Chapter 14: Youdo

March 24, 2024, afternoon, Ting’an City.

The back room of the convenience store was larger than Xueqiu had expected.

It was about the size of a classroom, with lights always on and a spotless floor.

Rows of iron chairs neatly filled most of the space.

If not for one wall entirely covered in mirrors, it could’ve passed for a private hospital’s waiting room.

As soon as Xueqiu entered, the mirror wall drew her attention, causing her hand on the suitcase to pause.

In the reflection, her snow-white hair was hidden under the hoodie, but her jade-pale face and ice-blue eyes peeked through.

Maybe I should’ve worn a mask and sunglasses, she thought.

“We’re here, Xueqiu,” Xia Yin said, exhaling in relief.

“Here?” Xueqiu blinked, confused.

If he meant they’d reached the school, she’d think he was cracking a joke fifteen years out of date.

The room didn’t look like a typical convenience store backroom, but it was even less like a school entrance.

“Yup, this is the school gate. Ting’an University Spiritual Academy, North Gate. Pretty cool, right? Kinda like in Ryuki,” Xia Yin said.

Noticing her confusion, he gave her a dead-fish-eyed glance, then strolled to the mirror wall and placed his hand on it.

Five seconds later, Xueqiu watched his hand sink into the mirror, as if the wall wasn’t made of countless mirrors but a holographic illusion.

“Wanna try? It’ll clear your doubts. From seeing Shadow Ghosts till now, you’ve got hundreds of questions, if not thousands. I was the same. You need someone to explain it all,” Xia Yin said.

Without hesitation, Xueqiu stepped forward and touched the mirror.

It was cold, but nothing else happened.

“Huh?” she mumbled, puzzled.

“Uh… hold on,” Xia Yin said.

He froze for half a second, then cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted at the mirror.

“Hey, hello? Moshi moshi? Chang Yi? Can you hear me, Chang Yi? I know you’re in there! What’s going on? Did the school get hacked? It’s been a week, and you haven’t even set up a freshman’s file?”

Xueqiu watched Xia Yin rant at the mirror wall, feeling more baffled by this boy.

Just as she wondered if this was all a dream, the wall responded.

“Xueqiu, male, born March 16, 2006. Original file deleted, generating new file…” A soft, youthful female voice came from the other side.

“Don’t panic, just a glitch with this dumb AI. It’ll be fixed soon,” Xia Yin reassured her.

The moment his words landed, Xueqiu’s hand on the mirror sank into it.

She felt nothing, as if the mirror wall didn’t exist.

“Alright, let’s go,” Xia Yin said, grabbing her and pulling her toward the wall.

Xueqiu instinctively closed her eyes, bracing for a cold, hard impact.

But the next second, there was… nothing.

Opening her eyes, she saw an open field.

At its end was a lawn, and beyond that, a massive building labeled “Library.”

Around it, a dozen teaching buildings stood in orderly rows.

Behind the mirror was a school!

The sight overwhelmed the hesitant girl, surpassing even the surreal highway encounter.

A school hidden in a convenience store?

Xueqiu froze, but she quickly noticed something off.

The ground seemed normal—a fountain even sprayed in the lawn’s center—but the sky was wrong.

It was pitch-black, cloudless, starless, with only a moon.

For some reason, it reminded her of the eerie highway scene.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t the real world. And no, you’re not dreaming,” Xia Yin said, patting her shoulder twice before stepping in front of her.

“This is the school itself, a space separate from reality. You can call it ‘Youdu.’”

Youdu?

Xueqiu recalled Xia Yin’s words in the van.

When they’d entered that strange space, he’d mentioned “Youdu.”

“Is Youdu another dimension?” she asked.

“Dimension? You sure you know what that means? Anyway… just think of that wall as a magic door. Open it, enter the school. Simple as that,” Xia Yin said, yawning.

“That was the North Gate,” Xueqiu said, remembering his words to Carlos.

“Yup, there’s four more like it. What, wanna check ‘em out? No way. Look, it’s dark already. I wouldn’t take you even if you asked. Plus, you’ve gotta report to the old man tomorrow.”

Xia Yin pursed his lips, taking the suitcase handle from her.

“Report…” Xueqiu murmured.

This place matched Xia Yin’s “real world” description—at least to her eyes.

Streetlights glowed, and a few students passed in groups.

Xia Yin even waved at one.

“Where are we going now?” Xueqiu asked after five minutes of walking along the campus path, finally shaking off her attempt to spot differences from reality.

“Where else? The dorms, obviously. Don’t expect a KTV or internet café here. Not that you seem the type anyway.”

Xia Yin stopped abruptly, and Xueqiu, unprepared, bumped into his backpack.

“Where’s the dorm?” she asked.

This time, the boy seemed stumped.

Xia Yin was silent for a few seconds, then let out a long breath, like he’d made a decision.

“Originally, the plan was for us to share a dorm, so I could help you settle in as a freshman. But with you… like this, it’s not exactly appropriate.”

“Blame Chang Yi for acting up these past few days. Something’s off with it. The registrar’s even sent a few people to investigate… But no worries, we’ll see Professor Chen tomorrow. For now, come back with me.”

“Chang Yi?” Xueqiu recalled hearing Xia Yin shout the name before entering.

“You probably don’t know yet, but that’s our school’s AI. Just treat it like it’s not there. Regular students don’t get access to it anyway.”

Xia Yin led the way.

Xueqiu wondered if there was more to his words.

Her thoughts drifted to what he’d said earlier.

She was supposed to share a dorm with him.

Given her gender, that meant the school hadn’t expected her to end up like this.

But…

Xia Yin and Carlos’s reactions suggested they knew she’d change, showing no real surprise.

No, Xia Yin had been a bit shocked.

She recalled that night—his gaze, like he was staring at a corpse.

Even as they rode the dorm elevator, Xueqiu couldn’t piece it together.