For Your Happiness - Chapter 49 - What Was That Sound?

Shao Han was startled by the sudden ring of a telephone, squatting on the ground with weak legs, seemingly unable to move. It took her a while to recover before she hurried to answer the phone.

“Hello, Shao Han,” came Wu Di’s urgent voice from the other end.

“Wu Di…” Hearing his voice, Shao Han cried out his name.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Di furrowed his brows tightly, sensing that something must have happened.

“Just now… I thought I heard our door closing,” Shao Han whispered so softly, as if afraid of startling someone outside. She retreated further into the room while glancing at the bedroom door.

“What?” Wu Di didn’t understand.

“While I was talking to you, I suddenly heard the sound of a door closing. It seemed like it was our door.”

“How could that be? Didn’t you lock the door?”

“I did, I locked it as soon as I got home.”

“Could you have misheard it? Maybe it was the neighbors or someone upstairs?”

“It didn’t seem like it; there was a trembling sensation when the door closed. It wouldn’t feel that way if it were the neighbor’s.”

“Did you hear any other sounds?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything else.”

“Is the front door double-locked?”

“No, should I go and double-lock it now?” Shao Han was unsure.

“Maybe leave the living room lights on.”

“Should I go out and check?”

“Better not, just stay in the bedroom. But, really, was it our door making that sound?” Wu Di was also confused.

At this point, Shao Han, encouraged by Wu Di’s voice, suddenly decided to leave the room to turn on the living room lights and double-lock the main door. Holding the phone to her ear, she cautiously opened the door; there was no noise. She courageously stepped out, the hallway’s dim lighting guiding her. She ran to the living room, turned on the light, and found nothing amiss. She crossed the living room, reached the Entryway, saw that the door was properly closed, and quickly double-locked it before running back to the bedroom.

“I… I’ve double-locked the front door, and didn’t notice anything unusual,” Shao Han said, panting.

“You… I told you to stay in the room, why didn’t you listen to me? What if there was someone outside?” Wu Di worried.

“I only did what you said, turned on the lights and bolted the front door,” Shao Han was too nervous, her mind not functioning properly.

“Did you check the kitchen?” The kitchen was the closest room to the door in Shao Han and Wu Di’s house. Suddenly worried that someone might have entered and hidden there, Wu Di could no longer sit still. He decided to immediately return to Shanghai.

“No.” Shao Han was saying when, because the bedroom door was not yet locked, she suddenly heard two “click, click” sounds from the living room, which truly terrified her. Shao Han screamed in fright.

This scream went directly into Wu Di’s ears through the phone, making him break out in a cold sweat.

“Shao Han, Shao Han,” Wu Di called repeatedly, standing motionless in his hotel room, listening intently, afraid that any noise he made might hinder his ability to hear what was happening on Shao Han’s end. He even dared not breathe.

“Ah! Wu Di…” Shao Han had completely lost her reason and courage, stumbling as she bolted the bedroom door, then collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out beneath her.

This sudden scare left Shao Han covered in cold sweat, her face as white as paper, her body limp like a puddle of mud, utterly devoid of vitality.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“There are… there are strange noises in the living room,” Shao Han managed to say, beyond self-control, tears streaming down her face.

“What kind of strange noises?” Wu Di also became frightened. “This won’t do, I’m coming home right now. Don’t be scared, just lock the bedroom door.”

Wu Di grabbed his car keys and rushed out the door.

Shao Han was already so frightened that she felt completely drained. She sat hunched at the foot of the bed, motionless, staring at the bedroom door, listening for any other sounds from outside. The room was eerily silent, and a fear unlike any she had experienced before soaked through her entire body. She was no longer listening to Wu Di; all her focus was concentrated on that door.

Under normal circumstances, she would have urged Wu Di not to come back, worried about his safety due to the long distance and his concern for her. But today, she was completely out of it.

Wu Di hadn’t hung up the phone; instead, he used the speaker function and placed it on the dashboard, always listening for any noises from Shao Han’s side. Shao Han hugged her legs, half of her face hidden, her eyes fixed intently on the door. Tears streamed down her face, but she dared not cry out loud, as if afraid something outside might hear her, almost holding her breath.

Wu Di drove through the night, while Shao Han silently stared at the door. Time seemed to stretch, and the sound of their heartbeats grew louder and louder.

When he reached the toll booth and slowed down slightly, Wu Di picked up the phone: “Shao Han.”

Shao Han jumped, startled. The fright at this moment was several times more intense than usual. “I’m here,” she whispered in a voice so soft it could hardly be softer, yet it brought great comfort to Wu Di.

Wu Di continued his journey until he entered their residential complex. Only then did he feel a slight relief. He got out of the car and rushed toward his apartment, even forgetting to lock the car.

Wu Di frantically pressed the elevator button, each second feeling like an agony, holding his phone and saying, “Shao Han, I’m here, I’m downstairs now, don’t be afraid.”

“Okay…” Shao Han started to cry.

Wu Di rushed to their apartment door, struggling to open it for a moment before realizing that Shao Han had locked it from the inside. He pressed the doorbell frantically. The silence inside was so deep that the sound of the doorbell made Shao Han’s heart skip a beat. Wu Di, pressing the doorbell, spoke into the phone, “Shao Han, it’s me, can you come and open the door? You’ve locked it from the inside; I can’t open it.”

“Okay, I’ll come and open the door,” Shao Han replied, feeling much better now that she knew Wu Di was just outside. However, she was still frightened by a noise she had heard earlier in the living room, unsure whether there was a third person between her and Wu Di, or what that noise could have been.