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The pair of father and son looked at the open door. Neither of them expected this change. An arm reached out of the gap. Fu Sheng grabbed the tray, and the arm slithered back into the room. The door closed again, but Han Fei was glad. Fu Sheng would react badly whenever Han Fei was close to the door when he first arrived. He wouldn’t eat anything Han Fei touched, much less open the door to grab Han Fei’s cooking.

His wife was shocked too. Fu Sheng had voluntarily opened the door. That was something she didn’t expect. Her eyes moved to look at Han Fei. Instead of saying Fu Sheng had changed, it was more like Han Fei’s hard work was seeing results. She smiled and walked towards Han Fei. “Things are getting better. Take it slow.”

“You’re right.” Han Fei was overwhelmed by a special emotion. It might be joy. “Let’s go back down for dinner.” Han Fei’s wife held his hand as they walked downstairs. The dinner was very joyous, as if they were celebrating.

After they had their fill, Han Fei played hide-and-seek with Fu Tian. Fu Tian recently had taken a liking to this game, but to his annoyance, he was always found by Han Fei. However, he could never find Han Fei.

“I’ll go hide now. You can’t look.” Han Fei had the passive, hide-and-seek. He didn’t really try to hide. He merely stood in Fu Tian’s blind spot. The young boy’s voice echoed inside the room. Fu Tian leaned on the couch and covered his eyes as he made his countdown. When he opened his eyes, Han Fei was gone. “Where’s daddy?”

He moved around the house but couldn’t find Han Fei. His cute face scrunched up. At that moment, the wife, who sat on the couch, coughed lightly and then quietly pointed behind her. Fu Tian ran behind the sofa with confusion. His chubby hands grabbed Han Fei, who was leaning behind the couch. “Got you!” Happy giggles echoed in the room. Fu Tian grabbed Han Fei and refused to let go like a koala bear.

Seeing this, the wife forgot about the painful voices. She hadn’t smiled like this in a long time already.

“I hid so well. How could you find me? Did mommy snitch on me?” Han Fei picked up Fu Tian. He could feel the special blood bond. The child was his flesh and blood, his family hat he needed to protect.

“Alright, that’s enough fun for the night. You should prepare for bed.” Han Fei had his wife bring Fu Tian to the bathroom. Han Fei sat on the couch and clicked open his menu. Fu Sheng’s attitude towards him changed. Everything looked like it was improving, but Han Fei had a bad premonition. He chose to go against fate. Danger could strike at any moment. Han Fei clicked on his inventory. He had one chance to open his inventory. He had two choices, the blood red paper doll or Rest-in-Peace.

‘The paper doll is infused with Xu Qin’s blood. It’s connected to Xu Qin. If I choose it…’ Han Fei stole a glance at his wife inside the bathroom. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he felt guilty. ‘I don’t think I should make the game harder for myself.’

Han Fei decided to preserve his chance for later, during more urgent moments. After the wife put Fu Tian to bed, she joined Han Fei on the sofa. They watched the television together. Time passed. His wife yawned. Her body leaned towards Han Fei. Han Fei reached out to hold her just as their shoulders were about to touch. “Come, let’s go rest.” His wife woke up blurrily. She nodded wordlessly. Han Fei entered the bedroom and placed the mattress on the ground. He lay down.

“Why don’t you sleep in the bed? The weather is getting too cold.”

“It’s fine.” Han Fei rejected his wife’s kindness again. After he switched off the lights, Han Fei was consumed by fatigue. Han Fei was no longer that guarded around his wife. He didn’t even realize it. When he decided to protect this family, the family became his safe harbor. The night deepened. Suddenly, Han Fei and his wife were woken up by a loud noise. They got up quickly and rushed out of the bedroom. The sound came from the bathroom. Han Fei guarded his wife and switched on the living room lights. The bathroom mirror was shattered. Fu Sheng stood among the wreckage. His head was lowered, and he held an alarm clock. Blood slid down the hour hand as if it was trying to dye the time red.

Fu Yi, in the past, would have scolded Fu Sheng for this mess, but Han Fei, who knew the truth, did no such thing. Han Fei rushed to get the medkit. Han Fei didn’t demand an explanation but checked Fu Sheng’s wounds. Fu Sheng was not used to this. He wanted to struggle loose from Han Fei, but he eventually gave up. The father and son didn’t say anything but focused on what was right.

“Fu Sheng, what did you see?” The wife ran over to ask. Before she got an answer, she heard Fu Tian crying from his bedroom. The wife put down the broom and moved to check on Fu Tian.

After Han Fei dealt with Fu Sheng’s wounds, Han Fei picked up the broom to sweep away the mirror shards. Fu Sheng touched his bandaged hands and whispered, “There was a ghost in the mirror, a faceless woman.”

“I know.”

“You believe me?”

“I met the old headmaster. He told me many things. I misunderstood you, no, everyone misunderstood you.” Han Fei put away the trash and probed, “The sapling of the old headmaster is planted under the sun, and the girl who shared your meal is still waiting for you. If you have time, why don’t you visit them tomorrow? The school is no longer the same as before.” Han Fei didn’t force Fu Sheng back to school or lecture him. He only brought up Fu Sheng’s friends. For Fu Sheng, the girl and the old headmaster were the only things he cared about at the school.

“Go back to bed. I will cover all the mirrors with a black cloth later. Don’t use the mirrors at night anymore.” Han Fei knew that the faceless woman was coming after him, so he didn’t blame Fu Sheng. If anything, he agreed with Fu Sheng. He wished Fu Sheng would break more mirrors. Fu Sheng still had trouble interacting with his father. He wanted to help with the clean-up, but he couldn’t raise his hands. It was as if his body resisted being close to Han Fei.

“The faceless woman will come back to find you.” After saying that, Fu Sheng returned to the second floor and entered his room.

‘After I made the choice, this world started to mutate and the ghosts became more alive.’ After cleaning up the bathroom, Han Fei entered Fu Tian’s bedroom. The boy was frightened and he couldn’t stop crying. ‘Fu Tian and Fu Sheng seem to have the ability to see ghosts, why? Could it be hereditary? But Fu Yi doesn’t seem to possess any special ability.’ Han Fei compared the two brothers’ life trajectories, but he was still confused. The two brothers would change the world, but their father was the worst man in the world. While his wife tried to put Fu Tian back to sleep, Han Fei found the black cloth to cover all the mirrors. He even covered stuff like the television screen and glass coffee table.

“You believe the children?” After Fu Tian went back to sleep, Han Fei’s wife communicated with him. “Should we bring them to the doctor?” His wife didn’t believe in ghosts. Han Fei saw how Fu Sheng was treated like a madman when he did the manager mission. He was stripped of his freedom.

“Fu Sheng is improving. He doesn’t need doctors but people to accompany him.” Han Fei looked at his wife seriously, “I know you treat Fu Sheng as your own son. You’ve suffered a lot for it, I will try my best to make up to you, but…” The wife had a bad feeling, she grabbed Han Fei’s arm. “If I am gone, please remember to trust Fu Sheng. He is the world’s brightest mind. Do not see him as a burden. Try to rely on him.” Han Fei had seen the future. He knew what kind of persons Fu Sheng and Fu Tian would become.

“Okay.”

“Go to bed. You need to send Fu Tian to the kindergarten tomorrow.” Han Fei and his wife returned to their bedroom, but they couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually, the sun rose. Han Fei just finished washing his teeth when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller Id. Han Fei frowned. The caller was the player he met yesterday, Wu San.

“Wu San? What’s up?”

“Da Yu and the Boss ran into some accident when they returned yesterday. We have lost contact with the three of them…” Wu San was guilty. He was the one who asked Shen Luo to join but the man was gone.

“But they had returned yesterday afternoon!” Han Fei was startled.

“We’ve been searching for them the whole night, but it was like they had disappeared. They can’t be contacted. We have no idea where they are.” Wu San sighed, “When their van left the city, they collided with an ambulance. Qiang Wei suspects their disappearance has to do with that ambulance, so we’re looking through the city’s various hospitals.”

“A car accident?” Han Fei sat on the couch. He didn’t tell Wu San Shen Luo’s luck was zero, and this might have to do with Shen Luo. Han Fei’s brain tried to process the information. The van got into an accident once they left the city. Shen Luo and the two players disappeared. The other players were looking through all the hospital to look for them. If they found out about Perfection Plastic Surgery Hospital, they might all disappear.

‘If I didn’t know Shen Luo personally, I would suspect he’s the mastermind.’ Han Fei arranged his thoughts. “I was ambushed by some ghost yesterday night too. This world is becoming dangerous. If you can’t find them, try to protect yourself first.”

“I have a feeling something big is about to happen. Why don’t you join us, we can look after each other.” Wu San extended the invitation again.

“I will but not now.” After hanging up, Han Fei also didn’t know how to reach Shen Luo. ‘Was he recaptured by the hospital? Even if his luck is zero, he shouldn’t be this unlucky.’ Han Fei studied the city map on his phone. The hospital and theme park were on either side of the town. Once they left the city, they would be in the two locale’s territory.

‘I should let these players scout ahead and I’ll stay inside the city. After I remove everyone’s hatred, even after the world mutates, I might gain extra help.’ Han Fei sighed. Theoretically speaking, he could gain many help but he had to survive until then. Based on the current situation, his best outcome was to stay with his wife forever, and the next best solution was to be Luo Guo Er’s trapped toy.

‘After this mission, I doubt I’ll be in any relationship again.’ Han Fei finished breakfast and readied to leave for work when the door on the second floor opened. Han Fei looked up in shock and saw Fu Sheng put on his school uniform. He grabbed his school bag and was ready to get to school. Fu Sheng raised his eyes to shield his eyes from the sun.

Ever since he was suspended, Fu Sheng only came out at night. His room was dark even during the day due to the heavy curtains. He hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time already. The family of three turned to Fu Sheng. They were all shocked.

Fu Sheng put on his cap and left the front door without stopping.