Deeply Affectionate Male Supporting Character Topped the Protagonist 45

Chapter 45: Your Eyes

The room fell silent.

Xiaoxue stared blankly, looking up at the unfamiliar young man in front of her.

After a long while, she pursed her lips tightly, suppressing the turbulent emotions in her heart, and sat back down at her desk, picking up her pen again with unusual persistence: “No, I can’t rest… I have to study hard so I can earn enough money in the future and choose the life I want, not be controlled by others like Jiejie.”

Compared to her previous stubborn and easily angered demeanor, she was now offering information voluntarily.

Xi Leng, already having gathered clues from the other rooms, skipped the probing and questioning, asking directly: “Do you know the couple in 710?”

Xiaoxue’s movements paused, her pen leaving a deep mark on the paper.

“They’re very noisy, they never quiet down at night.” Xiaoxue muttered. “The soundproofing in this building is terrible, they disturbed my studies, so my parents went to talk to them. But that man, not only did he not listen, he even threatened to hit my parents.”

Two rooms, different stories and missions, yet the clues all pointed to the same place—710, and more specifically, the woman in 710.

Xiaoxue fiddled with her pen, her eyes downcast in thought: “…Jiejie, she was actually a good person, completely different from the crazy person I heard at night.”

She suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and pointed downstairs: “That day, I messed up the competition and didn’t dare to go home, so I hid in that shed over there. She gave me a pack of tissues.”

Xiaoxue leaned against the window, turning around, a faint smile on her face: “The next day, I jumped from here. She was watching me from the window on the seventh floor. She looked shocked and sad. At that moment, I regretted it so much, but it was too late…”

Qiaoqiao was so scared she took a step back.

After composing herself, she remembered that the girl in front of her was just an actress, even younger than her.

After a long silence, the others processed Xiaoxue’s story, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

Closing the door and going to the living room, Qiaoqiao shared her deduction: “The woman in 710… was she a victim of domestic violence?”

Xi Leng, his mind solely focused on the MVP prize, looked away, unusually not engaging in the conversation.

Luo Jiayan opened his mouth, then after a while, nodded: “Mm-hmm, very likely.”

Jiang Songnan also agreed.

Min Zhi, however, changed the subject: “Only two hours left, and two more rooms, right? Should we split up? If we need to get the key from the masked man, that will take some time.”

More than half of the allotted time had passed, and they only had half of the story. If they couldn’t escape within the time limit, let alone the perfect ending, they might be trapped here, all ending with the bad ending.

This suggestion was reasonable. Qiaoqiao volunteered: “Then I’ll go see what’s with the crutch in 308, I’m good at communicating with the elderly. Jiang-ge and I already failed to win over the little boy in 209, now it’s your turn to try?”

So, the five split into two groups, Qiaoqiao and Jiang Songnan to the third floor, the remaining three to the second.

The crying cleaning lady in the stairwell was gone. To avoid being ambushed by the masked man in the elevator, taking the stairs was a reasonable choice.

Xi Leng’s expression was calm as he analyzed: “The elevator is very slow, if we go down and are seen by the masked man, he can run down the stairs, press the elevator button, and wait for us. We have nowhere to hide in the elevator, it would be easy for him to catch us all.”

Min Zhi looked at him thoughtfully: “That’s true.”

Luo Jiayan nodded vigorously, as if afraid the others wouldn’t agree, and said loudly: “That’s right, let’s all take the stairs! Ah Zhao is right, the stairs are much safer.”

Led by Xi Leng, the four entered the dim and eerie stairwell.

Arriving on the third floor, the five split up. Three continued down to the second floor.

Emerging from the stairwell and turning towards 209, the three were startled to unexpectedly run into the little boy Qiaoqiao mentioned.

The boy looked about seven or eight years old, just starting elementary school. Who knew where the program team found this child actor, but his demeanor was surprisingly mature. He glanced at them indifferently, didn’t say a word, hugged his ball, and turned to run back into his apartment.

Making the adults seem like the easily startled ones.

After calming down, driven by both the mission and intense curiosity, the three quickly followed.

Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce…

The little boy bounced the ball on the wooden floor, tirelessly, again and again, like a wind-up toy, mechanically repeating the action.

There was clearly a mini basketball hoop on the wall, but the boy ignored it, his eyes downcast, staring at the ball bouncing in his hand.

The three exchanged glances, remaining quiet as they slowly approached him.

Xi Leng took the lead, walking to within a step of the boy, squatting down to his level, and observing him for a while. After the boy seemed to have gotten used to his presence, he slowly spoke: “Hello, what’s your name?”

His speech was several times slower than usual, his tone soft.

He carefully observed the little boy, but Min Zhi’s attention shifted from the boy to him.

This was a side of him he had never seen before.

Xi Leng, patient and persistent, continued speaking to the boy who was completely ignoring him: “I have a younger brother, he’s very much like you.”

He didn’t try to snatch the ball or force the boy to talk, patiently waiting, finally, the ball slipped from the boy’s hand, but he didn’t pick it up, instead looking up, his clear and innocent eyes fixed on Xi Leng.

Xi Leng smiled faintly and stood up: “Wait for me.”

The boy stood still, still not speaking, his eyes following Xi Leng’s movements.

Room 209 was occupied by a child, and the thoughtful program team had prepared various toys and supplies. Xi Leng found a sketchbook and crayons, then returned to the little boy.

Squatting wasn’t convenient for drawing, so he sat down with his legs crossed, placing the sketchbook on his lap so the small boy could see it.

The tall young man was now below eye level, and he lowered his head even further. The hair tie wasn’t very tight, and a few long, curly strands fell around his face, making his skin seem even fairer.

The thick crayons looked clumsy in his slender hands, yet his movements were smooth and fluid, quickly sketching two vivid figures on the paper.

“This is my didi.” He pointed at the crayon figure on the left, then looked up at the boy beside him, his gentle voice like cool jade. “Then this one, do you know who this is?”

The boy blinked.

Although young, he was an experienced actor, his acting skills impeccable. But at this moment, a childlike innocence unconsciously slipped through.

He looked at the drawing, surprised and curious, unable to resist answering Xi Leng’s question: “It’s me!”

Xi Leng looked at the little boy, his hazel eyes calm and still, and said slowly: “He was very energetic even before he could walk, and even more so after he learned how to talk, never a quiet moment. But when he was six, he was frightened, and suddenly stopped talking. After that, he would always be in a daze, and he’d have panic attacks whenever he saw anything red.”

Xi Leng was talking about the incident where he almost died. He was lying on the floor, clutching his throat, and Rong Xingyi, after recovering, crawled over to him, his hands and body covered in sticky blood.

The traumatic experience caused the naturally lively child to develop autistic symptoms, even rejecting his mother, only able to interact peacefully with Xi Leng.

“Initially, to communicate with him, I tried drawing.” Xi Leng continued slowly. “Then I found I quite enjoyed it, so I kept drawing.”

Memories and reality overlapped. The boy still didn’t speak, just staring at him, blinking. Xi Leng continued drawing, trying to communicate with him through art.

Later, Rong Xingyi finally dared to touch him, feeling the throbbing pulse on his warm wrist, confirming he was still alive.

Then finally speaking, calling out, gege…

The cleaning lady he met earlier, the grown-up Nannan, the young Xiaoxue, simple cartoon figures, all appeared on Xi Leng’s sketchbook.

After finishing the last stroke, Xi Leng asked gently: “Do you know them?”

The boy slowly nodded.

Xi Leng appeared calm and composed, but he wasn’t sure how to get the crucial information from the little boy.

Just as he was thinking, a small piece of paper was handed to him.

Facing the seemingly autistic child, Min Zhi, surprisingly restrained, wrote down his thoughts on the paper.

Xi Leng looked at the words: Can you ask him directly if he knows the couple in 710?

Xi Leng wasn’t sure, looking at Min Zhi above him with a helpless expression.

Min Zhi wrote on the paper again.

Thinking it was about interacting with the NPC, Xi Leng read carefully, one character after another—your, eyes.

Xi Leng frowned, what about his eyes?

Min Zhi smiled, covering the paper with his hand, slowly finishing the last three characters, only showing them to Xi Leng.

Your eyes are so beautiful.

Xi Leng: “…………”

“Gege.” The little boy suddenly tugged at Xi Leng’s clothes.

He looked up at Xi Leng with clear, innocent eyes, his voice pitiful: “I’m so hungry, Baba and Mama, they don’t want me anymore…”

“They always fight because of me, because I’m different from other children.” The boy ran and picked up his ball, using the most childish voice and the most innocent expression to say the most cruel words. “They don’t want me…”

“I’m so hungry, gege.”

Luo Jiayan, who had been watching for a while, finally understood and hurriedly comforted him: “It’s okay, don’t worry, we’ll find you something to eat.”

Min Zhi looked around, going to the refrigerator in the kitchen, but returned empty-handed: “The refrigerator is empty.”

“Should we go back to 507?” Xi Leng frowned slightly. “I think the chances of running into the masked man are very high if we go up again.”

A few seconds later, Xi Leng’s frown eased, as if he had thought of something: “…Right.”

He took out a familiar-looking chocolate bar from his pocket.

Luo Jiayan let out a surprised “eh?”

Min Zhi paused for two seconds before saying: “…You found that in the backpack in the kitchen, right?”

Luo Jiayan’s eyes lit up with unconcealed admiration: “So amazing, Ah Zhao, did you anticipate this when we first arrived?”

“No…”

Before Xi Leng could finish his word, Min Zhi interrupted him.

“Were you planning to eat it yourself?”

“…”

Xi Leng didn’t respond, which was taken as a tacit agreement.

Min Zhi smiled, his interest in Xi Leng intensifying.

This person, who smoked, drank, and acted like a seasoned pro, claiming that “all artists are like this,” clearly had some unexpected preferences.

Playing a game with that annoying guy at the bar, provoking him to the point of calling a group of thugs, yet calmly watching the rain on the terrace, even enjoying a piece of cake.

And there was no need to mention the incident on the bus where he pocketed all the candy props.

The chocolate bar now was taken from a seemingly dirty backpack, after all. Xi Leng wiped it with a tissue before asking the little boy: “Do you like chocolate?”

The body’s instinctive reaction couldn’t be faked. The little boy’s throat bobbed noticeably.

However, one had to be cautious when giving food to children, so Xi Leng confirmed again: “Are you allowed to eat chocolate?”

The little boy nodded vigorously, then shook his head, biting his lip, as if struggling internally: “Sweets… not allowed.”

“How old are you… you’re still growing.” As long as he wasn’t allergic to chocolate, it should be fine. Xi Leng smiled gently. He was definitely not the strict and traditional type Rong Xingyi imagined. Since the program team didn’t stop him, he indulgently handed over the chocolate. “Eat it, it’s okay.”

The boy’s feigned autism instantly vanished, his eyes curving into crescents as he happily accepted the chocolate.

Xi Leng sighed inwardly, being an actor must be hard, living like a monk at such a young age.

After Rong Xingyi debuted as an idol, not only would he be able to earn his own living, there would be no need for him to act as the bad guy and lecture him, being a public figure was enough to teach that brat a lesson.

Xi Leng’s thoughts wandered, a feeling of satisfaction in his heart, his gaze softening as he watched the little boy munching on the chocolate, his mouth smeared with it.

The three patiently waited for him to finish the chocolate and wipe his mouth, time ticking by, the deadline approaching.

Qiaoqiao’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, sounding like they had encountered another problem: “We’re with an elderly man living alone… we’re playing chess with him, it’s probably going to take a while… eh?”

After a few seconds of silence, Qiaoqiao lowered her voice and spoke again: “The masked man seems to have passed by outside, Jiang-ge is blocking the door, thankfully he didn’t come in.”

“Be careful, he might come downstairs.”

The call ended, and the little boy, his hands clean now, grabbed Xi Leng’s clothes again, looking up at him trustingly: “Gege, follow me.”

The next clue was about to be revealed.

The three were on high alert, following the little boy as he walked along the corridor, from 209 at the end, past the stairwell in the middle.

Further ahead was the kitchen, 201, where they first found the clues, and the added elevator.

“One time, the elevator broke down, stopped here, and wouldn’t open. A jiejie kept asking if anyone was there, so I went over.” The boy pointed at the elevator door. “I pressed the button a few times from outside, and the elevator opened, and the jiejie came out.”

“I didn’t really talk to her, but she seemed very grateful. She often came down to find me afterwards.”

The boy suddenly sat down facing the elevator, hugging his ball.

“Sometimes, when I saw the elevator going down from over there, I would come here and play, waiting for the elevator to stop, and then jiejie would come out and give me snacks…”

As the boy was speaking, he suddenly bit his lip, his face paling slightly, his eyes trembling, as if recalling a terrifying memory.

He stood up, hiding behind Xi Leng and hugging his leg, then continued: “That day was so strange, the elevator came down from the seventh floor, stopping on every floor, and every time it stopped, I heard the uncles and aunties upstairs screaming and cursing…”

Xi Leng glanced at him, then at the elevator, and froze.

Qiaoqiao quickly covered her mouth, stifling a scream.

The elevator, just as the boy described, the red “7” flashing, the down arrow lit up, one second, two seconds, three seconds… the number “7” jumped to “6.”

After stopping on the sixth floor for a moment, the elevator continued downwards, arriving at the fifth floor.

This scene was exactly as the boy described.

But they hadn’t obtained the complete information yet, so they could only wait and see, their faces calm, but their heart rates increasing with the descending elevator.

The little boy said in his childish voice: “But the elevator didn’t stop for long on each floor, it would continue going down, finally, it almost reached the second floor…”

“It didn’t seem like jiejie.”

These last words made their hearts jump, their leg muscles tensing instantly, their eyes fixed on the descending elevator, ready to run at any moment.

“I was about to leave, but I heard her crying, she also said, save me, help me.” The boy’s recollection wasn’t over yet. “I went back and saw the elevator door open in front of me, jiejie was lying inside, her pajamas torn, covered in blood, her face also dirty, she didn’t look pretty at all.”

The elevator’s descent seemed to deliberately slow down to match the boy’s narration, only reaching the third floor after he finished his long story.

“I was about to call out to her…” The boy’s face became stiff, like a lifeless doll, his eyes fixed on the gleaming silver elevator doors. “Then I saw another person in the elevator.”

“I was so scared, jiejie told me to go home quickly, but I was so afraid, I wanted to run away, but I accidentally rolled down the stairs…”

Ding!

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The little boy suddenly screamed, his voice sharp and piercing.

Standing in the open elevator doorway was a familiar figure.

Tall, covered in hard armor, a black gun in his hand, and silver handcuffs…

“Run!”

Xi Leng was the first to react, decisively giving the order.

The boy was a deceased NPC, so the masked man ignored him, focusing on the three fleeing figures.

Despite his armor and equipment, the masked man moved swiftly.

Among the three, Luo Jiayan was the shortest and the slowest. Xi Leng pushed him, letting him go upstairs first.

“Go out on the third floor.” Xi Leng quickly instructed. “We’ll go up.”

With the urgency of the situation, the instructions were executed the moment they were given. Luo Jiayan trusted him completely and, without hesitation, turned and ran towards the third floor, completing the first part of the instructions.

Xi Leng was halfway up the stairs when he suddenly stopped. Min Zhi, following his lead, also stopped, as if bound by an invisible chain, the distance between them not exceeding one and a half meters.

Only when the masked man chasing them saw the cameraman behind them did Xi Leng tug at Min Zhi’s arm, gesturing for him to continue.

The masked man was tall and intimidating, but after chasing them up several flights of stairs, both he and the two being chased were panting, their racing hearts finally calming down slightly.

Clearly, as long as they weren’t ambushed, this masked man probably couldn’t catch them. They had already put a floor between them.

Just then, the walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life: “We’re almost on the seventh floor…”

The seventh floor?

The exit in front of them was on the seventh floor.

They were about to reach the seventh floor. When the four guests reunited there, the masked man would surely catch one or two unlucky ones.

Or perhaps, catch the brave souls who sacrificed themselves for the MVP title?

The thought of walking into a trap just formed in Xi Leng’s mind when it was forcefully extinguished.

Min Zhi grabbed his wrist, dragging him forcefully past the seventh floor and out into the brightly lit corridor.

Qiaoqiao and Jiang Songnan had just arrived a moment before them. They seemed to have also taken the stairs, perhaps hearing the footsteps behind them. Qiaoqiao was holding the door of 710 slightly open, her head peeking out as she shouted: “Come in quickly! Quickly!”

Xi Leng, dragged along by the chosen one, had no power to resist.

The two entered one after the other. The masked man, in hot pursuit, reached the door just as Jiang Songnan quickly closed it, holding it shut, ignoring even the two cameramen outside.

Qiaoqiao hurried over to help him, she didn’t know how strong the masked man was, but he was able to make the door rattle even with two people holding it against him, occasionally pushing it open a crack, a terrifying sight.

Thankfully, he didn’t succeed, and after a while, the masked man gave up, his footsteps gradually fading away.

After the struggle, Xi Leng’s back was drenched in sweat, making his skin slippery. He cautiously pressed on the concealer patch on his neck and urged: “Hurry up and find the clues, this is the most crucial room, the couple’s apartment.”

“Or rather…” Xi Leng paused meaningfully, glancing at the camera, and revealed a crucial clue. “The abused woman, and the masked man’s home.”