A little scared

After everyone quieted down,

Su Yang began to speak slowly.

"Back when I was in college, I took a summer job at a gym."

"You're so rich and you still worked part-time?" Zhang Ziming suddenly interrupted, breaking the atmosphere that had just settled.

"Tsk! What's wrong with you? I was just getting into the mood—why'd you have to butt in?" Su Yang shot Zhang Ziming a glare.

"Some of the things I say are obviously embellished. Stop interrupting."

"Fine, fine." Zhang Ziming chuckled and shut his mouth.

Su Yang thought for a moment before continuing. "When I was working at that gym, I met a male coworker named Little Chen. At the time, we were both temps, so we could only do sales work."

"Every day, we’d just hand out flyers or stick small cards in residential areas. One day, Little Chen and I went to a neighborhood to do some door-to-door promotions."

"We grabbed a stack of cards and randomly picked a building, taking the elevator up to the 28th floor—the top level. When doing this kind of work, you usually start from the top and go down floor by floor, slipping cards under each door."

"That building had two stairwells on every floor, but they were staggered—you know what I mean, right?"

He glanced at the group, and they all nodded.

Su Yang went on. "We split up, each taking one side of the building to stick the cards. It was more efficient that way."

He paused here, took a sip of red wine from the glass in front of him, and continued.

"That building had two elevators and four apartments per floor. I was sticking the cards as usual, but when I got to the 25th floor, the hallway lights were out. The middle area was pitch black—so dark you couldn’t see your own hand."

"Since that building didn’t have windows in the hallways, and there was also a door separating the middle section, it was extra eerie. The moment I was about to step in, I felt a cold breeze hit my back."

"Eek!" Xia Keke shivered and pressed closer to Meng Wenzhou.

Su Yang also noticed Tang Ziyun edging nearer to him on his right.

He smirked and continued. "At that moment, I got goosebumps all over. But back then, I was a hot-headed college student—I wasn’t about to be scared off by something like that. Plus, I didn’t think much of it, so I leaned in to take a look."

"The second I stuck my head in, I saw a white figure standing behind the door in the middle of the hallway."

"AHHHHH!!" Xia Keke and Han Xiaoyu screamed in unison.

Su Yang flinched. "Damn it, what’s wrong with you two? You scared me more than that white figure did!"

Meng Wenzhou chuckled. "Ignore them. Keep going."

Su Yang exhaled and continued. "The moment I saw that white figure, my hair stood on end, and I jerked my head back. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, so I looked again."

"Damn it, there was absolutely a white figure there—and when I looked the second time, it had moved."

"I immediately shouted for Little Chen. He was on the 24th floor and came running up when he heard me. When he saw me pressed against the wall, he asked what was wrong. I told him there was someone—or something—in there."

"That guy was pretty timid, so he stayed in the stairwell, too scared to come closer. Still, just having him there gave me some courage. I looked in again, and this time, the white figure was gone."

Su Yang paused to study everyone’s expressions before continuing.

"Since the figure had disappeared, I called him over. He came up, and we both turned on our phone flashlights, ready to go in and see what the hell was going on."

"We slowly stepped out of the stairwell into the hallway. Damn it, the second we entered, the white figure appeared again! Little Chen and I immediately backed out. He grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away, but my curiosity was too strong. I told him to wait outside while I went in alone."

"I turned on my flashlight and walked slowly toward the door in the middle of the hallway. This time, the white figure was gone again. I figured it must be hiding behind the door, so I shouted, 'Who’s back there?' Of course, no one answered."

"I took a deep breath and suddenly rushed forward—"

"Stop, stop! I can’t take it anymore!" Shen Yixue buried herself in Zhang Ziming’s arms.

Su Yang ignored her and kept going. "After charging in, I looked around. There was nothing behind the door. I shone my light everywhere, but aside from two apartment doors that looked like they hadn’t been opened in ages, there was nothing else."

"I turned around and called for Little Chen, but he didn’t answer. After shouting twice, I started feeling uneasy, so I went out to check—and he was gone."

"At the time, I thought, 'This guy’s such a coward, ditching me like that.' But do you know what happened next?" Su Yang threw the question to the group.

Tang Ziyun gulped. "Don’t tell me he died."

"No."

"Then what?"

Su Yang grinned. "When I didn’t see him in the hallway, I figured he’d gone downstairs. By then, I was starting to feel like this building was seriously creepy, so I turned back to take the elevator down."

"The second I stepped inside, I saw Little Chen standing behind the door, staring at me with this eerie smile..."

"AHHHH, NO MORE!!"

The girls screamed again. Tang Ziyun, no longer caring about whatever relationship Su Yang had with Pan Ning, clung tightly to him, curling up on the couch.

"That’s it?" Liu Bo asked.

"That’s it."

"Damn, what happened after that? What did you do when you saw Little Chen?"

"Nothing much. After seeing that, would you dare go in? His expression was beyond creepy—and I realized he was wearing white clothes too. I turned and ran. By the time I got downstairs, my legs were shaking so badly I had to sit in the sunlight to calm down."

"Holy crap. And then?"

"Then I went back to the gym alone and asked the others if Little Chen had returned. They just stared at me blankly and said, 'Who’s Little Chen?'"

"Ugh, I’ve got goosebumps." Liu Bo rubbed his arms.

Xia Keke and Shen Yixue covered their ears.

Even Meng Wenzhou lost his smile. He glanced around nervously before asking, "Are you sure this really happened to you?"

Su Yang nodded. "Yeah, of course. Well, I might’ve tweaked a few details, but 90% of it’s true."

"Did Little Chen chase you when you ran downstairs?"

Su Yang rolled his eyes. "If he had, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now."

"Ugh... I think we should turn the lights on." Zhang Ziming reached for the remote in front of Liu Bo.

Liu Bo snatched it back. "What? We’re just getting into the mood. Turning the lights on would ruin it."

"I’m kinda scared, man."

"Already scared? Su Yang’s definitely making this up. No way there was no 'Little Chen.' I don’t buy it."

Su Yang just smiled without explaining further.

"Alright, I’m done. Your turn."