Qiu Bufan hesitated. "These belong to the previous tenant. I..."
"They didn't want them anymore, so obviously you can do whatever you like with them."
The man neither sat down nor touched the tea. After a few more words, he picked up his bag and excused himself.
Out in the hallway, Lu Mi heard him make another call, his voice fawning.
"Sister Wang, are you free this weekend? How about spending some time with your little brother?"
Qiu Bufan watched him walk away, then drifted over to the mirror, utterly dejected.
She yanked the white cloth off it and scrutinized her face.
"Ugly. So ugly."
"I even scared off the only friend I've made since coming to the city."
She had only just stopped crying, but now her tears started flowing again. "There are so many beautiful, rich people in this world. Why can't I be one of them?"
After saying that, the look in her eyes as she stared at the mirror changed-disbelief, tinged with delight.
"Is... is that really me?"
Lu Mi and Roman couldn't see what had changed in the mirror, but they could make a pretty good guess.
Facing the mirror, Qiu Bufan touched her face, gradually becoming entranced. "So beautiful..."
But when she looked down and saw that she was still wearing her plain school uniform, the fascination in her eyes instantly gave way to disappointment.
"So it's just an illusion..."
A voice suddenly came from the mirror.
"An illusion can become reality, too."
That gave Qiu Bufan such a fright that she fell onto her backside, looking around frantically.
"Who!? Who's talking?"
"Stop looking," the voice said with a soft chuckle. "I'm in the mirror."
"In the mirror?" Something suddenly occurred to Qiu Bufan. Trembling, she threw herself face-down on the floor. "I was