Chapter 8: Haunted by an Uncanny Gaze

The online viewers were all growing sleepy.

Suddenly, a movement beneath the blanket caught their attention, and they instantly perked up.

Under the eager gaze of the crowd, Ling Yun’s eyes snapped open, a chill flashing in their depths.

He lifted his hand, about to bring it down.

Then a small head poked out from under the covers.

She tilted up her little face, her big eyes shining with joy as she looked at Ling Yun.

“When did you sneak in here?”

“Just now! DuoDuo was hiding under the bed, waiting for Daddy to fall asleep before crawling out.”

DuoDuo’s eyes curved in a delighted smile as she gazed at him.

“Daddy, can DuoDuo sleep here?”

“No.”

Ling Yun’s refusal was firm. DuoDuo’s little face immediately fell.

Daddy really didn’t like her after all; he didn’t want to be close to her, did he?

“Okay then.”

DuoDuo climbed out from under the blanket, dragging her little head down as she stood up on the bed.

Ling Yun parted his lips, inexplicably wanting to keep her there.

But before a word could escape, Lin JianYue’s voice suddenly came from beneath the bed.

“DuoDuo, you can come sleep with Mommy.”

Lin JianYue sat up and raised her arms toward DuoDuo.

DuoDuo’s face was so soft and tender that just looking at her made Lin JianYue feel hungry.

“All right!”

Hearing that her mother accepted her, DuoDuo was overjoyed.

She lifted her little head proudly and excitedly inched toward the edge of the bed.

But just as she moved a few steps, someone tugged at her collar from behind.

“The floor is cold, lie down!”

“Huh?”

DuoDuo turned her head, puzzled, looking at Ling Yun.

“Did Daddy say I can sleep here?”

“Just this once,” Ling Yun reluctantly agreed.

Seeing that Daddy no longer rejected her, DuoDuo happily waved her arms and legs.

Lin JianYue’s arms stiffened, a fleeting shadow of disappointment flashing through her eyes.

She was about to withdraw her hand when DuoDuo suddenly grasped it tightly.

“Mommy, sleep with DuoDuo!”

Lin JianYue was taken aback for a moment, then slowly lifted her head.

She looked at DuoDuo, then glanced at Ling Yun behind her, her eyes quickly dimming again.

She wanted to sleep with DuoDuo, but she didn’t dare.

“Come up.”

“Huh?”

Did she just hear that right?

General Ling was inviting her to come up and sleep with them?

“Mommy, Daddy said the floor is cold, so hurry up and come up!”

DuoDuo tugged at her hand, using all her strength to pull her up.

Lin JianYue curved her lips slightly, mustered her courage, and lay down beside DuoDuo.

She had expected Ling Yun to kick her off, just like with Zhang YangFan.

But after a while, nothing happened.

Tentatively, Lin JianYue reached out and touched DuoDuo’s tender little cheek.

Such a lovely daughter—she had a daughter again.

This daughter was different, a warm little comfort.

“Mommy, DuoDuo wants to hear a story.”

In the darkness, DuoDuo’s eyes shone like stars in the night sky.

Seeing her look at her so earnestly, Lin JianYue’s smile suddenly stiffened.

What to do—she didn’t know how to tell stories. Would her daughter be disappointed?

“Mommy…”

“Well, DuoDuo close your eyes, and Mommy will tell you a story, okay?”

Lin JianYue looked at her and gently patted her back.

DuoDuo nodded obediently, like a little chick pecking, and shut her eyes.

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose parents sold her to a wealthy household to be a maid.

The maid didn’t have enough to eat or warm clothes, she was so thin and pale from hunger, and the other servants bullied her.

But that wasn’t the worst part—what was worst was that she became pregnant…”

As Lin JianYue spoke, her stomach suddenly twitched.

Her expression changed as she raised her hand to press on her belly.

Once the movement inside calmed, she finally exhaled, her gaze settling on DuoDuo’s small face.

DuoDuo was young and slept soundly.

No sooner had her little head touched the pillow than she began to snore softly.

Fearing she might wake her, Lin JianYue stopped telling the story.

[What a surprise. I thought the thing under the blanket was a ghost, but it turns out to be this little one.]

[What’s really surprising is a ghost telling a bedtime story to a little kid!]

[Do you think the story the ghost just told DuoDuo actually happened to her?

They say the spirits in the haunted forest all died with grievances, carrying powerful grudges.

I thought we’d finally learn how that ghost died today, but she stopped halfway—what a tease!]

[More than her cause of death, I want to know how General Ling died.

He’s so formidable now; he must have been powerful in life as well. Who could have killed him?]

The live chat comments scrolled rapidly.

Those trapped deep in the haunted forest couldn’t see the comments.

DuoDuo lay curled up between Ling Yun and Lin JianYue.

As she slept, she felt warm and stretched her arm out from under the blanket.

The watch on her wrist flickered with a red glow.

The number of survivors displayed on it was plummeting.

Lin JianYue glanced at the watch on DuoDuo’s wrist, which showed a blood-red number—14.

Silent, she quietly pulled the blanket up and covered DuoDuo’s little hand.

Looking at DuoDuo’s peaceful face, she couldn’t help but think:

If only back then she had safely given birth to her daughter,

then everything now would simply be their everyday life.

Perhaps because she had a warm little comfort, Lin JianYue was so happy that she unexpectedly fell asleep.

In her dreams, she saw herself with two daughters.

Both were well-behaved—the elder mischievous, the younger sensible—each the apple of her eye.

She waved to them and pulled them into her arms, a happy smile curving her lips.

Just as she was immersed in this beautiful dream, the blanket suddenly shifted.

An ugly little ghost crawled out, its fierce eyes fixed on DuoDuo.

That hideous thing wanted to snatch her mother away!

The little ghost ground its teeth, opened its mouth, and bit down on DuoDuo…