Ailin's reaction didn't seem fake.
In fact, ever since Yu Sheng began interacting with this doll, he had never sensed any insincerity from her.
Every word and action of hers oozed a clear and genuine honesty, as if her head was solid inside—either her acting skills were incredibly high, or her head truly was solid.
Yu Sheng cautiously leaned toward the first possibility but felt more inclined toward the latter.
He described the appearance of the deceased doll and the massive "shadow monster" that seemed to have perished with it, only to be met with the same response: "I don’t know."
Furrowing his brow, Yu Sheng sank into deep thought.
Ailin, however, couldn't help but ask, "Hey, why did you suddenly come to me with all this? Didn't you go upstairs to sleep?"
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment but decided to share the changes he had noticed in that room with the doll before him.
This didn't involve any of his secrets and might even relate to Ailin herself, so speaking about it could help unravel the mystery.
"There's been an issue with that room upstairs..."
He recounted everything he had seen when he went upstairs, and for once, Ailin listened without interruption.
Her eyes widened as she heard him speak, and when he finished, she stared blankly for a long moment, finally exclaiming, "Wow—" Yu Sheng felt disheartened, realizing that even telling her wouldn't solve the riddle.
"It seems like you don’t know what's going on either," Yu Sheng sighed.
"You definitely haven't seen that mirror, right?"
"I haven't seen it, don't know," Ailin nodded earnestly, then added, "But I think your house is getting stranger and stranger."
"I don’t need you to tell me that; I feel the same," Yu Sheng replied with a sigh.
"Who knows where a door might lead? Rooms change their furnishings suddenly, and mirrors reflect scenes from who knows when and where. I used to think this place was pretty livable, sigh..."
Ailin stared at Yu Sheng's face with her crimson eyes and after hearing his ramblings hesitated a little before saying, "So... are you planning to move? Not living here anymore?"
For a moment, Yu Sheng fell silent, but he had indeed considered it.
After all, the occasional appearance of a haunted mirror, suspicious furniture that showed up out of nowhere, or weird electrical appliances sealed in paintings weren’t enough to scare him—he could treat it as adding some fun to his life.
But the possibility of opening a door and finding himself in an alien realm was a real hassle, something he couldn’t just overlook.
For Yu Sheng, it wasn’t life-threatening that he might end up somewhere else, but the fact that he might not be able to return made him genuinely think about finding a new place to live.
Seeing Yu Sheng remain silent, Ailin continued, “If you find a house you like, let me know. Work on getting me into their neighborhood; I can help you lower their prices…”
Yu Sheng blinked in surprise, “I was just joking back then... Do you really not mind that it insults the ancestor of dolls and your sisters?”
“I thought about it carefully, and what you said makes sense,” Ailin said seriously. “Plus, if I help you lower the prices, isn’t it reasonable to count this as a favor since I’m staying at your place?”
Yu Sheng suddenly realized that Ailin was worried he might move away and leave her behind.
But he didn’t mention it directly; he just shook his head, “Let’s not talk about that right now. I’m only considering it, but I haven’t decided to move—don’t worry, if I do move, I’ll take you with me; a painting doesn’t take up much space.”
“Oh, that’s fine!” Ailin cheered up immediately.
But soon, a hint of worry returned to her face. “Um… did the doll you saw in the mirror have its eyes closed?”
“…It seems not,” Yu Sheng thought back and answered, “Why do you ask?”
Ailin opened her mouth, looking a bit sad. “If a living doll gets damaged and its eyes close, that means its soul has returned to Alice’s garden, where we can be reborn. But if its eyes are still open… then it’s still ‘there’.”
Yu Sheng was taken aback, suddenly regretting his somewhat impulsive response.
He should have asked first.
“We don’t know what the mirror is reflecting,” he said softly after a moment of silence, “But since she appeared in the mirror, maybe it’s related to this house. Perhaps someday we will find her, but for now, let’s not think too much about it; you’re still stuck here.”
“Okay, that’s true,” Ailin sighed. “Sometimes sisters do lose contact after going out… It happens, hmm, it happens.”
Yu Sheng suddenly felt that this doll wasn’t as thoughtless as he had originally imagined.
He chatted with Ailin a bit longer before heading back upstairs.
He confirmed the condition of the room at the end of the corridor; it looked just as he had seen it before.
Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, he turned and entered his bedroom, drawing the curtains and lying on the bed.
Yu Sheng tossed and turned for quite a while, feeling both sleepy and tired, but his mind was a whirlwind of chaos, making it hard to fall asleep.
Thoughts of various events swirled around like turbulent streams in his mind—Ailin, the valley under the night sky, knowledge of alien realms, the fox girl who tried desperately to stay rational while running, and… his own resurrection.
He didn’t know how long he had been restless, but eventually, sleep began to take him.
He felt his consciousness slowly immersing in a gentle and obscure pool of water.
Even though he was asleep, those chaotic "streams" surrounded him, and through a layer of fog, he could see fragments of his own memories and thoughts.
He heard many indistinct voices echoing in his ears until his awareness hit the bottom of the “pool,” and the surroundings gradually fell silent.
In his dream, Yu Sheng wandered through a dim twilight, finding himself walking in a vast wilderness with a small hill in the distance.
He felt as if he had been circling that little hill for an eternity, without purpose, and unaware of who he was.
But then, something unusual caught his eye, halting his steps.
In the gloom, he saw a patch of bright color.
Instinctively, he walked toward the silvery light, and as he approached, he suddenly found himself directly in front of it.
There lay a stunning silver-furred fox—nearly two to three meters tall—calmly sleeping in the wilderness.
Beautiful, elegant, serene.
A gentle breeze blew from afar, swaying the slender wild grass and the silver fur of the fox, who showed no signs of waking, lying curled up, with many thick tails wrapped around her; some cuddled in her arms, others draping over her body like a blanket.
Yu Sheng stood astonished, watching this fox appear in his dream—he realized he was aware he was dreaming.
After hesitating for a moment, he took two steps closer and tentatively touched the massive fox's front paw. “... Hu Li, is that you?”
But the white fox remained asleep, showing no reactions to Yu Sheng’s touch or calls.
He tried several more times, even tugging at her tail, yet nothing could wake Hu Li.
It felt as though she was not only asleep but her senses were somehow blocked by something.
Yu Sheng frowned and took a small step back.
Why was this fox appearing in his dream? He acknowledged that before falling asleep, his mind had been racing with thoughts of Hu Li trapped in the alien realm, but the current situation certainly didn’t feel like ordinary “daydreaming.” He sensed that Hu Li was genuinely “right here.”
Amidst his contemplation, Yu Sheng's heart suddenly stirred.
He felt something and immediately looked down at his right hand.
A tiny bead of blood seeped from his fingertip, surrounded by faint teeth marks.
It was the same mark from when he had snatched back the chocolate from Hu Li, her instinct to protect her food had led her to bite him.
Yu Sheng stared at the scene and suddenly recalled how, in the valley, he had “seen” fragments of Hu Li’s memories and felt some of her thoughts.
“Is it because of the blood?”
He surmised that her appearance here might be related to her inadvertently “tasting” his blood.
But then another doubt popped into his mind—those frogs in the rain and the abstract flesh monster had also devoured his blood, why hadn’t they appeared here? The flesh monster had eaten several meals, much more than Hu Li had…
As Yu Sheng’s thoughts began to drift toward the bizarre, he abruptly felt something behind him.
Suddenly, he heard a soft, mocking laugh emanating from the bushes.
The sound seemed familiar.
Yu Sheng whipped around to see where the voice was coming from, and the next moment, he heard Ailin in the bushes exclaiming angrily, “I told you not to laugh! Can’t you hold back? Now look, you’ve been discovered…”
Yu Sheng stared blankly at the oil painting frame poked into the bushes, within which Ailin was cuddling a teddy bear and trying to feign innocence with a silly smile.
"I got bored watching TV, so I came to see you dreaming…”
(End of Chapter)