An Unsettling Delivery

“To simply burn a paper figurine on someone’s behalf… that would be no problem at all.”

Bai Wanwan ultimately accepted the commission, primarily because the prospect of an extra five hundred yuan was genuinely enticing.

The red-haired woman then messaged Bai Wanwan with a contact for a chat application before disconnecting their call.

Without the red-haired woman’s presence, and with Bai Wanwan utterly unfamiliar with streaming, she found herself quite bewildered by the barrage of abstract comments.

As interest waned, and with tomorrow being a workday already deep into the night, viewers gradually began to depart.

None of the items Bai Wanwan had listed in her stream’s link had sold.

And truly, who would ever buy paper ingots for a hundred yuan apiece? ‘Only a ghost would,’ she mused.

By the deep hours of the night, Bai Wanwan’s eyelids grew heavy, threatening to close. Her livestream lay utterly deserted, save for the occasional viewer who stumbled in by accident, only to hastily retreat.

After all, encountering such a livestream in the dead of night could be genuinely unsettling. Bai Wanwan, looking utterly listless in her dimly lit room, was a sight that would indeed send a shiver down anyone’s spine.

‘No one is watching at all,’ she thought, a knot forming in her stomach. ‘At this rate, I imagine the streaming company will dismiss me quite soon, won’t they?’

Bai Wanwan glanced at her earnings for the day: a mere fifty yuan from regular gifts, accumulated during her video fortune-telling session with the red-haired woman.

Of that, she would receive roughly five yuan, which would be added to her basic salary of a hundred yuan.

As for the red-haired woman’s five hundred yuan commission, it wouldn’t be settled until the paper figurine arrived and Bai Wanwan had completed the burning ritual.

Once this sum was in her hands, though it would amount to less than seven hundred yuan in total savings, it would be sufficient to significantly improve Bai Wanwan’s current living situation.

She could purchase some kitchen utensils, stock up on rice, flour, and oil; cooking for herself would stretch her meals for quite some time.

‘But this kind of livestream clearly won’t last long,’ she mused, a sigh escaping her lips.

Bai Wanwan gazed at the virtually nonexistent sales figures in her linked store. With the livestream nearing its end, not a single item had been purchased.

If this trend continued, she would undoubtedly be dismissed within three days.

Ding-dong—

Just as Bai Wanwan’s gaze had drifted, lost in thought, a sudden, jarring doorbell chime pierced the quiet, making her leap in fright.

The crisp chime of the doorbell, echoing through the late-night stillness, was genuinely terrifying.

The entire rental apartment was shrouded in darkness; only a faint desk lamp and her phone cast a glow, a measure taken to conserve electricity.

“Who is it?”

Bai Wanwan, steeling her nerves, called out, “Who is it?” Could it be a debt collector?

‘But it’s the middle of the night…’

While it was true Bai Wanwan carried significant debt, she had never once encountered an in-person debt collector. Most often, the collection efforts came in the form of relentless phone calls and text messages.

“Miss Bai, is that right? I have a courier package for you. I’ve left it outside your door.”

Bai Wanwan cautiously peered through the peephole. Illuminated by the faint light from the hallway, she could discern a courier in uniform standing outside.

Perhaps sensing the female voice from within, the young man simply deposited a neatly squared package and departed.

Bai Wanwan listened as the footsteps descending the stairs grew fainter, only then cautiously unlatching her door to retrieve the package.

‘Who would send me a package?’

Bai Wanwan felt a peculiar sense of bewilderment. All her relatives had lost contact, and she had no friends to speak of. Who, then, would send her a package in the dead of night?

Had an ordinary person opened this package, the contents would likely have made their hair stand on end in fright.

Yet, Bai Wanwan, having witnessed such sights countless times in her previous life, felt no significant reaction beyond a lingering sense of oddity.

‘A paper figurine?’

From within the package, Bai Wanwan carefully extracted an exquisitely crafted paper figurine.

The craftsmanship of the paper figurine was remarkably professional; even Bai Wanwan couldn’t help but offer a word of praise, acknowledging its exceptional quality.

However, someone had painted its eyes with red pigment, and its wedding-dress-like attire was also crimson – a grave taboo.

As Bai Wanwan’s gaze met the paper figurine’s painted eyes, a shiver traced its way down her spine. And why, she wondered, did the figurine’s face bear a faint resemblance to her own?

Despite the unsettling resemblance, the small paper figurine was undeniably beautiful, almost a work of art.

‘Perhaps the customs in this world are simply different, and they don’t adhere to as many strictures,’ she rationalized.

Bai Wanwan set the paper figurine aside. Inside the package, she found a small note bearing a simple, yet stark, message: “Western City Cemetery, burn for my dear friend, Liu Ruyan.”

‘Western City Cemetery?’

Bai Wanwan understood then. This must be the paper figurine the red-haired woman wanted her to burn.

‘It arrived so quickly? I thought it wouldn’t be delivered until tomorrow…’

With this thought, she decided to simply take it out and burn it tonight.

Bai Wanwan, in any case, held no particular taboos regarding such items. After all, in her previous life, she and her grandfather had made their living from this trade. Whether crafting paper figurines or folding paper ingots, every bit of it had been solely for the purpose of supporting their household.

Compared to tales of ghosts and deities, the gnawing fear of hunger was far more potent.

The sooner she burned the item for them, the sooner Bai Wanwan could collect her five hundred yuan fee.

‘The livestream still has an hour left,’ she calculated. ‘Perfect. I’ll take this out, burn it, and then swing by the convenience store for some instant noodles.’

Bai Wanwan mentally calculated the timing. After burning the figurine, she would have a screen recording as proof, which she could then send directly to the red-haired woman, securing her five hundred yuan.

‘This money truly feels easily earned!’

The thought of soon enjoying a steaming bowl of instant noodles inexplicably lifted Bai Wanwan’s spirits considerably.

She dressed herself, pulling on her white, lace-trimmed ankle socks. Then, casually grabbing the round-toed leather shoes by the door, she picked up her phone, cradled the paper figurine, and pushed open the door, stepping out.

The street lay silent and deserted. Bai Wanwan’s rented apartment was located in a very old residential complex, its sole redeeming quality being the affordable rent.

The Western City Cemetery was not far, merely a few intersections away.

In the quiet of the night, Bai Wanwan walked alone down the street, cradling the paper figurine, feeling surprisingly at ease.

Perhaps due to the ongoing lockdown, even the doors of the 24-hour convenience store at the intersection near Western City Cemetery were firmly shut.

Given that the client had paid five hundred yuan, Bai Wanwan felt that even if she couldn’t take it directly into the cemetery to burn for the late Miss Liu Ruyan, she should at least perform the burning at an intersection close by.

‘This spot will do,’ she decided.

Bai Wanwan surveyed the desolate intersection, where only the traffic lights cycled endlessly, serving as the sole source of illumination.

Bai Wanwan placed the paper figurine on the asphalt. Just then, the traffic light turned red, bathing her surroundings in a crimson glow that seemed to imbue the delicate paper figure with a faint, blood-like hue.

“Liu Ruyan, correct?”

Bai Wanwan used her finger to draw a guiding talisman on the ground, then inscribed Liu Ruyan’s name within it.

This, she believed, would ensure the paper figurine reached Liu Ruyan’s hands without fail.

Bai Wanwan produced a lighter and set the paper figurine ablaze, watching as the flames steadily consumed it. Suddenly, a flicker of unease sparked within her.

‘Wait,’ she thought, a chill running through her. ‘Hadn’t I neglected to give the red-haired woman my address?’

‘Then how… how did this paper figurine even get delivered to me?’