Chapter Two: Only I Can See
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The pair of high heels, as vivid as blood, lay quietly outside the elevator doors, arranged with an almost unnatural precision. Yet, within Qi Chen's gaze, these unmoving scarlet shoes seemed to echo with the sound of heels striking the floor, the same unsettling rhythm he had heard earlier—no doubt originating from these very shoes.
"What’s making that noise? There’s not even a shadow of a ghost..." The bespectacled man, cowering behind the burly fellow, whispered anxiously, his eyes wide with terror behind smudged lenses.
As for the two girls, their nerves were already frayed by the darkness beyond the elevator doors. Coupled with the relentless clack of heels in their ears, it was remarkable that their psychological defenses had not yet collapsed.
"Do they not see it—or are they simply unable to see?" Qi Chen sensed something amiss in the bespectacled man's words. Could it be that none of them had noticed the blood-red heels placed at the elevator entrance?
Clack, clack!
The ominous tapping grew clearer and louder, even echoing slightly, as if the sound’s origin was moving from outside the elevator into their midst.
"Get out of the way!" Qi Chen acted on instinct, lunging toward the burly man and shoving him aside.
But the old-fashioned elevator was cramped; the burly man merely stumbled against the cold steel wall. "What’s your problem?!" Already irritated by Qi Chen’s earlier inexplicable actions, the burly man’s anger boiled over. He was about to retaliate, but Qi Chen’s next words chilled him to the bone.
"There's something on the floor," Qi Chen said gravely, his gaze fixed downward.
The blood-red heels now rested precisely where the burly man had just been standing.
"Where? Where's something?" The bespectacled man's face paled. He scrubbed at his glasses and stared at the spot Qi Chen indicated, but saw nothing.
The burly man and the two girls likewise looked down, but saw only the bare floor.
"Are you messing with us?" The burly man could no longer restrain himself. He lunged at Qi Chen, one hand raised to strike.
"Ouch!"
But just as he stepped forward, the burly man yelped and collapsed, clutching his feet in agony.
To Qi Chen, the blood-red heels had slipped onto the burly man's feet the instant he raised his legs.
He was certain: only he could see these crimson shoes in the elevator.
Why? Qi Chen steadied his nerves. He didn’t believe he was hallucinating, for the burly man's reaction confirmed the shoes’ real and harmful presence.
The heels, barely size thirty-something, had somehow forced themselves onto the burly man’s size forty-something feet, causing an excruciating pain.
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Within moments, beads of sweat had broken out across the burly man's brow from the agony.
"Help me up..." The burly man grabbed the bespectacled man's hand and, with his support, staggered to his feet. He shot Qi Chen a venomous glare, but the impulse to lash out had faded.
"Uncle, why are you standing on your toes?" The girl with the fringe timidly pointed at him.
"Standing on my toes, my ass!" The burly man felt as if his feet were trapped in an unyielding container—the relentless pressure made his anger flare.
"I’m leaving now!" He hunched over, pushed past the bespectacled man, and with gritted teeth and furrowed brows, limped out of the elevator, promptly pressing the button for the other elevator.
"I don’t believe it. Both elevators can't be broken."
Driven by pain, the burly man was desperate to leave the building and find somewhere to examine his feet.
The others, seeing him exit unscathed, hurried after him.
Qi Chen alone remained in the elevator, his expression complicated, lost in thought.
He wanted to share his discovery, but he knew that without direct evidence, these strangers would never believe him.
At least, the unsettling clack had ceased.
"Are you coming or not?" The burly man’s impatient, pale-lipped voice rang out. The other elevator was about to arrive.
Qi Chen nodded and stepped out, casting a furtive glance at the burly man’s feet.
The high heels still encased them—and the heels seemed to be growing taller.
Qi Chen stayed behind the burly man, determined to observe closely. A sense of unease gnawed at him, and since seeing the shoes, a vague, rough roar had echoed in his mind.
It was a blurred howl, wild and furious, unsettling even Qi Chen, who was accustomed to peace and quiet. He felt an urge to smash something, an unfamiliar frustration building within him.
Ding!
The elevator arrived. Its antiquated doors creaked open, the harsh white light spilling out onto faces relieved to see it.
The burly man, suffering for so long, hobbled toward the elevator in haste.
But he halted abruptly, as a hand gripped his shirt from behind.
"Don't... go in," Qi Chen's pupils dilated, his lips barely parted as he whispered at the burly man's ear.
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"Trust me!"
Once more, Qi Chen gripped the burly man’s shirt, his voice so resolute that the burly man was stunned, his anger forgotten.
Unbeknownst to him, Qi Chen saw more than just their small group.
There was another—a woman, clad in a pale gown, her long black hair concealing her face, standing with her head bowed inside the opened elevator.
Her posture suggested she had been waiting for them for a long time.
The red high heels... Qi Chen forced himself to remain calm. The strange woman in the elevator was also wearing a pair of heels as blood-red and uncanny as the ones outside.
"Let’s take the stairs. These old elevators can be unreliable," Qi Chen managed a smile, addressing the others.
"Are you nuts? The elevator’s right here. Even if it’s old, the odds of both breaking at once are tiny!" The bespectacled man grumbled, glaring at Qi Chen, then strode toward the elevator without another word.
Qi Chen tried to speak, but suddenly a cold gaze pierced him.
The woman in the elevator lifted her head; through her tangled hair, a pair of bloodshot eyes stared at him.
Clack, clack!
The sound of heels striking the floor suddenly echoed from the stairwell, and the bespectacled man and the two girls, startled like frightened rabbits, bolted into the elevator.
The burly man, terror-stricken, was unable to run as Qi Chen held onto his shirt and his feet were still in pain.
Bang!
The elevator doors slammed shut, the red numbers on the display began to change.
It started descending.
...