My love game is too abstract

The carriage stopped with a clatter in front of a small manor villa, and Yarrow and Serena stepped down.

“This is quite the villa.”

He widened his eyes.

The salesperson hadn't lied to them. This wasn't one of those dilapidated, remote, and isolated manors. It was truly a magnificent, five-story villa, complete with a garden and a fountain—the kind of elegant residence you'd expect wealthy gentlemen to live in.

It was just that the yard looked like it hadn't been taken care of in a long time, with fallen leaves everywhere, withered flowers, and overgrown bushes.

The salesperson unlocked the iron gate, pushed it open with a creak, and gestured for them to enter with a smile, leading the way into the yard.

“The house is currently vacant, but rest assured, the interior is clean. We have someone come to clean it every month. However, you may need to take care of the yard yourself.”

He said as he pushed open the front door of the villa.

The interior decoration was in the Rococo style, intricate and ornate. Just inside the entrance were two pairs of spiral staircases on either side. A dark carpet stretched from the doorway all the way up the stairs. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the hall, displaying unparalleled luxury.

“The original owner of this villa was named Borden. His family moved to another city, and the property was left vacant. Due to some financial reasons, they could no longer afford to maintain it, so they had no choice but to sell it.”

The salesperson introduced them to the property.

“Then why is it so cheap?” Serena asked.

“Well…”

The salesperson hesitated, only smiling slightly: “Let me show you around.”

They followed the salesperson to tour the house. Perhaps it was because the villa was too large, and the lighting in the corridors was only provided by a few small glowstones, but Serena felt a strange, eerie atmosphere here, with a constant rustling cold breeze blowing down her neck.

On both sides of the corridor hung portraits of people, but they were painted with gloomy faces, some with ferocious expressions, and some were simply abstract paintings, extremely distorted and bizarre.

What was even more unsettling was that the eyes of the people in these portraits had been treated in such a way that no matter what angle you looked at them from, it felt like you were being watched.

Serena shivered and moved closer to Yarrow.

“These, these portraits…” she asked, her voice a little fearful.

“Oh, these paintings are the works of a portrait painter who was a friend of the original owner. They depict the original owner's family.”

“Hmm, good taste,” Yarrow commented after carefully examining them.

“Good taste?” Serena stared at him blankly.

Anyone who saw these paintings would feel uncomfortable, right?

Then the salesperson sighed softly: “It’s just a pity that this painter committed suicide due to some mental issues. The one at the end is his final work.”

Serena stared at him with wide eyes.

Then she heard Yarrow also say with regret: “Yes, artists are usually not in a good mental state.”

“It’s wonderful that you can understand him,” the salesperson said with a smile. “But then again, the works of dead artists are the most valuable, aren’t they?”

He made a joke, and Yarrow laughed twice along with him. They continued to walk forward.

“N-no, it’s not…” Serena wanted to say something, but Yarrow and the salesperson had already walked away.

She glanced at the painter's last work. It was a woman with a severed head sitting at a dining table, cutting her own bloody head on a plate with a knife and fork, with only one eye revealing despair, and it was staring at the person in front of the painting.

“Is it really okay to have this kind of painting at home?”

She shivered, feeling like the painting was about to blink if she looked at it any longer.

She quickly ran to catch up with Yarrow.

“I must show you this. I believe you will be pleased after seeing it.”

The salesperson smiled mysteriously and pushed open a large door in front of them, turning on the crystal light overhead. Inside was a luxurious large bathtub.

The bathtub was at least ten square meters, built of marble, with gold-edged stone pillars. Occupying the entire dome was a huge painting depicting a scene of goddesses bathing in a pool.

“What do you two think?” the salesperson asked, looking at them.

“Hmm, very good,” Yarrow nodded.

Serena also showed a look of longing for the large bathtub.

“Just imagine,” the salesperson winked at Yarrow, revealing a playful expression: “On a quiet night, taking a romantic bath with your wife in this bathtub would be exceptionally romantic.”

“Haha, you’re teasing me,” Yarrow said.

Serena blushed slightly and glared at Yarrow, puffing out her cheeks.

Her gaze scanned the large bathroom, and then she saw something again.

“That, what is that?” she asked, pointing a trembling finger at the edge of the bathtub.

Looking in the direction of her finger, there was an outline of a human body drawn with white powder, and a small sign with a number on it was placed on the side.

“Oh, that? It's just a prank by the original owner's child. I'm really sorry it wasn't cleaned up in time.”

The salesperson said with an awkward smile, walking forward and rubbing the outline with his foot.

“No, that, that's clearly a marker for a murder victim's body, isn't it?” Serena said with a look of fear.

“Miss, you're really joking. Who would commit murder in a bathroom?” the salesperson said.

“Ya, Yarrow, you…” Serena looked at Yarrow.

“What a mischievous child,” Yarrow said.

“???”

Yarrow and the salesperson smiled at each other, and the salesperson said: “Let's go, I'll show you the bedroom.”

“Thank you,”

Serena glanced at the human-shaped outline on the ground, swallowed her saliva, and quickly followed them.

The salesperson opened a door inlaid with gems.

“This is the bedroom, the original owner and his wife's room. It can be used as your master bedroom.”

The decoration of the bedroom was also very luxurious. The large bed with silk bedding and four Roman columns was large enough to sleep four or five people.

Serena walked to the window and looked down from the balcony, then stopped as if she had seen something, and pointed a trembling finger at a rope circle hanging on a dead tree in the garden below.

“That is…”

“Ah, that…” The salesperson came up to take a look, also feeling a little embarrassed. He coughed twice and looked at them seriously, saying:

“That's a swing.”

“A swing? That's clearly a rope for hanging!” Serena said in horror, unable to bear it any longer.

Now she knew why this house was so cheap. Moving in here would result in sudden death at best.

She looked at Yarrow, grabbed his arm, and said urgently: “Yarrow! Say something! This house is obviously very strange, isn't it? It's obviously a haunted house!”

“Miss, you're joking. How could we sell a haunted house? This house just has a few minor problems. These minor problems are nothing compared to its value for money,” the salesperson said.

“Slightly?” Serena twitched the corner of her eye.

“Indeed,” Yarrow nodded in agreement.

“Indeed?”

Serena looked at Yarrow in disbelief: “Yarrow, you, you don't really want to buy this haunted house, do you?”

“Serena,” Yarrow looked at her with a serious face:

“This house only costs one hundred gold coins, and there's no down payment!”