Don’t ever look directly into that full-length mirror in your rental.

The Unwanted Guest

Xiao Yu is a college student who recently moved into an old apartment. Everything about the place was great—except for the rent, which was unbelievably cheap—and there was a huge, built-in full-length mirror on the living room wall, polished until it was spotless.

Everything went smoothly during his first week there. That is, until one late night when Xiao Yu stayed up until 2 a.m. working on a report. He yawned and was about to head to the kitchen for a glass of water. As he passed through the living room, he caught a glimpse of the full-length mirror out of the corner of his eye.

The living room in the mirror was dim, with only the faint blue glow of his laptop screen behind him.

But strangely, the “him” in the mirror wasn’t walking toward the kitchen; instead, he was sitting upright at the desk, with his back to him.

Xiao Yu stopped abruptly and rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the image in the mirror had returned to normal; the figure in the reflection was staring out the window with a look of terror on his face. Xiao Yu gave a self-deprecating chuckle: “I must be losing my mind from staying up all night.”

Late the Next Night

The following evening, Xiao Yu paid special attention to that mirror. This time, he was certain he hadn’t imagined it.

As he stood before the mirror, the “Xiao Yu” inside was smiling at him. It was an unnatural smile, with the corners of his mouth stretched almost to his ears, his eyes hollow and cold. Even more terrifying was the fact that a figure had appeared in the background of the room reflected in the mirror.

It was a woman with disheveled hair, wearing a long white dress, standing quietly by the bed of the “Xiao Yu” in the mirror, her head bowed as she stared at “him.”

Xiao Yu trembled all over with fear and immediately turned to look at his own bed—there was nothing there. Only an empty bed and a messy pile of blankets.

When he looked back at the mirror, the woman had taken a step forward, drawing closer to the “Xiao Yu” in the reflection.

“There’s something wrong with this mirror!” alarm bells rang in Xiao Yu’s mind.

Early the next morning, he called the landlord and demanded that the mirror be removed or taken away. The landlord’s face darkened. He mumbled that it was part of a load-bearing wall and that removing it would compromise the structure, then hurried away.

Day Three: The Inescapable Reflection

Xiao Yu decided not to look at the mirror anymore. He used a huge black trash bag and duct tape to seal the entire mirror tightly.

At 2 a.m. that night, Xiao Yu was jolted awake by a sharp, scratching sound: “Rustle—rustle—.”

The sound cut through the silence of the night with startling clarity, as if someone were clawing at the plastic bag with their fingernails. Xiao Yu curled up under the covers, not daring to breathe. Suddenly, the sound stopped, replaced by a crisp cracking noise.

Snap.

Xiao Yu trembled as he stepped out of the bedroom; the living room light had gone out at some point. By the moonlight, he saw that the black trash bag, which had been sealed shut, now had a huge tear running down the middle from the inside out.

Unable to look away, he glanced at the mirror.

In the mirror, the woman in white had already placed her hand on the shoulder of the Xiao Yu inside the reflection. And the Xiao Yu in the mirror was now frantically pounding on the glass with a look of utter despair, as if pleading for help from the Xiao Yu on the outside. His lips moved, screaming desperately:

“Run! She’s coming out!”

Xiao Yu on the outside was terrified out of his wits. He turned and rushed toward the front door. He frantically turned the doorknob, but the door was as if welded shut—it wouldn’t budge an inch.

Just then, he heard the sound of water droplets hitting the floor behind him.

Drip. Drip.

Xiao Yu stiffly turned his head. He saw a pale, damp hand that had already pierced through the ripples on the mirror’s surface, gripping the wooden frame around the edge. A head with loose black hair was slowly peering out from the other side of the mirror…

Epilogue

The next day, unable to reach Xiao Yu, the landlord came by with a spare key to open the door.

The room was tidy, and all of Xiao Yu’s belongings were still there, but he was nowhere to be found. The landlord sighed and shook his head in exasperation: “Young people these days—why did he move out without a word again?”

The landlord walked into the living room, looked at the full-length mirror—intact and gleaming as new—smiled with satisfaction, and turned to leave the apartment.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell upon the mirror’s surface. In the reflection, besides the empty living room, there was now a young man.

He was being held tightly from behind by a woman in white. His hands lay limp against the mirror, his mouth wide open, yet he couldn’t make a sound…

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)