From Lin Youxi's intermittent statements, Mei Fang had already figured out one thing very clearly—
She was the first person to discover the scene where Xia Yuan's family of three died.
Considering that Lin Youxi was only a ten-year-old child at the time, watching his closest and only friend pass away in front of him—
Mei Fang couldn't imagine how much pain the little Lin Youxi had endured at that time, and whether that scene would linger in her mind like a nightmare.
So now it is completely understandable that the door of my heart has been closed since then.
The moment he put his arm around Lin Youxi's shoulders, Mei Fang also deeply felt the heavy burden on her shoulders.
It's not that she is cold-hearted by nature, but that the world has too much malice towards her...
But now that things have come to this, there is no point in lamenting the sufferings of the past.
Xia Yuan's house was not locked, and Mei Fang pushed the door open with force.
The swinging solid mahogany double doors made a loud twig-like sound when pushed, and a wide living room could be seen at a glance.
However, the furnishings in the living room were completely different from what Xia Yuan saw in the mirror world.
All the valuable furniture had been moved away, even the chandelier had been dismantled; only a coffee table with one leg broken off was left lying in the middle of the worn carpet, and the doors of the TV cabinet were rotten and several sides were broken, drooping on one side of the living room, but it looked like it had not been moved for a long time;
A tall glass crystal chandelier fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, the curtains were half torn down and hanging there, the windows were covered with spider webs, the sunlight shone into the house through the broken windows, the shadows of the tree branches swayed gently on the ground with the breeze, and the sound of branches rustling after the wooden door was pushed open could be heard throughout the house.
Although it was noon, the weird atmosphere was already overwhelming. With the intention of protecting Lin Youxi, Mei Fang took the initiative to walk in front.
"It's like exploring a haunted house..."
"Are you scared?" Lin Youxi tilted her head, "I feel like you're shaking."
"Haha, what are you talking about? How could I—"
An unknown creature suddenly emerged from the aisle and frightened Mei Fang so much that he suddenly let out a wow. He held Lin Youxi's arm and trembled. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was a rat.
"… "
Lin Youxi stared at Mei Fang, who was sweating profusely, with a blank expression on his face.
"I'm not afraid of mice! Don't you feel scared when they suddenly jump out and make a noise?"
"Won't."
Lin Youxi shook her head. "If you just want to ease the atmosphere by being a clown, I don't think it's necessary. I'm not as fragile as you think. It's okay for me to live alone all the time."
After hearing Lin Youxi's words, Mei Fang was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head and laughed, "You figured it out... Is this the strength of a god of learning?"
"Stop bragging to me and get down to business."
Lin Youxi shook off Mei Fang's hand and took the initiative to walk in front. Mei Fang felt humiliated and walked side by side with Lin Youxi.
They wanted to find clues related to the Mirror in the House today.
"Should we search separately? This will be more efficient." Lin Youxi asked.
"Don't do it!"
Mei Fang shook his head violently and said, "Yuanyuan's house is so big and the house is very old now. If something happens and the other person is not rescued in time, Yuanyuan will definitely blame herself and feel guilty."
"Well, she is indeed that kind of person."
Lin Youxi nodded, "Then let's act together."
Mei Fang first followed Lin Youxi and searched the living room for a while. When they found nothing, they went to the kitchen and dining room, around the yard, then to some empty rooms, and finally to the second floor.
There are more rooms on the second floor, including a study, Xia Yuan's parents' master bedroom, a piano room, a small living room, and two guest rooms. Because the house had been cleaned before, the valuable things in it had long been moved out, and there was nothing noteworthy about the remaining furniture.
So, in the end, only Xia Yuan's room was left to be searched.
Although Lin Youxi acted very calm when searching with Mei Fang, they were searching seriously for things that might be clues.
But when she stood in front of her former best friend's room, it seemed as if many scenes from the past emerged in her mind, so that when Mei Fang was about to push the door in, Lin Youxi once again grabbed the corner of Mei Fang's clothes.
Lin Youxi had done this before she first met Xia Yuan, so Mei Fang realized it at the first moment.
"Would you like to wait until you can catch your breath before going in?"
"Um… "
Lin Youxi nodded slightly. She picked up the drink bottle in her hand and was about to take a sip when she found that the water was finished.
Seeing this, Mei Fang subconsciously handed the water in his hand over, but after handing it over, he realized his mistake.
"No... mind if I drank."
Lin Youxi didn't argue with Mei Fang any more. She took the water directly from Mei Fang and drank it all in one gulp.
Then she stood behind Mei Fang for a while.
Mei Fang just watched the shadows of the trees swaying gently from the second-floor window.
…
After about five minutes of silence, Lin Youxi patted Mei Fang on the back.
"Okay."
So, Mei Fang gently opened the door of Xia Yuan's room in the real world.
—
This place was almost empty. Not even a frame of Xia Yuan's princess bed was left. Only some yellowed cartoon stickers were vaguely left on the pink walls. The desk was not taken away because it was nailed into the wall.
It doesn't look like a place where you can find clues.
Mei Fang finally stood in front of Lin Youxi at this time, and Lin Youxi followed behind him, still holding the corner of his clothes.
…
Mei Fang and Lin Youxi were standing on the desk with a large glass plate on it. Under the glass were many cute cartoon stickers and some old photos, all of which were photos of Xia Yuan in kindergarten and elementary school.
Of course, there are no high school photos.
Lin Youxi's eyes fell on the upside-down photo frame on the desk. She slowly lifted the frame up. The glass of the frame had been broken, but the photo inside was empty.
"… "
Seeing Lin Youxi's puzzled expression, Mei Fang asked in surprise, "Do you know what was originally in this photo frame?"
"Yes, I know. It's a family photo of Yuanyuan's family of three. No one should have taken this photo away on purpose."
"Maybe it's Yuanyuan's grandma?"
Mei Fang asked doubtfully, "She wants to take it back as a souvenir, which is understandable."
"No..."
Lin Youxi pondered, "If that's the case, she could have taken the photo frame along with it. Besides, there are a lot of Yuanyuan's photos underneath, so she should have taken them along as well instead of just leaving them here."
"Hmm... That's true."
But there are no more clues at the moment, so I can only make a note of the photo frame.
Mei Fang opened the drawer of the desk. Apart from a few old crayons, there were only a few yellowed exercise books.
Mei Fang and Lin Youxi took out all the notebooks and looked through them. Most of them were Chinese and math homework books, and there were no essays or diaries.
"It would be nice if we had something as convenient as a diary," Mei Fang said.
"Yuanyuan writes her diary in a very beautiful locked password book. These books are not used for writing."
Although he said that, Lin Youxi carefully flipped through every page of the homework book.
Suddenly, something like a bookmark fell from an exercise book.
Mei Fang caught the falling "bookmark".
It is a light blue origami crane.
Lin Youxi took the thousand paper cranes from Mei Fang and observed them. At this moment, Mei Fang suddenly hummed.
"Um."
"What's wrong?"
Lin Youxi looked at Mei Fang, who had a puzzled look on his face.
"I feel like I've seen this thing somewhere before... and recently."
Mei Fang scratched his head, "But I can't remember it at all."
"But, this paper crane... I remember where it came from."
Lin Youxi whispered, "This is the first time Yuanyuan taught me to do handicrafts."
"Isn't that something that happened in kindergarten? You still remember this."
Lin Youxi nodded, "I remember."
"That's all the good memories I have. Of course I remember it."
Lin Youxi said softly, "However, if you have an impression of it, it means that this thousand paper cranes may be one of the clues to unlock the secret in the mirror."
"So put it in my bag first."
Mei Fang unzipped the shoulder bag he was carrying and asked Lin Youxi to put all the clues she had collected into the bag, including exercise books, broken photo frames, and paper cranes.
Lin Youxi carefully wrapped the paper cranes in tissue paper and put them into her bag.
They searched Xia Yuan's room again, but found no other clues that seemed useful.
As the sun set, Mei Fang looked at his watch and it was already past four o'clock.
"Yuanyuan should be awake by now."
Mei Fang asked Lin Youxi, "Let's go back and check on Yuanyuan, and then take her to explore the end of the mirror world. My mom will be back from get off work soon, so will you still have dinner at my house tonight?"
"Let's see Yuanyuan's condition first before making a decision... cough, cough cough."
Maybe it was because there was too much dust in the old house, Lin Youxi was coughing a little now.
"Then let's go back."
Mei Fang and Lin Youxi walked out of the house together.
Just as he walked out of the iron gate, Mei Fang suddenly felt a chill on his back, and he subconsciously looked back.
Then, Mei Fang suddenly discovered that there was a black figure standing under the curtains of the piano room on the second floor!
Mei Fang was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't even speak.
At this time, Lin Youxi noticed Mei Fang's abnormality and looked in the direction he was looking.
She saw nothing.
"Did you see anything else?"
"Ah... No."
Mei Fang, still in shock, rubbed his eyes, and when he looked towards the piano room again, the black shadow was no longer there.
"No, nothing. I must be dazzled..."
Lin Youxi stared at Mei Fang's face quietly, opened his mouth slightly as if wanting to say something, but ultimately stopped himself from speaking.
Mei Fang took Lin Youxi home on a bicycle. It was not so hot at dusk.
However, Lin Youxi was also very tired mentally. This time, she simply hugged Mei Fang's waist and fell asleep on his back.
We just talked for two days, hey...
Mei Fang didn't know why he suddenly became so close to Lin Youxi.
But he didn't mind.
Because Lin Youxi's past is so pitiful.
Compared to Xingfu Yuanyuan who died without knowing anything, Lin Youxi obviously suffered much more.
In comparison, Yuanyuan is actually considered happy.
Of course, it doesn’t seem like a good comment to make about a girl who lives alone in a mirror world…
Mei Fang and Lin Youxi arrived home, but their parents had not yet returned from get off work.
When Mei Fang put down her bag and prepared to get a drink from the refrigerator, Lin Youxi directly picked up Mei Fang's bag.
"Mei Fang."
Lin Youxi called Mei Fang's name.
"Why...what do you want to drink?"
"no."
Lin Youxi shook her head. "I want to talk to Yuanyuan alone. Can you come in later?"
"Ah? Sure, I'll go in if you call me."
Mei Fang took out a can of Coke from the refrigerator and handed it to Lin Youxi, "Would you like some?"
Lin Youxi thought about it, then took the Coke from Mei Fang.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Lin Youxi covered the Coke with both hands, then looked at Mei Fang and said:
"Come to think of it, you've been helping me and Yuanyuan so much, but you haven't told me what you want."
Lin Youxi said, "Just like what I said last night, I can satisfy you as long as I can."
"Ah? Don't think I'm so goal-oriented..."
Mei Fang smiled bitterly and said, "It's all fate. I met you because I definitely hope I can help you."
“You are such a nice person.”
Lin Youxi smiled.
This is just like the instructions for issuing a card...
However, being able to enjoy the smile of the cool campus goddess alone can be considered a reward.
Mei Fang didn't think much about it, and just watched Lin Youxi carry her bag and walk into her bedroom.
…
After Mei Fang saw Lin Youxi off, all he could think of was the eerie ghost in the piano room.
…
I shouldn't have seen it wrong.
But it's really a bit scary.
That ghost... is it some visual illusion, or am I really being paranoid
After all, three people died in the house, and now only Yuanyuan appears in the mirror. So if the ghost is Yuanyuan's parents, maybe it's possible.
So, is his and Lin Youxi’s visit today considered an offense
call…
Mei Fang took a breath of cold air. He really didn’t dare to think too much about it.
But don’t tell Lin Youxi about this.
Although she might not be afraid at all.
Given Lin Youxi's personality, if she really knew that the black shadow was Yuanyuan's parents, would she be even more angry
I feel like it will.
I think so.
But wouldn't I be angry
Mei Fang couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He was still a child, and he didn't know how desperate the debt situation was for Xia Yuan's parents at that time.
But, if Yuanyuan had been left alone... would it really be better than leaving together
After a brief hesitation, Mei Fang immediately gave up this ridiculous idea.
No matter what, Yuanyuan should decide her own life.
Instead of letting her parents control her.
That's right.
Mei Fang stayed in the living room for about half an hour, but Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan seemed to have not finished their conversation yet.
…
It’s been a while.
But, it shouldn't be a problem.
We talked for a long time last time.
Mei Fang thought about it.
How about cutting some fruit yourself and going in to have a look
He went to the kitchen to get a fruit knife, but found no trace of it.
My mom always keeps her things in a mess, I'm really fed up with her.
Did you put it on the coffee table? Maybe it was placed next to the fruit bowl on the coffee table.
Mei Fang went to the coffee table to find a fruit knife.
But the fruit knife was not on the coffee table either.
A bad thought suddenly arose in Mei Fang's mind, and just as he stood up and looked towards his bedroom, a heart-wrenching scream came from the bedroom -
That sounded like Yuanyuan's voice.
When Mei Fang heard the sound, he rushed over in panic. When he was about to open the door, he found that it had been locked by Lin Youxi.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mei Fang pushed the door desperately, calling out Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan's names loudly. From inside the door came Xia Yuan's sobbing and pleading voice.
"Youxi, please don't be so depressed! Why are you using a knife? Don't do this... I beg you, don't do this... Ah Fang, please come in!"
Mei Fang panicked immediately when he heard Yuanyuan's crying. He tried hard to recall where his mother hid the key to the bedroom door at home. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't think of the specific location. At this time, he looked towards the balcony of the living room.
His old house did not have a security door lock, so he could directly climb over from the balcony to the windowsill of his bedroom. However, he had only thought about climbing over when he was a child and had never tried anything like this.
…
From Xia Yuan's crying and Lin Youxi's crazy personality, it was not difficult for Mei Fang to imagine what she was going to do.
Damn it, let’s fight!
Mei Fang got excited and without thinking much, he ran directly to the balcony of the living room and climbed up. Looking at the distance of more than one meter wide, he leaped into the balcony of his bedroom, his feet shaking all the time.
Of course, he did not stay for too long. After jumping in, he opened the window and rushed in. What Mei Fang saw now was a very evil scene—
Lin Youxi was letting the crimson liquid flow onto Xia Yuan's standing mirror. Her expression was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or sad. It was as if the wound on her wrist did not belong to her at all.
Xia Yuan was lying on the mirror with tears streaming down her face. She was crying and banging on the mirror, trying desperately to stop Lin Youxi.
Just when Lin Youxi was about to hurt herself again, the fruit knife in her hand was finally snatched away by Mei Fang.
"What are you doing? You're crazy!"
"A reasonable attempt."
Lin Youxi remained calm after Mei Fang took away the fruit knife. "You said that when you first touched the mirror, you felt like your energy was being sucked away. If I use blood to nourish myself, then maybe I can do it, and I can see Yuanyuan..."
"You big idiot! Youxi! Even if you can see me like this, I don't want to see you anymore!"
Xia Yuan shouted at Lin Youxi at the top of his lungs:
"You are not the Lin Youxi I know! You are a bad girl! Why did you do this?!"
"You asked me why I did this..."
"Why would you do that?"
Lin Youxi grabbed the mirror and roared at it.
Mei Fang and Xia Yuan couldn't understand her.
What she was facing at this moment was just an ordinary mirror.
There was a deep red liquid in the mirror, and Lin Youxi's gloomy and dejected expression.
Soon, her voice began to sound like tears.
"Yuanyuan, why do you treat me like this?"
"I...what did I do?" Xia Yuan was confused by Lin Youxi. She sobbed and covered her nose, saying, "How can I know if you don't explain clearly?"
"Why..."
"Why can Mei Fang see you, but I am not qualified?"
Lin Youxi looked at herself in the mirror, feeling helpless and furious. Her messy bangs covered her red eyes.
"Aren't we... best friends?"
"Is Mei Fang more important than me in your heart?"
"When he was in kindergarten, he obviously didn't want to talk to you..."
"He never spoke to you in four years of elementary school—"
"I... I don't know either..."
Xia Yuan choked up and said, "I want to see you, Youxi... I want you to see me, to see what I look like now, to see what kind of girl I have become... So isn't everyone trying to find a solution? Aren't Ah Fang, I, and you all trying to find a solution... Don't worry, okay—"
The two girls just kept crying in front of the mirror.
Lin Youxi is outside the mirror, and Xia Yuan is inside the mirror.
Xia Yuan could see Lin Youxi in tears. Lin Youxi could only see herself, but she could hear Xia Yuan crying.
Mei Fang found the medicine box at home and provided emergency treatment for the cut on Lin Youxi's wrist.
Although it was aimed at the wrist, the fruit knife itself was not sharp at all, so it did not damage the artery at all. It just cut a hole, and the wound did not continue to bleed.
Of course Mei Fang was still worried, so after wrapping Lin Youxi with the bandage, she wanted to pull her up.
"Let's go to the hospital and deal with it."
"I'm not going."
Lin Youxi sat on the ground like a naughty child, holding on to the mirror and refusing to let go.
"Youxi, listen to Ah Fang and go to the hospital."
Xia Yuan gradually stopped crying at this time, "If you don't go, I will only talk to Ah Fang and not to you."
"Whatever you want."
Lin Youxi pursed her lips after she finished speaking, "Anyway, you don't want me to see you now."
"It's not that I don't want to see you, idiot Youxi..."
Xia Yuan knocked on the mirror and scolded Lin Youxi, then looked up at Mei Fang, "Ah Fang, say something about her too."
“I don’t want to take care of kids anymore.”
Mei Fang was still frightened after this crisis. "If Lin Youxi wants to stay here, let her stay here. When my parents come back, I will ask them to call Youxi's father, and then your father will pick you up."
"Okay, okay, let's do it."
Xia Yuan immediately raised his hands and made a funny gesture of surrender, "I fully agree!"
…
In this atmosphere, none of the three of them continued talking. I don't know who made a chuffing sound first, and finally all three of them burst out laughing. Lin Youxi even laughed so hard that a big snot bubble appeared.
"Ha ha ha ha-"
Mei Fang quickly took a tissue and handed it to Lin Youxi. Seeing that Lin Youxi didn't move, he had to help Lin Youxi wipe her nose.
At this time, Xia Yuan rubbed her tearful eyes and said, "It feels like the three of us... are really like little kids."
"Youxi and I are like children, and you are a child."
"I'm not a child! I just... I just don't have the memory of these years. My body is already a mature big sister! Look at my Mimi-"
"Okay, stop stressing about this! It's so unhealthy."
Mei Fang scolded Xia Yuan again.
While scolding, Mei Fang saw the bag with the zipper unzipped.
"… "
Mei Fang rummaged through her bag and discovered that the light blue paper crane that had been in the tissue was no longer there.
"Youxi, where are the paper cranes?"
“… I just took this out and showed it to Yuanyuan.”
Obviously, Lin Youxi tried the method of using a thousand paper cranes to contact Xia Yuan, but since it didn't work, she had no choice but to try using blood.
"Lend me the paper crane for a moment."
"… "
Lin Youxi took out the paper crane that was pressed under her and handed it to Mei Fang.
"You are hiding something from me."
Lin Youxi watched Mei Fang squat down and observe the edge of the mirror, "I knew you wanted to monopolize Yuanyuan, that's why you refused to tell me how to use the paper cranes."
"How can I be so bored! I also want you to meet Yuanyuan. It's hard for me to take care of the child alone."
"Afang, what do you mean!"
Mei Fang ignored Xia Yuan's complaints and pasted a thousand paper cranes on a corner of the mirror.
"I saw your actions and then I remembered where I saw the paper cranes. This should be the spot... Hmm?"
As the blue paper cranes were attached to the mirror, ripples appeared on the mirror like a lake, and Lin Youxi's blood on the mirror was slowly absorbed by something and penetrated cleanly -
That’s right…
When Mei Fang was thinking about what was happening, he was suddenly sucked towards the mirror by a huge suction force. He spread out his hand and placed his five fingers on the mirror. At this moment, the boundary between the mirror world and the real world suddenly became blurred.
At this time, Xia Yuan seemed to realize something, and quickly spread out his palm and placed his five fingers against Mei Fang's palm.
No longer, the touch of a cold mirror.
It seems that I can feel a little warmth.
It appears and disappears, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing.
Mei Fang and Xia Yuan could both feel each other's warmth through the mirror.
A dim light burst out from the mirror, and this scene was also noticed by Lin Youxi.
She focused her attention and watched the changes in the mirror. The mirror's reflection of her image became blurry and distorted, and the world in the mirror was gradually enveloped by a dim light.
Looking at it, I feel filled with a feeling of warmth and nostalgia.
…
Gradually, the dim light became brighter and brighter, almost shining.
Lin Youxi, enveloped by the light, was distracted for a moment. When she came to her senses, the world in the mirror had become a completely different scene.
Under the dim light, Xia Yuan and Mei Fang clasped their left hands together against the mirror.
They obviously didn't expect that they could actually touch each other. They looked at each other blankly for a while, with each other's figure in their eyes.
From the other side of the mirror world and the real world, the mirror surface surges and stirs like ripples on a lake.
When the ripples on the mirror surface finally calmed down, the dazzling dim light finally gradually became gentle.
Then, an invisible gravitational force pushed Mei Fang and Xia Yuan's hands away, and in just a moment, their hands were against the mirror again like at the beginning.
…
"Afang, do you feel it?"
"I want to say it's an illusion, but—"
Mei Fang also found it incredible.
"Youxi, did you see that just now? I was with Ah Fang just now—"
Xia Yuan was talking to Lin Youxi.
Only then did she realize that Lin Youxi had been staring at her in a daze.
Her eyes focused on her, meeting her gaze.
There is no longer no focal point.
"Can you... see me, Youxi?"
(End of this chapter)