You're my wife, don't doubt it!

……

"Zhou Qi!" he shouted.

The girl, who resembled Zhou Qi, didn't turn around; instead, she walked even faster.

In just a few seconds, she disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Wait a minute!" Xiao Yao, emboldened by some unknown source, strode after him.

He didn't lose sight of that figure. In the labyrinthine, winding corridor, Zhou Qi's figure flickered, always maintaining a similar distance from him, making it impossible for him to catch up.

It's obvious this is a trap.

Xiao Yao stopped, composed himself, and slapped himself hard across the face.

Wake up!

The pain felt very real, as did the vibrations from my phone and the text message from Yu Luying asking about my condition.

calm down.

It looks like we're about to enter the lobby of KTV. Maybe we should leave this eerie place first, then contact Shen Jie, or call the police if necessary.

Thinking this, Xiao Yao jogged into the hall.

As he had expected, there was no one in the hall.

Where the KTV logo used to hang behind the bar, there are now two small flags with gold metal strips at the top and bottom, and triangular patterns on the metal strips.

In the center of the flag is a black equilateral triangle, with a white-bordered open eye in the center of the triangle, the pupil of which is a star and a moon.

Below the flag, a metal strip connects to a golden badge—the main body is a golden olive leaf and blue ripples, with an engraved golden compass above and a golden measuring tape below. In the middle of the measuring tape and compass is a diamond-shaped space inlaid with the golden letter "G".

This looks like the pattern on the back of that deck of cards we just saw?

Xiao Yao tried hard to guess what was happening in front of him.

Is it possible that this isn't the "Qian Gui" KTV we know today?

Since I can travel to the future through the mirror in this room, then... what if there's a mirror here that people can walk through, and I accidentally walked through it? After all, the light is so dim, right...?

Perhaps it's the past, perhaps it's the future (Xiao Yao leans towards the latter) – this KTV has closed down or been transferred, perhaps it was sold to this "G" company, which would make sense.

Well, it's still a bit of a stretch.

If a red light is shining in an empty place, it could be interpreted as a sign of wealth and power, but why is Zhou Qi here? And why...?

Of course, we can't be sure it's definitely Zhou Qi...

So, under what circumstances did he unknowingly pass through the mirror? Xiao Yao rubbed his chin.

This matter can be discussed later; the most urgent thing right now is to find a way back.

Xiao Yao circled the empty hall three times but couldn't find the large mirror.

There was a small bronze mirror on the bar counter, but it was clearly not of any use.

Xiao Yao returned to the corridor, where his face was reflected on the smooth glass walls.

Although the reflectivity wasn't quite there yet, it could still be considered half a "mirror," right? Thinking this, Xiao Yao tentatively reached out his hand.

feasible!

However, these half-mirrors are discontinuous and extremely narrow...

Xiao Yao turned his body to the side and squeezed himself in.

Ah, the world under blue light is so beautiful.

I hope no one else saw it, otherwise it would be hard to explain.

Just as I was thinking this, a voice came from behind me.

"Xiao, Yao!"

"Ah!" Xiao Yao shuddered.

"Did you fall into the toilet while you were using it?" Shen Jie asked. "I've been waiting for you for ages!"

"No..." Xiao Yao wondered if Shen Jie had seen him crawl out of the wall: "I just answered a phone call."

Seeing that Shen Jie's face was flushed, he couldn't help but ask, "Why do you look like you've been drinking?"

"Really? No... I just went to the bathroom," Shen Jie rubbed her forehead, "but I really feel a little dizzy? What's wrong?"

Xiao Yao frowned uneasily, leaned over and sniffed Shen Jie; there was no smell of alcohol on her.

He reached out and held Shen Jie's arms: "Slow down, slow down."

“You’re taking advantage of the situation again.” A blush flashed across Shen Jie’s face, but she didn’t shake off his hand and let him hold her arm.

"I'll take you home later," Xiao Yao said.

"No!" Shen Jie shouted.

“We have to get out of this awful place right now,” Xiao Yao said decisively, pulling Shen Jie toward the KTV front desk without further ado. “Trust me, there’s definitely something wrong with this place.”

"What are you doing? Let go of me... Oh dear, I haven't taken my bag yet."

"Send a message to Zhou Xiaoying and ask her to get it for you."

Chapter 36 Midsummer

Xiao Yao hesitated, wondering whether he should tell Shen Jie about his strange encounter in the Qian Gui corridor, but considering that she wasn't feeling well, he decided to wait until another day.

He helped Shen Jie flag down a taxi.

"I send you."

"No need, really no need."

The two had a minor argument, and in the end, before the female driver could get impatient, Xiao Yao had no choice but to put the completely drunk Shen Jie into the car and watch her drive away.

Fortunately, half an hour later he received a text message from Shen Jie informing him that he had arrived home safely.

The next day was Sunday, and he slept until noon.

While slowly brushing my teeth, I habitually checked my inbox.

There are a total of (4) unread messages, one from Little Bear, one from Telecom, and two advertisements.

Yes, yes, this is the ordinary beginning of an ordinary day for an ordinary, unwanted, ordinary high school student.

His first phone call was to Shen Jie.

Shen Jie sounded like she was in a hurry to leave.

"Are you sober now?" Xiao Yao's tone was slightly sarcastic: "Your weekend life is certainly quite eventful."

"No, I just went to practice karate. I made an appointment with the instructor." Shen Jie chuckled dryly. "What do you mean you're sober? I didn't drink at all!"

"Haha, how about I go practice with you? Teach me some karate too."

“That’s a membership program,” Shen Jie politely declined.

"By the way," Xiao Yao changed the subject, "has your circle of friends always been this open?"

"Didn't I tell you? They're not usually like this. Yesterday was really strange; everyone seemed a bit drunk."

“No alcohol was ordered,” Xiao Yao pointed out, “everyone was drinking soft drinks, but everyone except me, including you, got drunk.”

“This matter is indeed very strange. Someone has already investigated that KTV, and no one will go there again next time.” Shen Jie said, “Okay, I really have to go now. I’ll call you back later. Bye.”

"Wait a moment!--"

Damn it, you hung up before I even finished speaking, Xiao Yao thought angrily.

I was going to tell her about running into Zhou Qi at KTV last night...

The second call was to Yu Luying, and she answered after only three rings.

This surprised him somewhat, because Yu Luying usually hung up the phone when she was at home.

Then, I might reply to the message, or I might not.

Answering the phone means...her mother isn't home?

"Hello?" Xiao Yao quickly put the receiver to his ear: "Are you home alone?"

"Is something the matter?" Yu Luying seemed to be in a good mood, and her voice had become as sweet as Nongfu Spring water.

"Didn't you go to church?" Xiao Yao asked, trying to organize his thoughts.

“I went there this morning,” Yu Luying said. “Unlike you, you sleep until noon when you don’t have class.”

"Are you free? Let's meet." Before the girl could answer, Xiao Yao quickly added, "I encountered some supernatural things again yesterday, and I'd like to ask your uncle about it—maybe I can talk to you about it first."

“Okay,” Yu Luying said, “Let’s do it later, I still have a lot of work to do.”

"What time is it?"

At that moment, Xiao Yao heard a sharp female voice coming from Yu Luying's direction.

"Uh, your mom's back?" Xiao Yao asked nervously.