It was already past midnight when Xu Mingji left the house.
Most of the Xu household's servants were asleep, but the light in Xu Chengyuan's study was still on.
Xu Mingji changed into a dark jacket, pulled his cap low, and slipped out through the back door. He had never done anything like this before. He was terrified, yet mingled with that fear was a secret thrill.
He had to do something.
He couldn't keep waiting while Xu Zhihan tore the Xu Family apart, piece by piece.
Nor could he wait for everyone to abandon him.
The unknown number had sent him an address.
An abandoned photography studio on an old street in the west of the city.
There was almost no one on the street when Xu Mingji got out of the car. He stood beneath a streetlamp, clutching his phone, fighting the urge to turn back.
This place was too remote.
And far too cold and eerie.
He sent a message to the number.
[I'm here.]
There was no reply.
But the photography studio's roller shutter slowly rose a little.
Xu Mingji recoiled in fright.
It was pitch-black inside, with only a small red light glowing.
He gritted his teeth, ducked, and went in.
The shutter dropped behind him.
Xu Mingji whipped around. "Who's there?"
No one answered.
The studio was filled with old picture frames. All the photographs on the walls had been turned around, leaving only their grayish-white backs exposed. The air smelled damp, as though no one had been there in years.
"Xu Mingji."
Someone called his name.
Xu Mingji turned and saw a figure dressed in black standing in the corner.
The figure wore a mask and a hat, obscuring their face. Their voice was low, too, as though deliberately altered.
Xu Mingji's palms were slick with sweat. "Who exactly are you?"
The figure didn't answer. They only said, "You want Xu Zhihan dead."
Xu Mingji went pale and immediately denied it. "No, I don't."
The figure gave a quiet laugh.
"Yes, you do."
A chill ran down Xu Mingji's back.
The figure stepped forward. "You hate him. You hate how he stole everyone's attention after waking up. You hate how he got Zhou Man taken away. You hate how he turned you from the Xu Family's most cherished child into a joke everyone laughs at."
Xu Mingji's voice trembled. "Stop."
The figure stopped. "I'm only saying what's on your mind."
Xu Mingji tightened his grip on his phone.
He wanted to leave.
But his feet felt nailed to the floor.
The figure picked up a small box from the table and pushed it toward him.
"Put this near Xu Zhihan."
Xu Mingji looked down.
Inside the box was a piece of black talisman paper folded into a triangle. Red patterns covered it, looking like dried blood.
He instinctively stepped back. "What is this?"
"Something that will make him sleep longer."
"Just sleep?"
The figure looked at him. "Do you want him dead?"
Xu Mingji grew even paler.
His lips trembled, and for a long time he couldn't speak.
Of course he hated Xu Zhihan.
But when the word "dead" was put right in front of him, he was scared again.
The figure seemed to see right through him, their tone faintly mocking. "Relax. He won't die right away. Xu Zhihan isn't that easy to kill. All you have to do is put the talisman there. You don't need to worry about the rest."
Xu Mingji stared at the talisman.
"Why should I trust you?"
The figure took out a photograph.
It showed Zhou Man sitting in an interrogation room, her face pale and her hair disheveled. None of her dignity as the lady of the Xu household remained.
Xu Mingji's breath caught.
"Can you save my mom?"
The figure didn't answer directly. "Help us, and we'll help you."
Xu Mingji's mind was a tangled mess.
He knew that promise was suspicious.
But he had no other options.
Xu Chengyuan was already preparing to abandon Zhou Man. The Xu Family's lawyers only wanted her to take the blame and protect the Xu corporation and Xu Chengyuan.
No one wanted to save her.
And even less did anyone want to save Xu Mingji.
The figure looked at him. "Don't you want things to go back to how they were?"
Xu Mingji's eyes reddened.
The way things used to be.
Back then, everyone in the Xu household had revolved around him. Gu Huai had protected him, Zhou Man had arranged everything for him, and Xu Zhihan had lain ill upstairs, so quiet he might as well not have existed.
Those days had been so good.
He reached out and picked up the talisman.
The talisman paper was icy to the touch, like a piece of frozen flesh.
Xu Mingji shuddered.
The figure lowered their voice. "Remember, don't unfold it. Put it under Xu Zhihan's pillow, or close to his medicine."
Xu Mingji swallowed. "The Special Investigation Bureau is guarding him closely. I can't get in."
"You'll have your chance," the figure said. "Xu Zhihan will return to the Xu household soon."
Xu Mingji froze. "He's coming back?"
The figure laughed. "There are still things in the Xu household he wants to investigate. He'll definitely come back."
Xu Mingji clutched the talisman paper.
"What if I'm caught?"
"You won't be."
"Why?"
The figure raised a hand and pointed behind him.
Xu Mingji turned and saw that one of the photographs on the wall had turned around.
The photograph showed Xu Zhihan.
Xu Zhihan lay in the medical room with his eyes closed. In the corner of the photograph, a blurry black shadow pressed against the window.
Xu Mingji's face went deathly pale.
The figure's voice sounded right beside his ear.
"Because it's already waiting for you."
Xu Mingji whipped around, but the figure was gone.
He was alone in the photography studio.
At some point, the roller shutter had risen again, letting the cold wind outside pour in.
Xu Mingji stood rooted to the spot, clutching the talisman in his palm, his back drenched in cold sweat.
He regretted it.
But the talisman paper was already in his hand.
The red patterns on it shifted slightly, as though they had come alive.
Xu Mingji almost threw it away.
His phone vibrated.
The unknown number sent one final message.
[Don't let it go hungry for too long.]
Xu Mingji stared at the words, then suddenly heard a very soft laugh behind him.
He spun around.
The photography studio was empty.
But a small handprint slowly appeared on the mirror in the corner.
As though something was crouching there, watching him.