Chapter 50

Lake of Love 5, Love is an Illusion

"Young woman A discovered the wonders of 'xiao shaozi' after accidentally ingesting it," Anger explained. "And the marvel lies in the fact that some hallucinations are patterned."

"Patterned how?" everyone wondered.

"Girl A previously despised and feared Xiaoshaozi," Anger continued. "It's said that after she consumed it, she saw her deceased husband coming to claim her life."

"To claim her life?" Mofei asked, puzzled.

Anger shrugged and said, "Her husband was killed by her."

Everyone frowned, having already sensed something odd about her husband's death... Indeed.

"You mean, her deepest fear became her fantasy?" Jiyi asked.

"Yes... so she avoided 'xiao shaozi' until one day... she met someone else by the river," Anger continued. "Hmm... reportedly a very, very handsome man."

Everyone frowned, instinctively glancing at Meng Qiang, but... if you said Liu Qin was very, very beautiful, everyone would accept it. But to say Meng Qiang, who was just relatively handsome... Moreover, according to the era of Anger's story, it didn’t quite match. Young woman A's time should be when that tourist spot was just beginning to be developed, before the legend of the 'Lake of Love' existed... so it should have been about two or three decades ago.

"Anger," Mofei seemed anxious, sitting next to Anger, urging, "Come on, tell us."

Anger nodded, continuing, "That man... he was there on a trip with his new wife... standing by the lake, admiring the beautiful scenery. The sight mesmerized young woman A, who was watching from a distance in the woods. She thought the man resembled her first love from her school days... strikingly so. But too much time had passed, and she could no longer be sure. Just then, the door of a lakeside cabin opened, and a young, beautiful woman came out. The man embraced her warmly, and they both gazed at the lake and mountains... a picture of perfect bliss. But for young woman A, it was as if her world had collapsed."

"Why?" Liu Qin asked, puzzled. "Was she jealous of their love?"

Anger pulled out another document from the file – an old newspaper clipping with a missing person notice for a fifteen-year-old girl. The notice was issued by a couple who had lost one of their twin daughters.

"Twins?" Jiyi, examining the paper, leaned in and asked Anger, "Can such an exaggerated thing really happen? Could young woman A have seen...?"

Anger nodded, "She saw herself... or to be precise, her identical twin sister, whose fate was entirely different from hers."

The group fell silent, then Liu Qin finally asked, "Her twin sister... was she really married to her former lover?"

Anger confirmed, "Yes."

"Wow..." Jiyi shook his head incredulously, asking Anger, "Who in the real world would believe such a plot that seems straight out of a romance novel? How could you possibly think of twins?"

Anger chuckled softly, "Jiyi, I'm an atheist, a staunch believer in science. I believe only in evidence. When all impossibilities are excluded, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"Anger," Mofei urged, "Keep going... Did young woman A take revenge?"

"Yes," Angler nodded, "She retaliated, using Xiao Shaozi for revenge."

"What did she do afterward?" the group asked.

"Well..." Anger continued, "She fed 'xiao shaozi' to the unsuspecting young couple... and then, using her familiarity with the terrain, emerged from the lake water, where the wife saw her... The sight terrified the woman, who asked her husband to check."

"No way..." Liu Qin instinctively leaned closer to Meng Qiang, asking, "How could that happen?"

"It's not so much scary as it is a fact," Anger stated.

Everyone looked at him, signaling for him to continue.

"When the husband went out to check, young woman A had already left," Anger went on. "However, her twin sister saw the 'water ghost,' who was young woman A. This realization brought out her long-buried guilt and fear. She started hallucinating and became unlike herself."

Everyone frowned in concern.

"Later, conflicts arose between the once-loving couple. Young woman A, in her own way, made the man realize... that something had possessed his beloved."

"Just like them," Mofei mused with a frown. "Just with a switch in gender."

"Finally... the couple was planning to leave Love Lake, but young woman A couldn’t leave. She had to act on the day before their departure."

Everyone furrowed their brows.

"That day, she laced their food with a large dose of 'xiao shaozi'... The man ate more and experienced severe hallucinations. The fear he had harbored about his lover for many days surfaced. His lover, feeling as if she were possessed by her deceased twin sister, reacted with panic. Subsequently, the man killed his lover in a confused state."

As Anger narrated, everyone deeply furrowed their brows in disbelief.

"After killing his lover, the man was extremely traumatized and eventually seemed to lose consciousness," Anger continued. "Meanwhile, young woman A cleaned up the scene, dressed her twin sister in her clothes, and disposed of the body in Love Lake."

"What about when the man woke up?" Mofei asked.

"He believed the woman in front of him was his original wife," Anger explained. "At least, that's what he thought... Later, they left Love Lake together. Young woman A had altered her appearance so much that she was almost indistinguishable from her original self. Her sister's body surfaced a few days later, and the villagers assumed... young woman A had committed suicide."

"Is that the end of the story?" Jiyi asked, disgusted. "Why is it still called Love Lake after such a horrific event?"

Anger handed over another photocopied document, saying, "Twenty years later, the man and woman returned to Love Lake. Over those two decades, he gradually discovered young woman A's true identity. In the end, young woman A confessed everything to the man, and they both walked into Love River... committing suicide together."

Anger paused, then added, "The story made the news because young woman A was diagnosed with cancer. The media, always imaginative, portrayed the husband as a hero who joined his terminally ill wife in a love pact... and that's how Love Lake got its name."

After hearing the story, everyone was somewhat speechless. It was Jiuyi who broke the silence first, asking, "Ange, how do you know all this in such detail?"

Ange then produced another document and handed it over, saying, "This is an English report published two months after their death. A foreign journalist visiting Love Lake found a diary left by girl A on the shore of Love Lake.

"It would take at least a month or two to get it translated," Jiuyi said. "And even if the locals knew about the report, they wouldn't make it widely known, because Love Lake has already gained a reputation... Countless lovers flock there, and business is booming."

"Exactly," Ange nodded.

"What about us, then?" Meng Qiang suddenly asked Ange, "We... I don't have a twin, and Qin Qin is an only child, too."

"Indeed, but..." Ange said, handing over the last document he was holding to Meng Qiang, "This is information about a kitchen staff member of the restaurant where you often dine by Love Lake. Take a look at the photo."

Meng Qiang took it and stared at the photo in astonishment. It looked very, very similar to him...

"People can look alike," Ange said. "He just has a completely different style of dress and manner from you. But if he were to dress in your clothes and adopt the demeanor of a gentleman from a distinguished family, he would look a lot like you."

"Then that night..." Liu Qin's eyes widened, "No wonder the look in his eyes was so terrifyingly murderous... I..."

"The reason you suddenly found him terrifying is mainly because he treated you harshly... and Meng Qiang has never been harsh to you. Illusions are often a product of our imagination, and imagination tends to conceal motives," Ange said nonchalantly. "It's not your fault. You ate quite a few chestnut fish pieces that day, didn't you?"

"Yes," Liu Qin suddenly remembered everything and burst into tears in Meng Qiang's arms. She had spent the entire night with a pervert, believing he was her real husband... How horrifying.

"And the person I saw?" Meng Qiang's eyes widened.

"No, you didn't see him," Xia Fan said. "According to my investigation, except for at night, he can't leave the restaurant during the day. So, the only time he really snuck into your house was that once. The person you usually saw was your hallucination, an effect of the drugs you took."

"Then... what about that person?" Liu Qin asked.

"I've already reported it to the local police," Xia Fan replied. "That man, just an ordinary cook, driven by financial hardship to that small village, earning a living through his skills. He sold herbal medicines and worked as a chef, so he knew quite a bit about the drugs. He learned the true story of Love Lake from an old local and decided to use the plan conceived by girl A. His goal was to kill Meng Qiang and take his place, then he would have a beautiful wife and a substantial family fortune."

"How... was he planning to kill me?" Meng Qiang looked around at everyone.

"Every time you ordered food, he would drug you and observe," Xia Fan explained. "But you were always so attentive to Liu Qin, so he couldn't find an opportunity until that day you planned to stay out all night. That was his chance."

"Right, he was the one who rang the doorbell that day," Liu Qin said. "I can't believe I didn't recognize him..."

"You can't blame yourself," Meng Qiang comforted Liu Qin, pulling her close. "It was the hallucinogens... Luckily, he didn't hurt you that day, otherwise..."

"It was just a trial run for him," Xia Fan said. "He had even prepared cyanide, planning to sneak in next time and hand it to Liu Qin to poison you with her own hands."

"How vicious," Meng Qiang said as he held Liu Qin tightly. "Qin Qin, it's a good thing you sought out a detective. Otherwise, our fate might have been worse than that of girl A and the others."

Liu Qin gratefully glanced at Jiuyi, who appeared quite pleased with himself. He turned to thank Ange and Mo Fei, but Ange remained impassive on the sofa, and Mo Fei frowned in thought.

In the following days, Liu Qin and Meng Qiang went to the hospital for check-ups and treatment, recovering quickly in just a few days. However, the aftereffects were severe. Meng Qiang hardly ever left Liu Qin's side, always keeping her close, while Liu Qin's condition was even worse. She couldn't even bear to touch chestnuts, her former favorite, and began learning to cook, avoiding restaurants altogether.

Jiuyi reported the current situation of Liu Qin and Meng Qiang to Ange and Mo Fei, saying, "Although they have recovered, there's still a long road ahead. Anyway, we owe you our thanks, or my childhood friends would have suffered a terrible fate."

Ange nodded and looked at Jiuyi, who had been camping out in the gallery for a week, "Aren't you planning to leave?"

Jiuyi smiled and glanced at Elyssa on his shoulder, "Elyssa, it seems we've been given the boot... We're not welcome here anymore."

Elyssa leaned against Jiuyi's neck, feigning heartbreak as if greatly affected by this.

"I'll move out today," Jiuyi told Ange and Mo Fei, "so as not to intrude on your world of two."

Ange and Mo Fei raised their eyebrows simultaneously, a look of 'this is great' in their eyes, which made Jiuyi feel a bit hurt.

"However, I won't move far," Jiuyi said, walking to the door and pointing at the wall next door. "I've bought the room behind this one. Xia Fan and I are going to open an art store together, and in a couple of days, the main entrance will open to this side. So... please look after us, neighbor."

"What?" Ange reacted with alarm. "How can that be?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Jiuyi continued, "Xia Fan and his older brother, Xia Qi, are inseparable. Plus, that house is quite large, so Xia Qi will also be moving in. This way, we'll at least have a doctor, right! Just the other day, Os told me his rent had skyrocketed, so I agreed to rent him a room at a discount. That fills up all three rooms on the second floor, leaving only the ground floor hall for displaying art pieces... which means, the four of us guys will be living right next door to you... Of course, feel free to have your R-rated moments without worrying about us."

Mo Fei and Ange were speechless. Jiuyi picked up his luggage, patted Ace's head, who he'd gotten along with quite well, and said, "Ace, come hang out at our place from now on." With that, he strolled off.

"So annoying!" Ange only let out his frustration after Jiuyi had left.

Mo Fei laughed, "It's not all bad, right? More people, more fun."

"Those four have no shame, always coming over for meals," Ange complained. "You'll be worn out."

Mo Fei shook his head with a smile, "Ange, cooking for one person and cooking for N people involves the same process, just more ingredients. The real issue is... I don't want to eat with so many people. I just want to eat with you."

Ange turned to look at him and after a long pause said, "Mo Fei, love is actually the most elusive thing there is."

Mo Fei gazed at An Ge'er for a long time before murmuring, "Sometimes, being elusive and mysterious isn't necessarily a bad thing."

An Ge'er smiled, and Mo Fei moved closer, asking softly, "May I kiss you now? I'm making a request."

An Ge'er looked up at him, gestured towards his cheek, but when Mo Fei leaned in to kiss, he found his lips instead.