With that, the old gardener set down his tools and opened up, launching into his tale.
On the child's eighth birthday, a tragic accident occurred. A fire of unknown origin broke out in the estate. Though people fought desperately to put it out and no one was injured, after searching everywhere, they couldn't find the painter couple's son.
In the end, a charred corpse was discovered in the barn, reduced to ashes.
No one knew why an eight-year-old child would suddenly run into the barn. After the police investigation fizzled out, the heartbroken painter couple refused all visitors' condolences and locked themselves in their room.
That lock-in lasted for months. No one knew what the painter couple intended to do. Just as people around them were hesitating whether to report the matter to the authorities, one day, the old house's door suddenly swung open. The pale-faced painter couple emerged again, and in their arms was a face identical to that of their dead child!
Everyone was stunned. But then they realized the child hadn't come back to life—that face, so like the deceased child's, belonged to a wooden puppet. Over those months, perhaps because they poured all their heart into it, the wooden puppet became as lifelike as a real person. Moreover, this bereaved couple treated it completely as their child lost in the fire, not only talking to it constantly but also demanding all the estate's servants treat the puppet like a real person.
Many couldn't stomach such madness and left one by one. In the end, only the butler and the gardener remained. The butler, knowing well the couple's deep love for their child, didn't walk away like the others but, like the couple, did his best to treat the puppet as real. The gardener, with his scarred face, didn't want contact with ordinary people anyway, so he chose to stay.
"In the end, the estate became what you see now. This behavior might seem crazy to you, but perhaps it's just parents' way of remembering and finding solace for their lost child."
As he spoke, the old gardener's face showed sorrow again, as if still immersed in that tragedy.
"They lived like that for a full ten years?"
"Yes, and every year, the couple would find a new nanny for the child. But most of the previous nannies were quickly let go for one reason or another."
"Why is that?" Ye Xiaomei couldn't help but be startled.
"I wouldn't know. I'm just a gardener, after all." With that, the old gardener shook his head again and picked up his tools.
"The story's over. I need to get back to work."
That meant the conversation was done. Though Ye Xiaomei was full of questions, even stopping him wouldn't yield more information.
"Xiaomei? Xiaomei?"
As she watched the gardener head toward the garden, Ke Shufan's voice sounded behind her. Ye Xiaomei turned to see the bespectacled girl looking puzzled, and a smile crept onto her lips.
"This time, I've gotten some incredible information."
"Let's go find Xiao Bai and the others!"
-----
"You're not joking, are you? You want to... take this puppet?" Hearing Xiao Bai's suggestion, Chen Cailing's face showed shock.
"Yes. The list only says we can't leave Tongtong alone, not that we have to stay in this room."
"But that's too risky!" Thinking of that strange puppet, clearly filled with supernatural power, Chen Cailing was still terrified, and amazed at Xiao Bai's boldness.
"There might be a trigger for the ghost's killing hidden in this puppet. As long as we don't set it off, no matter how weird it looks, it's just a scary-looking toy doll to us."
"Besides, if we stay in the room, we can only wait passively for the plot to unfold and won't uncover more clues."
Admittedly, Xiao Bai's reasoning made some sense, but who could be sure that taking the puppet out of the room wouldn't trigger the killing mechanism?
Just as Chen Cailing hesitated whether to accept Xiao Bai's proposal, a low gasp suddenly came from beside her.
For Xiao Bai to gasp, it couldn't be trivial. Chen Cailing's heart jumped. When she followed Xiao Bai's wide-eyed gaze, she saw that the puppet, which had been sitting quietly on the bed, had vanished without a trace.
Did it really have consciousness and understand their conversation?
More than that, Xiao Bai worried about where the thing had moved to, and whether this violated the work requirements on the list!
"Let's go!"
Chen Cailing made a snap decision and rushed out of the room. No matter what, they had to find that strange puppet immediately.
Meanwhile, Ke Shufan and Ye Xiaomei returned to the main house. As they pushed the door open, a face greeted them, startling them.
"Where have you two been?"
Butler Wei, with a stern face, showed his displeasure.
"The room hasn't been cleaned, and no one's in the kitchen."
Glancing at the wall clock, Ye Xiaomei suddenly realized that in their rush to find clues, they'd neglected their duties. No wonder the butler had come to remind them.
"Got it. We'll get ready right away."
Their hearts pounded. They'd been so focused on uncovering the estate's secrets that they'd almost forgotten the important requirement on the list about preparing lunch.
The nanny role might just be a convenient identity set by the horror radio station for them to experience the story, but they still had to act in accordance with it.
As they walked down the long hallway, Ye Xiaomei could feel Butler Wei's almost tangible gaze. Though he always seemed polite and gentle, for some reason, being near him always gave her goosebumps.
Maybe I'm just too nervous.
Shaking her head to dispel the fear, Ye Xiaomei entered the kitchen. With her back to Butler Wei, neither she nor Ke Shufan noticed the old butler's pale face twitching, strands of eerie aura silently spreading around him.
Just as the tension was about to peak, the old butler's pitch-black pupils suddenly met another pair of black eyes, and he involuntarily stepped back.
Then his face darkened.
The puppet that had vanished from the room was now sitting upright on the sofa, as if it had always been there. It turned its head, its black eyes fixed unblinkingly on Butler Wei.
Time ticked by, second by second. A chill aura filled the space. Two pairs of black eyes stared silently at each other. Then, thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump, hurried footsteps came from upstairs—Xiao Bai and Cailing were rushing down.