Chapter 79

Reasonably Suspecting Your Breakup Was a Sham

Indulging in distractions, playing Murder Mystery games can drive one crazy.

Having played Shanghai Windstorm five times, Hu Xiu drew roles in a press agency, a cult (Yiguandao), a business association, the American consulate, and the military...

She played five different storylines, but not a single one had the red main line. And in the second half, thanks to Diao Zhi Yu, not a single red card came her way.

Hu Xiu bought a card album from a nearby store, and when she opened it, it was filled with dark, dense pages, making her feel increasingly irritated.

This person doesn’t reply to her WeChat, and all his words are spoken through the game, countering every move. She couldn’t get a single red card from him.

The most frustrating thing was that if she wanted to escape through the red faction, she had to go through Diao Zhi Yu.

Outside of the game, Diao Zhi Yu was often surrounded like a dumpling, with female players flocking around to take photos and pose. He was quiet and mysterious.

Hu Xiu had seen him once, sitting on a bench, zoning out just like before.

It was after the morning session had ended, and sitting nearby were three other top handsome guys, each with an average height of 185 cm, capable of satisfying every type.

Female players gathered around, chatting with them, and the actors didn’t mind. The female actors even joined in and played jump rope with the players outside—like a large adult daycare.

This was completely different from Snowpiercer. Snowpiercer was commercialized, focusing more on interaction than acting. There were six sessions a day, actors were prohibited from private interactions, and online exposure was discouraged to avoid over-saturating the players. In contrast, Shanghai Windstorm operated as a brand, creating prequel videos to post on Bilibili, with each actor having their character profile. Mid-week, they would polish their acting in workshops, and occasionally hold live streams.

Hu Xiu preferred the latter atmosphere. The actors were freer and more like real actors, secretly competing with each other to perform better. Diao Zhi Yu seemed to be more ambitious here, likely due to the competition.

In Shanghai, where Murder Mystery games were blooming everywhere, reaching the top in immersive theater required excellent scripts and operational skills. The actors’ lines and improv performances were tracked and filmed, with excellent clips being promoted on the official website. Hu Xiu thought that maybe she had underestimated Murder Mystery games.

When Zhao Xiao Rou heard this, she was sitting in a café, back to her usual sharp-tongued self: “Li Ai, did you hear that? Hu Xiu is going to Shanghai Windstorm again. She dumped a guy she could enjoy in bed, only to go spend money on a Murder Mystery game.”

“I was giving love a way out...”

“Spare me. You eat the breadcrumbs and go to brothels. You really need to save and spend wisely.”

How would she know Hu Xiu’s takeout never cost more than thirty yuan? Li Ai intervened: “What’s wrong with spending money for love? Even if you’re single, you should still be a philanthropist.”

The atmosphere seemed to return to the way it used to be. Li Ai wasn’t as passive as before. She was busy typing away at the bar counter, still listening to their nonsense, and people had become more cutting. The couple were now in sync, one jabbering after the other. Hu Xiu didn’t know how their friendship had been restored, but Zhao Xiao Rou certainly seemed livelier since returning from Hong Kong. She could only say, idols were eternal.

Li Ai pulled out a folding fan from her bag: “This was a gift from a friend—band merchandise. I’m giving it to you.”

The fan had two sides, one red and one black. The red side had a 囍 (Happiness) character, while the black side read: “If you can’t drink, get lost.” Hu Xiu thought of her recent drunkenness, feeling disgusted, but she still suppressed her disgust and accepted the fan.

The issue with Diao Zhi Yu wasn’t over. Hu Xiu lay in bed, thinking more and more about it. Based on what she knew of Diao Zhi Yu’s temper, he was always vengeful in Snowpiercer. A marriage certificate could be remembered for half a year, yet now, he wouldn’t even give her a single red card, clearly… forcing her to play more.

The pamphlet clearly stated that if all twelve main storylines and assassination tasks were completed and the stamp for viewing all endings was obtained, the ultimate prize—a group photo with all the actors—could be claimed.

It wasn’t much; with good luck, one could finish in thirty attempts. Thinking of this, Hu Xiu couldn’t help but spit in frustration. What immersive theater and Murder Mystery games? It was nothing but a brothel for handsome guys, a cash cow for female fans, a sexual fantasy club!

She had seen the ultimate players posting about the prizes on the super topic: full sets of twelve faction-themed merchandise: a gangster fan, a business association toy cigarette, an American consulate badge, intelligence department rose cufflinks...

Indeed, the signature merchandise for Han Yi Qiu was a pair of rose cufflinks, symbolizing love and nobility.

The merchandise store had the highest sales, and Hu Xiu would always visit it first when she arrived at the venue, but could never buy anything. It was impossible.

Damn popularity!

Besides, she still couldn’t figure something out. The things Diao Zhi Yu said in the game, no matter how she recalled them, felt like he was messing with her.

The night they broke up, his eyes were red, his gaze dimmed in the rain, looking as if he didn’t want to continue. But now, whenever she saw him again, his words were always walking the fine line of ambiguity. After everything they had shared, their eyes felt messy. Even when he acted cold, his thoughts no longer seemed pure.

Thinking back to the first time he saw her and his sudden change in expression, Hu Xiu stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep all night, feeling like she had done something wrong.

If she had softened a little, not holding onto her pride and telling him not to underestimate idols, immediately breaking up after hearing the “no dating” rule, but rather staying by his side, exploring things together, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up in a situation where she could only passively converse in a Murder Mystery.

Could she have indulged him in love? She couldn’t do that. But then again, were the things she told Diao Zhi Yu similar to how her father criticized her…?

Thinking she was a more experienced person, believing that the lessons she learned were advanced and useful, she tried to force them onto others, cloaking it all under the “for your own good” label...

Realizing this, she felt even more anxious. After enduring a week of review, she got up at one thirty on Saturday, took a cab to People’s Square, and boarded the bus to Shanghai Windstorm. She was mentally preparing a series of lines, wanting to ask Diao Zhi Yu in the game: Why did we break up? Should we sign a contract with an agency? Do you still like me?

She thought about sending a message to give him a heads-up, but then decided against it, unsure if her suspicions were even correct.

Hu Xiu’s heart was pounding. She had watched *Snowpiercer* seventeen times, and this impromptu performance felt like she was aiming a mortar straight at Diao Zhiyu’s vulnerable spot. As she helped the boss leave, Han Yiqiu suddenly called out to her: “Stop…”

She turned around, and Han Yiqiu seriously examined the string of beads, his tone sincere: “So, you came to Shanghai for whom?”

Taking a deep breath, Hu Xiu said earnestly, “To become the next boss of the Gangster, Du Mingquan’s wife.”

After saying that, she slammed the door shut and left.

Is it only you whose acting has improved?

At the end of the first half, Du Mingquan took out a blue seal and stamped it on everyone’s card booklet. Hu Xiu couldn’t hide her curiosity: “I don’t think I’ve seen this before.”

“It’s for the Qixi event. This month, there’s this special stamp with our names on it.”

Hu Xiu thought to herself, Diao Zhiyu, just wait, this isn’t over.

During the break, she ripped a sheet of paper from her notebook and carefully wrote a vertical marriage certificate in a professional manner. With a confident stride, she entered the second half of the game. When she reached Du’s mansion, she bowed to Du Ruosheng: “Boss, you heard it just now. I came here to marry Du Mingquan. As his adoptive father, you must support us!”

In the impromptu performance, neither of the two male actors had seen such a marriage certificate. Du Mingquan fully embraced his illiterate persona: “Adoptive father, what does this say? I can’t understand…”

“I’ll read it for you.” Du Ruosheng, enjoying the drama, spoke up.

Hu Xiu quickly covered Du Ruosheng’s mouth: “Boss, I apologize, but this can’t be read, the vows are too embarrassing!”

After securing the signatures of the groom and the officiant, Hu Xiu wrote her character’s name, Lu Qingdi, on the certificate. When she saw an actor with a script, she tricked everyone into helping her stamp the marriage certificate. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper remembered her: “Did you bring this marriage certificate yourself?”

“Yes, not to hide it, I immediately set my sights on Du Mingquan as soon as I came to this concession.”

With a gossip-filled expression, the editor-in-chief stamped the certificate: “If Du Mingquan and Shen Ling break off their engagement, remember to announce your marriage in the newspaper.”

After fooling everyone, only the failed confession of Han Yiqiu remained. Before the next scene started, Hu Xiu walked over: “Director Han, I heard you were rejected by Shen Ling.”

“So what?”

“Director, you only love Shen Ling, right?”

“Of course…” He said it firmly, then stood up and took a few steps forward.

Hu Xiu understood his body language. In this scene, he was admitting it, but outside the scene, he was lying. He was still wearing the white bead necklace and didn’t even dare to look at her.

“Then, since that’s the case, Director Han, could you stamp my marriage certificate? Everyone else has already certified it, and I would like to receive your blessing.”

Just glancing at Han Yiqiu’s face, it twisted: “You woman…”

“What’s wrong with me? I’m fickle. I secretly pledged my life to Minister Qin in Rongcheng, then ran to Shanghai to marry Du Mingquan. I must be a love-struck fool, right?”

“Minister Qin never married me, he abandoned me—yes, he abandoned me!”

“I couldn’t bear to drag him down for his career, my heart was torn, and he just coldly stopped contacting me…”

“Director Han must be different from Minister Qin. You’re so straightforward and decisive. You’ll definitely pity this poor woman. Now that I’ve married Du Mingquan, doesn’t that mean Shen Ling is yours?”

Taking the marriage certificate, Han Yiqiu looked at Hu Xiu and smiled gently. He took out the stamp and opened the lid, staring at her for three seconds.

Hu Xiu felt a pang of bitterness. Diao Zhiyu, you’ve indeed improved. Back in Snowpiercer, you couldn’t get past the marriage certificate hurdle, but now you can offer sincere blessings in character...

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Han Yiqiu clenched his fist, crumpled the marriage certificate into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket: “Go back and tell your boss, releasing him doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten this debt. As for everyone related to him, I won’t offer my blessings. Excuse me, I need to find Shen Ling.”