CH 19

The hot spring hotel is a perfect setting for a holiday. The sunlight from the windows is pouring into the house, accompanied by a mountain breeze and a fresh scent from the mountains. If you were a real traveller, you wouldn’t be able to resist going out for a breath of fresh air at this time of year.

Unfortunately the players were in no such mood, they were too busy looking for a chance to live.

Strangely enough, the five people on the other side who claimed to be here to party didn’t seem to have any intention of enjoying nature either. Xiao Lan learnt from the exchange of players that none of them had actually seen the men go out.

Even Gu Shengan said that they went back to their room after breakfast and then never came out.

What do they really want to do?

Players split up to find clues.

Xiao Lan is hugging Luo, hoping to use his powers to find out what they are discussing. When he walks upstairs, he meets Yang Degao, the old head teacher, alone and coming out of the toilet.

Xiao Lan put on that good student smile that teachers love so much: ” Mr. Yang, hello.”

Yang Degao’s tense shoulders relaxed a little when he saw a young man with a fair, handsome smile and nodded to Xiao Lan: “Hello.”

Xiao Lan pointed out the window, “Mr. Yang, it’s a beautiful day, the air is so fresh, don’t you want to go for a walk?”

Yang Degao smiled unnaturally, “Oh, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the students, let’s catch up.”

Xiao Lan : “You have such a good relationship between teachers and students.”

“Yeah, well, good.” Yang Degao’s face was still smiling, but his eyes kept drifting towards the room, showing a few moments of impatience to get away, “Ten years and still thinking of me, they’re all good kids.”

Xiao Lan stared at the slightest change in his expression, “So, that girl on the phone yesterday, she’s also a student of Mr. Yang’s, right?”

At these words, Yang Degao’s expression changed abruptly. He shuddered as if he had been struck by electricity, his limbs subconsciously ready to assume a defensive stance.

Seemingly feeling that he had overreacted, Yang Degao forced himself to stand up straight again, frowning and putting up his hands in the manner of a head teacher: “Young man, there are times when too much curiosity is not good.”

Xiao Lan looked innocent, “I think they all know that girl but they don’t call her to party with them, so they must be on bad terms, that girl seems so pathetic.”

Yang Degao, however, gave a puzzled look: “You can’t judge people by their appearance. How do you know if someone who appears to be a victim is actually one?”

After saying this, he went into the room without waiting for Xiao Lan’s reaction.

What does he mean by this, implying that it is actually Gu Mo who has the problem? Or is he deliberately trying to confuse the issue?

While no one was around, Xiao Lan placed Luo on the floor and the dark figure crept through the doorway into several people’s rooms, retracting a moment later.

Luo jumped up on Xiao Lan’s shoulder and leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Sir, they are all in their rooms, but sitting motionless.”

Xiao Lan wonders what these guys are doing. Yang Degao says that they are catching up, but what kind of idea is that to catch up in one room?

When it was time for dinner, the players went to the dining room.

Today’s dinner was still sumptuous, and the table next door, where the five members of the reunion had arrived early, was now seated neatly, even opening a bottle of wine that looked like it was worth a lot of money, and the dishes in front of them looked a lot fancier than those on the players’ side.

The players were in the middle of a meal when the man at the table next to them suddenly came up with an enthusiastic toast.

Fu Wenbo had two glasses of wine in his hand and handed one of them to Xiao Lan: “Come, come, we are lucky to be here on holiday at the same time, I’ll drink to you.”

Xiao Lan gave him a look, and the smile on his face was a little stiff, as if he was holding it together with great effort.

Meeting Xiao Lan’s gaze, the corners of Fu Wenbo’s mouth tugged again, barely able to keep a smile on his face, and only when Xiao Lan finally reached out to take his drink did he breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Xiao Lan hands the wine to Luo without a word, who checks it and nods at him to show that nothing else has been added to it. But Xiao Lan still just makes a fake gesture and doesn’t drink it.

This is a world full of ghosts and monsters and nothing else, not necessarily without some unseen and untouchable trap.

As Xiao Lan drank, Fu Wenbo stared at him unblinkingly until he watched him pretend to swallow before breaking into a pleasant smile and saying sincerely, “It’s good to know you!”

Xiao Lan smiled at him meaninglessly, “Me too.”

On the player’s side, each person was grabbed and toasted, one by one, according to their gender. Apart from Fu Wenbo and Xiao Lan, Cheng Lang toasted to Gu Shengan, Yang Degao to Zhao Fan, Du Yuhui and Zhang Jie to Liu Yiyi and Tong Qing respectively.

It looks like the players are drinking, but it’s hard to say how much of it is actually real.

After drinking Du Yuhui’s toast, Liu Yiyi, who has become very strange today, gives her a meaningful smile, his eyes staring at her without blinking and looking a little haunted.

Du Yuhui’s shoulders shook as he made a casual excuse and fled.

Evening.

Xiao Lan sits cross-legged on the bed, contemplating the day’s takeaways while trying to get Luo to reveal his furry belly for him to jerk off.

Ten minutes later.

Finally, thanks to Xiao Lan’s relentless efforts, his sinful paws are about to reach for the soft, fluffy belly –

“Tick-tock…”

The sound of water rang out abruptly.

Xiao Lan regrettably withdrew his paw and looked towards where the sound was coming from.

The sound came from the direction of the corner of the doorway.

A water stain had appeared on the ceiling there at some point, spreading unscientifically upwards from the part near the floor and was slowly expanding, and as it did so, droplets gradually dripped down from the very centre, making a sound on the wooden floor.

And the water stains on the ceiling, which become clearer in outline the more they expand, gradually lengthen from a vague shape to resemble a cloaked and drooping woman, with even her ten fingers about to appear.

Xiao Lan frowned at the water stain: “It’s leaking, I can’t sleep tonight at this rate of spread ……”

He jumped straight out of bed, slipped on his slippers and headed out the door, leaving water stains on the ceiling that hadn’t yet fully formed. Luo waved his tail and followed Xiao Lan’s lead, bouncing out briskly.

Water stains left behind: ……

Look at me, you! Aren’t I scary! Give me five more minutes and I promise you a whole new experience like you’ve never had before!!!

Xiao Lan went out to find a kit and returned again.

He ignored the increasingly hideous water stains overhead and went straight to the room’s main water pipe gate – and shut it off. A little maintenance was also given to the ageing mains gate, followed by a little waterproofing of the old pipe next to it by hand.

As a poor man living in an old house awaiting demolition for years, fixing the water pipes was a common occurrence and sometimes it was just too late and the easiest way to do it was – to turn off the mains.

When I came out again, well, the water really wasn’t dripping.

Luo inclined his head, “Sir, how do you know this works?”

Xiao Lan : “She went to all that trouble to get a pile of water damage, so I guess she had to resort to that to get out. So I wondered what would happen to him if the hose was turned off.”

Luo : “What if it doesn’t work?”

Xiao Lan justified, “Then run. Look at how slow she is to get a water stain, she must not be fast either.”

Luo : “……”

Good one just but then slip away.

Just then, Xiao Lan’s mobile phone at the foot of the bed suddenly lit up and a bloody app appeared on the taped-up screen, which was not being operated by anyone, but launched itself and then –

Five seconds have passed ……

Ten seconds have passed ……

Thirty seconds have passed ……

The APP is struggling to run but still won’t jump to the launch screen.

Then the crummy phone screen flickered and was overwhelmed and turned itself off ……

What is the situation now?

Xiao Lan scratched his head: “Sorry, I won this phone in a supermarket lottery many years ago, and it doesn’t even run on WeChat.

The APP has closed itself.

On the contrary, this guy then added, “Why don’t you wait five minutes or so and try again when it restarts?”

APP: ……

Shit!!! Would it kill you to buy a new phone!!!

The author has something to say.

The cottagers: blame me.