Have you ever wished to eliminate someone without getting caught? In other words, are there people lurking in the darkness eagerly anticipating your demise? The deepest hatred arises from love, and the most horrifying predicaments stem from the malice of those closest. These eerie moments within intimate relationships delve into the extremes of human emotions-love, hate, jealousy, fear, and loneliness-and how they give birth to evil. Hatred, selfishness, and desire lie dormant within people's souls, waiting to be unleashed. This is a series of short and horrible stories where you will see the darkest part of human nature. ...... ... Strange occurrences lurk behind you. Only those who have the courage to face the harsh truths of life are true heroes. If you had the opportunity to participate in an unaccountable murder game, would you become the most ruthless player?
Author: Jing Zhe
Do you dare to play a game initiated by a stranger?
1
The street was crowded with people and vehicles when I anxiously waited for Kara outside her office building.
Ding!
A message popped up on my cell phone, saying,
"Our company released a great game, and we're randomly inviting lucky people to participate. The final winner will get the inheritance right of a four-hundred-million-dollar property! For further information, please call the phone number below."
There was indeed a number in the message. The message sender was "Paradise Game", and the date was June 6th.
It must be spam!
Did they think they could defraud people of money with such a lame trick?
When I was about to delete the message, I saw Kara's tired figure.
So, I hurriedly walked up to her. Today was her birthday. I had asked for leave and bought a mystery box, intending to surprise her.
She cast an angry look at me, grabbed the mystery box, and slammed it to the ground.
I was stunned to see this and asked, "Don't you like it?"
.
"Eaton, stop deceiving yourself! Do you think you can add a sense of ritual to our love with such a cheap mystery box?"
I anxiously explained, "I'm sorry, Kara! I sent all my salary last month to my family. I have worked overtime for two days without having a rest! I was supposed to get paid on the 15th, but my boss has been seven days in arrear with our salaries. So, I could only buy you a mystery box. Don't be angry. I promise to give you a big gift when I get paid, okay?"
I had unconsciously bowed my head to life. Now, I could not hold up my head in front of Kara.
"If things continue like this, we can never buy a house," she snapped and turned to leave. When I caught up with her, she shook off my hand and said, "When will we have our own home? When can we have enough money to get married?"
Then, she ran away crying.
But I didn't dare to chase after her. We were both from the countryside. And we had come to the city to fulfill our dreams. But the cruel competition made us farther and farther away from our dreams.
Then, I walked back home with heavy steps. I had been in a good mood because I had thought I could have a rest and make out with Kara. But now, I was depressed. Nowadays, there were many people with Bachelor degrees in the city, so it was hard for fresh graduates like Kara and me to find a job. I was a website programmer and worked overtime every day.
I had sacrificed my money-make time to accompany her, but what I had gotten in return was her cold face. It was because I was a lack of money.
So, I must figure out a way to make a fortune!
2
At one o'clock in the morning, I dragged my tired body back to my shabby rental apartment.
After I took a shower, it was two o'clock. Fortunately, today was Sunday. Thinking that I could sleep until noon, I felt much better.
Ding!
When I received a message on WhatsApp, I hurriedly opened it. Sure enough, the message was from d*mned Gail, saying, "Prepare the materials and go to the company for a meeting at seven tomorrow morning! Reply after you receive the message!"
It was two o'clock in the morning, but she still wanted me to reply! Common people would have long fallen asleep!
I cursed, "She is insane!"
Gail was the owner of our company. She had just started her business and was always energetic, intending to squeeze all the employees to the extreme! I was in a bad mood because of the fight with Kara, so I didn't want to reply.
But my co-workers had all sent out flattering replies on WhatsApp, so I was afraid Gail would think I was lazy and put me on the elimination list. If she fired me, it might take me several months to find a new job, but I would still need to pay various bills.
So, I unconsciously tapped on the screen with my fingers and replied, "Received! Gail, you're diligent! Good night!" And I even sent her a f*cking grinning emoji.
I wanted to throw my phone down the toilet now!
When I was about to fall asleep, my phone rang. I cursed in my heart, took the phone over in a daze, and saw my younger sister's name on the screen. She had a good relationship with me. After my father had passed away, my mother raised us by scavenging. My mother had worked hard, so she had managed to pay my college tuition.
My sister was eighteen years old and wasn't cut out for study. Because of our financial problems, she had dropped out of school when she had been fifteen. Now, she was working odd jobs and taking care of our mother in my hometown.
Why was she calling me in the middle of the night? Was my mother sick again?
After I quickly answered the call, she said in a crying voice, "Mom is in a coma! I've sent her to the hospital. She is undergoing emergency treatment! The doctor said the coma is caused by her diabetes. The money you send back is barely enough to pay the rescue expenses. But she needs to have a series of medical checks later. We must pay another thirty thousand dollars before five o'clock this Friday!"
3
I gasped in shock! My mother had high blood pressure and diabetes due to overwork. But I had not expected her to suddenly collapse like this.
Thirty thousand dollars? How could I get so much money within such a short time? I could not make it even if I sold myself!
"Don't worry! Take care of mom! I will figure out a way!" I was so anxious, but I must pretend to be calm to appease my sister.
After hanging up the phone, I was at a loss for what to do. Thirty thousand dollars! How could I get so much money?
I picked up my phone and looked through the address book. I did not think any friend could lend me such a large amount of money, so I soon put it down.
When I was desperate, I suddenly thought of the spam message. What if it was true?
.
.
I was at the end of my rope, so I decided to give it a shot and dialed the number in the message.
Ring!
When I heard the beep, my heart began racing.
Soon, an extremely sweet female voice said, "Hello, this is the customer service of Paradise Company. Are you going to participate in Paradise Game?"
.
After hesitating for a few seconds, I said, "Yes, I want to participate. I don't need to pay, right?"
"Game players don't need to pay. You only need to register with your ID card and bank account information. May I know your ID card number?"
Since she had not asked me to pay, the game should not be a swindle. I knew scammers always asked people to pay. After all, I had received many fraudulent calls before.
The soft-voiced woman on the other end of the phone did not urge me. Her patience made me feel respected. So, I stopped hesitating and told her my ID number and other relevant information she needed.
Then, she said, "Sir, you have officially participated in Paradise Game. Please pay close attention to the game missions we release from now on. After receiving a task, you must complete it on time. Otherwise, you will be punished! Finally, I'd like to emphasize you must not withdraw once you participate. There is no pause, termination, or customer service in the game. The final winner will receive a bonus of four hundred million dollars. I wish you to go for it and be the winner!"
After hanging up the phone, I began to worry about gains and losses.
I had never heard of Paradise Company and could not find any information on the Internet. Maybe it was a prank played by some sick netizens.
But at the thought of the four-hundred-million-dollar bonus, I could not calm down.
I could never earn so much money in my life. If I won, I could solve all my problems! I would no longer worry about my mother's medical expenses or my sister's education. I could buy a downtown house and a car. I could get married to Kara!
I could even buy the company I was working at and let Gail work for me. I had already thought of dozens of tricks to abuse her within a split second!
My boyfriend went bankrupt and wants to break up with me. I don’t agree. He said, "Well, are you brave enough to get married to me?"
Do you believe in love at first sight? The moment I first met Mingyuan, I had that feeling. I cautiously accommodated him, maintaining his pride with my humility—warm yet hypocritical, like the fake flowers welcoming guests at a restaurant’s entrance. Until one day, I was utterly exhausted and chose to give up. I encountered another person during a time of chaos in my life. "So I showed up." To be honest, he awakened my desires. He saw through my games with words, understanding that I was greedy, selfish, and prone to avoidance, yet he still held my hand tightly, as he always did. I received a constant stream of messages from Mingyuan, but they no longer mattered to me. I should be someone with a strong capacity to endure and process my emotions. During the time I was Mingyuan's girlfriend, I tried my best to dissolve negative feelings within myself—without confiding or disturbing anyone. I once tried to act cute, hoping he would comfort me, thinking that just a few kind words would suffice. But he looked at me with great difficulty, saying, "I really don’t know how to comfort you. The ways of comforting girls are just tricks of scumbags; I don’t want to be like them." At that moment, I thought to myself that it was normal for a straight guy not to know how to comfort someone, and I could slowly teach him. The boy I liked would love me in his own way. The blindness of love made me completely overlook the obvious logical error in that statement. Until this moment. Last night, late at night around midnight, sharp pain in my lower abdomen jolted me awake from a rather unsettled sleep, shocking my nerves. Menstrual cramps. I was breaking into a cold sweat, curling up in bed in the hot summer, tightly closing my eyes, hoping that if I just held on, it would pass. The endless pain dulled my reason; this time, the intensity of the cramps seemed more severe than ever before. I struggled to get out of bed and, to avoid waking my roommate, stumbled around in the dark searching for ibuprofen. It should be fine now. I comforted myself with that thought. But the pain didn’t subside with the medication; in fact, I felt a churn in my stomach. In a hazy moment, I remembered the doctor's advice: it’s best not to take ibuprofen on an empty stomach and to take it half an hour before cramps start... The sound of me vomiting in the bathroom woke my roommate. She turned on the light, just as I was stepping out. She was startled by my state and nearly called for an ambulance, "Oh my God, your lips are so pale." She poured me a cup of hot water and waited with me until the pain slowly faded. When I woke up the next day, I momentarily felt as if I had been reborn. I hesitated for a long time, holding my phone, but I still wanted to tell Mingyuan about it. He was very busy with work and didn’t like being disturbed, so I didn’t dare call him and chose to send a message instead. I was really feeling a bit unwell, wanting some comfort, even just from Chatime. As dusk approached, he finally replied. "What should we do?" "Go to the hospital." When I saw the message, my emotions were somewhat flat. At that time, there were a thousand kilometers between us, and I knew that distance made care seem pale and powerless. As a modern, independent woman, I also shouldn’t be that fragile. But he, it seemed, had never cared. He had never comforted me or offered much consolation. All of this, I had never taught him. By sheer chance, I scrolled back through our chat history. The time had always...
That night at the graduation farewell dinner, he had his new girlfriend, the campus beauty, in his arms while everyone around was teasing him to introduce me, his childhood sweetheart, to someone. He glanced over at me sitting in the corner and said to his group of friends, "This silly big girl has a face that looks like someone owes her money. Who would want her?" I shrank back into the shadows, afraid that others would see the tears I was suppressing. An ugly girl doesn't have the right to cry; that was the first lesson I learned when I became his childhood sweetheart.
I woke up in the middle of the night and felt someone next to me. In the moonlight, the man dressed lightly appeared in my bed again.
Here's the translation of your text into English: "My stepson's son and I secretly had a romantic relationship for a while. It ended in a particularly ugly way. Later, when he was drunk, he cornered me in the bathroom and said, 'I’m just someone who loves being tortured; we’re meant to torment each other until we grow old. What are you going to do about it?'"
Here's the translation into English: "Participating in a variety show, my partner is a popular male star. During the escape room segment, I pretended to be scared and dove into his arms seeking protection. He snorted coldly and pushed me away: 'What are you pretending to be a weak woman for? You usually watch horror movies while eating, right?' I continued to lean into his arms: 'We're this familiar already, you don’t have to act like you're not interested in women. Just hold me tight; this is my new character setting.' 'Ex-girlfriend,' he suddenly stopped resisting, tightening his grip around my waist, 'are you trying to flirt with me?'"
Five years ago, Alessia La Rosa's life took a drastic turn when, suffering from memory loss, she wed to Dominic Carter under her grandfather's mysterious arrangement. But their marriage was a facade, bringing her only humiliation and heartache as Dominic showed no love, and she couldn't conceive. Upon discovering Dominic's infidelity, Alessia sought liberation through divorce. Yet, fate had more in store for her. Five years later, spurred by an anonymous email hinting at her lost child's whereabouts, she returns to the city with her twin babies in tow, determined to uncover the truth. As she navigates the tangled web of her past, a surprising twist awaits. Dominic, upon meeting her again, finds himself drawn to the woman she has become, unaware of her true identity as his former wife. Little does he know, the woman he's falling for is not only his ex-wife but also a powerful Doctor and Master Hacker.
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
Looking at the divorce papers my lips curled up into a mocking smile. 'How big fool I am? How can I think that he will give a chance to this marriage? How can I forget that I was nothing more a tool in his eyes to vent his anger until his beloved Tara is back. Since, she was back, how can he let me stay there?' "After you will sign these papers, you will receive 100 million dollars as alimony." the lawyer added. Because of his words, I came back to my senses took the pen from him, and signed the name. I have also gotten exhausted from this marriage both physically and mentally. Even though I had wanted my child to be born into a complete family, I didn't want my child to have a stepmother and live miserably like me for the rest of his life. After taking the papers from my hand, the lawyer gave me the bank card, turned around, and was about to leave when he paused at the door. He then turned around and added, "Mr. Carter said that he hoped that you won't pester him, or you have to bear the consequences." The lawyer's words were like a knife stabbing in my heart, but I still nodded. Anyway, I also don't plan to have anything to do with him anymore. I just want to live a good life with my children. After the lawyer left, the ward fell into silence. I placed my hand on my belly and said to my children, "Baby, I am sorry, Mommy can't give you a complete family! But I promise you, I will do my best to give the love of both mother and father." 'As for giving one of my child, I will never do that. They are my babies and my alone. I and I will give birth to all of them and raise them no matter what.' Four Years Later... Anya came back to the country with her three kids, to inherit the company left by his grandfather...
Eliza Greer was abandoned by her mother, raised in an orphanage, and sold to the Burns family at 19. Even though she marries Mason Burns, the other people in the Burns family look down on her for her poor identity and want to try every way to bully her. Unexpectedly, they all failed. Eliza's hidden identities are gradually revealed in one incident after another, which astonishes everyone.
"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours." Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them. Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.