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墨書 Inktalez
"What's wrong with you?" My heart raced as I was startled by him. To my surprise, Molin was doubled over with laughter, clutching his stomach and pointing at my pale face, tears streaming from his eyes. "Why are you still so timid? You’re killing me with laughter! This is too funny, hahaha..."
I didn't expect him to be just pretending. Angrily, I turned to leave. "You can go by yourself later; I won't care about you!"
"Are you mad?"
I sulked on the sofa, ignoring him.
"It was just a joke; don’t be so petty."
"Hmph."
Molin fell silent, and I refused to look at him. Suddenly, he said to me, "Anxin, come look at this photo. Do you recognize who it is?"
"What does it have to do with me? I'm not looking!"
I stubbornly ignored him, refusing to be fooled again.
"My dear aunt, this time I'm not lying! Come see! Something's happened."
His tone was drastically different this time, making my heart skip a beat.
"I'm really not joking this time; you'll regret it if you don't look."
Molin sounded anxious. I believed him deep down, but my mouth wouldn’t let up. Turning my head away, I said, "Looking will kill me; you think I'll listen to you?"
Unexpectedly, Molin shoved the photo in front of me. I instantly leaped off the sofa and snatched the photo from his hands, staring wide-eyed.
"This... this—how is this possible?"
The photo was filled with images of Ling Feng. In the first picture, he sat on his couch at home, staring at the front door. His initially sleepy eyes gradually widened in horror until his mouth gaped open. Then he clasped his hands around his neck and leaned back against the sofa, desperately choking himself.
I flipped through the photos one by one. Ling Feng wasn't a method actor; he was the type who could be caught in a lie easily, so there was no way he could deliver such a convincing performance.
Moreover, behind him was a display case, and through the reflection on the glass, I seemed to see someone standing in front of him, wearing a dress, someone familiar.
"How could there be such a photo?" I still didn't believe it was real. "Maybe someone edited it to scare us?"
"Look at the time on it."
"April 27th, 00:10? Isn't that just midnight the day after tomorrow?" I looked suspiciously at the time in the upper left corner and suddenly noticed that the numbers had disappeared. My hand holding the photo trembled. "How could this happen?"
"Death Photo; those who see it must die." Molin's expression was serious as he frowned and murmured, "I suspect this is related to the recent death cases. Let's go find Ling Feng now."
I had been to Ling Feng's house before for a basketball team gathering, but I still didn't quite remember the way. I wanted Lin You to guide me, but she wasn't answering her phone.
Thinking back to that day when Lin You's words were completely different from Molin's, I felt uneasy because she had also been to that alley.
But whether I had seen it wrong or if she really had gone there, I thought it was necessary to ask her about it. However, she just wouldn't pick up.
In the end, I had no choice but to contact Ling Feng directly. He readily gave me his address.
Molin said that the most crucial thing now was Ling Feng. "If that number really is a countdown to death, then we must catch the murderer before then; otherwise, Ling Feng will be doomed."
"He can't die; if he dies, Xiao You will be heartbroken."
Although something had indeed happened between Lin You and Ling Feng that caused their relationship to become strained, I felt that Lin You still cared about Ling Feng deep down. Moreover, Ling Feng had always looked out for me, so I absolutely couldn't let anything happen to him.
When we arrived at Ling Feng's house, he had just returned from his morning exercise, drenched in sweat with his hair all wet. Since I had called him earlier, he knew I would come, but he still looked displeased when he saw Molin.
"Why is he here too?"
Seeing Ling Feng's annoyed expression made me realize that he had inadvertently found out about Lin You giving Molin her blood on her tongue. So naturally, Ling Feng viewed Molin with increasing disdain—after all, they were rivals!
I felt awkward for a moment and laughed awkwardly. "He's my bodyguard now; Chu Fan asked him to protect me, so wherever I go, he follows me around. There's no shaking him off."
"I think so too."
"You—"
Molin was about to retort when I pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, "Do you still want to know the truth? Calm down."
Ling Feng glanced at us and finally said, "Come in!"
"Okay."
Since we had taken photos during the basketball team gathering in Ling Feng's living room and had even used the space, I had specifically gone up to check and confirmed that his living room was decorated in a modern minimalist style.
I didn't expect that as soon as I walked in, it looked exactly like the luxurious European style in the photos, with the decorative items in the back display case not having moved an inch.
"What's wrong?"
Ling Feng poured me a glass of water and noticed I was staring blankly at the sofa. I snapped back to reality and smiled, "Why did your house change style? I remember it wasn't like this last time I came."
"My mom insisted on changing it; it took her two days. I'm going to take a shower; you guys sit for a bit. I'm home alone; my parents went on vacation."
"Alright."
As soon as Ling Feng left, I pulled Molin, who was looking around, and quietly asked, "Do you think this could be a coincidence?"
"Let's wait and see."
Molin walked around the living room with a compass in hand. I noticed the needle swaying rhythmically, not spinning chaotically as described in books when encountering ghosts.
When Molin finished checking the living room and returned to my side, I immediately asked, "Did you find anything?"
"Nothing." He also seemed puzzled, his brow furrowed tightly. "The feng shui of this house is good; the energy is pure, there's nothing unusual here."
"But how do you explain that photo?"
"Let's wait until I ask him before we talk."
When Ling Feng came out of the shower, we chatted casually for a while before I got straight to the point. "Ling Feng, have you been to the vacant lot behind the commercial street these past few days? You know, that alley?"
"Yeah!" Ling Feng said casually after taking a sip of his drink. "Just the day before yesterday in the evening, Xiao You suddenly asked me to go out. We ended up there, and she told me she went to a nearby photo studio to take pictures. She said she would give me a copy once they were developed."
As he spoke, Ling Feng's face lit up with a happy smile, his eyes sparkling as he looked at me. "Anxin, do you think she has come around?"
"Well, Xiao You has always had feelings for you."
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Lin You's sudden change in attitude. Previously, she had shown a strong dislike for Ling Feng and had never interacted with him privately. He had approached me multiple times asking me to persuade Lin You.
But now, on the night she had argued with me about wanting to pursue Shizui, she had made plans with Ling Feng and completely flipped her attitude towards him. It all seemed suspicious.
Of course, I genuinely hoped she would come to terms with her feelings and be with Ling Feng, but I knew Lin You well enough to understand that if she could figure things out, they wouldn't have been stuck in this stalemate for so long.
However, there were some things that couldn't be said in front of Ling Feng.
"I told you she wouldn't forget about me. Just yesterday, she mentioned that when May Day comes in a few days, we should go on a trip together."
Molin chimed in, "What was Lin You like when you went to the alley? Did you see or hear anything unusual?"
Ling Feng was so happy that he didn't find Molin's question odd at all. "She was nestled in my arms. The moon wasn't great that night, and there was no wind, but I felt this strange chill as if someone was behind me. But when I turned around, there was nothing there. I've heard about that alley too; three women have died recently. I worried Xiao You might be scared, so we didn't stay long."
"Have you gone back since then?"
"No." Ling Feng suddenly sensed something was wrong; his gaze shifted between us before he asked, "Are you two hiding something from me? Did something happen to Xiao You?"
"Of course not! Xiao You and I had an argument, which is why I'm asking you."
"An argument?" Ling Feng sighed in relief. "It must be because she's jealous of you being with Chu Fan."
"..."
After that, Molin asked a few more questions. Since I had class in the morning, I didn't want to delay any longer and prepared to leave. Just before I stepped out, Ling Feng called out to me, "Anxin, Xiao You definitely didn't mean to argue with you. She must be feeling bad about it too; her face looks terrible, and I'm worried about her, but she insists there's nothing wrong."
I was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "I understand. I'll make sure to reconcile with her when I go pick up the photos today."
Ling Feng nodded and then closed the door.
Molin and I walked side by side down the street, both of us feeling anxious. I tried calling Lin You again, but it was still unreachable. Finally, I sent her a text message: "Xiao You, I didn't consider your feelings last time. I realize I was wrong; please don't ignore my calls. Since you went to see me after receiving the prayer call, why won't you see me again afterward? Xiao You, if possible, I'd like to talk to you. I'll wait for you at the entrance before picking up the photos today."
Molin glanced at the message I sent and scoffed, "Women are just trouble."
"Is that your excuse for not being able to find a girlfriend?" I chuckled and quickly got back on topic before he could blow up. "Did you find any valuable clues after asking so many questions?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I carefully compared the living room with the photos and Ling Feng himself and found that both the objects and the person are perfect copies. His living room style has changed in the past couple of days, and Ling Feng mentioned he hasn't taken any photos at all, which suggests that those pictures are a prediction of the future."
The more Molin said this, the more worried I became. The midnight of the 27th was approaching in the blink of an eye, yet we still hadn't found any clues.
"How about this? You go to school first while I look for other leads."
"Okay."
I nodded, and just as we were about to part ways, a few high school girls walked by in front of us, one of whom was Jiang Xiaorou. I overheard her saying, "Have you guys heard about Soul Website? It's been really popular online lately."
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