City in the Mirror

By the time Luo Xuan delivered Qiao Wei, whose eyes were red and swollen and who was still sniffing and sobbing, to the gates of Luo Chen’s villa, it was already past midnight. He gently patted Qiao Wei on the back and said softly, “Qiao Qiao, don’t cry anymore. If you don’t want to go back, I’ll take you to my place, all right?”

“We leave again tomorrow,” Luo Chen’s icy voice rang out as he stepped from the villa, his gaze frosty as he looked at the two before him.

Qiao Wei nodded to Luo Xuan, signaling she would stay, then skirted around Luo Chen and entered the house. Watching Qiao Wei disappear inside, Luo Xuan sighed and said, “She’s so much better than Su Mo… No, Su Mo can’t even be compared to her. Is this really fair to her?”

Luo Chen’s eyes flickered, the dark red in his pupils turning even colder. “And what right do you have to say that?”

With those words, he strode into the house, and Luo Xuan let out a faint sigh before leaving as well.

Inside, Qiao Wei was gathering her things and walking upstairs when Luo Chen grabbed her left hand tightly. “What’s this? Are you feeling wronged after coming back? It only took one night for you to listen to him, didn’t it?”

“What do you mean by that?” Qiao Wei’s wrist hurt from his grip. Hearing his words and seeing the contempt on Luo Chen’s face, her tone turned cold.

“What do I mean? Ha, did Luo Xuan coax you with a few sweet words in bed—”

Before he could finish, Qiao Wei, unable to bear it any longer, slapped him hard across the face, leaving Luo Chen staring at her in disbelief, his handsome face tinged with red.

Qiao Wei said nothing more. She wrenched her hand free from his grasp and went into her room. Luo Chen had left her utterly disappointed.

He stood where he was, the red mark on his cheek soon fading, and slumped onto the sofa, his heart in turmoil, awash with emotions he could not name.

The next day, Luo Chen drove Qiao Wei toward Mirror City. Both wore frosty expressions, and the chill between them was almost palpable.

After a day of travel, they finally arrived at Mirror City.

This city was suffused with the scent of death, so quiet that not a sound could be heard. The buildings were all ancient, but remarkably clean. Most disturbing of all, there was no sign of life whatsoever.

Luo Chen, walking ahead, turned back, his tone as cold as it had been when they first met. “We’ll rest here tonight. Follow me, and be careful.”

Qiao Wei followed him silently into a house.

The furnishings inside were old, yet astonishingly tidy, as if they were cleaned every day. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from the window. In that instant, Qiao Wei felt as if she could not move, and the surroundings began to shift. Luo Chen, who had been in front of her only a moment before, had vanished without a trace.

—End of excerpt—