Chapter 16

It was rare for Hu Xiu to not hide behind the platform; she bravely stood in front. The scar on Qin Xiaoyi’s face was clearly visible.

He saw her too, briefly glanced at her, and then turned away—his light, fleeting gaze was the deadliest.

Rongcheng had returned to its original state: everything orderly yet hiding dangers.

Qin Xiaoyi walked into Rongcheng with a calm and composed figure, even tipping the soldier. He was stopped by Bai Luoyu, who was wearing a white dress. “Minister Qin, you’re so handsome, yet you’re injured?”

“Just a lover’s quarrel, nothing worth mentioning.”

The scar on his face and his waist injury were from a ruckus he had caused late at night. Bai Luoyu had been there too, and when their eyes met, Hu Xiu felt like she wanted to hang herself at the gates of Rongcheng to apologize, but since they had just arrived, she didn’t dare say anything.

Bai Luoyu’s eyes could speak. Although not as clear as Lin Qiumei’s, they were full of charm.

Polite, composed, and subtly wary—she was the kind of woman who knew exactly how to measure emotions.

This made Hu Xiu hesitant to come again next time.

Hu Xiu casually drew a character pack, and it turned out to be the Soviet journalist Herzen from Feng Youjin’s team.

Her role mostly involved tasks on the train, where she would be invited by various people to help secure votes for candidates at the Soviet conference, including players and NPCs.

On the first night, Qin Xiaoyi improvised the script—before the key figures arrived, he had gotten into a fight over a love affair.

The aloof image of Qin Xiaoyi was teased by Ning Zechen. “Minister Qin, your tabloid news is quite numerous. Would you like to take a look at the little ads for venereal disease medicine published in Rongcheng Evening?”

The female players around them laughed at the flirtatious joke, while Feng Youjin moved closer to scare them, making the young girls scream.

In her heart, Hu Xiu silently reminded herself that her job as an NPC was to make people happy. After the first scene ended, she followed the script and entered the carriage, only to be blocked in Compartment 6—no wonder she had never seen a Soviet member from Feng Youjin’s team; there was simply no opportunity to go out!

The Soviet journalist’s room was vividly decorated. The Russian posters showed Lenin, and Russian nesting dolls were arranged in a row from largest to smallest in the cupboard, giving the room a strong Northern European atmosphere.

Outside the window, Qin Xiaoyi was still conversing with the female players. Hu Xiu, though separated by glass, could tell what they were talking about.

Qin Xiaoyi smiled brightly and even made eye contact with them for ten seconds. Forced by their passionate gaze, he seemed shy and retreated—an interaction that someone like Hu Xiu, shy and timid, could never provide.

This scene made her uneasy. Suddenly, someone came to find him—it was Ning Zechen. His idle manner hadn’t changed, and he hoped she could help by placing some blackmail material about Qin Xiaoyi embezzling public funds and trading military arms in the Soviet newspapers, while also promoting him a little.

Seeing Hu Xiu staring out the window, Ning Zechen glanced at her and smiled. “I heard last time when I wasn’t around, you all made a scene on the Snowpiercer?”

“It was a misunderstanding. A friend had some relationship issues, and it recently made the trending topics online, as you might have seen.”

“We perform five shows a day, where do we have time to look at our phones? All I know is one of you hit Qin Shaoyi. Did you see the bruise on his face? That punch was really something...”

“Sorry...”

“It wasn’t you who hit him, so there’s no need to apologize. But you really like him, huh? You come and send him money every now and then.”

“Qin Shaoyi... Is he angry?”

“I don’t know, but this is all work. We’ve had people who came to cause trouble before, like the Wild Horse Gang, who smashed up the sets. Compared to them, you’re nothing. As long as it’s not specifically to disrupt the show, it’s all part of the work. However...” Ning Zechen’s smile deepened with some meaning, “You have a boyfriend, but you still flirt with Qin Shaoyi?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

Ning Zechen clicked his tongue, raising his eyebrow and shaking his head as he retreated.

Hu Xiu was both angry and anxious. The carriage door opened, but some players were still looking for her. How had she drawn the character that would get her stuck in the carriage like this?

Couldn’t she at least help the players looking for Qin Shaoyi choose a character package?

When she walked out of the carriage on the second night, Qin Shaoyi had just come out of the jail cell and was standing beside the train smoking a cigar.

It was all props, but Qin Shaoyi acted it very well. After a few attempts with the lighter that didn’t spark, he coldly stuffed it back into his pocket. The suit he was wearing slid off one shoulder, which he quickly adjusted, neat and clean, all within the play, completely ignoring Hu Xiu.

“What’s wrong today? Bad mood?”

Qin Shaoyi nodded towards the wall. The newspaper had already been posted there. The Russian-styled paper, written in Chinese characters, claimed that Qin Shaoyi, the Finance Minister of Manchukuo, had embezzled funds and engaged in improper activities—this was the storyline Hu Xiu triggered.

“If Minister Qin needs to be replaced, you can pay me, and I’ll write it.”

Qin Shaoyi took out twenty thousand yuan. “Help me with something. Go to Ning Zechen’s room and drug him. Afterward, during the date with Lin Qiumei, make sure he can’t leave his room, causing him to miss the date.”

Everything was part of the play. Hu Xiu took the money and softly said, “Sorry...”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Writing a flattering report for Ning Zechen is your job,” Qin Shaoyi clearly wasn’t planning to discuss anything outside the play.

“I meant... your face... is it alright?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he turned away, not planning to discuss it further.

Hu Xiu quickly clarified, “That’s really not my boyfriend, he’s a blind date my dad introduced me to. I’m not as frivolous as you think...”

Qin Shaoyi turned around, his smile bright and clear. “What are you talking about, journalist Herlzen?”

His smile made Hu Xiu feel at ease. Normally, she would never disrupt Ning Zechen and Lin Qiumei’s date. Letting Qin Shaoyi be left alone and talking with her in the play was her private pleasure.

But today, Hu Xiu wasn’t sure if she dared to anger Qin Shaoyi, feeling that the last scene, where Wang Guangming had pushed someone, might have been caused by her.

Carrying wine into Ning Zechen’s room, Ning Zechen smiled too, but continued with the performance, pretending to have diarrhea and ruining Lin Qiumei’s date.

After completing the task, Lin Qiumei approached and handed Hu Xiu ten thousand yuan. “Buy some tonics for Ning Police Chief.”

This wasn’t even a love triangle. No matter how much Qin Shaoyi tried, Lin Qiumei only liked Ning Zechen. It was a script where their couple was cemented.

Hu Xiu figured that since she had to please Qin Shaoyi, she might as well go all in and bought a gift for Lin Qiumei at the department store.

Thinking back to the last scene where Qin Shaoyi had injured his waist and Lin Qiumei was there, looking terrified and unsure of what to do, Hu Xiu hesitated: “Lin, Miss Lin, this is a gift from Minister Qin...”

“Did you ask for it yourself?”

Hu Xiu didn’t quite understand what this meant.

“I’ve reconciled with Ning Zechen, and Qin Shaoyi knows it. If this gift is from you alone, I’ll accept it.”

“However, I, Lin Qiumei, don’t easily accept gifts from others. This money... it’s a gift from me to you in Rongcheng.”

People always want to get closer when they feel touched. She stepped back from the door, her head peeking through the crack, “I’m sorry about last time.”

“We didn’t take it to heart, forget about it.” Lin Qiumei’s eyes spoke volumes.

When the door closed, Hu Xiu thought to herself, how many NPCs in the Murder Mystery had beautiful hearts as well as faces? The unpleasant things from last time had somehow been soothed with gentle words.

As she walked out of the door and stood on the main road of Rongcheng, Hu Xiu looked at the condensed yet complete city with its restaurants, clothing stores, department stores, casinos, dance halls, police stations, army, and train station...

And all these actors living in Rongcheng, forming a new imaginative world about life.

Her nerves were delicate, and in the real world, she felt like walking on thin ice. But in this fictional dimension, no one had any qualms about her. Every time they greeted her with a smile, no grudges, and even if they had to deceive her, their fundamental kindness remained.

Qin Shaoyi passed behind her. “Did you go to please Lin Qiumei?”

“I...” Before she could finish, Qin Shaoyi’s hand rested on her head, ruffling her hair. “It wasn’t me who asked you to do that. Don’t do it. I don’t want second-rate love.”

The ending of the script had indeed been altered. Qin Shaoyi was successfully placed on the candidate list for Rongcheng.

But the first thing he did was tie Ning Zechen to a chair and try to shoot him. When Qin Shaoyi was about to shoot Fu Youjin, who had betrayed him, Lin Qiumei stepped in front of him. Qin Shaoyi, almost blinded with rage, said, “I’ll give you everything—my money, my power, all of it. Be with me, okay?”

Seeing Lin Qiumei shake her head, Qin Shaoyi pulled out a gun, firing twice. Both Fu Youjin and Lin Qiumei fell to the ground.

Standing in the middle of the dance hall, only Qin Shaoyi remained, and the third round of the escape game had ended.

It turned out there wasn’t even an escape game in this scenario. Everyone was dead, leaving only Qin Shaoyi on the Snowpiercer.

This was Hu Xiu’s first time witnessing such an ending. Qin Shaoyi had killed everyone and stood alone under the spotlight, scattering roses and then money.

The bruise on his face looked more like the mark of a broken-hearted honor, and the open collar torn by their dispute revealed his pale and seductive collarbone. His solitary pride became his permanent punctuation mark.

Hu Xiu couldn’t help but be moved by the side profile of Qin Shaoyi. Such an ending suited him perfectly.

Although lonely and painful, it was a perfect match for his face and aura, a natural fit.

By the time the game had finished, it was already 1:30 AM. Sitting in the break room, Hu Xiu saw Qin Shaoyi coming out of the office dressed in a shirt, and her heart skipped a beat.

He had come out early and quickly changed his clothes, not even bothering to adjust his collar, as the actors who had finished their shifts were waiting for the elevator at the front desk.

When Qin Shaoyi saw Hu Xiu, he slowed his pace slightly, waiting behind the crowd. The two elevators arrived at the same time, and the actors surged into the one on the right. The elevator was small, and only Hu Xiu and Qin Shaoyi were inside. The awkward silence filled the small, closed space.

Qin Shaoyi blocked the other elevator’s door behind Hu Xiu, and she quickly followed him inside.

It felt like a silent understanding.

Suddenly, Ning Zechen barged in, mischievously looking at the blushing Hu Xiu. “Looks like there’s no room for me in this elevator.”

Before the door could close, he stepped back, and his last expression visible through the crack in the door was a mischievous smile.

Hu Xiu, already nervous, felt her anxiety heighten.

She had practiced many times in her mind how it would feel walking out of Rongcheng with Qin Shaoyi, aside from that movie-like rainy night, also the warm moments of walking side by side and squeezing together to watch a movie.

She couldn’t think of the right lines to say, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to control her expressions perfectly. She feared that her overconfidence would lead to something awkward or even make the other person laugh.

She pressed the button for the upstairs elevator, and Qin Shaoyi leaned against the elevator, just a step and a half behind her. As the elevator ascended, for that brief moment of weightlessness, Hu Xiu felt goosebumps.

This rare opportunity...

“You did well today…” the words slipped out of Hu Xiu uncontrollably.

She had intended to turn back casually, but found Qin Shaoyi was already looking down at her.

“You’ve already seen the ending of Qin Shaoyi many times, haven’t you? There’s no need to watch it again. Just come to play next time. Don’t worry so much about winning or losing.”

Hu Xiu had wanted to say, “I came to see you,” but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she only asked, “Do you remember me?”

“Of course…”

“If we’re familiar with each other, there’s no need for so much politeness… we’re friends now, aren’t we?”

“Being polite is a basic quality for an actor.”

The elevator slowly ascended, and Qin Shaoyi seemed to be speaking to himself. “The ending for Qin Shaoyi isn’t good, it’s quite tragic. He ends up with money and power but never gets love.”

Before Hu Xiu could respond, the elevator door opened. Another group of NPCs exited from a different elevator, and the shopping mall had already closed. A group of people exited through the emergency exit. Qin Shaoyi remained at the back, seemingly holding the door for her.

As Hu Xiu passed by him, she heard his gentle voice: “It’s late, be careful.”

“Okay…”

The entire exchange felt like they had said nothing at all. There was no flirtation, and nothing that Hu Xiu could hold on to and think about again later.

A week later, she might not even remember Qin Shaoyi’s face clearly. She would have to buy a ticket to enter again and wait to see his ending, watching him throw money again—

He won the final scene, and the time she could spend seeing him would be just a little longer… but the waiting was so hard to bear.

In the distance, the actors were chatting at the door. Lin Qiumei’s boyfriend had come to pick her up from work—

It was another actor playing Ning Zechen. The two embraced sweetly, while one of the actors pulled a drone from his bag, calling for everyone to try flying it.

The young boy and girl fiddled with the drone tirelessly outside the shopping mall in the late night. Qin Shaoyi, hunched over, wearing a shirt and shorts, didn’t appear weak but instead muscular, his curves flowing smoothly. He looked even more outstanding in casual clothes than he did in the play—and even more... sexy.

Hu Xiu hid in the distance, waiting for the car, her eyes unable to look away from him until she noticed the subtle relationships among the actors.

Everyone was casually chasing the drone, which zigzagged through the air, except for another Ning Zechen and his clingy girlfriend Lin Qiumei, who stood still, hugging each other.

Qin Shaoyi unconsciously followed Lin Qiumei’s actor, even though she was standing with her boyfriend, tiptoeing and coquettishly flirting. Ning Zechen responded with a full embrace, while Qin Shaoyi retreated to the side, playing with his phone, joining the drone fiddling in a lazy manner.

Several colleagues were chasing the drone, playing around, but Hu Xiu could see Qin Shaoyi’s hidden sense of loss as he hunched his back.

She had felt that same way before. The more she admired Qin Shaoyi, the more she understood how unbearable the feeling of unrequited love was when someone hunched their back and lowered their head, unable to let go.

Qin Shaoyi’s affection for Lin Qiumei, which had carried over from the play, was now a silent, one-sided love. His passionate pursuit in the play had turned into a secret crush in real life.

Even if he could hide it, anyone with a keen eye could see it. Hu Xiu easily saw through it.

The September wind had not yet cooled, but she felt her hands and feet growing cold. She shivered, her breath trembling.

In the game, she simply liked Qin Shaoyi, never thinking that this feeling should extend beyond the play.

Now, as she watched Qin Shaoyi secretly harboring feelings for someone else, a pang of suffocating pain filled her chest. The pain was reminiscent of the first time a girl developed feelings for a boy.

She had gathered the courage to approach him before. He had tossed a basketball near her feet, and as she caught it, he lowered his head and brushed past her cheek, seemingly about to kiss her, only to give her a playful smile and walk away.

That uncertain feeling, not knowing what might happen next, left her with a taste of touching the forbidden edge—a fearful feeling from her adolescent years.

After that, she never experienced such a chaotic feeling again. Now, Hu Xiu thought, the pain in her chest felt like the heartache from back then, reminiscent of that panic. But this time, she understood.

This was the true sense of desire for Qin Xiao Yi—a desire that could be described as a romantic attraction.

It couldn’t be stopped. Once the desire began, it couldn’t be halted. From this moment onward, she didn’t want to keep Qin Xiao Yi confined to the world of the play, nor did she want to continue performing with him in the story.

If Qin Xiao Yi truly had romantic feelings, and if he were to like other girls in real life, then what would that make her—who once enjoyed being the female lead in that rain-soaked night?

The reckless, greedy, and possessive desire was swallowing her whole.

I want you to become mine.