Chapter 7 The Girl

"Could it be that abused girl?" the innocent-looking woman analyzed. "The girl died after suffering endless abuse, and her resentment didn't dissipate, turning her into a vengeful ghost. She must be the one who killed the middle-aged man in the early hours of the morning."

For now, the innocent-looking woman's analysis seemed reasonable.

"That's possible, but we still need some evidence," said the brawny man, emerging from the bathroom with a much weaker demeanor. Fine beads of sweat were even visible on his forehead.

Jiang Cheng knew he wasn't as calm as he appeared.

"Let's eat first," someone suggested.

Cooking was left to the fatty alone, while the innocent-looking woman helped wash the vegetables.

Before long, a fragrant meal was prepared. Even in such an environment, everyone finished their food without leaving a single bite, which showed how skilled the fatty was.

"Are you a chef?" the brawny man asked, taking a sip of hot soup. He even found the fatty's large face more pleasing to the eye.

"No," the fatty said, scratching his head, embarrassed. "I just run around, doing all sorts of jobs. So I've picked up a little of everything."

"What do you all do? It's fate that we've all gathered here," the brawny man said, putting down his bowl, his gaze softening. "My name is Fan Li, and I'm a bodyguard."

"I... I'm Xie Yu, and I work for an insurance company," the male clerk said softly.

"My name is Chen Xiaomeng, and I'm a university student, majoring in law," the innocent-looking woman introduced herself.

It was the woman with the mole near her lip's turn. Everyone thought she would be dismissive, but a slow voice sounded, "You can call me Nuan-jie. I'm older than all of you. My profession..." She smiled cryptically. "I'm a salesperson."

Everyone looked at her with indescribable expressions. The aura this woman exuded was definitely not that of an ordinary merchant, and there was likely more to her "goods" than met the eye.

But no one dwelled on this question. They all looked at Jiang Cheng, their curiosity about him even exceeding that of the woman who called herself Nuan-jie.

Jiang Cheng straightened up and said solemnly, "My name is Hao Shuai, and I'm a male model."

"You're a model?" the innocent-looking woman asked, seemingly disbelieving. "Are you with a film company?"

Jiang Cheng slowly turned his head, giving her a meaningful glance. "I work the night shift at a KTV."

Everyone stared at him with surprised expressions, but no one commented. Everyone had the right to choose their own profession, and besides, they felt that Jiang Cheng really had the physical attributes for it.

The daytime seemed especially short in this world they were in. After a bit more conversation, the sky actually darkened again.

The brawny man walked to the window and looked outside, then turned back and said, "It's not going to rain, it's just getting dark."

Just as he said, night fell again half an hour later.

The group gathered around the fireplace in the living room, warming themselves while analyzing the clues they had gathered so far.

For safety's sake, they had moved some firewood from the storage room to the living room during the day, so they wouldn't have to go get more in the middle of the night if they ran out.

The fatty was sitting closest to the firewood, and he was tossing a piece into the fire every now and then.

The fire was burning brightly, making everyone's faces glow red.

Chen Xiaomeng still insisted on her previous view, believing that other members of the family had abused the girl, ultimately leading to her tragic death. The ghost in this villa was the girl from the family of four.

She seemed obsessed with this idea, and her emotions would become agitated every time she talked about it, a stark contrast to her previous gentle demeanor.

Considering that she was a law student, Jiang Cheng thought that she might be a girl with a story.

After several rounds of discussion, there was no new progress. Some people even started yawning, indicating that Jiang Cheng wasn't the only one who hadn't slept well the night before.

Fan Li stood up, stretched his slightly numb legs, and suggested, "Let's go to sleep."

His suggestion was quickly echoed.

Since the middle-aged man had died inexplicably on the first floor, everyone decided to sleep on the second floor tonight.

Xie Yu whispered whether everyone could stay together, for safety's sake, but before he could finish speaking, Nuan-jie rejected the idea, saying that they might miss something.

Xie Yu's eyes widened in fear, but ultimately no one asked Nuan-jie what exactly she meant by "something."

Even so, everyone very tacitly avoided the girl's bedroom.

They planned to split into two groups, one group sleeping in the boy's bedroom and the other in the master bedroom.

Nuan-jie and Chen Xiaomeng were both women, so naturally they would stay together. They chose the second-floor master bedroom, the one where the husband and wife slept, where they had slept the night before.

The fatty insisted on staying with Jiang Cheng, so Jiang Cheng and the fatty went into the boy's bedroom together.

Next were Fan Li and Xie Yu. It was obvious that they both wanted to stay in Nuan-jie's room, after all, those two were more experienced, and their chances of survival would be greater if they were with them.

In the end, Nuan-jie and Chen Xiaomeng discussed it and chose Fan Li. The three of them entered the room and closed the door.

Xie Yu was left alone in the hallway.

A gust of cold wind blew, causing him to hug himself involuntarily, and goosebumps erupted all over his arms.

He trotted to the door of Jiang Cheng's bedroom and knocked quickly.

Bang, bang, bang!

"It's me, open the door!"

While Jiang Cheng leisurely inspected the room, he replied casually, "Didn't you want to throw me into the bathroom alone before? Go stay next door yourself."

Xie Yu stared at the door next door, which had a crack open. The door trembled gently in the breeze, as if something was about to rush out at any moment.

That was the girl's bedroom.

Xie Yu was so frightened that he shivered, turned around, and pleaded with a sob, "I'm sorry, it was my fault! I shouldn't have said that, please forgive me!"

After inspecting the entire room, Jiang Cheng finally sat down with peace of mind, casually opened a new bottle of mineral water, took a small sip, and asked the door playfully, "What did you call me?"

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes comfortably.

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

Fatty: "......"

"Hoo—" Jiang Cheng exhaled contentedly, then waved his hand, signaling the fatty behind the door to open it.

As soon as the door opened, Xie Yu rushed in like a gust of wind, then slammed the door shut with a "bang."

After what had just happened, Xie Yu didn't dare to breathe loudly, and huddled obediently in the corner of the bedroom, afraid of angering Jiang Cheng and being thrown out.

"You," Jiang Cheng raised his chin at Xie Yu, "go sleep on the bed."

"I, sleep on the bed?" Xie Yu showed an unbelievable expression.

This was a single bedroom, and the bed was also an ordinary single bed, which meant that only one of the three of them could sleep on the bed.

The other two would either have to sleep on the floor or squeeze onto the sofa.