The sensation of fear had eluded Song Laoyao for a long time. Due to his explosive temper, others were the ones who experienced fear in his presence.


    However, at this very moment, he felt fear himself, inexplicably!


    "Could there really be ghosts in this world? Did that foul-mouthed woman reallye back for me?"


    Somehow, Song Laoyao''s mind involuntarily recalled his deceased wife!


    Thinking of his wife''s eyes, wide open at the time of her death, Song Laoyao couldn''t help but shiver again.


    Once fear takes root in a person''s heart, it bes uncontroble. It swiftly upies the entire heart in a very short time.


    In Song Laoyao''s case, this was happening. As fear spread within him, the night seemed to grow increasingly terrifying. Although he hadn''t seen or heard anything, the fear in his heart didn''t diminish by even a fraction.


    "Damn it! Who the hell is sneaking around behind me! Come out, damn it!!!"


    This unexined fear was pushing Song Laoyao to the brink. He angrily threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and turned around, cursing vehemently.Behind him, there was still nothing, just pitch darkness. Only his curses echoed in this area.


    Cursing seemed to give him some extra courage, but the chilling feeling persisted.


    Too eerie!


    Tonight''s journey made him experience an unprecedented strangeness. He dared not continue to be under the pitch-ck night sky. He sprinted in the direction of his home.


    After running only a few steps, he felt like something had grabbed his feet. His body stumbled, and he fell to the ground, his face colliding with a rock. His two front teeth hit the hard surface, and a painful scream escaped from Song Laoyao''s mouth.


    After the scream, Song Laoyao felt that something was amiss. He realized that the person under him seemed peculiar.


    Summoning courage, he adjusted the angle of the mobile phone''s light. To his surprise, he discovered that the person beneath him wasn''t a real person but a cheap intable doll!


    "Damn it! Are they ying games with me?"


    Song Laoyao cursed loudly. It seemed like he regained some lost courage. He stood up abruptly, spat another mouthful of blood onto the intable doll, and then, fueled by anger and frustration, kicked the somewhat deted intable doll away!


    The slum was infamous for being dirty and chaotic, with garbage strewn everywhere. You could find all sorts of weird things here. However, encountering an intable doll on a night road was something Song Laoyao had never experienced before.


    The intable dollnded face down on the ground with a muffled sound. Angrily cursing a few more times, Song Laoyao continued to run towards his home.


    At this moment, he only felt secure when he reached home!


    What Song Laoyao didn''t notice was that, just as the mobile phone light shifted away from the intable doll, which was initially face down, it slowly twisted its head with a creaking sound. A stiff face revealed a hair-raising, eerie smile.


    If Song Laoyao had seen this scene, he would have surely been scared out of his wits.


    Running all the way, Song Laoyao finally saw a house ahead with lights on. This house, illuminated in the darkness, was his home.


    Although Song Laoyao had lived in a slum before, the ce was lively, with quite a few neighbors. It was much better than the deste ce he found himself in now.


    However, due to financial constraints, unable to afford the corresponding rent, he had no choice but to move here with his wife and child.


    His wife had passed away seven days ago, and it was alreadyte at night, but the lights were still on at home. He didn''t find it strange because there was still a child in the house.


    Looking at the light emanating from his home, Song Laoyao''s anxious and uneasy heart finally felt somewhat at ease.


    Blood continued to flow from the missing teeth, and he, like a man, took a harsh drag on a cigarette. After exhaling, he spat several times in session, trying topletely rid his mouth of blood. Then, with an unpleasant expression, he walked towards the house.


    It was just a rundown rental, small and dpidated.


    In this small dwelling, the living room doubled as the kitchen, the kitchen as the bedroom, and the bedroom as the living room.


    This arrangement was somewhat simr to Yang Haoran''s current residence, butpared to Yang Haoran''s ce, it was still not better. At least Yang Haoran''s ce had a toilet and a bathing area, while this dpidated small dwelling had neither.


    Before entering the house, Song Laoyao saw a chaotic scene inside from the outside.


    Bowls and dishes were scattered everywhere, and there was a lot of undried water on the floor. A four-year-old, frail child was curled up in a corner, fast asleep. Under the child was only a thin, tattered bedsheet.


    This child was none other than Song Laoyao''s four-year-old son.


    For a normal father witnessing this scene, it would undoubtedly evoke a sense of heartache, but Song Laoyao felt the opposite. Already in a bad mood from losing money, getting frightened on his way home in the dark, and even falling and knocking out two front teeth, he couldn''t help but feel a surge of anger when he looked at the messy house and his sleeping son.


    With an unsightly expression, he kicked the child a few times. The boy''s frail body trembled, waking up like a startled rabbit. Seeing Song Laoyao, who had a displeased look and blood at the corner of his mouth, the boy shivered in fear, his face filled with dread.


    The boy didn''t speak, just stared at Song Laoyao with fear, then tried to shrink back, hoping to create some distance.


    Unfortunately, his body was already against the wall, and no matter how much he tried to retreat, he couldn''t put more space between himself and Song Laoyao.


    "You little brat sleeps sofortably. Does sleeping not require turning off the lights? Does electricitye free in this house?" Song Laoyao roared.


    The boy, scared and shivering, shed tears the size of beans, but he dared not make a sound.


    "Cry, cry, cry! All you know is crying! Cry, damn it, cry! Get up!!!"


    The boy still made no sound, but his trembling, frail body slowly stood up under Song Laoyao''s furious gaze.


    "Speak! What''s going on in this house? Why is it so messy?" Song Laoyao roared again.


    When Song Laoyao''s wife was still alive, she handled the housekeeping, no matter when he returned home, the house was always neat and clean.


    Now that his wife had passed away, leaving behind only a four-year-old son, and Song Laoyao, ustomed toziness, didn''t know how to tidy up. Therefore, he forcibly imposed the housekeeping chores on his son.


    At the age of four, the child didn''t understand much and had limited capabilities, but under Song Laoyao''s oppression, during the seven days since his wife''s death, the child had managed to keep the house rtively tidy. Although it didn''t meet the standards set by his wife, it was still eptable to Song Laoyao.


    However, tonight, the house was a mess, and Song Laoyao, already in a bad mood, found an outlet for his pent-up anger.


    Seeing the child remain silent, Song Laoyao roared again!


    "Lost your voice? Speak!"


    "I cooked...ate...got tired...then slept...so..."


    The child''s exnation was stuttered, not because he had a speech impediment, but because Song Laoyao had frightened him.


    Hearing this exnation, Song Laoyao was furious. He raised his hand and delivered a heavy p across the child''s face!


    Smack!


    The p was powerful, not only numbing half of the boy''s face but also causing his head to hit the wall behind with force.