569 Your Mom
The drunk Octopus leaned against the balcony railing and widened his eyes to look at the street. The woman in red suddenly disappeared. “Am I hallucinating?” Octopus stomped the cigarette out and returned to the living room. The music and the praises made him feel better. “Come, drink!” “Leader, I’ve bought a bottle of red wine for you.” A member took out the bottle from a gift box. The bottle was pricey, judging from the box alone.
“Xiao Wang, thank you. We’ll finish yours first, and then we’ll open the others.” Octopus looked at the red wine, and he was reminded of the woman in red. He was irked, and he turned to alcohol. He gulped down the wine endlessly. This continued for an hour. Some of the female employees had to use the bathroom. “I’ll keep watch over Xiao Ling. The rest of you, drink!” Octopus swayed towards the bathroom. He pushed open the door and saw his subordinate on the toilet. Xiao Ling just vomited, and she couldn’t even stand.
“I’ve been telling you all to know your limits. You should go rest.” When Octopus picked up the woman and their bodies touched, for some reason, Octopus saw Zhao Qian’s face. Since Zhao Qian was his boss, he didn’t dare to even fart too loudly before her. He was berated by her earlier. The more he thought about it, the more incensed he became. He removed Xiao Ling’s shoes and placed her on the bed.
Octopus sat down beside the bed. His hands slowly reached forward, but at that moment, his phone rang. Octopus immediately jumped up like a thief. Octopus looked at his phone. The caller was Zhao Liu. He was one of the people who worked overtime the day before. He was not at the party.
“This kid’s timing can’t be worse.” Octopus accepted the call. “What do you want?”
“Unit 13, Floor 14…”
“What?”
“Unit 13, Floor 14…”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Unit 13, Floor 14…”
Octopus was too drunk to make sense of anything. He had to listen twice before realizing the voice didn’t sound like Zhao Liu. It was emotionless. Octopus hung up. He glanced at Xiao Ling and left the bedroom. He closed the door.
“Leader, we still need to work tomorrow. We can’t drink anymore.” Xiao Wang was an astute person. He saw Octopus drag Xiao Ling into the bedroom earlier. “Indeed, we’ve already imposed too much on Leader.” His subordinates helped each other up from the floor. One of the newer members, a fatty with glasses, looked around with his red face. “Where’s Sister Ling? Is she still in the toilet? I’ll go get her.”
“Ah Ling has already gone home.” Xiao Wang said. He picked up the fatty and forced him to drink some more. “We should go. It’s almost midnight.” Octopus’ subordinates staggered to the door and bade Octopus farewell. Octopus didn’t walk them out. He only told them to be careful and then closed the door. Octopus didn’t hurry to leave. He stayed at the door to listen to his subordinates’ footsteps.
“This corridor is so dark! There are not even lights.”
“Huh? But the place had lights when we came. Perhaps it’s solar-powered.”
“Strange. Why is the elevator stuck on this floor? Is it broken?”
“And they’re calling this place a top-class neighborhood? We’ll take the stairs then.”
After his subordinates left, Octopus removed the top button of his shirt. Perhaps it was the alcohol or something else. He felt very hot. “When I take Zhao Qian’s place, my position will be empty. Xiao Wang is the best candidate to take over, but I can give Xiao Ling a chance.” Octopus sounded like he was convincing himself. He took the bottle of red wine to the bedroom. He couldn’t wait any longer. He pushed open the door. Octopus stood there. He was both excited and afraid.
“Xiao Ling, can you hear me?” Octopus asked carefully. When Xiao Ling didn’t respond, he slowly moved to the bed. Octopus placed the red wine on the table and knelt on one knee. He was about to touch Xiao Ling when his phone rang again. Octopus’ heart skipped a beat. He looked at his phone. It was Zhao Liu again. “I’ll have to punish him when I get to the company tomorrow!”
Octopus hung up without answering, but the calls kept coming. After hanging up many times, Octopus received messages from Zhao Liu. They all said the same thing, “Unit 13, Floor 14…”
“What is he doing?” Octopus switched off his phone and tossed it aside. He got agitated. This was the happiest day of his life. He trampled on his nemesis. Theoretically speaking, he should be very happy, but he felt strangely anxious. Han Fei’s joking warnings flashed in his mind. They pierced into his heart. “The bastard was purposely trying to scare me!”
Octopus opened the red wine and downed it. He turned to study Xiao Ling’s fair skin.
“Time to feast!” Octopus removed his shirt. Before he could do anything, his phone rang again. “Fuck! Is he mad?” Octopus picked up the phone and answered the call. He hissed, “Zhao Liu, what the fuck is wrong with you?” However, Zhao Liu didn’t reply. Soon, Octopus realized something. He had already switched off his phone, so how did the call come in?
His muddled mind cleared slightly. Octopus looked at his phone, and a woman’s voice came from the speaker. “Unit 13, Floor 14, No. 174.”
Octopus dropped the phone from fear. He was reminded of the woman in red he saw earlier. “What is going on? The thing is onto me?” Octopus shivered. “Isn’t this place No. 174? But I just moved here!”
Octopus didn’t even wake up Xiao Ling. He put on his shirt and ran out. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he was, “No wonder Fu Yi was so kind to sell me this place!” Octopus raced barefooted to the living room. Octopus grabbed the front door when he heard footsteps. They were coming closer to him. ‘The woman in red is coming over?’
As he hesitated, the footsteps disappeared. Octopus looked through the peephole. A woman in red was standing right outside his door with her head lowered!
Octopus sucked in a cold breath and staggered backward. ‘She is here! Her target is this room!’ Octopus wanted to kill Fu Yi.
The smell of decay spread in the air, blood seeped through the door. Octopus looked for his phone to call the police. He realized he had dropped his phone inside the bedroom. Octopus turned around and saw the previously sleeping Xiao Ling standing at the bedroom door. Her skin was pale, and she stood on tip-toe. Her joints were bent, and her black hair covered her face.
“Xiao Ling? Cao Lingling?” Octopus’ voice trembled. At that moment, someone shook the doorknob like they were trying to get in.
Octopus knelt to the ground. “I haven’t done anything. You got the wrong person! You really got the wrong person!” Octopus rambled and cried. He screamed for help. He took over Fu Yi’s Immortal, Fu Yi’s resources, Fu Yi’s post, and Fu Yi’s house. He was so happy, but now he realized he had also taken over Fu Yi’s tragedy.
With a slow creak, the door opened. Octopus didn’t dare to turn back. He had no energy left. He cried and pleaded for mercy. Footsteps walked through the blood. Red handprints appeared all over the room. Every spot with good memories was scratched off by the bloody hands.
As the strange sounds died away, Octopus silently opened his eyes. A drop of blood fell on his nose. He looked up, and a woman’s face was there. Before he could scream, the blood on the ground grabbed him like a rope and dragged him out of the room.
“Fu Yi! I…” Before he could finish, Octopus disappeared into the darkness. Cao Lingling fell to the ground. The woman walked past her. She stopped in the living room and then came to Fu Sheng’s room on the second floor. The head lifted to expose a skull with stretched skin. She was very beautiful once, but she got sick.
A bloody handprint appeared at the corner, and then it was followed by many more. The handprints layered over each other until the glass windows shattered! The woman who stood in the middle of Fu Sheng’s room slowly turned around to look down a specific direction.
…
At midnight, Han Fei stood in the middle of the narrow bedroom. He was finding a place to lay down his mattress; his wife was in bed looking at him with a sad smile. “This room is small, why don’t you…” “Then I should sleep in the living room. The air there is better.” Han Fei grabbed his mattress and walked to the sofa. He was adjusting his ‘bed’ when he heard weeping from Fu Sheng’s room. “What’s that?” Han Fei slowly approached. After some hesitation, he knocked on the door. “Fu Sheng, are you still up?”
“Yes.” The bedroom door opened. Fu Sheng appeared at the door. His expression was normal, but his eyes were red.
“What’s wrong?”
“I kept hearing mother calling my name recently. She told me to stay away from you.” Fu Sheng looked at Han Fei. “Can you tell me honestly if you have to do with mother’s death?”
“No.” Han Fei confirmed. Fu Sheng stared at him and sighed in relief. “Good.”
Fu Sheng closed the door. Han Fei stood alone in the living room. ‘No matter how scummy Fu Yi is, he wouldn’t have killed his wife, would he? I didn’t find any such hints when I did the Manager Mission, so this should be a misunderstanding.’
Han Fei could use Fu Yee and Fu Tian’s ability after Han Fei acquired the Father title. However, he couldn’t use Fu Sheng’s ability yet. This meant that he hadn’t gained Fu Sheng’s absolute trust. ‘Fu Sheng will trust me if I solve this misunderstanding.’
Han Fei returned to the sofa. When he was about to lay down, his phone vibrated. He glanced at his phone and realized the caller was Han Fei. ‘This thing is still alive?’ Han Fei glanced at the clock. He had a feeling the caller probably wasn’t Octopus anymore. Han Fei opened his laptop. He played his song on a loop and answered the call. “Hello?”
A woman’s voice came through. She sounded like she was both laughing and crying.
“Octopus bought my house. The fact that you’re there means that your real target should be my family and me.” Han Fei’s voice was stable. He sounded like he was talking to an old friend. “There are many people who want to kill me. However, there is only one woman who is dead and who still has such an intense obsession with this family… Fu Sheng’s biological mother.”
Han Fei poured a glass of water. He lay on the sofa. “Can we talk? Actually, I wish to meet you.”
The laughter and cries turned shrill. The woman’s heart was enveloped by hatred. She couldn’t communicate with the outside world.
“If you don’t want to talk to me, how about Fu Sheng? He was crying because he missed you.” Han Fei took the phone to Fu Sheng’s bedroom. He knocked on the door. Fu Sheng’s voice came through, “Yes?”
“Someone very important to us is looking for you.” Han Fei didn’t hang up. After Fu Sheng opened the door, he passed the phone over.
“Looking for me?” Fu Sheng accepted the phone. He hadn’t said anything, but the call ended. The confused Fu Sheng looked at the phone. He was even more baffled when he saw the caller was Octopus.
“Is this person important to us?” Fu Sheng passed the phone back. “I know you’re under a lot of pressure, but please don’t do these strange things again.”
