Many people had probably mocked their names before, because before Lin Qiu Shi could say anything, Cheng Qian Li already said: "I know what you're going to say, don't say it out loud!"
Lin Qiu Shi held up his hands: "Alright."
"That's my twin brother." Cheng Qian Li said, "He has a weird personality, you'd better not bother him, the further away from him the better."
Even though Cheng Qian Li's brother Cheng Yi Xuan was described this way by his younger brother, he was not angry at all. He just glanced at Cheng Qian Li indifferently. Cheng Qian Li laughed drily twice: "Haha, I'm just joking."
Although the twins were dressed differently and had subtle differences in their hairstyles, their looks were truly identical, at least as far as Lin Qiu Shi could tell so far.
He bid Cheng Qian Li good night again and went back upstairs, walking extra carefully this time, afraid that another set of triplets or something might pop out at the end of the hallway.
Of course there were no triplets. Lin Qiu Shi successfully entered the bedroom that Cheng Qian Li had mentioned. There was even a nameplate hanging on the bedroom door with his name on it, probably to prevent him from getting lost.
The bedroom environment was quite nice. A soft large bed was placed in the middle, next to a computer. Near the window was a small table with fruit and snacks.
Lin Qiu Shi turned on the computer and searched for the news that Cheng Qian Li had shown him earlier. But when he saw a certain photo, he realized something was wrong.
It was a news story about a woman named Wang who had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. The entire process was filmed by passersby next to the bridge.
The video had just been uploaded recently and had not been censored yet. Lin Qiu Shi clicked to watch the whole thing clearly.
In the world behind the door, Lin Qiu Shi only remembered what Zhang Zi Shuang and Wang Xiao Yi were wearing. The two had rather distinctive clothing - one wore a uniform and the other wore a cosplay outfit.
The video was very clear, even capturing the appearance of the woman who committed suicide. Lin Qiu Shi zoomed in to the largest size and watched with a puzzled expression.
This woman was dressed the same as Wang Xiao Yi, but her looks were completely different. The Wang Xiao Yi from behind the door looked very ordinary, while the girl in the video was extremely beautiful.
How could they look so different? Lin Qiu Shi felt very strange. However, what was even stranger was that he had a feeling that although the woman in front of him was different from Wang Xiao Yi, she was indeed Wang Xiao Yi herself.
At the end of the video, ignoring everyone trying to stop her, the girl took a leap and jumped off the tall bridge. There was text under the video saying her corpse had been found. She was a freshman at a certain university. She was supposed to go to an anime convention that day but suddenly disappeared, only to show up on a distant bridge. The cause of her suicide was still under investigation...
The situation was obviously very strange. Cheng Qian Li and the others had deliberately concealed this matter. With knitted brows, Lin Qiu Shi wanted to look for related news to find out more specifics about the deceased. Unfortunately no one else had frontal photos, but judging from their clothing, they were indeed the same people who had died behind the door.
What was going on? Lying in bed, Lin Qiu Shi fell into thought. What exactly were Cheng Qian Li and the others hiding...
Lin Qiu Shi barely slept that night. Early the next morning, he got up.
When he went downstairs a little after 6, he saw Cheng Qian Li sitting in the room with a dog lying next to him. The dog had a round butt like a steamed bun, clearly a Corgi.
"You guys have a dog too?" Lin Qiu Shi was a little surprised.
But Cheng Qian Li looked up at Lin Qiu Shi expressionlessly without responding. Only then did Lin Qiu Shi react - this wasn't Cheng Qian Li, but his older brother Cheng Yi Xuan.
Alright, he had mistaken the person again. Lin Qiu Shi felt a little helpless.
In the summertime, it got bright early. Around 6 am, everyone in the villa started getting active.
Lin Qiu Shi heard the sound of a car engine outside. Shortly after, Ruan Nan Zhu walked in from outside. Seeing Lin Qiu Shi spacing out in the living room, he asked: "Up so early?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "A little hungry."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Cheng Yi Xuan, go make breakfast."
The ever-aloof Cheng Yi Xuan actually stood up and headed to the kitchen without a word.
Lin Qiu Shi looked at Ruan Nan Zhu admiringly. It seemed Ruan Nan Zhu had an extraordinary status in this group. Ruan Nan Zhu sat down next to Lin Qiu Shi: "Know much now?"
Lin Qiu Shi: "Not a lot. Why did you bring me here?"
Ruan Nan Zhu took out a cigarette from his pocket: "Do you mind?"
Lin Qiu Shi shook his head indicating he didn't.
Ruan Nan Zhu lit it. "Because next time I plan to enter the world behind the door with you."
Lin Qiu Shi was surprised: "We can go in together?"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Of course. Otherwise how do you think Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke know each other? They are both veterans."
Lin Qiu Shi: "...Wait, Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke?" Combining the anomalies he had discovered yesterday, a thought flashed across Lin Qiu Shi's mind and he stared incredulously: "Bai...Bai Jie?"
Ruan Nan Zhu exhaled smoke: "Mm."
Lin Qiu Shi: "No way! I don't believe it!"
Ruan Nan Zhu: "What's not to believe? Have you seen a 180cm tall girl?"
Lin Qiu Shi couldn't refute that.
Ruan Nan Zhu: "Women are always a little more convenient than men." He smiled, "At least I don't need to carry trees."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." He had a point.
"Each door leaves clues about the next door." Ruan Nan Zhu finished his cigarette and put it out. "Your next door is the Fairshaw Bird."
The Fairshaw Bird, a truly unpleasant fairy tale story. Lin Qiu Shi frowned.
Ruan Nan Zhu took something out of his jacket and casually handed it to Lin Qiu Shi: "This is the clue from the door you just left."
Lin Qiu Shi took it and saw it was another note, but the content was different: "One person does not enter the temple, two people do not look down the well, three people do not hug trees, do not lean on the railing alone."
Entering the temple, looking down the well, hugging trees - everything matched what happened behind the door. Only at this point did Lin Qiu Shi understand why Ruan Bai Jie seemed to know everything that would happen in that world.
"But why did only you go in?" Lin Qiu Shi asked.
"It's a long story." Ruan Nan Zhu said. "I'll explain it to you later when we have time. In short, everyone living in this villa is the same kind of person. We all have to enter the world behind the doors, so we look out for each other."
Just then, Cheng Yi Xuan finished making breakfast and brought it to the table: "Brother Ruan, breakfast is ready."
Ruan Nan Zhu said: "Let's go eat something."
Lin Qiu Shi nodded.
Cheng Yi Xuan's cooking skills were quite good. He had made porridge and fried two side dishes. As the three of them ate, the others gradually came downstairs too. Having obtained too much information at once, Lin Qiu Shi ate quietly without asking further questions.
Cheng Qian Li, who had just come downstairs, was very moved to see him so quiet: "It's been a long time since I've seen a new person with such little emotional fluctuation. The last few who came asked ten million whys and were like cats getting their tails stepped on..."
Lin Qiu Shi: "...There are other people living in the villa too?"
Cheng Qian Li: "Two more, they went behind the doors too. God knows if they can make it out." He tasted the porridge Cheng Yi Xuan cooked and mumbled, "Never adds enough sugar."
Cheng Yi Xuan looked at his younger brother expressionlessly.
Cheng Qian Li quickly made a zipping motion over his mouth.
The interaction between these twins was quite amusing. Just as Lin Qiu Shi was thinking this, he heard Cheng Qian Li say: "You'll probably go behind another door next week, but don't worry. Brother Ruan will go with you then, so there shouldn't be big problems."
Lin Qiu Shi looked at Ruan Nan Zhu sighing quietly next to him, unable to imagine at all that Ruan Nan Zhu in that world was actually that kind of girl. He said, "Oh right, will my looks change between the world inside and outside the doors?"
Cheng Qian Li: "Yeah, I look super ugly inside."
Cheng Yi Xuan: "You don't look good now either."
Cheng Qian Li: "..."
"What do I look like inside then?" Lin Qiu Shi felt a little curious.
Ruan Nan Zhu finished his last bite of food: "Just look in the mirror next time you go in."
That made sense too, Lin Qiu Shi thought.
"Get prepared." Ruan Nan Zhu said. "The world of the Fairshaw Bird probably won't be too difficult. Usually the first time entering the world behind the doors isn't too hard, as long as you get the clue, everything will be fine."
Lin Qiu Shi: "But why did my first world feel quite difficult?"
"Because there were three veterans inside." Ruan Nan Zhu said. "Aside from me, Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke are also veterans." He wiped his mouth. "They should belong to another organization."
Lin Qiu Shi was surprised. He didn't expect there would be this kind of inside story.