Mitternachts-Handbuch für paranormale Phänomene

Kapitel 32

"!" Old Qunzhi was shocked.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just the fingers; the entire palm had become transparent... like a fleshy jelly.

In shock, I grabbed hard, but my five fingers, which should have been tightly clasped, could not feel each other's "strength," and even the sense of touch became very faint. The sensation of the movement that connected my entire arm was also very vague.

Slowly turn your head.

A large half-length mirror was embedded in the elevator, reflecting the rapid and abnormal changes in Lao Qunzhi's body.

What's wrong? It's not becoming more transparent, but rather becoming thinner.

The wrinkles are gone.

The gray hair has disappeared.

The pain has also disappeared.

All that remained was a deep sense of doubt and desolation in his eyes.

"We haven't done anything yet..."

Old Qunzhi stared blankly at his disappearing reflection in the mirror.

What happened?

Am I about to cease to exist?

What exactly did I just do?

What has changed?

What kind of change... would be enough to make one lose the causal reason for their existence?

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

"Goddess, can we meet again?"

Deng.

The elevator doors opened.

The elevator was empty.

A

The bell rang three times.

At the entrance of the elementary school, the lines of students leaving school had long since dispersed.

The instructors blew whistles to organize the students, and the traffic safety guides raised long bamboo poles and led them away. Only a few children remained at the school gate, sitting under the coconut trees with heavy schoolbags on their backs, waiting for their parents to take them home. No one was chatting; everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Only one or two children simply took out their notebooks and hastily completed their homework for the day.

A little girl was holding a red mat with the multiplication table printed on it, reciting it as she looked towards the intersection.

Finally, the familiar car came into the little girl's view.

The old, dark blue Yulon RV, arriving late, stopped beside the yellow line at the school gate. A middle-aged man opened the door, got out, and quickly walked towards the little girl. Although he was still coughing a bit after taking medicine, the man's face was full of apologetic smiles.

The little girl turned her head away, showing no appreciation whatsoever.

"Daddy is ten minutes late, Daddy's been naughty!"

The little girl pouted.

"Haha, was Fang Lin good today?"

The middle-aged man squatted down and patted the little girl's head.

"Hmph, Fang Lin is definitely the best girl!"

The little girl pinched the middle-aged man's cheek.

The middle-aged man's feigned pain made the little girl burst into laughter.

"Don't be late next time, pinky promise."

"Okay, okay, pinky promise, ding-dong!"

The middle-aged man helped the little girl lift her large schoolbag, stood up, and firmly took her little hand.

While listening to the little girl bouncing and skipping as she recited the multiplication tables, I happily walked towards the car.

"Time to go home!"

"Yay, time to go home!"

B

The girl's eyes were swollen.

The hair salon opens at 10 a.m., and the girl has to go in with her key at 9:30 a.m. every day to get a simple cleaning.

The proprietress and the other senior staff hadn't arrived yet, so the girl turned on the fan and sprayed some cleaning agent to wipe the mirror.

At a time when no guests were expected, the door was pushed open, accompanied by the familiar tinkling of wind chimes.

The old man who entered had a strangely large bald head, was impeccably dressed in a suit, and stood awkwardly by the door with a large bouquet of flowers. Not only was his timing odd, but the bouquet also clashed terribly with the aura he exuded.

Not only did the bald old man look embarrassed, but the girl with swollen eyes also looked awkward.

We looked at each other, unsure of how to begin.

"Um...this."

The bald old man, his face flushed, pulled out two tickets from his pocket, which were stuck together haphazardly with tape.

Tonight's time, the best seats.

Seeing that face, which was least likely to turn red, now as red as fire, the girl secretly wanted to laugh.

"Isn't the game supposed to start at six?" the girl glared at him.

"I think... we should have dinner first," the old man said seriously.

"It's only 10 a.m. now."

"Let's have lunch together then. The stinky tofu stall at the end of the street is really good."

"..."

"After we finish eating stinky tofu, we'll go see a movie, then have dinner. After dinner, we'll watch baseball, then have a late-night snack. While we're having the snack, I'll arrange for a bunch of my buddies to pretend to harass you, and then I'll play the hero and save the damsel in distress." The older man spoke more and more smoothly, finally regaining his usual tone: "After that, I'll go with you to a nearby motel to apply some ointment, and then you can do whatever you want with me."

"Go to hell!"

The old man placed a large bouquet of flowers on the counter. Now that he had nothing in his hands, he felt somewhat lost.

The girl was still holding a cleaning cloth and a rag, unsure of what to do next.

Is the atmosphere we've finally managed to get along with going about to turn cold again?

"It's still a long time until lunch."

The girl stared blankly, trying hard to come up with the sentence.

"Then help me wash this bald head."

The old man sat down in his usual spot.

She covered him with a blanket, squeezed a wad of shampoo into her hand, and stood behind the old man, getting into position.

Looking at that scarred, bald head, the girl didn't secretly cover her mouth like a little girl.

She burst into laughter.

I'm really looking forward to tonight's date, seeing the older man take on ten men at once!

-over-

—The cause and effect are not yet complete—