Chapter 48: Hallucination

Lai Li turned back to look at his two muttering roommates.

“You don’t know either?” Jiang Xiao let out a dry laugh and glanced around with his eyes, signaling that there were too many people nearby. “How about we talk later?”

Lai Li glanced at him expressionlessly and took out his phone to snap a photo of the card.

Jiang Xiao hurriedly grabbed his arm, only to be shaken off in the next second. He immediately lowered his voice and explained, ” Lolita is a novel about a middle-aged man who falls for a twelve-year-old girl. To get close to her, he marries her mother and gains guardianship over her to satisfy his twisted desires.”

He hadn’t been an adult when he read it, and it had given him goosebumps all over.

Huang Hao was stunned. “Isn’t that just…”

He abruptly shut his mouth, suddenly recalling a day during freshman military training when Lai Li had clashed with senior Tang Yuanyang over a dorm check and gotten his neck slashed…

That night, they had seen the refined and courteous young master of the Dai Family at the infirmary for the first time. Tang Yuanyang had been scolded by his own father and roared, “Yes! I’m a bastard! I’m worthless, but at least I don’t have some unspeakable pedophilic fetish!”

Huang Hao and Jiang Xiao weren’t fools; they could tell that remark was aimed at Dai Linxuan, though they hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Dai Linxuan just didn’t seem like the type to do something like that.

But now, paired with the “confession” on this card, it felt inexplicably off.

A coincidence?

Or was someone deliberately using those words to provoke Lai Li?

Huang Hao hesitated and tried to soothe him. “This guy might’ve just copied some random ‘love quote’ from the internet without knowing the source.”

Lai Li calmly tore up the card and folded it in half before stuffing it into the delivery guy’s collar.

He took two steps forward, pausing slightly as he brushed past the delivery guy’s shoulder, and murmured softly, “Tell your customer that I’ll come looking for him. Advise him to hide really, really well and make sure I never find him…”

The delivery guy felt the hairs on his body stand on end and shuddered. “What about the flowers, then?”

Jiang Xiao pointed him in the right direction. “Turn right out of the East Cafeteria, there’s a small path that leads to a garbage dump at the end. Sort it yourself.”

Huang Hao pulled him along to catch up with Lai Li and whispered, “This probably wasn’t from your brother.”

Jiang Xiao elbowed him. “Obviously not. Even if Brother Dai sent flowers, he wouldn’t pick a message like that…”

The students in the cafeteria sneaked glances at Lai Li’s expression, then all lowered their heads in unison as he approached, pretending nothing had happened.

Though Lai Li had gained some fame at school for his face, status, and doing a hundred push-ups in a row, most people who spouted lines like “check my credentials” were just bored and joking around on the confession wall. Almost no one actually dared to approach him.

So everyone was curious who had fired the first shot in trying to “hook up” with him.

Huang Hao suddenly found himself in the spotlight alongside Lai Li, feeling like a thousand arrows were aimed at him, utterly uncomfortable. He hesitated before saying, “I think you can ditch the flowers, but you should get that card back and dispose of it properly. What if some gossip-loving classmate follows the delivery guy, picks it up from the trash, and posts it on the school forum…”

That line on the card was indeed ambiguous and ripe for speculation.

Before Lai Li could respond, Jiang Xiao made the call. “Here’s the plan: you go ahead to the classroom and grab seats. Huang Hao and I will handle it.”

Lai Li pressed his temples. “No need…”

But before he finished speaking, the two had already rushed back into the cafeteria in a panic.

Lai Li had originally planned to have his bodyguard tail the delivery guy to see if he met anyone, ensuring the card didn’t fall into unrelated hands.

But it was unlikely to yield anything.

He had no interest in stopping Jiang Xiao and Huang Hao. Instead, he followed the stream of students heading to their 8 a.m. class, sorting through his tangled thoughts.

“I love you. I’m a monster, but I love you…”

The card was unsigned, and the handwriting was unfamiliar—probably penned by a florist employee.

The pedophile rumor had started with claims that “Dai Linxuan has special fetishes, that’s why he kept Lai Li by his side and toyed with him from childhood.” It fit He Shuxin’s personality perfectly—pure spite to get back at Lai Li for putting him in the hospital, a targeted fabrication.

Later, someone with ulterior motives had overheard it and used the idea to plan the sulfuric acid attack at the Welfare Home, aiming to hurt Dai Linxuan while framing him.

He Xunzhang, who had pushed his underage cousin toward Dai Linxuan; Huo Shuang, who seemed unwilling to sacrifice her marriage for family gain; and everyone in the Dai Family…

They were all suspects.

The instigator, He Shuxin, lacked the guts for this and knew the rumors were fake. Sending flowers to disgust him would only land him back in the hospital.

So the person behind this likely believed the “pedophile” story and wanted to provoke Lai Li into turning against Dai Linxuan.

They might even think Lai Li had evidence of being “toyed with,” and that Dai Linxuan was only nice to him to keep it quiet, constantly cleaning up his messes…

Third Uncle?

A stabbing pain throbbed in Lai Li’s head, and his breathing grew suddenly heavy.

After investigating for so long, everything circled back to square one. Everyone around could potentially harm his brother, yet he still hadn’t pinned down the culprit.

He couldn’t even clear out all these filthy threats.

The students surged forward like a tide, but Lai Li’s steps lagged by a beat. The chattering voices squeezed into his ears—

“Second floor of the East Cafeteria is better than the first…” “I caught someone from our dorm kissing a senior in the grove yesterday!” “Which clubs are you joining? I’m interested in drama…”

Amid these everyday conversations, one mocking voice stood out crystal clear: “How do you win when you’re so weak?”

Lai Li halted abruptly and scanned his surroundings. Under the pale sunlight, a lean, wiry figure lurked in the bustling crowd, sharp-featured and monkey-like, staring at him mockingly.

The figure’s mouth opened and closed—

“Are you really a little dog? There are jackals, wolves, and tigers all around—how do you survive?”

“If you’re not strong enough, learn to hibernate, endure, then pull out a knife for a killing blow.”

“So what if it’s against the rules? The audience will love it.”

“To survive this stinking cesspool, you have to clear every threat around you—on the stage or off it.”

“Staying alive is victory.”

“…”

Lai Li’s fingertips dug deep into his palm, leaving crescent-shaped marks.

Fake, fake… don’t chase him.

He’s already dead.

Lai Li gripped his phone tightly and met the gentle eyes on the lit screen—

“My little dog just needs to eat well and be happy.”

Lai Li squeezed his eyes shut with effort. When he opened them again, the figure that had come back to life was gone. He dragged his heavy body into the classroom and sat in the back corner.

Someone approached nearby. “Classmate…”

“Someone’s here.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Lai Li’s face looked so awful that Jiang Xiao and Huang Hao, who had slipped in right on time, were startled. They scooted their seats closer and whispered, “You okay?”

Lai Li forced out a single word. “Fine.”

Jiang Xiao typed a line on his phone and held it up: We followed the delivery guy to the dump, grabbed the card, shredded it, and tossed the pieces into ten different trash cans along the way. No way anyone can piece it back together.

Then he deleted it and typed more: But you won’t believe who we just ran into.

The moment Lai Li saw those words, a name flashed in his mind—Song Zichu.

Sure enough, Jiang Xiao typed: Song Zichu! He’s on leave but still hanging around campus! You told us to stay away from him—what’s that about?

“…”

Yesterday, Song Zichu had gone to the police station and left a note on his car, but the tail on him reported he was still at the rental. That meant Song Zichu had spotted the surveillance and gone back undercover, his movements no longer transparent.

If it was him sending the flowers, it wasn’t impossible… but more likely his master’s idea.

This petty trick didn’t match the mindset of those past players. It felt like something meant to create minor trouble for Dai Linxuan and stall certain matters, without daring to go for murder.

More like Third Uncle’s style… but how was he connected to Song Zichu?

Lai Li forced his breathing to steady, making himself look more normal.

Suspect… suspect.

Finding evidence is the police’s job, little dog.

The teacher on the podium warmed up, fiddling with the projector while saying, “Everyone knows sulfuric acid, right? It’s a common raw material in agriculture and industry…”

These words passed through a membrane—he heard them but they didn’t register—until the teacher mentioned “expiration date,” and Lai Li’s head snapped up, his knee slamming into the desk.

The teacher looked over. “Does this classmate have any thoughts?”

Jiang Xiao frantically tugged Lai Li’s sleeve, but the latter clenched his jaw, seemingly struck by something utterly shocking, and said nothing.

Everyone stared. Huang Hao turned his head, wishing he could cover his face with a mask. “Sorry, teacher, he’s got low blood sugar. Can I take him to the infirmary?”

Lai Li did look terrible, so the teacher didn’t suspect anything and told them to go quickly.

Huang Hao sighed in relief and hissed, “Ancestral figure, let’s go!”

Lai Li snapped out of his daze and hurried from the classroom. He stopped at the connecting corridor and said softly, “You head back. I’ve got something to do.”

Huang Hao hesitated. “What about your later classes?”

“Skipping them. No need to cover for me.” Lai Li walked off without looking back. “I’ll ask the counselor for leave.”

“Okay…”

Huang Hao returned to the classroom, thinking that if he remembered to request leave, he was probably fine.

*

Night fell deeper, and a black car worth a million parked at the entrance to a rundown, cramped urban village.

The door opened from inside, and a hand beckoned to the young man by the roadside, who wore a black baseball cap and mask.

The young man glanced at the alley mouth, bent down, and got in. “Didn’t I tell you to keep a low profile?”

“You mean the car?” The middle-aged man replied helplessly. “This is my cheapest one.”

“…” The young man suppressed his temper. “Someone’s been tailing me. If you’re spotted, it might be hard to explain.”

“Explain to who? Who’s tailing you?” The middle-aged man was shocked. “Not someone Lai Li sent, right?”

The young man looked at him.

The man grew nervous. “Why’s he tailing you? Does he know who you are?”

“No.” The young man took a deep breath and said warmly, “He just doesn’t like me.”

“What right does that cuckoo’s nest bastard have to dislike you?!” The middle-aged man cracked the window halfway, and a sour stench of garbage wafted in. He grimaced in disgust but put on a show of false sympathy. “And you’re living in a dump like this?”

The young man lowered his gaze. “It’s the best place I could find.”

“It’s all those two brothers’ fault! How’d you end up like this?” The middle-aged man sighed. “Zichu, stay away from school for now. I’ll find you a safe place soon. Just rest easy—the rest is on me…”

…

Ten minutes later, Song Zichu got out, scanned the alley mouth again, and saw no suspicious shadows, as expected.

The people Lai Li had sent to watch him were as obvious and stupid as this Third Uncle from the Dai Family—he’d fooled them several times without them noticing.

He’d even changed addresses, and they were probably still staking out the old spot.

Song Zichu tugged his cap brim lower and wove through the urban village, finally swiping a keycard to open a side gate into a courtyard.

No matter how lightly he moved, the cheap iron gate always clanged noisily when it opened, echoing clearly in the night and quickening the heart.

Song Zichu hated that sound—it made him feel exposed.

He climbed the external stairs, paused at the door, and inserted his key into the lock.

As soon as he pushed the door open a crack, he sensed danger—though the hair he’d wedged in the doorframe that morning had only just fallen, and the side window was too small for anyone to enter.

He tightened his grip on the knife in his pocket and slowly pushed the door open.

The room was dim, barely ten square meters, visible at a glance from the doorway. The small windows were papered over, the bed neatly made, the waiter’s uniform draped over a chair nearby… everything as he’d left it.

Song Zichu stared for a moment, his heart not yet settled, when a small knife suddenly pressed against his neck from the side. A streak of bright red blood spurted out, splattering onto the silver-gray doorframe.

Out of the corner of his eye, a blurry figure stood behind the dim door. The other’s pitch-black pupils nearly merged with the night, and its voice was light, devoid of any emotion: “Didn’t he tell you I would come find you?”

“—Why didn’t you hide properly?”