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墨書 Inktalez
This was the first time someone treated her like a child. In the past, Tong Le didn’t understand what it meant to be cherished, but now she did. That sticky, uncomfortable feeling that made her skin crawl was what it meant to be cherished. At first, she wasn’t used to it, but once she truly accepted it, she understood why women enjoyed being pampered.
Perhaps true pampering wasn’t simply about being unconditionally loved and treated well. It was a sense of ease that came when both parties understood each other well enough to let their guard down, treating one another as if they were each other.
For the first time, Tong Le felt her childish side in her emotions. She could let her guard down in front of Zong Zeyu; it was okay for her to act foolishly because his feelings for her came without conditions.
Tong Le got into Zong Zeyu’s car, sitting in the passenger seat while eating a custard bun. As Zong Zeyu drove, he occasionally glanced over at Tong Le, who looked content as she finished her snack. He smiled to himself, feeling inexplicably happy.
When they arrived at Mountain Water Villa, Tong Le met Xiao Wu from the Real Estate Agency. Xiao Wu led Tong Le and Zong Zeyu upstairs and opened the door. At that moment, a wave of familiarity washed over Tong Le.
The familiarity stemmed from the fact that this had once been the home where her parents lived for three months. After graduating from university, she married He Jie and moved into her parents' old house while they moved into this new house. However, just three months after moving in, her parents fell ill with a mysterious disease and were hospitalized for long-term treatment due to the severity of their condition. Since then, the new house had remained vacant for two years. Eventually, due to financial issues with Tongshan Real Estate and considering her parents' health situation, they had no choice but to sell the house.
Now, as Tong Le looked around the house's layout, she noticed that the furniture and appliances had been replaced by the new owners, but the renovations hadn’t changed much; there was still a sense of familiarity.
After circling around the house, Xiao Wu explained, “Miss Tong, you must know more about this house than I do since you were its original owner. I spoke with the current owner yesterday; he said if you were interested in buying this house, he could lower the price by five hundred thousand. He wants to sell it quickly because his parents are no longer alive, and this house holds too many memories for him that he can’t face. Plus, he urgently needs money; he runs an e-commerce company that is currently facing financial difficulties.”
Tong Le took a deep breath. She didn’t have the money to buy this house right now, but she felt there was something magical about it—something that had caused two pairs of elderly people to fall ill and pass away. She didn’t want to delve into conspiracy theories about the house itself, but deep down, she had a premonition that she couldn’t quite articulate.
Zong Zeyu turned to Xiao Wu and asked about what illness had taken the current owner’s parents.
Xiao Wu shook his head. “I’m not sure about that; all I know is it was a mysterious illness. Older people often have underlying health issues, and with all sorts of strange viruses going around recently—including COVID—many have passed away.”
He smiled and added, “So I think it’s unfair to blame this house for their deaths. Some say there’s something wrong with its feng shui; how could a perfectly good new house have three deaths in succession? But I don’t see any problem here—the large windows let in so much light; it faces south and has great airflow.”
Xiao Wu recalled that just last month he sold an apartment on the seventh floor of the building next door to a big boss whose company had just gone public! The boss even claimed that this house brought him good fortune!
Xiao Wu wanted Tong Le to understand that there was nothing wrong with the feng shui of this house and that the elderly people’s deaths were unrelated to it.
But Tong Le couldn’t shake off the feeling that her parents’ deaths and those of the elderly couple were somehow connected to this house.
Turning to Xiao Wu, she suggested, “Could you talk to the current owner about allowing me to have this house checked? Haven't they been saying lately that excessive formaldehyde can harm people? I want someone to take a look; if formaldehyde is causing these illnesses leading to death among the elderly, then that would make sense.”
Xiao Wu thought for a moment before agreeing. “Sure, go ahead with your testing; I don’t need to inform the owner about this since he doesn’t like taking my calls anyway. He told me before that I could handle everything regarding this property myself. As long as you find out what’s going on with the house, you’ll feel more at ease.”
At that moment, Xiao Wu’s phone rang, prompting him to step outside to take the call.
Tong Le stood in the middle of the living room, reminiscing about her parents’ brief time living here.
Staring out at the window lost in thought, she often wondered if her life would have been better if her parents hadn’t died. At least having her mother around would have given her advice and confidence to leave Ke Jie without fear and start anew.
Yet at times like these, she also felt regretful and guilty; if she hadn’t brought Ke Jie into their home—this scoundrel—then Tongshan Real Estate wouldn’t have faced so many difficulties, and perhaps her mother wouldn’t have fallen ill and passed away.
She had once been tormented by these thoughts during those three days when her mother lay in bed; she tried countless ways to save her parents’ lives. She tried every method available—even consulting masters who performed rituals—hoping for a miracle when scientific methods failed her; all she could do was place her hopes on spiritual means.
She still remembered the words of the Master. He had said that her mother's fate was sealed, that their destinies ended here, irretrievable and unchangeable. The Master had also mentioned that Ke Jie was the one who had harmed her mother.
Tong Le had received over a decade of scientific education, and she found it hard to comprehend the Master's words. However, later on, she began to feel that the Master might have been right; if it weren't for Ke Jie, perhaps all this misfortune would never have happened. It was her fault; she had brought the evil spirit into their home.
As Tong Le was lost in thought, Zong Zeyu finished a phone call nearby.
Tong Le looked at Zong Zeyu and asked, "Are you busy? Should we leave now?"
Zong Zeyu waved his phone slightly, indicating he wasn't busy. "Not at all. I just contacted a few people for you—Xing Zhen, someone from the Testing Agency, a feng shui expert, and a friend from the police station—to come and check if there are any issues with this house."
Tong Le was taken aback. "Didn’t you just find out who they were?"
Zong Zeyu replied seriously, "If there are doubts, we should clarify everything at once. We need to see if this house is haunted or if there's something else going on."
He surveyed the layout of the house. "I also think the design here is quite good, but four people have died in succession—there's definitely something wrong."
Zong Zeyu concluded that they could rule out formaldehyde as an issue. "If your mother fell ill due to formaldehyde pollution, it might have been plausible back then since the house was new and it’s normal for formaldehyde not to dissipate completely. But the new owner bought this place two years later; by then, most of the formaldehyde would have already dissipated."
Tong Le asked nervously, "When will these people you contacted come?"
Zong Zeyu replied, "In the afternoon."
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