Chapter 31: The Fire

　　Yumeng held a fruit platter in one hand, leaned against it, and grabbed my hand with the other, smiling as she said, "Come on, let's check out our room."

　　Her room wasn't large, but it was decorated adorably, with pink everywhere. Pink blankets, a pink headboard, pink floral wallpaper, even the chair was pink. The only exceptions were a white computer desk integrated with a bookshelf, and a black computer.

　　The moment I walked in, I couldn’t help but exclaim, "Wow, Yumeng, your room is so beautiful!"

　　Proudly waving her hand, she replied, "It took me five days of hard work to get this room just right. What do you think? Not bad, huh?"

　　"Compared to yours, my room is... way too simple!"

　　I sat down on her bed and noticed it was firm, just like mine.

　　She placed the fruit platter on the computer desk, grabbed an apple, sat next to me, and handed it to me, saying, "Xia ning, make yourself at home here. Tomorrow, I’ll take you out for some fun!"

　　"Sounds good!" I replied cheerfully.

　　I took a crisp bite out of the apple; it was crunchy and sweet. As we ate, we chatted about the fun times at school. Before I knew it, I had eaten half the apple. I recalled a time when a guest visited our dorm—a guest that wasn’t quite welcome: a mouse.

　　The mouse wasn’t big, about the size of a computer mouse. None of us had seen it until Yumeng stepped on it while putting on her shoes. That night, our entire dorm exploded into chaos; the six of us girls ran out barefoot in our pajamas.

　　It wasn’t until the dorm supervisor found a guy to help that the mouse was finally dealt with. I still remember that the guy's name was Liu Yu. When he picked up the mouse by its tail to show us, I got chills all over and my skin crawled with goosebumps.

　　Just as Yumeng and I were laughing and talking, there was a knock on the door. Her dad walked in with a big smile on his face.

　　Yumeng’s dad was quite the figure—tall and impressive. I figured Yumeng must’ve taken after him. He was around 1.8 meters tall, and Yumeng had mentioned he was already fifty-two and worked as a real estate developer. But looking at him, I couldn’t believe he was fifty—his hair was jet black, his posture straight, and he had the look of someone with a military background.

　　"Hello, Uncle!" I said, standing up with the half-eaten apple and smiling.

　　"You must be Xia ning!" he said warmly. "Yumeng talks about you all the time. Tomorrow, let’s go explore the mountains."

　　I agreed, and after a few more pleasantries, he left.

　　When Auntie called us for dinner, I walked out and was stunned. The dining table in the living room was covered with over a dozen dishes, and I saw the delivery guy just closing the door as he left.The TV had switched from Wu Xin: The Monster Killer to the news channel, and the sound was a bit loud.

　　“Come on, sit down and eat before it all gets cold. This tomato and egg stir-fry is Auntie’s specialty, so make sure you eat plenty!” After we all sat down, Yumeng’s mom smiled as she scooted the plate of tomato and egg stir-fry closer to me.

　　“Oh, stop showing off your cooking skills. Just eat, kids,” Yumeng’s dad said.

　　“What? Are you saying my cooking skills aren’t good enough for you?” Yumeng’s mom wasn’t having it.

　　“No, no, what I meant was, your cooking has reached a level that could move heaven and earth. You’ve scared off the ghosts, and now only the gods remain,” Yumeng’s dad chuckled.

　　I nearly burst out laughing.

　　Yumeng, sitting beside me, was also giggling quietly, covering her mouth.

　　“Well, that’s more like it, but something about it still feels off. Don’t get all sarcastic on me! And by the way, could you turn down the TV? Are you deaf or what?” Yumeng’s mom rolled her eyes.

　　Only then did Yumeng’s dad pick up the remote and lower the volume.

　　I took a bite of the egg, and to my surprise, it was really good—soft, with just the right amount of seasoning.

　　“Mmm… this tomato and egg stir-fry is absolutely delicious.”

　　My comment made everyone laugh, and Yumeng’s mom was the happiest of all.

　　“Xia Ning sure knows how to talk!” Yumeng’s mom’s eyes crinkled into slits as she laughed.

　　“From now on, come to Auntie’s place every time you’re on break!” she said with a big smile.

　　“Okay…”

　　Seeing her mom so happy, Yumeng also picked up a piece of egg and tasted it.

　　“Mmm, it really is delicious! Dad, you should try some—it’s really good.” Yumeng’s chopsticks were still at her mouth.

　　“That’s my girl, sticking up for her old man,” Yumeng’s mom shot a look at her dad.

　　“Mmm, it’s good, really good. I didn’t expect your cooking skills to improve so much, dear,” Yumeng’s dad said, taking a bite.

　　“Of course,” she replied proudly.

　　I started eating slowly, but Yumeng and Auntie were worried I wouldn’t get enough, so they kept piling meat into my bowl.

　　Her dad chimed in with, “Treat this like your own home! If there’s something you want and you can’t reach it, just stand up and grab it!”

　　I couldn’t help but laugh—Yumeng’s dad was really something.

　　“Stand up and grab it? You think everyone’s like you? A young lady should be more reserved. Imagine if we were at a restaurant, and she stood up to reach for food—people would laugh at her!” Yumeng’s mom shot him another look.

　　Then she turned to me, smiling, and said, “Girls should be ladylike; acting like a man isn’t right!” As she spoke, Yumeng’s mom stood up and filled a plate with dishes I couldn’t reach, placing it in front of me.

　　Since there wasn’t much space left on the table, she put it between two other dishes, then decided to place the tomato and egg stir-fry on top.

　　Yumeng’s dad watched all this with a smile.

　　“Thank you, Auntie,” I said.

　　It was really a lively meal.

　　As we ate, chatting away, Yumeng’s mom asked, “The exam results are coming out soon—how do you think you did?”

　　“Oh, come on, don’t bring up exam results when the kid’s here to relax!” Yumeng’s dad said.

　　Yumeng’s mom gave an awkward smile, pretending not to have heard him.

　　It was true—if my results were bad and I said so, the mood would get awkward quickly. But if I did well and outperformed Yumeng, that would also be uncomfortable, so it would still be awkward.

　　So I just said, “I’m not sure how I did. I think it went okay,” trying to avoid the question.

　　“That’s good to hear,” Yumeng’s mom replied.

　　After a while...

　　“Xia Ning, I remember the police said it was you who found our Yumeng, but we didn’t see you at the scene. Oh, don’t get me wrong—I’m not questioning you, just curious…” Yumeng’s dad looked at me curiously.

　　“Yeah, the police mentioned something about you, high-tech crime, hallucination agents—none of it made sense to us. Why don’t you tell us about it, Xia Ning?” Yumeng’s mom was just as curious.

　　I glanced at Yumeng, surprised to see that she was curious too.

　　Maybe it wasn’t a big deal to them, but for me, it was a terrifying experience. After all, not all the questions had been answered.

　　A mix of emotions welled up inside me, and I didn’t speak for a moment. But I quickly gathered myself. Even though I didn’t want to bring it up, I couldn’t avoid recalling those horrifying memories…

　　I forced a smile and said, “I found Yumeng in the middle of a hallucination.”

　　"In a hallucination?" Yumeng's mom and dad exclaimed in surprise.

　　“The hallucination was built from the haunted house owner’s memories. I found Yumeng’s location within that hallucination, and that’s how we knew where to find her in reality,” I explained, maintaining a polite smile.

　　“Dad, Mom, let’s finish eating. Please stop asking Xia Ning questions…” Yumeng noticed my mood slipping and gently intervened.

　　“Ah… haha, yes, let’s eat before it gets cold,” Yumeng’s dad quickly caught on and laughed.

　　Yumeng’s mom placed another piece of pork rib in my bowl and said with a smile, “Eat more, have some meat. You probably don’t weigh as much as our Yumeng.”

　　“Mom…” Yumeng muttered softly.

　　I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

　　As if by reflex, all four of us started laughing together.

　　But as we were laughing, my laughter began to fade because something on the TV caught my attention.

　　“Behind me is H City’s First Psychiatric Hospital. As you can see, the hospital is engulfed in flames. Three fire trucks are currently working hard to control the blaze…”