Chapter 57 Love Shop 1 To Buy or Not to Buy
You know something's wrong, and leaving rashly might make things worse.
You look up and survey the entire secondhand store. This time, you look very carefully, trying to find the rulebook among the clothes, books, and various household items piled up in every corner.
In such everyday scenarios, the rules are usually posted; if they aren't, then things become difficult.
However, after carefully scanning the decorations on the wall, you found nothing.
Looking again at the customers in the not-too-big-to-small shop, none of them looked like liquidators. You probably felt that you shouldn't be so unlucky, seeing one leave only to have another come.
Paranormal events happening in secondhand clothing stores are not uncommon, but being haunted by ghosts so inexplicably is a bit illogical. While this world may seem absurd, its operating logic is that everything is governed by rules.
You open your phone, wanting to search online for relevant cultural tips, but after the small icon at the top of the screen flashes a few times, it turns into an "E".
There is no signal here.
People were constantly coming and going during this time, which means the area wasn't "closed off." Okay, it's just that the signal is bad in this crappy place.
You put your phone away, feeling a bit of a headache. You really don't know anything about this kind of niche scene; after all, you never intended to come in and take a look. You only decided to browse around today because Xiaoming was there and the two of you were having a lot of fun.
Speaking of which, could all of this be related to that old book of London Ghost Stories that you just bought today? That explanation makes sense. You should quickly take the book out and prepare to temporarily hold onto it.
Just as I pulled the book out of the small handbag, a strange spot of light flashed across the old cover.
Where is the light source?
You look up suddenly and see a small mirror hidden between the wooden planks in the ceiling.
This is a handheld mirror; the frame is rusted, and the glass is covered with tiny cracks due to its age. You wouldn't notice them at all unless you looked closely.
You are positioned diagonally below the mirror, and the setting sun streams in through the shop window, reflecting off your book cover.
You rubbed your eyes and stood there staring at the mirror.
In its medium-sized mirror, everything in the room looked tiny, and you, in the very center, resembled a miniature mannequin. At first, nothing happened. Then, you saw something moving on your shoulder in the mirror.
A reflection much larger than yourself slowly wriggles on your shoulder.
It was a "person" lying down.
The figure's outline was blurry, but you could clearly see that she was wearing the trench coat you had just chosen. Her face was hidden in shadow, and the edges of her silhouette seemed to be enhanced by the light and shadow, radiating countless tentacles that extended towards you.
Adhering to the ancestral precept of horror films in the Flower Kingdom—never turning your head abruptly—you slowly turn your eyes, glancing at your shoulder out of the corner of your eye, only to find nothing behind you.
Turning your gaze back to the mirror, the thing was still there, and as if it noticed that you had discovered it, the grayish-white light that was not exactly a face flickered, changing from an oval to a circle, and two dark dots gradually emerged from the circle.
She must have looked up too, observing you through the mirror as well.
You instinctively took a step back, almost dropping the coat you were just holding to try on. The "you" in the mirror on the ceiling also took a step back, but the "person" on your shoulder remained completely unaffected, clinging firmly to you.
But your reflection in the fitting room mirror directly opposite you stands there steadily, its face turned slightly to the side as it smiles at you.
The reflection raised its hand and pointed out a finger.
Why is he being so fierce?! You're speechless. Xiaoming, come back quickly! Help!
You do have one more item, that fog canister that can conceal yourself, but you're too heartbroken to use it now!
Wait, that's not right.
You squint and look closely; the reflection in the dressing mirror seems to be trying to guide you in a certain direction.
Looking down slowly following its finger, right at my feet, on the ground where there was a pile of miscellaneous items, there was actually a poster being used to cover up the stains.
The paper was trampled and filthy, its color now blending seamlessly with the floor. The good news was, there were words on the poster.
It was a little blurry, but the handwritten words seemed to have been written with some kind of special ink, giving off a slight shimmer.
You carefully stepped aside without disturbing the thing on your back, and waited until the light reflected from the mirror above your head fell on it, causing the golden glitter to fully illuminate. The writing appeared clearly, written in a strange stroke:
1. Please give other customers more time to choose.
2. Clothes are also memories; cherishing them is a form of respect.
3. Each person is limited to purchasing one item as part of the charity program.
rule.
That's more like it. You feel half relieved and want to nod at your reflection in the fitting room mirror. Whatever it is, at least it doesn't mean you any harm.
The other person just laughed, a laugh that was both like yours and terrifying. Then you noticed the oddity: the reflection looked exactly like you, but its upper lip was just a line!
It looks too strange; you should probably turn your face away.
The important thing is to use the rules to solve the problems on my shoulders first.
The phrase "give others more time to choose" is practically an explicit instruction. Only then do you notice that several people have silently passed by you several times. No wonder one person kept making humming noises from his nose, and you even thought he was a bit noisy.
You quickly step aside in front of the only fitting room mirror in the store, holding the clothes in your hand, and only feel at ease when the next person quickly takes their place.
But the matter of the ghost has not yet been resolved.
Now that you can confirm that this is something that happened in the store, and not a paranormal event caused by the ghost story book, you don't have to worry about the clothes following you after you take them down.
After all, this is a clothing store. If you haven't bought anything, the clothes or the owner of the clothes should stay in the store.
You take the clothes down and are about to hang them up when a sudden, chilling, tingling sensation arises in your brain.
Even though there's no wind, it feels like someone is gently breathing in your ear. Or maybe it's just like someone is scratching your head.
We still can't just hang it back up!
"Clothes are also memories, cherishing them is respect." It's not hard to see that the clothes here represent the past of their original owners, which is why the original owners exist closely with the clothes. But how else can you respect the clothes? You're not even wearing them; you've only been gesturing to them.
You seized the opportunity when the previous person left their spot in front of the fitting room mirror and the person who kept snorting hadn't come over yet, and slipped back in, looking again at the handheld mirror above your head to carefully observe the "person's" movements.
After you put your clothes back on, she didn't make any other threatening moves. The light spot, like a hand, moved away from your head and quietly went back down.
Perhaps, just like her reflection in the fitting room mirror, she doesn't intend to hurt you, but simply wants to remind you of something?
So, you decided to test the waters. You resisted the tickling sensation as she started scratching your head again, gently hanging the trench coat back on the hanger while whispering, "This coat is nice, but it doesn't suit me."
You glance at the handheld mirror; the "you" in it remains unchanged, and the "person" continues to perch on your shoulder, as if they haven't heard you. You frown; then you decide to try another method.
“I have no intention of disrespecting it.” You stare at yourself in the mirror, your voice clear and firm, “But if it belongs to you, I will not possess it.”
As soon as you finished speaking, the "person" in the mirror suddenly moved. She slowly straightened up and "stood" off your shoulder.
The previously grayish-white light spots turned bright white, coiling above your head like a ball of cotton. Did I say something wrong?
The next second, the image in the mirror blurred, the "person's" figure gradually faded, and finally disappeared completely. And your reflection in the mirror returned to normal.
You let out a long sigh of relief, your clenched fingers turning slightly white. After putting your trench coat back, you turned and left the mirror, feeling your back soaked with cold sweat.
You head straight for the exit of the secondhand store, grab the doorknob, and hurry home. For the next seven days, you eat takeout and don't go out unless it's foggy.
However, when you tried to push the door open, it wouldn't budge. You froze, blinked, and pulled again with all your might, but the door still wouldn't respond.
What happened now?
You block the doorway, but the other customers inside are completely unaware. Some people walk out of the door with bags in hand, as if the door is as easy to open as usual for them.
You refused to believe it and tried again, but the door seemed to be resisting you in some way, and no matter how hard you tried, it wouldn't budge.
When someone walks past you again, you take the opportunity to stick close to them and try to walk away. Bang!
The door slammed shut in front of you, leaving you with only the look of a passerby through the glass, as if you were a lunatic.
You stood there, frozen in place, and closed your eyes in resignation.
Clearly, the problem isn't with the door, but with yourself.
Perhaps the trench coat incident hasn't completely resolved itself, or perhaps you touched something you shouldn't have. In any case, you must return to the store to find the answer.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Good afternoon! I missed midnight in China... Oh well, I'll update another chapter in a bit, and that'll be it with the "Ying" part! No update on Sunday, giving the giveaway some breathing room, love it!!!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
