Light in the Darkness Chapter Thirty-One: Strange Occurrences on a Rainy Night

“Ghost... stories?”
The boy named Li looked at her in confusion.
“Yes, don’t pretend. I just saw you listening to ghost stories on Himalaya FM,” Song Qianwen replied.
Li was even more puzzled after hearing her words. He liked to listen to comic dialogues on Himalaya FM while working, and before going to the bathroom just now, he had paused the show.
How could it be ghost stories?
Li glanced at Song Qianwen, then walked to his computer to check.
No mistake—it was a collection of Guo Degang’s comic dialogues!
There weren’t any ghost stories.
Was Song Qianwen deliberately trying to scare him? As this thought crossed his mind, Li’s eyes flickered mischievously. “So, quiet little Song Qianwen is picking up bad habits from her boyfriend and trying to spook people.”
“If that’s how you want to play it, don’t blame me...”
Li said, “Qianwen, there’s nothing here! Look, it’s just Guo Degang’s comic dialogues. Where are these ghost stories?”
“It’s late. There are only the two of us in the office. Why would I be listening to ghost stories at this hour? Even if I wasn’t scared, the atmosphere is eerie enough as it is—who would listen to something like that?”
Qianwen’s voice quivered, “Really? Don’t scare me.”
“I’m timid, please stop trying to frighten me.”
Li noticed her expression was not faked.
He thought to himself, “No way, her acting’s this good? Is she going to cry next? Of all things, why would she want to play a prank on me? Time for her to find out the consequences.”
“Come look, I’ve been listening to comic dialogues the whole time.”
Li spoke earnestly.
Qianwen grew even more anxious, but to prove Li’s prank, she peeked over his shoulder.
The computer screen clearly showed comic dialogues. Qianwen grabbed the mouse and searched the listening history—sure enough, there it was: the midnight ghost stories playlist.
“See, what do you have to say for yourself now? You’re still trying to scare me at a time like this. Don’t you know my boyfriend can’t pick me up tonight?”
Qianwen said, a little angry after finding the evidence.
“What? It’s really there? That’s odd.”
“There was nothing there just now. What’s going on?”
Li muttered to himself, glancing at Qianwen, now even more certain that she’d searched it herself to prank him.
“Your boyfriend’s not coming tonight? Doesn’t he always pick you up on time? And stop it, listening to ghost stories in the middle of the night is creepy just to think about.”
Li was getting irritated too. He’d never known Song Qianwen to have a mischievous streak.
But seeing Li’s genuine frustration, Qianwen was thrown as well.
So what was going on? Was someone pranking her, or was something truly wrong?
Li and Qianwen each assumed the other was behind the trick. Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed through the bright office.
Boom—
Outside, the rain poured down, wind howled, thunder rolled, and lightning split the night sky.
Looking down, Li saw few pedestrians. A few people, just leaving the building, hailed taxis and disappeared into the night, tail lights fading from view.
“Ugh, unlucky—it’s raining again. Let’s go, Qianwen.”
Li glanced at the gloomy sky, a tightness pressing on his chest. Best to go home early; work could wait.
“Alright, let’s hurry.”
Qianwen wholeheartedly agreed with Li’s wise decision, nodding her head vigorously like a pecking chick.
“Wait, let me call a cab for us. It’s so dark, and your boyfriend can’t pick you up—let me take you home. You don’t mind, do you?”

Although Li was annoyed by the prank, he knew it wasn’t safe for Qianwen, a young woman, to go home alone so late.
“Ah well, can’t help being softhearted. But when will I ever meet a girl I like? Where are you?”
He silently brooded, thinking how Qianwen already had a boyfriend in her early twenties, while he was almost thirty, had struggled for years in the city, earned little, and suffered much.
Years of desk work had left him with ailments, and in this vast city, he didn’t even own a place to call home.
He had no one waiting for him at the end of the day—such is his fate.
He deftly took out his phone, and after a few taps, finally got a driver. The driver was three kilometers away.
“Let’s head down to wait. The driver’s three kilometers out. In this weather, there won’t be traffic, so we’d better go down now—no point in making him wait.”
After booking, Li told Qianwen.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Qianwen slung her bag over her shoulder. Li quickly packed up his things.
“Qianwen, aren’t you going to shut down your computer?”
Li asked, puzzled.
“Huh? Didn’t I just shut it down?”
She turned to see the computer still running. She shook her head—she was sure she’d turned it off, but maybe she’d misremembered. With a resigned sigh, she went back and turned it off.
Li was already waiting at the door. With the computers off and the lights out, they took the elevator down.
Neither noticed that, after they left, both computers turned back on by themselves.
In the pitch-dark office, only the faint glow of two screens remained. Had anyone peered at the monitors, they’d have seen Himalaya FM open by itself.
Both computers began to search for the midnight ghost stories playlist, and, all on their own, started to play it.
Eerie music drifted out; a man’s and a woman’s voices echoed in the empty, dark office.
Cackling...
Grotesque laughter echoed through the empty room.
Li and Qianwen, already in the elevator, knew nothing of this. Otherwise, they surely would have been terrified.
“Why didn’t your boyfriend pick you up today?”
The elevator was oppressively silent until Li broke it.
“He had to go on a last-minute business trip,” Qianwen replied, watching the elevator descend, a vague unease rising in her chest.
They chatted idly, and soon the elevator reached the ground floor.
Suddenly, Li felt the urge to use the restroom. He shoved his briefcase into Qianwen’s hands and dashed off.
“Hold my bag for a second—if the cab arrives, ask him to wait. The license plate is... 23Q...”
Because he was already far away, Qianwen didn’t catch everything he said.
The lobby was still bright, but the security guard was missing.
Rain spattered on Qianwen’s arms. She hugged herself—it was chilly, and she only wore a short-sleeved shirt.
Alone, she waited at the door.
A taxi with its headlights on pulled up outside.
She checked the plate—23Q, just as Li had said.
“Driver, are you the one Mr. Li booked? I’m his friend—he’s in the restroom. Can you please wait a moment?”
Qianwen spoke as she opened the back door and got in.

“What? Wait? I’m almost off shift, you know! The system just randomly assigned me this ride. I didn’t even want to take it, but your route was on my way, so I came.”
“Are you going or not? If not, I’m leaving. Just my luck, ten minutes from clocking out, I get assigned a fare. Ugh, such bad luck.”
The driver was clearly annoyed.
“Um—alright, let’s go, then. I’m going to 6 Guang’an Street.”
Seeing the driver’s irritation, Qianwen could only agree.
She glanced at Li’s briefcase, decided to return it the next day, then took out her phone and sent Li a message explaining the situation. Afterward, she put her phone away, not noticing the message never sent.
Meanwhile, Li emerged from the restroom and found Qianwen gone. He looked around but didn’t see her anywhere.
He called her, but a female voice informed him the number was outside the service area.
“Hello, are you Mr. Li? Is this your ride?”
Another taxi pulled up, the driver rolling down the window and calling to Li.
“Yes, that’s me. Can you wait a moment while I call my female coworker to see where she’s gone?”
Li responded as he tried to reach Qianwen on WeChat, but again, she didn’t answer. Urged by the driver, he messaged her that he’d leave first.
“How strange—she was just here. Why isn’t she answering?”
He muttered to himself as he got in. The cab he entered bore the license plate 23Q, the same one he’d mentioned to Qianwen.
“You waiting for a young lady?”
The driver glanced at Li in the rearview mirror.
“How did you know?”
Li asked, curious.
“Oh, that’s obvious. You wanted to give the girl a ride on a night like this, but she probably thought you had ulterior motives. She must’ve left long ago.”
The driver spoke with the confidence of someone who’d seen it all.
“Really? Do I look that much like a bad guy? She played pranks on me at the office, now she thinks I’m up to no good. It’s hard to be a good person.”
Li sighed.
“You don’t get it, kid. Have you ever taken a girl home before? Out of the blue, and on a night like this, of course she’d suspect your intentions.”
The driver stroked his beard, eyeing Li in the rearview mirror.
Meanwhile, Qianwen’s cab soon left the rain behind.
She leaned against the door, watching the scenery go by as sunlight streamed into the car.
Her thoughts drifted—what was Tang Li doing now? Had he boarded his flight? Was he thinking of calling her, only to worry he’d be out of service range?
Returning to herself, Qianwen thought she saw two dark figures outside the window. She rubbed her eyes—nothing there.
She must be exhausted, imagining things. Who could possibly keep up with a taxi, anyway?
Once work settled down, she’d ask her supervisor for a few days off.
When Tang Li returned, she’d spend time with him. His birthday was in three days—what gift should she get?
She realized suddenly she had never noticed Tang Li’s preferences, while he always remembered everything she liked.