[Scene: Li Hua’s small apartment in Shanghai. Wei Ming flops onto the couch while Li Hua fusses over a cup of tea. A large, ornate mirror leans against the wall, covered by a pink bedsheet.]
Li Hua: (placing tea on the table) Ming, careful where you sit! You almost knocked over the mirror!
Wei Ming: (grinning) You mean that poor mirror suffocating under a bedsheet? Come on, Hua. Why is it covered?
Li Hua: (lowering voice, glancing at the mirror nervously) You know why. A mirror facing the bed is bad luck! Your soul can get trapped in it when you sleep. My grandma swore that’s how my uncle had his sleepwalking episodes!
Wei Ming: (chuckling) Hua, I love you, but I think your uncle’s midnight snack adventures had more to do with biology than ghosts. Maybe he was just hungry?
Li Hua: (frowning) It’s not just my uncle. Chen from the tea shop had terrible nightmares until she moved her mirror. And you remember Xiu? She moved into that apartment with mirrored closet doors, and within a month, her boyfriend dumped her. Bad energy!
Wei Ming: (smirking) Or maybe her boyfriend was just a jerk. Mirrors don’t break up relationships, people do.
Li Hua: (crossing arms) Easy for you to say, Mr. Science Man. But you’ve never woken up to see your own reflection staring at you in the dark. It’s terrifying! The mirror holds onto energy — my grandma said it’s like a portal.
Wei Ming: Okay, I’ll give you this: seeing your reflection at 3 a.m. is creepy. I once scared myself in the bathroom mirror after a night out — nearly had a heart attack brushing my teeth! But that’s psychology, not spirits. Our brains are wired to spot faces, even in shadows.
Li Hua: (suspicious) Are you sure? Because once, I had a dream I was floating, and when I woke up, I swear I saw a flicker in the mirror.
Wei Ming: (leaning forward) Probably because you were half-awake and your brain was still in dream mode. It’s called “hypnagogic hallucination.” Totally normal! Scientists study it all the time. No ghostly portals required.
Li Hua: (tilting head) Hmm… but why do so many cultures have the same warning? Even Western feng shui people say no mirrors facing the bed!
Wei Ming: Ah! Good point. But I think it’s less about souls and more about practical reasons. Mirrors reflect light and movement. If moonlight hits it or if you see your own shifting reflection, it can disturb your sleep. Makes sense, right?
Li Hua: (thoughtful) Hmm… so you’re saying it’s a sleep thing, not a supernatural thing?
Wei Ming: Exactly! And if you’re anxious about it, you’ll probably sleep worse. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You expect the mirror to cause trouble, so your brain obliges.
Li Hua: (smiling faintly) So basically, I’m scaring myself?
Wei Ming: (grinning) Pretty much. But hey, if covering the mirror helps you sleep, that’s fine. Just don’t blame it for Chen’s nightmares or Xiu’s breakup.
Li Hua: (laughing) Fine, fine. But if you ever wake up trapped inside your bathroom mirror, don’t come crying to me!
Wei Ming: Deal. And if you catch me sleepwalking into your tea shop for midnight dumplings, feel free to blame the mirror.
Li Hua: (playfully) You’re incorrigible.
Wei Ming: (raising teacup) And you’re delightfully superstitious. To balance — and to good tea!
Li Hua: To good tea — and maybe to keeping one little pink bedsheet, just in case.
Wei Ming: (laughing) Fair enough, Hua. Fair enough.
[They clink teacups, smiling, as the mirror sits quietly under its pink cover — no souls trapped tonight.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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