The dance studio was deathly quiet. In the dim reflection of the mirrors, the man was the first to regain his composure. He stood in front of the five girls, threatening them with vicious, venomous words.
One of the girls burst into tears. The man yanked her up, pointed at her face and said something. The girl shook her head frantically after hearing him.
At that moment, a girl roughly the same height as
She and the man had clearly known each other before—their relationship was far from simple. It was even possible that the man's appearance right after the teacher left had been part of her plan all along.
Under the tall girl's persuasion and the man's coercion, the others finally relented. After a brief discussion of a few minutes, the man left first.
The five girls then entered the changing room to change clothes before all departing together.
The mirrors returned to normal, but the atmosphere inside the dance studio grew increasingly oppressive.
"That's it?" The mirror had only recorded scenes that once took place inside the dance studio. Chen Ge had no idea what happened after that. He only had a vague sense that this matter wouldn't be so simple.
Jumping from the fourth floor—as long as you didn't land headfirst, there was still a slim chance of survival. Zhang Ya could very well have still been alive at the time.
"A Red-coat Ghost, born from deep resentment… Could that fat man have been afraid of the truth coming out, so he killed Zhang Ya while she was still clinging to life? The activity center's entire drainage system was replaced with new pipes—could it be because the fat man used it to dispose of the body?" The thought flashed through his mind but was quickly dismissed. Zhang Ya had gone missing at the school; the police would have conducted a thorough investigation. Besides, disposing of a body wasn't something just anyone could pull off. More often than not, the more you tried to cover your tracks, the more loose ends you created.
He was deeply curious about what came next, but the images on the mirror had ended. This mirror had only recorded scenes that occurred inside the dance studio.
"Perhaps I should give Captain Li a call. This is a matter of life and death, and West City Private Academy falls under the jurisdiction of the West City police station. He'll definitely have records on it."
Chen Ge's reasoning was sound, but just as he was about to bend down and pick up his phone, the moment his body shifted, an ear-splitting scream erupted from behind him.
Zhang Ya was pressed flat against his back, her red clothes dripping with blood. Strands of black hair slithered up his shoulders like writhing venomous snakes, coiling around his neck and chest, binding the two of them together.
"I wasn't planning to leave—I just want to help you!"
Chen Ge blurted out immediately. He could barely breathe, but the black hair kept tightening, as though it intended to crush him completely—stuffing every last piece of him into her own body.
Perhaps in Zhang Ya's eyes, this was the only way the two of them could be together forever. This, to her, was the most devoted form of love.
Chen Ge had just escaped the wolf's den only to land in the tiger's lair. He finally understood why Zhang Ya's love letter was a curse. This lady simply didn't care for the living. The more she loved you, the more determined she was to kill you.
Back pressed against hers, hands and feet ice-cold and completely powerless, Chen Ge couldn't even muster the strength to resist. All he could do was keep pleading: "I'll report it to the police for you! I'll make sure the law brings you justice—every single person who hurt you will be brought to account!"
Even as he said this, Chen Ge felt a pang of guilt. Zhang Ya's situation was extraordinary. She was nothing like the family of four from the Peaceful Apartment. Those who had hurt her had already been stuffed into chairs by her own hand!
The once elegant and kind girl had long since been fully corrupted into a deranged, merciless specter. Chen Ge couldn't even imagine the unspeakable horrors those five girls had endured before being packed into those chairs.
He had all but given up trying to reason with her. But to his surprise, the moment he mentioned bringing the perpetrators to justice, the black hair binding him actually stopped tightening.
"What's going on? Are there still culprits who haven't been punished?" he pressed urgently, repeatedly emphasizing that he would help Zhang Ya catch every single person who had wronged her.
The black hair slowly loosened. Zhang Ya appeared to be weighing his words. At that point, all Chen Ge could do was wait.
Silence reclaimed the dark dance studio. Then, after a dozen or so seconds, something completely unexpected happened.
At this critical moment between life and death, the back door of the dance studio was suddenly pushed open. A tall, thin man poked his head in and peered around.
The moment he spotted Chen Ge, a cruel, delighted grin spread across his face. From behind his back, his hand—inked with a peony tattoo—produced a small fruit knife.
Coincidentally, upon seeing this man, Chen Ge's face also broke into a smile. His eager expression practically screamed—It's about time you showed up!
"I bet you didn't expect to see me here! You left way too many traces. Ivy torn off the school's outer wall, fresh soil and grass seeds stuck to the only window of the activity center, and once you got inside, your footprints are all over the floor. You were far too careless. Today, I'm settling every grudge—old and new!"
The tall, thin man standing in the doorway was none other than Zhang Peng. His eyes were threaded with bloodshot veins, his demeanor wildly manic, and he gripped the knife with his one good arm.
But what Chen Ge never expected was that right after Zhang Peng finished his little speech, having barely stepped into the dance studio, his expression underwent a rapid transformation—as if he were wearing a different face entirely.
One second he was all ferocious menace; the next, he was stumbling backward in panic, his eyes brimming with resentment and malice.
"The mirror monster took over his body?" Before Chen Ge could even process what was happening, Zhang Peng bolted downstairs even faster than he had come in. He looked as though he had seen something utterly horrifying—his limbs twisted unnaturally as he staggered away like a marionette with tangled strings.
The black hair released him. The girl who had been pressed against Chen Ge's back was gone. All he caught was a faint crimson shadow flickering across the mirror's surface before vanishing—she seemed to have given chase.
The bone-deep chill slowly dissipated. Chen Ge rolled his stiff, numb body, snatched up his phone and backpack, and sprinted toward the stairwell on the other side of the building. His speed was no slower than Zhang Peng's.
"I'd better put this affection mission on hold for now. If I actually managed to win over Zhang Ya, my life from here on out would be way too exciting." Chen Ge burst out of the activity center, glancing back at the eerie campus while dialing Captain Li's number.
It rang only once before the call connected. Captain Li's voice came through the receiver: "Chen Ge? Zhang Peng went after you again?"
"West City Private Academy! Zhang Peng is here! And there's something very important I need to tell you." Chen Ge spoke in a rapid, urgent tone. He was already well clear of the activity center, running toward the school's main gate.
"Fu Jun, Da Yong—alert the criminal investigations unit immediately." Captain Li didn't hang up. After issuing the order, he turned back to Chen Ge. "Something important, you said?"
"That's right. At West City Private Academy, I've just discovered another murder case!"