Bai Ci and her group of five walked slowly down the left corridor. The wall lamps overhead cast a warm yellow light, and oil paintings depicting theatrical scenes hung on the walls on both sides.
There were actors in magnificent costumes and brightly lit stages, but the faces of the figures in the paintings were all blurred and indistinct.
None of them dared to let their guard down. They scanned their surroundings warily, keeping an eye on the doors on either side as they walked. Before long, they reached the end of the corridor, only to find it blocked by a wall.
The corridor was a dead end with nowhere else to go, leaving them with no choice but to turn back and inspect the rooms on either side.
“It looks like we have no choice but to open them one by one and check,” Bai Ci said, stopping in her tracks. She turned around to gauge the others' reactions and resignedly took charge. “Everyone, be careful. No one knows what’s behind these doors.”
The boy with the flashlight took the initiative and walked toward the wooden door closest to the end of the corridor. “I'll open it. You guys step back a bit.”
He turned the doorknob, and the door opened easily. A fresh scent of vegetation washed over them, completely different from the faint aroma of incense in the theater.
When they gathered around to look, they were all stunned.
What on earth?
Behind the door was not the room they had expected, but a lush, green garden. It was a broad daylight scene with fresh green grass and various unknown little flowers in bloom. In the distance stood a small stone pavilion, its pillars wrapped in vines.
It was clearly an outdoor setting, yet this door was located inside a theater corridor. How could it possibly lead to an outdoor garden?
The boy with the flashlight blinked and rubbed his eyes hard, his voice filled with disbelief. “Am... am I seeing things? How can this be a garden? Isn't the theater in the mountains?”
Filament reached out and tugged at the sleeve of the high-ponytail girl next to her, her tone carrying a hint of confusion and amusement. “We didn't eat some toxic wild mushrooms and have a collective hallucination, did we?”
The scene before them was far too bizarre, defying all common sense.
Fu Liu leaned in close to Bai Ci, grabbing her hand and placing it on his stomach. “How could it be a matter of eating the wrong mushrooms? The rain started so suddenly that we didn't even have time for dinner, and we walked for so long. I'm so hungr—”
“Huh? I'm actually not hungry at all right now. That's so weird.”
At Fu Liu's words, Bai Ci focused on her own physical sensations. Indeed, she didn't feel hungry, nor did she have any other physiological needs.
Realizing this, she raised her free hand and pinched her own arm. A sharp, clear pain registered.
This action startled Fu Liu. He quickly grabbed both of her hands, his eyes full of anxiety. “Baby, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Why did you suddenly pinch yourself?”
Bai Ci looked up and gave him a faint smile, her eyes filled with innocence. “I'm fine, baby. You can let go now. I just wanted to test if we're dreaming.”
“After all, this place is so bizarre. The theater changing its appearance, a garden hidden in a corridor... I keep feeling like I'm in a dream. I didn't expect the pinch to hurt so much. It looks like it's not a dream.”
Fu Liu obediently let go, switching to staring intently at Bai Ci instead.
With her friends by her side, the high-ponytail girl forced herself to cheer up. “Well, this place is weird anyway, so anything abnormal is normal now. Should we go in and take a look? Maybe we'll find some clues.”
Though she was afraid, she hadn't given up on looking for clues—which was also a search for hope.
Bai Ci shook her head, her gaze sweeping across the depths of the garden. “This garden looks huge. Going in blindly is too dangerous. Let's decide after we check all the rooms, okay?”
Despite saying this, Bai Ci stepped one foot inside and squatted down to touch the grass.
“Baby?”
Bai Ci looked at the juice left on her fingers from snapping a blade of grass. “This is real grass.”
“Baby, you scared me to death.” Seeing Bai Ci step back out after checking the grass, Fu Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking at her with a slightly aggrieved expression.
“I was just checking. I didn't mean anything else by it,” Bai Ci said, putting on an innocent face.
Next, they turned the knob of the second wooden door.
Behind the door was a gorgeously decorated bedroom. The room was very large, and in the very center stood a massive canopy bed. The bed curtains were light pink, embroidered with delicate lotus vine patterns.
On one side of the bed was a carved dressing table adorned with a bronze mirror, rouge, hairpins, and other items for women. On the other side were several tall wardrobes with their doors wide open, showcasing various magnificent dresses hanging inside.
In addition, the room was fully furnished with tables, chairs, screens, and other daily essentials.
“Wow, this room is so beautiful,” the high-ponytail girl couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, the fear in her eyes fading slightly. Girls always found it hard to resist such a magnificent bedroom. “Could this have been a room for the theater's actors in the past?”
“...It's a bit creepy,” Fu Liu commented, unable to fully appreciate this style of Chinese-style boudoir decor.
They proceeded to open the next wooden door.
This time, the moment the door opened, a rich aroma of food wafted out, instantly whetting everyone's appetite.
Behind the door was a massive banquet hall decorated like a royal feast. A magnificent red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to a throne at the far end.
Long tables lined both sides, piled high with all kinds of delicacies: roasted chicken, steaks, cakes, fruits, and steaming bowls of soup. The rich aroma filled the air, making it seem as if they had just been freshly prepared.
Fu Liu sniffed instinctively. “Smells so good.”
Although he said so and his eyes were sparkling as he stared at the food on the table, he still had a sense of propriety and didn't blindly step forward.
Just then, the high-ponytail girl suddenly spoke up, pleading, “Um... can I take the tablecloth from the table?”
“Weiwei, what do you need a tablecloth for?” the boy with the flashlight asked, voicing the confusion of the others.
The high-ponytail girl's eyes welled with tears. “I... I want to use the cloth to cover that older sister's body.”
“She just collapsed on the stage like that, with her head on the floor. It's too pitiful. I want to shroud her. We can't just leave her exposed like that.”
Although she didn't know the long-haired woman at all, she couldn't bear the thought of her body remaining exposed and without peace after death.
“Let's go then. I'll go with you, but the others should stay back. It's easier to move around with fewer people, just be careful.” Bai Ci didn't dislike genuinely kind-hearted people, so she decided to accompany her inside.
If they really encountered danger, she would help if she could.
If she couldn't, then so be it. She had no intention of getting hurt just to save someone else. After all, she had never managed to become the kind of good person her parents had hoped she would be.
Fu Liu immediately followed. “Baby, I'm coming with you. If there's danger, I'll protect you.”
He insisted on staying by Bai Ci's side no matter what. Unable to shake off this stubborn tagalong, Bai Ci had no choice but to let him come along.
Rate on N.U.
