​​Chapter 187: Filial Piety

​The sink in the bathroom was surrounded by black mold stains, and a box beside it held three sets of cheap, hotel-quality toothbrushes.

Li Zhi quickly washed up. The mirror above the sink was completely covered by Li Feng’s jacket, not even a sliver of the frame exposed. She dried her hands, reached out to close the bathroom door, and prepared to use the toilet.

As the peeling wooden door slowly swung shut, it revealed an old-fashioned, round plastic wall mirror hanging on the back.

The door faced the toilet, and in that round mirror, Li Zhi saw her own reflection—and the black-clad woman with disheveled hair standing just a few steps behind her.

She stood beside the grimy bathtub, her head slightly lowered, her arms hanging limply at her sides like boneless limbs. Though her face was obscured by her hair, a venomous gaze pierced through.

In the blink of an eye, the ghostly woman, who had been by the bathtub, appeared right behind Li Zhi’s shoulder.

Pale fingers—previously crushed by the door—slowly rose and rested on Li Zhi’s shoulder. Sharp, elongated nails hooked onto her jacket, as if they were about to seize her neck and plunge into her artery.

Li Zhi tilted her head slightly, glancing at her right shoulder.

There was nothing there.

She averted her gaze, finished her business unfazed, and walked out of the bathroom without a change in expression.

Lu Caiwei, who had been stretching on the bed, sat up when she saw her. "My turn!"

Li Zhi pressed her back down. "Wait a bit."

"What’s wrong?" Lu Caiwei blinked, then quickly caught on. "No way? Didn’t we cover all the mirrors?"

She even glanced toward the window—the curtains were tightly drawn.

Li Zhi sat on the edge of the bed. "There’s another mirror on the back of the bathroom door."

Lu Caiwei smacked her forehead. "What kind of hotel puts a mirror on the back of the bathroom door?!"

Thank goodness it was Li Zhi who noticed. If it had been her, she might’ve fallen for it.

Li Feng, who had already settled into his makeshift bed on the floor, stood up, grabbed the bed runner he’d previously laid out, and walked into the bathroom. The old wall mirror had a red plastic frame and a "blooming flowers under the moon" pattern on the back.

As he removed the mirror, the female ghost flashed behind Li Feng again. Unfortunately for her, Li Feng didn’t so much as glance her way. He swiftly wrapped the mirror in the bed runner, stuffed it into the cabinet under the sink, and walked out, announcing to Lu Caiwei, "All clear."

Lu Caiwei, overwhelmed by this display of security, clasped her hands to her chest. "Thanks, Brother Feng."

Well, now that she’d decided to become Li Zhi’s sister-in-law, her address had instantly changed.

But Li Feng, a lifelong bachelor, didn’t seem to notice the subtle shift. He nodded impassively and lay back down.

Li Zhi leaned against the headboard, watching this scene with amusement. Once Lu Caiwei went in, she leaned down and whispered, "Bro, what do you think of Caiwei?"

Li Feng looked up at her. "In what sense?"

Li Zhi grinned. "As your future wife."

Li Feng: "…" He gave his eager little sister a resigned look. "Until the mission is complete, I’m not considering personal matters."

Now that she thought about it, her eldest brother had never shown interest in anyone, male or female, since childhood. As soon as he came of age, he’d dedicated himself to the country. After their father passed, he poured all his energy into their mother and sisters.

Back then, Li Shuang and she had hoped their brother would one day bring home a sister-in-law as a surprise. But now, at thirty, successful in his career, Li Feng had never mentioned settling down.

Sometimes, Li Zhi felt Li Feng carried too many responsibilities that weren’t his to bear.

First, he waited for their mother to retire. Then, he waited for Li Zhi to find a job. After that, he waited for Li Shuang to graduate. He always put his own life on hold for others. And now? He was waiting for the mission to be completed.

Li Zhi couldn’t help but sigh.

Li Feng, arms behind his head, chuckled at his sister’s suddenly world-weary expression. "What, now that you’re in a relationship, you want your big brother to find one too?"

"Not exactly." Li Zhi rested her chin on her hands. It had been a long time since they’d chatted like this, ever since the system’s sudden invasion. "You say you’ll wait until the mission’s over, but by then, the country will be in a phase of rebuilding and recovery. You’ll just get another mission then."

Li Zhi knew her brother too well. "I just think you could occasionally put yourself first."

Li Feng was silent for a long moment. Only when they heard Lu Caiwei finish washing up and step out did he finally speak. "Got it."

He didn’t say it dismissively, but Li Zhi knew—he was just saying it to reassure her.

He would still do things his way.

She’d said it before: when it came to stubbornness, she was truly a child of the Li family.

Lu Caiwei hummed a tune as she walked over. "What’re you two talking about?"

Li Zhi turned to look at her. Under the light, her fresh-faced beauty was striking. She smiled. "You’re gorgeous without makeup."

Lu Caiwei’s eyes sparkled at the praise. "Thanks! You’re stunning too!"

Li Feng, eyes closed, let out a quiet laugh, clearly amused by the girls’ mutual admiration.

It was already late. Once Lu Caiwei got into bed, Li Zhi turned off the light. With the curtains drawn, the room was pitch black. None of them had the energy to chat further, and sleep came quickly.

Sometime later, all three were jolted awake by a piercing scream, followed by the crisp shattering of glass.

The sound came abruptly and faded just as fast. Lu Caiwei’s eyes widened in the dark. "Was that… Tianwen’s Shi Ziliang?"

Shi Ziliang was the cameraman’s assistant who’d glared at Li Zhi with malice during the day, only to be caught red-handed.

From the scream and the sound of breaking glass, it was clear Shi Ziliang had gotten up in the night, used the bathroom, and seen the female ghost in the mirror.

Li Zhi said, "The non-player characters probably don’t have Tianwen’s inside info. They don’t know the death condition." Otherwise, given Tianwen’s skills, they wouldn’t have left the mirror untouched, giving the ghost a chance to kill. She rolled over. "Go back to sleep."

Nothing else happened the rest of the night. When they woke at dawn, washed up, and went downstairs for breakfast, they were surprised to find Shi Ziliang still alive.

But one of his eyes was injured, bandaged up, leaving only the left one exposed—making him look even more sinister.

So Tianwen’s members really had some skills. Triggering the death condition and still surviving, though without healing items in the instance, Shi Ziliang’s injured eye would have to stay that way for now.

Apart from Tianwen’s five, the other players all knew the death condition and had removed their mirrors last night. No one had died, and the group’s morale at breakfast was visibly higher than when they’d gotten off the bus.

Now that they knew the death condition—avoid mirrors to survive—everyone felt much more at ease.

Breakfast was halfway done when the female lead, Ning Xue, finally made her grand entrance. Jiang Can followed as usual, laden with bags. After setting them down, she was immediately ordered to fetch food.

Xing Qingyue couldn’t help muttering, "This is too much! Even if she’s the female lead, she can’t treat people like this!"

Lu Caiwei chuckled, unfazed.

This kind of behavior was all too common in the entertainment industry. Compared to some divas, Ning Xue’s antics were almost tame.

Another player said, "Jiang Can just had bad luck getting stuck with this role."

Over at their table, Jiang Can had already fetched Ning Xue’s meal. Ning Xue ate while complaining to the director across from her—about the terrible hotel, the hard bed, the awful food. The director, patience of a saint, listened and placated her like she was some revered ancestor.

Well, what could you do? She’d brought funding to the project.

Mid-meal, the director suddenly took a call, his face changing instantly as he shot to his feet. "He’s already here?"

His voice was so loud the entire dining area turned to look. Still on the phone, the director hurried out. "Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’m on my way—where? The parking lot?"

Once the flustered director was gone, the others gossiped. "Who’s here? Must be someone important for the director to personally greet."

A junior assistant who’d been shadowing the director shared, "The film’s producer is here to check on the shooting progress."

Lu Caiwei sucked in a breath. "No wonder. The money man himself."

The minor actors buzzed with chatter:

"I thought Ning Xue was our production’s backer. There’s someone else?"

"Ning Xue joined with funding after the original female lead quit. This film’s been financed by the producer from the start. They’d already shot half when the lead walked, money spent but the project in shambles. The director agreed to let Ning Xue join with funding to fill the gap—otherwise, he’d have to answer to the producer."

The players eavesdropping had a collective "aha" moment.

So that’s how it was!

Only Li Zhi’s expression shifted slightly as she looked toward the entrance, where the director was ushering someone inside.

When the tall, long-legged figure stepped in, several players who recognized him choked on their food, then immediately turned to look at Li Zhi, who was resting her chin on her hand, smiling.

"Mr. Li, as you can see, our cast and crew are all here." The director beamed like a grinning Buddha, steering him toward Ning Xue’s table. "This is our new female lead. To be honest, compared to the previous—"

Mid-sentence, he watched in bewilderment as "Mr. Li" turned and walked in the opposite direction, taking a seat beside a minor actor with few scenes.

Li Zhi smiled at her dashingly arrived boyfriend. "This identity’s a bit of an upgrade, huh?"

Last time he was a security guard or a mascot—now he’s "Mr. Li"?

Teased by his girlfriend, Li Jianxi’s ears turned faintly pink, but he nodded earnestly. "This makes it easier to help you."

The way he said "help you" so matter-of-factly had viewers swooning:

[Our Xiao Li’s moving up in the world!]

[Straight to "Mr. Li"! A film producer! No more poor Xiao Li scraping by on pennies!]

[I order Mr. Li to immediately leverage his power to "audition" the Li-family actor for R-rated scenes!]

[Is no one noticing Big Bro’s face darker than a wok?!]

Whether others noticed or not, Li Jianxi certainly did.

After speaking to his girlfriend, he turned to Li Feng. The usual aloofness in his voice was replaced with genuine warmth. "Big Bro."

Li Feng gave him a once-over. After a long pause, he asked flatly, "Had breakfast yet?"