Chapter 582
The Vengeful Ghost Attacks the Door
Through the states of "never forgetting the past" and "happiness above all else," Han Zhou can guide the direction of nightmares to a certain extent. In fact, he can keep Wang Shen's family in a daze for a whole day.
Since it was revenge, he certainly wouldn't be satisfied with just giving the three of them a nightmare. Over the past two days, even when they were awake, they could still see their own nightmares from time to time, which was no different from seeing ghosts.
To understand the specific effects, just imagine the mental state of the protagonist in a horror movie.
Of course, in order to avoid actually driving the three of them to a mental breakdown, Han Zhou did not set up too terrifying dream content. The source of all this terror actually came from their own guilt - depending on the depth of their guilt, the "terror" they saw would be different for each person.
This is precisely the ideal effect that can be achieved by combining "not forgetting the past" and "happiness first".
Since he was already there, Han Zhou wanted to see if the actual effect met his expectations. If the states could form a stable and effective linkage, it would mean that he would have another way to use the status bar in the future.
He has always been a greedy person. Now that he has witnessed the beauty of the past and glimpsed a future without regrets, he will travel through time again to prevent the tragedy from happening, as long as there is a chance.
Traveling through time is obviously not easy. Even though the status bar has shown this ability, it is only a stripped-down "trial card". To truly return to the past, one would probably need to upgrade the status bar by at least three or four levels, which would undoubtedly require a huge amount of points.
Even if he did nothing but spend all his time around Mo Yixia and the others doing tasks and accumulating points, it would still take at least half a year. He certainly didn't lack time, but that was unrealistic.
Of course, if he can win over Guzheng and Mo Yixia within six months, achieve the "Iron Chain Link" and reach a happy ending for the four of them, then accumulating points will naturally be much easier.
But this is probably even more difficult than traveling through time.
In short, before the status bar can truly allow him to travel through time, if you don't want to just wait, you'll have to find another way, either get another "trial card" or try to break the current level limit of the status bar through multiple status linkages.
Han Zhou made this conjecture because he knew himself well; he lacked patience in such matters. Wang Lengqiu had said that she had received a call from "himself" four years ago, which meant that he would return to the past again in the future. And if nothing unexpected happened, that time should not be too far from now.
He believes that his future self will not simply upgrade the status bar, but will instead take other measures.
Although the outcome shows that no matter how many times his future self travels through time, the tragedy will still remain unchanged, Han Zhou still wants to try again.
Try it yourself.
His intuition told him that the "concentration" he had learned from Wang Lengqiu was not simple—the phrase "when you are focused on something, you will gain more or less time" always seemed to have a hidden meaning.
However, there was something he didn't understand about himself, namely what Wang Lengqiu said about him falling in love with Zhong Yin in the future.
What a joke, that's Sister Yin!
He admitted to being a womanizer, but surely not to this extent?
But if what Wang Lengqiu said is true, then wouldn't that mean...?
Han Zhou secretly glanced at the guzheng, which was still turned away and dared not look at itself. He thought to himself that the guzheng alone was already difficult to deal with, not to mention that there was a second hurdle for Yi Xia. If his future self really fell in love with Sister Yin and dared to say to them, "You are all my wings," he would probably be sent away by the wrench in the next second.
Thinking of this, he felt a headache coming on. He touched the hair tie hidden under his sleeve, his mood inexplicably complicated.
Is the past truly unchangeable?
If the past is destined to be unchangeable, doesn't that mean that when I travel to the past in the future, the fact that I will fall in love with Sister Yin is also predetermined and can never be changed?
These thoughts seemed to stretch on for a long time, but in reality, they only lasted a few seconds. By the time Han Zhou came to his senses, he was already standing in front of Wang Shen's family's door.
Only then did the burning sensation on Guzheng's cheeks finally subside. She looked over as if nothing had happened and asked in a low voice, "How are you going to prove that your sauce is successful? We can't exactly go inside to see, can we?"
"Look through the cat's eye."
Han Zhou said, "This family should have been asleep before we came up, but now they've even turned on the lights in the living room. Also, you must have heard the noisy footsteps upstairs just now."
"I did hear it..."
Gu Zheng, as if making conversation, said, "But that doesn't necessarily mean your sauce is successful, right? What if it's just a coincidence?"
Her mind was still filled with Han Zhou's words, "So soft." She thought to herself, "When did this guy become so indecent? Holding hands secretly is one thing, but he has to let everyone know..."
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at Han Zhou. Then she secretly observed Wang Lengqiu and Zhong Ling's expressions and noticed that Zhong Ling's face was very red. She was surprised and asked worriedly, "Senior, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
Hearing this, Zhong Ling blushed even more, hurriedly lowered her head, and stammered several times, unsure of how to answer.
What could she say? She couldn't very well say that it was because her junior had just secretly held her hand and said her hand was so soft, could she?
If you say it like that, not only will Guzheng get angry, but the junior student will also be very troubled...
Seeing this, Han Zhou quickly changed the subject: "How dare you talk about your senior like that? Your face is as red as an apple too!"
"You...you're the one who's like an apple!"
Gu Zheng retorted instinctively, "I was angry, okay!"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ling's expression froze. She thought that Gu Zheng had seen the two holding hands just now, which was why her face turned red with anger. She became even more flustered and panicked.
Gu Zheng looked worried and asked again, "Senior, are you really not running a fever?"
This was heartfelt concern, but to Zhong Ling at that moment, it sounded somewhat sarcastic.
Seeing Zhong Ling looking at a loss, Gu Zheng looked at Han Zhou suspiciously and asked, "Han Zhou, you didn't also give your senior some sauce, did you? What's wrong with her all of a sudden?"
Han Zhou's lips twitched. He thought to himself that even if he were out of his mind, he would never do such a thing to his senior. Just as he was about to explain, he suddenly had an idea and showed a look of surprise and uncertainty.
"Oh no, I think I might have accidentally cast a curse on my senior too."
"real or fake?"
Upon hearing this, Guzheng immediately became anxious, "How could you be so careless? What if my senior has nightmares tonight too?"
Zhong Ling was also taken aback for a moment.
Could it be... that I've really been bewitched by my junior?
Han Zhou was surprised that Gu Zheng would start believing in his black magic again at this time. He said with a serious expression, "Don't worry, since I can cast black magic, I can also undo it. Give me some time, and I'll help you undo it."
As he spoke, he brought his face close to Zhong Ling's ear and whispered, "Senior, don't be angry yet, let me explain later," trying to calm Zhong Ling down temporarily.
But Zhong Ling had just had her hand held by him, and thought that Gu Zheng was angry because of it. Her mind was already in a mess. When she saw him suddenly get so close and his warm breath brush against her face, she couldn't hear what he was saying. She was just shy and flustered, and she murmured "Mmm".
Han Zhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Zhong Ling is, in a sense, a typical example of someone who "eats bitter herbs but cannot speak out," and given her personality, she is unlikely to reveal her "lower body" behavior tonight, what he is worried about is not the impact of this incident, but Zhong Ling's own feelings.
He didn't want his senior to think he was actually being a pervert. And taking advantage of the time they would be alone later to "remove the curse," he could also try to ask about the accident that happened four years ago.
He composed himself and said calmly, "My senior said it's no problem."
Gu Zheng rolled her eyes at him but didn't say anything more. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly crouched down, put her face close to the door, and looked through the peephole into the room.
However, the next second, she suddenly let out a cry of surprise, instinctively swung her fist, smashed the cat's eye in front of her, then grabbed Han Zhou and turned to run away.
"Run!"
Through the shattered peephole, she saw a bloodshot eyeball pressed against the back of the door.
Let's rewind a little.
The hands of the wall clock in the living room were steadily pointing to 10 p.m. For most people, this time is still early, but for Wang Shen's family, who are used to going to bed early, this should have been the time when they were already asleep.
However, at that very moment, the doors to the master bedroom and the two secondary bedrooms were pulled open from the inside by a sudden force.
Wang Shen flung open the door abruptly. His face appeared unusually pale in the dim light of the living room. He was breathing rapidly, and even the hand holding the cigarette was trembling. He tried several times but failed to light it.
The sound of the baby crying, which had been receding in his dream, still echoed in his ears. At first, he felt guilty and uneasy, but now he only felt upset. The bedroom light was too dim, so dim that he could see his eldest daughter's distorted figure in the blink of an eye. He had to escape to the living room.
But as soon as he turned his head, he saw his wife, Lu Yaqin, appear at the door of the second bedroom almost at the same time. She was wearing a coat, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of the coat repeatedly, and there was still lingering fear in her eyes.
The eerie figure in her dream, which she kept pushing away with her coldness and whose hand was holding something she didn't know, weighed heavily on her heart, making her feel suffocated. She was so scared that she was eager to see her husband and daughter, to make sure they were safe and sound, and to confirm that she was safe and sound as well.
At the same time, Wang Yuchun rushed out of the bedroom, her face pale, and almost fell to the ground. She didn't even dare to look back, as if some kind of monster was following her.
At 10 p.m., a family of three unexpectedly met in the living room at a time when they shouldn't have been together.
Their eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
All three faces were etched with shock, and the panic in their eyes, along with the underlying unease and guilt, were clearly reflected in each other's gaze.
"Why are you all..."
Wang Shen paused for two seconds, then seemed to suddenly realize something, his expression gradually turned ugly, and he didn't ask any more questions.
Lu Yaqin glanced quickly at her husband, then looked at her daughter, forcing a somewhat stiff smile: "I... I suddenly felt a little thirsty, so I came out to get some water..."
She didn't dare tell anyone that she had that dream.
It's worth mentioning that although the couple lived under the same roof and had a good relationship, they slept in separate beds most of the time for a rather absurd reason—if there were any spare rooms in the house, their eldest daughter would have a reason to come and stay.
Wang Shen could tell from his wife's expression that she wasn't telling the truth. The fear that had been suppressed surged up again, and he tentatively asked, "Yu Chun, what about you... are you thirsty too?"
Wang Yuchun clenched her fists, her teeth chattering, but she nodded calmly, then shook her head: "No, I just suddenly can't sleep..."
After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally couldn't help but whisper, "...I dreamed about my sister."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell into a deathly silence.
Wang Shen and his wife exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief and undisguised fear in each other's eyes.
No one speaks.
The only sound in the living room was the faint ticking of the second hand of the wall clock.
Tick, tick.
Each sound seemed to strike a chord in one's own heart.
Just as the silence and the growing unease in their hearts were about to reach their peak, a soft rustling sound suddenly came from outside the door.
The voice was very low, but sometimes it would suddenly rise very high, like someone whispering outside the door, but also excitedly unable to contain themselves.
In short, it was indescribably eerie.
After all, while this time wasn't late, it was definitely not early either. Who would go to their doorstep to whisper?
All three of them froze simultaneously. Wang Yuchun quickly hid behind her father, clinging tightly to his arm, her face deathly pale.
"Sister, it must be you who's come looking for me..."
Clearly, she had a terrible dream, so much so that she would assume the slightest sound was her sister coming to seek revenge.
After hearing his daughter's words, Wang Shen's heart sank completely, and a trace of fear flashed across his stern face.
It was obvious that all three of them had nightmares tonight, and these nightmares were all related to their eldest daughter.
After a long silence, Lu Yaqin suddenly leaned closer, lowered her voice, and whispered in his ear, "Could it be... that Leng Qiu has already passed away, and this afternoon was her last visit to see us..."
Wang Shen was stunned, and then looked over in disbelief. He couldn't imagine what kind of nightmare could make his wife make such a guess.
Don't overthink it.
He wanted to curse, but in the end he only said this, his face grim: "I'll go take a look."
As he spoke, he picked up the fruit knife from the table, tiptoed to the door, held his breath, and peered through the peephole.
However, the next second, he saw a scene that was almost suffocating—
An eyeball that keeps moving is pressed against the cat's eye, peering inside.
"boom!"
Immediately afterwards, the peephole was smashed open with a punch, and the door shook as well.
It was like a vengeful ghost attacking the door. (End of Chapter)