Chapter 18: It Came to Know Its Weakness
The thin door panel couldn’t block its words; each syllable stabbed through my eardrums like a needle.
I couldn’t endure that relentless tormenting sound any longer. Barefoot, I jumped out of bed and kicked the wardrobe door hard several times. “Shut the hell up!!”
The door rattled violently, almost coming apart under my assault. Its two fingers withdrew, but that single eye reappeared in the gap, silently watching every expression on my face hidden in the darkness.
Finally, my kicks silenced it.
The quiet room was left only with the sound of my uncontrollable heavy breathing. The cold air I sucked into my lungs tore at my throat, sending a maddening itchy pain that I couldn’t bear.
After a long moment, just as I thought it might finally quiet down, it spoke again: “Baby.” Its voice was calm, emotionless, void of wave or ripple. It asked, “Are you angry?”
Of course I was angry. I should be angry. But along with the anger swirled an unidentified emotion in my blood and mind—far stronger than my rage. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, only that it was something terrifying, something that, if understood, could destroy everything I currently held.
When I didn’t answer, it kept calling me over and over again. The normally endearing word “baby” now rang hollow and without any charm in my ears.
I really just wanted it to shut up.
I didn’t want to hear its voice.
If it kept this up, I wouldn’t get any sleep all night.
Frustrated, I bit my dry lower lip until it bled slightly. The faint sting brought a flicker of clarity—and I thought of a plan. Since it refused to shut up on its own, then I’d force it to.
I took out my keys and unlocked the wardrobe. Pulling the door open abruptly, the gust stirred the hair across my forehead. It stayed in a kneeling pose inside, looking up at me. I avoided its gaze and, in that split second, bent down quickly to reach behind its ear, aiming to press its power button.
I thought my speed was fast—unlocking and opening the door with no hesitation, all within seconds. But just as my fingers brushed the round button, a sharp pain burst through my wrist. I hissed, almost crying out.
The doll’s iron-fingered grasp clamped tightly around my wrist, stopping me.
No step forward, no step back—I was awkwardly stuck midair.
“Let go,” I barked coldly.
It didn’t relax at all—in fact, it tightened its grip.
This wasn’t the first time.
Before, when I tried to press its button, it dodged. Then, I’d shrugged it off as coincidence, an accidental miss—but now faced with this, a frightening realization emerged that I couldn’t ignore.
It was deliberate. It was intentionally avoiding me from pressing its button, from turning it off.
—It knew where its weakness was.
The thought was chilling. I broke out in a cold sweat that crawled deep into every nerve cell in my body.
I finally understood that emotion I’d been subconsciously pushing away.
Fear.
I was afraid of the doll before me.
“…”
Me? Afraid?
Absurd.
I was its master. It was nothing but a dog at my feet. How could I be scared of it? Ridiculous.
I tried to psych myself up. I put all my energy into it, but my hands felt weak and powerless. I tried to taunt it with a few words, but my Adam’s apple bobbed uselessly, throat tight, and no sound came out.
No. Impossible. It wasn’t the same. After all, it was just a doll made of various materials—a toy bigger than the ones sold in stores, but fundamentally the same. Yes, that’s right. They were toys.
A toy—how could it possibly think?
Wait, the doll maker, he said something. What was it again…
“Don’t give it eyes.”
It would come alive.
“…” In an instant, my vision blacked out, my whole body’s hair stood on end.
Without even looking in the mirror, I knew my face must be as pale as a corpse at this moment.
A sharp whistle rang in my ears. I forced myself to break free from the panic, but my pounding heart was about to knock me out. My gaze crawled slowly through the air until it rested on its face, frozen on those artificial eyes.
It was staring at me.
It slowly climbed out of the wardrobe, still clutching my wrist. The door swung open, the lock hanging and then falling to the ground with a clink. I glanced at it—it lowered its head, then lightly kicked the lock under the bed, where neither of us could see it anymore.
I forced myself to stay calm.
It stood before me like an insurmountable mountain. I tilted my head up to look at it, my spirit weakened but still maintaining a stern face, unwilling to show any weakness.
“Baby,” it loosened its grip on my wrist and wrapped its arms around my waist, planting soft featherlike kisses on my cheek as it whispered words that sent shivers down my spine, “I love you.”
“Don’t be angry.”
Even though I had just locked it in the closet, it bore no resentment, as if none of it had happened.
I let it hold me without moving, leaned my head on its shoulder, and glanced at the button behind its ear.
As long as I could press it, my problem would be solved.
The question was—how to do it without it noticing…
“Uwaa!”
I was thinking when my body suddenly felt light and it scooped me up by the waist. As my toes left the ground, I instinctively hooked my arms around its neck to avoid falling.
Unexpectedly, it held me steadily. I barely felt any jostling as it gently set me down on the bed.
I remembered when I first took it out of the suitcase, its weight was manageable to drag around—now it could effortlessly carry an adult man over steady feet. That was baffling. With its weight, it shouldn’t be able to lift me, let alone so smoothly.
Its strength had grown beyond my ability to resist, probably changing quietly during the time I ignored it—its body growing heavier.
But… could that be? I’d always treated the doll maker’s words like a joke. How could such wild tales be real?
After it laid me down, it climbed beside me and arranged our usual face-to-face hugging posture for sleep.
I lay in its arms with a troubled heart and chaotic thoughts. I didn’t try to lock it back in the wardrobe—I didn’t want to hear its annoying noise anymore.
I let it hold me, my eyes wandering over it, searching for a solution. I wanted to shut it off, but its gaze never left me. I couldn’t hide even the slightest movement from it.
It’s not human—it doesn’t get tired or sleepy—but I do.
Not long after lying there, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier until I drifted off to sleep beneath its watchful eyes.
That sleep lasted till dawn.
The morning sunlight hit my eyes and woke me. I mumbled groggily in my dream, unable to bear the harsh light tearing at my eyes. Tears welled up. I squeezed my eyes shut and frowned, trying to hide—when a shadow perfectly blocked that blinding sunbeam, relieving me greatly.
Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was the doll’s beautiful face, its palm shading my eyes. The back of its hand was bathed in patchy, distorted warm sunlight.
It blocked the sunlight for me.
It was supposed to be a tender, sweet morning gesture. But when I saw it first, memories of last night flooded back. The half-smile lingering on my lips froze and slowly dropped.
I got up to get ready. It followed behind me, looking no different than usual.
But everything was different.
After dressing, it accompanied me as usual to the entrance. My fingers rested on the door handle, but no matter how I pushed, I couldn’t open the door or step out.
It had learned to open the door.
If I wasn’t home, it could still get out on its own.
Yesterday, I’d been lucky not to be seen by Liang Zhiting. But luck can’t last forever.
I couldn’t just leave it alone at home—it definitely shouldn’t be ‘awake.’
The problem was… how to get it to sleep.
I turned to face it.
It tilted its head slightly, calling softly, “Baby?” Curious why I’d suddenly stopped leaving.
Got it.
I stepped forward a few steps, hugged it, and intentionally tilted my neck up, bringing myself closer. “Kiss.”
It obediently lowered its head for a kiss. My hand slid up from its waist, wrapping around its neck while my fingers clasped the back of its neck, deepening the kiss.
I urged it vaguely, pleading for more intensity.
It complied. I kissed strongly; so did it.
After a good while, I found myself uncontrollably drawn in, but forcing myself to stay alert, I waited for the right moment. Then, swiftly releasing the back of its neck, I stabbed my fingers behind its left ear and decisively pressed down.
Zzz—an electrical buzzing sounded, and the giant figure before me collapsed like a machine powered off, falling heavily to the floor.
After the noise settled, I looked down. The thing on the floor didn’t move anymore and wouldn’t rebel disobediently again.
My fingers trembled, lips quivered, and after a moment of daze, I laughed—a genuine, loud laugh.
I’d succeeded.
Dragging its arm, I lifted it up and weighed it in my hands, surprised.
It had gotten much heavier. My guess yesterday was right.
It had changed imperceptibly—though I hadn’t noticed.
Exhausted, I dragged it and stuffed it back in the wardrobe, sweating from the effort. If it had weighed this much when the doll maker delivered it, I never would have been able to haul it up six floors alone.
Without wasting time, I rubbed at its eyelids, intent on plucking out those artificial eyes.
But when I pried open the corner of its eye and looked inside, what I saw made my skin crawl, freezing me in place. My body temperature plummeted as if doused in ice water, and my teeth chattered uncontrollably.
That artificial eyeball was fused to its skin—red veins, fresh flesh, impossible to separate even a fraction, just like its natural eyes.
I realized a horrifying fact—
—I could no longer remove its eyes.
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