In the foggy bathroom mirror, the reflection of a black-haired cat-girl stared back. Her blood-red pupils, even shrouded by steaming mist, emitted an eerie glow, as if foretelling that this cat-girl was an ominous presence.
I gazed at the expressionless version of myself in the mirror. The hallucination from a few days ago at the railway park with Gu Fan showed no signs of returning.
It made me wonder if I’d had a nightmare or slept poorly that day, causing that cat-girl—who looked exactly like me—to mock me relentlessly.
In the end, when Gu Fan opened his arms to embrace me, her icy face melted rapidly, letting out a silent roar of resentment.
That jealousy-filled emotion, carried through her scarlet eyes that seemed eager to kill and replace me, pierced my heart with a vividness that transcended the illusion.
At the time, with Gu Fan there, I didn’t dwell too much on whether the hallucination felt too real.
Compared to the crazed cat-girl in the vision, who seemed like a volatile landmine ready to explode, I cared more about the childhood friend standing before me, willingly offering me the initiative to hug.
Now, reflecting calmly, that gaze was truly terrifying…
Leaning forward, I pressed both hands on the sink for support. My warm, slightly flushed palms cooled rapidly against the cold marble surface, returning to their original pale hue.
The shower kept spraying steaming hot water, pounding my back. I was like a cat on high alert, pressing close to the mirror, locked in a stare-down with my reflection.
For some reason, a strange impulse hijacked my body, making me act so oddly.
Even though that other “me” seemed desperate to kill me and claim Gu Fan’s affection for herself, I still longed for her to appear again.
My intuition told me… the “her” in the hallucination, identical to me, was the Shen Zhinian from my nightmare a few days ago—the one who had lost everything.
I used to be an atheist, dismissing anything beyond science as nonsense. Such extraordinary things only existed in the virtual realm of the internet.
That was until I downed a few bottles of beer, fell into a drunken stupor, and woke up as a cat-girl, back on the bus where I first met Gu Fan at the start of high school.
Only then did I begin to realize that there might be forces beyond my imagination.
“If you can hear me, come out and face me again.”
I wanted to know—how was she betrayed? How had she and Gu Fan gotten along all these years?
Only by preparing thoroughly could I perfectly grasp Gu Fan’s psyche, making him willingly accept my “confession.”
Once I’d extracted every bit of useful information from her, I’d personally eliminate her.
Without Gu Fan’s love, she had no right to exist in this world. Failing to protect the man she loved, she was nothing but…
As the thought “a useless piece of trash” surfaced in my mind, the foggy mirror suddenly warped.
“Get out!!!”
A disheveled figure lunged at the mirror through the mist, her scarlet eyes piercing the sturdy glass.
My heart skipped a beat. I instinctively closed my eyes, my threatened body reflexively jerking back.
My cat tail shot up, brushing against the cold, damp-tiled wall behind me.
My cat ears curled tightly, and I cautiously opened my eyes, peering ahead. But the scene from moments ago seemed like an illusion—the wide bathroom mirror remained intact.
Unconvinced, I reached out and wiped the fog from the glass, revealing only my startled face and uneasy rose-red eyes.
“Was it really just a hallucination?”
My wet black hair clung to my body as I stepped back to the mirror, rubbing my cheeks.
The young cat-girl in the reflection pinched her soft cheeks, gently tugging and releasing, every movement perfectly mirrored without a single discrepancy.
I puffed out my cheeks, and the slightly flushed black-haired cat-girl in the mirror did the same.
Just as I was about to test more actions, the phone on the rack by the bathroom door vibrated—it was the alarm I’d set earlier.
Today was the day to report to school, and the first time I’d see Gu Fan again in days.
To snag a good seat closer to Gu Fan, I’d gotten up two hours early, meaning I’d only slept about five hours since midnight. I’d even taken extra care in the bathroom, lathering myself with body wash to leave a pleasant scent.
Realizing I couldn’t waste more time, I quickly grabbed the showerhead, bent down, and rinsed the lingering shampoo from my hair while smoothing it out.
Once done, I tied my hair up, letting it and my cat ears settle obediently under a towel for a bit.
Then I opened the small cabinet by the mirror, where the items I’d ordered online two days ago were stored……a few skincare products.
“Should I use them or not?”
I pursed my lips, hesitating. After a moment’s thought, I decided to present my absolute best self to Gu Fan on this crucial day.
No way would I let the clumsy cat-girl from the railway park a few days ago make another appearance!
I didn’t believe I was naturally stunning enough to maintain this barely passable youthful beauty forever.
Though cat-girls do have a longer “shelf life” than ordinary humans, I couldn’t help but think of the nightmare version of myself—that useless cat-girl who didn’t even bother with skincare.
In contrast, there was the heavily made-up “bad woman” Gu Fan had supposedly chosen in that dream.
At that thought, the towel wrapped around my head shook violently. My cat ears, sealed inside to absorb water, had sensed my fear and started twitching and trembling uncontrollably.
I quickly steadied the towel to keep it still, calmed my mind, and took out the new skincare products.
Grabbing my phone, I carefully reviewed the skincare routine I’d written down yesterday.
“Let’s see… I should start by washing my face with this, right?”
Muttering to myself, I began following my planned routine.
Ding-a-ling!
My phone blared again, but I quickly slapped it to silence the alarm.
“Six o’clock… a bit late.”
Pouting in dissatisfaction, I finished getting ready and walked to the full-length mirror in my bedroom, swaying side to side……swaying my body to inspect myself in the mirror.
“Hmm, not bad.”
Nodding with a bit of self-approval, I felt good after the skincare routine.
Though I couldn’t be sure if others would notice any obvious change, the placebo effect on my confidence was already maxed out.
More importantly, the first day of reporting to school didn’t require a uniform, so I could show up in front of Gu Fan with a more stylish outfit.
Patting my chest proudly, I spun half a circle in front of the full-length mirror, the knee-length skirt flaring out. Satisfied, I slung my backpack over my shoulder, slipped on my round-toed shoes, and hurried out the door.