"Hey, isn't it too much?"
Wang Xueying's voice cut through the air, laden with skepticism, as she entered his room. The door closed with a decisive click, and Wang Xiao, responding to an unspoken instinct, locked it behind them.
"That's alright, didn't you hear what Mom said today?" Wang Xiao's reply carried a hint of innocence, masking the true motives behind his seemingly casual invitation.
Wang Xueying rolled her eyes, her gaze a mix of suspicion and amusement, as if deciphering the unspoken layers beneath his words.
"Okay, enough of the talk."
Wang Xiao's declaration lingered briefly before he effortlessly pulled her onto the bed. Wang Xueying's eyes widened in a momentary surprise before she surrendered to his advances, the room echoing with their laughter.
As the voices subsided, they gradually succumbed to the embrace of sleep. However, the respite was short-lived. After a mere few minutes, Wang Xiao's eyes snapped open, a narrowed gaze sweeping the room. Wang Xueying, peacefully nestled beside him, remained undisturbed by the internal turmoil.
"Дзрджж...."
A whisper, faint and elusive, brushed against his ears, prompting Wang Xiao to awaken once more. The room, bathed in the dim glow of moonlight, offered no visible source for the mysterious utterance.
'What is that?'
Attempting to dismiss the unsettling presence, he endeavored to embrace sleep once more, only to be thwarted by persistent whispers. Each time, they jolted him back to wakefulness. Even Wang Xueying stirred, her senses momentarily attuned to the mysterious murmurings.
"Don't move..." she whispered, her hands gently resting on his chest.
"Did you hear that as well?" Wang Xiao questioned, the perplexity evident in his voice.
"Hear... What...?" Wang Xueying's eyes blinked, her response trailing off as she surrendered to the drowsiness, leaving Wang Xiao to grapple with the lingering mystery that haunted the edges of his consciousness.
_______
"Why do you have dark circles?" Wang Xueying's inquiry pierced the early morning quiet, her body stretching as she cast a glance at Wang Xiao, who bore noticeable dark patches beneath his eyes.
Wang Xiao met her gaze and offered an awkward chuckle. How could he possibly explain that he had spent the night tormented by paranoid voices, leaving him in a sleepless haze?
Wang Xueying, slightly unnerved by his lack of response, stood up and left the room soon after, leaving Wang Xiao to gaze at the ceiling in a silent sigh. The lingering echoes of the night's mysterious whispers still resonated within him, concealed behind the guise of dark circles beneath his eyes.
_____
12th January 2024...
"Again?" Wang Xiao's frustration echoed through the room as he kicked the blanket away, desperate to escape the persistent, chilling voices that seemed to plague his nights.
Determination etched across his face, he took a deep breath and flicked on the lights, opting to spend the night alone to unravel the cause of these haunting whispers.
Yet, once more, his efforts proved fruitless. The room remained void of any tangible presence, leaving Wang Xiao grappling with the mystery that disturbed his peace.
13th January 2024...
Wang Xiao's eyes, wide open, betrayed the weariness etched on his face. Dark circles clung to him like a shadow as he stared at the ceiling, the middle of the night offering no respite from the elusive voices.
Frustration reached a crescendo, pushing him to consider confronting the spectral presence. "Alright, bastard, let's see what you're made of," he mumbled, brainstorming ways to scare away the unseen intruder.
In the quiet of the night, he spoke aloud, as if challenging the mysterious entity that tormented him.
The room remained silent, and he continued, "I'll fuck you away myself if I have to!"
"Haha..." Laughter, tinged with a hint of madness, escaped him before a fit of coughing interrupted.
Undeterred, he continued his contemplation, the day slipping away once more in the relentless cycle of sleepless nights.
"If you won't come to me, I'll find a way to you." The words hung in the air, a testament to his growing insomonia.
14th January 2024.
The day of torment continued, but Wang Xiao was determined to face it head-on. Armed with earplugs, he inserted them into his ears, hoping for a night of undisturbed sleep.
For the first few hours, he found solace in the silence, the earplugs proving effective. Until...
*!!*
A sudden sensation of air near his ear jolted him awake. This time, he could no longer dismiss the eerie occurrences. Determined to uncover the source, he hastily switched on every light in the room, scanning every nook and cranny in a desperate attempt to find the cause.
Wang Xiao's laughter, laced with frustration and a hint of madness, echoed through the room. "Who's playing tricks on me? What do you want from me?"
Silence hung in the air, intensifying the unsettling atmosphere. Wang Xiao's bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign of an intruder or an explanation.
"This can't be real," he muttered to himself, his voice wavering. "I need to put an end to this madness. Who's hiding in the shadows?"
As he stood in the middle of the room, the emptiness seemed to close in on him, and Wang Xiao, teetering on the edge of sanity, whispered, "Enough of this... I need to figure this out before it drives me completely mad."
*Thump...*
*Thump...*
The heavy, wearied footsteps echoed in the dimly lit hallway as Wang Xiao dragged himself toward the lift. Pressing the button, he entered inside, staring blankly ahead as it descended. The metallic doors opened with a soft ding on the second floor, revealing a corridor of closed doors.
He approached a specific door, one he rarely visited. It belonged to Xinyue Zhilan and Wang Zhihao.
The rhythmic *knock, knock* echoed in the silent corridor as Wang Xiao, with an almost mechanical precision, sought answers from the occupants behind the door.
Knock... Knock...
The sound reverberated through the hallway as Wang Xiao stood outside the door, his weary eyes staring at it as if expecting answers to materialize. A moment later, the door opened, revealing Xinyue Zhilan, his mother, who looked at him with a mixture of concern and confusion.
"Xiao? What's the matter?" she inquired, her voice tinged with worry.
Wang Xiao, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, mumbled, "The voices, the whispers... I want to sleep...."
Xinyue Zhilan, her brows furrowing, stepped back, allowing him to enter. Wang Zhihao woken up as well, stared from behind, curiosity etched on his face.
"I can't sleep. I hear things, strange sounds, and it's driving me mad," Wang Xiao admitted, his words carrying a sense of desperation.
"??"
Xinyue Zhilan and Wang Zhihao exchanged glances, a shared realization passing between them.
Wang Zhihao let out a weary sigh, "I'll go sleep in another room," he announced, grabbing his blanket and pillow as he walked with an exhausted shuffle toward an unoccupied room on the second floor.
Most of the rooms were vacant anyway.
Xinyue Zhilan nodded in agreement, silently acknowledging the necessity of the arrangement. She ushered Wang Xiao inside, closing the door behind them.
Wang Xiao, at this point, lacked the vitality to fully comprehend the situation.
Three days without sleep had taken its toll, and as his head touched the soft mattress, he succumbed to a deep, overdue slumber.
The room, now enveloped in a temporary peace, offered a respite from the haunting whispers that had tormented him for far too long.
_______
14th January, 3:00 pm.
Wang Xiao's eyes blinked open, finally roused from a prolonged slumber. As he surveyed his surroundings, the realization dawned on him—he was inside his parents' room. Everything started to fall into place, and he rose, shuffling toward the bathroom.
Staring blankly into the mirror, he saw a disheveled version of himself staring back. Slowly, he raised his fingers, poking at the swollen skin beneath his eyes. The consequences of excessive rubbing were now evident.
His hair was in disarray, and his eyes, while no longer bloodshot, still carried traces of weariness. With lingering thoughts, he turned on the tap, splashing water over his face in an attempt to fully awaken—or perhaps to wash away the remnants of the unsettling experiences that had plagued his restless nights.
Going downstairs, Wang Xiao found Wang Mei and inquired about the whereabouts of everyone, noticing the emptiness of the house again.
"??"
Wang Mei's eyes blinked awkwardly; it seemed like weeks since they had a conversation. Nevertheless, she answered, "...They have gone to buy things for the school trip."
"Oh," Wang Xiao nodded nonchalantly, turning around and walking back upstairs. A new realization flickered in his eyes.
"That's it?" Wang Mei wondered, left speechless by his abrupt departure.
He just turned around and left?
Unbeknownst to her, Wang Xiao had little luxury to spare for her at the moment.
He was preoccupied with his own problems, and now, another one had emerged—the upcoming school trip.
Winter vacation extended due to the Chinese New Year, and most affluent schools organized a joint week-long trip for students instead of regular classes.
Tomorrow marked the beginning of this excursion, scheduled from the 15th to the 20th of January, just before the Chinese New Year starting on the 22nd.
Little did Wang Xiao know, this school trip held the potential to reshape everything for him, turning his life upside down in ways he couldn't anticipate.