Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 71, Act Two: The White Building
Qin Yixuan's voice echoed in this collapsing dream, carrying a hint of barely perceptible admiration. She slowly rose to her feet, her perfectly tailored black backless evening gown outlining her almost unreal, graceful figure. She walked to the edge of the box, looking down at the solitary, aloof figure standing in the center of the stage, her smile growing increasingly playful.

"It seems that using 'pain' and 'regret' as footnotes to a drama hasn't truly moved you. I admit, I underestimated your willpower, Mr. Bai. Or rather, I underestimated the weight of that 'breakage' in your heart." She gently swirled the glass of crimson liquid in her hand, her voice carrying just the right amount of apology. "However, that was merely an appetizer. How can a truly great drama lack an emotional foundation? Now, let's move on to the main course."

She snapped her fingers gracefully.

With a crisp snap of the fingers, the violently shaking "Dream Theater" instantly stopped collapsing. Then, an incredible sight unfolded. The shattered fragments of space didn't disappear; instead, drawn by an invisible force, they began to reassemble in a completely new way.

The cold, impersonal audience seats melted into a vibrant, verdant lawn, dotted with golden dandelions. The pale, waning moon overhead was replaced by a warm, gentle sun, its soft rays casting a golden glow over the entire world. Behind the stage, the heavy velvet curtain transformed into an endless field of sunflowers, blooming freely in the sunlight.

Right where the flower field met the lawn, a two-story house painted pure white rose silently from the ground, as if it had stepped out of a fairy tale. The roof of the house was a warm orange-red, and several pots of geraniums in full bloom sat on the windowsill. A gentle breeze wafted by, carrying the sweet, comforting aroma of freshly baked bread, along with the faint, melodious sound of a piano, like the gentle tinkling of flowing water.

Within seconds, the enormous opera house, filled with a classical and eerie atmosphere, vanished completely. In its place stood a tranquil, warm, and vibrant pastoral courtyard, seemingly secluded from the world.

This is the "sacred realm" deep within Bai Yu's heart, a place she would never want to touch.

His childhood home.

The moment Bai Yu saw the small white building, his usually calm and collected eyes trembled violently. His entire body froze instantly, as if he had been frozen in place. A mixture of longing, pain, and confusion appeared on his usually pale and bloodless face.

His breathing became rapid and disordered at that moment.

The impact of this scene on him was far more devastating than that of the "Silent Ruins," filled with death and despair. The "Silent Ruins" represented his pain as the investigator "Bai Yu," a pain that, though profound, he had long since learned how to face and bear. But this small white building before him represented his happiness as "Xiao Yan," a happiness buried deep within his soul, a softness that, once touched, would shatter all his hardened exterior.

"Squeak-"

The white wooden door of the small building was gently pushed open from the inside.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a clean white shirt and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a gentle and refined demeanor, walked out of the house carrying a huge pair of garden shears. A warm smile graced his face as he looked at the overgrown patches of lawn in the yard, shook his head helplessly, and then began to carefully trim them.

Immediately afterward, the second-floor window facing the courtyard was pushed open. A beautiful woman, dressed in a pristine white dress, with long, jet-black hair and a gentle, captivating demeanor, appeared at the window. She saw the man mowing the lawn and a tender smile spread across her face. Then, she turned her gaze to Bai Yu, who was standing dumbfounded in the middle of the courtyard.

The moment her gaze met Bai Yu's, a smile warmer than the sun bloomed on her face.

“Xiao Yan,” her voice, like heavenly music, traveled across the not-so-distant distance and clearly reached Bai Yu’s ears, “Why are you standing there like an idiot? Did you get into trouble outside again? Come in quickly, Mom baked your favorite honey bread today.”

The man mowing the lawn also heard his wife's voice. He looked up and followed her gaze to Bai Yu. He put down his gardening shears and waved to him with a smile: "Xiao Yan, come back soon. This afternoon, Dad will take you to town to buy that 'Interstellar Expedition' model you liked last time, okay?"

Father……

Mother……

These two names, long buried deep in his memory, were like two red-hot irons branded onto his soul. His heart, accustomed to coldness and death, began to convulse violently and uncontrollably at this moment.

Reason was screaming at him that it was all a lie, a vicious trap set by Qin Yixuan using his memories.

However, the deep-seated longing for family warmth, stemming from his very blood, swept away all his psychological defenses like an irresistible torrent.

His body, which had been standing as straight as a javelin, began to tremble uncontrollably at that moment. His eyes stung with tears.

He even had an absurd impulse to rush over, to rush into that little white building, to rush into that warm embrace, and to cry out loud like a wronged child.

He instinctively took a step forward.

However, just as his foot was about to land, a hand wearing a pure white silk glove silently landed on his shoulder like an iron clamp, stopping his next move.

Hei Yan had reappeared beside Bai Yu at some point. His face, usually filled with arrogance and amusement, was now unusually expressionless. His pure black eyes were simply staring at the small white building not far away, and the two "phantoms" smiling and waving at them in front of the building, his expression revealing an extremely complex emotion.

His expression held his usual contempt and disdain, but it also seemed to contain a hint of "nostalgia" that even he himself was unaware of.

"What a... terrible imitation."

He spoke slowly, his voice no longer carrying the playful tone of before, but instead tinged with a barely perceptible hoarseness.

"Did she think that by simply replicating the same scene and imitating the same words, she could recreate that unique warmth? How laughable. She simply doesn't understand that the essence of that warmth doesn't come from architecture or words, but from that unreserved 'love.' How could a lowly creature like her, who doesn't even have a 'heart,' possibly replicate that great power that can create hope from nothingness?"

Hei Yan's words were like a bucket of ice water, poured over Bai Yu's reason, which was almost overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions, instantly bringing him back to his senses.

yes……

This is fake.

No matter how real or heartwarming it may seem, it is ultimately just a trap built by the enemy using their own memories.

Bai Yu slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, the confusion and wavering in his eyes had been forcibly suppressed, and he regained the clarity and determination that was like ten thousand years of ice.

In the VIP box on the second floor, Qin Yixuan witnessed the brief interaction between Bai Yu and Hei Yan. Her smile grew even more confident, as if she were in complete control.

"Mr. Bai, you don't seem to like this 'surprise' that I carefully prepared for you?"

Her voice rang out again from all directions. This time, her voice was no longer that of a haughty queen, but incredibly gentle and warm, like a kind and understanding psychologist patiently guiding her patient.

“You’re afraid, aren’t you? You’re afraid this ‘happiness’ is fake. You’re afraid that once you accept it, you’ll completely lose yourself.”

"But, my dear Mr. Bai, have you ever considered what is 'real' and what is 'false'?" "Is that world, full of danger, pain, and separation, necessarily more 'real' than this world before us, full of sunshine, laughter, and reunion?"

“I am not deceiving you. What you see before you is not an illusion I made up out of thin air. On the contrary, it is a real ‘slice of memory’ that I extracted from the deepest part of your soul, from that corner that even you dare not touch again. Every blade of grass, every tree, every word, every smile here belongs to you completely.”

"I'm just giving you a chance to come back here."

As she spoke, the wooden door of the small white building was pushed open again. The gentle mother actually came out of the house. She walked towards Bai Yu step by step, her face showing a hint of reproach, but even more so, an undisguised love and concern.

"Xiaoyan, what's wrong? Why are you looking at Mom like that? Did something happen to you outside? Come on, let's go home. No matter what happens, Dad and Mom will always be by your side."

She reached out her hand to Bai Yu.

That hand was so warm, so real. Bai Yu could even clearly see the thin calluses on her knuckles from years of playing the piano.

"Come on, make your choice, my dear 'male lead'." Qin Yixuan's voice echoed in his ears like a devil's whisper. "This time, the choice I've prepared for you is even simpler."

“As long as you reach out, take her hand and walk through that door, you can stay here forever and return to the ‘yesterday’ before any tragedy happened. You will no longer be the investigator ‘Bai Yu’ who carries the heavy burden of the past, and you will become the child who was cherished and loved by her parents again— ‘Xiao Yan’.”

"All you need to do is forget all the pain you went through afterward, and forget the responsibilities and missions that exhausted you."

"Isn't this the ending you've always longed for deep down?"

Bai Yu stared intently at the hand that was so close to her.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably again.

yes……

Forget everything...

Forget the endless missions, forget the scars left in battle, forget the fallen comrades, forget this damned mark on the back of your hand, forget that terrifying existence called the "Tower of Ten Thousand Heads"...

Just reach out your hand, just grasp it...

I'll never have to fight again, never have to carry anything again...

This thought, like a tempting poisonous weed, grew wildly in his mind, almost completely devouring all his reason.

He slowly raised his hand, trembling as he reached out little by little towards the hand filled with warmth and expectation.

One centimeter...

Half a centimeter...

His fingertips could almost feel the familiar warmth emanating from the other person's palm.

In the VIP box on the second floor, Qin Yixuan finally revealed a satisfied smile of victory.

However, just as Bai Yu's fingertips were about to touch that hand, his movements suddenly stopped.

His eyes, which had been somewhat unfocused due to the struggle, regained their focus.

He slowly raised his head, looked past the gentle "mother" in front of him, and turned his gaze to the small white building behind her that looked incredibly warm in the sunlight.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the tightly closed window, reaching the small room behind it—his own room.

He saw a model of the "Interstellar Expedition" flagship that was not yet fully assembled on the desk in the room.

He saw a crooked "family rules" drawn by himself next to the desk.

The first rule was written in childish handwriting: "Be brave, be kind, and protect your mom and dad!"

An indescribable sorrow and power erupted from the deepest part of his soul!

He abruptly withdrew his hand, which had almost touched the other person.

Then, amidst Qin Yixuan's momentary astonishment and disbelief, he made a move that no one had anticipated.

He neither retreated nor attacked the phantom in front of him.

He simply turned around slowly, his back to the "home" he had once longed for, and also to the two "relatives" he had spent his whole life remembering.

He took a step, one step at a time, towards the edge of the stage, towards the darkness that represented the cold and cruel reality, and walked resolutely towards it.

His back view appeared incredibly lonely yet incredibly upright.

It stands like a monument, guarding the warm home behind it alone amidst the wind and snow, unyielding and steadfast.

(End of this chapter)