Chapter 21
Zhang Xiaochen was discussing the situation with Zhao Ziming while mumbling around a piece of bread in his mouth.
According to Li An’an’s explanation, she had seen a strange flower while strolling in the garden a few days ago. Unable to find its name despite searching online, she had gone out on a whim that night to look for it and lost track of time.
Everyone was skeptical of this story.
Even if Li An’an was obsessed with flowers, she shouldn’t have gone out alone in the middle of the night, especially without her phone.
“Can you two say something?” Zhang Xiaochen, bewildered by the situation, couldn’t help but look toward Jiang Liu and Xu Meng.
Jiang Liu was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, staring blankly at Xiao Si, who was talking with the landlord not far away. She seemed not to have heard him.
On the other hand, Xu Meng, startled at being suddenly addressed, looked up at him blankly. “Huh?”
Zhang Xiaochen clicked his tongue and gave her a strange look. “What’s wrong with you?”
Ever since discovering the gardenia flower on her arm, Xu Meng had been completely out of it. She had been silent all morning, barely touched her breakfast, and looked as if she were possessed.
Xu Meng forced a smile, trying to pull herself together. “I’m fine.”
As she spoke, she subconsciously touched the spot where the totem was, lost in thought.
Zhang Xiaochen frowned, then noticed a shadow fall over him. It was Jiang Liu, who had crouched down at some point to check on Cheng Da.
The house was temporarily uninhabitable, so they had spread a quilt in the yard. Cheng Da was lying on it, fast asleep.
He finished his bread in a few bites, dusted off his hands, and sidled over. “I wonder what this kid is dreaming about. He’s been murmuring nonstop.”
Jiang Liu’s eyes shifted. “What did he say?”
Zhang Xiaochen scratched his head. “He kept muttering things like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I didn’t.’ I couldn’t hear clearly.”
“Seriously, what should we do now? This Li An’an…” His voice trailed off, and he cast a fearful glance in Li An’an’s direction.
Jiang Liu nudged Zhao Ziming’s foot with her toe and raised an eyebrow slightly. “Based on your experience clearing three instances, what should we do?”
Zhao Ziming looked up at her with a bitter smile. “Please, don’t mock me.”
The missing Cheng Ji had yet to be found, and now the mission target had returned on her own. Even he had never encountered something so bizarre. His head was about to explode.
Before they could come to any conclusion, Xiao Si and Li An’an finished their conversation and walked over cheerfully.
A smile tugged at Jiang Liu’s lips as she stepped forward to meet them.
Xiao Si’s tone was much lighter than the day before, and her eyes finally held a hint of a smile. She bounced on her feet as she spoke, “Sister Liu, we need to move to the other side until this house is repaired.”
She dangled a key, her face beaming with anticipation. “It’s closer to the garden over there, and the view is even better! I guess it’s a blessing in disguise!”
Li An’an was also ecstatic, her voice full of longing. “This way, we can go admire the flowers more often!”
Seeing the two girls so happy, Jiang Liu couldn’t help but smile. She casually inquired, “An’an, you like flowers that much? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before.”
Li An’an smiled shyly, looking a little embarrassed. “I’m just interested, that’s all. Beautiful things always put people in a good mood, right?”
“In that case, you must know a lot about flowers, don’t you?” Jiang Liu’s eyes lit up as if she had just remembered something. She looked back over her shoulder. “I remember Zhang Xiaochen’s dream is to open a flower shop, right?”
Zhang Xiaochen, having been called out, froze for a moment, a look of bewilderment in his eyes. “Huh? I…”
A flower shop? Did something that artistic have anything to do with him?
Before he could finish, Zhao Ziming quickly nudged his shoulder and gave a slight cough, hinting at something.
Zhang Xiaochen was speechless.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet, his gaze wandering. “Ah, that’s right. You seem to know a lot about flowers. Could you tell me about them?”
Li An’an was surprised for a moment. She looked him up and down but didn’t seem suspicious, clapping her hands cheerfully. “Sure! It just so happens that there are some potted plants here that need to be moved. Can you help me?”
Seeing her excitement, Zhang Xiaochen felt extremely conflicted.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to burn those damned potted plants to the ground, not touch them.
But under the deadly glares of both Jiang Liu and Zhao Ziming, he felt immense pressure and could only force a smile. “Ah, sure… no problem.”
Li An’an was overjoyed and grabbed his arm, eager to go inside. Her impatience made his scalp tingle, and he looked at Jiang Liu with a miserable expression.
Jiang Liu gave him an encouraging look, her red lips parting to form two words. “Good luck.”
Zhang Xiaochen was speechless.
Why did he feel like he’d been set up?
But there was definitely something strange about this Li An’an. If they wanted to clear the level, they had to start with her.
He wrestled with his thoughts for a long while before finally gritting his teeth and chasing after her.
Xu Meng finally snapped out of her daze, looking at their departing backs with some concern. “Sister Jiang, will he be okay?”
Jiang Liu chuckled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
Unexpectedly, before her hand could even touch Xu Meng, it was intercepted by another.
Xiao Si, seemingly oblivious to her action, naturally took her hand. “Let me take you to the new house first.”
Jiang Liu shifted her fingers uncomfortably, feeling a slight dampness.
Is it too hot?
She looked up at the sun, then saw that Xiao Si’s expression was normal, showing no sign of anything unusual. Only then did she relax. “Okay.”
Compared to its terror at night, Warm Sun Town in the daytime was a paradise on earth.
Every household had clusters of vibrant flowers in front of their doors, blooming in a riot of color. Walking down the street, a refreshing fragrance wafted through the air, and combined with the warm sunlight, it was a rare treat.
Unfortunately, after witnessing the horror of these potted plants firsthand, even Xu Meng hesitated at the sight of them, following nervously behind Xiao Si without daring to speak.
Compared to her, Jiang Liu was much more relaxed.
After a sleepless night of turmoil, she had a touch of fatigue on her face, which the sun quickly catalyzed into a drowsy sleepiness. With her eyes half-closed, she let Xiao Si lead her forward, letting out a small yawn from time to time.
“When did you go out?”
As she listened to Xiao Si talk about interesting things in town, she suddenly interjected.
Xiao Si was taken aback by the question. She blinked, looking a little guilty, and her pace subconsciously slowed. “Sister Liu found out?”
She stuck out her tongue, her posture playful and intimate, and she shook Jiang Liu’s arm as if she were acting coy. “Last night, Li Xun said he was almost here, so I went out to meet him. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you.”
Jiang Liu’s gaze fell on her face. The bright sunlight clearly outlined her features, and her beautiful eyes, like fine jade set in her face, sparkled brilliantly.
She narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly, as if momentarily dazzled by the sight.
But the trance lasted only an instant. A moment later, Jiang Liu’s lips curved into a smile. “So that’s how it is. Where’s Li Xun then?”
At the mention of this, Xiao Si stopped in her tracks and took out her phone, looking annoyed. “I only saw the notice after I went out. The road outside of town is under construction, so they can’t get through for now.”
Then she couldn’t help but add with relief, “Thankfully, An’an is already back.”
Her fingers flew across the screen. She then handed the phone to Jiang Liu. The picture showed an official notice from Warm Sun Town’s account. Construction would begin last night and last for about three days. Citizens were advised to plan their travel accordingly, and they apologized for any inconvenience.
Three days.
The mention of a time frame made Jiang Liu’s heart skip a beat. She understood that this was likely the mission deadline.
She didn’t press further, just gently pushed the phone back. Unexpectedly, her fingertip accidentally touched the screen, instantly switching to the list of background apps.
Above the notice was the call interface. The top entry was a call to the landlord, and the second one—
An incoming call from that morning, labeled ‘Wife’.
Jiang Liu’s fingertips instantly stiffened. She subconsciously glanced at the time in the top-left corner; it was the exact time she had made that call.
The atmosphere suddenly froze. The warm breeze reddened Xiao Si’s cheeks as she quickly snatched the phone back, haphazardly locked it, and stuffed it into her pocket as if trying to hide something.
Jiang Liu was speechless.
What was going on? Was she just confessed to by an NPC?
The realization dawned on her belatedly. She stood there, looking at Xiao Si with a complicated expression, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.
Xiao Si’s face turned beet red. She wrung her hands, stammering, “I-I just changed it for fun. Sister Liu, please don’t mind.”
As she spoke, she kept glancing up at Jiang Liu, as if testing her reaction, or perhaps hoping for something.
Jiang Liu was stunned for a moment, her mind a rare blank.
Seeing her prolonged silence, Xiao Si’s lips drooped in disappointment. She took out her phone again in front of Jiang Liu, her voice low. “I get it. I’ll change it back now.”
With that, she raised her hand to delete the word ‘Wife’ and earnestly typed ‘Sister Liu’, even adding a little pink heart emoji at the end.
Jiang Liu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, but ultimately relented. “Just leave it like that.”
Xiao Si’s face immediately lit up with a smile, as if she had won the lottery. “Thank you, Sister Liu! The house is just ahead, we’re almost there!”
Jiang Liu stared at that smile with mixed feelings.
In any case, it was far better than ‘Wife’ in bold red letters.
The new house was just as Xiao Si had said, right across from the garden. The view was indeed nice, and the town wasn’t overly commercial, so it was usually quiet.
The inside was very clean, as if it were frequently tidied. The potted plants in the living room were all fresh, which made Jiang Liu frown as she wondered how to get rid of them.
Xiao Si pointed upstairs, looking a little conflicted. “But there are only three rooms here…”
Three rooms weren’t enough for two people per room. Zhao Ziming looked at the three girls and spoke up readily, “I can just sleep on the sofa.”
Compared to some of the harsh environments in other instances, he was already quite satisfied with this setup. Besides, it wasn’t like he would be able to sleep peacefully at night anyway.
Xiao Si looked at the narrow sofa, bit her lip, and thoughtfully suggested, “The sofa is too small. Actually, there’s a storage room on the first floor, but it hasn’t really been cleaned up. Why don’t you make do with that?”
Since she was being so considerate, Zhao Ziming certainly wouldn’t refuse. He nodded vigorously. “No problem, I’ll clean it myself.”
A look of pleasant surprise appeared in Xiao Si’s eyes, and her steps became lighter. “That’s great! I’ll take you to see it.”
With that, she quickly walked to a corner and pointed to a small door.
It was less a door and more a half-person-high wooden board propped up to one side. Inside was a messy, open-air warehouse with all sorts of discarded furniture teetering precariously, covered in a thick layer of cobwebs.
In a corner was a dilapidated single bed, surrounded by a variety of potted plants whose gaudy colors clashed with the warehouse’s decor.
In this instance, this house was a perfect silent killer.
Zhao Ziming stood frozen on the spot.
Xiao Si, seemingly unaware of his stiffness, gently pushed him inside, her voice full of innocence. “Then I’ll have to trouble you to clean it up yourself.”
Zhao Ziming: “??????”