room. She burst into Tong Le’s bedroom and found the floor spotless, without any trace of the life-or-death struggle that had taken place.
“There’s nothing?”
Did everything that happened yesterday really just happen in a dream? Was it all just a hallucination brought on by stress?
No, that’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!
The wounds couldn’t be explained away! Even if she were hallucinating, she would never hurt herself.
Tong Yang crouched down and examined the door frame. Between the two door frames, a transparent fishing line was tied—a trap she had set to trip up the woman.
It wasn’t her imagination. Everything that had happened was real.
But the woman’s body had mysteriously disappeared?
Suddenly, Tong Yang remembered something.
The members of the [Melon Eating Netizen 007] group chat had mentioned that in 2024, two strange murder cases had occurred in Yaocheng’s old district. In both cases, the killers had mysteriously vanished after committing the crime, leaving the cases unsolved…
Tong Yang’s face went pale as a chill ran down her spine.
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