"Find the person who placed it. Only they can undo it."

"Find the person who placed it?" I sat down next to my sister, sinking into thought. Easier said than done. From May 26th until today—the longest stretch of days I can recall in my life—I’ve only seen these two brothers five or six times total. Yet, time and again, they’ve intruded upon my sister’s and my life. We are clearly living in a modern, civilized society, yet we cannot grasp our own fate, perpetually haunted by two unknown entities. How much do I truly know about them? How could I possibly find the one who cast the spell? Even if this Li Xiaoshu knows how to find them, can I trust him? But looking at my sister in her current state, if I don't trust him, what choice do I have left?

"I don't know how to trust you," I said plainly, looking directly into his eyes. "We don't want to be used by others anymore; we just want to return to a normal life."

He sighed, settling onto the windowsill. "I know it's hard for you to accept reality. For the situation we're in now, I can only offer my deepest apologies..."

As he was speaking, the door was pushed open. We both turned our gazes toward the entrance, where a person stood holding a basket of fruit, waving at us.

"Officer He, what brings you here?" I asked, surprised.

"Can't I come visit your sister?" he asked with a cheerful expression. Like an icebreaker ship, he instantly thawed the rigid atmosphere in the room. "The last time the school insisted on expelling you, your sister cried buckets. I had to ask the Director to intervene with the school to save your enrollment status."

Heh. That was quite the artful phrasing. It sounded like he saved my enrollment, but the real emphasis was on "your sister cried buckets." My sister truly has some magnetic quality; even confined to a sickbed, she’s attracting admirers!

I took the fruit basket from his hands, managing a smile. "Thank you for going so far out of your way to visit my sister."

"Just passing by, passing by," he chuckled. "And Xiao Shu, why are you here too?"

"Oh, I'm just passing by as well."

"Oh, right. Xiaoyu will be at the station this afternoon to assist with the investigation. You should be able to pick up the photo albums in the next couple of days."

"Thank you, Officer He. I'll come by to get them as soon as possible."

"No trouble at all. There is one thing that’s been bothering me, and I don’t know if I should ask while you two are both here."

I glanced at Li Xiaoshu, who frowned and said nothing. So, I charged forward, answering bravely, "Please, ask."

"That afternoon, Li Xiaoshu was doing an exchange program in Germany. How is it that you ended up at his house? Did you two know each other beforehand?"

Ugh. That was probably the question we were least willing to answer. From Li Xiaoshu’s perspective, he and Li Xiaohao shared secrets incomprehensible to normal people. From mine, nobody wants to believe the ravings about demons and ghosts spoken by someone who was just committed to a psychiatric hospital, and I certainly didn't want to press for "truths" that might land me right back there.

Officer He's question hung in the air, and both Li Xiaoshu and I fell silent. The room was still; you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, Li Xiaoshu spoke up. "Yes, we are good friends. I received a batch of new stamps at my place, and Xiaoyu wanted to see them first, so she went over alone. I never expected an accident to happen."

His words completely blindsided me. One second ago, he was a stranger I’d met perhaps three times, someone I had every reason to hate down to my bones; the next second, we were best friends!

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