Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Zhong Xiaye called for an ambulance and a police car, his hands and feet ice-cold from witnessing the bloody scene.

He looked up—beside them stood an abandoned office building, with no one in sight, only old, tattered banners flapping in the wind.

…Why would Wang Mingzhe come to a place like this?

In Zhong Xiaye’s memory, Wang Mingzhe wasn’t someone who enjoyed adventure. After the motorcycle accident in middle school, Wang Mingzhe had gotten a lot more timid and cautious than before, he'd even insist on walking in groups of three or more at night.

How could he have come alone to an abandoned building?

If it was suicide—why would he do it?

Though they didn’t stay in close contact now, they were still friends on WeChat. Zhong Xiaye remembered just two days ago, Wang Mingzhe had posted photos from a class reunion in his Moments. They were having a champagne party in a luxury outdoor pool, going wild.

Zhong Xiaye had also received an invitation, but he had other plans that day and wasn’t particularly interested in that kind of party, so he didn’t go.

In short, he didn't think Wang Mingzhe's mental state was giving off any suicide vibes.

Zhong Xiaye let out a breath, the smell of blood getting thicker in his nose.

He didn't even dare to look down at the mangled body, instead he rested his hand on the hood of the sports car, avoiding the dent in the middle.

He heard a rustling sound nearby, like the faint noise of fabric rubbing together.

Zhong Xiaye turned his head and saw the Black-haired Youth's hand already slipping into Wang Mingzhe's clothes.

“…!?” Zhong Xiaye exclaimed in shock, “What are you doing!?”

Oh god, where was that hand going?! Not even a corpse was safe—this was terrifying—

“I'm trying to bring him back,” Bai Fuling said seriously, then added, “Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be in heaven. Looks like he didn't buy a get-out-of-hell-free card in time.”

Zhong Xiaye: ?

A rainbow of question marks popped up over Zhong Xiaye's head.

Bai Fuling was really trying to find a revive option, like when he'd revived Luo Qingyue before, to test out his angel skill again.

But this time, no miracle occurred—maybe because this NPC wasn't a major one? Or maybe because the player's emotions weren't strong enough.

Bai Fuling wasn't all that concerned about this new NPC on the ground, after all, their time together was different.

This NPC was just a one-time thing—no, not even that. Half the face was pixelated from the fall, so it was more like a half-encounter.

Failing to test out the angel skill again, Bai Fuling regretfully pulled his hand back. He'd originally wanted to uphold the player's virtue of looting everything in sight, but under Zhong Xiaye's persistent stare, he finally stopped.

After all, the player still wanted to boost Zhong Xiaye's affection level. Given this guy's personality, stripping someone else's clothes—if it were his own, it might even boost affection, but stripping another person's would definitely lower it. Better to drop it.

Bai Fuling thought: The difference between touching one corpse and touching the Rainbow Rich Heir a million times in the future was the difference between one meal and endless feasts. The player knew the difference.

To get the most brilliant rainbow wool ASAP, the player temporarily held back the urge to [search].

In the distance, sirens from the ambulance and police car wailed. Since the guy was already dead and no more plot was unfolding, the ambulance showed up fast.

Bai Fuling didn't stick around for the screen's plot to play out. He planned to go up to the police NPCs and ask about the Liao family. The player always remembered the unfinished task from earlier.

Before that, Bai Fuling didn't forget to type a message to Zhong Xiaye, just to be safe. He said, “Can you wait for me before you drive off?”

The player worried that if he didn't trigger the NPC's standby setting, the NPC might just take off. He still didn't know Zhong Xiaye's spawn point… Maybe he could camp out near the Red Maple Group building?

But there were bound to be security guards there, and those places usually had programs where security NPCs would forcibly chase off any player seen lurking.

So he'd probably have to wait until he could up the spider's mutation value and climb up darkly from outside the security NPCs' line of sight.

Zhong Xiaye turned his head at the words: “Drive? This car is still usable?”

The car's hood now had a bloody dent, looking pretty horrifying, and mentally, he couldn't deal with it anymore. Zhong Xiaye had already decided to get a new car. After all, his family had a two-story garage, so he wasn't short on sports cars.

He pulled out his phone to message the butler.

Luckily, he hadn't taken his favorite car today, just the one closest to the garage door.

Unexpectedly, the Black-haired Youth's eyes lit up at this: “You don't want this car?”

Zhong Xiaye paused. For some reason, maybe sixth sense, he felt that if he answered truthfully, he'd see something terrifying.

So Zhong Xiaye remained silent, not responding.

Bai Fuling had hoped to smoothly acquire a luxury sports car, thinking he'd seize the chance to fold it up and stuff it into his backpack!

But the Rainbow Rich Heir in front of him gave no reply, so the player had to give up in disappointment.

Zhong Xiaye caught a glimpse of the Antelope Youth's dejected expression beside him. Though he didn't know why he looked so down, he instinctively felt a pang of sympathy—like before, no one could bear to see such a beautiful face with such a pitiful look.

Chivalry was triggered!

But he still held onto some rationality, steering the topic away from the unlucky blood-stained car and back to the original question: “…So, what did you want me to wait for?”

“Oh, I need to go ask the police some questions,” Bai Fuling said, his expression shifting to a frown. “I wonder how their investigation is going. They haven't reported to me yet.”

Zhong Xiaye paused: “…What?”

What did he mean by the police reporting to him?! That was completely upside down!

—No. Perhaps this person wasn't simple and had another identity.

From the earlier details, there were indeed signs of something unusual. For instance, facing the bloody, mangled body, he showed no fear at all, as if he were used to such scenes. Or more accurately, as if he were facing not blood, but ketchup.

He had to admit, amidst all the blood, the Black-haired Youth's calm, composed demeanor with lowered eyes was quite charming… No, stop, that's enough. Zhong Xiaye pushed the image out of his mind.

He refocused, not immediately showing disbelief. Because of his family background, he knew some hidden secrets—everyone might have a huge secret.

Zhong Xiaye straightened his prince-like face, his flaxen hair swaying as he slightly bowed his head, lowering his voice: “Your… special identity, is it okay to reveal it like this?”

Going so openly to ask questions, with so many eyes around, could bring unnecessary trouble.

“What's your identity? Tell me quietly, and I'll cover for you,” Zhong Xiaye leaned in a bit. “You can trust me.”

Even as he said this, he found it somewhat amusing.

Not long ago, they were bitter rivals in love and strangers with a bad relationship, yet now he was saying this. He figured the other wouldn't trust him anyway.

Zhong Xiaye indeed wasn't very familiar with this person—but he had his principles, so he spoke up. Maybe there was also a bit of admiration for strength.

He lowered his eyes, waiting for rejection. But the person before him raised his dark eyes and took a small step forward, saying: “Need to whisper?”

Zhong Xiaye was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

The Antelope Youth leaned in calmly, rose slightly on his tiptoes, grabbed Zhong Xiaye’s wrists, and pulled them down, then tilted his head to whisper near Zhong Xiaye’s ear.

His slender fishbone braid swayed with the movement, brushing against Zhong Xiaye’s cheek, tickling him.

The distance between them was too close, and Zhong Xiaye’s body stiffened involuntarily. As a stickler for rules, he’d never been in a position like this with anyone... and wasn’t this way too intimate? Was this really okay with a former rival?

...Oh. Oh. He almost forgot—they weren’t rivals anymore.

So is this pose with an ex-rival okay now???

Zhong Xiaye was still tangled up in his messy thoughts about their relationship when Bai Fuling spoke right next to his ear.

“Let me tell you, I am...” Bai Fuling lowered his voice—though he didn’t understand why he had to whisper about his identity, he obediently followed the NPC’s reasonable request to score some goodwill points—and said, “I am the famous Sacred Angel · Kitten King · Spider-Man-in-Training · Rule-Abiding Good Student · Farmer Great Detective!”

Zhong Xiaye: ?

Hearing that string of titles, his first thought was: There’s not enough room here for all these people.jpg

What the heck was that?!

But Bai Fuling didn’t explain any further.

Honestly, the player had no clue why this needed to be whispered.

Logically, titles should be shouted out loud to earn reputation points!

Nearby, before Bai Fuling could go find one, a police officer had already walked over.

The body on the ground was loaded into an ambulance, and the police cordoned off the scene with tape. An officer with a notepad and pen walked over.

“Hey, were you the ones who called it in? We need you to give as detailed a statement as possible.”

Bai Fuling steadied his character, raised a hand, and held up his palm: “Wait!! Let me ask first.”

“Was the Liao family case handled by your precinct? We need you to give as detailed a statement as possible.” He just copy-pasted the NPC’s earlier line.

In the sunlight, the Angel Halo on Bai Fuling’s head shimmered with a weird glow, a few black lines flickering inside it.

Zhong Xiaye, standing nearby, frowned at the question. What kind of question was that? Wasn’t it way too blunt?

And during an on-site investigation, the cops wouldn’t just drop this case to talk about another one—

He shook his head, reached out to pull Bai Fuling back, and stepped forward to give the statement himself. That way, if Wang Mingzhe’s death had another cause, the killer would target him first instead of Bai Fuling.

Then Zhong Xiaye watched as the officer, after a brief daze, turned directly to Bai Fuling, mechanically flipped the notebook forward a page, and recited flatly: “Oh, right, of course. Here’s the report on the Liao family case, Farmer Great Detective.”

Zhong Xiaye: ?

Why was he actually reporting?! Was “Farmer Great Detective” some kind of reality-bending title?! He was utterly shocked.

Then a chill ran down Zhong Xiaye’s spine: Could it be some kind of hypnosis?

Right, it had to be hypnosis.

...He must have fallen for it too—why else would his mind be so scrambled around his ex-rival just now?!