This orange tabby cat has a real personality; it won’t eat plain rice either. Whichever house feeds it, it’ll stay there at night to catch mice, cleaning them out completely, and it even likes to carry all the mouse corpses to the doorstep, arranging them in a line.

Ray Jones: My mom really went all out, specially cooked a fish for it, said that in the months it was gone the house just didn’t feel clean. Aunt Wang next door also cooked for it, one steamed, one braised, the two of them competing to see who could keep Chubby for the night.

Ethan Young: You, reflect on yourself, think about why you’re living worse than a cat.

Ray Jones:

Wanda pestered Liam Harris for ages, and maybe it was because he was too annoying, but in the end Liam Harris actually nodded.

Henry Howard had been thinking about how to get out of it, running through a dozen scenarios in his head, but when he heard Liam Harris was coming too: “Him? That guy who trembles just giving a speech on stage?”

Ethan Young had no impression of Liam Harris, nor any particular thoughts.

“Even he’s going.” Henry Howard tossed his phone aside and leaned back in his chair, suddenly fired up.

Ethan Young thought to himself, don’t judge by appearances, somehow he feels stronger than you.

Finally, when Wanda came to the last row to ask the two big shots, Henry Howard slapped the table: “A man’s adventure—if you don’t go, you’re not a man. Don’t worry, Bro Henry’s got your back.”

Wanda: “Bro Henry, from now on you’re my real brother, you’re so cool, truly a man among men.”

Ethan Young sneered on the spot.

That night, the four of them agreed to gather in Henry Howard’s dorm, waiting for the knocking after midnight.

Ethan Young lived close to Henry Howard’s dorm, so he wasn’t in a hurry, planning to do another set of exercises, but as soon as he finished showering, Henry Howard called him several times, urging him to come over.

Ethan Young was still drying his hair, water dripping from the ends: “Are you done being annoying?”

Henry Howard said, “Hurry up, I’ve got something amazing to show you.”

This guy is really a pain.

Ethan Young had a towel around his neck, strolled lazily down the corridor, pushed open the door and said, “What’s going on?”

“Almost done.” Henry Howard was writing something, not even looking up, his movements big and sweeping, and his handwriting was ugly to begin with—now it was impossible to tell what he was writing.

Ethan Young walked closer and saw a long strip of paper on the desk, covered in winding, ambiguous doodles, with a yin-yang symbol in the center.

“”

Ethan Young had a vague guess, and paused with the towel: “Is this—”

“Folk exorcism, the strongest move, a ghost-repelling talisman.” Henry Howard said.

Ethan Young’s hair was still damp, wearing a simple t-shirt, towel draped over his head, and as Henry Howard looked at him, for some reason he felt like even this guy’s eyes looked wet, soft, but when their eyes met, they seemed cold.

Ethan Young stared at the “ghost-repelling talisman” for a while, then said, “Wow, you’re really something.”

Wanda was the third to arrive, having changed into cartoon pajamas with a yellow SpongeBob pattern, carrying a bag and holding a flashlight.

“Bro Henry, I’m here—wow, Brother Yu, you’re early.” Wanda pushed open the door and came in, “I brought a flashlight, you guys should bring one too if you have it. If that thing is really powerful, it might knock out all the lights in the building.”

Ethan Young questioned the classic plot of supernatural novels: “Why do you think a flashlight would be immune?”

Wanda: “” For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

It was still early, so the three of them killed time with a round of sniper games.

There was only one chair in the room; if you didn’t sit on the chair, you had to sit on the bed. Wanda didn’t dare touch Henry Howard’s bed, so he turned to Ethan Young: “Brother Yu, could you get up for a bit? I—I like sitting on the chair.”

Very soon, Wanda realized just how terrible it was to play games with these two.

Ethan Young played a three-man squad like it was solo, wild and free, not caring about the other two at all, while Henry Howard didn’t care about Wanda at all: “I’ve got good stuff here, Old Young, come over, where are you, come get it.”

“Bro Henry, I—I’m your teammate too,” Wanda was on the verge of tears, “Heal me, I’m so poor.”

Only then did Henry Howard glance at Wanda’s position, giving him a bit of attention, but after looking he said, “Too far, you’re on your own.”

Wanda: “”

It was almost eleven when Liam Harris finally arrived.

“Thought you weren’t coming, have a seat.” Henry Howard scooted over and patted the bed.

Liam Harris didn’t interact much with Henry Howard usually, so he stood awkwardly at the door, instinctively looking at Wanda, who got the hint and shared half the chair: “You like sitting on chairs too? Come on.”

Liam Harris sat down carefully.

Henry Howard was baffled: “What’s wrong with you two?”

Ethan Young’s hair was almost dry; he took off the towel and tossed it onto Henry Howard’s desk.

“Let’s make a plan for tonight’s operation,” Wanda said enthusiastically, “By the way, Brother Yu, you really surprised me—I thought you wouldn’t join in.” After all, you’re so unsociable.

“I’m just here to watch the show.” Ethan Young said.

Half past midnight.

Outside the window it was pitch black, and the dorm building was eerily quiet.

With the weekend, half the building was basically empty, and even the echo of footsteps on the floor seemed louder than usual. Looking down the corridor, staring at the endlessly stretching hallway and door numbers, there was a touch of dizziness.

Wanda slowed his breathing and was the first to push open the door and step out.

‘Creak’.

The sound of the door opening was made all the more eerie by the atmosphere.

Henry Howard didn’t move.

“Come on, Bro Henry, what are you doing?” Wanda called back.

Ethan Young was behind Henry Howard, blocked from leaving, so he patted his shoulder: “Cover me, Bro Henry. You’re a man among men.”

Henry Howard: “”

Henry Howard was a lot braver tonight, maybe thanks to that ghost-repelling talisman. After waiting about half an hour, bored out of their minds, they started chatting aimlessly.

“Ding Hualiang, you—”

“His name is Liam Harris.”

“”

“Sorry, no impression.”

“”

“But I bet Old Young doesn’t even know your surname is Ding.”

Wanda was laughing as he asked Ethan Young if he really didn’t know, telling him not to take the blame Henry Howard was tossing around, when he faintly heard knocking.

Everyone fell silent.

Just as Wanda was about to say “maybe it’s just your imagination,” there was another “thud”.

The sound seemed far away.

As if muffled by something, but echoing up the empty hallway, winding up the stairs.

“It’s not the third floor tonight,” Wanda’s voice trembled, “it’s—it’s downstairs from us.”

Long after, when Ethan Young looked back on his high school days, he would never forget this night. The string of idiotic events and the dumb ending were secondary.

A big idiot, hands shaking with fear, still shoved the talisman into his hand.

Henry Howard stuffed that ridiculously ugly ghost-repelling talisman into Ethan Young’s hand. The paper was already wrinkled, still warm from his palm. Henry Howard was nervously staring at the stairs, all his actions subconscious. He reached out and patted Ethan Young’s head: “Don’t be scared, I’ve got you.”

Ethan Young looked down at the paper, a little dazed.

------------

27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

The group tiptoed downstairs.

Halfway down, Wanda’s hand tightened on the railing, startled: “Holy crap, there really is—”

“What is it?”

“What did you see?”

“—There’s a ghost.”

Ethan Young glanced at his watch.

The minute hand was at twelve, exactly one o’clock in the morning.

At the end of the second-floor corridor, the motion-sensor light didn’t come on. A vague, human-shaped mass with indistinct limbs was slowly moving toward them.

‘Its’ footsteps were very light, like a slow-motion replay.

Only the moonlight and streetlamp shining through the window at the end of the hall flickered, adding to the eerie scene.

Ethan Young gripped the ghost-repelling talisman, suddenly wanting to comfort the big idiot next to him, about to say, “You seriously don’t think just draping a sheet over someone and wandering around counts as a supernatural event, do you?”

Then he saw Henry Howard pull another piece of paper from his pocket, covered in the same scribbles and yin-yang symbol as the one in Ethan Young’s hand. Henry Howard looked perfectly calm: “It’s fine, I’ve got another one.”

“”