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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, sunlight streamed in through the crack in the curtains, illuminating the new home on the fifth floor.
Lin Xinhui, as the homemaker of the family, began the work of taking care of the new home.
She walked into the living room dragging a purple vacuum cleaner, her deep eyes scanning every corner carefully.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she suddenly noticed a faint crack in the corner of the living room, causing a slight worry to crease her forehead.
"Wife, do you see this crack here? Is it very obvious?" Lin Xinhui pointed to the crack and asked.
Chen Hanlin was assembling a bookshelf in the study. After a moment of contemplation, he responded, "It should be fine. Old houses always have some small issues. But I will still find time to fix it."
Afterwards, he tightened the screws with force, then stood up to admire his work, a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth. Lifting the assembled bookshelf, his eyes sparkled with pride as he called out, "Wife, come and take a look at this bookshelf."
Lin Xinhui turned her head, and a brief exchange of glances was enough for Chen Hanlin to understand that she was not interested in the bookshelf. "Continue tidying up, we still have a lot of things to do."
Lin Xinhui After cleaning the living room, she walked down the hallway to Xiao Mei's room. She had only been inside for a short time when she sensed a subtle and strange atmosphere, as if there were invisible eyes hidden in the room, making her feel slightly uneasy.
But this feeling quickly disappeared.
She thought to herself, "Maybe it's just the fatigue from moving that's making me overly sensitive."
Chen Hanlin just brought out hot coffee from the kitchen and was about to sit down with Lin Xinhui to enjoy the peaceful afternoon after moving.
Beside the rough but still tidy wooden dining table, Xiao Mei was drawing colorful doodles, exploring the new home while filled with curiosity about the unknown.
"Dad, where can I go to play with my friends?" Xiao Mei suddenly asked, holding a pink crayon, looking like a little artist contemplating her next masterpiece.
"Just wait a moment, Xiao Mei. Everyone might still be at work or school," Chen Hanlin responded, forcing a smile.
Just as this family was enjoying an ordinary afternoon, the doorbell suddenly rang. Liu Minhung, the security guard of the apartment, stood at the door holding a plastic box filled with envelopes and small packages.
"These are for the new residents, your mail and this week's community newsletter," Liu Minhung delivered in his habitual silence and tense expression.
"Thank you, Security Guard," Lin Xinhui attempted to give a friendly smile.
In the afternoon, Lin Xinhui decided to go to the first floor to find Liu Minhung, who is the security guard of this apartment building, to get a better understanding of the community's situation.
As she descended the stairs, she was greeted by a low-ceilinged lobby. Bright lights illuminated various green potted plants and old-fashioned tiles, some of which had faded colors, as if bearing witness to the building's years.
"Mr. Liu, hello, we just moved to the fifth floor." Lin Xinhui smiled and hugged her hands tightly in front of her.
Liu Minhung put down the newspaper he was reading, squinted his eyes to carefully look at her, and finally remembered, then slowly stood up. This action made Lin Xinhui a little uncomfortable. "Oh, you are the new neighbor. Welcome, welcome."
"May I ask if anything special has happened in this building before?"
Liu Minhung's eyes suddenly narrowed, he cleared his throat lightly, then smiled and said, "Oh, it's very peaceful here, you can rest assured." There seemed to be some avoidance in his tone.
Upon returning home, Lin Xinhui and Chen Hanlin had dinner and shared their experiences of the day. Xiao Mei sat nearby, coloring in her coloring book, occasionally joining in her parents' conversation.
"Today I chatted with security Liu and he said it's very peaceful here," Lin Xinhui chewed her food slowly, a look of concern flashing across her face.
"Peaceful is a good thing, why are you so worried?" Chen Hanlin put down his chopsticks and took a sip of water.
Lin Xinhui turned to look at Xiao Mei before saying, "I don't know, I just feel like something's not quite right."
"Maybe you're overthinking it," Chen Hanlin tried to comfort her.
At that moment, Lin Xinhui's phone rang. It was from Mrs. Yang on the fourth floor.
On the phone, she said she wanted to come over to do a simple self-introduction and also bring some fruits.
In no time, Mrs. Yang arrived, holding a basket of fresh fruits. She was dressed in a bright outfit and had an extremely delicate hairstyle.
"You've just moved in, I'm your downstairs neighbor, you can call me Mrs. Yang. Welcome here!" She introduced herself with a friendly but slightly artificial tone.
"We've met before, but I saw you were busy moving at that time, so I didn't want to bother you until now when I came to visit formally. These are for you as a welcome gift." Her smile was bright, but her eyes carried a hint of haze.
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Yang. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lin Xinhui, and this is my husband, Chen Hanlin, and our daughter, Xiao Mei," Lin Xinhui said with a smile as she accepted the fruit basket.
"No need to thank me. It's only natural for new neighbors to look out for each other," Mrs. Yang replied, glancing down at Xiao Mei, who was busy doodling.
"Wow, such a cute little girl!" Mrs. Yang bent down to smile at Xiao Mei, but her gaze momentarily swept over Lin Xinhui, as if assessing this new neighbor.
"Did you draw this? It's so beautiful!" She bent down to praise Xiao Mei, but she noticed that Xiao Mei's drawings were all strange shapes and blurry lines.
"Thank you, Auntie Yang," Xiao Mei looked up at Mrs. Yang and then lowered her head to continue drawing.
Looking at Mrs. Yang's back, Lin Xinhui suddenly felt that this apartment was filled with too much unknown and uncertainty. She glanced at her husband, Chen Hanlin, who seemed to feel the same.
Lin Xinhui stood up and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Yang. I wonder if you have time to come in and have a seat?"
"Ah, I still have some things to do today, so I won't disturb you." Mrs. Yang said as she subtly looked around the room. "By the way, the environment here is still quite good, but it's still wise to be careful about some things."
"Oh?" Lin Xinhui's heart tightened. "Are you saying...?"
Mrs. Yang suddenly put away her smile and said seriously, "There's an old man named Hsu CheJen on the third floor who might be a bit noisy. He often shouts at night. Everyone says he's a bit mentally unstable. But you don't have to worry too much, as long as you don't provoke him, it's usually fine."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Yang seemed to realize she had said too much and immediately changed the subject, saying, "Well, I have to go now. We can chat more next time."
Chen Hanlin and Lin Xinhui exchanged a smile, but their smiles were not very natural.
Shortly after, Mrs. Wang and Mr. Sun also came to visit.
Mrs. Wang is a middle-aged woman with short hair, wearing casual clothes, while Mr. Sun is an elegant old gentleman with silver hair, dressed in a suit. They live on the second floor.
"We are Mrs. Wang and Mr. Sun living on the second floor. Welcome to move in here!" said Mrs. Wang warmly.
Chen Hanlin and Lin Xinhui are curious about the friendly but distant introductions. These people seem friendly on the surface, but there always seems to be some underlying pressure, as if they are all secretly observing themselves.
"Do you feel something strange?" Chen Hanlin whispered to Lin Xinhui after making sure the neighbor had left.
"Yes, I feel it too. Especially with that Mrs. Yang, it feels like she's hiding something."
"Maybe everyone is just being cautious about the new neighbor. Perhaps there were some unpleasant incidents here in the past," Chen Hanlin tried to rationalize these strange feelings.
But what neither of them said out loud was the vague unease and sense of distance, as if it was not just a simple reservation towards the new neighbors.
Xiao Mei, at the same time, remained focused on her doodles, seemingly uninterested in the adults' conversation.
However, even in the world of painting, she felt something different. Her doodles were no longer bright colors of the sun and blue sea, but gradually turned into dark tones and irregular lines. Xiao Mei put down the brush, turned to look out the window, where the night seemed deeper than usual.
Lin Xinhui noticed her daughter's emotional changes, but didn't pay much attention, thinking that maybe she was just not adjusting well to the new environment due to the stress of moving.
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