Fang Xiu woke up once more, completely freaked out. The memories of his last terrible death were too much to handle.
It hurt big time.
"Ah! No! No! No!" he shouted, sounding as if he was losing his mind.
"Honey, breakfast's ready," his "wife" said, walking into the room with a sweet smile.
"I don't want it! I'm gonna get you!"
"You can see me!"
"I see you!"
He charged at his "wife" like a lamb going after a lion.
As expected, he met his demise again. It was a horrifying sight.
This marked the fourth time.
After some time, Fang Xiu managed to calm down. He decided to keep his eyes closed.
If not looking was too difficult, he'd just keep his eyes shut.
After dying over and over, he realized he wasn't as scared as before. It was as if he had grown braver with each return.
"Honey, it's time for breakfast," his "wife" said again.
Fang Xiu ignored her, pretending to still be asleep.
"Honey, are you still sleeping? The sun's up," she said, her voice close to his ear.
Fang Xiu could picture her, a beautiful and kind woman in a white nightgown, standing by his bed, looking at him with love.
Maybe she was resting her chin in her hand, tilting her head slightly, with a small frown gracing her lovely face.
"Honey, aren't you gonna eat breakfast?" she asked.
Fang Xiu remained still because he knew that 'breakfast' wasn't something for him to eat, but rather for him to be eaten.
He decided he wouldn't get out of bed, no matter what happened. He had endured one too many "good mornings" that ended in his demise.
His "wife" made a few more attempts, but Fang Xiu kept pretending to be asleep. Eventually, she gave up.
'Did she leave? Why didn't she make a sound when she left?'
Fang Xiu didn't dare open his eyes to check, deciding to wait instead.
The room was so quiet that Fang Xiu could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat.
Then it struck him—if his "wife" wanted to wake him up, she should've shaken him, not just talked to him. Why didn't she touch him?
Could it be that she couldn't touch him until she knew he could see her? But why?
'Don't let them know you can see them!'
Fang Xiu now grasped the true meaning behind the red writing.
With the rare quiet, Fang Xiu started to think.
What were they, really?
Who wrote the scary red writing on the ceiling?
Why did the words disappear when he saw it?
Why could he die and come back over and over?
He didn't have enough info to make sense of anything.
Attempting to piece together any clues, Fang Xiu tried to recall everything the previous occupant of his body knew.
An hour passed. It was the longest Fang Xiu had managed to stay alive. As time went on, he started to understand what kind of world he was in. It was a lot like his previous reality, with people leading normal lives in a modern city. The only difference was the abundance of Specter stories in this world. Though unproven and vague, their sheer number made him suspect that something was amiss.
'Is my "wife" one of these Specters?'
Fang Xiu was starting to feel like he should open his eyes, not because of impatience, but rather to avoid wetting the bed.__After all, when one woke up, nature called.
For an adult, wetting the bed was incredibly embarrassing, second only to pooping in public.
Since it had been quiet for a while, his "wife" might have already left.
But just to be safe, Fang Xiu chose to wait for another hour.
Finally, unable to hold it in anymore, he decided to get up, or his bladder might explode.
Fang Xiu was about to open his eyes, but he hesitated. As a big fan of horror movies, he dreaded the possibility of seeing a beautiful face staring right back at him once he opened his eyes.
After all, it happened all the time in horror movies.
By now, his bladder was at its limit. Fang Xiu cautiously cracked his eyes open just a bit, his thick eyelashes blurring his vision. He couldn't see anything clearly, but it was enough for him to see if anything was in front of him.
Nothing!
There was nothing in front of him. Through the gaps in his eyelashes, all he could see was the white ceiling.
Feeling a bit better, Fang Xiu gradually opened his eyes, being extra cautious.
'Phew!' He let out a sigh of relief.
The first step was a success. The worst-case scenario hadn't come to pass.
He then turned his head to see if his 'wife' was still by the bed. But there was nothing there. The side of the bed was empty.
Feeling braver, Fang Xiu slowly sat up. He even stretched and yawned, trying to act casual. Pretending to be easing his stiff neck, he squinted and looked around.
There was no one in the bedroom!
'Great! She's finally gone!'
But he still couldn't let his guard down. His 'wife' could be waiting outside. He would probably run into her if he stepped out to use the bathroom now.
Fang Xiu wasn't stupid. He had no intention of leaving his bedroom to use the bathroom. He had seen too many horror movies to know that it was always the ones who went out to use the bathroom, despite knowing the risks, who ended up dead.
He decided to relieve himself right there, in the bedroom's trash can.
While wetting the bed was entirely unacceptable, peeing in the trash can was the limit of what he could do.
Just as he was getting up and his feet barely touched the floor...
The eerily gentle voice of his "wife" echoed from behind him.
"Honey, are you awake?"
Fang Xiu felt a chill run down his spine, and his hair stood on end. He turned around almost reflexively. What he saw took his breath away and made his blood run cold.
On the pillow where he had just been lying was a pale, beautiful face!
The beautiful face smiled softly at him, eyes dripping with affection.
It was his "wife"!
She seemed to lack a physical form, emerging on the bed as if she was submerged in water. Only her face was visible; the rest of her body seemed to be under the bed.
"Holy crap!!!" Fang Xiu was shocked by this sudden, horrifying sight, practically jumping in terror.
He had been on high alert, deeply afraid of being startled by his "wife," but he never expected her to be lying beneath him!
'When did that happen? Could she have been lying beneath me the entire two hours I lay on the bed? I had the monster underneath me for two hours!?'
This thought sent shivers down Fang Xiu's spine, fear spreading like wildfire.
"You can see me!" she said softly, her voice echoing in his ears, confirming his worst fear.