HEIFEIGU -Chapter 27

Watching the live stream from the observation room, Meng Zezhou got goosebumps on one arm.

Why is Ling Peng so impossibly lingering?

Meng Zezhou’s first drama was a Republican-era drama where he acted opposite Ling Peng.

He played a deeply affectionate, new-style young master, hopelessly in love with Ling Peng’s underground intelligence officer.

In the drama, they were entwined, facing life and death together, and ultimately both died due to the overwhelming tide of history—a so-called “most beautiful BE (bad ending)” in the eyes of fans. When the CP was split, Meng Zezhou received almost insane online backlash.

Only after Xie Jixing intervened could he finally have a few peaceful days—and now this guy is bringing it up again!

Looking at the flood of comments:

【My dead memories are attacking me!】

【Missing that summer’s perfect love.】

【Meng Zezhou, you’re really cruel!】

【Ling Peng loved him so much.】

【Sigh… all these years, Ling Peng still hasn’t moved on, he still calls him Meng Meng.】

【When I hear him say ‘Meng Meng,’ my heart skips a beat—who understands!】

Meng Zezhou: When I hear him call me Meng Meng, my heart skips a beat too—who the hell understands!!!

He rolled his eyes in frustration. Really annoying!

Most of Meng Zezhou’s fans were soft, cute girls who rarely argued with others. And the CP fans weren’t speaking ill—they were just sticking close, absorbing content. When arguments did break out, it seemed the solo fans picked the fight first, leaving them passive, only able to watch the barrage scroll by.

Jiang Zhengqi, being a minor celebrity just there to get exposure, had no one caring about his choices. His selections mirrored Ling Peng’s almost exactly. Only when it came to Meng Zezhou did he add two sentences: “I also think this character is a standout for Teacher Meng. I’ll choose deeply affectionate, new-style young master.”

He looked like he was on-site enjoying the “sugar” (CP content).

【As we know, Jiang Zhengqi and Ling Peng are in the same company. If this is the case, privately… could Xiao Peng and Meng Meng…】

【Hehe, I won’t say who’s shipping me.】

Yu Xinghan glanced at the barrage, frowned slightly, a trace of annoyance flashing in his eyes, and raised his voice:

“Okay, all guests have made their selections.”

“One more game rule: if multiple phrases are chosen for a character, points are awarded for correct guesses and deducted for incorrect ones. Now there’s one chance to modify choices. Anyone want to change?”

“For example, Xiao Ling, do you want to change the ‘deeply affectionate’ tag for Meng Zezhou?”

“No,” Ling Peng said without hesitation, “From what I know of Meng Meng, he’s best at and loves roles like this. He will definitely choose it.”

People who aren’t famous still love riding the wave!

Yu Xinghan rolled his eyes internally, smiling: “Let’s hand the camera over to the closed-room site.”

---

Same familiar vermilion door, same red lanterns, the only novelty was Meng Zezhou in a three-piece British suit.

“Hello everyone, I’m Meng Zezhou,” he greeted the camera. “I’m joining this family.”

This time everyone entered the room laughing, expertly turning on flashlights, the atmosphere as joyful as a theme park visit.

Seeing Xie Jixing under the tree again, no one was afraid. Quan You’er even waved excitedly.

Xie Jixing, who usually just raised the corners of his mouth slightly, twitched his lips a few times this time—uncontrollable.

The cheerful mood vanished when they opened the first room door.

The room wasn’t completely dark. On the center Eight-Immortals table was an incense burner and a pair of red candles, both burning, smoke curling outward. Flashlights swept across the walls, revealing several portraits.

“Oh my!” Li Jiani exclaimed, “It’s them!”

Portraits were hung in two rows. The top row: Yu Yueting and Quan You’er. Bottom row: Huai Xinhou, Meng Zezhou, and Ran Shi.

Only Ran Shi and Quan You’er’s photos were in color; the rest were black-and-white.

“This is…” Quan You’er started to panic again, “Is it us?”

“What are you afraid of? At least you’re still lit up,” Meng Zezhou said boldly, taking the flashlight and inspecting the portraits, tapping the left, feeling the right.

After flipping Ran Shi’s portrait completely, they discovered something new.

“Come, there’s something on the back of this portrait!”

With this discovery, the room lights turned on.

They gathered around a contract of sale.

The Ran family, struggling to make ends meet, sold their six-year-old son Ran Shi to the Zhu family as a servant for 12 silver dollars.

Looking at the thin paper, Ran Shi felt a mix of emotions. “Ah… they sold me.”

“Check yours—could mine be the worst?”

Meng Zezhou’s portrait revealed two passage tickets for studying abroad behind it.

“I’m good,” he silently showed the camera.

Ling Peng interjected from the observation room: “I knew he’d like this character.”

“Seems Meng Meng has always been playing similar roles.”

“Not really,” Li Jiani interrupted, “Xiao Meng has also challenged a variety of roles.”

“Yes, Teacher Meng has a wide range,” Jiang Zhengqi confirmed, then shifted, “But it seems he loves the deeply affectionate, gentlemanly, noble characters the most.”

The company had already bought trending keywords in advance, naturally steering the conversation this way.

#Ling Peng understands Meng Zezhou best.

The keyword began climbing the trending list from the bottom.

Portraits were flipped one by one.

Behind Huai Xinhou’s was an old newspaper. It contained analysis of the current situation, authored by him, clarifying his identity.

Old Huai looked relieved: “Not bad, at least he’s a cultured man.”

Behind Yu Yueting’s portrait was a silk scarf embroidered with mandarin ducks swimming. Behind Quan You’er’s was a moth specimen.

“Guests, please confirm your surface identities,” a cold mechanical voice sounded. “Collect your scripts in order.”

“Light, Quan You’er, Thread, Yu Yueting, War Correspondent, Huai Xinhou, New-Style Young Master, Meng Zezhou, and Ran Shi.”

“Note: among our five guests, one is a villain. Observation room members, please make your final guesses.”

Ran Shi looked around aggrievedly. “No way… I didn’t even get the first identity. How unfair!”

“Hahaha, light a candle for Xiao Ran,” the screen cut back to the observation room, showing Ran Shi’s pitiful face frozen. “Let’s check the points.”

“Jiani currently has 2 points, Ling Peng 3 points, Jiang Zhengqi also 2 points. Our Xiao Ling is amazing!”

Ling Peng’s assistant checked the situation, confident the other keywords were secure. Even though the show wasn’t halfway through, he notified the company.

#Ling Peng, an ultra-clever boyfriend.

#He guessed the ending so perfectly!

The tag started climbing the trending list.

They could hype a clever persona and attract more CP fans with Meng Zezhou. Ling Peng’s trip here wasn’t wasted.

“The final answers should all be written. Yu Xinghan, please have everyone flip the whiteboards.”

【Jiani still chose Meng Zezhou.】

“Based on my tag, I could only give it to him,” Li Jiani joked, pursing her lips. “A scumbag will always be the villain in my heart.”

“I chose Quan You’er,” Ling Peng flipped over his white card. “Same reason as before: guard against fire, theft, and your best friend.”

“I choose Ran Shi,” Jiang Zhengqi said. “He doesn’t have a primary identity, seems suspicious.”

In the mansion, all five had received their own scripts, and after reading, their expressions were complicated.

Each script clearly pointed toward another character, but since no one knew what the others’ scripts contained—and with a villain among them—they all had a bit of wariness toward each other.

Quan You’er didn’t even grab Yu Yueting’s arm this time. She scanned the others suspiciously. “Can I trust you all?”

Ran Shi quietly moved next to her. “You don’t trust them, but you must trust me, right? We’re definitely on the same side.”

Quan You’er nodded. “Fine, then I’ll follow you.”

Yu Yueting silently leaned toward Huai Xinhou.

The group once again arranged themselves in a mix of individuals—everyone paired up differently.

Meng Zezhou gave a bitter smile. “What, are you bullying the newbie?”

“If there’s only one villain, it should be either Quan You’er or Ran Shi. Didn’t you notice just now? Our portraits are in color, but only theirs are black-and-white.”

“Plus, Xiao Ran doesn’t have an identity yet, so he’s even more suspicious. You’d better stick with him, You’er—he might take you into some ghost’s lair.”

Ran Shi glared at him. “I’ve already had it rough, and you’re sowing discord? You’re definitely the final Big Boss!”

Meng Zezhou shrugged. “Let’s go. The final Big Boss will be your shield anyway; I still have to search the rooms.”

Saying this, he began searching the room, checking every cabinet and drawer.

“Hey, there’s a book here!” The first drawer yielded something. “Quick, let’s see what it says.”

It was a genealogy book. The first pages were printed and could be skipped.

By the seventh generation, useful information appeared: Zhu family, seventh generation eldest son: Huai Xinhou; second son: Meng Zezhou.

“Bro!” Meng Zezhou grabbed Huai Xinhou’s arm. “See! I have my brother—I could never be the villain.”

“Not necessarily,” Huai Xinhou feigned disgust, pushing his arm away. “Our father’s surname is Zhu, I’m Huai, you’re Meng—but we’re biological brothers. This…”

“What relationship is this? It fried my CPU.”

“Don’t worry about these details!” Meng Zezhou reassured him. “It’s all the production team stirring things up.”

Then he found a silver hairpin in a drawer, with a few small engraved characters: ‘To You’er, Shi.’

Ran Shi feigned shyness and pulled Quan You’er closer. “You found out? We’ve actually been together for a while.”

“That’s so deliberate—I need to be on guard now.” Quan You’er side-eyed him. “I’m safer staying with Yueting.”

When searching the second-to-last drawer, Meng Zezhou suddenly felt an icy, bone-chilling hand brush his own.

“I… c…” He staggered back two steps, nearly falling.

What the hell?!