Except for Mo Family's patriarch's traditional Chinese courtyard house, all the other villas in the old house are of various western styles, each with three floors, spacious and open. And it was the deep chill of midnight...
Finally, the call connected, Mo Weiyi said, "Dad, you need to send someone here asap. Someone is knocking on my door and they're not answering back. I'm scared."
Mo Yaoxiong said, "Are you sure you heard correctly?"
"Absolutely, the door was knocked several times. No matter how I asked, there was no reply. Please, hurry, I'm scared without Xiaobai."
"Alright, I'm on my way now."
Just as she hung up, the knocking began again.
Still 'knock, knock, knock,' three times.
After a while, 'knock, knock, knock,' another three times.
It felt intentional.
Mo Weiyi moved with her crutch, cranked up the volume of the television, then huddled on the sofa, hands cupping her ears tightly.