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When they regained consciousness, they had all arrived behind the blood-red wooden door.
They were dispersed in a beautiful suburban villa area.
However, it was strange that although the area was exquisitely built, it appeared lifeless.
Ning Qiushui walked through several villas and confirmed that there were no people in this villa complex.
It was eerily quiet.
“Is it uninhabited, or did everyone go to work?”
Ning Qiushui carefully observed the villa area and seemed to notice something.
“No….”
“The garden shows recent signs of pruning, the pond still has goldfish, and there are some commonly used tools in the yard... There should be people living here.”
“But… where did they all go?”
A hint of doubt crossed Ning Qiushui's mind as he continued forward.
Soon, he saw the villa they were tasked to enter.
It was not hard to identify.
Because, out of the entire villa complex, only this villa had someone standing outside.
It was a woman dressed elegantly, in luxurious attire, holding a suitcase.
She wore a sunhat with a small red flower pinned to it and was holding a young girl, about eight or nine years old, standing in the yard under the not-too-hot sun, smiling at the newcomers.
The woman’s smile was charming, the kind that grows more beautiful the more you look at it. But for some reason, Ning Qiushui felt a chill down his spine when he looked at her smile.
That smile seemed less like a welcome for guests and more like...
Just as Ning Qiushui was lost in thought, a large hand clapped on his shoulder.
Ning Qiushui jumped in surprise, turned around, and found it was Liu Chengfeng with a beard.
“Hey, you’re here too?”
Ning Qiushui nodded.
“Yeah, it looks like that villa is where we need to go.”
Liu Chengfeng glanced at the villa from a distance, his expression grew serious. He then calculated something with his fingers and muttered:
“Oh no…”
Seeing his demeanor, Ning Qiushui's eyes lit up:
“You can tell fortunes?”
Liu Chengfeng shook his head.
“Out there, I do help people with fortune-telling... But I just realized that I actually can't tell fortunes; I'm just a charlatan.”
Ning Qiushui was taken aback.
What a piece of work...
Has he told so many lies that he believes them himself?
And...
How can you say such things so confidently?
“Forget it…”
Ning Qiushui shook his head helplessly and stepped directly towards the villa where the young woman was.
Some people had already arrived before them.
The lady of the villa did not speak to them; she only showed them a polite smile.
This smile was neither warm nor cold, and when they spoke to her, she would only respond with:
“Please wait a moment; a few more caregivers haven't arrived.”
About ten minutes later, all seven people had finally arrived.
At this point, as if triggered by some condition, the lady of the villa, who had been only smiling, suddenly spoke to them:
“Everyone is here, right?”
“I’m truly sorry for asking all of you to come take care of my mother. My husband is away on business, and I need to take my daughter to the seaside for her birthday. There is no one else at home…”
“And since my mother is elderly, not only is she bedridden, but her cognitive functions have severely declined. I’m worried that two or three caregivers might not be enough, so I’ve decided to hire all of you from the company…”
“You don’t need to worry about the money. I’m not short of it.”
“After I return... If my mother is well taken care of, I will pay each of you separately.”
Ning Qiushui and the others followed the woman into the villa, proceeding to the second floor and arriving at a spacious room.
The room’s lighting was not very good.
There was also an unpleasant odor in the air.
On the large bed by the window lay an elderly woman with a kindly expression, peacefully watching Ning Qiushui and the others.
She had an almost imperceptible, eerie smile on her face, making everyone feel a shiver down their spine.
“This is my mother…”
The woman introduced them and then went to sit beside the elderly woman, speaking affectionately:
“Mom, I’m taking Tuan Tuan to the seaside for her birthday. I’ve arranged for seven caregivers to take care of you for the next five days…”
After saying this, she leaned closer to the elderly woman’s ear and whispered something.
Then the woman stood up, looked at everyone, and smiled:
“Although my mother is bedridden and somewhat suffers from dementia, she can understand simple words. Overall, her health is still quite good, and she doesn’t have other illnesses. Her appetite is also fine… Oh, right, I haven’t shown you the kitchen yet.”
She led everyone downstairs to the villa’s kitchen.
The kitchen was also quite large, with all the necessary utensils neatly cleaned.
On the left side of the kitchen entrance were two huge refrigerators.
“It’s already summer here, and the rainy season is approaching. The heavy rains here can be quite frightening, and it may be very inconvenient to buy groceries in the next three to five days…”
The woman said, pulling open one of the large refrigerators to reveal it packed with meat and vegetables, smiling at everyone:
“But don’t worry.”
“I’ve prepared plenty of food and water for you…”
“Also… my mother doesn’t like vegetables, so when you cook for her, please prepare more meat.”
After saying this, the woman did not immediately leave with her daughter but asked everyone:
“Do you have any questions?”
Ning Qiushui spoke first:
“Excuse me, is there no one else living in this villa area?”
The woman paused for a moment, then calmly smiled and said:
“Yes, this villa area has been built for a while, but it is quite remote. Apart from us, no one else lives here. In fact, if it weren’t for my mother’s condition, we wouldn’t be living here…”
She added:
“For these five days, just consider yourselves the owners of the villa. I’ve prepared all the rooms on the second floor for you, so you can choose the room you prefer.”
“But remember… you absolutely must not enter the third floor of the villa, understood?”
When she said this, her expression suddenly became very serious.
Everyone agreed.
Seeing that everyone had agreed, the lady smiled again.
“Since you all understand, then… please take good care of my mother!”
“Oh, the car is about to leave. I need to go with my daughter now; otherwise, we’ll miss the high-speed train…”
Saying this, she hurriedly walked to the door in her high heels, leading her daughter and suitcase outside.
Ning Qiushui had a vague sense that something was off, so he went to the window to watch the direction in which the woman was leaving.
As they were getting into the car, the little girl being led by the woman looked back and made eye contact with Ning Qiushui through the window.
That glance left Ning Qiushui frozen in place.
His vision was excellent.
So, Ning Qiushui clearly saw a look of… fear in the little girl’s eyes!
She was scared.
Scared of what?
Scared of going to the seaside?
Scared of her mother?
Or… scared of the villa they were in?
As Ning Qiushui pondered this, Liu Chengfeng, the burly man with a beard, approached and clicked his tongue:
“What are you staring at? They’ve gone far already…”
“Kid, didn’t expect you’d be into married women at such a young age… Not bad, not bad. The future looks promising!”
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