Chapter 8: The Female Rogue

The eerie scene and the all-too-familiar voice sent chills through Qiu Yiyao, making every hair on her body stand on end.

To prove this wasn’t a dream, she raised her hand and slapped herself hard. The pain was real, yet the “Qiu Yiyao” in the mirror winked at her.

Startled, Qiu Yiyao screamed and dashed out of the bedroom, fleeing toward the stairs, only to collide headfirst into Bai Peiyu, who was just coming upstairs.

Instinctively, he grabbed her arm, then stumbled back a few steps from the momentum, nearly tumbling down the stairs.

“Ghost… there’s a ghost…”

Tears welled up in Qiu Yiyao’s eyes as she trembled, pointing a shaky finger toward the bedroom. “There’s… there’s a ghost in the mirror…”

Bai Peiyu narrowed his eyes, looking at her with disdain. The fierce composure she had shown earlier when slamming the table was gone; she trembled like a frightened kitten.

With a sneer, Bai Peiyu said, “You’ve got a delusional disorder, but you refuse to admit it. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“This time it’s not a hallucination, it’s real.”

Seeing he didn’t believe her, Qiu Yiyao grabbed his arm and tried to lead him back to the bedroom.

Bai Peiyu shook her off forcefully. “Don’t start touching me like that. If someone sees, they’ll think I’m trying to take advantage of you.”

Qiu Yiyao disliked his tone but, thinking about what was inside the room, she withdrew her hand.

At the bedroom door, she couldn’t hide her fear. Turning quickly, she hid behind Bai Peiyu, her finger stubbornly still pointing at the room. “It’s… right in there…”

“Look at you, such a scaredy-cat.”

Bai Peiyu wasn’t afraid at all and strode into the bedroom.

Qiu Yiyao pressed against the doorframe, hugging herself tightly, back against the wall, trying to calm down. She strained her ears, listening carefully to every sound inside.

Two minutes passed without a sound; the fear crept back over her.

Worried something might happen to Bai Peiyu, she wanted to go in and check, but the image of herself in the mirror terrified her.

Softly, she called out, “Hey, are you okay?”

Silence answered her; it was as if no one was inside.

Unable to hold it any longer, Qiu Yiyao felt overwhelmed. Bai Peiyu was just a visitor—if something happened to him in her house, how could she explain it?

She bit her lip and gave herself a mental pep talk: It’s just a ghost, what’s there to fear? Down there, who knows who’s more powerful? Besides, Mom’s down there too—she’d have company.

With that thought, her fear lessened.

Taking a deep breath, Qiu Yiyao quietly moved toward the door.

To avoid being noticed by the “ghost,” she crouched down and peeked her head around the door.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked her view, and a voice came from above, “What are you doing?”

Looking up, Bai Peiyu was bending down to look at her, a playful glint in his eyes as he raised an eyebrow.

“You’re okay?”

Qiu Yiyao exclaimed with relief, her face lighting up with excitement.

“I’m fine, but if you keep squatting like that, I’ll have to call the police and report a female troublemaker in the house.”

“What? Female troublemaker?”

Confused, Qiu Yiyao glanced forward again, instantly embarrassed. Bai Peiyu was only inches away, and her gaze had unintentionally landed on a sensitive area.

Flustered, she quickly stood up, protesting, “You appeared out of nowhere. If anyone’s playing tricks, it’s you.”

She snorted and briskly stepped into the bedroom.

As soon as she entered, the scene from the mirror flashed again in her mind. She shuddered and backed out.

“Is it… is everything okay in there now?”

If there was a contest for the fastest mood swing, Qiu Yiyao would be second, but no one would dare claim first.

Bai Peiyu looked exasperated, stretching out a large hand to grab Qiu Yiyao’s arm, trying to pull her toward the mirror.

Terrified, she closed her eyes, refusing to look. One hand gripped the doorknob tightly as she shook her head vigorously. “No, I don’t want to…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? There’s nothing.”

“There is… there’s a ghost…”

At this moment, Qiu Yiyao looked as if she was saying, “If you want to die, go ahead, but don’t drag me down with you.”

Suddenly, Bai Peiyu let go and shouted, “The ghost is at the door.”

A scream rang out, and Qiu Yiyao quickly threw herself into Bai Peiyu’s arms, burying her face in his chest as tears streamed down. “Don’t come after me. I’m still young—I don’t want to go down there.”

She had completely forgotten the pep talk she had given herself earlier.

At that moment, Qiu Shengming’s confused voice came from the doorway: “What are you two doing?”

He wore a suspicious expression, hesitating at the entrance, uncertain whether to come in.

Hearing his voice was like grabbing a lifeline. Qiu Yiyao released Bai Peiyu and ran into Qiu Shengming’s arms. “Dad, there’s a ghost in the mirror.”

“What?”

Qiu Shengming clearly didn’t believe her either, but seeing her tear-streaked face, he decided to check it out.

He took Qiu Yiyao’s hand and slowly walked to the mirror. But besides the two of them and Bai Peiyu behind them, there was nothing else.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Silly girl, you’re in college and still believe in this nonsense?”

He picked up the clothes and denim shorts from the floor. “Look, your clothes are dirty.”

Squinting, Qiu Yiyao carefully examined the mirror again to confirm there was no anomaly before opening her eyes wide.

She glanced at the clothes in Qiu Shengming’s hand, then back at the open window Bai Peiyu had left ajar. Sunlight shone on the windowsill, making everything that had happened seem like a dream.

She touched her face—it hurt.

What on earth was going on?

“All right, enough nonsense. Let’s go downstairs and eat.”

Qiu Shengming took Qiu Yiyao’s hand to leave, but she shook him off and said, “Dad, I want to change rooms.”

Whether those strange visions were illusions or not, Qiu Yiyao felt she couldn’t stay in that room any longer.

Since returning to Yueli Town, it was as if she had gone mad, constantly seeing strange things.

Since she had no plans to leave for now, the only option was to switch rooms. Maybe it was all just a trick of the mind. Perhaps changing rooms would stop the visions.

Qiu Shengming was surprised. “Where do you want to move? There aren’t any other rooms.”

Their house had two floors but was small. The ground floor was the kitchen and a guest room, and upstairs there were two bedrooms.

The guest room downstairs was where Bai Peiyu stayed.

Qiu Shengming was puzzled, but Bai Peiyu said, “I’ll switch with you.”

He was only a lodger, so it didn’t matter where he stayed.

Qiu Yiyao looked back at him. Seeing no extra expression on his face, she nodded. “Okay. But you have to move all your things out first. I don’t want to live with a bunch of stinky socks.”

Qiu Yiyao had lived in a dorm since high school. From her experience, no matter how clean a boy looked, they were inherently messy. Their rooms were always littered with dirty socks and underwear.

Bai Peiyu replied, “Don’t worry, I don’t have that stuff. Although, if you have a special fetish, I can help you borrow a few pairs.”