Jiang Pingcheng and Xiao Yan had excellent genes—that’s how they had a child like Jiang Luo.
But Jiang Pingcheng had aged. His figure was out of shape, and most of his youthful good looks had faded. Still, some resemblance to Jiang Luo could be seen in his features.
Xiaqin kissed the space between his brows and smiled faintly.
***
Jiang Luo recalled some disgusting memories. He didn’t want to stay in the Jiang house any longer. After informing the host, he prepared to leave.
Before leaving, he brought Chi You back to his room.
He remembered that when he left this house, he had forgotten to take something. He wanted to look around to see if he could find it in this mirror world.
Jiang Pingcheng, upon receiving the message, hurried over. Lipstick still stained his face—a laughable sight—and he said, “Young Master Chi, I have a business proposal that I think will greatly benefit you. Would you come to my study with me?”
Chi You lounged comfortably in a chair. Only when Jiang Pingcheng’s smile was on the verge of collapsing did he lazily get up. “Let’s go.”
The two of them left, one after the other.
Jiang Luo continued packing. Standing in front of the wardrobe, he finally found a small iron box tucked in a corner after rummaging through everything.
The moment he found the box, Jiang Luo let out a sigh.
He had only wanted to see whether something he had hidden in the real world would also exist here in the mirror world. The person behind this must be terrifyingly powerful—to recreate even the stash of pocket money he had hidden away.
Jiang Luo brought the box to the desk and sat down. He opened the lid—inside were dozens of copper coins and over a dozen silver dollars. Converted to modern currency, it was about four to five thousand yuan.
He felt his past self was impressively good at saving.
As he picked up a silver dollar to examine, the open door was gently closed by someone entering, bringing with them a delicate fragrance.
The person walked up beside him.
Jiang Luo didn’t look back.
A woman stood behind him, her arm lightly resting on the back of his chair. She asked softly, “Young Master, how are things at the Chi household?”
“Fine,” Jiang Luo replied, his tone indifferent.
Xiaqin let out a breath of relief. “As long as it’s fine.”
The atmosphere fell silent. Jiang Luo casually twirled a silver between his fingers, clearly not in the mood to say more. But Xiaqin seemed not to understand his intent. Her fingers gently brushed the back of his head. “Young Master, when the Master decided to send you to the Chi family, I thought about it for a long time and didn’t stop him.”
She spoke slowly, steadily—soft yet firm. Xiaqin always appeared reliable. She was a woman with her own mind, which was why Jiang Luo had never truly seen through her.
“Because in the next few years, the Jiang family is going to fall into chaos. It’s better for you to stay in the Chi family than remain in the Jiang family.” Xiaqin’s hand slid down from Jiang Luo’s shoulder, her jade-like arms encircling his neck as she leaned against his back. “When you return again, the Jiang family will be a completely different place.”
Jiang Luo asked blandly, “Why did you do it?”
He had asked Xiaqin this exact same question once before—in the real world.
After witnessing that betrayal, the fifteen-year-old Jiang Luo had returned to his room in a daze.
His mother was weak, always submissive to his father. And his father—Jiang Pingcheng—was a monster. When Jiang Pingcheng raised his fists at his wife and son, it was always Jiang Luo who shielded his mother, enduring the blows himself. No one ever stood in front of him to protect him from the wind and rain.
Xiaqin was the first.
The first person who ever protected him.
Time and again, she pulled Jiang Luo behind her, shielding him. Before Jiang Pingcheng could explode in rage, she would smile and distract him. Xiaqin was not his mother; she was only a bit more than ten years older than him. Yet Jiang Luo had found in her a sense of security his own mother never gave him.
He hadn’t dared believe what he had just witnessed—sitting alone at his desk, in a daze. That was when Xiaqin came into his room.
She wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her eyes were filled with affection as she looked at Jiang Luo. Her hand slid down from his cheek, her every movement no different than usual—
Still gentle. Still careful.
Xiaqin had seduced the fifteen-year-old Jiang Luo.
All Jiang Luo felt was disgust, a shattering of trust. He jerked away from Xiaqin’s hand, his voice trembling: “Why are you doing this?”
…
The silver landed on the table with a clink. Jiang Luo said coldly, “Get lost.”
Xiaqin’s hands froze. She sighed. “I like you.”
“But someone like me—my age, my status—can never become your wife,” she said, straightening up. “And you’d never marry me. Because you don’t like me.”
Since that was the case, Xiaqin had decided to seduce Jiang Luo’s morally bankrupt father instead. At least that way, she could stay by Jiang Luo’s side forever.
She smiled faintly. “Once I become your mother, I can protect you.”
“And more importantly,” she murmured, “once your father dies, the Jiang family will be mine. And you’ll be mine too.”
“You’ll be my child. I’ll take you far away from here.”
The words Xiaqin spoke in this mirror world gradually began to overlap with what she had said in the real world.
Fifteen-year-old Jiang Luo had already sensed Xiaqin’s veiled hostility toward his mother. Every time he was hurt protecting his mother, that hostility grew more obvious.
It wasn’t until that day that he finally understood what that hostility meant.
Xiaqin was jealous of his mother—because his mother could have Jiang Luo forever.
The fifteen-year-old Jiang Luo had been struck by a darkness from the adult world that defied words.
Jiang Luo called the police.
He was a minor. The charges were attempted sexual assault of a minor by a housekeeper. Because of this incident, Jiang Luo’s mother, Xiao Yan, finally summoned the courage to divorce Jiang Pingcheng.
Jiang Luo didn’t want to stay in the Jiang family—not in this rotting, repulsive home. He and his mother left Jiang Pingcheng behind. They went from a wealthy life to a modest, ordinary one.
Jiang Luo had thought this was the beginning of a new life—and it was. But things only got worse.
His mother, Xiao Yan, soon began to regret the decision in the face of their difficult life. She started complaining. One day, she finally broke down and screamed at Jiang Luo: “Why did you have to call the police? If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have divorced your father. We wouldn’t be living like this!”
“I would’ve rather never known about the affair…”
From that day on, Jiang Luo began to think that family affection was something truly laughable.
…
Xiaqin seemed to want to say more, but the door she had closed was suddenly kicked open.
Chi You stood in the doorway, backlit by sunlight, his face obscured by shadow. His voice was slightly cold.
“This lady,” he said, “Jiang Luo and I should be leaving now.”
Jiang Luo stood up and walked past Xiaqin. Suddenly, he turned to look at her.
His eyes held not the slightest ripple, as if Xiaqin were nothing more than a stranger to him.
Xiaqin’s expression froze.
She had imagined countless ways Jiang Luo might react upon learning the truth—hate, disgust—but she had never expected this kind of indifference.
“Oh, right,” Jiang Luo shrugged slightly and said mockingly, “The Jiang family is truly disgusting. Jiang Pingcheng, Xiao Yan, and you—all the same.”
He turned back, voice even tinged with amusement. “Thankfully, this is the last time we’ll meet.”
With that, Jiang Luo walked out the door.
The two of them left the Jiang family estate.
That morning, when the coachman had dropped them off, Chi You had told him to come back at dusk. Since they were leaving early, they had no choice but to walk back on foot.
On the road, Jiang Luo asked, “What kind of business does Jiang Pingcheng want to do with you?”
“Trade caravan business,” Chi You said with a slight smile. “There are all kinds of ghost rumors in Bo Jiucheng lately. His gambling business is on the verge of collapse. He’s lost a lot of money. The money the Chi family gave to the Jiang family was also taken by him to fill that hole. This time, he wants to move the remaining inventory from the casino to sell elsewhere. Since the Chi family is known for exorcisms, he wants me to send someone powerful to escort him.”
Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow. “Someone powerful from the Chi family? Besides you, are there any other powerful people?”
Chi You paused, then looked at him with interest. “How do you know I’m powerful?”
Jiang Luo shot back, “Aren’t you?”
Chi You couldn’t help but laugh, even the darkness in his eyes seemed a little less dangerous. “Young Master Jiang really doesn’t give others a chance to have the upper hand.”
The two of them chatted idly for a bit as they walked, and soon arrived at a bustling marketplace. As Jiang Luo passed a wonton stall, he overheard three men sitting at a roadside table talking about the ghost rumors.
“I heard someone died again last night. Died in a terrible state. Early this morning, the body was rushed to the yizhuang.”
“Hiss—how bad was it?”
“If I told you, you’d be scared… Forget it, forget it, we’re about to eat wontons, better not describe it now.”
Jiang Luo slowed to a stop, turned to Chi You and said seriously, “I’m hungry.”
A minute later, the two of them were also seated by the roadside. The wonton vendor asked enthusiastically, “Do you two eat spicy?”
Jiang Luo nodded, answering boldly, “Give me plenty!”
The vendor responded, “You got it!”
The wonton shop was small. Inside was only the cooking area; all the tables were outside. The furniture was old, but everything was clean. Chi You sat upright, eyes lowered, observing the scratches etched into the table. Though he didn’t quite fit in with the surrounding people, he carried himself with such ease that he didn’t appear out of place.
He even had the leisure to tease Jiang Luo, “Thanks to Young Master Jiang today, I got to eat a meal without being nagged.”
Jiang Luo was starting to understand why Chi You had so many followers during his lifetime.
Just from reading about him in text, he had already liked this character. And now, actually encountering Chi You—whether it was his hypocritical façade when alive or his terrifying, unfathomable nature after death—he was undeniably charismatic.
Charismatic enough that his followers couldn’t help but admire him, revere him, until both body and mind were unknowingly controlled by him.
Because he was just that good at pretending.
Jiang Luo knew that the young Chi You had already put on a mask, but he still had to admire him. Every smile and every word Chi You spoke—he really couldn’t tell which were real and which were fake.
So he simply chose to respond naturally, “You’re welcome.”
Chi You laughed again.
Behind them, the three men continued their discussion: “So who did that dead guy belong to?”
“You don’t know? He was a servant from the Chi family.”
