I possess a haunted house

The Haunted House on the Brink of Collapse

  “This is the least frightening haunted house I've ever seen.”

  “The props are so fake. I walked through the whole place, and not only was I not scared, but I actually felt like laughing.”

  “Materialists fear nothing!”

  “I told you it wasn’t worth it. We’d be better off playing games in the dorm—my Kun is already level eighty.”

  Outside the haunted house on the western outskirts of Jiujiang, a few students rode off on shared bikes without a second glance.

  Seeing this, Chen Ge, holding the haunted house’s flyers, felt a pang of helplessness.

  Scaring people is an art, but in this day and age, people are so desensitized by horror films that their nerves are steel. Entering a haunted house is no different from strolling through their backyard.

  “Boss!”

  A clear, feminine voice called from behind. Chen Ge turned to see a petite “zombie” in a nurse’s outfit, her figure petite but her chest conspicuously ample, storming out of the haunted house.

  “What’s wrong, Xiao Wan?” The girl, named Xu Wan, was one of the haunted house’s temporary actors.

  “Those little punks tried to take advantage of me!” She bit down on her sharp little canine tooth, her delicate fist clenched tightly.

  So, she’s here to report an incident…

  “That’s outrageous! They didn't even spare a zombie?” As the boss, Chen Ge naturally took her side. “I’ll speak to the park administrator and have them review the security footage.”

  “No need for that trouble. When I sensed their intentions, I struck first and gave them a good beating.” Xu Wan flicked at the bloodstain on the corner of her nurse's uniform. “And this isn’t makeup.”

  “Uh, no complaints here. A girl should know how to protect herself.” Chen Ge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glanced at the setting sun. “Let’s call it a day. I doubt we’ll get any more visitors. Inform the others they can leave early.”

  After he finished speaking, the girl with the zombie makeup didn’t move.

  “Is there something else?”

  “Boss…” Xu Wan hesitated, then slowly pulled a letter from her pocket. “This is a resignation letter from Tao Ming and Xiao Wei. You’ve treated them well, but they were too embarrassed to tell you in person, so they asked me to hand this over.”

  “They’re leaving?” Chen Ge was momentarily stunned as he accepted the envelope. “Everyone has their own path to follow. You should get off work early too.”

  “Mm-hmm, I’ll go remove my makeup.”

  Watching the cute, slightly dazed little "zombie" walk away, Chen Ge silently lit a cigarette.

  Six months ago, his parents mysteriously disappeared, leaving only this haunted house behind.

  To keep their memory alive, Chen Ge quit his job and poured all his effort into running the haunted house, hoping to make it a success.

  Unfortunately, times have changed too quickly. The haunted house industry is highly competitive, and it’s a niche market with many limitations.

  The same scary scenes lose their impact after being seen once, and constant updates require significant funds.

  For the past few weeks, the business has been operating at a loss; a day’s ticket sales don’t even cover a fraction of the utility bills.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”Crushing out the cigarette, Chen Ge was about to head back to the haunted house when a middle-aged man in a New Century Amusement Park uniform approached.

  Seeing him, Chen Ge felt like a mouse spotting a cat and quickly quickened his pace.

  “Trying to pretend you don’t see me?” The middle-aged man grabbed Chen Ge by the shoulder. “We need to settle this today. You’ve been behind on your utility bills and rent for two months now. The higher-ups keep pressuring me, and I’m under a lot of stress!”

  "Uncle Xu, it's not that I'm unwilling to pay, but funds have been really tight lately. Please give me just one more month."

  "You said the same thing last month."

  "I promise you, this will absolutely be the last month!" Chen Ge patted his chest, his expression earnest.

  "The haunted house business is struggling these days; it’s hard to attract visitors. If you ask me, you should stop holding on." The middle-aged man, known as Uncle Xu, glanced at the envelope in Chen Ge's hand, his grip gradually loosening.