Warning: This chapter may contain depictions of domestic violence and suicide that may be uncomfortable for some readers
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Instead of charging straight at her, he tossed the blade to the side.
"I'm not joking when I say I'm done with that life. I just want a simple life this time around."
"Did you also make a deal with Death?" Kesi tried testing the waters, and he answered her question with a dazed look.
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't sign a deal with you?"
"No?"
His voice was genuine, but considering how many faces this man had, it was difficult to full-heartedly believe him.
"He only told me to aid you in your work, but he didn't specify what I should do to help you. He said that as soon as your debts are repaid, I'll be free to go as I wish."
As much as he plastered on an innocent look, Kesi didn't believe him for a single second.
"He told me teach you how to use the mirror and how to reverse your age."
Kesi squinted her eyes as he stepped closer and tried to take the mirror away from her. He must have had some trick up his sleeve. Maybe this mirror was worth more than she had expected.
He put his hands up in the air.
"I won't touch it. Just raise it so that the moon is directly above it, and then mutter the words 'I am the prettiest woman in the whole wide world' three times."
That line made Kesi cringe on the inside.
"You've got to be kidding me." She raised an eyebrow toward him. "If this is a prank, I'll make sure to rip every single bone from your body."
He only shrugged, as if to tell her that Death was a weirdo, and he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
"The faster you finish your mission, the sooner I will be on my way as well."
Taking a deep breath, Daphne held out the mirror such that the moon was directly at its center. "I am the prettiest…"
Shaking her head, she squeezed out the rest of the words. "I am the prettiest woman in the world." Hopefully this nonsense wouldn't wake up Mu Luming.
"Whole wide world," he reminded, unable to hide his grin.
"I am the prettiest woman in the whole wide world. I am the prettiest woman in the whole wide world. I am the prettiest woman in the whole wide world."
Nothing happened.
Other than the crickets suddenly beginning an entire orchestral performance in the background, nothing happened at all.
Kesi glared at the stranger.
"Oh! I forgot! Just say the name of the person from the list!"
This was the most random thing in all of the universes combined, and Kesi couldn't help but ball her fists in frustration. Who did this man think he was, toying around with her like this?
She decided to give it one last chance.
"Mi Rongliang."
The background of the mirror stirred, and a familiar world appeared before her eyes.
——
"Rongliang!" The woman sobbed, chasing after a man in his thirties. He swatted her aside, pushing her to the ground.
"Rongliang! Please! You can't do this to us!" Scrambling to stand up, she crawled behind him for a few steps. She held onto a young girl, tugging on her to catch up. The little girl's clothes did not fit her at all, her long trousers dragging along the ground, and the much-too-big sneakers dangling from her feet.
The little girl collapsed to the floor, her knees instantly bleeding. But instead of sparing one glance at her, the woman instead half-dragged her across the floor.
"Rongliang!"
"Daddy!"
The man, Mi Rongliang, didn't spare another glance to the pair, marching forward as if he couldn't hear any of their screams.
"I've already divorced you. Don't bother me from now on."
He slammed the door behind him.
"That woman doesn't love you! She just wants your money!" Her cries shook the empty apartment, but her former husband was already gone. She sobbed to herself, clutching onto the only thing left in the room: a cracked family portrait.
The little girl tried to seek her mother's comfort, but all that greeted her was a look of disgust.
"It's all because of you. If you were a boy… your father would never have left us!" Her eyes were bloodshot, and her fingernails dug into the child's neck. "Why aren't you a son!"
Her voice cracked, and those screams sounded like the worst curses from hell as she gave her own daughter a hard shove that sent her flying across the room.
"Look at yourself!"
All that was left in her home was a giant mirror, one that was plastered against the wall. As she looked inside, she saw a little girl whose hair was trimmed to look like a boy's. She saw a little girl who was on the verge of tears.
She wanted to run away from this home, but where else could she go?
The little girl scampered backward, tears welling in her eyes. Terrified, she scampered to her usual hiding spot: an alcove in the supply closet. Before, she could at least muffle her cries with the bedsheets in the closet, but now, it seemed like her father had taken even those.
She willed herself to sleep, not knowing when her mother would return back to normal again. Sometimes, it only took a few minutes. But from the looks of it this time, it would take at least a few hours.
"No! You're all I have! Lili, come back!"
Her mother's frantic cries rang in the room, but she only hugged herself.
"Lili! You can't leave me too!"
A growl from her stomach woke her up. Lili didn't know when her mother had quieted down, but it seemed like night had already arrived.
Slightly peeping out, she caught no signs of movement. She breathed out a sigh of relief to not see her mother frantically pacing about the room. This was usually the sign that her mother had returned back to normal.
"Mother?" She called.
Save for the running water from the bathroom, everything was quiet.
Her mother must have been taking a shower, she thought to herself, glancing at the clock.
Another growl sounded from her stomach. It had already been an hour.
She knocked on the bathroom door, but there was no response. Sneaking a peak through the doorknob, the sight would haunt Lili for life.
Her lifeless mother was collapsed at the bathtub, her blood spilling onto the bathroom tiles.