My Ghostly Husband Is Haunting My Phone

No new notifications had popped up ever since the strange app was downloaded earlier today. The clue was in the name of the radio channel, after all—Midnight Tales of Horror. 

Tang Tian kept the mysterious mobile phone in her pocket while she went about her day, and the sky had darkened when she returned to her new apartment. 

“I’m home.” She murmured when she stepped into the apartment. The slippers that she had simply discarded by the side this morning were now neatly placed before her, in a way that was convenient for her to slip on. 

Tang Tian dragged her new purchases into the living room, then pulled out two memorial tablets from her bag. She left one in the living room and brought the other into the master bedroom. 

The first thing she had done today was ask about the lone old man that once stayed in this apartment. With that information, she was able to order some memorial tablets from a shop that sold funeral supplies, and she even paid extra just to get the tablets on the same day. 

After placing one of the memorial tablets on the top of the bed frame in the master bedroom, she placed three lit incense sticks in the pot before it and lit up a few candles. In a separate ceramic pot on the floor, she placed a few stacks of joss papers, which she burned according to the custom. 

Once she was done with the master bedroom, she went back into the living room.

“I left your old house in a hurry, so I didn’t bring anything of yours with me. So, I requested a craftsman to make this new one for you earlier today.”

On a small tea table, she placed Chen Xu’s memorial tablet, the incense stick pot, and two large white candles on either side. In a similar ritual to earlier, she lit three more incense sticks, then, clasping them in both hands before her chest, bowed to the memorial tablet. 

“Thank you for saving my life back there. From now on, for every meal I take, I’ll be sure to prepare your share of offerings.” 

After sticking the incense sticks into the pot, she placed a bun on a plate before his memorial tablet. “I know you’re used to being rich and eating all kinds of expensive gourmet dishes, but I’m quite poor at the moment, so you’ll have to make do with this for now.

She knew he had followed her here, and that annoying mobile phone was occasionally still reminding her about her remaining hours to live. In a twist of fate, the two of them were bound together with this phone that had a mind of its own, regardless of whether she wanted it or not. 

From the start, she’d had no other choice anyway. 

So, Tang Tian decided to look on the bright side and be nice to Chen Xu’s ghost by providing him with offerings, prayers, and a proper memorial tablet. 

She was the kind of person who always strived to return the kindness of others by going the extra mile for them, after all. 

The next two days were peaceful, and there were no more messages from the mobile phone. 

In that time, Tang Tian acquired more tools for defending herself against spirits, such as chicken blood, talismans, et cetera. She also visited a famous local temple for a consecrated Buddha amulet. 

Although she had her ghostly husband by her side, it was not like she knew him well. Who knew whether he would come to her aid when she needed it? It would be better to rely on herself than to trust a ghost that may or may not have retained his human consciousness.

On Sunday, Tang Tian spent the evening in her room. As night fell, she became increasingly nervous. 

Psst, psst.

Loud static noises reverberated through the air, piercing the otherwise silent night. They came from the cursed mobile phone that she had placed on the bed next to her. 

Tang Tian quickly turned down the volume and waited for a while. When she was just about to turn off the phone like the previous nights, the clock displayed on the mobile phone ticked over into the next minute. It was twelve midnight. 

Suddenly, the static noises died, and all was silent again. 

Something clicked within Tang Tian’s mind. She tightened her grip on the phone, bracing herself for anything that might happen. 

All of a sudden, an eerie piece of music started to play, and Tang Tian froze. Her only source of comfort was the bedside lamp that provided dim lighting in the dark bedroom. 

The beginning of the music sounded like a thousand vengeful souls wailing and weeping, as if it were a dirge to summon lost and lingering souls. it was enough to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who heard it. Tang Tian had never heard such music before, but before she could react, the song ended. It had played for less than twenty seconds. 

After a brief silence, a strange voice began to speak. 

“Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Midnight Tales of Horror!”

It was a childlike voice, and Tang Tian couldn’t be sure whether it was a boy or a girl speaking. The host initially spoke in a shrill tone and then switched to a low, mischievous tone. 

Tang Tian gulped, trying to hold back the urge to exit the mobile app. 

“If you can hear us, it is the result of your great fortune and misfortune.” The host cackled evilly. “For my dear audience who were here for our previous broadcast, welcome back, it’s been a while!” 

Something snapped in Tang Tian’s mind. Anxiety exploded in her mind like a thousand alarms signalling an unknown danger. She desperately fumbled with the app, eager to stop listening to this radio channel. But to her horror, there was nothing else on the screen apart from audio waves that flickered up and down rhythmically as the host spoke.

“In this channel, we shall share horrifying true ghost stories. Everything stated here is absolutely true. We do not lie. If any part of it consists of untruth,” The host paused to give a malicious snicker before enunciating their words slowly and ominously, “We will turn it into reality!”

Tang Tian watched as the audio waves flickered erratically, and noticed the volume had gone up, as if the person speaking to her through the radio channel was somehow getting closer to her. 

“What the—” She quickly bit her tongue to stop herself from saying ‘hell’. Under the circumstances, it felt like she might just get herself in deeper trouble for saying that word.

As there seemed to be no way even to switch off the mobile phone, Tang Tian gave up and threw it to the corner of the bed in despair while she huddled in the opposite corner, clutching her blanket.  

The host let out a ghastly giggle, and Tang Tian had the weirdest suspicion that they had somehow witnessed her little antics.

“Tonight, let us enjoy another short yet wonderfully terrifying time together! I am going to tell you a story of a young girl who saw a ghost while she was all alone in her home.” 

Tang Tian widened her eyes in alarm.