Chapter 17 Playing Basketball
Rustle, rustle…
The cold night wind blew through the treetops of the trees on both sides of the road, making their branches and leaves rustle.
A female university student was riding an electric scooter, slowly heading this way.
An Qinglian, a senior university student, was currently doing a small clerk internship at a company.
As a clerk, especially in a small company, overtime was the norm. Moreover, it was the end of the month, and she was extremely busy.
At this moment, the female university student felt a chill down her spine. She looked around at the desolate and lonely environment.
The nearly dilapidated streetlights on both sides of the road flickered, and she was the only one driving on the road. The sides of the road were lined with closed doors.
Most of these doors were plastered with the words “Shop for Rent”.
“So cold…”
An Qinglian usually took the main road, but today she forgot to charge her electric scooter, so she opened her phone’s navigation to see if there was a shortcut.
As a result, she discovered this small path that could directly lead her back to her rental apartment.
It was very close, but after entering the small path, she realized something was slightly off.
Although it was adjacent to the prosperous Jiangquan City, Guiping District was not a very wealthy place, and rumors of hauntings were often heard here.
Especially concerning the recent strange disappearance case, even she, who normally worked overtime until late, had heard of it.
What’s more, when she passed by here with her colleagues during the day, her colleagues had mentioned that this small path was haunted.
While most people might dismiss such talk, An Qinglian was different. She came from the countryside, so she still held a sense of awe towards such rumors…
“Low battery… low battery…”
“No way?”
An Qinglian’s eyes widened, a little disbelieving.
Although the electric scooter was bought second-hand, she had actually replaced the battery. It shouldn’t have run out of power so quickly.
How could it be out of power after not traveling for long at all?
The electric scooter stopped. It was unclear if it was the cool night breeze or the strong air conditioning from the office when she left.
An Qinglian now felt that all her limbs were ice-cold, and even the back of her neck felt chilly.
An Qinglian got off the scooter and started pushing it forward.
Even more bizarrely, she felt like something was watching her from the darkness.
This made her turn her head to look behind her from time to time, only to find nothing behind her.
“I should have known not to take this road.”
An Qinglian tightened the clothes around her, feeling that the stockings on her legs were still too thin.
It was very cold, very cold.
“Who’s there?”
An Qinglian turned back and spoke to the road illuminated by the dim yellow lights.
“Come out, I see you.”
However, there was nothing, not even a sound.
“What is it…” An Qinglian chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Scaring myself.”
But before she could take two steps forward, she saw a luxurious new house. The lights on the third floor of the house were out, but the lights on the fourth, first, and second floors were all on.
This made An Qinglian instinctively take two steps back.
She clearly remembered what her colleague had said.
Someone had died in that house, so no one lived there.
But what was with all the lights on now?!
It was already two o’clock in the morning, and people who should be sleeping were already asleep.
Even if they weren’t sleeping, they would at most have the bedroom light on.
However, not only the bedroom but also the living room, restroom, and kitchen lights were on in this house.
At the same time, a rich aroma of meat wafted through the air.
The smell was very fragrant, like beef, and also like pork. An Qinglian couldn’t quite pinpoint what kind of meat it was.
However, the smell made An Qinglian’s stomach involuntarily rumble.
“Let’s eat dumplings…”
An elderly person’s cheerful call could be heard from inside the house.
Eating dumplings at two in the morning?
An Qinglian’s scalp tingled. Then she thought of bypassing this strange house.
Thump… thump… thump…
But as she pushed her scooter away from the house, she heard a sound like someone dribbling a basketball.
The sound was very close. An Qinglian looked around and quickly found the source of the sound.
It was a little girl, under a tree, dribbling a ball.
An Qinglian immediately became alert.
At two in the morning, on an empty street, how could there be a child playing with a ball under a tree?
When things are out of the ordinary, there is bound to be a ghost. An Qinglian tried to bypass her.
But the girl had already noticed An Qinglian.
She hopped and skipped in front of An Qinglian.
The girl was wearing a very simple dress and had a sunny, cute smile on her face.
An Qinglian saw that she was holding a basketball.
It wasn’t an adult-sized basketball, but a size 5 ball for toddlers.
Compared to an adult basketball, this size 5 ball was a whole size smaller.
The basketball was red. The girl, holding the slightly dirty basketball, smiled and said to An Qinglian.
“Sister, let’s play basketball together.”
Although the little girl’s smile was so cute, An Qinglian’s heart could barely take it. She held her chest, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.
For some reason, she felt that the size of the basketball in the girl’s hand… was about the size of a human head.
“Sorry, I don’t play basketball.”
An Qinglian didn’t even dare to push her scooter anymore. She just turned and ran.
The further she ran, the more panicked she became, as if what was behind her wasn’t an innocent girl, but some terrifying fierce ghost.
As she ran in a panic, An Qinglian finally got away from that strange house and the girl dribbling the basketball.
However, walking alone in the shadows was still a bit unnerving. An Qinglian kept looking behind her.
No one was behind her, yet it felt like someone was watching her.
An Qinglian instinctively clenched her fists.
Could it be… that the girl was following her?
On the dark sidewalk, only An Qinglian’s hurried footsteps could be heard. The branches and leaves of the trees on both sides of the road were very dense, almost completely blocking out the moonlight.
Therefore, it was very dark here, making it inexplicably eerie.
And even though An Qinglian kept looking back, she found nothing.
Could it really be her imagination?
Fortunately, although she was terrified all the way, nothing bad happened.
This was indeed a shortcut, not far from her rental apartment.
An Qinglian only ran for five minutes before returning to her rental apartment.
It was a small homestay building, and An Qinglian lived on the first floor.
“Hoo…”
After entering the room and locking the door, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she turned on the light in her rental apartment and saw a line-up of… basketballs.
An Qinglian’s expression was a little stiff, but she quickly came to her senses. Her roommate was on the school’s basketball team and often brought basketballs back.
“Yu Xiaolu, are you there?”
Although her roommate was on the school team, her name sounded very childish. Many people, upon hearing this name, would probably first think, “Where did this elementary school student come from?”
However, in reality, Yu Xiaolu was a very mature, older-sister type.
“I’m here?” A voice came from inside the room. A tanned older sister poked her head out and asked An Qinglian, “Why are you back so late?”
“You’re still awake, why aren’t you asleep?”
Seeing a living person, An Qinglian’s anxiety completely subsided.
Then she noticed that Yu Xiaolu was holding a red toddler size 5 ball in her hand.
“Lu Lu Jie… what’s that in your hand?”
An Qinglian’s body stiffened slightly. Even when she pointed her finger at the basketball, it was like a machine without lubrication.
“Oh? This?”
Yu Xiaolu thought for a moment and then said, “I found it at the doorstep. I don’t know who left it there. I figured I’d try it out. Also, I’ll be starting a toddler basketball training class in a few days, so I’m testing the feel of the ball.”
“…”
An Qinglian’s face was a little stiff, and she said with difficulty.
“This ball of unknown origin, perhaps it’s better to put it back.”
“That’s true.”
Yu Xiaolu opened the door and threw the basketball back outside.
Seeing the ball being thrown out, An Qinglian breathed a sigh of relief. She dragged her tired body and lay down on the bed.
The journey this time, coupled with a whole day of work, made her feel very tired.
She was so tired that she could fall asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
Thump… thump… thump…
In a daze, An Qinglian, who hadn’t yet fallen asleep, seemed to hear a sound.
The sound was very close and had an echo.
Was someone dribbling a basketball in the room?
An Qinglian opened her eyes. She nervously looked around, and then she saw Yu Xiaolu dribbling a basketball in the room.
Moreover, her dribbling technique was very clumsy, like a beginner who hadn’t received basketball training.
As An Qinglian looked on in confusion, the basketball was dribbled away by Yu Xiaolu.
The elastic basketball uncontrollably flew towards An Qinglian. As the basketball rolled over, An Qinglian looked closely at herself. This wasn’t a basketball at all!
This was clearly a woman’s head!
This stranger’s head seemed to have come alive, staring at An Qinglian with resentful and terrifying eyes.
At this moment, An Qinglian’s scalp tingled, and an icy chill swept through her entire body. Her head buzzed, and she was completely unable to think.
She trembled and stepped back, then hit the edge of the bed and sat down.
And An Qinglian realized at this moment that the one dribbling the ball earlier wasn’t Yu Xiaolu at all… but the girl she had encountered under the tree!
She was wearing a dirty dress with large patches of dark red bloodstains. Even more terrifyingly, when she turned around, An Qinglian saw that the girl’s flesh seemed to be rotting, her skin and flesh peeling off. Her eyes kept shedding bright red blood.
The girl still wore that very sunny and lively smile.
“Sister… why won’t you play with me?”
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
Amidst a terrified scream, An Qinglian suddenly woke up from her bed.
Her back and forehead were already soaked with sweat. The silvery moonlight made her face look incredibly pale.
An Qinglian turned her head and saw Yu Xiaolu on the bed, scrolling through her phone, looking at her with a slightly bewildered expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Looking at her roommate, the still startled An Qinglian said.
“N-nothing, I just had a nightmare.”
