Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 44
by Little PandaVolume 3: Song of the Wanderer
Great Demon King 03
The Game of the Brave
Moli turned around frantically, looking helplessly at the men sitting over there.
Qi Haolin and the others walked over, but their combined efforts to pull the door open were futile.
Ke Xuguang cursed, stepped back two paces, then took a running start to ram the door.
The door remained completely immobile, and Moli was on the verge of breaking down.
Moli: “Don’t tell me what you said actually came true? What should we do now?”
Ren Difei: “How would I know? I was just joking earlier!”
Moli: “Then why did you look so excited before, not scared at all!”
Ren Difei: “Who the hell isn’t scared? Damn it, I’m shaking right now, okay? How do you want me to show that I’m scared? Should I cry for you? Wuwuwu?”
Moli: “You! Are! Sick! In! The! Head!”
Qi Haolin: “Stop arguing. Could it be possible that the door’s security lock or something automatically engaged, which is why we can’t open it?”
Qi Haolin appeared extremely composed, helping to calm down those who were panicking and afraid.
Sheng Lifan looked toward the doorway with trembling, his lips quivering.
“What if it’s really a supernatural event…”
“You’ll have to take full responsibility for this.”
Pi Tianzi interrupted Sheng Lifan’s words, looking at Qi Haolin.
This trip was initiated by Qi Haolin, and it was Qi Haolin who brought them here, and it was Qi Haolin who suggested they come inside, so he should be responsible for them.
“That’s true, but if there’s real danger, I might not be able to protect all of you…”
Qi Haolin said with apparent difficulty, laughing inside though his face didn’t show it.
Who cares if these people live or die.
Qi Haolin thought, but suddenly remembered his ex-girlfriend whom he had brought along.
She was so timid and fragile, she must be very scared now.
Qi Haolin looked over, but found that the girl sitting on the sofa wasn’t trembling or sobbing. Her face appeared extremely calm, and when their eyes met, her gaze was eerily peaceful, as if the current situation couldn’t stir any waves in her emotions.
But how could that be possible? She must be terrified, that’s why she’s not showing any expression.
Qi Haolin thought about how she used to look at him with tears in her eyes, and for once wanted to show some kindness. Just as he was about to walk over, Moli came and grabbed his hand.
“I’m a bit scared, can I stay with you?”
Moli said in a coquettish voice, her face somewhat pale. She grabbed Qi Haolin’s hand, pressing his arm against her chest, executing this movement so skillfully that it appeared as if she was merely holding his hand against her bosom.
It was obvious that this little flirt was truly frightened now, her affected manner of speaking barely holding up.
Qi Haolin wasn’t in the mood for that sort of thing, but since someone was throwing themselves at him, he didn’t move, remaining seated on the sofa, allowing Moli to nestle beside him.
Xin Lan turned away, not wanting to watch this eye-soring scene.
She actually didn’t like OOC [Out Of Character, a term used in fiction when characters behave differently from their established personality], but in this situation, it would be too much to expect her to maintain the original character’s setting. She couldn’t possibly look at this scumbag with tears in her eyes, helpless and trembling. It was already good enough that she was restraining her excitement to keep from making the scumbag tremble; she could only put on a blank face to get by.
“Disgusting.”
Pi Tianzi said softly, but in the current silence, it sounded exceptionally clear.
Moli glared at her, and rather than feeling ashamed, proudly pressed closer to Qi Haolin.
Ke Xuguang felt somewhat agitated, lit a cigarette, and his eyes scanned around, sweeping across every corner and person.
Xin Lan occupied one end of the single sofa, Qi Haolin and Moli took one side, Pi Tianzi sat opposite to Xin Lan, Sheng Lifan was next to Qi Haolin and Moli, Ke Xuguang stood smoking, while Ren Difei was examining various decorations in the villa.
Ren Difei: “Based on my experience, if this is really a supernatural event, something will definitely happen at midnight, but we’ll be fine if we make it till dawn.”
Pi Tianzi: “What experience do you have? Encountered ghosts?”
Ren Difei: “No, I’ve been reading supernatural novels and watching ghost movies for seven or eight years. I’m a veteran enthusiast.”
Ren Difei still appeared very calm, as if he hadn’t shown any fear from start to finish.
Xin Lan glanced at his unconsciously trembling hands hanging at his sides, then looked at his face, narrowing her eyes.
Fear was present, but there was more excitement. Though who knows if he’d still be excited when he actually sees something unclean [a euphemism for ghosts or evil spirits].
Among the seven people present, Sheng Lifan probably looked the worst, huddled there with his eyes vigilantly watching his surroundings.
Pi Tianzi lowered her eyes, her hands continuously playing with the bow on her dress, seeming lost in thought.
Moli, feeling secure leaning against someone, gradually regained some color in her face. She wanted to say something but held it back.
Sheng Lifan: “What are you trying to do!”
Seeing Ren Difei attempt to take down the painting from the wall, Sheng Lifan quickly spoke up.
Ren Difei: “I want to take a look at it. Usually, these things have clues hidden inside.”
Sheng Lifan: “What if you disturb something? Can’t you stop touching things randomly and just sit still?”
“You’re talking as if the ah piao [colloquial term for ghost] in here, if there really is one, won’t come after you just because you didn’t touch the painting.”
Ren Difei rolled his eyes, carefully took down the wall painting, and examined the back of the frame.
Pi Tianzi: “Did you find anything?”
Ren Difei: “Not a damn thing. Was I wrong?”
Xin Lan paid no attention to their situation, organizing thoughts in her mind.
Because she had the original host’s memories, she knew roughly what the game rules were like and what had happened here before, but she could only vaguely understand the general picture, as the original host’s memories weren’t clear due to fear.
The living room’s painting indeed held no secrets, and Xin Lan turned her gaze to the tea table in front of her.
Ren Difei took down all the small paintings hanging on the wall and examined them one by one. After finding nothing, he shifted his attention elsewhere.
Everyone remained still, quietly watching Ren Difei walking back and forth alone.
When Ren Difei turned around, he was met with six pairs of eyes staring at him, making him shudder.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Continue.”
Pi Tianzi lifted her chin, telling Ren Difei to continue exploring.
No one knew what was in this house, and with such an adventurous companion testing the waters, everyone naturally just watched in silence.
The only two who weren’t afraid at all were Qi Haolin and Xin Lan. Qi Haolin was waiting, as he hadn’t figured out the game rules yet, while Xin Lan was planning to be the yellow bird [meaning: to wait for an opportunity to take advantage], waiting for Qi Haolin to make his move.
She didn’t particularly enjoy keeping people around to deal with them slowly; she just liked seeing certain people being pushed down when they thought they were victorious.
It was like the difference between scoring 10 points versus 59 points on a test. If you constantly suppress someone from the start, making them feel like they’re worth only 10 points, they might just give up entirely. But if you let them think they’re about to succeed before pushing them down, that kind of resentment and anger is enough to make someone break down in despair, or even go mad.
Ren Difei knew exactly what these people were thinking – they were afraid he’d get himself killed by touching things carelessly. He gave an internal cold laugh and continued his examination.
He pulled open the tea table’s drawer; one side was empty, but the other contained a photo album.
Ren Difei perked up and quickly took it out, spreading it on the table.
Everyone gathered around to look. Xin Lan, being the closest, was the first to see the album’s first page after Ren Difei.
On it was a photo of a baby, looking only a few months old, sound asleep.
Looking further, it showed the baby’s growth process, with photos documenting the child’s appearance from a few months to several years old.
Toward the back of the album, a woman began to appear, with various photos of her holding the child.
Ren Difei: “This should be an important clue. This little girl must be this family’s daughter, and the one holding her is her mother.”
Ke Xuguang: “Where’s her father?”
The album documented the little girl’s growth from a few months old to seven or eight years old, but only the child’s mother appeared in the later photos, with no trace of the father.
Moli: “Maybe he was the one taking the photos?”
Pi Tianzi: “Even if he was taking the photos, it’s not normal to not have a single group photo, right? This isn’t normal.”
Ren Difei: “Maybe her father died.”
When Ren Difei said this, everyone fell silent for a moment.
Sheng Lifan: “Can you not say that word…”
He felt as if a cold breeze had just blown past.
Ren Difei carefully examined the photos page by page again, but this time he wasn’t looking at the content of the photos, rather searching for any other photos that might be hidden inside.
Sure enough, his search yielded results. On the last page, there was a smaller-sized photo tucked in the insert.
Ren Difei pulled out that photo. It was a group photo with three people – two adults and one child. The woman and child were the mother and daughter they had just seen. In the photo, the child was being held by a man, who had one arm holding the child and the other arm around the woman, looking like a harmonious family portrait.
The little girl’s face showed a brilliant smile, and the woman’s face showed happiness mixed with a touch of shyness.
Pi Tianzi: “This must be the child’s father, right? But why was it hidden inside like this?”
Ke Xuguang: “Maybe the parents divorced, and the child’s mother didn’t want any trace of the father in the house, but she couldn’t bear to throw away this group photo, so she hid it inside.”
Ke Xuguang had finished his cigarette. As he said these words, his somewhat fierce face took on a hint of self-mockery.
The album was flipped through several times but revealed no other clues, so Ren Difei put it back in its original place.
Only the living room was lit on the entire floor. Ren Difei wanted to check the kitchen and bedrooms, but being alone, he didn’t want to go see what might be there.
Sheng Lifan: “Weren’t you acting so brave earlier, looking through everything enthusiastically? Why aren’t you going now?”
Ren Difei: “Don’t you know about the certain death rule for the first person who acts alone away from the group?”
Ren Difei was well-versed in such tropes, and wasn’t about to court death. He sat down in an empty spot on the sofa and lay there motionless.
With no one actively exploring anymore, everyone crowded onto the sofa, waiting for the night to pass and dawn to arrive.
Xin Lan occupied the single-seat sofa, leaning back and closing her eyes.
She could fall asleep quickly, and this time was no exception.
In her dream, she heard a little girl’s voice.
“Big sister, wake up. Will you play with me?”
She opened her eyes and looked at the little girl in front of her with a gloomy expression.
“Get lost.”
LP: Re-translated on January 08, 2025
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