Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Neither Huo Dieyi nor the opera performers beside her knew when they had begun grinning from ear to ear.
They could not clearly see what Xiao Huai and Lu Yuanshi looked like, but with their height, build, presence, and voices, it was easy to imagine a pair of breathtaking faces.
Besides, when a person’s vision remained poor for a long time, their other four senses became keener.
They had heard the conversation between Xiao Huai and Lu Yuanshi with perfect clarity.
At first, some of the opera performers had not understood why Huo Dieyi told them to keep their distance from the pair.
Now they understood completely. They could not help whispering to Huo Dieyi,
“Boss, I think those two were perfectly cast.”
Huo Dieyi raised an eyebrow. She said nothing, but she smiled nonetheless.
For a fleeting instant, she seemed to be carried back to long ago, when her brother and Yang Nanqing had apparently been just like this.
They had already been so well matched back then. Everyone had simply pretended not to see it.
After a long while, Huo Dieyi said, “Mm. They really are made for each other.”
The other performers immediately started teasing her. “Oh my, oh my, made for each other! Hahaha, Boss, you’re getting more open-minded by the day.”
“People in our profession naturally have to be a little ahead of their time.” Huo Dieyi lifted her chin slightly, somewhat haughtily. In truth, however, she felt a trace of regret. She regretted taking so long to realize it.
After rehearsing for several hours, everyone was familiar with the script’s content and direction. Whenever something confused them, asking Xiao Huai brought them new insight.
That evening, while everyone was resting, Xiao Huai stood and said to them, “Thank you all for your hard work lately.”
“Hm? It’s nothing. It hasn’t been hard at all.”
Everyone assumed Xiao Huai was merely offering a routine courtesy and answered him with smiles.
Xiao Huai’s gaze settled on Huo Dieyi.
Huo Dieyi vaguely sensed something. Her expression turned serious, and she stared back at him.
Xiao Huai said, “We may need to stage this opera earlier than planned.”
“What? An early performance? Where?”
The opera performers still did not understand what was happening.
Huo Dieyi, however, already knew exactly what he meant.
They did not have much time left.
Outsiders never had much time here to begin with. No one as peculiar as Xiao Huai had ever come to the Jinlemen Club day after day to rehearse opera.
Huo Dieyi told the others, “You may leave for now.”
They still had questions, but since Huo Dieyi had given the order, they obediently departed.
Once the performers left, only Xiao Huai, Lu Yuanshi, and Huo Dieyi remained by the stage.
Lu Yuanshi idly looked over the script while Huo Dieyi came to Xiao Huai’s side and looked up at him.
“When are you leaving this place?”
Xiao Huai said mildly, “Oh? Instead of leaving, perhaps I’ll die here.”
Huo Dieyi shook her head. “You won’t.”
“Why are you so certain?”
Huo Dieyi folded her arms across her chest. “We don’t have any utterly evil demons here. Everyone who remains is simply someone to be pitied.”
Others might not have believed Huo Dieyi. In the minds of players, nine out of every ten NPCs in a horror game were evil, and the remaining one was certain to be the most insane of them all.
But in Xiao Huai’s eyes, there was no difference between a player and an NPC.
Xiao Huai lowered his gaze and answered softly, “Soon.”
As if she had made up her mind, Huo Dieyi gave him a leaf.
The leaf was a game clue.
Huo Dieyi said, “I… I’ve never given this to anyone before. Once I give it away, I can’t take it back, and I’ll never be able to use it again. I like the shape of this leaf, but you’ll probably need what is written on it.”
Xiao Huai accepted the leaf. A line of important intel was written across it.
He tightened his grip on the leaf and said quietly, “Thank you.”
“A teacher for a day is a teacher for life. You did call me Teacher, after all. All right, hurry back and rest. Take care of yourself.” Huo Dieyi waved, then turned and left. As she walked away, she added, “Come find me when it’s time for the performance to begin.”
“Mm,” Xiao Huai answered softly.
He watched Huo Dieyi leave, then turned to Lu Yuanshi. “Let’s go.”
Lu Yuanshi met his gaze. “A little reluctant to part with her?”
Xiao Huai shook his head and slowly said, “Parting is for the sake of a better reunion.”
Lu Yuanshi froze. He had never heard such a saying before.
Some said that every meeting in the world was a reunion after a long separation.
Meeting and parting were both parts of life that everyone inevitably experienced.
Xiao Huai tilted his head slightly and showed a faint smile. “Besides, whether it’s their story or ours, aren’t they both still to be continued? Come on. If you don’t leave now, I won’t feel like going with you anymore.”
When Lu Yuanshi came back to himself, a hint of warmth had entered his eyes.
It seemed that he could always learn many new things at Xiao Huai’s side.
“Coming.”
* * *
After leaving the Jinlemen Club, Xiao Huai discovered a group standing outside the entrance. They had already put on protective goggles.
Chen Chong had been waiting there for a long time. As soon as he saw the two emerge, he waved at them.
“We’ve been waiting forever. You finished?” Chen Chong was the first to speak.
Jiang Wenmei stood beside him. Not far away, Zhong Jiangyuan and Shen Yun smiled faintly at them and raised their hands slightly to show they were present.
“You still haven’t gone back?” Xiao Huai asked.
A roguish grin spread across Chen Chong’s face. “Of course not. In that woman’s eyes, we’re all dead now. We’ll go back first and scare her to death.”
Jiang Wenmei added coldly, “The food she forced us to eat nearly made Chen Chong go blind while we were fleeing. I won’t forget that debt.”
Chen Chong had lost his sight several times during their escape, and Shen Yun had also shown some symptoms of blindness.
Fortunately, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Red Mansion’s ordinary food. After resting there for a day, they had almost completely recovered mentally.
Shen Yun coughed twice. “I have a good idea. How about…”
He explained his plan to everyone. Chen Chong immediately began laughing with abandon, letting out the sinister cackle of a villain.
Chen Chong said, “No time like the present. Let’s get moving, brothers!”
Just as they were preparing to set off, Xiao Huai handed him the leaf.
Chen Chong looked down at it and started in surprise.
The intel on the leaf was more valuable than any other piece of information.
It directly told the players the answer to their main mission.
[The soul of the master of the Yang Residence is located in the tailor shop in East City.]
The master of the Yang Residence. A soul. East City. A tailor shop.
The master of the Yang Residence really was a ghost. It seemed the completion of their main mission was already within reach.
Jiang Wenmei and Chen Chong immediately understood those key words. They said in unison, “We know that place.”
They simply had not gone there before.
If they found the ghost now, they might be able to complete the mission.