Tang Ning subconsciously turned around and frantically twisted the door handle, but the door wouldn't open.
He was trapped in the basement, and the eerie silence and coldness swept over Tang Ning's whole body.
The room that should have been empty was filled with giggles. If Tang Ning had been able to control herself when she saw the crib when she first entered the room, now hearing this nightmarish laughter of a child, the fear was like a tsunami bursting through a dam.
He took out the chocolate from his pocket with trembling hands, covered his eyes with one hand, and handed the chocolate forward with the other hand.
The baby's laughter continued. Through his fingers, Tang Ning could vaguely see a small figure squirming on the small bed. The little thing jumped off the bed and crawled towards Tang Ning as fast as a puppy.
Tang Ning got goosebumps all over his body and his scalp was numb. He quickly threw the chocolate in his hand away and then turned around and desperately turned the door handle!
— "Crunch."
The door opened.
The ecstasy of surviving the disaster overwhelmed Tang Ning at this moment. He looked towards the open door in surprise, but was met with a tall figure.
That was Mo Yunchu’s figure.
Tang Ning and Mo Yunchu looked at each other. Just one glance made him feel terrified and his heart seemed to stop beating.
Because he saw that Mo Yunchu had no face.
On that slender neck was a head without any facial features.
At this moment, all the lights in the room went out, and the room fell into darkness. Tang Ning's head was buzzing, he was trembling violently, his legs were weak, and he almost fell to the ground.
The sound of rolling wheels rang out in the empty basement. Wisps of orange-red flames flickered in the darkness. Under the candlelight, Mo Yunchu peeled off the layer of human skin without facial features, revealing an extremely handsome face.
The narrow and long phoenix eyes stared at Tang Ning intently, the thick and long eyelashes were stained with dancing flames, and the corners of the eyes were slightly raised, exuding a strange charm that was a combination of evil and seduction.
This was a face that fascinated countless boys and girls, and it was worthy of being praised with the most gorgeous words in the world. However, Tangning only had one word left in her mind -
Ghost.
Something was rubbing against his feet. Tang Ning lowered his head blankly and saw a hideous version of Annabelle doll crawling to his feet. The doll had prominent cheekbones and baby fat, with the corners of its bright red lips raised, and its empty eyes stared straight at him.
Mo Yunchu smiled and said to the stunned Tangning, "Surprise!"
A rich sweet aroma filled the air. Mo Yunchu pushed the cart with the birthday cake in front of Tangning and said with a smile, "Happy birthday to our Xiaoning!!!"
Tang Ning stared at Mo Yunchu blankly. After enduring the fear beyond his threshold, his mind went blank and he didn't know how to react to what he saw.
Mo Yunchu leaned over and picked up the doll that was laughing and playing with Tangning's feet. He handed the doll to Tangning and said softly, "I saw your doll was broken on the bus earlier, so I specially asked someone to order this doll."
A hideous-looking doll appeared before Tangning's eyes. Tangning's pupils continued to shrink. He opened his mouth and heard a faint, trembling cry coming out of his throat: "Throw... away..."
Mo Yunchu was stunned for a moment. He saw Tangning's tears continuously flowing from her eyes. Her entire face was wet from crying. "Throw it away! Throw it away now!!!"
Mo Yunchu immediately threw the doll out the door and closed it. He raised his hands to show that he was not holding anything. He approached Tangning gently, as if comforting a frightened animal, "Throw it away, all thrown away, don't cry."
Tangning continued to cry, tears and beads falling from the string. He didn't notice Mo Yunchu approaching him. By the time he realized what was happening, Mo Yunchu was already kissing his tears. Tangning couldn't help but tremble when he saw Mo Yunchu's face. His dark eyes were filled with fear. He sobbed and spoke incoherently, "No... No, go away—"
A large hand pressed down on the back of Tangning's head, and his thin lips blocked Tangning's trembling lips, preventing Tangning from saying the next word.
The tearful eyes looked like fragile jewels under the light. Tang Ning forgot to breathe due to the overwhelming fear. As the kiss deepened, the oxygen she needed to survive seemed to be plundered away. Tang Ning couldn't even stand on her own and could only cling to Mo Yunchu, with all her weight on him, like a dodder entwined around a towering tree.
How strange.
Tears fell from her sickly red skin, and Tangning's raised neck formed a graceful curve.
It was really strange. It was Mo Yunchu who saved him and gave him so much warm love, but he felt absurd that he would drown in this love.
The overwhelming and meticulous care was like a constantly spinning whirlpool, drawing his timid and confused soul into a bizarre world.
It was unknown how long it took before Mo Yunchu ended the kiss. His deep eyes stared at Tangning and he promised word by word, "I won't leave."
He seemed to have understood Tang Ning's words "No, go" as "I don't want you to go."
It was pointless for Tang Ning to explain at this point, and he didn't have the energy to explain anymore. This shock had consumed too much of his energy. He opened his lips and greedily took in the fresh air. His hazy eyes gradually regained clarity, but when he came to his senses, he was still at a loss.
Mo Yunchu put his arm around his waist and led Tangning to the birthday cake. He whispered softly into Tangning's ear, "Come here, Xiaoning, you can make a wish now."
That low, gentle, and magnetic voice frightened Tang Ning so much that she wanted to escape, but she couldn't help but cling to it and follow it.
— "If my wish could come true, I would like to leave this nightmare and never come back."
Mo Yunchu hugged Tangning, letting her back press against his chest, trapping her in this warm embrace, "Okay, you can blow out the candles now."
Tang Ning subconsciously blew out all the candles with trembling hands.
Mo Yunchu picked up the long serrated knife beside the cake and handed the handle to Tang Ning. He then wrapped his large palm around Tang Ning's hand and guided her to cut the blood-red velvet cake.
"Here, have a bite." Mo Yunchu took a piece and fed it to Tang Ning's mouth. Tang Ning opened his mouth, and the light and smooth taste like velvet swept over his taste buds. The sweet but not greasy, and salty but not choking taste soothed his heart bit by bit.
"Is it delicious?" Mo Yunchu looked at him lovingly.
Although Tang Ning was so scared that he almost fainted, he had to admit that the cake was really delicious. As an artist, his diet was strictly monitored, and he had not eaten any cakes with high calorie counts this year.
Mo Yunchu fed Tang Ning another big bite of cake.
Tang Ning ate it while trembling. His eyes were filled with fear and desire, like an animal that had strayed into a trap. He shivered while eating the bait.
"Do you like it?" Mo Yunchu asked.
Tangning nodded while trembling. Her delicate jaw was covered with tear stains and her lips were stained with a little white cream. She looked both sweet and pitiful.
With his rough fingertips pressed against Tangning's soft lips, Mo Yunchu wiped the cream off her lips. He then took the cream-soaked finger into his mouth, "So sweet."
"I'll continue to make cakes for Xiao Ning next time, okay?"
After eating so much cake, Tangning finally had the energy to speak, "Okay... But don't give me dolls next time. I don't like them."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thoughtful enough." Mo Yunchu apologized immediately.
Tangning took another bite of the cake. Comforted by the sweet treat, he was no longer so scared. There was indeed a secret hidden in the basement, but it was a birthday gift he had never expected. The fear of the unknown lost its power the moment the mystery was unveiled.
Yes, he should be brave, not be afraid of the basement, not be afraid of the doll, and not be afraid of Mo Yunchu.
Tangning looked at the handsome and affectionate Mo Yunchu and invited him in a soft voice, "The cake is really delicious. Come and try some."
Mo Yunchu's Adam's apple slid up and down, and his eyes fell on Tang Ning's lips.
The two of them ate for a while, and then Mo Yunchu brought the cake to the living room.
This birthday was carefully planned by Mo Yunchu. He took a day off from work and made the birthday cake himself and designed the "surprise" in the basement. The former "Tang Ning" loved these exciting supernatural things, but now Tang Ning loves red velvet cake so much that she would easily overeat.
Under the warm lighting, Tangning sank into the soft sofa. Mo Yunchu reached out and gently rubbed his bulging belly. Perhaps it was because of the soft lighting, or perhaps it was because of Mo Yunchu's affectionate and restrained eyes, Tangning felt that Mo Yunchu was a really good person. The abnormal behavior in the surveillance must be a misunderstanding, just like the basement. She just needed to ask for clarification. After all, if she didn't ask for clarification, Tangning might not be able to sleep today.
Thinking of this, Tangning mustered up the courage to ask softly, "Tell me... Under what circumstances would a person stay awake at night and stare at the face of the person next to him?"
Mo Yunchu thought about it after hearing this, and said seriously: "There are two situations. One is that the person next to you is too beautiful. After taking one look, you want to take another look. You can never get enough of it."
"What's the other kind?" Tangning asked cautiously.
"That man is a psychopath."
The breeze in the air seemed to have stopped flowing.
Mo Yunchu stared at Tangning with his deep pupils and smiled, "When did Xiaoning notice that I was staring at you?"
That handsome face maintained a perfect smile, but there was no smile in his eyes, like an evil spirit in human skin.
Tang Ning's mind went blank.
He watched as Mo Yunchu's smile gradually widened, and the smile seeped into his eyes. His eyes were somewhat helpless and curious, as if he was curious about his timidity, "Are you scared by my expression?"
Tang Ning stared at Mo Yunchu blankly.
"Little idiot, the role I recently took on is a psychopath." Mo Yunchu scratched Tangning's nose, "I am an immersive person, and my normal life has been somewhat affected by this role. I thought you wouldn't notice."
"After all, you sleep so soundly every day, just like a pig." Mo Yunchu ruffled Tangning's fluffy hair. "How did you find out? Were you pretending to sleep?"
Tang Ning didn't dare to say that he had installed surveillance cameras, so he could only follow the steps Mo Yunchu gave him.
Mo Yunchu pinched Tangning's cheek, "Our little Ning is really good now. She even fooled me by pretending to be asleep."
Tang Ning never expected this to be the reason. He asked for Mo Yunchu's script and saw the perverted setting of this character. There was also the strange behavior of smelling his partner's clothes, which matched the abnormal behavior of Mo Yunchu in the surveillance video.
So that's how it is.
Great, so that's how it is.
Now that the truth was out, Tang Ning felt relieved. His thoughts were too easy to guess, and they were all shown on his face, which could be seen at a glance.
"Are you still afraid of me now?" Mo Yunchu asked Tang Ning with a smile.
Tangning shook his head obediently.
His thin lips pressed against Tangning's ear, and his voice was hoarse and gentle, mixed with a hint of indescribable desire, "Then let your husband eat his fill tonight, okay?"