Chapter 3
Tang Xin turned his head and glanced at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why isn’t he ringing the doorbell? Why is he pounding on the door so hard?”
“He just doesn’t want to ring it. Some people don’t like using doorbells.”
“Bang, bang, bang”-another round of heavy knocking echoed, even harder this time, as if trying to smash the door apart.
Tang Xin shouted irritably toward the entrance.
“Who is it? Why are you banging so hard? Are you trying to kill someone?”
No one answered. The only response was the knocking, each blow heavier than the last.
A sense of unease crept over me, and I took two steps back.
“Brother Xin, have you ever heard that Black Bears can learn to knock on doors like people?”
As I said this, Tang Xin burst out laughing.
“Chef Lin, I think you’ve read too many horror stories. A bear is just an animal, not even as smart as a dog. How could it learn to knock on doors like a person?”
I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
“Don’t you have a security camera at your door? Why don’t we check the footage first?”
“Fine.” He impatiently pulled out his phone, but was dumbfounded when he opened the surveillance app.
On the phone screen, only the words “No Signal” appeared-nothing else.
“That’s weird. Could it be the heavy rain? Maybe the wires outside short-circuited?”
Could it really be such a coincidence?
Tang Xin tiptoed to the door and peered out through the peephole.
“It’s just Zhou Qiang out there.”
Zhou Qiang was one of the guests he’d invited today.
“That guy’s so weird. There’s a doorbell, but he won’t use it. Why knock so hard? What’s he up to?”
I also leaned in to look through the peephole.
In the dim night,
This man called Zhou Qiang was staring expressionlessly at the door.
He glared with wide eyes, pounding on the door mechanically with all his strength.
“Bang, bang, bang-”
His eyes were wide open, his mouth slightly agape, and his skin looked pale.
His hair was soaked by the rain, water dripping down.
He was so close to the peephole that his face was almost pressed against it.
So, all I could see was his pale, expressionless face.
Tang Xin pushed me aside. “Xiao Lin, you’ve really read too many novels-your brain’s gone soft. How could there be such a ridiculous thing as a Black Bear seeking revenge in this world?”
He mocked me as he reached for the door handle.
“Wait!”
I stopped him again.
“We haven’t opened the door for so long-why hasn’t he said a single word?”