Chapter 24

The plot dragged on endlessly, and Qi Xu grew somewhat annoyed as well. On top of that, those terrifying male ghosts with their varied appearances truly tested the limits of her psyche. Although she firmly believed that Xia Zhiming wouldn’t toy with her on something like this, and that those ghosts didn’t exist—they were illusions!

But she couldn’t withstand how realistic the illusions were. The scenes of those dead men staring at Qi Xu really gave her considerable psychological pressure.

Even though Room 4404 was right next door, Qi Xu worried that the Front Desk Ghost was deliberately skipping it to open the doors ahead.

Qi Xu’s movements were even more practiced than the Front Desk Ghost’s. She jabbed the key in, twisted it once, and opened the door. Because her adrenaline had surged, her actions were a bit more forceful than usual, and she pushed the door a little too hard. The old, flimsy wooden door of the Vivid Red Hotel slammed into the wall with a click, then bounced back, making a loud noise.

If nothing else, the sound startled Qi Xu first and also frightened the two “people” inside.

After Qi Xu walked in, she saw “Xia Zhiming” and the man inside both stand up at the same time. The two of them had actually just been normally sitting at the tea table beside the bed with two chairs. That tea table and chair set was probably from the same supplier—no matter if it was in Room 8301 or the lobby downstairs, they all looked exactly the same as this one.

Except there was a large bed right next to it.

In normal circumstances, a man and a woman checking into a hotel big bed room late at night inevitably led people to think of certain things.

Qi Xu thought of the photo of “Xia Zhiming” she had seen before, and combining it with the scene in front of her, it was easy to feel that the “Xia Zhiming” before her was a promiscuous woman who would check into rooms with different men.

The “Xia Zhiming” in front of her also looked caught, her face showing anxiety as she opened her mouth to ask, “Qi Xu, why are you here?”

The tone she spoke in inexplicably gave Qi Xu the illusion of “Honey, why are you here?”—like catching a mistress.

Qi Xu fell silent.

Because—Xia Zhiming herself had never spoken to her in that tone! Not once.

That anxious, worried, hurried, panicked voice had never come from Xia Zhiming’s mouth. Xia Zhiming was always teasing, composed, disdainful—in short, the current tone didn’t match “Xia Zhiming’s” face at all.

It was also because of Qi Xu’s silence that the Front Desk Ghost behind her got a chance to speak. But with Qi Xu blocking the doorway, the Front Desk Ghost couldn’t get in front of her and could only stand behind, standing on tiptoe and raising her voice. “Xia Zhiming, how could you do such a thing?! Look how worried Qi Xu is! We’ve already opened so many wrong doors just now!”

No, even as a ghost, this wasn’t right.

The Front Desk Ghost’s words made Qi Xu unable to resist turning around to look at her.

“You’re the one who kept opening random rooms, so why blame it on ‘Xia Zhiming’?”

“…” The Front Desk Ghost stiffened for a moment, her gaze toward Qi Xu carrying disbelief. She was stunned for a while before squeezing out, “I’m speaking up for you!”

Qi Xu sighed and turned back to look at “Xia Zhiming.” Before she could speak, “Xia Zhiming” spoke first. “Qi Xu, listen to me explain. There’s nothing between him and me. You know, I came here for work. I really didn’t do anything else!”

Of course, if it wasn’t for work, she and Xia Zhiming wouldn’t have come here either.

But Qi Xu was pondering because this plot gave her a strong sense of déjà vu. She always felt like she had seen it somewhere… She thought for a good while before realizing what it was.

It looked like she was—catching a mistress?

Qi Xu’s expression grew a bit strange. As a college student, one very important part of her social life was playing board games with friends, like Werewolf or script-killing games. As poor students, they couldn’t afford to go to board game cafes, but they could just find an empty meeting room or classroom on campus and play.

In the first half of this semester, she had even played with her roommates and people from other dorms that super popular script online—”Catching the Mistress.” That script had been bought at a high price by someone in the next dorm, supposedly a legitimate copy.

It actually wasn’t that fun; the plot logic was a bit messy. But playing with classmates made it enjoyable because everyone was a total drama queen.

The feeling “Xia Zhiming” and the Front Desk Ghost gave her now was just like playing that script-killing game.

Qi Xu took a deep breath. She got it now—her role was supposed to be “Xia Zhiming’s” lover. Once she figured that out, Qi Xu felt confident again. She wasn’t good at ghost-hunting, but script-killing? That was right up her alley.

She put on a serious face, making it look darkened, and righteously looked at “Xia Zhiming” in front of her. “Fine, then tell me—what kind of work requires you to bring him to a hotel late at night?”

Here, she had mentioned the man, so Qi Xu glanced over at him as well. She had only seen his back before, but now she saw his face. Undoubtedly, he was a ghost too. His face was a deathly blue-gray, bluish-white—no way he was alive.

Qi Xu even felt that this guy—looked a bit familiar.

Qi Xu stared at the man and thought for a long time before realizing: Yeah, he was one of those bunch clinging to the doorframes and walls outside, all victims killed by the Vivid Red Hotel.

That settled it; another illusion.

Qi Xu calmed herself, completely unaware of how terrifying her stare at the man had been. Her eyes were blankly fixed, as ghostly as could be. But while she stared at the man, the Front Desk Ghost behind her seemed quite pleased.

After looking her fill, Qi Xu walked forward a couple of steps, even passing “Xia Zhiming” and the standing male ghost, and went straight to the tea table to sit in the spot “Xia Zhiming” had just occupied.

Qi Xu did this for a reason—the previous position wasn’t great. With the Front Desk Ghost behind her and “Xia Zhiming” and the male ghost in front, wasn’t she sandwiched between them?!

Retreating behind the Front Desk Ghost wasn’t good either; all those open doors outside had unknown ghosts waiting. Even if they were probably illusions, they might be disguised by other ghosts. Qi Xu didn’t dare gamble and could only cautiously place herself in a relatively safer spot in this illusion for now.

Qi Xu’s question clearly made “Xia Zhiming” even more anxious. She hurriedly took a few steps forward, hesitating as she faced Qi Xu. “Really, it’s truly just work-related. You know he’s a client. I just helped book the hotel and then discussed some things with him. I was planning to leave soon. I go home with you every night—you know that!”

Oh, so that was the plot.

Qi Xu naturally followed up. “Even if that’s what you think, what about him?”

At this moment, sitting in the chair, Qi Xu could take in all the ghosts at once. The Front Desk Ghost had been behind her before, so she couldn’t see her expression. But now, she could—every time she asked a question, the joy on the Front Desk Ghost’s face increased a bit.

It seemed the Front Desk Ghost was quite satisfied with her advancing the “catching the mistress” plot.

“Xia Zhiming” was now quite urgent, constantly explaining in her mouth. Qi Xu wasn’t really listening carefully and instead pondered.

In the “catching the mistress” plot, the key elements were the caught “Xia Zhiming,” the suspected third party man, and herself as the “lover.” What did the Front Desk Ghost have to do with it? She seemed like a guide NPC, but actually had a lot of authority. For example, a perfectly ordinary key that could open many doors.

During the door-opening process, she had deliberately created the impression that “she wasn’t too familiar with this hotel.”

Qi Xu thought for a long time. “Xia Zhiming” kept explaining in front of her, and when it snapped Qi Xu back to attention, she even thought unexpectedly: Talking so much must have made her mouth dry. Even knowing the “Xia Zhiming” in front of her wasn’t the real one, Qi Xu subconsciously glanced at her lips.

At that moment, Qi Xu thought:

If her mouth is dry, it wouldn’t be good for kissing; good thing this is the fake Xia Zhiming, not the real one.

After thinking for so long, she felt she had vaguely grasped the key to the situation. She stood up, looked at the nearest “Xia Zhiming,” suddenly nodded, and then said, “Mm, I believe you.”

The instant she said that, whether “Xia Zhiming,” the male ghost, or the Front Desk Ghost, all showed stunned expressions. Even “Xia Zhiming” couldn’t help saying, “What?”

Qi Xu repeated, “I said I believe you. Didn’t you say you came here for work and have nothing to do with him? I believe that.”

After saying this, she even added, “But you have to remember not to go into hotels with other men late at night. Even if you’re completely innocent and have no ideas about him, he might have bad intentions toward you. What if he tries something? I know you’re very capable, but even someone precious shouldn’t sit in a dangerous spot. Don’t do something so foolish.”

If it were the real Xia Zhiming, Qi Xu definitely wouldn’t say so much. Who was Xia Zhiming? So arrogant, sharp-tongued, and malicious—she’d suspect anyone going to a hotel with Xia Zhiming late at night had committed some grave mistake and wonder how Xia Zhiming would deal with them…

But this “Xia Zhiming” in front of her was much softer, and her role was Qi Xu’s “lover.” Plus that anxious explaining look made this pure-hearted, foolish, kind-hearted female college student overflow with sympathy in an instant, and she unwittingly said a lot.

After she finished, she even unconsciously scratched the back of her head. “Sorry, I might have talked too much. But I absolutely don’t distrust you, just… um, head home early?”

Once Qi Xu finished speaking, “Xia Zhiming” didn’t react, but the Front Desk Ghost broke first. “No, that’s not right, how can it be like this? How can you believe her?! How can you say such things?!”

“Acting like this makes me look like a pitiful loser! How can you do this?!”

As the Front Desk Ghost spoke, she could barely maintain her originally pretty face anymore.