CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 29: PAPERMAN_2

"That afternoon, the sky was very overcast. At that time, there was no exhibition center opposite Xu Family Village, it was still farmland. My grandma and grandpa were worried about the rain, so they, along with the villagers, went to the fields to collect the wheat that had been drying. Us kids were playing hide and seek in the village."

The screen shook as Xu Yichao walked from the dining room to the living room, sat on the sofa, and took an apple to munch on.

"Crunch! Smack smack~ To be honest, I was spoiled by my grandparents then, a bit unruly and disobedient, a typical brat. Because I was very competitive, I thought about hiding in a place where no one could find me, and ended up hiding in the ’Fushou Paper Shop’ in the village."

Xu Yichao raised an eyebrow proudly, flipping his hair. "See? I was brave like this even as a kid. Actually, I don’t know what came over me that day, I somehow ended up there. Seeing no one in the shop, and a newly glued big villa inside, I crawled into it."

Crunch~ Smack smack~

"I sat inside, listening to people searching everywhere outside, catching each other, but no one thought to look around the paper shop. I thought to myself, I was definitely gonna win and make all those kids call me the big brother."

"Maybe it was because the weather was cool, I fell asleep in that paper-made villa. When I woke up, guess what, holy—cow!"

Xu Yichao paused, deliberately leaving the story in suspense, then suddenly leaned his face close to the screen.

"When I opened my eyes, there was a ghostly face right in front of me. It nearly scared the pee out of me on the spot. Luckily, I’ve always been brave. Looking closely, it turned out to be a little girl squatting beside me, about my age, wearing a ghost mask like a Paperman on her face."

Xu Yichao paused again, recalling some unpleasant experience, his face turning serious, his tone becoming low.

"Before I could ask who that little girl was, she crawled out of the paper house, and I followed her out, only to find the sky completely dark, and the whole village was eerily quiet. There wasn’t even a dog barking. Looking at those wreaths and Papermen in the paper shop, my hair stood on end."

"I didn’t bother looking for that little girl, I just ran home like my life depended on it."

Xu Yichao swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his face growing increasingly grim.

"That day was truly strange, the whole village was shrouded in fog as I ran towards home, and I didn’t encounter anyone."

"My home isn’t far from the paper shop. I didn’t turn back, but I ran for a long time, and... phew... I ended up back at the paper shop entrance!"

Xu Yichao took a sip of water, "I was honestly scared to tears back then, thinking I was doomed, and then I suddenly heard my grandma calling my name. I ran towards where the voice was coming from."

"At that time, not only was there heavy fog on the road, but a chilly wind rose as well. It was pitch black, you couldn’t see the road. The wind carried men’s and women’s voices, imitating my grandma calling my original name, one after another, it was chilling, including my parents’ voices."

"I hadn’t seen my parents for over half a year at that time, being young, hearing their voices made me want to turn back, but before I could, bang!"

Xu Yichao suddenly slapped his thigh, the loud sound making Sang Que’s heart skip a beat.

"A hand reached out from the fog, directly pressing on my head, stopping me from turning around, then I saw Grandma Temple Guardian from our village, walking out of the fog holding a white lantern. Wherever the lantern’s light reached, the fog dispersed."

"Grandma Temple Guardian told me those weren’t my parents, and under no circumstances should I turn back. If I did, something horrible would happen, and I’d never be able to go home again. She told me to follow her and repeatedly warned me not to turn back no matter what I heard..."

"Xu Yichao!!"

A furious female voice suddenly came from the video, Xu Yichao jumped up with a howl, the screen shaking crazily, and the phone fell to the ground.

"After eating, you just plop there, don’t even clear the dishes. Have you finished your homework? Every day you’re either playing basketball or video games, can’t rely on you for anything, all grown up yet don’t even know how to help your grandma..."

The video stops, and Sang Que continues scrolling through the chat records.

[Gu Jialun]: Damn! It just ended like this, Xu Yichao you impotent fool, get out here and finish the story.

[Lu Hongjie]: Xu Yichao, come out (angry)

[Hu Wei]: Xu Yichao, come out (angry) +1

...

[Zhang Chaobin]: Xu Yichao, come out (angry) +25

[Xu Yichao]: (grinning) Just coaxed my mom. Actually, not much happened after that.

[Xu Yichao]: I followed Grandma Temple Guardian, and I don’t really remember what happened in between, just remember waking up in the hospital after passing out for a long time. That time was so wonderful, toys and delicious food, just had to whine a bit and I’d have them, my parents came to take care of me too.

[Gu Jialun]: Blind guess after getting discharged, welcomed a complete childhood (dog face)

[Xu Yichao]: (crying, covering face)

[Hu Wei]: Xu Yichao you’re cursed, I just joined in for fun and hit my head, you’re definitely cursed (crying)

[Xu Yichao]: (sigh)(sigh)(sigh)

[Xu Yichao]: (video)

Sang Que clicks the video, Xu Yichao is sitting in the bathroom.

"Actually, I forgot about all this later, until last year when my grandpa passed away. While going through his belongings, I found a piece of Yellow Paper with my birth date and name written on it. Seeing my original name, I started to remember bit by bit."

"Speaking of which, there’s a side note to this, I vaguely remember, when I was following Grandma Temple Guardian, almost home, I felt someone pull me."

"Then, I seemed to have turned my head!"

At this moment, in the video, behind Xu Yichao, half a Paperman face appeared.

Sang Que’s hand trembled, almost unable to hold the phone steady.

"...I don’t remember clearly, my memory goes blank when I instinctively turned back, but something must’ve happened afterward, forcing my grandpa to have Grandma Temple Guardian help me change my name."

"You could say, if it weren’t for Grandma Temple Guardian, I’d have met my end at a young age, explained there!"

Sang Que steadied the phone, moved the progress bar, and rewound.

"...Then, I seemed to have turned my head..."

The video freezes, the Paperman face is still there!

Pale, rough, with two glaring red spots on the face, it’s a little girl.

Sang Que’s face turned serious, quickly scrolling through the chat records, everyone joking around until the next person started telling their story.

No one noticed the half Paperman face that flashed past behind Xu Yichao.

Outside the bus, the sun shone brightly, yet Sang Que felt a deep chill, causing goosebumps to rise all over her skin.

She thought that leaving Black Mountain Village and returning to the present would distance her from those eerie things, allowing her to relax a bit.

But unexpectedly, not only were there unclean things at her home, even her classmates had them, where in this world is truly safe?