At No. 66 Wutong Road, the commotion usually stems from the urgency of one’s life combined with the shrieks of a small puppet.
Now, it also included the sound of a fox-girl who was enjoying the scene while crunching on potato chips.
After a while, Yu Sheng managed to subdue the energetic puppet that was jumping around, even attempting to bite him.
He hung her up on the drying rack of the living room balcony.
“Yu Sheng, you scoundrel! Put me down!” Aileen flailed her arms, kicking in mid-air.
The drying rod slipped through her sleeves, fixing her in place like a salted fish hanging out to dry. “This is a temporary ban! Just twelve hours! My account can still be saved! You can’t seriously plan to leave me hanging for twelve hours, right? Don’t you feel any guilt? At least switch me to a more comfortable position!”
“If you were to use a clip, you could easily get yourself free,” Yu Sheng said, sitting on the nearby couch while casting a sidelong glance at the suspended puppet. “Hanging you up is a lesson—don’t mess with my belongings. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely let you down before dinner. But if there’s a next time, you’ll end up in the basement.”
At this, Aileen began to fuss and protest, showcasing her indomitable spirit despite being in a tight spot. “I was wrong, I was wrong! I won’t dare next time! Just let me down!”
Her rebellious spirit seemed to diminish quickly.
Despite her gaming skills being subpar and her temper often flaring, she was quick to admit defeat.
Yu Sheng disregarded her antics and tuned them out as background noise.
The fox-girl, Huli, cautiously approached, holding a bag of chips.
She glanced at the puppet hanging above and then back at Yu Sheng.
After a moment of hesitation, she whispered, “Benefactor, Aileen really seems to realize her mistake. Could you let her down?”
While she spoke, she offered him some chips. “Here, eat something, and you won’t be so angry.”
Yu Sheng casually grabbed a few chips and popped them into his mouth before turning to look at Aileen.
He then switched on the television.
The puppet instantly quieted down, focusing intently on the screen.
“See? She only makes a fuss when someone pays her mind. If nobody gives her attention, she’s not that noisy,” Yu Sheng sighed, speaking in the manner of someone who had been there before, addressing Huli. “That’s the nature of a spoiled brat.”
“Oh.” Huli nodded, slightly bewildered, seemingly not understanding what “spoiled brat” meant.
Suddenly, there was a loud “bang” coming from upstairs, breaking the attention of everyone in the living room.
Aileen hanging on the rack immediately perked up and looked upward. “Hey, Yu Sheng, what just fell upstairs? Did that ladder in the attic tip over?”
Yu Sheng stood up, frowning as he turned toward the second floor. “... No, that noise came from the end of the second-floor hallway,” he said quietly. “We should go check.”
Huli stood up at once, her tail out and ready. “I’ll go with you!”
“Hey, let me down too! I want to go!” Aileen shouted immediately. “I heard that noise, and it seems off. I have to protect you all in case something happens!”
“Who’s protecting whom is up for debate,” Yu Sheng joked but took the drying rod from the rack and turned it downward, letting the puppet slide to the ground. “This time, I’ll let it go, but next time, I really will hang you in the basement.”
Aileen stumbled a bit upon hitting the floor but regained her balance, angrily adjusting her clothes and sticking her tongue out at Yu Sheng, as if to say, “I may back down easily, but I dare you next time!”
Yu Sheng paid her no mind, stretching his limbs before signaling Huli with his eyes and taking the lead to the stairs leading to the second floor.
Once on the second floor, he headed straight for the room that previously showcased Aileen’s oil painting.
The door was shut tight, and the inside was eerily quiet, without any sign of disturbance.
However, Yu Sheng felt even more certain that the loud “thud” they just heard came from that room’s direction.
He remembered that after opening the door once before, the empty room had turned into a simple living space, and the only thing that could make a loud noise was the mirror fastened to the wall—but that mirror was tightly secured, and even with great effort, he couldn’t pull it down.
Moreover, if it were the mirror that fell, it would typically be accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.
He stepped closer, gripping a peculiar doorknob situated beside the hinge and slowly turned it.
“Don’t open it yet,” Aileen whispered, spreading her arms wide.
Dark threads resembling spider silk extended from her fingers, slithering through the crack under the door, inching their way into the room. “Let me sense the situation first.”
Next to her, Huli quickly removed one of her furry ears, placing it against the door like a stethoscope, carefully listening with a serious expression.
Seeing this, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but mutter, “Can you two act normal?”
“I’m perfectly normal!” Aileen shot back in her mind. “It’s this silly fox that’s not normal.”
“Benefactor,” Huli broke the silence softly, replacing her ear back on her head. “There’s no movement inside.” “I also didn’t feel any abnormal energy,” Aileen added, retracting her black thread. “Let’s open the door and have a look.”
Nodding, Yu Sheng cautiously pushed the door open a crack.
He realized this seemed a bit overboard, considering they were merely at home.
Yet, because of a little noise from upstairs, the three of them acted like they were facing a fierce enemy.
It was indeed rather strange, but he understood that this caution came from a lack of options.
After all, No. 66 Wutong Road was not ordinary, and this room at the end of the second-floor hallway had always felt off.
As the door swung open, a wave of chilling air rushed at them.
Yu Sheng shivered as that eerie cold enveloped him, instantly raising his guard.
Why was there such a cold breeze coming from the room? It felt as if it was drawn from the icy winds of a snowy mountain!
However, once the door fully opened, he found that the room… looked just like any ordinary room.
A simple bed, a table and chairs, a mirror hanging on the wall, an old floor, peeling wallpaper with faded corners, and simple curtains.
The situation inside remained unchanged; there were no invaders spilling from another world, nor any huge rifts leading to another realm.
Yet Yu Sheng did not lower his guard, remaining cautious as he surveyed the area while stepping into the room.
Aileen followed, curiously observing what was theoretically “her room.”
Suddenly, the puppet noticed something. “Hey! Yu Sheng, look by the wall close to the door!”
Yu Sheng quickly turned to follow Aileen’s pointing finger.
He saw small white piles along the baseboards on both sides of the door, with patches of water markings gradually dissipating on the floor.
“... Is that snow?” Yu Sheng approached to take a closer look, incredulously realizing those white mounds were indeed snow, and due to the heat in the room, it was quickly melting into water marks.
Aileen looked dumbfounded. “... Is it snowing inside the house? How bizarre!”
“From the shape of the snow, it looks like it was blown against the wall and gradually piled up,” Yu Sheng furrowed his brow, carefully observing the still melting patches stuck to the wall, feeling increasingly perplexed.
Huli knelt nearby, pressing her nose against the wall, sniffing intently.
“The scent of a living creature,” the fox-girl said seriously. “This snow comes from a place with life.”
Aileen was taken aback. “You can smell that?!”
Huli beamed with pride. “Foxes have great noses.”
“This is way better than a dog’s nose…” Aileen couldn’t help but marvel.
Just then, a flicker caught Yu Sheng’s peripheral vision.
He stepped over to a table nearby and bent down to pick up a small, dark metal object the size of a palm from the floor below.
It was an oddly shaped metal piece whose purpose was unclear.
It looked like it was designed to connect multiple pipes and valves.
It had several threaded openings and was hollow inside, feeling light yet sturdy in his hands.
Aileen approached him, surprised as she spotted the strange apparatus he was holding. “Um… I guess that thing shouldn’t have been here in this room, right?”
“Of course not,” Yu Sheng shook his head. “Just like it can’t snow inside this room, this couldn’t possibly be… something that looks like a strange part detached from some machine.”
As he spoke, he cautiously approached the mirror facing the door.
In the mirror's reflection appeared the scene of the room.
Yet, suddenly Yu Sheng frowned.
In the depths of what appeared to be an ordinary room’s reflection, another image seemed to overlap within the mirror—one that looked like a cave, not very large, with heavy snow falling outside its entrance.
(End of Chapter)