Doomsday Paradise

Chapter 1983 Lin Sanjiu Watching Movies 4
On Thursday morning, Jess was woken up by the sun.She didn't need breakfast today, so she could stay in bed for a while; listening to the faint movement from the kitchen downstairs, she lay quietly in the embrace of the quilt, and finally felt at ease.

The sun was not hot in the morning, and it was very comfortable to shine on her body; after a while, she got up lazily, took out the medicine bottle from the drawer of the bedside table, thought about it, but she still didn't pour out the pills.

She could feel that she was fine and much calmer.As long as it's okay, she really doesn't want to take medicine.

But if you don't eat it, in case...

Before she could finish her thoughts, her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden "dong dong" sound from the door.Jess was startled, got out of bed and opened the door only to find White outside.

"I just found out that the house is infested with mice," he said, frowning tightly. "The breakfast bread and a bag of potatoes have been eaten. I have to go to the village quickly to buy bread and some rat poison. Can you Do something else for me first?"

When he was speaking, his eyes swept over Jess twice - she realized that she was still wearing a nightgown, exposing a large area of ​​skin on her chest; Get down now."

*
Because breakfast was half an hour later than usual, all the schedules in Marquis Beppu were pushed back half an hour.After Jess finally finished another day's work and put Mona to sleep, she quietly opened the door and walked into the dark corridor.

When she passed the phone, she thought about it, but she still resisted calling Manli - Manli's boss has arranged a lot of work for her these days, and she is busy, so she should wait until a few days later. get in touch.

Turning the doorknob, Jess turned on the light as usual; the old light bulb had just turned on, and then suddenly went out with a "snap", leaving a slight "hissing" sound as the filament burned out.

Jess stood in the doorway for a few seconds before his eyes readjusted to the darkness.She stood stiffly, her heart beating like a drum, but she couldn't move her feet.

There was nothing wrong... the moment the lights came on just now, she saw a figure sitting in the corner of the room.

At this moment, the only light in the room was the moonlight coming in from the opposite window, which hit her face just right.She didn't move, neither did the figure, the only thing she could see clearly was the faint reflection on the top of the other's hair.

Listening to her rapid breathing, she walked into the room slowly with trembling hands and feet, and closed the door.She hastily opened the desk drawer and took out a candle, but she couldn't find a match for a long time; in the process of searching, she stared at the man without blinking, and dared not even make a sound.

When the match was struck with a "crack", the figure in the corner seemed to take a step closer.Jess lowered her head, pretending not to see, and hastily lit the candle - when she turned around hastily holding the candle, it was White's face that was illuminated by the fire.

"You—it's you!" She almost lost the candle, and exclaimed, "Why are you here?"

Under the firelight, White frowned, with an indescribably strange look on his face.

"You..." When he spoke, his words were slightly slurred, and Jess realized belatedly that he might have had a drink. "Didn't you see me when you came in just now?"

Jess thought of the moonlight on her face.The expression on her face must have been clear to White.

"At first, I thought you were welcome to see me..." White said slowly, taking two steps closer. "But I found that it doesn't seem like it... You saw that there was another person in the room, and you were afraid of that, but it seemed that you were pretending... pretending not to see? Why?"

I don't know if it's fear, anger, or fear, but at this moment, it all turned into a rush of blood rushing to Jess' forehead.She could hardly hold back her intense emotions, her voice was trembling: "Get out!"

"I just wanted to chat with you..."

"We have nothing to talk about," Jess raised her voice a little, knowing that the big house had been around for a long time, as long as she shouted, the Marquis and his wife would definitely be able to hear it. "You go out now!"

White stepped back, throwing up his hands. "You are too suspicious," he smiled, "I'm leaving now."

After he really left and closed the door, Jess still couldn't restrain his heartbeat.She felt her palms were sweaty, and she slipped a bit when she grabbed the chair and reached the door.

How to do?This was the first time she had encountered such a thing-the Marquis and his wife often went out, and many times, it was only she and White in the house, plus an eight-year-old Mona.

During this period of time, she has suffered too much scare and pain... If she still has savings, she may consider quitting her job; but now that she is in financial distress, she dare not leave without finishing her work for a month.Besides, she didn't want to part with Mona—that child finally walked out of the "fantasy friends" and left by himself, wouldn't it be a blow to her?
Jess thought for a while, and when he came back to his senses, he realized that he was crying silently.She wiped her face, and finally made up her mind - no matter what, let's finish these months.Just be careful; isn't White afraid of losing his job?
She set the candle on the bedside table, closed the curtains as usual, and finished changing and washing by the candlelight; before going to bed, Jess deliberated and finally took a pill.

*
"Why did you tell me about such a serious matter?" In the microphone, Manli's voice exploded like explosives. "Several days have passed!"

"He didn't do anything, I..." Jess murmured, twirling the phone cord.

"You can't take it lightly," Manli said anxiously. "At the very least, you have to mention it to the Marquise and let her beat him. Don't let him know that he's afraid, and he'll try again!"

"But we still have to work together, won't it be too embarrassing?" Jess was a little worried.

"Is it important not to be embarrassed, or your safety?" Manli asked in a deep voice.

"Um...you're right..."

"You heard me right," said Mary. "It's your lunch break, isn't it? Where are the Whites?"

"He's outside, talking to the gardener about pruning the bushes." Jess replied obediently—although her job was to take care of children, Manli always played the role of the big sister who took care of her.

"Is the Marquise here?" Manli urged after receiving an affirmative answer: "Now is the right time, go and tell her!"

*
"Jess? Come in," the Marchioness called out from inside the house.

Jess had never set foot in the room of the Marquis and his wife. After opening the door, he realized that it was not only a bedroom, but a suite.She walked through the porch and entered a small hall, which was connected to a door, which was the bedroom of the Marchioness—at this time the Marchioness was sitting in front of the dressing table, with her back to Jess, combing She has the same flaxen hair as Mona.

"I have a party this afternoon," explained the Marchioness. "You don't mind if I talk to you while I make preparations?"

"Oh, of course not," Jess said, looking up, "I'll-"

When she saw the back of a dark head in the mirror of the dressing table, she couldn't bear it anymore, and the second half of her sentence turned into a piercing scream.

The Marquise suddenly turned around, and the blood on her well-maintained face was startled.

*
"Are you okay?" Mona looked at Jess' expression and asked carefully. "When I got up, I felt that the atmosphere at home was weird... Mom's face was very ugly. Did you make her angry?"

"I... I accidentally knocked over her vase." Jess reluctantly replied, "Fortunately, it's not a valuable antique."

She did knock over a vase; for in her panic she knocked over the table on which it stood.It was difficult for her to explain to Mona why she panicked.

"You seem to have cried?" Mona looked at her and said worriedly.

Not just crying—Jess swallowed several pills in a hurry after returning to the room like a remedy after a dead sheep; as if by doing this, she could make up for the few days she missed.Maybe it's the effect of the medicine. She is a little dizzy now, and she can't think clearly.

Mona...it is indeed Mona...

Jess tried to stroke the top of Mona's head, but she pulled her hand back before touching the shiny brown hair.She was afraid that Mona would feel that her fingers were trembling.

She didn't know how much longer she could last.

*
The calendar went blank day by day, with no ticks or red crosses.

*
Jess walked in a trance in the dark Beppu mansion, and could feel the eyes on her, which seemed to gradually change.

Day by day slipped past her, but she suddenly didn't know it.Once, she didn't realize that she slept until noon and didn't teach Mona at all until she was woken up by the sound of the door being slammed.Jess also knew that she shouldn't swallow the pills one by one, she was already overdosing; but as she took too much, the effect of the medicine gradually diminished, and to achieve the effect, she had to ignore the dosage warning on the medicine bottle.

Recently, Jess is always like a frightened bird. Sometimes the door is blown open by the wind, which can make her cry out in fright; She shed tears.

When White and the Marchioness asked about her, Jess naturally dared not say anything, desperately finding excuses for herself that she could think of.She could see that no one believed her—she couldn't come up with a plausible excuse for White asking her why she kept looking over his shoulder when they were helping Mrs. Solano to prepare lunch together.

Can it be said that in his own eyes, there is a man sitting behind White?Could she say that the man's face and toes are in the opposite direction?

In any case, the job cannot be lost.

It was the only thought that kept her going through the day.At this point, she was no longer holding on for herself; she had to seize this job, so that Manli could rest assured, so that Mona could pass through the critical period of growth.Mona has not mentioned Lisa for a long time, and she no longer prepares an empty chair in class, at least it shows that she has done what she should do.

The Marquise, however, kept an extra eye on her.

Jess suspected that she had already started looking for the next tutor, because once it was her turn to rest, she went to the village for a morning stroll, and when she returned to the big house of Sighing Hill, she happened to see the Marquis from a distance from the window on the third floor Madame—the Marchioness was talking to a woman, shoulder to shoulder, face to face, and very close; judging from her figure from the back, the woman could never be Mrs. Solano, the cook.

*
"What are you doing?" White stood at the door of the kitchen, as if deliberately keeping a distance from her, and asked coldly.

"I... I'm having lunch." Jess didn't really have any appetite, but she had to act like everything was fine.

White stroked his black hair, looked at the table, and smiled with an inexplicable meaning.It seemed to be mocking, and it seemed to have caught her.

"I haven't done it yet, what are you eating?"

Jess looked down, only to realize that there was only an empty set of dishes in front of him.

*
Jess could feel it herself, she was getting more and more depressed these days; the side effects of the medicine came up, and sometimes she couldn't even concentrate.Mona could feel her distraction, because sometimes in the middle of the class, she forgot what she was talking about.

"You recently..." Jess heard himself mutter.

Mona raised her face, her small face was expressionless, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No...it's nothing." Jess shook his head and pinched the skin of his palm tightly. "You grow up so fast..."

*
Jess hasn't called Marley in a while.She knew that her mental state was deteriorating every day. If she called Manli, her friends might find out that something was wrong right away—it was just too difficult not to call; sometimes Jess would think, why didn't Manli come to see her?Didn't you say you were coming?

Sighing, everything in the Qiu Mansion is like a chronic, festering nightmare; she seems to be slipping into some kind of abyss little by little, her grasp of reality is getting looser, and it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish what is fact .

The only constant seems to be Mrs. Solano: she comes every day to cook and leave without saying a word.During the days when Mary couldn't hear her voice, the cook became the cornerstone of Jess's recognition of reality-ironically, her appetite was getting worse and worse, and she had only eaten a bite of bread for several days.

After barely swallowing the mouthful of bread, she saw the kitchen door being pushed open.

Jess looked at the person and asked in a daze, "You... who are you?"

"You don't even know me?" The woman's face was distorted, "How do you teach my daughter like this?"

*
Jess couldn't take it anymore.During her lunch break, she took an opportunity when there was no one around, went into the corridor, and picked up the phone.

"Manli?" As soon as she dialed the number, she couldn't wait to call into the microphone, "It's me—"

"what are you doing?"

The sudden voice behind her startled her, and Jess turned around quickly, only to find that White was standing in the dark corridor.

"I, I'm calling a friend..."

White looked at the phone.Rather, he was looking at the ground below the phone.

"I have long suspected that you have a problem," White said slowly, "I also told the Marchioness...so I went to your room to look for it with permission."

What?Jess looked at him blankly.

"And I found this." White pulled a vial out of his pocket, a row of teeth showing in his mouth.His smile was dark.

"Chlorpromazine... I asked the doctor, is this a drug for schizophrenia?"

Jess wanted to deny it, wanted to cry, but she just stood there in a daze, unable to say a word.

"No wonder...you have schizophrenia. You look down," White still had that cruel smile.

Jess lowered his head, not knowing what he was looking at at first glance.It took a few seconds before she realized that the telephone line was broken—it looked like it had been bitten off by a mouse.

"No," she said hoarsely, "it's impossible..."

"The phone line is down, who are you calling?" White asked with a smile.

no no.

Manli...the Manli who prepared the meal for her, the Manli who went to school with her, the Manli who would come to see her even if she was admitted to the hospital, the Manli who accompanied her through the darkness...

The world spun and went dark rapidly, Jess hit the ground with a "boom" and lost consciousness.

*
"We've arrived at the Great House of Sighs,"

The driver's words woke her up, and she realized that she had fallen asleep on the road.When she touched her face, her fingers were wet and cool.

"What's wrong?" The middle-aged driver with a kind face looked back.

"No, it's nothing, I seem to have a very sad dream," she smiled sheepishly. "Please wait for me here for a while."

Hurrying across the courtyard lawn, she raised the brim of her hat and looked at the three-story house in front of her.

It's hard to imagine that people can still live in such a dilapidated and dark house.

After ringing the doorbell several times and waiting for a while, she still didn't hear anyone answer the door.The hazy dream she had on the road made her a little uneasy; she stretched out her hand and pushed it a little, only to find that the door was open.

"Is anyone there?" She poked her head into the dark corridor and called out, but stopped.Upon entering, anyone instinctively knows that the house is empty—dust, cobwebs, no electricity, no lights.But what really makes people feel that no one is here seems to be another inexplicable feeling.

Could it be that the driver misplaced her?

Carefully, she walked through the empty room step by step and found the kitchen.

The kitchen was dilapidated and empty, exuding a faint musty smell.There was a small dining table in the corner; five sets of empty dishes—no, not empty—were neatly arranged on the table.She went up, gently wiped the powder on the plate, smelled it, and saw a crumpled cardboard box lying on the ground.

...rat poison?
She staggered out of the kitchen, her steps getting faster and faster, eventually becoming a long run; when she slammed out the door and rushed towards the distant car, the driver seemed to be startled by her.

"Miss Manli," he dropped his cigarette butts, and asked, "Why do you have such a face?"

Manli felt itchy on her face, and only after she touched it did she realize that she was crying again.She said tremblingly, "I... I don't know."

"Have you found a friend yet?" the driver asked.

Manli looked at the sighing Qiu Dawu in the distance, opened her mouth slightly, but did not make a sound.In the window at the end of the second floor... Did she see it wrong?
"I heard that the Marquis family seems to have left long ago, and the house has been empty for a long time," the driver continued, "You said you came to find friends, but I thought it was my mistake..."

(End of this chapter)