Crystal Lake GO GO GO

There was still a week until summer camp began, and the days flew by, unusually full.

For example, on a sunny afternoon, Jennifer showed up at Edward's door wearing denim shorts and a tight tank top.

"Hi, Edward." She leaned against the doorframe and flicked her curly hair, her pose seductive. "I heard you have a great old muscle car parked in your garage?"

Edward glanced at the brand-new red convertible behind her and raised a brow. "Your car looks a lot better than mine."

"New cars are automatic. Boring." Jennifer shot him a flirtatious look, lowering her voice with a sticky sweetness. "I want to learn something... more challenging. Yours is manual, right? I'm afraid I won't be able to shift properly. I was wondering if you'd be willing to teach me hands-on?"

Edward could practically hear all the unspoken implications in her words—about "clutches," "shifting," and "being pushed back into the seat." Leaning against the door with his arms folded, he lazily smiled. "Sure. But my teaching methods are strict. If you can't learn, you'll have to accept punishment."

Jennifer's eyes lit up, and she licked her lips. "Punishment is my favorite."

That afternoon, the garage was periodically filled with engine roars and a girl's screams. As for what driving techniques they had actually studied, only the people involved knew.

Meanwhile, Edward's bathroom had completely become Alan's private stage.

Almost every night, whenever Edward entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, the familiar figure would appear right on time as soon as steam began to gather on the mirror. Sometimes she wore an elaborate Victorian gown and complained about the corset being too tight. Other times, she changed into sleek modern leather clothes and commented on whether Edward's muscles looked more defined than they had yesterday.

Their conversations had also changed from tentative probing to familiar teasing.

"Seriously, can't you appear somewhere else? Like the living room TV screen, or the reflection in my glass when I'm drinking water?" Edward asked Alan in the mirror, his hair covered in foam.

"That wouldn't be any fun." Alan gracefully spun around in the mirror as though she were attending a ball with no one but herself. "Don't you think our relationship is exciting? A Platonic forbidden romance where we can see each other but not touch, and can only tease each other with words."

Edward nearly choked on shampoo foam. "Lady, have you been reading some weird romance novels?"

"Don't call me lady." Alan leaned close to the mirror, her face—identical to Maria's—nearly pressing against it. Her breath was soft as an orchid's. "Call me Alan."

She was no longer satisfied with being confined to that little bathroom mirror.

"Want to go somewhere fun?" Alan suddenly suggested one night.

"Like where?"

"Close your eyes."

Edward did as she said. The next second, he felt as though a gentle force had pulled him out of his body, and his vision abruptly widened. They were "standing" on the spotless glass of a display case in the Paris Louvre Museum, looking at the famous Mona Lisa's Smile before them.

"Look how fake her smile is." Alan's voice sounded beside his ear, carrying a note of critique. "It's not nearly as pretty as Maria's when she smiles sincerely."

Before Edward could respond, the scene shifted again. They appeared in the reflection of a massive billboard in New York Times Square. Below them, traffic and crowds surged like a tide, while bizarre neon lights flowed beneath their "feet."

"Humans really are interesting creatures," Alan sighed. "They're so small, yet they always want to build towers that reach the heavens and stand beside the gods."

This strange "mirror travel" became an unspoken secret between them. Alan showed him the wonders of the world, while Edward used the knowledge and experiences he had brought from another world to paint pictures she had never imagined.

Gradually, Maria began to change as well.

She no longer kept her head down all the time. Though she was still shy, her eyes held a spark they had never possessed before. Once in the cafeteria, a hulking football player bumped into her, knocking her tray to the floor, then casually cursed, "Watch where you're going."

Just when everyone thought Maria would silently endure it and run away as she had before, she straightened up and looked directly into his eyes. Her voice was quiet, but crystal clear. "Apologize."

The big man froze, and so did the students around them.

Maria simply looked at him. There was no fear in her eyes, only an icy calm. That gaze looked remarkably like Alan's in the mirror. In the end, the man who stood a head taller than her actually muttered a somewhat embarrassed "Sorry" under that unblinking stare, then fled in disgrace.

The entire cafeteria fell silent.

Edward sat nearby, taking it all in, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. It seemed the sisters' "shift system" was working pretty well.

At last, the day came for his parents to leave for New York.

Sarah checked Edward's suitcase over and over early that morning, from spare clothes to mosquito repellent, terrified of forgetting something. John sat nearby pretending to read the newspaper with casual ease, though his eyes had drifted toward the door several times already.

"Alright, Sarah, he's eighteen, not three." John cleared his throat. "If we don't leave now, we'll miss our flight."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Sarah wiped her hands and hurried to answer it. A woman stood outside, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was tall and wore a well-tailored dress that perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure. Her long black hair flowed like seaweed, and she wore an impeccable, friendly smile.

"Hello, I'm Bi, the temporary babysitter you contacted." Her voice was as sweet as honey.

So this was Bi. Edward studied her. She was certainly charming, but deep in those beautiful eyes seemed to lurk an overly sharp cleverness. Her smile also possessed a professional, perfectly measured warmth—so perfect that it felt slightly unreal.

"Hello, Bi. Please, come in!" Sarah warmly welcomed her inside.

Lily, who had been rolling around on the living room carpet hugging a teddy bear, raised her head at the sound. Her gaze passed over her mother and father and landed directly on Bi.

Bi noticed the little girl too. She crouched down, her smile becoming even gentler. "You must be Lily. How adorable. My name is Bi, and I'll be taking care of you for the next week, alright?"

Lily did not pounce on her and act spoiled as she usually did. She merely tilted her head and stared at Bi without blinking through those innocent, wide eyes for a full five seconds.

Then she gave an angelic smile and said in a childish voice, "Big Sister Bi, you smell... really nice."

"Do I?" Bi's smile did not change. "Maybe it's my perfume."

"Not perfume." Lily shook her head, her smile growing sweeter. "It's a... very familiar, very comforting smell. Like... home."

Bi's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly. She reached out and gently stroked Lily's head, her tone soft as though soothing a kitten. "Is that so? Then I'm sure we'll get along wonderfully."

A real demon and a cultist.

Standing off to the side and watching this historic meeting, Edward silently worried for his home's future safety. His parents' so-called "second honeymoon" felt more like they had given these two inhuman contestants a stage and an opportunity for an ultimate showdown.

"Alright, we should go!" John picked up his suitcase and hugged Edward. "Take care of yourself, and keep an eye on your sister."

"Don't worry, Dad." Edward patted his back, silently adding, I'll do my best to make sure the house is still standing.

After seeing off his reluctant parents, only three people remained in the house.

Bi quickly settled into her role. She skillfully began tidying the living room, every movement professional. Lily followed behind her like a little tail, endlessly asking all kinds of wild questions. Bi patiently answered every one, and the atmosphere appeared unusually harmonious.

Edward had no interest in watching this "human-demon" rivalry. He picked up his backpack and waved to them.

"I'm off."

"Bye, Brother!" Lily turned around and waved hard at him.

Bi also straightened up and gave him a perfect smile. "Be careful on the road, Edward. Have fun."

Edward always felt there was some deeper meaning behind her words, "Have fun."

He walked out of the house. The morning sunlight fell over him, carrying a trace of warmth. At the street corner, a familiar figure was quietly waiting.

It was Carrie.

She had changed into light athletic clothes and carried a worn backpack. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail. When she saw Edward, she nervously squeezed the backpack strap, but still took the initiative to walk over.

"Morning." Her voice was soft, but clear.

"Morning." Edward smiled. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No. I just got here."

The two walked side by side toward the school. Carrie no longer lagged half a step behind him as she once had. Instead, she walked alongside him. Much of her gloom and inferiority had faded, replaced by a vitality like something breaking through the earth.

An old yellow school bus was already parked at the school entrance. A group of teenagers crowded excitedly aboard, chattering noisily, brimming with youthful energy.

Edward and Carrie stood at the end of the line.

"Nervous?" Edward asked.

Carrie looked at the school bus that was about to take them to Blood Camp, then at the boy beside her, who always brought her surprises and reassurance. She shook her head, then nodded firmly.

Then she smiled, her smile clean and bright in the morning light.

"A little nervous, but even more... excited."

Edward looked at her smile and smiled too.

Yeah. Excited.

He was also looking forward to seeing what kind of interesting "surprises" that legendary tough guy obsessed with hockey masks would bring to this summer.

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