Because I was a cheapskate, I rented a cheap apartment. The catch? Someone had died in it.

The soundproofing of the house was bad, and I could hear my neighbor’s wife moaning every night.

But my other neighbor told me that there was no one living in the apartment next to mine.

After I graduated, I rented an apartment that was approximately 650 square feet.

Before I rented it, the agent told me that there had been a fire incident in the place, and someone had died. It was later converted into an apartment building.

But I did not mind it. After all, the rent was cheap, and the decor was simple. The only problem was that the soundproofing was bad.

A couple lived in No. 303. Whenever the sun went down, the wife would start moaning embarrassingly loudly.

But it sounded like the couple next door was arguing tonight, and the fight was getting worse. In the end, the wife’s screams nearly deafened me.

“Did someone die?” I cried out softly. The commotion next door suddenly died down.

It was at this moment that I finally realized what had happened. The soundproofing was terrible, and they could hear all the noise I made too.

‘Oh no…’ My heart leaped to my throat.

The strange silence lasted for about four seconds before I suddenly heard a piercing cry for help.

“Help! He’s going to kill me!”

It was followed by a roar and a few slaps.

I obviously could not see through the wall, but based on the sounds alone, I could guess that the slaps must have drawn blood.

I got up in a panic. I intended to knock on their door to check on the situation.

“Stay out of this, 302! If you talk, I’ll kill you!”

There was a dull thud from the other side of the wall. The man must have punched it! Dust fell on my bed.

I trembled in fear. But after some hesitation, I put on my coat and pushed open the door of my apartment.

I hurried to the apartment next door. The door was not shut tight, and I could see sparks from within.

The wife had been screaming at the top of her lungs just moments ago, but it was eerily quiet at present.

“Anyone there?!” I shouted from the door, but no one answered.

I was puzzled, but then, I heard faint gasps from within.

“Help…” That was a woman’s voice!

Was she really in trouble? My mind went blank for a moment. Gritting my teeth, I pushed open the door and went in to check.

Right in front of me was a black and white photo. It was a memorial photo.

The door to the bedroom was locked, but I saw a key in the keyhole.

I opened the door, and a foul stench of blood immediately attacked my senses.

I felt sick and flipped the switch to turn on the lights.

But the light did not turn on.

I flipped it again, but there was still no change.

“Get me out…” the wife said. This time, her voice sounded right beside my feet.

I could not see her. I could only ask, “Did you fall?”

When I crouched down and reached out, my fingertips touched something warm and sticky.

The sensation was disgusting. It felt like flesh that had been stripped of skin.

The foul stench of blood was suffocating, and I stumbled a few steps back. The memorial photo outside swayed as I bumped into the cupboard where it was placed.

I saw a torchlight beside the memorial photo, and I got up and grabbed it. When I turned around, I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

There was a woman in the room. She knelt on the floor as she stared at me from the darkness. Half of her face had been cut off, and blood flowed from it. The blood I touched had already congealed on my fingers.

“I told you. Stay out of this!”

A man’s hoarse voice came from behind the woman. Under the dim light, the woman’s head slowly split open, like a splattered watermelon.

When the woman’s head was split open, I saw the man’s face.

A sword pierced through the woman’s chest and stabbed into my own body.

I did not actually find out how it felt to be stabbed to death, but when I woke up, I was gasping for breath.

After a long while, I turned to look outside. It was dark. My heart gradually calmed. It had been just a dream.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Suddenly, I heard someone knocking on my door.

“Sir, did we bother you just now?”

It was the voice of the wife next door.

Her voice made me remember my dream: her face cut off, and the man hiding behind her…

My heart sank, and I drew closer to the edge of my bed.

“Sir, are you there? If we bothered you, I apologize,” the wife said again. For some reason, her voice was eerie.

Knock, knock, knock… Knock, knock, knock…

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said instinctively, and the knocking ceased.

“Hehe...”

I heard a soft chuckle.

“You’re in there? Why don’t you open the door? I have something for you.”

Her voice was soft and sickeningly sweet, and it made my skin crawl.

It felt as though she was trying to confirm whether I was really inside the apartment.

I did not dare to respond again.

“Sir, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you there? Are you still there?!”

I heard scratching outside, as if someone was trying to break the lock.

“What’re you trying to do?! Just say it!” I shouted at the door in fear.

Silence again. It was so quiet that I heard absolutely nothing.

I sat in bed for about two to three minutes. Once I was sure that there was no other noise, I wobbled my way to the apartment door.

I looked out through the peephole. It was empty. No one was around.

But in the next moment, the wife’s pale face suddenly pressed against the peephole.

I nearly fell on my behind. The wife had not left! She had been silently hiding in the blind spot!

Was she some crazy stalker?

My heart raced. After I calmed myself a little, I decided to grab a knife.

But right when I was about to move, I heard hurried footsteps from the corridor. Then, her husband roared, “Where do you think you’re going, you idiot?! Run again, and I’ll break your legs!”

I heard running. Someone was chasing after someone else. Then, I heard a door slam shut.

I heard the husband yelling and hitting the wife next door again, and the wife cried pitifully.

But this time, I did not dare stick my nose into their business. I did not want to assume what was going on either.

Had the dream from last night turned into reality?

I was worried that someone would break my lock and the door, so I barricaded it with a cupboard. With my eyes wide open, I sat on my bed until noon. My stomach grumbled.

When I pushed the door open again, I saw someone going upstairs.

It was an old woman. She seemed shocked when she saw me.

“Who are you?”

I hurriedly said, “I just moved in. I live in 302.”

“Oh?” The old woman hurried past me.

“Ma’am, do you know about the couple living in 303?”

The old woman immediately froze. Then, she stared at me in puzzlement.

“303 has been empty for two years. No one has lived there since the fire. What on earth are you talking about?”

I felt my mind go blank when I heard the old woman.

“That’s impossible! I heard them arguing last night!”

The old woman looked strangely at me. Then, she turned and ran off.

Soon, I heard the sound of a door lock snapping into place. The old woman lived on the third floor as well. In fact, she lived right across from me.

Was I really hallucinating?

I had moved into this apartment building for a week, and I was sure that I saw the couple in 303 walking in and out every day. How could it have been empty?

But when I thought about it, I recalled that I had only seen the couple after the sun went down.

I had never really checked the apartment next door, except maybe in my dream.

I felt my skin crawl. I looked outside. The sun was still out, and I felt a little bold.

I could just take a look and see if anyone was really staying there. I could not possibly run into ghosts while it was bright outside, could I?

I had heard the wife knocking on my door last night, though. I had also heard the husband hitting his wife.

While I was thinking about it, I arrived outside 303.

The couple’s door was old, and there was a small crack beside the peephole. Through it, I could look inside the apartment.

Since the crack was small, I had to focus.

The inside slowly became clearer to me, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

It was dark inside, but the light from outside the window filtered in and revealed an abandoned apartment. The place was burnt black from the fire. No one could possibly be living there.

What had I really been hearing coming in and out of the apartment all week?

My skin crawled. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I trembled. When I turned around to look, I was so terrified that my knees nearly buckled.

“Sir, what are you doing?”

The wife was right behind me. In her hands was a bag full of groceries.

Her beautiful face was as pale as a ghost’s.

The sun was about to set.

“You…” I pointed at her, but I found myself unable to even utter a word.

“Are you feeling sick?” She fished out her keys and opened the door.

The smell of flowers came from within, and she smiled at me. “Why don’t you come in?”

“I don’t need to, thanks,” I said and rejected her offer, but my eyes were glued to the space behind her.

The apartment was decorated in a way that made it feel very homely. It was a completely different sight from the abandoned apartment I had seen moments ago.

“Oh, don’t be such a stranger. Come in!” said the wife and grabbed my wrist.

I fought back with everything I had, but she was strong. Her grip was like iron, and I could not break free.

“Let me go!” I shouted and grabbed the door frame. I did not want to go in.

But suddenly, the wife’s face changed. “Come in! Otherwise, no one can save you!”