Chapter 29 : The Mirror

Hua Qi’an was a little confused about what exactly was going on right now.

She raised her hand and pinched her own cheek; it hurt a little.

But she clearly remembered that she should have fallen asleep.

Hua Qi’an looked around the classroom environment.

Since it was afternoon, the sunlight was still quite bright.

Everything seemed normal.

The cold, clear voice introducing the course came from the podium.

Hua Qi’an lifted her eyes and saw Lin Yanqiu standing on the podium.

The words she was saying were basically the same as those in Hua Qi’an’s memory from the elective course.

So, what exactly was going on here?

Some classmates behind her were whispering quietly in hushed tones, making the whole scene feel like a real class.

Hua Qi’an’s mind was a little foggy. Her gaze shifted down to the desktop.

On the desk lay her notebook and pen.

Besides those, Hua Qi’an noticed something that didn’t belong to her.

It was a mirror lying flat on the desk.

About the size of an A4 sheet.

There was a stand behind the mirror, allowing it to be easily propped up.

She looked back up at Lin Yanqiu on the podium.

Normally, she wouldn’t dare to make small moves like this in Lin Yanqiu’s class, but now, for some unknown reason…

Watching Lin Yanqiu recite her lines as she introduced the course, Hua Qi’an felt an indescribable strangeness, and that instinctive nervousness had completely vanished without a trace.

With that thought, Hua Qi’an propped up the mirror.

Her own cold, clear face appeared in the mirror.

It was indeed her face.

There was a freshly changed bandage wrapped around her neck.

Hua Qi’an tentatively pressed on it with her hand.

A faint dull ache came from under the bandage, not fully healed yet.

The pain felt so real…

Her gaze shifted within the mirror, and she saw the person behind her.

The mirror reflected her face as well as Chen Zhiyan’s.

She was sitting in the third row, Lin Yanqiu was lecturing on the podium, and Chen Zhiyan was sitting right behind her…

No matter how you looked at it, this was the same scene as the daytime elective class.

What surprised Hua Qi’an was that Chen Zhiyan’s gaze in the mirror wasn’t focused on Lin Yanqiu on the podium but was staring directly at her.

Upon realizing this, Hua Qi’an suddenly felt an unbearable chill, as if Chen Zhiyan’s gaze had become something tangible.

She didn’t know Chen Zhiyan that well at the time of the elective course, right?

Why was she staring at her the whole time?

Noticing Hua Qi’an’s odd reaction, Chen Zhiyan’s eyes flickered slightly in the mirror.

Hua Qi’an and Chen Zhiyan’s gazes met within the mirror.

Chen Zhiyan looked a bit surprised.

Hua Qi’an glanced at Lin Yanqiu on the podium again.

It was definitely strange.

Although today’s class was only about rules and course introduction,

with Lin Yanqiu’s personality, there was no way she would allow someone to openly prop up a mirror in her class.

Yet, she didn’t say a word, not even glance over…

It was as if she was an NPC set to only lecture.

Hua Qi’an shook her head, tossing these strange thoughts out of her mind.

At that moment, she noticed Chen Zhiyan’s mouth in the mirror beginning to move, as if she was saying something to her.

But because of the distance and quiet voice, Hua Qi’an couldn’t catch what she was saying.

So, Hua Qi’an leaned back a little, moving closer to Chen Zhiyan’s direction.

She slightly turned her face, tilting her ear toward Chen Zhiyan to better catch what she was saying.

“Classmate, you dropped your pen.”

Chen Zhiyan’s voice came from behind, sounding as usual.

Hua Qi’an only then noticed that the pen she had placed on the desk earlier had vanished.

She lowered her head and scanned the floor nearby, finding the pen under the seat.

Maybe she had accidentally knocked it down when she picked up the mirror earlier.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

Hua Qi’an whispered her thanks.

She bent down, squeezing under the desk to retrieve her pen.

At this moment, she noticed quite a few classmates sitting in the rows behind her.

According to the seating arrangement for the elective, only the first three rows were sparsely occupied; the seats in the back were basically packed.

Everyone wanted to sit in the last few rows.

From the perspective under the desk, she could clearly see rows of shoes.

All kinds of brands.

But looking at their shoes, Hua Qi’an’s gaze momentarily faltered.

Her complexion gradually paled.

She seemed to hear the sound of her heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears.

So strange…

What was really going on right now…

She trembled as she reached out to grab her pen.

But someone was faster.

Hua Qi’an recognized that distinctive red string.

The slender, pale hand adorned by the red string was impossible to look away from.

At this moment, the hand picked up Hua Qi’an’s black pen.

Seeing her pen taken, Hua Qi’an stood up.

She turned her head to look at Chen Zhiyan, who was holding her black pen in her left hand.

But her mind was still filled with the images she had just seen…

Why was this happening?

“I’m giving it back to you.”

Chen Zhiyan extended the pen toward Hua Qi’an.

But Hua Qi’an didn’t move.

Her gaze flickered repeatedly between the red string on Chen Zhiyan’s left hand and the smooth wrist on her right.

As if hesitant.

The scene she had just seen under the desk…

Those people’s feet—

All of them were backward.

Hua Qi’an took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Actually, she had been wondering about something for a while…

Because of that question, Hua Qi’an leaned closer to Chen Zhiyan.

Her eyes fixed firmly on the red string on Chen Zhiyan’s wrist.

“…The red string you’ve always been wearing… is it always on this hand?”

The classroom was very quiet. Lin Yanqiu’s voice suddenly stopped as if it had disappeared.

So quiet you could hear a pin drop.

But Hua Qi’an could only hear her own breathing.

At this moment, she noticed the classroom layout seemed reversed as well.

As if it had been mirrored—

How could this be?

What was really going on right now?

Because no one was moving, Hua Qi’an withdrew her gaze from Chen Zhiyan’s wrist and looked at her face.

She found Chen Zhiyan smiling at her.

The smile was stiff.

Hua Qi’an felt a chill run down her spine and leaned back.

Her back hit the edge of the desk.

She noticed that the other classmates were all looking in her direction with the same stiff smile on their faces.

Her heart was pounding wildly.

Hua Qi’an’s gaze slowly dropped like a rusty mechanical clock.

She noticed that, at some point, Chen Zhiyan’s other hand was also holding a mirror.

Through that mirror, Hua Qi’an saw her own pale face.

The same scene was reflected in the mirror—her mirror standing behind her.

“…”

Hua Qi’an immediately turned her head away from Chen Zhiyan and looked at the mirror on her own desk.

Her pale and fragile face, lips pressed tight with a gloomy expression, was perfectly reflected.

And just like before, the mirror in Chen Zhiyan’s hand reflected the same image.

No, this wasn’t right…

Not right…

There were supposed to be two mirrors—one in front of her and one behind her…

How could both of them be reflecting her front face at the same time?

Suddenly, the reflection of herself in the mirror behind her tilted its head and smiled at her.

“Snap—!”

The sound of shattering glass.

The mirror in front of her had already been smashed to pieces by Hua Qi’an’s swinging hand.

She raised her hand to her chest, breathing heavily.

Just as she was about to turn back to look at Chen Zhiyan, a cold hand pressed against her neck, stopping her movement.

【…Don’t look at her】

The voice that entered her ears was mechanical, devoid of emotion.

But that voice—

【…Look at me】

It was unmistakably Hua Qi’an’s own voice.