Chapter 3

Year 2022, writer's POV

I had always wanted to rent a place in the countryside, live quietly for a while, and write a few articles.

The hustle and bustle of the city made people restless. Maybe it was in the countryside that I could calm down and focus on writing.

A few days ago, someone recommended a small farmhouse to me. It had four rooms, one of which served as a kitchen.

The yard was overgrown with weeds, looking dirty and unkempt, but I loved the location. It was also rustic, embodying the rustic aesthetic described by ancient scholars.

The landlord said the house had not been occupied in 20 years and was very old, so he rented it to me for 800 dollars. I tried to bargain but realized the price he quoted was for a year's rent.

It was ridiculously cheap! I had seen several farmhouses but had never heard of such a low rent. Thinking I had found a great deal, I quickly paid, fearing the landlord would regret it. Then, I gave the landlord another thousand dollars and asked him to hire some people to help me clean the house. The farmhouse was ready in a few days.

Early in the morning, I arrived at the place with my pre-prepared furniture and my dog.

When I was moving furniture into the house, a villager passed by, stood at the gate for a long time, and then suddenly asked me if I was moving in.

I said yes.

The villager frowned, came up to me, and explained in a low voice, "This is a haunted house. Someone died here 20 years ago. Be careful if you live here!"

I finally understood why the rent was so low after hearing that. However, I never believed in ghosts, and I certainly did not believe in haunted houses.

Not only was I not afraid, but I was actually happy. If it were not a haunted house, would I have saved so much money?

Seeing my indifference, the villager left without saying anything.

After cleaning up the house, I was exhausted, so I took a nap in bed. Not long after I fell asleep, the phone rang and woke me up. It was a landline number.

I answered the phone, and all I heard was a girl's voice. "Dad, when will you be back? I'm so scared. Mom…"

"You got the wrong number!" I replied impatiently, thinking it was some new scam. However, I started to think something was amiss after I hung up. The girl on the phone had been crying as if she were in some kind of danger.

I immediately sat up at the thought of that. Then, I thought, a little girl in danger would not just call an unfamiliar number and call out 'Dad'.

I had been using this number for over a decade. There was no way I was the girl's father, so I was certain it was some new scam.

Just when I was about to put the matter behind me, the phone rang again. It was the same number calling and the same girl's voice. "Dad, come back soon! Mom's going to kill me!"

I immediately got angry and questioned, "Is this fun? Are you trying to scam some money out of me? Do you have to do this? How much do you want? I'll transfer the amount. Don't call me again!"

With that, I hung up and blocked the number.

After doing all that, I was exhausted and fell asleep again.

That night, I was awakened by a burst of sharp barking from a dog.