Chapter 93

“Of course, of course I’m closer to you.”

Hu Juan’s hand was pinched painfully by him, cold sweat beading on his forehead and trickling down.

Xiao Fen released him and patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Why the long face? Since you’re here, play happily. You’ll like this game.”

【If it were me, I would’ve cut ties with a rotten gambler like this long ago to avoid getting dragged down.】

【This kind of person is a total vampire. I bet Hu Juan saw that Brother Fen is famous now, so he’s clinging on—even managing to join a big variety show like this.】

【Brother Fen is such a warm person, loyal and righteous to his old classmates.】

Hu Juan nodded dumbly, completely stunned.

He didn’t know how he made it back to the dining table and sat down. Only when dinner started and he saw the steaming hot food did he calm down a bit.

Over there, Zhong Jinghuan arrived fashionably late. He took a big detour and came to Xiao Fen’s side, nudging his arm.

Xiao Fen set down his knife and fork and looked up blankly. At his gesture, he took the photo from his hand.

It had a flamboyant signature scrawled on it.

“Just signed it.” Zhong Jinghuan laughed. “Thanks for your support.”

At these words, Xiao Fen immediately felt a substantial gaze shooting from across the table.

He shrank back his head and shot a covert glare at Fang Si Ting.

He’d only said it casually in the hall earlier—nothing more.

What was he thinking!

Fang Si Ting saw his timid yet fang-baring momentum and couldn’t help but smile.

“Uh… how about I give you a signed photo in return?” Only after saying it did he remember he didn’t have one on him. “Come to my room later.”

Ou Yu’s gaze cooled slightly, a faint smile on his lips as he teased coolly, “Found a new ally so quickly? Only hearing the new guy laugh, not the old one cry, huh.”

“No such thing. You’re still firmly in the first seat of my harem.” Xiao Fen blew him a flirtatious wink across Song Hui.

Ou Yu couldn’t hold it in and laughed once, the sound fleeting as he quickly lowered his head to fork a piece of steak, hiding his expressionless face.

“Starting to find teammates now is a bit premature, don’t you think? You don’t even know each other’s camps yet.” Lu Chengze said from the head of the table. “Tonight, I’ll act as the NPC host.”

Everyone set down their utensils.

Butler Zhuo brought over a lottery box and stood to the side.

“This time, whether you guests are victims or criminals will be decided by drawing lots, supervised by the entire web—fair and square.” Qin Shuhui said. “Note that your identity info must be kept secret; don’t leak it easily. Criminals who knife victims succeed; victims who lurk for ten full days succeed regardless of survival afterward; criminals who knife criminals fail. If someone from either side finds clues to the murder case and gets solid evidence on the killer, their identity switches to vice squad officer, and they can continue in this role for this and future episodes.”

At the last part, excitement clearly lit up in everyone’s eyes.

Everyone was hugely enthusiastic about playing detective.

“Let’s get started.” Someone urged.

Setting aside the five pursuit team members, it started with Xiao Fen.

He drew a card indifferently and stuffed it straight into his pocket.

The person next to Xiao Fen was his broker Song Hui, then Ou Yu, whose partner was that red-haired mixed-blood guy.

Next was the famous director Xu Haokong, whose partner was a recently risen fifteen-year-old male actor. They weren’t sitting together; Xu Haokong was right next to second-tier star Xue Chengge, whose male partner sat with that young actor.

Then came the loud and narcissistic Zhong Jinghuan and his broker Brother Ka.

At the other end of the table were two stand-up comedy actor partners, next to a recently hot Internet Famous Doctor, brought by a famous entertainment reporter.

Next to him were three ladies: second-tier actress New Rising Flower Li Fei and her male singer bestie, Film Queen Lin Xiu and her go-to voice actor and friend, then Hu Juan, Yan Feng, Jiang Xu, and Lu Jin who brought him.

After going around the long table, everyone had their identity cards. Only then did Butler Zhuo take the box and leave the dining room.

“If you draw a different identity from your teammate, doesn’t that mean turning against each other?” Zhong Jinghuan smacked his lips, glancing at Brother Ka.

“It’s also possible to help each other and use your identities to pry info from others.” Lin Xiu said.

“I was just thinking that, sis. But now that you say it, no one will privately swap identity info anymore.” Li Fei said.

“If it were me and I drew different from my teammate, I’d definitely knife my partner.” The man next to Xue Chengge said then, looking at him as he spoke. “Everyone thinks we’re close, so they wouldn’t suspect me.”

He was called Mu Qiu, a fourth- or fifth-tier minor actor who got to join such a hot show thanks to Xue Chengge.

“If you did that, who knows how many plastic friendships would shatter after the show.” Xue Chengge laughed heartily. “But us brothers? Impossible to split.”

“Alright, now the program crew’s rules are all explained. Wishing everyone a successful escape!” Lu Chengze chuckled and raised his wine glass.

Everyone raised their glasses together and toasted.

Qin Shuhui said, “Mr. Xiao has done two episodes already, so he must have plenty of experience. With so many newbies this time, can you share some tips?”

Xiao Fen shoveled in a mouthful of dessert and spread his hands. “What kind of question is that? What experience? Just being strong, that’s all.”

Everyone burst out laughing at that.

【Hearing Brother Fen say that, I don’t feel any dissonance at all.】

【Turns out I don’t hate showboating; I hate showboating without the skills. Hahaha.】

【Look at Madam Lu’s face. It’s quite the sight.】

“How about you have them climb a cliff to test their strength? There’s one right behind your house.” Xiao Fen shoveled in another bite of dessert and rolled his eyes at her. “Buying a house on the edge of a cliff—were your ancestors missing a few screws? Never thought about landslides, mudslides, earthquakes wiping out the descendants in one go?”

This time, Lu Chengze’s face darkened too.

Lu Jin explained, “There was a war before; this place is easy to defend and hard to attack, so they chose it.”

“Speaking of which, Mr. Xiao,” Qin Shuhui said, “this show really saved your life, huh? Finding a path that suits your talents so well. Before you got famous, how did you get by?”

“Just muddled through. What, does Madam Lu want me to spill something specific? Or do you want to dish on me? I’m all ears.”

Qin Shuhui said nothing, taking a sip of her red wine and clearing her throat.

No one chimed in.

Hu Juan ate his ice cream haphazardly, as if he hadn’t heard.

Fang Si Ting spoke gravely, “A hero’s origins don’t matter. Madam Lu, which chicken coop did you fly out of as a phoenix? Who are you looking down on?”

Someone who never said a harsh “no” to others, let alone to an outsider—this was rubbing Qin Shuhui and the Lu Family’s faces into the dirt.

Lu Chengze shot his wife a covert warning glance, then looked at Fang Si Ting with caution and flattery.

“My wife didn’t mean that.”

“Whether she did, you know best.” Fang Si Ting’s tone grew heavier, laced with clear anger.

Lu Chengze tilted his head slightly, signaling Qin Shuhui to apologize.

Qin Shuhui had thought Fang Si Ting’s hostility toward Xiao Fen in the show meant he’d at least stand by, if not help her.

She swallowed her fury and forced a careful smile. “Inspector Fang misunderstood. I just heard some things about Xiao Fen’s past and wanted to help clarify them on the live stream.”

Lin Xiu sneered coldly then. “Saying that to a newbie in public, Madam Lu. Whose scars are you trying to rip open?”

No one was a three-year-old kid.

Peng Xiaoxiao also scoffed mockingly. “Madam Lu, you know it’s live, right? Why not share the Lu Family’s rise to power? Or your lovey-dovey stories with Mr. Lu? Those would be way more clickbait.”

At that, Qin Shuhui couldn’t keep up the act, her face turning uglier, eyes glaring venomously at Peng Xiaoxiao.

【Day one and the gunpowder’s already this thick. Can’t wait for what’s next.】

【Entertainment circle stuff—who knows if it’s real or scripted? In one dinner, Madam Lu’s already riding Brother Fen’s popularity to the hot search.】

【Xiao Fen’s their artist; maybe they coordinated off-camera. Looks like Madam Lu’s bullying him, but really one wants fame, the other gets to sell sob stories from the past. Win-win. Too bad she didn’t coordinate with the other guests—kinda awkward and laughable.】

【Has Brother Fen ever mentioned his past on camera since joining the show?!】

The Xiao Fen mockers got absolutely roasted, silenced completely.

【TBH, I’m kinda lost. They talk like riddles, starting something then dropping it.】

【Of course they won’t spill to us. Look, a few words and they’re all buddy-buddy again.】

【Totally in a fog here.】

Tang Shen, Xu An, Ou Yu all spoke up for him, and even some who hadn’t caught on joined in to smooth things over.

【That’s why with these celebs, you never know real from fake—even in variety shows, even when they tear into each other.】

The dinner ended hastily amid a facade of harmony.

Day one, no one was very familiar yet. After cursory greetings, everyone returned to their rooms.

Closing his bedroom door, Xiao Fen peeled off the white sticker on his card. It read “Victim.”

Viewers who saw this grew worried.

【This time Brother Fen can only dodge others’ schemes against him.】

【Way too passive. What’s there to watch?】

【Gotta say, Brother Fen’s pretty unlucky.】

Live stream viewers dropped tens of thousands in an instant.

Xiao Fen folded it and tossed it aside.

As he pondered how to kill the long, boring night, a knock sounded at the door. Zhong Jinghuan went around knocking on everyone’s.

“Wanna play snowball fight?”

A few people opened their doors, poking their heads out curiously.

Seeing Xiao Fen come out to check, Ou Yu asked, “You playing?”

“Why not? It’s so boring right now.” He couldn’t even go online to game.

“What if we run into a murder…”

Before he finished, Xiao Fen shoved him out the door. “Saying that makes you sound like the victim. If you hook a criminal, you’ll be the wronged one.”

“How’d you know?” Ou Yu asked. He’d drawn the criminal card.

“‘Cause I’m the victim.” Xiao Fen said helplessly.

“Huh?”

Lu Jin wanted to knife him, right? Giving him victim meant naturally Ou Yu was criminal, so they could team up and sideline him.

“Can I knife you then?” Ou Yu smiled faintly.

“No way, my precious life’s gotta be spent on…”

Ou Yu reached out and pinched his neck. “Gonna let me knife you? Hm?”

“No… ha… yes yes yes… hahahaha.” Xiao Fen shrank back ticklishly, dodging everywhere. “Stop tickling, stop! Fine, I’ll let you!”

He and Ou Yu horsed around in the corridor, laughing all the way, when they suddenly bumped into a wall of a man.

“Mm…”

Fang Si Ting hurriedly caught him in his arms, steadying him, and looked down.

Xiao Fen’s pearl-white cheeks flushed pink from laughter, joyful tears spinning in his eyes, lips red and teeth white. His bright, bold smile shone up at him.

The white puffy cotton jacket was soft, like a glutinous rice ball with sweet filling. Fang Si Ting was about to tighten his arms a fraction when the person slipped away like a gust of wind, circling behind him. Two hands clutched tightly at the sides of his coat at his waist.

Xiao Fen hid behind him, peeking out half his head coquettishly. “Mr. Black Cat, save me.”

“Wrong person, huh? You’re throwing yourself to the enemy. Come on over, your teammate’s here.” Ou Yu beckoned temptingly.