The woman nad Xia Ruolan stood up, nodded at Yan Junze, and apologized, "I'm sorry to interrupt your gathering. How about this, let treat this al..."
"No no no, why should you pay?" Gu Bai quickly said, "We are hosting our guests, we can't let you pick up the tab. Ruolan, don't talk like an outsider!"
Yan Junze had already figured it out and asked Xia Ruolan, "Did you... co here specifically for ?"
Xia Ruolan was sowhat embarrassed, and Lin ng took over, "I'm sorry, Ze, it was who called her over. My friend Ruolan has encountered sothing very strange and terrifying these past few days, and it's related to photographing. I only found out when she consulted . Since you were eting with us today, I impulsively invited her over. Would you be willing to listen?"
Lin ng's words were very tactful. Although she had forcefully brought Xia Ruolan over without obtaining Yan Junze's consent beforehand, Yan Junze wasn't soone who would make a fuss about it, plus the decision to help or not was still in his hands.
Taking advantage of the fact that the dishes had not yet been served, listening would not hurt.
"You may speak," said Yan Junze to Xia Ruolan.
Xiang Er was also curious, sitting on the side and staring unblinkingly at Xia Ruolan. In fact, she could very well not blink at all.
Gu Bai felt a little embarrassed, giving Lin ng a reproachful look, blaming her for not informing him in advance and not seeking his opinion before calling soone over.
If Yan Junze beca upset, that would be the sa as offending the exorcist of Shuntian City.
Lin ng did not know his thoughts, thinking that Gu Bai was just reproaching her for not respecting him. She stuck out her tongue at Gu Bai and pleaded with a regretful expression.
Seeing his wife's deanor, Gu Bai, as a doting husband, imdiately went from cloudy to sunny and nodded slightly to indicate acceptance.
Xia Ruolan did not speak imdiately but opened the mobile phone screen she had been looking at with Lin ng and handed it to Yan Junze.
"Master Yan, could you please look at this photo? It's a photo I took with so old classmates at a class reunion last week," said Xia Ruolan.
Yan Junze took the phone, his gaze falling on the photo displayed on the screen.
It was a group photo of five people. The background of the photo was the entrance to a farmhouse fun garden, with people seen moving inside, presumably the location of Xia Ruolan's reunion with her old classmates.
The five people were standing in front of a delicate wooden building, all girls, each smiling and looking at the cara. However, only one girl's head was slightly turned, showing half a profile to the cara, her face partly covered by her hair.
At a glance, the photo was obviously not posed well, as the girl's face seed to have turned just as the shutter was pressed, not fully captured.
"This girl is..." Yan Junze pointed at the girl with her face turned away.
"It's ," Xia Ruolan said, her voice revealing an inexplicable fear but also certainty, "When this photo was taken, all five of us girls were looking at the cara, with no one turning or tilting their heads. We took three photos in total, and I specifically chose this one because it looked the most natural, and then I deleted the other two."
"Are you saying you were looking at the cara when the photo was taken, but now in this photo... your head is in profile?" Yan Junze asked with a frown.
At these words, Gu Bai, who was sitting beside them, shuddered involuntarily, leaned over, and looked closely at the photo on the phone, feeling a chill rise in his heart.
Xia Ruolan seed unwilling to admit it, but the fact was undeniable, and she nodded, "Yes, I noticed sothing odd about this photo five days ago. I had intended to have it printed at the shop downstairs from my apartnt, but when I opened my phone, I noticed my head was a bit twisted."
"When I saw it, sothing felt wrong. I rember that when I was selecting the photo, I looked very closely and clearly, and my head was straight. But... now... it's turned."
As she spoke, Xia Ruolan herself shuddered, goosebumps forming on her arms, as if the person in the photo was no longer her.
"When you first discovered it, to what extent had the head turned?" Yan Junze asked.
"It had only turned a little, but my hair had fallen down and covered part of my cheek, which is why I noticed it right away," Xia Ruolan replied.
Yan Junze frowned, "You're saying the you in the photo, while turning your head, also had your hair fall down?"
"Yes, I'm certain," Xia Ruolan nodded.
She had short hair, with the ends originally framing the sides of her ears. Now she tilted her head and indeed two strands of hair slid down, covering part of her right cheek—exactly like in the photo.
But Xia Ruolan naturally tucked the strands of hair back behind her ears.
"Have there been any other discoveries when looking at the photo again?" asked Yan Junze.
Xia Ruolan replied, "There were discoveries, it kept turning, although only a bit each day. Look, now the in the photo is showing a profile to the cara, it's turned halfway."
At this, Xia Ruolan shivered again, trembling slightly, as if too frightened to continue speaking.
Yan Junze was silent for a mont before saying, "So you're saying, the you in the photo took five days to turn your head into this position?"
"Yes," Xia Ruolan's voice was tinged with a sob, "I don't know what to do. Is this... encountering strangeness?"
Yan Junze looked up and exchanged glances with Xiang Er, then turned to Xia Ruolan, "I can tell you responsibly, it is!"
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