Chapter 2

Upon seeing such a terrifying scene, Xiao Hui’s first reaction was to suspect that she was just too tired, causing her eyes to play tricks on her. She hurriedly rubbed her eyes. However, when she opened her eyes again, she could still clearly see the woman, with the same clarity as when she looked at the other people in the carriage. The woman on the glass window seemed to know that Xiao Hui could see her and started laughing even more sinisterly, making Xiao Hui's heart race. In order to calm herself down and to confirm whether what she was seeing was real or just a hallucination, Xiao Hui stood up from her seat and walked over to Zheng Fang. She said, “Zheng Fang, don’t you feel that something’s off with this carriage?” “What’s wrong?” Zheng Fang asked, puzzled. “It’s just...,” Xiao Hui hesitated for a while before finally speaking the truth. “On the glass window across from me, didn’t you see a woman leaning on it? She has blood all over her face and is smiling in a creepy way.” “No, I didn’t!” Zheng Fang looked in the direction Xiao Hui pointed and shook her head. “There’s nothing over there, not even a drop of blood.” “That can’t be right! I clearly saw it...” Xiao Hui was about to gesture to Zheng Fang about where the woman was, but just then, the train suddenly stopped. “What’s going on?” Xiao Hui exclaimed. “Why did the train stop suddenly? Did something happen at the station ahead?” “Xiao Hui, you’re funny,” Zheng Fang said, trying to stifle a laugh. “The train stopped because it’s pulling into the station. It has nothing to do with any accident.” “But...” “Xiao Hui, let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay?” Zheng Fang stood up from her seat. “Where are you going?” Xiao Hui asked, surprised. “Where else would I go? I live near this station. The train stopped here, so I’m getting off,” Zheng Fang said. “This...” Xiao Hui was still unsure. Zheng Fang seemed to notice the confusion on her face and patted her shoulder. “We can talk about today’s situation later. See you!” Xiao Hui didn’t say goodbye to Zheng Fang because her mind was still focused on the glass window. As soon as Zheng Fang left, she immediately looked back at the window. Strangely, after the train entered the station, the woman was gone. “How could she have disappeared?” Xiao Hui wondered. “Wait! If that woman really existed, Zheng Fang should have seen her too. Now neither she nor I can see her. Looks like I must have been seeing things.” With this thought, Xiao Hui felt a little calmer. However, her peace didn’t last long. After she got home, she was so exhausted that she didn’t eat and just hurriedly took a shower before going to bed. She didn’t know how long she slept, but at some point, she felt as if her body was slowly floating off the bed, passing through the window, and flying out. She kept flying until she landed on the platform at the subway station where she takes the train to work. The moment she steadied herself, she heard a woman’s laughter coming from her right. Xiao Hui was puzzled and turned to look in that direction. A woman was standing not far from her, covered in blood, especially around her head. Xiao Hui stared at her for a while, and suddenly, she felt that this woman looked very familiar. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly remembered—it was the same woman she had seen on the glass window in the subway. “You... you...” Xiao Hui wanted to ask who the woman was, but she couldn’t get the words out. “Do you recognize me now?” the woman said with a sinister grin, her laughter terrifying. “No! I don’t know you!” Xiao Hui was frightened and shouted, “Who are you?” “Who I am is none of your business!” the woman said coldly. “Just know that I’m here to take your life!” As she spoke, the woman leaned forward and appeared right in front of Xiao Hui. She reached out and gripped Xiao Hui’s neck, choking her so much that she could hardly breathe. “Help...!” Xiao Hui struggled, managing to gasp out the words. After she said those words, the woman mysteriously vanished. “How could this happen? What just happened?” Xiao Hui exclaimed, confused. She tried to take a few steps, but when she lifted her foot, she almost fell off the bed. It turned out that everything had just been a dream. Although it was just a dream, Xiao Hui felt it was so real. Over the next few days, she kept dreaming of that woman, and the nightmares tortured her, making her more and more nervous. One day, on a weekend, Xiao Hui accepted an invitation from her colleague to go to the city park. Wanting convenience, she naturally chose to take the subway. The subway station for the city park was called Garden Station, the station right before the one where the suicide by jumping occurred. However, the key point wasn’t the station's name but the fact that it was East Village Station. A normal person would never mistake East Village Station for Garden Station. But for some reason, Xiao Hui made this mistake. When she heard the subway announcement saying, “Garden Station has arrived,” she immediately got off. But when she walked out of the station, she realized it was actually East Village Station. Realizing her mistake, Xiao Hui hurriedly turned around to catch the subway back, but perhaps because of her mental strain or being in too much of a hurry, she accidentally bumped into a woman while turning a corner. “Sorry! Sorry!” Xiao Hui, being polite, immediately apologized. However, the woman she collided with said nothing. Xiao Hui found it strange and involuntarily looked up. “Which woman did I bump into?” Xiao Hui said, surprised. She clearly remembered bumping into a woman wearing a white dress, but when she looked up, the woman was nowhere to be seen. More and more strange things began happening, and Xiao Hui became increasingly nervous. She wanted to tell her family, but she was afraid they wouldn’t believe her. This hesitation almost cost her her life. A week later, Xiao Hui again stayed late at work due to overtime and took the subway home. When she stood on the familiar platform, she suddenly saw a familiar figure standing at the end of the platform. After a while, she realized it was the same woman she had bumped into at East Village Station, wearing a white dress. “So I wasn’t just imagining things that day,” Xiao Hui thought, relieved, and wanted to sincerely apologize. However, as she was about to walk over, the woman suddenly twisted her head around. This wasn’t just a normal twist; it was a 180-degree turn, so her head and body were in opposite directions. Seeing this horrifying sight, Xiao Hui was stunned. But what terrified her even more was when the woman turned her head, her face was covered in blood. This face was all too familiar—it was the same woman Xiao Hui had dreamed of. The woman from her dreams appeared right before her eyes. Xiao Hui was terrified, but as the woman smiled and waved at her, she walked toward her as if guided by an unseen force. “That's right, come here! Come to me!” the woman said, still smiling, as she beckoned Xiao Hui. Xiao Hui slowly walked up to the woman, preparing to jump onto the tracks as the woman had suggested. At that moment, a woman's voice suddenly sounded from behind Xiao Hui, “What are you doing, Xiao Hui?” Xiao Hui’s body shook violently, nearly losing her balance and falling off the platform. At the same time, a loud train whistle and blinding headlights approached as a subway sped into the station. Xiao Hui thought to herself that she was doomed and would be crushed by the oncoming subway. At this critical moment, the woman behind her suddenly grabbed her clothes and pulled her back, narrowly saving her. “Zheng Fang, how could it be you?” Xiao Hui exclaimed, surprised after seeing the person who had saved her. “Why not me?” Zheng Fang smiled. “I’ve always anticipated that you’d have a day like this, so I’ve been following you all this time. It seems I saved you just in time.” “Zheng Fang, that woman...” “I know who you’re talking about,” Zheng Fang said. “That woman is the one who committed suicide by jumping on the tracks. You offended her with your words, so she wanted to take your life.” “Is that true?” Xiao Hui asked in fear. “What should I do?” “Don’t worry. As long as you go to the place where she jumped and offer her some paper money, sincerely apologize, she’ll leave you alone,” Zheng Fang advised. Following Zheng Fang’s advice, Xiao Hui went to the place where the woman had jumped. After that, she never encountered or dreamed about the woman again.