“Continue.”
Su Wanli quietly used her privilege to advance a batch of points from the System, then used up three more points she’d carefully accumulated in order to exchange for the Observation Glasses she now wore on her face. After that, she picked up the real 3D Nightmare Limited Glasses and, aiming toward her left—toward Meng Huange handed them over.
Noticing Su Wanli’s small movement, Meng Huange turned her attention from the movie screen and smiled at Su Wanli.
“What’s up, Sister-in-law Tai?”
“Ah, these are a pair of Observation Glasses I bought a while ago. I’d been looking for them but never managed to find them. Who’d have thought I just happened to have them on me right now?”
Su Chunli, who had already rehearsed her lines in her mind, didn’t even blink as she fabricated her story right in front of Meng Huange, acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t I give you a pair? Let you experience something new as well.”
“Observation Glasses?”
“That’s right. They’re glasses that make you feel like you’re really inside the movie. Now that I’ve given them to you, you can just enjoy it in secret.”
Although Su Chunli’s words were rather unconvincing—no one would just carry two pairs of glasses for no reason—most people wouldn’t pay much attention to such details.
Besides, Su Wanli had already put a pair on herself, so it all looked perfectly natural.
Meng Huange didn’t seem suspicious at all. She just smiled softly at Su Chunli and accepted the glasses, putting them on in front of her.
“Alright, thank you, Miss Su.”
Su Chunli, whose plan had succeeded on the first try, nervously watched Meng Huange’s face after she put on the glasses.
One second, two seconds, five seconds, ten seconds…
Her expression didn’t seem to change much?
Wait, could it be she got the pairs mixed up? That she was the one wearing the prop from the Handbag Boss?
[Don’t worry, Host. The System would never make that kind of mistake. The Soul Confinement Limited Glasses are indeed the ones given out. Their effect is based on the original content of the movie, adjusted accordingly. It’s similar to hallucinations created by the wearer’s own mind, so it takes a bit of time to kick in.]
…So that’s it. In other words, Meng Huange will start seeing things in the movie as whatever she fears most deep down?
[Incorrect.]
Hearing the System’s response, Su Xiaoyu continued to pretend she was seriously watching the movie while keeping a close eye on Meng Huange’s face out of the corner of her eye.
Just as the System said, after a little while of wearing the glasses, Meng Huange’s brow started to furrow ever so slightly.
She let out a quiet sigh, then leaned back, pressing herself further into the seat, while her clenched hand made a faint rubbing sound.
By the light flickering from the movie screen, Su Wanli could see Meng Huange’s face turning even paler, her knuckles growing white.
So that’s it. When Meng Huange sees something familiar, she subconsciously endures it, suppressing her own emotions…
Tsk, that’s not a good habit at all. Suppressing for too long can be harmful, can’t it? She really should relax more—otherwise, when everything finally bursts out, it’ll only hurt her body.
Su Wanli curled her lips in a slight smile, already considering bringing Meng Huange to some Haunted Houses or Secret Rooms in the future to let her vent all these negative feelings. That’d be good for her future, too…
As she was lost in thought, a slight trembling pulled Su Wanli’s awareness back to her own body.
Looking at the cola in the cup holder between them, its surface continuously quivering, Su Wanli sighed and glanced at her companion.
Who knows what she was seeing now—Meng Huange had bitten down on her lip, her fingernails digging into her palm so hard they left marks, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
…Wait, something’s off about this, isn’t it?
She’d expected Meng Huange to see something shocking, like when she herself saw a ten-billion tax bill and instinctively wanted to scream. But right now, Meng Huange looked like she’d just been struck by some devastating blow, radiating a kind of…
A heavy sense of despair?
Oh no, what do I do? Wasn’t the effect supposed to be mild, something any normal person could handle? Why does Meng Huange look like she’s about to break down at any second!?
[Don’t worry, Host. No matter what, the Nightmare Demon Limited Glasses only bring out content from the subconscious and won’t truly harm the wearer’s spirit. At most, it’s a replay of past events. In this situation, it’s probably because the heroine has hidden her experiences so deeply and rarely recalls them, resulting in this outcome.]
Isn’t this just triggering someone’s PTSD? I thought these glasses would at most conjure some “Wang of Earth’s Dreamland is destroyed” kind of Prophecy of Doom!
The glasses’ effect seemed to be ongoing. Although Meng Huange’s expression didn’t get much worse, her entire aura had become heavy, and she still seemed to be murmuring some strange words.
Seeing her lips move slightly, Su Wanli instinctively leaned in closer to hear what Meng Huange was whispering.
Listening carefully, she realized Meng Huange was sobbing softly.
“…Why…”
So that’s how it is, that’s the kind of emotion at play.
The heroine, following the instruction of a mysterious phone call, arrives at an old, deserted house in the countryside. The movie uses clever perspective switches to build up anxiety, inserting twisted figures and piercing screams just as the audience begins to relax, in order to create jump scares.
Having reached her own conclusion about this kind of film, Meng Huange gently rubbed her chin, pondering the plot.
When the ghost first appeared, a flurry of vague images flashed through the heroine’s mind. With her keen observation, Meng Huange noticed a little girl and her elder in those memories—the scenes of them living in the old house in the past.
But when the story began, the heroine seemed to have no recollection of this place at all.
…So, she must have suffered some kind of Past Trauma, causing her to lose her memory.
Maybe there’ll be more shocking scenes later on, revealing that the heroine is actually the little girl in the mask, and the months spent in the old house with her elder are fragments of the past she’s subconsciously forgotten.
Letting her thoughts run with the film, Meng Huange relaxed a little, gently massaging her own temple.
This Movie Hall was huge, but there were very few viewers, making the air feel empty and cold. To help the audience immerse themselves, the Movie Theater had set the volume very high; every word the heroine spoke seemed to make one’s hair stand on end. No wonder Miss Su unconsciously curled up on the floor just now.
Still, even in such a state, she insists on experiencing it to the fullest? She’s truly a strong-willed person, as always.
Meng Huange smiled lightly, put on the pair of Observation Glasses from Su Wanli, and turned back to the screen.
Once again, the plot followed a familiar route: confronted by the ghostly figure, the heroine could only retreat into the corner of the hall. But in the flickering light, she noticed some peculiar details on the ghost. She froze in place.
She slowly raised her head, looking at the figure and the distorted face within.
“Mom…”
“…Mom…”
So that’s it. This is the twist.
Meng Huange let out a long breath, leaning back and letting her body sink into the chair.
The deeper the love, the deeper the hate—it’s always such a complicated feeling.
Even though only a third of the film had passed, she already felt she could guess the rest.
No matter that this daughter lost her memories and grew up as someone with no connection to the past, she would inevitably return to this old house, face her mother, and find closure, regardless of what her mother once did.
Love truly existed, and hatred would eventually fade away. In the end, the characters would make peace with their past.
Meng Huange sighed, tilting her head slightly, glancing at the Su family’s eldest daughter beside her—who looked as though she was watching the screen, but whose mind had clearly wandered far away.
If, one day, that could really happen, maybe she wouldn’t need to struggle with her own past anymore, and could just let herself be fully immersed in the present.
If that day really came…
As she gazed at Su Wanli’s profile, imagining what the future might hold, Meng Huange suddenly heard a familiar, icy female voice in her ear—
“…But Meng Huange, do you really think you can escape fate?”