HEIFEIGU -Chapter 29

Although Yu Yueting and Huai Xinhou wrapped filming early, their highlight moments were plenty and there was no real regret.

“The second stage of the game, ‘I’ve Been Waiting for You,’ officially begins.” The mechanical voice sounded again. “Each of the three players, please accept your task.”

Individual tasks were directly sent to the players’ earpieces; neither the audience nor the observation room could hear them.

【So that’s how they play it—suddenly a suspenseful twist】

【Worried for my girl, she has a cool face but a tiny bit of courage.】

【Feels like my goose is a bit timid. I wanted to rely on Xiao Meng, but they were separated.】

A soft female voice echoed through the mansion again, repeating the familiar line: “You’re here, I’ve been waiting for you~”

Meng Zezhou, Quan You’er, and Ran Shi were separated by the production team into three different live rooms.

“I’m panicking again. Looks like I have to go down a secluded path with no light,” Quan You’er murmured, wrapping a flashlight around her arm. “From now on, I have to do this task on my own.”

“Where are the task items?” Ran Shi had already started. He bent over, flashlight in hand, searching the courtyard frantically. “This task is timed. If I run out of time, I fail.”

Holding up the newly received task wristwatch, he showed the camera, “See? Countdown 10 minutes, one minute already gone. I have to hurry.”

Unlike the tense atmosphere in the other two live rooms, Meng Zezhou leisurely walked toward the backyard. He stood by the gate for a moment, then pushed it open and went in.

“Why am I so nervous now that the live room split?” Li Jiani in the observation room fidgeted, rubbing her arms.

Yu Xinghan smiled and asked, “Do you still have confidence in your choice?”

“Yes, I do,” Li Jiani laughed, squinting at the camera and pretending to glare, “A jerk must be the villain!”

Yu Xinghan: “What about Xiao Ling and Xiao Jiang?”

“I stick to my choice too.” Ling Peng finally got a chance to speak. He launched into a detailed analysis, almost reciting his script verbatim: “I suspect Meng Zezhou and the NPC were lovers in a past life. They separated for some reason but still loved each other. Now that they meet again, they will definitely continue their love!”

“Quan You’er is likely the villainous supporting female, obstructing their reunion.”

He pronounced the phrase “continue their love” particularly slowly.

The fangirls in the comment section immediately freaked out.

【Aaaaaaah, so ship-worthy!】

【‘Continue their love,’ savor it, really savor it.】

【Does anyone else feel sorry for Ling Peng? He was forcibly split from his CP, now he’s still so humble.】

【Our loving husband-type is like this—endlessly doting.】

The audience forced to watch the CP shipping couldn’t stand it anymore.

【If you want to ship, go do it in the fan forum. Now shouldn’t we be discussing who the villain is?】

【Such a simple question, Ling Peng already analyzed everything clearly!】

【Prophet stabbed!】

【I still don’t buy it. According to Yu and Huai’s storyline, the production team wouldn’t make such a cheesy plot for the final story.】

【I also don’t believe it—why must the best friend be a villainous woman trying to steal the man?】

Though there were dissenting voices, the keywords Ling Peng purchased were already trending high.

Many of his fans rallied in the comment section, attacking anyone who opposed, while other fans gave up trying to fight back.

Quan You’er trembled searching for the hidden path, Ran Shi frantically rummaged through the grass, and Meng Zezhou’s live stream was the first to find a clue.

The first room in the backyard was decorated completely differently than before.

Red silk hung outside the room, and the shadow of a graceful figure was visible through the door’s gauze.

Meng Zezhou rubbed his hands together, “My CP has appeared!”

He strode over and pushed open the wooden door. In the center stood a wooden rack with a long robe and jacket embroidered with dragons, phoenixes, and mandarin ducks—a wedding outfit.

Meng Zezhou checked the other corners—nobody else was there.

“The production team is quite clever,” he said, picking up a booklet on the table. “I saw the shadow outside the door, it clearly moved.”

Opening the booklet, he saw vertical small characters, all in traditional Chinese script.

Male: Zhu Shimei, age twenty, born on the 20th day of the third lunar month of the Dinghai year.

Female: Yue Qinyao, age fifteen, born on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month of the Renchen year.

May your union be forever blessed, perfectly matched. See the peach blossoms on this day, ideal for a harmonious home; may future generations flourish.

It was a marriage certificate.

“So, I’m Zhu Shimei, and my CP is Yue Qinyao. That’s a pretty name,” Meng Zezhou muttered.

As he spoke, he felt a soft voice whisper “Thank you” in his ear.

Though he had mentally prepared for ghosts in the mansion, this sudden occurrence still made him shiver.

Sis, you really don’t have to be so polite—you scared me!

He shook himself to rid the goosebumps and said, “Looks like these clothes are for me. I’ll disappear for a bit.”

He removed his suit jacket and covered the camera with it. His live stream immediately went black.

【Ahhhh, Mengmeng is way too polite.】

【Treating me like an outsider!】

【Is he avoiding me? Is he avoiding me?!】

【Is there anything that I, the noble SVIP, cannot see?!】

【You guys, day after day, never pay attention to his acting, only his body. How is this reasonable? Although… well, let me take a look at the body!】

“He’s still so shy,” Ling Peng said sweetly from the observation room, smiling. “He used to hide from me like this on set too.”

【First love is like this!】

【A real CP is like this!】

【Avoidance always means a real CP!】

【I’m going to kick the cabinet door closed right now!】

“This Zhu must be Mengmeng’s past life. After putting on this wedding outfit, they’ll reconnect their past fate soon,” Ling Peng continued analyzing. “Past life and present life, a beautiful romance!”

Li Jiani lowered her head, pouting slightly. When she looked up again, her smile had returned. “Why do I feel a little creeped out? According to the time written on the marriage contract, the woman is almost 200 years old now. She must have passed away long ago. Marrying a ghost? Creepy.”

“Sis, it’s an unresolved love between a human and a ghost!” Ling Peng continued enthusiastically, tossing out details from the script. “I think Mengmeng is like Teacher Huai’s older brother—he devoted himself to the country and died on the front lines. The girl sacrificed herself for him. When they reunite, they must make up for the regrets of their past life. If they have feelings, who they marry doesn’t matter, right?”

【He still loves him! He still loves him so much!】

【Spread the word, Ling Peng is going to marry Meng Zezhou!】

Seeing the barrage of comments spiraling out of control, Yu Xinghan quickly changed the topic. “Hey, it looks like Ran Shi found something in the livestream!”

Ran Shi, with a dusty face, was digging through leaves and tapping branches until he finally found a flat little wooden box in a brick crevice.

The box looked a bit like a modern business card holder, and inside were several sheets of paper.

Ran Shi unfolded the first sheet. It read: “On the fourth day of mid-spring in the Gengxu year, Wu Huo pawned his wife, Fang Shi, aged twenty-five, healthy and without illness, to Wu Kang.

The pawn period was three years, with a loan of 108 silver dollars.”

“What is this?!” Ran Shi was shocked. “Human trafficking?!”

His hands were trembling. He opened the second sheet: “On the first day of midsummer in the Jiyou year, Dai Gang, unable to repay twenty-six silver dollars owed to Wu Kang, pawned his daughter, Dai Chunya, to the Wu family until the debt was returned.”

Reading the words, Ran Shi felt his chest tighten, his nose starting to tingle. He opened the last sheet: “On the twentieth day of mid-winter in the Gengxu year, Zhu Shimei pawned his wife, Yue Shi, aged seventeen, healthy and without illness, no children, with bound feet, to Wu Kang.

The pawn period was one year, with a loan of twenty-eight silver dollars, in two boxes. Temporary, not yet effective.”

“What is this?!” Even knowing it was just a game, Ran Shi felt terrible inside, at a loss for words.

He quickly wiped his eyes, ignoring the dirt on his hands that smeared his face. “The last one hasn’t taken effect yet. We still have time!”

The countdown on his watch had already stopped when he found the box. A familiar mechanical voice sounded in the livestream: “Congratulations to player Ran Shi for completing the timed mission ‘Crevice.’ Please prepare immediately to start the next timed mission, ‘Secrets That Must Be Spoken,’ limited to 15 minutes. Countdown begins.”

The mission details were once again announced in his headset.

The red countdown on his watch switched to 15:00. Ran Shi carefully stored the three sheets of paper, pinched his nose hard, and muttered, “Time’s short. I have to hurry.”

He strapped the flashlight to his arm and ran toward the round arch on the right side of the yard.

At this moment, Meng Zezhou’s livestream lit up.

The wedding outfit fit him perfectly, like it was tailor-made. Meng Zezhou lifted the hem of his long robe and sat in the armchair by the round table.

His natural demeanor was already refined and handsome. With this outfit and the narrow-brimmed hat adorned with bird feathers, he truly looked like a new-style young master from the late Qing Dynasty.

The lights in the room were warm, the candle flames flickered, casting mottled shadows. He looked pensive, as if lost in thought.

Picking up the round glasses on the table, Meng Zezhou carefully wiped the lenses with his sleeve.

This action seemed to trigger a plot point. Multiple overlapping voices suddenly echoed in the room:

【Sending you overseas was to make you successful and serve the country. And you? You want to drive me crazy!】

【Listen to your mother, stop it.】

【This time it’s your arm, next time I’ll break your leg if you keep it up!】

【Stop, let him do it. Let him hit you to death; pretend I never had this son!】

【Father has already died from anger; mother doesn’t have many days left. Shimei, wake up!】

【Your mother arranged a marriage for you. After marrying, settle down and live well. With your elder brother supporting the family, as long as you stop hitting, nothing will be lost.】

【Your sister-in-law is such a good person. Why not live peacefully with her? Why keep going to the brothel? How powerful is that place?】

【Why can’t I control you?! I’m your elder brother. If I don’t, who will?】

【Shimei, I’m going to the front lines. In the future, your brother can’t care for you anymore. I beg you—stop. I don’t ask for great ambition, just that you live properly.】

The room fell silent. Meng Zezhou stood and walked to the rack holding the wedding outfit.

A black tobacco pipe, hidden behind the robe, caught his eye. Occasionally, light reflected off the black jade mouthpiece. After a moment, he reached out, took it, and hung it on his belt.

Turning back to the camera, his entire aura changed. Even with glasses, the cruel, greedy look in his eyes could not be hidden.

A sickly smile curled his lips. He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: “I’ll find her… and trade her for tobacco.”