Chapter 6: Shadows of Trees? Shadows of People?

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Bai Peiyu's sarcastic tone deeply annoyed Qiu Yiyao. Everyone else could criticize her, but he, a guest living in her home, was not allowed to.

Qiu Yiyao slammed her bowl heavily onto the table, her voice sharp with frustration. “Have I offended you somehow? Why do you enjoy picking on me since the first time we met? Does it make you feel accomplished, or have you fallen for me so deeply you can’t help but want my attention?”

Normally, Qiu Yiyao would never speak like this, but today her heart was heavy. Thinking of the strange events since she returned home, and the man who had committed suicide, she was desperate to vent her emotions to someone.

Bai Peiyu showed no sign of weakness. “So which do you want? For me to love you or hate you?”

He remained indifferent, his expression unchanged.

Qiu Yiyao’s anger flared further. “As if I want your affection! Do you think no one else is chasing after me?”

She was by no means stunningly beautiful, but she had been praised by neighbors and teachers since childhood. Even though she now wore short hair and looked like a tomboy, she still attracted many admirers at school.

“Really?” Bai Peiyu crossed his arms, eyes scrutinizing. “I’m curious, which eye of those boys is broken? Or do they have some strange fetish for… flat chests?”

Before the words finished, a sharp slap hit the table. “Who do you think you are? I don’t even want to look at you, humph.”

She stormed upstairs, her soft slippers thudding heavily on the stairs, the “thump thump thump” sound almost threatening to break through the wood.

Throughout, Qiu Shengming sat silently to the side like an outsider, neither moving nor speaking to mediate, even as Qiu Yiyao angrily slammed the table.

Only when she disappeared upstairs did Qiu Shengming’s furrowed brow relax slightly. “Hopefully, she’ll feel a bit better after venting her anger.”

Bai Peiyu stood up, still with his usual arrogant air. “Don’t worry, she won’t die from anger.”

…

At night, silence reigned except for the incessant chirping of crickets in the bushes.

Qiu Yiyao lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The scene in the wasteland during the day kept flashing before her eyes.

She hadn’t felt scared earlier, but now, deep in the night, the pale face of the bespectacled man and his wide-open eyes filled her with dread.

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Qiu Yiyao closed her eyes, covered her ears, curling herself up like a small shrimp, as if this posture could dispel the suffocating fear pressing on her chest.

Suddenly, a cold breeze brushed her cheek, causing her to shiver and quickly open her eyes.

Her quilt was tightly wrapped around her, leaving no gaps for air—pitch dark, without a single ray of light.

She held her breath, listening intently for any sound nearby.

Then, a rustling noise came from the direction of the window.

Her heart pounded wildly, cold sweat creeping down her back.

Nervously swallowing, her shaking hand gripped the quilt as she debated whether to peek and find out what was going on, fearing what she might see.

Her inner turmoil grew as the rustling outside intensified, becoming more brazen and unrestrained.

Finally, the noise transformed into a series of “thump thump” knocks, as if someone was trying to pry open the window and crawl inside.

Qiu Yiyao shut her eyes tightly, biting her lip so hard it almost bled.

What should she do? Investigate or ignore it? If she ignored it, could something really come in and put her in danger?

Despite her fear, she tried to calm herself and analyze the situation.

In the end, she decided to pull back the quilt and take a look.

Taking a deep breath, she cautiously parted a corner of the quilt.

The knocking suddenly stopped—as if it sensed she was spying, it ceased eerily.

The curtain cast the shadow of a pear tree, mottled and mysterious.

Suddenly, the tree’s shadow began to sway violently, gradually coalescing into a human silhouette.

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Qiu Yiyao stared wide-eyed in disbelief, pinching her arm hard—it hurt, so this wasn’t a dream.

She instinctively covered her mouth, terrified to make a sound that might alert the figure outside.

The shadow swayed relentlessly, and the “hands” began tapping on the window.

“Tap tap tap”—a rhythmic knocking that shook Qiu Yiyao’s heart with every beat.

She wrapped the quilt tightly around herself, trembling uncontrollably.

Though the weather outside was over thirty degrees Celsius, inside the quilt she felt a biting cold.

The knocking continued unceasingly. Her trembling hand reached under the pillow for her phone, intending to call Qiu Shengming, but found no signal—only emergency numbers could be dialed.

Hesitating, she called 110. The line connected quickly, and a gentle female voice came through the receiver.

“Hello, this is the 110 emergency service. Please state your emergency.”

Suppressing her panic, Qiu Yiyao opened her mouth to explain the indescribable situation and ask for help, but no sound came out no matter how hard she tried.

She broke out in a cold sweat, forehead glistening.

On the other end, after waiting in silence, the operator suspected a prank call and began reciting the serious consequences of false alarms.

Realizing this approach was futile, Qiu Yiyao hung up, summoning the last shred of courage and will to protect herself.

She climbed out from under the quilt to check what the shadow at the window was really up to.

As she rushed out of bed, she was surprised to see the figure had reverted to the swaying shadow of the tree, dancing gracefully in the wind.

Qiu Yiyao stood still, the chill on her back fading away.

She pinched her arm once more, the pain so sharp she nearly cried.