My colleagues invited me to sing at a KTV. On the way there, I kept pondering one question: what would I have to do to go against my instincts?
They said the KTV was still an hour's drive away, so I relaxed and gazed out the window. Sitting next to me was Wu Fang—a girl who was both my colleague in real life and, disturbingly, a character within the cursed book’s stories. She had big eyes, dimples that appeared when she smiled, and a fashionable sense of style. She was beautiful, undeniably so.
Possessing Wu Fang was a female ghost. Even before I recovered my memories, I had seen her—the ghost in the floral dress. The two seemed to overlap, the ghost somewhat transparent, and I could definitely see her.
We were riding in a colleague’s car. For some reason, Wu Fang was treating me quite well today, not annoyed like before whenever she saw me. After all, my character had done something that made her furious.
I still remember the time we worked overtime before the holiday. That night, a colleague spoke brazenly about ghosts, showing no fear, insisting they didn’t exist. As the protagonist of this story—aware of my role yet compelled by the book’s narrative—I couldn’t stand it. So that afternoon, I prepared a little surprise and placed it in the men’s restroom.
To scare that male colleague, I even bought him some drinks. When the time was right, I waited in the men’s restroom, wrapped a recorder in tape to play shrill screams, and made sure the lights wouldn’t turn on.
Everything was ready for a scare, but as luck would have it, the women’s restroom broke that day. It was dark, and when I saw the male colleague heading to the restroom, I made an excuse to buy something to drink and asked if anyone else wanted anything. I went to the restroom to prepare, not realizing the women’s was out of order.
I sat on a toilet in the men’s restroom. Someone came in, and once they settled, I started the scare. But the person I frightened was actually my female colleague, Wu Fang. Because the women’s restroom was broken, she had to use the men’s, while the male colleague waited outside.
I couldn’t help but smile, glancing at Wu Fang, who kept giving me a shy smile. It was awkward, though all these events only existed in my memory—they weren’t really my actions, but the actions of the character I’m forced to play in this supernatural book. After all, to the book, we’re all just roles to be written and rewritten.
I’d already figured out what to do if the Floral Dress Lady possessing Wu Fang tried to scare me later: I’d just run for it. No matter how much she tried to frighten me, I’d pretend to be terrified, hold out until I got home, and then discuss it with Simon Wang.
Having made my plan, I closed my eyes to rest for a moment. Suddenly, I felt a cold, delicate hand slide across my cheek. I opened my eyes in shock. Beside me, Wu Fang sat with her eyes closed—it was the ghost possessing her, reaching out to caress my face.
I immediately put on a look of terror, glancing around nervously, then shifted away from Wu Fang, pressing myself against the window and staring out at the road, desperate to escape.
Around eight o’clock, we arrived at the entrance of Royal Dynasty KTV. The place was bustling, people coming and going, but I sensed something was wrong—a cold, oppressive energy seemed to seep out from within.
After we got out of the car in the parking lot next to the KTV, my unease grew even stronger. Looking up, I saw that the seven-story Royal Dynasty KTV was covered in dark clouds—a huge, black mass hung ominously over the roof.
As we entered, I watched Wu Fang act as if nothing was wrong. She slipped behind the greeter, pulled something from her black handbag, and, pretending to take photos with her phone, sprayed a liquid on both sides of the entrance. Then she did the same on the other side.
Just as I wondered what was happening, twisted human faces suddenly appeared on both sides of the entrance—like the painted masks of Beijing opera. Both faces let out grotesque cries before slowly fading away. Wu Fang, laughing and saying she wanted to post to her social feed, snapped a photo and walked inside with the others.
I followed several colleagues into the KTV. Our private room was on the fifth floor, number 507. At that moment, I noticed several suspicious figures—or rather, ghosts—floating in from the entrance. I stared in disbelief.
All of this felt bizarre. There must have been some kind of ritual at the entrance. From what I saw, those ghosts only came in after Wu Fang sprayed something at the door—and their numbers kept growing.
In an instant, dozens of ghosts had entered the KTV. A sense of dread gripped me, so I told my colleagues I had something urgent and needed to leave.
"Where do you think you're going, Ethan Zhang? Do you remember how you scared me unconscious? Tonight, you’re not leaving."
Just as I tried to leave, Wu Fang grabbed my wrist with a death grip—the ghost inside her glaring at me with vicious eyes. My colleagues cheered us on, dragging me along, and all eight of us piled into the elevator.
Wu Fang stayed glued to my side, the ghost inside her watching me like a predator, making sure I couldn’t escape—even after we left the elevator.
Inside the KTV, my colleagues started picking songs enthusiastically. I shrank into a corner, watching Wu Fang stand at the doorway, smiling as if nothing was wrong. But the ghost inside her kept its eyes locked on me, relentless and cold.
Suddenly, Wu Fang walked over, her voice coy and strangely sweet.
"Ethan Zhang, will you come with me to buy something?"
As she spoke, my hand felt like it was locked in iron—I couldn’t move. Wu Fang dragged me out of the KTV, my body helpless against her grip.
As we passed the elevator, I kept apologizing, but Wu Fang pulled me away from it and toward a storage room. She raised her hand and the door swung open. Roughly, she shoved me inside.
I let out a loud, deliberate scream as the door slammed shut. Turning around, I saw Wu Fang’s body glowing faintly green—the ghost inside her fully revealed. Her face was rotten, crawling with maggots, and she spoke in a voice colder than ice.
"I want you to do something for me, Ethan Zhang."
I could only sit on the ground, covering my face with both hands, pretending to be terrified. At this point, everything felt disturbingly wrong.
Suddenly, my hands were yanked away from my face. Wu Fang leaned in close, her normal appearance restored.
"I am a ghost, Ethan Zhang. You summoned me with your book of horror stories. Now, you must help me with something."
"Go ahead... I’m listening..." I stammered, my voice trembling.
"You don’t seem afraid of me?"
The ghost asked in a haunting whisper. Realizing this, I quickly shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut, fear overtaking me.
"I need you to go to the office on the seventh floor and take off the talisman from the neck of a man named Luo Yang."
I blinked at the ghost, completely lost as to how this story would unfold. All I could do was nod, reluctant and afraid.
"When it’s done, this woman will be yours. I’ll help you get her."
My heart jumped. Suddenly, the ghost began stripping off her clothes—within moments, Wu Fang’s upper body was bare, pale and voluptuous. Embarrassed, I quickly turned away.
"What do you think, Ethan Zhang? Not bad, right? You want this woman’s body, don’t you? I’ll satisfy you."
As soon as we left the storage room, I breathed a sigh of relief. The ghost slipped Wu Fang’s clothes back on.
"Why... why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Hmph. His status, his money—he got it all by using my body. I just want to make sure he loses everything. Hahaha..."
Wu Fang smiled, grabbed my hand, and led me toward the elevator.
So it was revenge, I muttered to myself. But I wanted nothing to do with this story—I just wanted to escape, to keep pretending I was afraid.
"Remember, once it’s done, come find me at the KTV. Don’t even think about running away."
Wu Fang said this. I nodded quickly as the elevator doors closed. I frantically pressed the button for the first floor, and the elevator began to descend. But then, a semi-transparent ghost appeared before me. Several more ghosts materialized at my sides, pinning me down and bending my fingers. When the elevator reached the first floor, they forced my hand to press the button for the seventh.
Rage surged inside me, the urge to unleash ghostly energy almost overwhelming. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, I saw Simon Wang, dressed in a suit, stroll in calmly. Instantly, I relaxed, saying nothing.
Simon Wang greeted me, and I returned the smile. I noticed he was holding an ornate box—probably for his calligraphy.
We arrived on the seventh floor. As soon as we stepped out, the ghosts vanished. I immediately released my ghost network, sensing for any danger.
Simon Wang put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head, silently warning me.
"Simon, what’s going on? What’s really happening in this story?" I asked, my voice tight with anxiety.
"Ethan Zhang, remember—don’t use your powers recklessly these days. They’re starting to suspect. I’ve looked into this story myself."
"What happens next?" I pressed, dread growing in my chest.
"In the story, the protagonist helps the ghost remove the possession talisman from Luo Yang. The ghost gets her revenge, and the main character gets his colleague’s body, just as he wished. But guilt eats away at him. On the seventh day, driven mad by the ghosts, he jumps to his death."
I spat on the ground, cursing angrily.
"Damn it, what are they trying to do? How does this force me to betray my own instincts?"