Chapter 29: Drama Queens

While the viewers were frantically spamming the chat, Qiong Cang’s hand suddenly paused. She then pulled a folded piece of paper out from an inner pocket of a coat.

It was clearly a few newspaper clippings of various sizes, roughly folded together in chronological order.

Qiong Cang opened them up and laid them out.

From a mere sentence at the very beginning, to full-page analytical reports later on, and finally to a massive nationwide public condemnation, this file detailed the entire process of a convicted murderer falling back into crime after serving his sentence.

Although Fan Huai’s name had been replaced with a pseudonym, the content of the news was taken directly from real media reports. Anyone who had seen them could easily guess who it was.

But why were they collecting news about Fan Huai?

Was it Wu Ming who was keeping tabs on Fan Huai, or was it Li Yujia? From what she could tell, Fan Huai had not been involved in their lives since his release. Instead, they were the ones actively trying to learn about him.

The moment this item was uncovered, everyone in the Live Stream Room gasped in unison.

They had almost forgotten about this suspect, whom they had previously condemned and deemed the main culprit. He had been completely missing in action the entire time, and no one expected him to appear in this manner now that the plot was entering its second half.

It felt a bit like they were getting sidetracked from the main task.

·

After reading it, Qiong Cang put the clippings back into the pocket exactly as they were, pretending she hadn’t found anything, and continued searching the rest of the area.

Unfortunately, He Jueyun was quite clever and hadn’t put all the clues in one place. The other pockets were completely clean, and Qiong Cang found nothing else.

She knelt on one knee and began pulling out the bottom drawers one by one, reaching her hand inside to feel along the inner walls and the floor.

When she reached the third drawer, she actually found a document envelope taped to a spot on the inner wall.

Judging by how secretly He Jueyun had hidden it, she could infer the importance of this document.

His thought process was sometimes very easy to guess.

He actually turned out to be the naive, sweet type.

Qiong Cang lamented silently.

She carefully untied the string on the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. It was clearly a diagnosis report from the Center for Disease Control.

Qiong Cang looked at the HIV-positive diagnosis result at the bottom and pressed her hand to her eyelid.

Although Wu Ming disliked Li Yujia and their family relationship was extremely toxic, he did not have any improper sexual relationships. Or rather, Qiong Cang suspected that Wu Ming actually lacked the physical capability to commit the act.

His life was simple and transparent. The only secret apartment he kept was used to hide his women’s clothing, and there were no signs of anyone else living there. He had been infertile for years and avoided seeing doctors. It was highly likely that there was something wrong with his physical health.

In that case, he had no way of contracting HIV, nor could he have transmitted the disease to anyone else.

The name on this report was Li Yujia, dated nearly three months ago. The one who had actually cheated must have been her.

Unable to bear Wu Ming’s neglect and Zhou Langxiu’s malicious physical and mental abuse, and under immense pressure, she had desperately wanted a child. So, she resorted to unusual means, only for misfortune to strike. An accident occurred, dragging her into another abyss.

Well… if a woman isn’t ruthless, she can’t secure her position.

She wondered if Wu Ming was safe.

Qiong Cang raised an eyebrow to show her shock, but her facial muscles barely moved. She remained completely calm and unbothered, leaving the viewers utterly stunned.

The comments in the Live Stream Room had long been flooded with the crude exclamation “Holy crap!” No one expected that the couple, who had seemed so harmonious just moments ago, would collapse like this in such a short time. It was like their superficial marriage had been put to the test of the Samadhi True Fire¹.

Not even ashes remained.

“I’m never believing in love again.”

“Stop searching, stop searching! 【screaming with head in hands】”

“I thought Brother Q was an innocent little flower². I’m sorry, turns out I’m the naive one. 【goodbye】”

“When will I ever learn the master-level poker face of this big boss?”

“Things have gotten to this point, and not a single one of these drama queens is innocent! They’re all so damn good at acting!”

·

Qiong Cang put the items back in their original places once more, stood up, and walked around the room.

The windows were tightly shut, the curtains hung down to the floor, and everything was arranged in an orderly fashion.

Qiong Cang glanced back at the doorway, then looked around the room again.

Since Qiong Cang loaded into the game, no cleaner had appeared. According to Zhou Langxiu’s lines, it was because their regular cleaner had taken time off, leaving Li Yujia to help clean the villa.

Yesterday, He Jueyun had come downstairs and turned the living room into a complete mess without offering to tidy it up. After all, he wasn’t a real housewife and wasn’t used to doing chores. Yet this bedroom was kept very clean, as if He Jueyun hadn’t messed up anything while searching the room for evidence.

Qiong Cang ran a finger across the floor and confirmed that there wasn’t much dust accumulated on it. It must have been cleaned not long ago.

During the night He Jueyun locked himself in the bedroom, he had gone to great lengths to clean this room.

Interesting.

What was he trying to clean up?

Qiong Cang curled her lips into a faint smile and turned to head to the adjacent bathroom.

The white light turned on, illuminating all the fixtures inside.

Qiong Cang picked up a discarded rag from under the cabinet.

It was supposed to be a white rag, but due to He Jueyun’s improper use, it had become stained and discolored.

Qiong Cang brought it over to the sink, spread it out in the water, and carefully washed away the dust on it to examine any useful traces left on the fabric.

In the upper right corner of the rag, there was a small dark red stain that looked very much like blood. As for whether it actually was, that would require testing with professional reagents to confirm.

Qiong Cang measured it with her hand.

The stain wasn’t large, only about the size of a thumb. It was likely a residual bloodstain in some corner that He Jueyun had spotted and cleaned up.

Qiong Cang returned to the bedroom, got down on the floor, and peered into all the corners.

Sure enough, He Jueyun’s cleaning wasn’t very thorough. The dust under the bed was still there.

The areas hidden by furniture were likely a straight man’s cleaning blind spots.

Qiong Cang shone her flashlight underneath and used a piece of clothing to sweep out a small, blood-stained glass shard from under the bed. Around it, tiny fragments glinted weakly in the beam of light.

Something must have shattered, sending pieces flying under the bed that were missed during cleanup.

This meant Li Yujia and Wu Ming had argued over something not long ago, and it had eventually escalated into a physical fight.

Qiong Cang patted down her own body.

There was a clear difference in physical strength between men and women, not to mention that Li Yujia was physically weak. Wu Ming had no obvious external injuries, so the one who got hurt must have been Li Yujia.

Did He Jueyun’s sudden coughing up of blood today have something to do with that previous injury?

Qiong Cang lay on the floor for a while, shielding her eyes from the overhead light as she carefully sorted through the clues in her mind. A moment later, she sat up and conducted a second search of the room.

There was no further evidence to be found this time.

Qiong Cang went to the storage room and dug out a black duffel bag. She tossed in a few changes of clothes, along with some towels and toiletries, preparing to head to the hospital.

She was grateful to He Jueyun for kindly providing this evidence. He had worked hard.

The people’s victory would remember him.

·

This segment of game time passed quickly. By the time Qiong Cang returned to the hospital, it was already three in the afternoon, and He Jueyun was asleep. His breathing was steady; it seemed he had actually fallen asleep after lying down for so long.

Qiong Cang silently took out Li Yujia’s phone, removed the case, and sat down by the bed.

Before long, He Jueyun opened his eyes, shifted slightly on the bed, and asked in a low, sleepy voice, “You’re back?”

“Yeah.” Qiong Cang moved her phone slightly, snapped a photo of his face, and said, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to wear women’s or men’s clothes, so I brought a few of both. I picked them out myself, so you should like them.”

“Huh?” He Jueyun said. “Aren’t you supposed to wear a hospital gown in the hospital?”

Qiong Cang replied, “They’re for when you get discharged.”

He Jueyun waved it off. “The Instance is almost over anyway. Why bother?”

Qiong Cang said with a straight face, “As long as it makes you happy, the Instance doesn’t matter.”

He Jueyun was taken aback by her words, goosebumps breaking out all over his arms. He looked at Qiong Cang with growing concern, worried that she was getting too into character and taking things seriously.

…Why is she so addicted to playing the overbearing CEO?

…Does she even remember she’s a woman?

“It’s about time. I’ll go pick up your scans, so why don’t you sleep a bit longer?” Qiong Cang patted his shoulder with a gentle smile. “Your things are in the bag, and I brought your laptop too. If you don’t want to sleep, you can get up and play on it for a bit.”

He Jueyun asked, “Did you bring my phone?”

“I think I grabbed it, but I didn’t pay close attention,” Qiong Cang said. “Check the bag yourself. I’ll go grab you something to eat while I’m out.”

He Jueyun felt a pang of guilt at her sudden thoughtfulness. Pure and kind-hearted as he was, he said sheepishly, “You don’t have to. You’re going to stay here and take care of me? It’s just a game setting, you should go focus on your own tasks. The 26th is almost over, and you don’t have much time left.”

“We’ll talk after your test results come back. It’d be too boring to leave you lying here all by yourself,” Qiong Cang said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

With that, she walked out of the ward. Once the door clicked shut, she turned and headed straight for the break room next door, clutching the phone in her hand.

Back in the room, He Jueyun stared blankly at the ceiling. After a long silence, he let out a heavy sigh.

·

“I don’t know whether to feel sorry for Brother Q or what, but I kind of just want to laugh.”

“Brother Q: I’m so touched. 【Pah】”

“The big boss has no heart.”

“What a player! She’s such a player! But how can you not fall for a player like her? You can’t!”

“Brother Q better not watch the stream replay, or he’ll cry.”

“Even though there are all kinds of trickery in this game, actually getting your heart stolen… Brother Q is so pitiful.”

Translator’s Notes