Chapter 1254: Playing House
For a moment, Bohemia forgot that Yuan Xiangxi was weightless as a ghost despite having a physical form. When she rushed towards him, they both lost their balance and fell to the floor.
"What... what are you doing?"
The fall brought Bohemia back to her senses. She jumped up as if startled by a caterpillar and exclaimed, "Hey! Stay away!"
"You don't need to react like that," the living ghost grumbled as he slowly got up. "To be honest, you've been bleeding and sweating all the way, and I can smell you from a mile away. I should be the one telling you to stay away."
Bohemia lifted her arm, about to lower her head and smell it, but suddenly stopped. "Enough with the nonsense," she said, waving her hand. "I... I was just a little startled. Just now, I thought I saw a child's shadow on the living room sofa, but when I rushed in, no one was there."
Yuan Xiangxi tucked his hair behind his ears, maintaining his usual dazed expression as if he would say 'Oh' no matter what she said. "Is it... Baby Bao?"
"You're asking me? Who else can I ask?"
"Maybe you've been looking at the pictures too long and had a visual illusion." He tilted his chin and pondered. "The child's shadow startled you, so... you rushed into my arms?"
Bohemia had a feeling she knew what this guy was going to say.
"Do I make you feel safe?" Yuan Xiangxi smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "I truly deserve to be the head of the household."
'Now is not the time to argue.' Bohemia rubbed her temples hard, swallowing all the sarcasm inside her. It was probably the hardest thing she had ever done. "I think it might be the influence of the pocket dimension."
Yuan Xiangxi crossed his arms, looking even more eerie in the flickering light cast by the Glowfish. But he seemed like a ghost who didn't know which place to haunt and had a confused career. "Have you noticed that you are getting... um, closer to the hostess?"
"How do you know?"
He leisurely took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "It was left by the previous posthuman. Take a look. Oh, by the way, the backup generator is now just a piece of scrap metal."
Now was not the time to save on the Glowfish's usage. Bohemia summoned all five Glowfish, and the corridor and stairs were illuminated as bright as day.
One look and she could tell that the paper had been exposed to wind and sun outside for quite some time. The ink was still clear, but the paper had begun to yellow and become brittle; the tape stuck to the four corners was covered in dust and dirt, all blackened.
"To those who come after," Bohemia read, and her voice became quieter as her gaze moved downward.
To those who come after:
I rarely do a good deed, but today, I'll give those who follow me a warning. Believe it or not, I just happen to be in a good mood. This small white two-story house is a pocket dimension. Those who intend to bypass it should leave now, you should hurry up and leave, because the pocket dimension will be activated if you don't! (Oh, by the way, if you're single, it's best not to enter.)
We didn't know the situation and accidentally broke in. As a result, we found that this pocket dimension is pretty good. As I write this note, we have gone through it four times. We finally got a good rest. It's been years since we had such a comfortable meal.
Back to the point, this is a playhouse pocket dimension, and it will adjust its content and difficulty based on the situation.
This house used to be inhabited by a family of five. For some reason, one year, they suddenly disappeared. Once you enter the pocket dimension, you have to play the role of a character from this family, just like playing house. First, you need to understand the narrative that the pocket dimension has arranged for you, such as how the family was during this time and whether any major events occurred. Then, follow the narrative and act out your time. The pocket dimension will naturally end.
The advantage is that once you grasp the tricks, you can choose the content of the pocket dimension yourself. (For example, during our time, there was nothing troublesome; we just rested!) When approaching the house, pay attention to what you say in the beginning. The first few sentences will determine the difficulty of your playhouse. You must speak positively and be mindful of your actions! Say things like "Today is a good day" or "We can finally rest," and don't forget to mention "there's plenty of delicious food on the farm," and don't do anything harmful. Do NOT say things you shouldn't, or the content of the pocket dimension may change based on your words. Pay attention to any movement in the house. If you hear the wooden floorboards creak a few times, it means it's responding to your words and activating.
Each time we've gone through the pocket dimension, we spoke kindly, so we always entered a period before October 1973. It doesn't discriminate by gender or age, so I don't know how the roles are assigned. Remember, don't enter alone, or you'll be surrounded by unseen characters whom you must play house with. Also, groups of more than five people should not enter; no matter how many people enter, only a maximum of five can leave. (If you enter with fewer than five people but more than the number of family members during that period, you should be prepared for the possibility that someone will have to play the role of a pet or farm animal.) Other than that, there's almost no danger!
P.S.: My hand hurts from writing.
P.P.S.: Damn it, I forgot to mention a detail. There will be complete family photos regardless of when you enter, so we know it's a family of five.
Bohemia stared at the paper for a while, then looked up and uttered, "Huh?" After thinking for another moment, she gathered her thoughts and said, "Huh?"
"Let me explain," her husband said, sounding like he was telling a story to an intellectually challenged child. "What this letter means is—"
"I know what it means," Bohemia said, looking at the message again, feeling irritated. "It doesn't seem like a hoax at first glance, but why didn't they stick the paper to the front door? Could there really be food in this house? What did we say at the time? Were they kind words? Did you hear the wooden boards?"
Who would have thought she was just a little distance away from eating roast chicken but took a wrong turn?
"I vaguely remember hearing the wooden boards creak a few times, but I can't recall what we said before the sound," Yuan Xiangxi said, patting her shoulder. "But don't worry, with you, it must have been something unkind."
"I want a divorce!" Bohemia stormed out of the house and slapped the paper onto the back of a rocking chair, causing it to sway. Everything should stay where it belonged. Maybe the person who entered the pocket dimension before them casually threw the note, causing her to miss the chance to eat roast chicken.
As she was about to turn back inside, she suddenly had an idea. "Go outside."
"What for?"
"Let's reenact our previous conversation; maybe we can recall what caused the wooden boards to make noise."
With a sigh, Yuan Xiangxi walked out of the door. His expression seemed like that of a disgruntled boyfriend forced to accompany his girlfriend on a shopping spree. Looking at his face, Bohemia's anger softened slightly, and she said a bit more gently, "We'll figure it out soon. I promise."
However, who would have thought human memory could be so unreliable? They stood in the doorway, arguing for a long time, yet only reached a consensus that the other had a brain made of donkey dung.
"No matter what I said, you pretending to be a dead man was probably enough for the pocket dimension to decide not to take the right path," Bohemia said. She should be angrier considering she missed the opportunity to eat roast chicken, but she could only be a little mad at him. "So, how do we determine which period we entered?"
"The child you just saw might have been Baby Bao... How old did she look?"
"Probably about the size of someone dead for decades. Stop asking nonsense. How would I know how old a child looks?"
As Yuan Xiangxi frowned, Bohemia couldn't help but think of the diary upstairs. Just the thought of showing it to him made her skin flush, and she wished she could hide her face. After weighing her options, she reluctantly said, "Well... there's one thing I know. We must be in a time after Baby Bao was one and a half years old."
Baby Bao was that age when the diary finished. Until they found the next one, she could only make a rough guess based on this. However, Yuan Xiangxi seemed to have misunderstood her.
"Is it difficult for you to distinguish children over two years old? It seems so." He picked up the photo from the round table, looked at the date, and said, "We married on June 20, 1973... Baby Bao was born on December 15, 1974. So, after one and a half years, it should be around mid-1976."
Bohemia secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think we should figure out where we are in this family's narrative before deducing what happened. We should search the house for things like calendars, notebooks, or anything that can anchor the time," she said, waving her hand. The five rays of light scattered, illuminating the entire first floor. "Anything that anchors time will do."
"Oh," Yuan Xiangxi said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Seems you still know the word—'anchor.'"
He was teasing her again. Bohemia felt embarrassed and annoyed, but her lips couldn't help but curl up. "Shut up!"
"No. I'll go to the living room and look for calendars or something. If Baby Bao is a ghost, the two of us should keep talking."
The words 'the two of us' felt like a little hand gently tickling Bohemia, making her want to laugh and hide simultaneously. With a start, she quickly shook her head.
They divided the first floor in half, and each checked one side. With a guiding fish in the lead, Bohemia bypassed the stairs and carefully opened the first door, finding a narrow bathroom. She quickly glanced at the entire space. The second door led to a study, which was undoubtedly worth a look. She took a few steps inside, fully opened the door, and then used the doorstop to block it before hurrying to the desk.
There was a small calendar on the desk, with occasional unfamiliar writings noting things to do on those days in the date boxes. Bohemia picked it up but didn't rush to read it. Instead, she opened each drawer one by one. When she got to the bottom drawer, she found it locked.
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