Chapter 54

Hiding in a safe place and letting a girl scout ahead was clearly something that made Hou Yuqiang and the others feel ashamed. After going downstairs, they looked left and right, not daring to sit down, and could only keep their eyes fixed on the staircase.

The atmosphere grew cold. None of the people present knew what was going on, so they couldn’t help but fall into an anxious wait, paying close attention to any movement upstairs, afraid that something might happen to Jiang Liu.

It was Zhao Ziming who broke the silence. He casually pulled up a small stool and sat opposite Jiang He, leaning forward without any sense of propriety to inquire, “What’s your relationship with Zhang Xiaochen?”

Others might not know, but how could he not? The photo this kid was staring at was the one that had swallowed Zhang Xiaochen last night. That meant what Jiang He had said earlier was very likely true.

So the question was, with Zhang Xiaochen’s reckless personality, he didn’t seem like the type to give hints to an enemy.

Even if he were to give a hint, it should have been to wholeheartedly welcome Jiang Liu!

A bunch of chaotic scenarios ran through his mind. When he came back to his senses, he saw that Jiang He wasn’t even looking at him, just leaning silently against the wall, staring at the photo in a daze, as if he were mute.

Zhao Ziming’s heart was on fire. He subconsciously glanced at the staircase and sighed heavily.

When they went upstairs, he had been right behind Jiang Liu. In the dim darkness, he had vaguely seen her give him a look before she went up. It was because of this that he hadn’t followed her, but had obediently led the others downstairs to wait.

This Jiang He looked young, but who knew he was such a clam, his mouth a mere decoration, refusing to reveal a single thing no matter how much he asked.

Despite all of Zhao Ziming’s efforts, he couldn’t pry his mouth open until the sound of light footsteps echoed in the shop.

Everyone turned their heads in unison. The first thing that came into view was a pair of clean shoes, which Jiang Liu had found in Teacher Yang’s dormitory. They surprisingly fit her perfectly.

Jiang Liu came downstairs holding two photo frames. The moment her feet touched the floor, she felt a chill run down her back, as if something was staring at her from the shadows. Even without turning around, she could still feel a strong, venomous gaze.

Her back stiffened unconsciously. Just as she was carefully preparing to turn around, she suddenly felt the photo in her arms heat up, a rare source of warmth in the winter-like room, perfectly dispelling the chill on her body.

At the same time, the gaze hidden in the darkness disappeared.

Jiang Liu turned her head. The second floor was still pitch black, and she couldn’t see anything.

“Sister Jiang, did you find anything?” Xu Meng rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and immediately looked at what was in her arms.

“Come take a look at this.” She beckoned them over, casually placing the photo of the strange man on the table. She held Yang Caisi’s photo, looking at it from left to right, unsure of where to put it.

The warmth she had just felt was not an illusion; she could still feel the lingering heat where her fingertips had touched.

Is this photo helping me?

An unacceptable thought popped into her head. Jiang Liu’s eyes widened in confusion as she stared at the photo, sizing it up.

People often have unconscious little movements when they are thinking. Jiang Liu herself didn’t notice that her fingers were unconsciously stroking the photo. When she came back to her senses, she felt the temperature where her fingertips touched was faintly rising.

Before she could think more about it, a scream caught her attention. She quickly put down Yang Caisi’s photo and went over, naturally missing the fact that the woman in the photo was blushing, the paper almost hot enough to ignite.

The scream came from Hou Yuqiang.

Before this, Zhao Ziming had been studying the photo when Hou Yuqiang suddenly shouted, rushed forward, pushed aside the people around him, and snatched the photo.

This action startled Zhao Ziming. Thinking he was still up to no good, he clutched the photo and kicked him away.

His strength was clearly no match for Jiang Liu’s, but it was obvious he was a regular at the gym. Hou Yuqiang was caught off guard by the kick and stumbled to the ground, but he had already forgotten to be angry, just pointing at the photo as if he had seen a ghost—

“The Seal!”

Jiang Liu’s expression flickered. Following his finger, she saw what looked like a stamp on the back of the photo.

The thing had been stuck to the wall very tightly. She had practically forced the photo off, and the strong adhesive on the back had pulled off a piece of the wall with it, covering most of the pattern, which was why she hadn’t noticed it.

Now that Hou Yuqiang mentioned it, she quickly noticed the anomaly. She took the photo out of the frame, and the complete seal appeared before everyone’s eyes.

It looked like the mark of a stamp, not too large but exceptionally clear. It was a decent little painting. The background was a riverbank, with two willow trees leaning against each other. Their long branches drooped into the water, creating tiny ripples.

The scattered lines vividly depicted its essence, conveying its spirit with just a few strokes.

The moment she saw the pattern, something flashed in Jiang Liu’s mind, so fast that she couldn’t catch it before it vanished.

Beside her, Hou Yuqiang patted his butt and stood up, his expression gradually turning to one of pleasant surprise. “That’s the pattern! It really exists!”

After searching back and forth twice, he had almost started to think that woman was lying to him.

A willow?

Jiang Liu muttered to herself and subconsciously checked Yang Caisi’s photo. The back was empty.

This one was special.

Realizing this, she studied the person in it again.

It was a middle-aged man. The backdrop was the photo studio, with no other props used. He was holding a teacup, and his expression was a bit stiff, as if he had just noticed the camera by chance. He wasn’t smiling.

The group looked at the photo, then at each other. After a moment, Zhu Yan spoke hesitantly, “Don’t you guys think this person looks a bit like Zhou Yuan?”

There was a saying among the older generation about skipped-generation resemblance, where boys resemble their maternal uncles and girls their paternal aunts.

In truth, the man in the photo had a completely different temperament from Zhou Yuan. This man had a very unique aura, with a hint of melancholy. But if you looked at their features separately, you would find that their eyes and brows were subtly similar.

Hou Yuqiang slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Could this be the person we’re looking for?”

“Your mission is to find the supervisor?” Jiang Liu glanced at him.

He belatedly realized he had exposed his thoughts and looked a little annoyed. But then he thought, since the cat was out of the bag, there was no need to hide it. He nodded readily and admitted, “That’s right.”

“What about the Side Quest?” Jiang Liu asked again.

This time he shook his head. “I didn’t accept it.”

He wasn’t afraid of being laughed at. He was very self-aware. He was afraid of being tricked even with a Clue Pouch in hand, let alone accepting that strange advanced mission.

To ensure his brothers’ safety, he hadn’t even considered that option.

Zhao Ziming listened with a click of his tongue, his expression complicated as he stood to the side. “I didn’t expect you to be so sentimental.”

A touch of pride finally appeared on Hou Yuqiang’s swollen face, and his tone was exceptionally proud. “We have a life-and-death relationship. We’re sworn brothers.”

Zhao Ziming said no more, but his face wasn’t looking too good, perhaps because he had been reminded of something unpleasant.

They had the files of all the suspended students. Although Jiang Liu hadn’t checked if they were all hanging on the second floor, she figured there was no need to confirm it now.

There was only one option now: find the supervisor, ask what happened, set things right, and bring the real people back.

But the method—

Jiang Liu stared at Yang Caisi’s photo on the table, a smile unconsciously appearing on her lips. “I’ll go in and take a look.”

Zhu Yan cried out in alarm, “Are you crazy?”

They didn’t even know what the situation was like inside. Where did Jiang Liu get the guts to go in?

But his words did nothing to shake Jiang Liu’s resolve. She pointed to a tripod not far away and looked at Zhao Ziming. “Help me take a picture.”

As she spoke, she was already leaning against the counter, her expression relaxed, as if it were just an ordinary souvenir photo.

Zhao Ziming hesitated.

He had been in contact with Jiang Liu for a while now. To put it dramatically, they had a life-and-death friendship. He could roughly follow her train of thought. Seeing her determined attitude and complete lack of tension, he guessed she might already have a plan.

He should trust Jiang Liu.

She leaned against the same spot as Yang Caisi, and even the curve of her smile was identical. If the two photos were placed side by side, people would probably think they were taken at the same time.

Jiang Liu looked at the almost identical layout and a sudden thought popped into her head.

Could this photo have been taken by Yang Caisi herself?

The window behind her wasn’t large, and it would be difficult to climb in nimbly. But Yang Caisi was slender and agile; it would be easy for her to get in.

After simulating the scene, this thought took firm root in her mind.

As an NPC, why would she seek cooperation from a player and voluntarily enter a strange incident in an instance? What exactly did she want to do?

Jiang Liu lowered her gaze, staring at the two photos in front of her, and gradually fell into deep thought.

***

Jiang Liu was woken up by someone pressing down on her.

In her daze, she could clearly feel a weight on her body. Heat was continuously transferred through skin contact, and there was even a strange, faint heartbeat against her chest. It wasn’t just one person.

It was as if two figures were overlapping, their heartbeats gradually synchronizing to a similar rhythm, echoing in her ears like a duet. This rhythm left her momentarily confused, almost unsure if she was dreaming.

Three seconds later, Jiang Liu’s eyes snapped open, and she finally realized something was wrong.

She had somehow fallen asleep while staring at the photo.

It was completely dark around her, and she couldn’t see her surroundings clearly. She could only feel a gentle breath on her neck, causing a slight shiver.

It was very quiet here. The intertwined heartbeats were clearly audible, sending a chill through her heart.

Where were Zhao Ziming and the others? How long had she been asleep?

As these questions popped into her head, her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and the scene in her vision became clearer. She shifted her gaze slightly and met a pair of innocent eyes.

Yang Caisi was pressing down on her, their faces almost touching, with no barrier between them. Her pale, luminous face was faintly visible in the darkness.

Jiang Liu’s brain froze. Before she could process it, she heard Yang Caisi take a deep breath, her tone seemingly filled with a hint of resentment. “Why did you have to wake up at such a bad time?”