"I'm very familiar with this portrait. I'm very familiar with every detail on it. I clearly remember that the woman didn't smile, but I clearly saw a smile on her face just now, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye. If you hadn't told me those things, I would have thought I was dazzled and the light from opening the door caused an illusion. But now with your experiences as a witness, I have to admit that I was not wrong." 

I became excited. "We should do something. I'm going to take a kitchen knife and chop the portrait into pieces; I'm going to burn the portrait to ashes; I'm going to cut the portrait into pieces with scissors; I'm going to smash it with a stick. Anyway, I will never allow it to hurt me again!" 

"Wait a minute, calm down first, don't be impulsive, always remember that this is real life, not Hollywood or Hong Kong ghost movies. In those bad movies, the director will arrange for the master of exorcism to appear at the right time to lend a hand to the protagonist. Even if we die inexplicably, no one will come to help us. We can only rely on ourselves." 

"Are you just going to let this thing go?" 

"No, I'm saying we should use our brains to understand this strange thing. To use the words of Mr. Shan Tianfang, we shouldn't fight a battle without confidence." 

"Wouldn't it be a complete solution to burn her and put an end to it all?" 

"That might not be the case. Who knows if the portrait itself doesn't exist as a restriction? What if burning the painting actually frees her?" 

"What do you think we should do?" 

"I'll give it a try before I can draw any conclusions." 

"How?" 

Xiaoguo didn't answer, heading straight for the office. I grabbed him. "Don't go." 

He smiled and pulled my hand away. "Don't worry, I know what's going on." He turned back at the door and said, "You'd better stay away from me. If anything happens to me, you can run away and save your life so you can help me get revenge." 

I admit I'm a bit timid, so I took a few steps back. Xiaoguo walked into the room nonchalantly and stood before the portrait, examining it carefully, as if he were verifying its authenticity. He meticulously examined every detail of the portrait. My heart was in my throat, and sweat was already breaking out on the tip of my nose. He even calmly touched the portrait up and down several times. His touch could bring a dead person to life, but the woman remained firmly attached to the portrait. Xiaoguo then turned and made a "It's safe, no problem" gesture to me. I was stunned. This guy was really brave. He walked out. 

"How is it?" I asked. 

He rubbed his hands together, indicating that progress was going smoothly. "I don't know if what I'm thinking is right, but I've got a rough idea. By the way, what time is it now?" 

"Six-thirty-five," I answered, staring at the quartz clock next to the painting. 

"Look, I've figured it out. The painting will change at six o'clock in the evening. That's a limit..." 

"Last time, it happened at five o'clock." 

"Last time, it was still dark early. If it gets dark later, maybe seven o'clock will be the starting time for the change, but I believe it won't change at six o'clock for the time being." 

"Secondly, each change refers to you alone. It wasn't even six o'clock when we opened the door just now, but she didn't do anything to harm you. Instead, she hid immediately. This means she's specifically targeting you. The presence of others will affect her control over you."

"Third, we were both safe last night, and as you just learned, she's in the office. That means you're safe either when this door is closed or when someone else is with you. There's absolutely no need to be terrified." 

"How could I not be? What if I forget to close the door someday and you're not here? Wouldn't that be the end of me?" I yelled. 

"All that was just speculation. Who knows if she'll change in the next few days? But you have to believe me, within these few days, I'm going to find a way to subdue her and never let her harm you." 

"How are you going to do that?" With life and death at stake, I couldn't help but ask. 

"Don't ask. Leave it to me. Come on, let's go eat. I'll treat you to some tofu pudding." 

"What's all this?" I asked, bewildered. 

Xiaoguo had been out all day, and even though he'd said nothing would happen to me in broad daylight, we were still restless. Finally, he returned. Instead, he brought back a huge pile of random things, filling up half the bed. He smiled smugly, as if he had accomplished something great. 

"These are called Buddhist beads. They were personally blessed by the 103-year-old abbot of Mahayana Temple..." 

"But that old monk has been dead for several years. I heard that the relics were burned out."