Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 203: Chapter 172: Confusion

"Why can’t you do anything right?" Yang Xiao said, but his body was honest as he walked toward the changing room; he wanted to see what kind of trick Xia Xiuyan could pull.

As he passed by the window, he glanced outside inadvertently, the sun had set, the sky was at that moment between light and dark, like it was shrouded in a net woven of black velvet.

The night was about to fall, and this was the most critical opportunity; he had to find a way to pry open Xia Xiuyan’s mouth to uncover the truth behind Teacher Wang’s death. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"Have you arrived? Please, hurry up," Xia Xiuyan urged.

"I get it, what’s the rush," Yang Xiao retorted as he diverted his gaze, the vague surroundings outside the window made him feel surreal and added an eerie tint to the night’s shoot.

For some reason, standing outside the changing room, separated from Xia Xiuyan by just a curtain, Yang Xiao felt somewhat anxious.

"Could it be because of the difference between men and women, that my moral code doesn’t allow me to do such a thing?"

Yang Xiao dismissed that possibility right away; after all, he knew what kind of person Xia Xiuyan was, and he couldn’t possibly have a good impression of someone capable of such disgusting behavior as fabricating rumors and slander.

Looking around, Yang Xiao felt increasingly that something was off; even though there was clearly nothing around, and he could see everything clearly... but he felt an inexplicable unease, as if he had overlooked something.

"Mr. Yang, come in," Xia Xiuyan called from the changing room with a seductive voice.

Just as Yang Xiao reached out to lift the curtain in an instant, his movement halted, and the next second, it was as if lightning struck in his mind.

"Mr. Yang!!"

"How... how does she know my surname is Yang?!"

In this mission, Yang Xiao was using the alias Chu Xi, even Song Yan, who was staying in the same room, didn’t know his real name.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became, his arm, suspended in mid-air, began to tremble slightly.

He remembered now, just a moment ago, when he first spoke, the Xia Xiuyan inside had called out his real name, Yang Xiao.

As the first flaw was uncovered, Yang Xiao quickly located the source of that strange feeling in his heart; the sky outside was semi-dark, yet he could still see everything clearly inside the room—even though the lights were not on!

So... the Xia Xiuyan inside the changing room was fake! She was a ghost!!

Yang Xiao didn’t doubt for a moment that if he had given into temptation and lifted the curtain just now, he would already be dead.

The "Xia Xiuyan" in the changing room seemed to realize she had exposed herself, so she stopped talking; a person and a ghost, separated by a thin curtain, the room fell into an eerie silence.

Yang Xiao could have left immediately, based on past experience that would have meant he wouldn’t die.

But Yang Xiao made a decision against common sense; he didn’t leave but slowly crouched down, leaning forward, peering through the gap between the bottom of the curtain and the floor, inching his view inside.

Honestly, it wasn’t a wise choice; if anything unexpected happened, it would be extremely difficult to escape from that position.

But Yang Xiao had his reasons for doing so, something he needed to confirm—it was extremely important.

The next second, his pupils constricted sharply; he saw a pair of black old-fashioned leather shoes just behind the curtain, their tips pointed right at him.

There was only the ghost, no sight of Xia Xiuyan’s feet; where had Xia Xiuyan gone?

Had she too been taken to the ghost classroom?

Yang Xiao knew this was not the time to think about these things, so he held his breath, making no unnecessary noises, and stood up again. He slowly backed away and then turned and ran towards the door.

He yanked the door open forcefully, rushed out, and collided with someone, "Ah!" Xia Xiuyan, whom he had bumped into, still instinctively clutched her chest.

Coming to his senses, Yang Xiao was bewildered to find himself actually in the dressing room, and the door handle he was holding had turned into a curtain. Due to the force he had used, he had even torn down the curtain.

"What... what are you doing?!" Xia Xiuyan, scarcely clothed, clutched the clothes she had taken off tightly to her chest, staring at Yang Xiao with a face full of terror.

Yang Xiao couldn’t help but look back, but the scene behind him had changed; the sky outside the window wasn’t as dark as before, and the room was dimly visible.

In the spot he had just run from stood a large dressing mirror.

"Chu Xi, don’t have any improper thoughts about me. We are just acting here!" Xia Xiuyan warned him.

Yang Xiao had also realized by now and apologized to Xia Xiuyan with a smile, "Don’t misunderstand, I just wanted to gauge your most authentic reaction. You know, our scene will include some of that kind of content, and I hope you can remember this moment to perform more realistically."

"That is my business, not yours to manage!" Xia Xiuyan said angrily, pushing Yang Xiao out and then hanging the curtain used for privacy back up.

Xia Xiuyan was visibly scared by Yang Xiao, muttering under her breath as she changed her clothes. When Yang Xiao moved closer, he heard her cursing about some lunatic who talked to himself in the mirror and posed like a narcissist.

Putting together what Xia Xiuyan said and his own experiences, Yang Xiao roughly figured out what had happened.

He had previously found himself in an incomprehensible environment. What he saw as the dressing room was not a dressing room but a mirror, and the actual dressing room was behind the door.

The ghost was hiding in the mirror.

As soon as Xia Xiuyan finished changing, Yang Xiao immediately left with her. He could have left earlier, but he was concerned about her safety; after all, she couldn’t die before they understood the truth.

Perhaps not wanting to complicate matters, Xia Xiuyan didn’t mention the unexpected attack by Yang Xiao when she went out, which spared him a lot of trouble.

Xia Xiuyan’s photo shoot was complex; she changed into many different poses and styles, unsatisfied with each one. Yang Xiao passed the makeup test in one go.

While waiting for her, Yang Xiao found a quiet corner to sit down in. He dared not stray far from the crowd, feeling safe only among the living.

Things were getting strange, and Yang Xiao couldn’t understand why the ghost had attacked him.

Previously, he had wondered if the ghost was a diversion or if it was not Teacher Wang but rather those trapped by Teacher Wang in the haunted classroom. But after seeing those familiar black shoes, all his speculations collapsed, it was undoubtedly Teacher Wang.

But... why?

Why didn’t Teacher Wang go after Sun Shengnan, the one who caused his death?

Even stepping back, why hadn’t the ghost attacked Xia Xiuyan when they were together, instead choosing him?

Could it be that in the eyes of the ghost, he was even more detestable than those two?

Yang Xiao’s head was a mess; he knew something was wrong but couldn’t identify the problem.

His biggest concern was not the present but the scene he had to shoot tonight.

As Yang Xiao was desperately pondering a solution, suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked across the window outside.

Accompanied by the rumbling of thunder, a long-awaited nighttime downpour began to pour down vigorously.