He Shan’s words hit Chen Ge like a punch. The monster’s still in the mirrors.

He’d spent last night’s "game" blocking the mirror with that ragdoll, but if He Shan was right… the thing never left.

"Boss, is this a new attraction?" Xu Wan sidled over, her nurse’s uniform askew. A crowd of curious tourists had gathered, eyes fixed on Chen Ge.

He was trapped. Admitting the ghost house might actually be haunted? The place would shut down tomorrow. Worse, they’d cart him off to the loony bin.

"Sort of a new project," he said, forcing a grin. He clapped He Shan on the shoulder. "But I don’t recommend it without a pro. Last night’s video? That’s the gist. Mess with it, and you’ll end up like my friend here."

He Shan scowled. "Thrill you ass. Two med students—one crying, one passed out. You call this ‘fun’?"

"Tell me about it!" a teen yelled, waving his cracked phone. "I’m not paying for my screen to get smashed!"

"Relax," Chen Ge said, waving a hand. "Horror’s supposed to be scary. A little adrenaline never hurt—"

"Adrenaline?!" the teen snapped. "My parents walked in on me cowering in a towel last night. They thought I was having a breakdown!"

The crowd murmured. Chen Ge winced. Great. Now they’ll never come back.

But then—

A balding middle-aged man elbowed through the throng. "One ticket, please."

Silence.

"Whoa. Someone’s brave."

"Uncle Zhang, don’t be stupid—"

"I’ve got a family to feed!" the man boomed, slapping ten yuan into Chen Ge’s palm. "I’ve toured every haunted house in the city. This one’s gotta be legit!"

He turned on his heel, marching straight for the exit instead of the door.

"Sir? The entrance’s that way—"

"I know." The man paused, raised his phone, and snapped two photos of his ticket. Then he fired up WeChat. "April’s here—time to get outta the house. Highly recommend Xijiao Haunted House. Spent an hour there last night… shivered."

The crowd gaped. He’d loitered at the gate for twenty minutes, bought a ticket, and left?

But his friends were already commenting:

"Old Zhang, you’re scared of mice, and you’re doing this?!"

"Only a kid’s haunted house would scare him (lol)."

"Honey, come home for dinner!!!"

"Dad, we all know you’re a chicken. Stop torturing yourself QAQ"

The man grinned, replying to each: "You should try it. You’re braver than me—you won’t be scared."

The crowd stared, speechless.

Then the teen with the cracked phone stepped forward. "Me too. One ticket."

Chen Ge blinked. "Uh… sure."

The teen snapped a selfie with his broken screen, captioning it: "Uh-oh. Feel like my courage’s shrinking. Went to a haunted house, cried like a baby. Send help."

He scrolled through the comments—"Weak sauce!" "Loser!"—and smirked.

"One more."

"Me too!"

"Half-price? I’ll take two!"

The ghost house stood empty… but Chen Ge’s ticket pile grew thicker by the minute.

As the crowd thinned, he counted the cash, grinning. "Xiao Wan, we sold more tickets today than the past half-month."

Xu Wan bounced on her heels, eyes shining. "Told you it’d work!"

"Don’t get ahead of yourself," Chen Ge said, tucking the money into his pocket. He nodded toward the gate, where He Shan and Gao Ruxue still lingered. "How’re our guests?"

Gao Ruxue stepped forward, her face still pale. "Two questions. First—" She pointed at the west wing. "In that room, I saw a woman in the mirror. How’d she move behind me?"

Chen Ge leaned in, lowering his voice. "That ‘mirror’ was three panels hinged together. The other two sides are hidden in the walls. Push hard enough, and it spins. The ‘woman’? A life-sized photo, lit to look real. Xiao Wan was hiding behind the third panel. The footsteps? Sound effects."

Gao Ruxue nodded. "Second question." She gestured to Xu Wan. "Why does she feel… off? Like I’m staring at a corpse."