My Ghostly Husband Is Haunting My Phone

The knocking stopped all of a sudden, as though Tang Tian’s questioning had taken the ghost by surprise. 

The ghost-child drawled, “Hmm…let me think…what game should we play?” It paused, then continued, “The last guy, I call him Big Brother, wanted to play ball with me, but there was no suitable ball for us to play with, so I tore off his head.”

The way it casually mentioned such a gruesome act in those innocent, childlike tones sent shivers down Tang Tian’s spine.

“Before that, the Big Sister I played with kept crying and screaming. She was so noisy that I got a headache! I wanted to play a quiet game of marbles with her, but sadly, we had no marbles, so I dug out her eyeballs instead. Did you know? That Big Sister had such pretty eyes, just like little marbles. They roll so far away when you flick them, and end up staring right at me when they stop!” The child clapped his hands gleefully as he laughed.

“You see? I’m a good boy who honours his word. All my ghost stories are true, Big Sister! So, tell me, how would you like to play with me?” The child’s voice distorted into a menacing snarl at the very end.

Tang Tian suddenly had an idea. This was her chance! 

She jumped onto the bed, grabbed the phone, and spoke with fervent desperation, “We can play the game ‘One, two, three, freeze’! The loser has to obey the winner’s demands! Here we go, one, two, three, freeze! No one moves, speaks, or laughs!”

As Tang Tian finished explaining the rules, she swiftly laid down on her back with her eyes closed. 

At that moment, there was silence. There were no more sounds to be heard outside her room, and only the constant static noise from her mobile phone remained. 

Tang Tian squeezed her eyes shut, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

I was right! She thought with relief. 

When the ghost was indulging her with his horrendous stories, she thought back to the introductory words it had said at the beginning. 

Firstly, it had said that no matter what stories that were shared through the radio channel, they would become reality. However, the audience had the choice to decide what type of game to play with the ghost. Secondly, it had greeted the audience with the phrase “It’s been a while”, which suggested that it had been hosting the radio channel for quite some time. This meant that it could not act freely and slaughter people. Instead, it was bound to act in accordance with some form of rules or procedure. Presumably, if this entire nightmare had to begin with a fixed opening line, there had to be a certain phrase that could end this as well. 

Lastly, and most importantly, it mentioned “another short yet wonderfully terrifying time together”, meaning there was a time limit to this! This gave Tang Tian a sense of hope.

The silence after Tang Tian explained the rules of “One, two, three, freeze” proved her assumption. It was effective immediately.

The ghost was indeed bound by the rules of whichever game was decided by the audience. If I can keep this up until the time limit ends, I win!

Tang Tian steadied her breathing and tried to slow down her racing heartbeat. 

As time went by, without her sight, her other senses were heightened, prickling at the slightest sensation. Her body was becoming increasingly cold, as she sensed the chilly night air seeping in through her exposed skin. Although it was a smart decision to lie down, after a while, her hands and feet began to get numb.

The silence outside her room ensued. For a split second, Tang Tian wondered if everything she had heard earlier was merely a figment of her own imagination. But she knew that if she tried to sit up to check, she would be killed.

I mustn’t move. It’s okay…don’t be scared. She repeated the line to herself as she stayed as still as a statue. The only other thing she could do was to measure her heartbeat, to estimate how much time had passed. 

About ten minutes later, she heard the child’s voice through the mobile phone. It sounded annoyed, as though it was unwilling to admit defeat. 

“Fun times are always short-lived, and now it’s time to say goodbye to everyone. This is Midnight Tales of Horror, I’ll see you next time.” The last few words were dripping with venom. 

At that moment, the same piece of music that was played earlier filled her ears. Ironically, Tang Tian thought it was the best thing she heard in a long time. 

Once the last note was played, the mobile phone switched off on its own. Tang Tian abruptly opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling. She shifted her body, trying to get her muscles to pump blood into her numbing limbs. 

She let out a sigh of relief. “I win!”

Ding!

【You’re in luck! Congratulations on completing the mission and winning the reward!】

【Introducing the Midnight Tales of Horror app! This is a mysterious broadcasting app that enables you to reach out to more people. In return, you will also be able to learn about many interesting ghost stories.】

【Continue to complete three extra missions to get the title “Rising Star”. With this title, your friendliness will increase by 5%, and ghosts will be more willing to talk to you.】

“Who the heck wants to talk to ghosts?” Tang Tian wiped the cold sweat off her forehead and exited the messages app. 

A new application with a radio logo appeared on the home screen. The words “Midnight Tales of Horror” were written underneath. 

Tang Tian sighed and begrudgingly clicked on the app. A small screen lit up in the centre, requesting some basic information. Once she filled it in, it was replaced by a line of words in crimson-red colour. 

【Congratulations! You are now the thirteenth host of the Midnight Tales of Horror channel.】

“Host? I didn’t choose that option.” Frankly, there was no option to choose any role either. Tang Tian felt like she was being tricked by the darned mobile phone once again.