City A occasionally gets foggy at night, but Li Xiu has never seen such fog in her life here.
Gazing out through the building's luxurious floor-to-ceiling windows, Qiao Yang could only see wisps of white, flowing endlessly like a substance. Tentatively, he pulled at the glass door, only to find a narrow crack. He saw a layer of white smoke, like a living thing, slowly trickling in from the outside, swaying endlessly across the marble floor.
The mist touched my skin, bringing an indescribable chill.
Qiao Yang's hands trembled, and he immediately closed the door.
Everyone's expressions turned grim. After all they'd been through, none of them were foolish enough to dismiss this kind of night fog as normal. Qiao Yang pulled out his phone and dialed 911. Unsurprisingly, his phone was completely brick-like in his hand, with no signal at all.
"Teacher, what should we do next?"
The young man put his phone back into his pocket and asked, scratching his hair.
Teacher Xu was pondering, but something in his mind seemed to have heard Qiao Yang's question. The moment he finished speaking, a dull banging sound was heard from the safety escape not far behind them.
Several people turned their heads at the same time and saw the thick door of the emergency ladder shaking precariously.
No one dared to imagine what the scene was like behind the security door.
Teacher Xu took a deep breath.
"We definitely can't stay here. We need to get in the car first. I've set up some things in the car to keep out any evildoers."
The older man said in a deep voice.
Fortunately, when he arrived, he parked his car directly at the door of the building. Now he only needs to rush down the long stairs to get in the car.
"Even if there really is a ghost covering my eyes, I can still feel it with my eyes closed at such a short distance."
Teacher Xu said this, then took out his car key and pressed it. The next second, a clear electronic sound echoed from the white fog, and the car's fog lights could be vaguely seen turning on.
Indeed, the car wasn't far away. Realizing this, everyone breathed a faint sigh of relief. After confirming the location, Teacher Xu asked everyone to hold hands. Then he pushed open the door and led the others toward the car in the fog.
The first few steps all went fine.
However, the next moment, a thick and cold mist, like a wet hand reaching out from the darkness, suddenly stuck to Li Xiu's face.
Li Xiu never imagined that the fog could be so thick. The strong dampness caught him off guard and he felt like he was drowning, with his mouth and nose filled with cold liquid.
He started coughing uncontrollably.
When he suppressed the tightness in his chest and held back his cough, and came back to his senses, he found that his hands were already empty.
Qiao Yang and Fang Qian, who were supposed to be holding his hand, were nowhere to be seen.
All that surrounded him was fog.
Endless fog.
It was as if a cold finger gently stirred in his stomach. After realizing that he was alone, Li Xiu's breathing stopped instantly, and he was so nervous that he wanted to retch.
"Teacher Xu? Fang Qianan? Qiao Yang?"
Li Xiu whispered in horror.
"Fuck, over here, Li Xiu! Come over here!"
Fortunately, as soon as he shouted, he heard a clear call from not far away.
As if to give him directions, the left front headlight lit up again.
Li Xiu didn't dare to delay and ran hurriedly in that direction.
"Teacher Xu! I——"
After only two steps, the yellow halo was already within reach.
However, Li Xiu suddenly stopped.
Cold sweat soaked the boy's back, and he looked in the direction of the light in disbelief.
That wasn't Mr. Xu's old Honda at all, but...
A skinny old man standing stiffly with a flashlight in his hand.
That's grandma.
Grandma held up the flashlight, and the yellow beam of light shone directly at Li Xiu.
Li Xiu's heart started beating wildly. He didn't even dare to blink and could only stare blankly at the familiar face.
He could clearly feel that his face was wet, but he could no longer tell whether it was the mist or he was crying cowardly and incompetently again.
"Grandma." Li Xiu choked up and cried, "Please stop scaring me."
"…I'm so scared."
In such thick fog, grandma's figure was unusually clear, completely different from the ugly and deformed zombie he had seen not long ago. The current grandma was more like the old man in Li Xiuji's novel.
In fact, she was a little younger than Li Xiu's grandmother when she last saw her alive.
Li Xiu remembers it very clearly. At that time, they had just moved to the urban village.
For young children, the intricate alleys in the urban villages are incredibly long, with no street lights or signs, and they can easily get lost if they are not careful.
Moreover, it happened to be winter when he moved there, and if he delayed for a moment, it would be dark.
If Li Xiu took even a wrong step, he would be greeted by terrifying darkness.
The worst part was that he and his grandmother were newcomers. Furthermore, Li Xiu's foot defect was so obvious. In the urban village, children lacking parental guidance would deliberately tease Li Xiu, sometimes even letting their own dogs chase her, just to see her crying and falling down while running.
After that incident, Li Xiu returned home with a high fever.
On the first day back to school after recovering from a serious illness, Li Xiu was fine during the day, but when he was about to go home after school, he felt that his feet were so heavy that he couldn't take a step.
Just when he was extremely frightened, thinking that he would have to walk through the long alley alone again, he saw an old figure at the entrance of the alley, and it was his grandmother.
In the winter twilight that fell prematurely, the old man, who was hardly amiable on ordinary days, was trembling with a flashlight, standing at the entrance of the alley, silently waiting for Li Xiu to return from school in the cold wind.
When she saw Li Xiu, she did not show her kindness like other old people. She just nodded slightly and gestured for Li Xiu to follow her.
Grandma was always so taciturn in front of Li Xiu. Apart from urging Li Xiu to take food to her brother, she rarely communicated with Li Xiu.
However, at that moment, Li Xiu clearly felt her grandmother's silent love.
Just like that, after picking up and dropping off Li Xiu for a semester, the young child finally adapted to the ways of the urban village.
Moreover, the dog that had chased and bit him was dead, and for some reason, those evil children in the urban village also moved out of that area one by one.
Li Xiu was no longer afraid to go home alone, and his grandmother no longer picked him up or dropped him off.
…
But now, Li Xiu once again saw the old man holding an old-fashioned flashlight, quietly waiting at the entrance of the alley to take him home.
"A Xiu..."
Li Xiu heard her grandmother mumbling to herself.
The old man's face was still pale, but his expression was full of sadness.
"Don't be afraid, grandma doesn't want this..."
"How could grandma hurt you?"
As she spoke, grandma staggered forward a step.
Li Xiu subconsciously stepped back, and her voice became more tearful.
"Don't come over here!"
Li Xiu shouted, but her voice sounded extremely weak.
He didn't expect that his grandmother actually stopped.
The old man looked at Li Xiu intently, tears streaming from his cloudy eyes.
"Grandma didn't mean to scare you. I just couldn't bear to leave you..." the old woman said sadly, "You were so young, and you had no parents. Grandma left like this, leaving you all alone in this world. How could I bear to do that... My Ah Xiu, you're so pitiful. Grandma really can't bear it!"
Li Xiu was breathing heavily.
Every whisper from his grandmother was like a knife stabbing his heart.
Yeah, what should I do?
Can I really live well when I am alone and by myself?
After hearing the news of her grandmother's death, this thought has been lingering deep in Li Xiu's mind.
"Come on, Ah Xiu, go with grandma. Grandma will protect you. It's better to have grandma around than for you to continue to stay alone in this world..."
Grandma raised her hand towards Li Xiu again, and for a moment, Li Xiu's body seemed to be out of control.
He involuntarily took a step towards his grandmother.
If I follow grandma, then I won't have to be alone anymore, right?
…
And in the next second, a huge force suddenly attacked Li Xiu from behind.
It was just like being hit by a bull. Before Li Xiu could react, he was directly picked up by the shoulder.
Li Xiu only had time to let out a quick scream.
"A Xiu, what are you doing stupid again! Look carefully, that's not your grandma at all!"
A familiar voice exploded in his ears, and Li Xiu gasped. He looked intently and realized that in the direction where his grandmother had been standing, there was a tall, thin, slender, and bright red "monster."
The figure had a familiar paper mask covering his head.
At this time, it still maintained the posture of raising its hands, and its dark eye sockets stared at Li Xiu empty, looking extremely weird.
"...Also, listen to the bullshit it's talking about. What does it mean to be a human being? You still have me, damn!"
Fang Qianan ran while carrying Li Xiu and cursing at her.
After a few steps, Li Xiu belatedly heard the rumbling sound of a car engine in the white fog.
Accompanied by a vague and rapid chanting of incantations, a breeze rose from somewhere and blew away the fog around Li Xiu and Fang Qianan.
The boy looked up again and realized that Teacher Xu's car was right next to them. Teacher Xu was already sitting in the driver's seat. The man rolled down the window and yelled at them anxiously, "Get in the car!"
Fang Qianan didn't waste any time. He opened the side door and threw Li Xiu in. Then he rushed into the car and slammed the door shut.
The moment the car door closed, the previously dispersed mist gathered again, as if possessing a life of its own, swirling around the outside of the car. As the air currents surged, blurry faces seemed to emerge from the mist, clinging to the car windows and peering at the occupants.
The author has something to say:
Who is knocking on your window?
Fang Gou gradually entered A Xiu's heart.
Brother: (Plan.jpg)