Chapter 3

Lin Huijun is getting married soon.

She’s a classic cultural enthusiast. Therefore, after discussing with her fiance, she decided not to wear a wedding gown during the wedding. Instead, she would wear a classic red wedding dress.

After deciding, Huijun went to several tailor’s shops where they were skilled in making Chinese Cheongsam and *Xiuhe Suit. She nearly went to all the famous shops in the city. However, there wasn’t even one she liked.

(Xiuhe suit is a Chinese-style wedding dress for the bride.)

Every girl would always want their wedding to be perfect. Being more diligent didn’t cost much.

Today was her day off, and it was drizzling. She took her umbrella, purse, and went out for a stroll as she didn’t want to stay at home.

Walking in the rain alone, holding an oil-paper umbrella while listening to the rustle of the rain, Lin Huijun suddenly felt emotional. As she walked, she came to an unfamiliar street, and when she took a closer look, it turned out to be a thrift market.

The old street under the rain looked gloomy, and Lin Huijun was interested in checking out the shops one by one. Suddenly, a tailor shop came into her sight with an antique black lacquered gold sign hanging on the door. Remembered that she hadn’t settled on her wedding dress yet, she put away her umbrella to the side and stepped into the shop.

The shop’s furnishings were not much different from those ordinary tailor shops, except there’s a beautiful red dress hanging on a hanger against the wall. It looked like a shop specializing in wedding dresses.

There were no customers in the shop, but a silver-haired old man wearing a pair of old-fashioned reading glasses sitting next to a sewing machine was cutting the fabric with a pair of scissors. When he heard someone coming into the shop, he just raised his head to give her a brief glance before lowering his head and went back to work.

Not minding his somewhat cold attitude, Lin Huijun walked over to the row of red clothes to take a closer look. The designs were exquisite, and the embroideries were detailed, but she’s still not satisfied with them. Looking around, she saw a wardrobe with a glass door standing in the corner and a few pieces of red clothes hanging inside.

Lin Huijun examined all the clothes in the wardrobe one by one, as expected, the clothes were more delicate than those on the hanger. Lin Huijun felt that she would definitely be able to buy her favorite wedding dress today. If she didn’t like these, she would order a custom set dress from this shop because the craftsmanship was indeed the best she had ever seen.

The moment she finished examining the last dress, she thought of ordering a custom dress as she didn’t see anything she particularly liked. As she was thinking about this, she suddenly saw a set of wedding dresses stacked in the bottom corner of the wardrobe. Why wasn’t this set hung up? She reached out and took the dress, unfolding it for a closer look. The Yuanbao collar, golden-plated buttons, and the delicate embroidery of flowers and birds on the dress were pleasing to the eyes.

This is it. Lin Huijun made up her mind. She fell in love instantly when she unfolded the dress and looked at it for the first time. This wedding dress was actually not incredibly beautiful and delicate compared to the other wedding dresses. But she just couldn’t get her eyes off it. Perhaps, this was fate.

Walking to the sewing table with her hands holding the dress, Lin Huijun spoke up, “Old man, how much does this dress cost?”

The silver-haired old man raised his head and examined the dress on her hand for a moment before shaking his head and said, “This dress is not for sale.”

“Why?” Lin Huijun was puzzled.

“This was custom-made for someone else. They said they would pick it up in the next two days.” The old man replied methodically.

Hearing what he said, Lin Huijun was a little disappointed, but she soon continued, “Then I want to order one custom-made dress according to this style.”

The old man was about to answer when suddenly they both heard the phone ringing. He stood up and walked away to answer the phone. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Lin Huijun couldn’t listen to the conversation over the clattering rain.

Soon, the old man came back, and he said to Lin Huijun, “The customer who ordered this dress called to say he doesn’t want this anymore. Do you want to buy it?”

Lin Huijun was indecisive. It’s better to order a custom-made dress, right? Although this type of dress was usually made in a bigger size, it didn’t matter whether the dress fit her or not. After all, this was custom-made for someone else…..

The old man spoke again, “I have to charge you the full price if you want to make a new set. But if you buy this one, I can give you a 30% discount.”

Upon hearing that, Lin Huijun only gave it a little thought before deciding to buy this dress. After paying and carrying the bag containing the dress, she walked out of the shop with a satisfied look on her face. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard a soft whisper. “Give it back to me.”

”

”

Is someone talking? She glanced to her left and right, but there was no sign of anyone. She must have misheard it.

Returning home in the heavy rain, Lin Huijun quickly hung up her dress. Fortunately, the dress was only slightly wet. After using a hairdryer to dry out the damp area, she hung the dress on the wooden clothesline next to her bed and admired it for a while.

Lin Huijun had always slept well. But this night, she was extremely restless. Vaguely, she could hear someone whispering in her ear. It seemed to be a voice of female mourning. What did she say? When she woke up in the morning, she couldn’t remember it anymore.

This is just a nightmare. So she continued on her day without giving too much attention to it.

She was working overtime today as there’s a lot of work in the company. By the time she finished, it was already dark, and she set out on her way home.

Walking through a dark street, she saw a woman standing in the corner with her back facing her. She covered her face with both hands, her head was down, and her shoulders were trembling, as if she was crying. She wore a yellow trench coat with a thin belt, which made her look extremely slim. The hem of the trench coat was stained with dark marks, like dried blood.

The woman’s aura was a little gloomy and oozy. The neon lights in the street made all the people passing by look like ghosts. Lin Huijun quickened her pace, wanting to leave the place quickly, and when she passed by the woman in yellow, she suddenly heard a whisper, “Give it back to me.”

This was the second time she heard this, and Lin Huijun stopped in her tracks with a wince. She fixed her eyes towards the voice’s direction, but she only saw the cold, rigid grey walls. Where did the woman in yellow go? Why is she gone?

Lin Huijun felt chills in her spine. She didn’t dare to stay any longer. Holding her handbag tightly in her arms, she ran all the way to her destination.

She could freely pick a seat as there weren’t many people on the last available bus. Lin Huijun chose a front-row seat by the window and sat down, hugging her bag. Since she ran all the way back then, her heart was still thumping, and her heartbeat calmed down only after the bus passed by two stops.

No one got on the bus at the first two stops, and when it stopped at the third stop, a person came on the bus. Lin Huijun looked out of the window and stared at the night sky, not paying attention to the passenger that just entered. In the corner of her eye, the person slowly walked towards her, not taking the empty seats in the first two rows but sat down in the seat behind her.

The doors closed, and the bus continued on its way, slowly moving forward like a snail. The bus’s engine was obviously aged, as it produced deafening sounds that rumbled like thunder. In the midst of this noisy sound, Lin Huijun once again heard a familiar whisper, “Give it back to me.”

Lin Huijun froze as if her breathing had stopped instantly. What the hell was going on here? She didn’t understand at all. The light outside the bus window dimmed, and the window glass clearly reflected the scene inside the bus. Lin Huijun stared at the window with a deadly stare, a look of fear showing in her eyes.

The person sitting behind her had long black hair covering her face and wearing a yellow trench coat. It’s her, the woman I met on the street! Why is she following me?

Lin Huijun stared at the window of the bus, not even dared to blink. Is the woman a psychopath? Or a stalker? Will she jump up and strangle me next? Lin Huijun, who was too nervous, couldn’t help but think of nonsense. The woman in yellow didn’t make any movements, nor did she speak again. In the bumpy ride, her long black hair swayed around, sometimes revealing her pale chin.

It was hard to wait patiently for the next stop, and Lin Huijun stumbled off the bus. She didn’t dare to continue home on the bus, so she hailed a taxi. Ten minutes later, she finally reached home.

Taking out the key to open the door, she reached out to turn on the lights of the living room. Lin Huijun leaned against the door and let out a long breath. Home is always the most reassuring place to be.

She no longer thought about the creepy woman in yellow. Maybe, she wouldn’t show up again. Lin Huijun ate dinner as usual and took a shower before lying on her soft and warm bed. She felt extremely comfortable. Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, and they soon closed.

What’s going on? Why is there blood-red in front of my eyes?

Lin Huijun was startled. She sat up and rubbed her eyes vigorously. When she saw what was in front of her, she shrieked.

The red wedding dress that she hung up on the clothesline beside her was now standing straight up. Yes, that’s right. It was standing as if an invincible person was wearing it standing in front of her. The empty sleeves of the dress were still gently shaking, and the skirt was swaying. The tremendous feeling of fear made Lin Huijun scream uncontrollably and retreated to the edge of the bed. The red wedding dress moved as well, slowly approaching her. The red dress slowly dragged across the bed, like blood flowing.

The wedding dress was getting closer and closer to Lin Huijun, and the two sleeves were raised high, reaching for her neck. Her eyes were wide open, unable to think, and on the verge of collapsing.

Suddenly, there was a bright white light flashed before her eyes, and she found herself lying still on the bed covered in cold sweat. So, it was just a nightmare! The fancy chandelier was bright as usual. She accidentally fell asleep without turning off the light.

Recalling the horrific scene from her dream, she quickly turned her head to look at the clothesline beside her. The red wedding dress was hanging in its original place. She jumped out of bed, took it down, and put it back in the wardrobe, afraid to leave it there. She stacked the dress at the bottom of the big pile of clothes.

That night, the lights in Lin Huijun’s room remained on the entire night. Still, despite keeping her lights on, she didn’t sleep well. She was unsure whether it was just a dream or reality, but she kept hearing a female voice constantly whispering and repeating something in her ears.

Without a good night’s rest, it was natural for her to have no energy during the day. On her way to work, Lin Huijun kept yawning. She paid careful attention to her surroundings, and the woman in yellow didn’t reappear. There was no need to work overtime today, and the day was still bright when she returned home from work.