415: 8.15 Crying Woman

8.15 Crying Woman

As it turned out, before Lu Yizhou could defend his own innocence and get himself out of this unforeseen situation, Ailín piped in, his face somber. "Wait."0

Olivia turned her murderous gaze to him, so agitated that she almost shook Ji Yan back and forth to emphasize her point. "What do you mean by 'wait'?! It can't be anyone but her! Can't you see that Ji Yan was attacked right after he touched her?!"

"I am not talking about that," Ailín let out a sigh, exasperated. Under Olivia's demanding tone, he maintained his composure as if the one he was facing was a child. "Can't you feel the sudden change in the air, Miss?"

Olivia was ready to snap again but as soon as she registered the meaning behind Ailín's words, she instantly clicked her jaws shut, her eyes widening in fear. Heavy silence reigned in the room. Without anyone talking, they began to hear… the faint sobs of a woman. That's right, there was a woman crying and the sound was coming from the bathroom! 

The matter of Lu Yizhou's identity forgotten, everyone's eyes abruptly shifted to the closed bathroom door with dawning horror. As if the woman inside knew that she had successfully drawn everyone's attention, her cries grew louder and louder, almost wailing, sounding especially weak and pitiful. 

"Who…" Olivia's voice was no more than a whisper as she clutched Ji Yan's arm in a bruising grip. "Who's that?"

Nobody moved. They didn't even dare to breathe. 

"I didn't…" The woman began to sing amidst her whimpers. Her voice was sonorous yet fragile, and when it travelled to everyone's ears, it was as if she was whispering it right beside them! "I didn't harm her… She lied to you. She loved you but I loved you more… Why did you trust her but not me… It hurts… Oh it hurts so much…"

Everyone flinched in shock when Lu Yizhou suddenly stood up. 

A strangled cry escaped Olivia's lips. She lost the strength on her knees and plopped down on the couch beside Ji Yan, whose complexion was whiter than paper. On the other hand, Diana stuck herself firmly to the wall, unmoving. Even Ailín, who never showed fear up until now, staggered as he tried to distance himself from Lu Yizhou. "W–What do you want?"

Lu Yizhou replied flatly, "Check out who's crying." 

This would be his room for the next seven days. If a random woman would turn up at uncanny hours to cry her heart out, then how would he ever get his rest? It was better for him to confront her once and for all. Maybe he could even teach her that what she did could be considered a public disturbance.

Ozzie climbed up his body and settled on his shoulder. 'Let's go, Daddy! Geez, everyone is such a scaredy cat!'

[666: They are humans, not cats, stupid! Host, can we not go? QAQ 666's heart is not strong enough for this…]

Of course, the system was promptly ignored. Heaving a long sigh, Lu Yizhou took a few long strides and pushed open the bathroom door with no hesitation. A lingering screech echoed from the hinges and utter darkness greeted Lu Yizhou's sight from the small gaps of the open door. The woman's cries abruptly stopped and a frightening silence followed as if she was waiting in the darkness… so she could pounce on whoever was coming in…

Lu Yizhou wrinkled his nose. What was this weird odor?

Heavens, he had never expected that he would miss flashlight and lightbulb so much.

He spun on his heels and everyone flinched even harder. This time, Olivia cried out tremblingly as she tried to hide behind Ji Yan, "W–What do you want again?!"

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched. Looking at their pale faces, he could hardly believe that he was the most inexperienced in this game among them all. Exactly how had they survived all this while? "...Candlestick. It's too dark there. I need a candle."

"O–Oh!" Barely recovered from the shock, Ji Yan stood up and lit up another candle with trembling hands. His expression when he approached Lu Yizhou was akin to a soldier marching into a bloody battlefield. He swallowed heavily. "Come on. I–I will go with you."

Lu Yizhou looked at his trembling figure. In his grasp, the candle was shaking so much that the flame flickered dangerously as if it would die out soon. "...Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. "You're a woman. How can I let you go in by yourself without knowing the danger you will face?"

[666: Pfft–hahahaha, Host! Look at how hard he's trying to impress you!]

Lu Yizhou was rendered speechless. Lacking any better words to say, he snatched the candlestick from Ji Yan's hands before the man could drop it and end up setting himself in flames. Before Ji Yan could say anything in protest, Lu Yizhou had turned and kicked the door open with a resounding bang. In an instant, the unpleasant odor of stale air blasted their face. He covered his nose and coughed. The pungent stench gave him the impression as if the bathroom had not been opened for years. 

Ozzie hid her face in the crook of Lu Yizhou's neck. 'Okay, I am out.'

[666: 666 wishes to be out too! QAQ]

Lu Yizhou held the candlestick in front of him. The dim glow gobbled the darkness up and illuminated the entire space. It was quite an extravagant bathroom. A large round mirror greeted them first, along with a granite sink that was covered in dust. There was a bathtub in the far corner that was partially covered by the thin curtain. And through the curtain, a faint outline of a person's side profile could be seen!

Ji Yan choked out in fear, "Who… Who is that?!"

Lu Yizhou furrowed his brow. He took a cautious step in and carefully surveyed his surroundings. The bathroom floor was damp but he couldn't find any source of water that was dripping. The shower head was covered in rust and the sink was dry and dusty. What could have made the floor wet? 

Just then, a droplet of water landed on his nose. Surprised, he lifted the candlestick over his head to check the ceiling.

So that was where the water came from…

A large brownish spot covered almost the entire space of the otherwise creamy white ceiling. Another bead of water slowly formed on the surface and Lu Yizhou watched as it fell on the floor tiles. How many years had the water kept dripping from the ceiling? This slow, continuous process… wouldn't it mean that the room above Lu Yizhou's was completely drenched in water? Or… something that was not water?

Tentatively, Lu Yizhou wiped his wet nose with two fingers and brought it to his nose for a sniff. So far, he couldn't smell anything that could indicate that it was not water. Nonetheless he kept the doubt to the back of his mind. Later, he needed to check and see where this water was coming from. The crying woman had led them here… surely, whatever she wanted to say must mean something.

Lu Yizhou tore his gaze away from the ceiling. Now, onto the silhouette of the person sitting on the bathtub.

He decisively shoved the candlestick back to the frozen Ji Yan, who received it in fumbles. "M–Miss Irene?"

"Hold on to that and stay behind me." In case he needed to fight and protect the trembling quail named Ji Yan, he would need both hands. 

Ji Yan sputtered out, "H–How can I—" But Lu Yizhou already ditched him behind and took a few steps forward.

The click of his boots matched with the rhythm of his heart. Lu Yizhou inhaled through his mouth to regain his bearings. Perhaps he had been influenced by the fear everyone exuded, goosebumps erupted all across his body the closer he got to the bathtub. Come on, what's wrong with you, Lu Yizhou? So what if it was a ghost? As long as he could touch them, then he could also beat them up. As simple as that.

He grabbed onto the edge of the curtain. Behind him, the light flickered back and forth due to the trembles on Ji Yan's hands. "M–Miss Irene, are you sure about it? How about you let me—"

"Shut it." Lu Yizhou tore the curtain open in one rough movement and put on a defensive stance, preparing himself for the attack that might come. 

Behind him, Ji Yan let out a muffled cry as soon as he saw the scene in front of him. "This… What is this doing here?!" 

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Mini theater

Quoting Lu Yizhou's words from the previous chapters, "I'd rather be roommates with a ghost!"

#jinx

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A/N:

Thank you so much Mi_Lu, ArcaneMag, VitaminCdotC and everyone who have casted 609 golden tickets for VSS! I honestly did not see that coming, you guys never cease to amaze me T^T Let's make it 666 until the end of the month, shall we? Show your love for our most intelligent, sensible and handsome (read: useless) system, 666! ^^

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