The night was already very deep, and the room was shrouded in a layer of icy darkness. The curtains were lifted at one corner, and the moonlight that poured in from outside cast a glow on the round mirror in front of the window, making it shine with a faint light.

  The room was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of gasping circulating and wandering around. At this time, the moonlight on the round mirror became even brighter, and even the shadows on the ground were stretched to an extreme length, as if what lay on the ground was not a shadow, but a corpse that had been dead for who knows how long.

  It was unclear whether it was due to the atmosphere in this room or its original appearance, but at this moment, the round mirror seemed eerily calm. All that could be seen was a bright red door that existed in the mirror. The paint on the door seemed not to have dried yet, and there were still vibrant liquids dripping down from it. Just one glance was enough to make people shiver, as if it was a gate leading to death's hell.

  "Rustle..."

  A faint creaking sound suddenly echoed in the room, and then was slowly amplified by the silence here. Looking again at the red door in the mirror, I saw that it had suddenly opened a crack! Then a pair of pale and weak hands stretched out trembling from the gap...

  "Ding——!"

  A string of sharp ringing broke the silence, Xiao Mo reached for that damned phone from his pillow and randomly pressed the answer button, then he heard him ask with great impatience:

  "Who?"

  "Wooo..."

  A mournful and eerie howl echoed from the phone, making the deep night even more ominous. Accompanying the howling wind was a voice filled with extreme terror:

  "It... it's coming out! Save me, save me!"

  "Beep... beep..."

  The phone was suddenly hung up, and Xiao Mo looked at the screen of his mobile phone in surprise. The caller displayed on the screen was his classmate Zhang You Shan. Zhang You Shan was one of his best friends, who liked to play pranks every day and never felt bored doing all kinds of evil deeds.

  "He's really so boring!"

  Xiao Mo cursed silently in his heart, but thinking about it again, he still didn't feel at ease and turned back.

  "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

  When he heard that it couldn't get through, Xiao Mo put down the phone by his ear and suddenly started coughing violently. In the process, he fumbled to turn on the bedside lamp, and the pale light instantly illuminated the room, also adding a few more shades of white to his already pale face.

  It wasn't until a while later that Xiao Mo finally stopped coughing, but his face still looked sickly pale, only those eyes remained deep and bright.

  Xiao Mo is a sophomore, and since there is a house near the school, he did not live in the dormitory. The house was left to him by his parents, with an area of only sixty square meters, but it's enough for one person to live in.

  He let out a soft sigh, and Xiao Mo felt his chest ease up a bit. He got down from the bed and walked straight to the mirror, looking at the somewhat thin reflection of himself in it, shaking his head helplessly.

  Previously, his severe cough was not due to a cold, but the aftermath of pneumonia. He had suffered from very serious pneumonia when he was young, and although he recovered, it left behind a hidden illness, so he would still cough from time to time.

  At this time, Xiao Mo's eyebrows suddenly moved, and he brought his face closer to the mirror. He then stretched out his hand to touch the surface. Unbeknownst to him, a drop of red liquid had somehow landed on the mirror. He sniffed it closely, and a faint smell of blood instantly filled his nostrils.

  "It's blood. Strange, when did I get it on me?"

  Xiao Mo is a very tidy person, he sweeps the house every day and makes it spotless. The mirror is also wiped clean and shiny. That's why he found the bloodstain on it strange, because he hadn't been injured in the past few days. Moreover, the bloodstain on the mirror was still wet, obviously it had just dripped onto it not long ago.

  Xiao Mo first wandered around the room for half a day, then went to several other rooms, and only after repeatedly confirming that there was no problem did he turn off the desk lamp and return to bed.

  In an instant, darkness once again enveloped everything in the room.

  On the second day, Xiao Mo went about her daily routine as usual, washing up and going to school, where she listlessly attended classes. The only difference was that today's schedule included an additional item - intercepting Zhang You Shan and giving him a good scolding.

  After class, Xiao Mo intercepted Zhang You Shan who wanted to go out for a smoke, just as he had thought.

  "Calling me in the middle of the night, wailing and scaring me, I said how boring are you!"

  "Have you taken the wrong medicine? Who called you in the middle of the night?"

  Zhang You Shan looked at Xiao Mo with an innocent expression, completely bewildered. Xiao Mo knew Zhang would not admit it, so he immediately put his phone in front of him and said:

  "Human evidence and material evidence are all here, what else can you deny?"

  "Stop messing around, I'm in a hurry to go smoke!"

  Zhang Youshan didn't even glance at him, and with a very impatient tone, he finished speaking and strode past Xiao Mo's obstruction, quickly rushing out of the classroom.

  "Cough...cough..."

  Xiao Mo was choked with anger and suddenly coughed again. He muttered a curse under his breath and put the phone back in his pocket.

  On the way home from school, Zhang You Shan, Xiao Mo and Huang Liang walked side by side. Along the way, their ears were filled with various noises made by Zhang You Shan, and Xiao Mo didn't bother to ask him about his phone again because he knew it would be pointless.

  Zhang Youshan and Huang Liang are both locals, their homes are not too far from the school, and they even live closer than Xiao Mo, so usually the three of them walk together.

  After listening to Zhang Youshan's nonsense, Huang Liang asked Xiao Mo curiously:

  "We've known each other for so long, yet you never invite us to visit your home?"

  "Come on, you little scoundrel! How could you treat me like that? We're buddies, aren't we?"

  Zhang Youshan echoed in agreement, casting a contemptuous glance at Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo didn't react to this and instead nodded towards Huang Liang:

  "This is no problem, I can take you there anytime and anywhere."

  Huang Liang glanced at his watch and then looked up at the gloomy sky above before shaking his head in response.

  "Never mind for today, let's go another day when we have time."

  ……

  Xiao Mo bid farewell to Huang Liang and walked alone on the small road back home. His house was actually located in a remote area, with farmland on both sides, one of which was also a garbage dump. The building belonged to an extremely old type, it seemed like it should be classified as an antique. Most of the residents inside were elderly people, although there were some young people, they were very few in number.

  On the way upstairs, Xiao Mo met several familiar people, such as neighbor Wang Dama and downstairs Zhao Dage. Because these people are all low-headed and unseen, Xiao Mo also responded with a smile to greet them.

  For some reason, he was particularly tired today, so after coming back, he didn't do anything and just took a bath before falling asleep on the bed.

  The night was gradually deepening, and the room was flickering with a faint glow, like countless ghostly shadows floating silently. Xiao Mo seemed to have had a nightmare, his expression suddenly becoming very painful, looking as if... as if...

  "Ding——!"

  The midnight bell sounded sharp, not even willing to give in to the ghost's cry. Xiao Mo was startled awake by the bell and got up from bed with some anger, he looked at the caller on his phone screen, it was still Zhang You Shan.

  He had already been taken advantage of once before, so this time he wouldn't fall for it again. Without any hesitation, he put his phone on silent mode and tossed it aside. He tried to go back to sleep, but suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if something terrible was about to happen. This feeling made him completely lose interest in sleeping, and he cursed under his breath before picking up that damned phone again.

  The phone screen was still lit, and it was clear that the caller had not given up yet. Xiao Mo frowned but finally answered. Who would have thought that as soon as he pressed the answer button, Zhang You Shan's extremely terrified voice came from the phone:

  "Help! Help me on the school playground!"

  "Dare you change to a new way of playing? Even if it's being chased by ghosts!"

  Zhang Youshan seemed to have not heard Xiao Mo's words and continued to exclaim on the other end of the phone:

  "It's... it's coming out! Save me, save me!"

  "Beep... beep..."

  Before Xiao Mo could ask further, the phone rang again after hanging up. Putting down the phone, Xiao Mo couldn't help but shudder, and the uncomfortable feeling from before became even stronger. He decided to go ask Zhang You Shan what he wanted to do tomorrow, although he wasn't afraid of much, he couldn't take this kind of harassment anymore. To avoid being disturbed by Zhang You Shan again, Xiao Mo simply turned off his phone, after all, out of sight, out of mind!

  On the second day early in the morning, Xiao Mo blocked Zhang You Shan at the staircase entrance.

  "I'm telling you, are you done yet? Can't you joke within limits?"

  Zhang Youshan blinked his somewhat small eyes rapidly, his face filled with astonishment and confusion. He pointed to himself and asked incredulously:

  "What have I done to provoke you again?"

  Xiao Mo's anger flared up again as he saw Zhang You Shan still pretending to be calm, and he said once more:

  "You're asking me? You call me in the middle of the night and shout for help, do you think this is a horror movie?"

  "You're really something, when did I ever call you?"

  Zhang Youshan also felt very stifled, he directly took out his mobile phone and said to Xiao Mo:

  "If you don't believe me, go check the call records yourself, I reckon you've mistaken the person!"

  "Did I mistake you for someone else? Do you think I'm blind?"

  Just as Xiao Mo was about to take out his phone and confront Zhang You Shan, Huang Liang rushed over from the side and quickly mediated:

  "Why are you all so hot-tempered in the early morning of the Qing Dynasty? What's there to quarrel about among good brothers?"

  Huang Liang didn't know what had happened between the two, but seeing Xiao Mo's pale face, he vaguely guessed that Zhang You Shan might have made a joke. He didn't ask about the reason and pulled Xiao Mo to one side.

  "Don't be like Youshan, you don't understand him yet. Kids are always joking around with each other. If brothers fall out because of a joke, it's really laughable..."

  When Xiao Mo didn't care, Zhang You Shan had already disappeared without a trace. After class, Xiao Mo also didn't go to find Zhang You Shan, but instead Huang Liang was talking to him about something.

  Another beautiful day has passed in a very boring way.

  When returning home in the evening, only Xiao Mo and Huang Liang were together. Zhang Yuanshan didn't know whether he had left first or was left behind at school to clean up.

  Xiao Mo still did the same thing as usual, after coming back he would first take a shower and then sit in front of his desk to read books. Reading was one of Xiao Mo's hobbies, he always liked reading books with mysterious colors, such as suspense, supernatural, prehistoric civilization, even about UFOs...

  Perhaps it's because I've read too many books of this kind, or maybe I was just born that way, but in any case, Xiao Mo has an extremely strong curiosity.

  Xiao Mo was engrossed in reading, his expression sometimes thoughtful, sometimes dazed, and sometimes frowning and shaking his head. At this moment, he had completely immersed himself in the book, unaware of the rapidly passing time.

  But time... had already reached midnight.

  "Ding——!"

  Suddenly, another ear-piercing ringtone echoed through the room. Xiao Mo was startled and turned over the book in his hand on the table, picking up his phone from one side.

  The flickering white light on the screen looked eerie, and under that glow, a pair of eyes seemed to be hiding, staring intently at the person in front of the screen.

  Xiao Mo felt a chill spread throughout his body, and when he looked at the caller's name again, it was still Zhang You Shan. He hesitated for a moment before answering the call.

  "It's coming out! Save me... save me..."

  "Beep... beep..."