"Xiao Bai? Xiao Bai?"
Hearing Chen Cailing's voice, Xiao Bai steadied herself. The sound of the music box seemed to be heard only by her alone.
This suddenly made her tense up.
In horror stories, supernatural events often occur—some serve as hints given by the tale, while others foreshadow imminent danger. For participants, the latter often becomes the key to life or death.
Could the nursery rhyme only she could hear be the fifth requirement on the list, and was this requirement the story's death omen?
The music box, now still, sat quietly on the bedside. The room was filled with an array of toys, showing the owner's fondness for children, but due to the eerie atmosphere, these toys didn't evoke childlike joy or happiness; instead, they felt oppressive.
Just then, "Beep beep beep," a car horn sounded again outside the window. Through the gap in the curtains, a black car slowly drove out of view, presumably the painter couple leaving the estate.
As the two watched the car fade into the distance, suddenly, as if someone had breathed on her from behind, a chill crept up Xiao Bai's neck. She spun around sharply, but no one was there.
A white handkerchief lay quietly on the floor, as if something had just darted past her.
"What's this?"
Picking up the fallen handkerchief, Chen Cailing's face showed confusion. But when her gaze inadvertently fell on the doll again, she let out a soft gasp.
The doll's face, which had been facing the door, had somehow turned around, staring at them expressionlessly.
Startled, both of them instinctively stepped back.
It... moved!
Behind them, this eerie doll had moved on its own!
Just as Chen Cailing was about to speak in panic, she caught sight of Xiao Bai's expression. Xiao Bai gently shook her head and made a shushing gesture.
Shh...
Don't say it...
Can't speak it out loud...
Whatever evil lurked inside that doll, for now, it remained hidden. If they exposed it, who knew what terrible things might happen—perhaps even triggering the story's deadly mechanism.
In truth, at this moment, Xiao Bai was on edge.
All signs pointed to the story's evil entity targeting her as its first victim.
Though the list had multiple requirements, perhaps only a few were truly dangerous.
Now Xiao Bai realized that "playing games with Tongtong" was clearly one of them.
The problem was, where did the danger of this "game" lie, and how could it be resolved? For Xiao Bai, she had no clue at all.
Since Chen Cailing hadn't heard the music from the box, it meant that only Xiao Bai had triggered the "playing with Tongtong" event. After some thought, Xiao Bai decided to keep this trigger a secret.
She wasn't sure if other participants, upon learning about the nursery rhyme, would also be drawn into the dangerous event!
At that moment, on the first floor of the house.
Ye Xiaomei and Ke Shufan had finished investigating the dining room and living room but found no useful clues. Just as they straightened up to take a short break, Ye Xiaomei suddenly felt an intense sensation of being watched!
Turning her head, a shadow flashed past the open window. Both were startled, and Ke Shufan nearly pulled out a ghost-repelling talisman. But upon seeing the figure clearly, they noticed his clothes were covered in dirt, suggesting he was a gardener or similar worker. However, an ugly scar marred his face, perhaps why he avoided others.
Since he'd been spotted, the gardener stopped hiding. He gave them a deep look, then turned and walked toward the garden.
"Wait..."
A thought flashed through Ye Xiaomei's mind, and she hurriedly chased after him.
Besides the butler, there was a second person in the estate, which surprised Ye Xiaomei somewhat. But compared to the seemingly kind yet intimidating butler, she felt she might get useful information from this scarred gardener.
Maybe because she was running too fast, she tripped over something and lost her balance, falling onto the garden path.
The gardener ahead stopped, hesitated, then turned back and reluctantly extended a hand.
A faint, barely noticeable smile curled at the corner of her mouth. Ye Xiaomei patted the dirt off her clothes and stood up with a grateful expression.
"Thank you, sir. Do you work here too?"
As he helped her up, Ye Xiaomei flashed a sweet smile, seemingly casual but deliberately striking up a conversation.
"Um... could we ask you something?"
"What do you want to know?"
Perhaps unable to resist the young girl's sweet smile, the old gardener's face finally softened from its cold expression, and he answered softly.
"Well, sir, first, how long have you worked here?"
"Twenty years, maybe close to thirty. Why do you ask?"
"That long? Then you must know this family very well."
"Maybe. What exactly do you want to ask?"
Ye Xiaomei stuck out her tongue, her mind racing as she organized her words, finally deciding to ask the question she was most concerned about.
"Well, sir, we're new nannies here, but forgive me for asking—after arriving, we found this family seems... a bit strange..."
As she spoke, Ye Xiaomei carefully watched the gardener's expression. "For instance, why treat a doll like their own child and hire staff to care for it? I mean, is there a story behind this doll?"
After asking, Ye Xiaomei's heart was full of anxiety. Her right hand slipped into her pocket, gripping a ghost-repelling talisman tightly. This talisman was a store-bought item, not very powerful against spirits, but as long as it wasn't facing an exceptionally strong ghost, it could hold them off.
If anything happened around her, Ye Xiaomei wouldn't hesitate to throw the talisman and run!
Hearing this question, the old gardener's once-kind face gradually turned somber. He opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated.
Just as Ye Xiaomei thought he wouldn't answer, the old gardener let out a deep sigh, his expression turning sorrowful.
"That poor child—you've seen her too."
"In that terrible fire, the poor child didn't survive."
As if sinking into grief or being stirred by deep memories, the old gardener gently shook his head.
For Ye Xiaomei, this was a pleasant surprise. She hadn't expected to learn the story behind the eerie doll so easily.
This old gardener was indeed someone in the know—perhaps a plot character arranged by the story to provide clues to participants.
No wonder they hadn't found any clues in the rooms; the gardener was the hint.
Thinking this, Ye Xiaomei felt a surge of excitement, but she hid it well, letting a hint of curiosity and surprise show on her face.
"A fire? What happened? Could you tell us what occurred?"
"Ah, it was ten years ago. But that matter isn't a secret. Since you want to know, I'll tell you."