Ancient Mirror Mystery

Chapter 5

Police conducted a car accident investigation, but according to witnesses, a black sedan sped towards Chen Ying on a road outside Ningxia's residence. After Chen Ying fell to the ground, the black sedan sped away without stopping. This is all the information available. Due to the darkness, witnesses couldn't even clearly see the car model. Police said they would immediately begin their investigation.

A few days later, when Ningxia accompanied Chen Ying's father to bring Chen Ying's ashes back to the Chen family home, Chen Ying's mother had not eaten a single grain of rice for three days. The entire room was dark and gloomy, with things scattered haphazardly, and an unpleasant odor permeated the air.

Chen Ying's father, unable to entertain Ningxia, rushed to care for Chen Ying's mother, who was already in a daze. She suppressed her immense grief and helped them clean the room. Opening the window, a rush of fresh air filled the room. While putting the trash in the bin by the kitchen door, she noticed several dirty clothes hanging on the washing machine. She quickly gathered the clothes and prepared to open the washing machine, only to find several pieces of clothing and jeans that Chen Ying had worn before her death. Among them was the corduroy blue dress that Ningxia had lent her the day of the car accident.

Ningxia had lent the clothes to Chen Ying a few days earlier, but little did she know that they would be the last clothes Chen Ying would ever wear in this world. Having lost two of her best friends in half a month, she couldn't help but sit on the ground and burst into tears.

That night, Ningxia was in a state of extreme grief. Her head was throbbing, and she reached for a bottle of antidepressants on her bedside table, took them with a glass of cold water, and swallowed them. She hadn't touched these pills for five years, but at that moment, she couldn't resist the urge to take them. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her throat was dry. As soon as she got home, she lay on her bed fully clothed, watching the sky darken and then brighten.

She took half a month off from work and stayed at home, not going anywhere. She only ate a little bit of convenience food every day, and in a short time, she became so thin that she was unrecognizable.

The sky was overcast, threatening rain again. Ningxia had just returned home when a thunderstorm struck, large raindrops pounding against the living room windows. Through the screen window, raindrops, accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, whipped up the curtains and rushed into the living room. She frantically tried to close the windows, puzzled. She had checked everything before leaving that afternoon, making sure all the doors and windows were closed. Why were they all wide open now? Luckily, she had returned in time; otherwise, the room would have been in a terrible state. By the time she finished getting ready, it was almost seven o'clock. She quickly made some fried rice with eggs, ate a hasty meal, went to the bedroom, and turned on the computer to go online.

Ningxia opened his email and checked the messages. There was only one email, the original text of which is as follows:

Hello! I was very surprised after reading about your experience acquiring the antique mirror on your blog. It looks very similar to an antique mirror I used to own, but I lost it for some reason. Could you please sell your antique mirror and give me the price immediately?

Sorry! I have absolutely no interest in your acquisition!

A while later, the "Avenger" email arrived again. Ningxia opened it and found that it contained:

How about 50,000 yuan?

Ningxia replied:

Sorry! Not for sale!

"the Avengers":

Seventy thousand?

Ningxia:

NO!

"the Avengers":

Don't get too cocky!

Ningxia:

Please have some self-respect!

After replying to the last letter, Ningxia immediately logged off and turned off her phone. While she was still furious with this unreasonable "avenger," her phone rang. Looking at her own phone, she saw no calls and was surprised. Then she saw that it was Su Yun's red phone ringing incessantly. Even stranger, she clearly remembered turning off Su Yun's phone after finding "Gu Tan Club," so how was it back on now?

The beeping sound continued incessantly, and the rain outside the window kept falling. The sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane mixed with the sound of the phone, making Ningxia's heart clench again.

He picked up Su Yun's phone and saw that it wasn't an incoming call, but rather a series of text messages that were still being sent! The "beep beep" sound was the text message tone!

Ningxia opened her text message inbox and found that the messages being sent or already sent were from a mobile phone number starting with "136". As she read through the messages, Ningxia gasped. The message read:

I'll haunt you even if I have to go to hell!

I'll haunt you even if I have to go to hell!

I'll haunt you even if I have to go to hell!

All twenty-odd text messages contained the same content. Ningxia's hands began to tremble, and she abruptly threw Su Yun's phone away. The phone continued to ring with the beeping of text messages. The beeping lasted for about ten more minutes before finally stopping. Ningxia picked it up with lingering fear and saw that it was out of battery. She breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

Looking again at those vicious text messages, Ningxia felt a chill run down her spine, and an unsettling sense of oppression immediately enveloped the room. She immediately got up, ignoring the raindrops outside, and flung open the window. A rush of fresh air, mixed with the drizzle, filled the room, making her feel slightly better. She drifted off to sleep without realizing it…

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the living room. Ningxia woke up with a start, got out of bed, opened the bedroom door, and looked incredulously at the lively living room. Ningxia's brother Ningkang and his Shanghai girlfriend Jianna were sitting affectionately together on the sofa; her father was sitting in his rocking chair, reading the newspaper in his hand; the kitchen was also brightly lit, and her mother was busy cooking.

Looking at all this, Ningxia could hardly believe her eyes. When her mother placed a plate of spicy chicken on the table, she scolded her, who was still speechless, "What are you staring at? Come help me serve the food!" Pulled into the kitchen by her mother, who looked at her happy expression, Ningxia whispered, "Today is your brother's first day bringing his girlfriend home, so don't say anything out of line!"

My God! Isn't this exactly what happened on New Year's Day six years ago? Less than half a year later, her parents perished in a plane crash while traveling to Shanghai to visit their son and daughter-in-law. Seeing Ningxia's astonished expression and gaping mouth, her mother frowned: "What's wrong? That look...don't you like your future sister-in-law?"

Ningxia shook his head hurriedly.

Her mother looked at her and said, "You look a little strange today; something's not right with your expression!"

Looking at her familiar and loving mother, Ningxia couldn't hold back her tears, which fell in large drops. She hugged her mother tightly and cried in a low voice.

"Silly girl! Why are you crying for no reason?" Her mother patted Ningxia's back in surprise. "My vegetables are still on the stove! Come and help!" She stood up and let her mother come over. She pinched her cheek while sobbing, and immediately let go because of the pain. Was this a dream or something else? Why did she feel pain?

All the dishes were prepared, and the five people, including Ningxia, sat at the table, enjoying their meal in a harmonious atmosphere.

Ningxia looked at the four people at the table with mixed feelings, especially her mother and father. They seemed to be playing out a movie recorded six years ago, unchanged. She knew in her heart that this was just a dream, and when she woke up, it would all be gone. Thinking of this, tears welled up in her eyes again. Thankfully, her parents and brother's attention was focused on the beautiful and fashionable Janna, and they didn't notice anything unusual.

Ning Kang suddenly spoke up: "Dad, Mom, we want to get married at the end of this year!"

The mother was somewhat taken aback, having only met him for the first time today: "So soon?"

Janna giggled, "Auntie! That's not fast at all, Kang's already thirty!"

"Have you found housing yet? Why the rush?" the father asked, somewhat puzzled.

Janna and Ning Kang exchanged a glance. Ning Kang smiled and said, "I've made up my mind. I've decided to go back to Shanghai with Nana and open a law firm! As for the house, we'll choose one there!"

"What?" His parents were shocked. He was only discussing such an important matter with them now. His mother's face immediately fell, and an awkward silence fell over the dinner table.

Ningxia suddenly felt suffocated. Five years ago, her parents tragically died in a plane crash while she was visiting Ningkang, who lived in Shanghai. She paused, then suggested to Ningkang, "Brother! Don't you want to reconsider?"

Ning Kang smiled, somewhat embarrassed, and said to his parents, "It's too late to think about it anymore. Nana is... pregnant!"

Immediately, silence fell over the dinner table once again.

The mother suddenly stood up, pulled out a chair, her face ashen, walked into the room, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

The father hurriedly got up and followed her into the room, closing the door behind him. Only Ningxia and her two companions remained at the table, awkwardly unsure what to say. Ning Kang frowned, stood up, and said to Ningxia, "We're leaving now. Could you try to persuade my parents?" Jianna, looking guilty, timidly said goodbye to Ningxia and then left.

Ningxia suddenly remembered something and hurriedly chased after Ningkang to the stairwell, saying, "Brother! You can't go to Shanghai! If you go to Shanghai, Mom and Dad will... will..." She didn't know whether she should tell him about her parents' plane crash.

Ning Kang was getting impatient: "What will happen? Explain yourself clearly!" Tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled with sorrow, and she whispered, "If you go to Shanghai, you'll never see them again!" Ning Kang assumed Ning Xia was just a persuader, glared at her, and quickly pulled Jian Na away.

Ningxia grabbed the phone in the darkness and slowly brought the receiver to her ear. A familiar voice came through the receiver; it was Ning Kang.

"Xia!"

"..." Ningxia wasn't sure if this was a continuation of her dream or something else, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer. But then she heard Ningkang's voice calling from the receiver: "Hello! Hello! Xia! Xia!"

"I'm here!" Ningxia replied hastily.

"You scared me to death! I thought something had happened to you!" Ning Kang's tone was a little strange than usual, his voice was close to a high note, which sounded odd and grating.

"What is it, bro?"

"..." There was silence on the other end for a long time, then a sob was heard, followed by Ning Kang's high-pitched, tearful voice, "Your sister-in-law...she...is gone!"

"Gone?" Ningxia didn't understand what he meant.

"Waaaaah... She was run over by... a cement truck today..." Ning Kang finally finished speaking, her sobs mixed with incoherent words.

A chill ran through Ningxia, the receiver slipped from her hand, and she slumped onto the sofa. From Ningkang's intermittent, tearful account, she learned that Jenny was on her way home from get off work that afternoon, passing a construction site, when suddenly a cement mixer truck, running like a madman, hurtled towards her, crashing into the wall of a building across the street, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Jenny's condition was horrific; she was "crushed into a pulp," her body almost unrecognizable. Upon hearing this, Ningkang nearly fainted. In his extreme grief and fear, he managed to call his only sister, who lived thousands of miles away.

Over the next few days, Ningxia called Ningkang more than ten times a day to prevent him from breaking down and losing his temper. He mentioned the drunk cement truck driver at one point during the call, even though the driver had already been detained by the police. But Ningxia could still tell from his tone that he was planning to take revenge on the driver.

After worrying for two whole weeks, Ningkang returned from Shanghai.

Ningxia lowered her head and thought for a moment, then muttered to herself, "I'm sorry, Su Yun, please forgive me. I want to know the reason for your suicide attempt, so I have no choice but to look into your privacy!" She sighed, opened her diary, and began to read it carefully.

Lines of neat handwriting appeared before her eyes; Su Yun had recorded everything that had happened in her usual blue ink. Ningxia glanced at the diary's date. The diary was relatively new, starting a year and a half ago and continuing until the day Su Yun committed suicide. There were approximately five hundred entries. To find information about Su Yun's boyfriend, Ningxia had no choice but to flip through the pages one by one, skipping over some unimportant entries. What first caught her attention were the entries from the first half of 2006:

January 14, 2006, cloudy:

It's the weekend, and spring break is just a few days away. My parents are waiting for me to come home for the New Year, but my heart is with him. He left early again today, supposedly to buy gifts for his family. I know his gifts belong to others, his joy belongs to others, and has nothing to do with me. I'm just a stranger to him!

Ningxia felt a pang of sadness upon reading this. As her close friend, she hadn't even noticed Su Yun's helplessness and loneliness in her relationship. She continued reading:

February 11, 2006, cloudy with light rain:

We had a wonderful and unforgettable night together yesterday. He said he was giving me Valentine's Day early. I know the reason, of course, but I don't mind. When I'm with him, I can forget everything, including my grievances and loneliness!

Upon reading this, Ningxia had already guessed that Su Yun and "him" had a secret relationship. Could it be that the other person was a married man?

Ningxia flipped through a few more pages, but there was no mention of "him." Her eyelids grew heavy without her noticing, and the tiny print on the page seemed to flutter wildly like a deer dancing...

"Xia Xia! Xia Xia!" A soft, sweet female voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Ningxia rolled over, but her eyes remained closed.

"Xia! Xia!" That gentle voice still whispered in Ningxia's ear. She felt the voice was somewhat familiar and tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids seemed glued shut. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open them.

"Xia! You recognize me, don't you?" That sweet voice seemed to be right next to Ningxia. In a daze, she suddenly recognized the accent from Jiangnan—Jianna!

In an instant, Ningxia shuddered and her eyes snapped open. Sure enough, it was Jenny! She was sitting at the foot of the bed, smiling sweetly at her. Ningxia stared incredulously at the still young and beautiful woman before her, her mouth agape, almost unable to breathe. What was happening? Was it a dream? Or something else entirely?

Ningxia exhaled another puff of white air, and the temperature in the bedroom seemed to plummet to zero. She wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, but it seemed unable to ward off the sudden chill. Janna was still smiling, but the smile didn't bring comfort; it brought extreme fear. Hadn't Janna had an accident half a month ago? Who exactly was this Janna before her?

Ningxia stretched out a finger and pinched her thigh hard; the intense pain intensified her terror. She stared at Janna in horror, hoping this vivid dream would vanish as soon as possible.

"Sister-in-law." She stammered, staring at Janna in front of her. A strange and frightening feeling made her head spin, and she managed to utter a single sentence.

"Xia!" Janna's eyes were filled with deep sorrow and helplessness, her voice brimming with boundless grief, "Do you know? Your brother has changed his mind! He doesn't love me anymore!"

"Really?" Ningxia didn't want to speak, but for some reason, she blurted out a question.

"You don't believe me?" Janna's face suddenly loomed close to Ningxia's, her originally beautiful features distorted under the close-up view. Ningxia's heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and she quickly shook her head to indicate that she believed her.

Jenna sat back down in her original spot, gazing out the window, and said softly, "I know none of you believe me! But he does!"

"Which 'him'?" Ningxia didn't know whether the "him" Janna was referring to was male or female.

"They are the masters of Xiangnan!" Janna's accent was heavily influenced by the Jiangnan region.

"What 'Xiangnan'?" Ningxia didn't understand for a moment.

"He told me, it can't be wrong, your brother has fallen in love with someone else!" Jenna's ghostly eyes turned to Ningxia again, and she felt a chilling, murderous aura wash over her. Jenna's face, paler than paper, drew closer and closer. Ningxia felt weak all over and screamed hoarsely...

"Xia! Xia!" A burning pain shot through her face. She opened her eyes and saw not the dead Janna, but Ning Kang, who looked extremely anxious.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Ning Kang frowned and handed her a glass of water. Ning Xia took the glass and drank it all in one gulp, then gasped for breath.

"Stop overthinking, get some sleep!" Ning Kang said before leaving.

Ningxia realized she was soaked to the bone. She got up, changed into a nightgown, and went back to sleep, but the scene from earlier was still vivid in her mind and wouldn't go away.

Ningxia had been staying by her silent brother's side for the past few days. He would only eat a couple of bites of the food she cooked each day before immediately going into the room where their parents had lived. To avoid being disturbed by Ningxia, he would even lock the door. Seeing her brother's condition, Ningxia felt anxious and uneasy. He couldn't take any more stress. As she sat in the living room, tears streaming down her face, her phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Fang Jian: "Ningxia? Where are you? Hurry up and come to Professor Yu's house in 'Mountain Rain Garden'. I'm waiting for you there!" His voice was anxious and tense. Before he finished speaking, he hung up the phone, a stark contrast to his usual leisurely and calm tone.

Ningxia then remembered that the dowry had been at Professor Yu's house for several days. She had almost forgotten about it because of her brother's situation, and if it weren't for Fang Jian's phone call today, she didn't know when she would have remembered. She walked to her parents' bedroom door, listening carefully to Ningkang's movements. It was quiet inside; they were probably asleep. She tiptoed into the room, changed her clothes, and prepared to go out.

Ningxia was somewhat taken aback and stammered, "I...I made plans with a friend!" Ning Kang sized her up for a moment, then said coldly, "Come back soon! Be careful!" He then closed the door again. Half an hour later, when they arrived at Professor Yu's house, Fang Jian was already in the living room. Professor Yu's wife was lying on the sofa, sobbing, while Fang Jian and several young men of similar age were comforting her.

"You've arrived!" Fang Jian immediately stood up upon seeing Ning Xia and said to the group of young people, "This is my friend!" He then introduced Ning Xia: