Nightmare Onslaught - Chapter 8 - The Male Model

“Could it be the girl who was abused?” the pure girl speculated. “She was tormented to death, her resentment unable to dissipate, turning her into a vengeful ghost. She might be the one who killed the middle-aged man at dawn.”

At the moment, the pure girl’s analysis seemed reasonable.

“That’s possible, but we still need more evidence,” the Strong Man said as he stepped out of the bathroom. His earlier imposing demeanor had noticeably faded, and fine beads of cold sweat were visible on his forehead.

Jiang Cheng knew that he wasn’t as composed as he appeared.

“Let’s eat something first,” someone suggested.

Cooking duty was given entirely to Fatty, with the pure girl helping him wash the vegetables.

Not long after, a delicious meal was prepared. Despite the tense atmosphere of their surroundings, everyone finished every bite. It was a testament to Fatty’s excellent cooking skills.

“Are you a chef?” the Strong Man asked, taking a sip of the hot soup. Even Fatty’s big round face seemed more pleasing to him now.

“No,” Fatty said, scratching his head with a shy grin. “I’ve been running around doing all sorts of odd jobs, so I’ve picked up a little of everything along the way.”

“What does everyone else do? It seems like fate brought us all here,” the Strong Man said, setting his bowl down. His gaze softened. “My name is Fan Li. I’m a bodyguard.”

“I… I’m Xie Yu. I work for an insurance company,” the Male Clerk said meekly.

“I’m Chen Xiaomeng, currently a law student,” the pure girl introduced herself.

When it was time for the Woman with a mole to speak, her aloof demeanor suggested she might dismiss the question. However, after a deliberate pause, she finally spoke in a slow voice, “You can call me Nuan-Jie¹. I’m older than the rest of you. As for my profession…” She gave a cryptic smile. “I sell goods.”

Everyone exchanged inscrutable glances. The aura this woman exuded was far from that of a simple merchant. What exactly her “goods” referred to was, undoubtedly, a topic loaded with mystery.

But no one dwelled on this question for long. Their attention collectively turned to Jiang Cheng. Among the group, curiosity about him seemed even greater than that about Nuan-Jie.

Sitting upright, Jiang Cheng composed himself and said formally, “My name is Hao Shuai². I’m a male model³.”

“A model?” the pure girl questioned, seemingly skeptical. “Do you work for a film company?”

Jiang Cheng slowly turned his head, casting her a meaningful look. “I work nights at a KTV⁴.”

Everyone stared at him with astonished expressions, but no one commented further. After all, everyone has the right to choose their own path in life. Besides, most of them silently agreed that Jiang Cheng did seem to have the physical attributes for such a role.

The days seemed unusually short in this world. After chatting for a little while longer, they noticed the sky outside dimming once again.

The Strong Man walked over to the window, glanced out, and then returned to say, “It’s not rain-it’s just getting dark.”

As he predicted, within half an hour, night had fallen once more.

The group gathered around the fireplace in the living room, the warmth of the flames warding off a chill. They discussed and analyzed the various clues they had gathered so far.

For safety reasons, during the day they had moved some firewood from the storage room to the living room. That way, they wouldn’t have to fetch more in the middle of the night when they ran out.

Fatty sat closest to the firewood, occasionally tossing in another log to keep the fire blazing. The flames burned bright, casting a warm red glow on everyone’s faces.

Chen Xiaomeng remained firm in her previous assertion. She was convinced that the girl who lived in this villa had been abused by other members of the family, ultimately leading to her tragic death. In her view, the ghost haunting the villa was none other than that girl from the family of four.

She seemed obsessed with this theory; every time she mentioned it, her demeanor became agitated, a stark contrast to her usual gentle and composed self.

From what Jiang Cheng had observed, Chen Xiaomeng’s passionate stance might have something to do with her being a law student. Perhaps, she was a woman with a story of her own.

After several rounds of discussion, they failed to make any new breakthroughs. Instead, a few began yawning-it seemed Jiang Cheng wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep the night before.

Fan Li stood up, stretching his slightly numb legs, and suggested, “Let’s get some sleep for now.”

His proposal was quickly met with agreement.

Since the middle-aged man had mysteriously died on the first floor, everyone decided to sleep on the second floor tonight.

Xie Yu timidly suggested, “Can we all sleep together? It’d be safer that way…” But before he could finish, Nuan-Jie interrupted him with a flat refusal. She said doing so might cause them to “miss something.”

Xie Yu’s eyes widened with fear, but nobody pressed her to explain what she might mean by “something.”

Even though her reasoning was vague, everyone tacitly came to the same conclusion: no one dared to sleep in the girl’s bedroom.

Ultimately, they decided to split into two groups-one group would sleep in the boy’s bedroom and the other in the master bedroom.

Being the only two women in the group, Nuan-Jie and Chen Xiaomeng naturally stayed together. They opted for the master bedroom on the second floor, which belonged to the male and female homeowners. It was the same room they had slept in the previous night.

On the other hand, Fatty insisted on staying in the same room as Jiang Cheng. No matter what, he wasn’t willing to split up. So, Jiang Cheng and Fatty ended up in the boy’s bedroom.

This left Fan Li and Xie Yu. Judging by their expressions, it was clear that both of them wanted to join Nuan-Jie’s group. After all, the two women seemed more experienced, and being with them might increase their odds of survival.

In the end, Nuan-Jie and Chen Xiaomeng discussed the matter and decided to let Fan Li join their room. Once the three of them entered, they immediately shut the door behind them.

Left alone in the corridor, Xie Yu stood there, looking utterly abandoned.

A chilling draft blew through, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around himself, goosebumps rising all over.

He jogged to the door of Jiang Cheng’s bedroom and knocked on it hurriedly.

Bang, bang, bang!

“It’s me! Open up, please!”

Inside, Jiang Cheng, lazily inspecting the room, replied nonchalantly, “Weren’t you the one who said earlier that you’d leave me alone in the bathroom? Go stay in the room next door.”

Xie Yu stared at the slightly ajar door to the room opposite. It swayed gently in the draft, as if something was about to burst out at any moment.

That was the girl’s bedroom.

A shiver ran down Xie Yu’s spine. He turned back and, on the verge of tears, began pleading, “I’m sorry! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have said that. Please forgive me!”

After thoroughly checking the room, Jiang Cheng finally sat down, unscrewed a fresh bottle of mineral water, and took a small sip. Casually, he called out toward the door in a teasing tone, “What did you just call me?”

“Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!” Xie Yu cried out.

Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

“Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!”

Fatty: “…”

“Phew-” Jiang Cheng exhaled contentedly and waved his hand, signaling Fatty, who was by the door, to open it.

As soon as the door cracked open, Xie Yu bolted inside like a gust of wind and slammed it shut behind him with a loud “bang.”

After the earlier ordeal, Xie Yu didn’t dare make a sound. He curled up obediently in a corner of the bedroom, afraid that Jiang Cheng might get annoyed and toss him out.

“You,” Jiang Cheng said, nodding toward Xie Yu, “go sleep on the bed.”

“Me? Sleep on the bed?” Xie Yu’s expression was one of utter disbelief.

This was a single bedroom with an ordinary twin-sized bed, meaning only one of the three of them could sleep on it.

The other two would either have to lay out makeshift beds on the floor or squeeze onto the couch.

Footnote:

1. Jie(姐): In Chinese, the term “Jie” (姐) is a respectful and affectionate way to address an older female friend, colleague, or sister.
2. Hao Shuai(郝帅): “郝帅” sounds like “好帅” in Chinese, which means “very handsome.”
3. Male Model(男模):“男模” in China can mean “male model,” but it can also refer to a male escort working in a KTV.
4. KTV(KTV): “KTV” is a karaoke venue popular in China, where patrons can sing and socialize in private rooms, sometimes offering additional entertainment services.