Real and Fake

Bai Yanliang had been thinking about one thing.

That was... why hadn't the ghost that could disguise itself as other people made a move?

"He" had clearly found plenty of opportunities to catch people alone, yet he hadn't acted. And the strangest case of all was Xu Zhi'an's encounter.

It seemed Xu Zhi'an had been deliberately led by "him" to Zhang Wen's room...

So Bai Yanliang decided to take a gamble. His actions might seem dangerous and unbelievable, but perhaps... things were simpler than he imagined.

Legend had it that when people were on the brink of death, their lives flashed before their eyes.

Jiang Li felt that she was going through that very experience now.

Her parents had divorced when she was young. Her father was busy with work and neglected to discipline her, so she fell in with a group of bad friends.

Jiang Li knew she wasn't pretty, and she also knew that her so-called friends were probably after her money.

But she didn't care.

What she cared about was her father's attention...

She even hoped that if he saw her turning bad, he would give her a good beating...

But Jiang Li was disappointed.

The father she had hoped for hadn't noticed his daughter changing at all. As Jiang Li's financial demands grew, her father always gave her money with such generosity, as if giving enough money meant he had shown enough love...

But while money and love might be equivalent in society, that was clearly not true between parent and child.

Jiang Li grew bolder and more willful by the day.

Then, on her birthday, she suddenly realized that she really had turned bad...

She could no longer expect anything from that successful businessman, the man who always measured everything in money. Or rather, she could no longer expect anything from anyone.

She only believed in herself.

After receiving a hurried birthday message from her father, just a few brief words, Jiang Li gave a mocking smile and opened the door.

An empty apartment could hardly be called a home.

Yet... the moment Jiang Li opened the door, she stepped into a space filled with gray mist...

From panic and terror to growing accustomed to life and death.

Jiang Li had thought she'd gotten used to all of this, but now she realized it had only been self-hypnosis.

She was afraid of dying. Terrified of it...

She didn't want to die in this damned Mist Space. She still had so much life ahead of her.

But... all of it would vanish under the gaze of that figure in the crack of the door...

Jiang Li shut her eyes in despair. Beside her, she heard the storage room door being opened.

She kept her head bowed, even though she knew it was useless.

"Creak—"

The door opened.

A beam of light spilled in.

But the scene she had imagined didn't appear. Instead, a voice she almost recognized spoke:

"Miss Jiang."

It was Bai Yanliang's voice!

Jiang Li looked up sharply. The person opening the storage room door with one hand was indeed Bai Yanliang!

At that moment, Jiang Li felt as if she had seen her savior. No... to her, Bai Yanliang was her savior!

Heaven knew how terrified and uneasy she had been. And yet, just when everything seemed utterly hopeless, Bai Yanliang had appeared!

"Come out, Miss Jiang."

Bai Yanliang held out his hand to her. It was long-fingered and pale.

Jiang Li stared at him blankly, still reeling from the dizzying swings of emotion.

Without thinking, she reached out and took his hand.

Cold.

His hand was so cold...

Jiang Li shuddered. Bai Yanliang gently pulled her out of the storage room.

"You're in great danger right now, Miss Jiang." Bai Yanliang kept his eyes on her, making Jiang Li feel a little self-conscious.

It felt strange. She hadn't felt embarrassed like this in many, many years.

"You... came to find me?" Jiang Li looked up at Bai Yanliang, her expression softening.

Bai Yanliang smiled but said nothing.

"Come on. I'll take you to the first floor." Bai Yanliang said no more. He turned to lead the way and pressed the elevator button.

"Ding..."

The elevator had been waiting on the sixth floor. Now its doors suddenly opened.

They stood before the elevator, with the long corridor behind them.

For some reason, the moment the elevator doors opened, a cold, damp, unpleasant feeling swept over them, and Jiang Li instinctively recoiled.

But Bai Yanliang seemed not to notice anything. He smiled at her. "Don't dawdle, Miss Jiang. This place isn't safe."

Though Jiang Li knew he was right, she still didn't want to enter the elevator.

It was an inexplicable feeling, making her deeply uneasy.

But... Bai Yanliang had already stepped inside. He held the button and waited for her.

Under his gaze, Jiang Li hesitated. At last... she stuck out a foot, preparing to step inside.

"Wait!"

Suddenly!

A shout rang out from far away.

It came from the end of the corridor, near the stairs!

Those two words, "Wait," were perfectly ordinary, but to Jiang Li, they sounded like a death sentence!

Because she had just heard that voice!

Jiang Li whipped around and looked toward the end of the corridor.

A handsome young man stood there. It was... Bai Yanliang!

Another Bai Yanliang!

A chill ran down Jiang Li's spine. She didn't even have time to look back at the Bai Yanliang in the elevator before darting forward a few steps and stopping in the middle of the corridor.

"Tap."

Bai Yanliang stepped out of the elevator, leaning forward anxiously as he called, "Miss Jiang! What are you doing? Don't believe him. Come here, quickly!"

His concern seemed genuine. He had one foot wedged against the elevator door, his expression convincing.

Meanwhile, the Bai Yanliang who had run up from the stairs said nothing. He only watched Jiang Li and the elevator, his face almost expressionless.

It seemed obvious which one was real and which was fake.

But to Jiang Li, choosing wrong would mean being killed by the vicious ghost! Dying in the world of Mist Space!

What should she do...

Which one was real?

Which one was fake?

Jiang Li pressed herself against the wall, looking left, then right.

Bai Yanliang by the elevator was so anxious he was almost sweating, while the Bai Yanliang by the stairs stood silent and grim, his eyes darting between them.

"Miss Jiang, if you don't come now, I'm leaving!"

Bai Yanliang by the elevator seemed to have run out of patience. The foot he'd stuck out was slowly withdrawing, while Bai Yanliang by the stairs began walking toward Jiang Li, step by step!

Thud, thud...

Thud, thud...

Thud, thud...

Jiang Li's heart pounded like a war drum. Blood rushed through her veins, and her eyes grew bloodshot as she turned her head faster and faster!

Which one was real? Which one was fake?

"I'm leaving!" Bai Yanliang by the elevator gave her one last warning. His foot pulled back sharply, as if he was giving up on her.

Jiang Li's heart lurched. At last, she made up her mind!

She started running—and headed straight for the stairs!