I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Li Yafei huddled on the bed, the blanket covering her head, her whole body trembling like a leaf.

The subdivided flat she lived in was only two square meters in size; once the door was closed, it was difficult to even turn around.

The cramped space was filled with the smell of cheap cosmetics and curry from boiled fish balls, a smell she had been craving since childhood.

But Li Yafei's makeup was all ruined by crying, and there were two black lines under her eyes, making her look ridiculous.

"Little sister, get up and eat."

There was a soft knock at the door, all around, the voice was that familiar, hoarse tone.

"I've made your favorite lotus seed and lily bulb sweet soup with rock sugar. Drink it while it's hot."

His voice was slow and leisurely, rambling on and on, exactly the same as before.

Li Yafei covered her mouth, tears of fear and uncertainty streaming down her face through her fingers.

Her full name is Li Yafei, but only her mother-in-law calls her Ximei.

Since her parents divorced, they each started new families and neither of them wanted to take care of her. She could only grow up with her mother-in-law in a subdivided flat in Mong Kok.

My mother-in-law was selling fish balls on the street, pushing a cart.

A bowl of fish balls has twelve pieces and costs ten dollars. She would take the fish balls that she couldn't sell back home to eat herself, which made her classmates call her "Fish Ball Girl," and Li Yafei felt ashamed.

"It's not safe for you to hang out with some unscrupulous boys. Your parents don't care about you, but grandma does."

Outside the door, my mother-in-law was still giving me detailed instructions; the sound of cloth shoes on the ground and the sound of pushing and pulling chairs—everything felt incredibly real.

But this is not her room.

It wasn't her mother-in-law outside the door either.

Li Yafei was trembling all over.

My mother-in-law was hit by a truck while crossing the road and died instantly.

The hospital kept pressing her for funeral expenses, but she couldn't afford it. Her mother-in-law's body was still frozen in the public mortuary, without any dignity.

She wanted to ask her parents for money, but they kept passing the buck and neither of them was willing to give her any.

Li Yafei even considered engaging in compensated dating.

But she didn't actually know what had happened.

Last night, she found a piece of gold paper money at the alley entrance. It looked quite valuable, so she casually stuffed it into her pocket.

Li Yafei went to find a local thug named Kai to borrow money, but he said lending her the money was no problem, but he needed to take a picture first.

Li Yafei didn't think it was a big deal. It was just the same old stuff anyway. She was so pretty, being photographed wouldn't make her lose much weight.

But who knew that after the camera was set up and Ah Kai had booked a room, before filming even started, she returned to the subdivided flat she had lived in for over ten years right after midnight.

Was it a dream?

Li Yafei was somewhat bewildered.

……

……

"Little sister? Are you feeling unwell?"

The knocking continued a few more times, the voice tinged with worry:

"Open the door so your mother-in-law can see? Do you have a fever?"

Li Yafei buried her face in her knees, afraid to make a sound or move, constantly trying to convince herself:

That's not my mother-in-law outside the door.

Absolutely not.

Her mother-in-law was already dead; she watched as she was wheeled into the morgue.

What's that outside the door?

She held her breath and strained her ears to listen to what was happening outside.

The footsteps lingered at the door, rustling softly, as if someone were peeking through the crack in the door.

After a long while, the person outside sighed softly:

"If you don't want to get up, just sleep for a while. There's a sweet soup on the table by the door. Remember to drink it when you get hungry."

"Mommy, don't open the door randomly, I'm going to sweep the trash."

The footsteps faded into the distance, then there was a click as the lock on the outer door closed gently.

Only after the sound faded into the distance did Li Yafei release her grip, panting heavily.

She didn't dare to go out immediately. She sat on the bed for a long time to calm down, her heart still pounding wildly, as if it was about to jump out of her throat.

Li Yafei looked down and around.

The room was small, with posters of celebrities on the walls, and some of their hair was curled at the corners.

There was a folding table crammed under the bunk bed, on which were scattered her cosmetics, lipstick, mascara, and half a box of unfinished fish balls.

Everything was laid out exactly like her room.

But for some reason, she felt that something was wrong.

She climbed out of bed and walked to the door, habitually reaching for the doorknob—but found nothing.

The doorknob is not on the left.

Li Yafei was stunned for a moment:

The room she had lived in for over ten years had a door that opened to the left, with the handle on the left side; she could find it even with her eyes closed.

Why is the door on the right?

A chill ran down her spine, and she turned sharply to look at the poster on the wall.

The celebrity's face is normally turned to the left.

She remembers clearly that when they were putting it up, she argued with her mother-in-law, saying that it should be put up straight, but her mother-in-law said that it would look better if it was against the wall on the left and facing the house.

But now, the person on the poster is facing to the right.

It's completely the opposite.

Li Yafei stumbled to the folding table and hurriedly picked up the lipstick from it.

She bought it with two months' worth of pocket money, and the logo was something she had drawn countless times in front of the mirror.

—Now that you're holding it, the logo is upside down.

The letters are all mirror images, crooked and twisted.

She then grabbed the mascara, powder compact, comb, mirror... everything was upside down.

Reversed left and right, mirror symmetrical.

This is not her room.

This is a mirror room that is exactly the same as her room, but completely flipped upside down.

Li Yafei's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.

She remembered hearing her mother-in-law tell ghost stories, saying that after people die, they go to the underworld, where everything is reversed and opposite to the living world.

So she died?

But she had only picked up a piece of paper money.

Li Yafei bit her arm, feeling the pain.

She leaned against the wall to stand up and carefully opened the door.

Outside is an even smaller living room, only three or four square meters, with a folding table, two plastic chairs, and a single wooden bed squeezed into the corner, covered with faded sheets. This is where my mother-in-law usually sleeps.

The kitchen was on the balcony, separated only by a curtain, from which a slight warmth emanated—exactly the same layout as her home.

However, it's all reversed.

My mother-in-law's bed used to be on the right, but now it's on the left.

The folding table, which was originally placed by the window, is now placed by the door.

The calendar hanging on the wall had all the numbers reversed, and even the dates were written upside down.

On the table was a blue and white porcelain bowl with upside-down patterns, filled with lotus seed and lily bulb sweet soup.

Li Yafei walked over, looked at the sweet soup, and her eyes couldn't help but redden again.

In the past, whenever she came home late, her mother-in-law would leave her a bowl of it, keeping it warm in the pot; it tasted sweet.

Suddenly she wasn't afraid anymore, and she turned and ran towards the door.

If this is the underworld, then the mother-in-law must really be the mother-in-law!

What's so great about living in the mortal world?

She had no money, no one loved her, no one at school respected her, and the boys who hung out with her only wanted to take advantage of her.

She couldn't even afford her mother-in-law's funeral expenses.

I'd rather die.

……

"Mother-in-law! Mother-in-law! Wait for me!"

Li Yafei opened the door, revealing a narrow, cramped, and dimly lit corridor.

Both sides are lined with doors to subdivided flats, one next to another, densely packed, like a man-made honeycomb.

The familiar structure of the past was now upside down in her eyes:

Clotheslines stretched along both sides of the stairwell, laden with clothes, dripping water.

The ground is always wet and always smells musty.

Everything is the opposite.

She usually turns left when she goes out and goes downstairs, but now the stairwell is on the right.

The little GG on the wall, the doorplate, and the fire hydrant are all mirror images.

It was as if the whole world had turned upside down.

……

"Mother-in-law? Where are you?"

Li Yafei leaned against the wall as she descended, tentatively trying to speak, tears welling in her eyes with anxiety:

"Don't leave me alone again."

Footsteps came from downstairs, hurried and accompanied by a few curses:

"What a shame! What is the limit of this time?"

"Kai, weren't we filming videos of young girls at the hotel?"

The two male voices sounded very familiar, but Li Yafei's expression changed.

They are Ah Kai and Ah Le, loan sharks.

What are they doing here?

Did the hotel explode and all three people die?

The footsteps grew closer and closer, turning directly up to the sixteenth floor.

Akai walked in front. He had dyed blond hair, wore ripped jeans, and had a scar on his face from a fight in the past.

Ah Le followed behind, a bit overweight with a protruding belly, panting heavily.

The two looked up and saw Li Yafei, their eyes lighting up.

"Little sister! You're really here!"

Ah Kai strode over and reached out to grab her. Li Yafei instinctively backed away, her tone a little sharp:

"What are you all doing here?"

"I don't know!"

Ah Kai spat, his face full of sullen resentment.

Yesterday, when Lok-jai and I were waiting for you at the alley entrance, we saw gold paper money falling from the sky, so we picked up two pieces.

When I woke up, I was still in the hotel, but it was all foggy. I went out for a few walks, but it was like being lost in a maze; I couldn't find my way out.

"I knew you lived here, so I came to find you and see if you knew what was going on."

Ah Le added, his eyes scanning her up and down, clearly with ill intentions:

"Perfect timing! Since we've run into you, let's go together. Let me make this clear first: you've already agreed, so you can't go back on your word!"

Li Yafei's heart skipped a beat.

They were also thinking about taking photos.

"I won't film."

Afraid of being overheard by her mother-in-law, she said coldly, "I will return the money to you. Just give me a few days."

"How many days?" Akai chuckled and took a step forward.

"Where do you get the money, Fishball Girl? If you're broke, just follow the rules. Taking a few photos won't kill you. You're so pretty, after the photos are taken, a bunch of losers might make you their goddess!"

"That's right," Ah Le chimed in, "Little sister, listen to me, we'll pay you after we're done filming, fifty thousand dollars, then you can bury your grandma, right?"

The two men, one on each side, cornered Li Yafei against the wall.

……

……

The stairwell was very narrow, leaving no room to retreat.

Only now did Li Yafei belatedly realize that she was afraid.

She must have been out of her mind to borrow money from them.

"I said I wouldn't film," she gritted her teeth. "I'll pay you back. If you keep pressuring me, I'll call the police!"

"Call the police?" Ah Kai asked calmly.

"Go ahead and report it if you dare. Let's see if the police believe you or me. Then the whole school will know that you, Fish Ball Girl Li Yafei, borrowed money from loan sharks to take nude photos. Let's see if you'll still have the face to continue studying then."

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed her arm: "Let's go! Don't be ungrateful!"

The man's palms were sticky and he was very strong, squeezing Li Yafei's arm until it hurt.

"Let go!"

Li Yafei struggled but couldn't break free. All the pent-up anger from the past few days surged to her throat, and she felt an urge to vomit it all out.

"I told you to let go!"

She suddenly raised her knee and thrust it upwards with force.

"Awooo—!"

Ah Kai, his face pale, let out a strange cry, clutching his groin and bending over: "You bitch! How dare you kick me!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Yafei pushed the two away and turned to run downstairs.

The plastic slippers slapped against the cement floor, making a long, echoing sound in the narrow stairwell.