Horror Game Designer

The middle-aged woman kept calling. She was worried about Situ An. No matter how impressive Situ An was to the outside world, he was always a child in her eyes. He was a child who would get into trouble, get injured and make people worry.

“It’s getting late, and he’s not answering my calls. Did something happen to him?” The middle-aged woman made the call again and again. Gao Ming stood to the side. He knew Situ An couldn’t answer the call and would not return because he was locked in his heart.

“He must be caught at work. We can eat while we wait for him.” The middle-aged woman put down the phone. She entered the kitchen to serve the rice. The calls ended, but the ringing still echoed in Gao Ming’s heart. The sound became clearer as if waiting for Situ An to answer it.

What would happen if Situ An really answered it?

Gao Ming looked at the table full of dishes. The sun shone through the window and split the room into two. He stood in the shadow. The table’s side was brighter.

“Somehow, the dining table doesn’t feel like it’s for food.” Gao Ming stayed in the dark and continued to look for anomalies in the room. “There has to be more in Situ An’s home. He has personally created so many sins. How many families have been shattered and broken because of him? How could his home retain warmth and love?

“The blood is probably hiding in the places that I can’t see and the corners the sun cannot hit. There have to be rotten corpses hidden around here!”

Gao Ming’s shoes bumped against the dresser. Between the dresser and the corner of the wall was a tattered paper box. The box was small and filled with many toys. Everything in the apartment felt familiar to Gao Ming… with the exception of this toy box. Most of the toys had the human shape. There was a kid holding a metallic gaming helmet, a nurse wearing a nightcap that had a long tail, a cute doll with a giant head and a celebrity toy that had heavy dark circles.

“Hmm?”

The toy that Gao Ming held seemed to move its eyes. Gao Ming touched the toy’s eye socket. The male celebrity toy’s workmanship was poor. It didn’t even have eyelids. There were many similar toys. They didn’t seem to be old toys thrown out by others or toys sold on the market. They appeared to be collected by the middle-aged lady.

“Situ An played with those when he was young. I gathered them and wanted to give them away to the kids in the yard, but Situ An rejected the idea. I don’t know why he still hangs on to them, considering his age.” The middle-aged woman walked out with two bowls of rice. “Let’s eat.”

The middle-aged woman kept looking out the window. The sun of the early summer was warm. The scenery outside the window was flushed with life. Time seemed to flow slowly in the old apartment. All the dishes were served. The people who should have been there weren’t, and the people who should have sat down didn’t. One was waiting for her son to come home, and the other was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Do you have any children?” The middle-aged woman suddenly asked.

“Why?” Gao Ming turned back and saw the woman ladling out the dishes into a small bowl. She reserved them for Situ An.

“You’ve been looking at the tous. I assume you plan to buy some for your kids.” The woman covered the bowl meant for Situ An. “Let’s eat.”

This was the woman’s second time asking Gao Ming to join her at the dining table. The fragrance invoked the memory from his past. Gao Ming involuntarily moved towards the dining table. He couldn’t sense any danger. As he got closer to the table, Gao Ming could hear someone calling his name. However, the sound was soon overwhelmed by the sound of the ringing coming from his heart. Gao Ming came to the table and took the seat meant for Situ An.

The middle-aged woman mumbled as if to herself, “Kid, you are so similar to my child.”

The middle-aged woman was very kind, gentle and open.

“Situ An doesn’t have many friends. He is always too hardworking and aims for the first place. He doesn’t know how to share with others.” The woman sighed. “Other parents hope their children will study hard so that they will have a bright future, but I hope Situ An can cut himself some slack. I’m happy as long as he is healthy.”

Noticing Gao Ming studying him, the middle-aged woman pushed the cooked ribs towards Gao Ming, “Try some. Situ An used to like my cooking. He complimented me every day and made me feel like such a great chef.”

Gao Ming used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of ribs. He didn’t eat it but pondered the sentence the woman said. ‘Situ An used to like my cooking.’

This meant that Situ An didn’t like her cooking any more, or rather, Situ An hadn’t had her cooking for some time already. Gao Ming caught this detail and understood one thing. The middle-aged woman was lying to herself! She knew Situ An would never return home!

In that case, why would she welcome him with such passion? This meant that she wanted to stay at her ‘home’ forever.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was suddenly a knocking on the door. Gao Ming put down his chopsticks. “That should be Situ An. I’ll go get the door.” He left the table with a jog. The woman stood up and looked at the front door with anticipation. She wished for Situ An to come home more than anyone.

Gao Ming opened the heavy door. The summer breeze carried the warmth of the sun into the room. The black hair caressed her cheeks, and the fragrance of rice faded.

The skirt fluttered. The sound of cicadas faded away. The world became silent. The woman outside the door stood facing Gao Ming. Seeing the woman’s familiar face, Gao Ming was shocked. He didn’t expect them to be reunited like this.

“Xuan Wen?”

Gao Ming lowered his voice.

Xuan Wen at the door was shocked. However, she quickly took a polite step back, as if she didn’t recognise Gao Ming. “Hello.”

“Hello.” Gao Ming didn’t say anything else. He nodded with cooperation like this was their first meeting. The ringing in his heart was noisy. Gao Ming moved back to open a path for her. “Do you wish to enter this home too?”