HP - Chapter 20

Typhoon Night Murder Files 15

Mu Xingchao died on that day.

That day, there was a typhoon. That day, there was a gathering of friends.

That day, though he usually rarely drank, he suddenly prepared a large amount of alcohol, and drank heavily, as if to drown his sorrows.

He became drunk, so drunk that he lay unconscious on the sofa, and no matter how they tried to wake him, he would not stir.

Later that night, the typhoon made landfall. A tree in the courtyard was torn down by the wind, crashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and fell heavily on Mu Xingchao’s leg.

He was awakened by the pain. He was badly injured, and at that moment, he heard the sound of a cat crying in the courtyard.

It was Bess, his cat… when had she run outside?

And his friends? Somehow, at some point, his friends were no longer there.

Outside, the wind howled and the rain poured down. He had to hurry to bring Bess back.

But he couldn’t find his glasses… no matter how he searched, he couldn’t find them.

Oh, he remembered now—Luo Fang had brought back a gift from a business partner, which had turned out to be a large bouquet of flowers. He was allergic to pollen; his eyes had itched and streamed with tears, and he had been forced to take off his glasses to deal with the allergy.

So where had he put his glasses after that?

It seemed that afterwards he had simply sat back down on the sofa and continued drinking.

He searched for them for a long time and still couldn’t find them. He didn’t even know where his phone had gone… Strange. Friends had said they would be visiting, and his younger brother Li Yang was returning to the country. Why had none of them called him?

Bess was crying out in fear in the courtyard.

Helpless, he could only head toward the courtyard. His mind was hazy, his severe nearsightedness made the road ahead blurry, and with his injured leg, he stumbled as he walked.

This was truly unlucky.

He reached the courtyard. The fierce wind lashed at the trees, and raindrops splashed into the swimming pool, sending out rippling circles.

Calling Bess’s name as he walked forward, he suddenly felt a chill at his back, as though something had brushed across his neck.

He instinctively turned his head, and before his eyes appeared a face—terrifying, inhuman.

A ghost? Was it a ghost? He cried out in fright, tried to run, but the ground was far too slippery.

He had only taken a few steps back before he lost his footing—he tumbled into the swimming pool.

He could swim. But for some reason, his mind was especially clouded that day, and with his injured leg, he was simply unable to reach the edge.

He died in the swimming pool of his own villa.

……

That day, there was a typhoon. That day, there was a gathering of friends. They were all together in Mu Xingchao’s villa, celebrating his photography award.

How enviable.

Mu Xingchao’s life was so smooth: a harmonious family, no financial worries, several excellent girlfriends. Upright and sunny, he had turned away from inheriting the family business, choosing instead to pursue his dreams—and had succeeded with ease.

How enviable.

……

Is it just because he is Mu Xingchao that everything goes so smoothly?

Back in school, his grades were only average. His university wasn’t as good as theirs. Aside from having money at home, his abilities were nothing remarkable—he couldn’t even measure up to his own younger brother.

And besides, his character could hardly be called good. Hypocritical, selfish, carrying an annoying sense of superiority. He had done many things in the past that were far from kind.

So what gave him the right?

If not… then perhaps let him experience a “little” misfortune as well?

I don’t hurt people. I only want him to have a “little” setback. Otherwise, if everything goes smoothly for him all the time, I’ll be too jealous.

……

【Jiang Zhi】

I am Jiang Zhi.

A free-spirited photographer — I would never let myself be bound by worldly conventions like marriage and children. I will prove myself. I will take photographs that can shake the world.

But I don’t understand. Why did Mu Xingchao, just an amateur, rich second-generation photographer, win an award before me? That shouldn’t have happened. What right does he have? There must be something wrong behind his award!

And he even had the nerve to smugly invite us to his villa to celebrate…

I hired paid commenters online. I wanted everyone to know that he didn’t win that award through real ability.

I wasn’t trying to spread rumors. I only wanted to expose the “truth.”

As it turned out, Mu Xingchao also had his low moods. On the day of the gathering, he brought plenty of expensive liquor to the villa to drown his sorrows.

【Luo Fang】

I am Luo Fang.

I’m so fed up with Mu Xingchao. Even though he’s been financially supporting me, he clearly treats me like his underling. Even after I graduated and found a decent job, Mu Xingchao still habitually orders me around.

On the way to his villa, I got a message from him saying that a business partner had prepared a gift to celebrate his photography award. That made me furious — the partner was so generous.

Then I suddenly had a bright idea. I kept the gift for myself and instead brought a huge bouquet of flowers to the villa… just to watch Mu Xingchao suffer with watery eyes from his pollen allergy~

【Lin Huaiping】

I am Lin Huaiping.

It was only a few thousand yuan. Why would Mu Xingchao, with all his wealth, keep hounding me every single day to pay him back? Even though I eventually gave in and repaid him, I was really unhappy about it.

When I arrived at the villa for the gathering, I saw Mu Xingchao’s cat. I heard it was a Bengal cat — each one costing tens of thousands of yuan, with monthly expenses higher than a person’s salary.

What gives the cat the right? What gives Mu Xingchao the right?

When no one was paying attention, I quietly opened the window. As I expected, the kitten ran out of the villa, chasing its freedom.

【Xu Hangquan, Xu Hangjia】

I am Xu Hangquan.

My sister and I work together on horror films, but we’ve been failing over and over. Filmmaking burns through money, and I’ve nearly burned through the entire family fortune.

Who would have thought Mu Xingchao would be so lucky? He used to be such a mess, and yet now his career is flourishing.

It’s infuriating. So this time I decided to aim a prank at him. My sister and I tied together bedsheets and curtains to make a dummy figure that looked extremely terrifying, planning to scare him.

But of course, such a spectacular scene had to be recorded and played back again and again.

We set up a miniature camera outside the villa courtyard, eager to capture the sight of Mu Xingchao jumping three feet in fright.

Unfortunately, I later got drunk and completely forgot about it. When I went back to the villa a few days later to retrieve the camera, it was gone. The typhoon must have blown it away…

Wait, I’ve got it — I’ll call my next film Typhoon Night: a terrifying gathering of twelve friends during a typhoon night… I really am a genius.

【Cui Shuying】

I am Cui Shuying.

Mu Xingchao actually said, in front of so many people, that I’m not his sister — only the daughter of our father’s mistress!

That was a slap in my face! I hate him! Hate him!

While he took off his glasses because of his pollen allergy, I stole them.

He has severe nearsightedness and never wears contact lenses. When he wakes up and can’t see clearly, he’ll definitely panic.

【Zhou Zhi】

I am Zhou Zhi.

Mu Xingchao clearly didn’t like Jiang Chen… Jiang Chen was the girl I liked in high school.

To beat me, he chased Jiang Chen and got together with her. But he’s cruel by nature—he dumped her not long after, which caused Jiang Chen to fail her college entrance exams.

He’s disgusting.

But it’s okay. Right now I’m having an affair with his girlfriend, Xu Shuangyuan.

Seeing him lying in a drunken stupor at the villa, I suddenly wanted to provoke him. I planned to lie in his bed with Xu Shuangyuan… but before that, I would slip some sleeping pills into his drink.

They won’t knock him out completely, but they will make his mind hazy.

【Xu Shuangyuan】

I am Xu Shuangyuan.

I don’t like Mu Xingchao, but I desperately need a job at the Mu Corporation.

Around the middle of the villa party, I answered a call on Mu Xingchao’s phone and pretended to be his assistant—I don’t like calling myself his girlfriend. The caller was the founder of a promising startup who had arranged to meet Mu Xingchao at the villa that evening.

How could that be allowed? I only got together with Mu Xingchao because he was a rich second-generation jerk. If he keeps getting better, how could I ever match him?

So I used careful wording to make the caller think Mu Xingchao had stood him up. He hung up, very displeased.

Afterward, I deleted the call log and put the phone on silent.

【Sang Long】

I am Sang Long.

I recognized Mu Xingchao as the bad kid who corrupted me, but he actually forgot about me.

I have to get revenge—just once will be enough.

The news said to avoid glass and other hazards when a typhoon arrives. I pretended not to know and, acting helpful, I moved the drunk Mu Xingchao to the sofa beside the floor-to-ceiling window.

I hoped the typhoon would snap the big tree outside the yard and send it crashing into the villa, leaving Mu Xingchao half-dead.

【Liang Qing】

I am Liang Qing.

I know Mu Xingchao is hypocritical. When my mother was seriously ill, he must have intentionally delayed lending money.

But I need connections, so I still have to be friends with Mu Xingchao.

That villa gathering happened to fall on a typhoon day. I needed to get home early to take care of my mother.

I didn’t expect Mu Xingchao to get completely drunk. I was so annoyed.

Let him die, then. I suggested we all leave the villa and go home—after all, the villa is Mu Xingchao’s home.

Sure enough, everyone left, leaving Mu Xingchao alone on the sofa. When he wakes, will he feel abandoned and fly into a rage?

……

【Li Yang】

I am Li Yang.

I am especially lucky and very cheerful and positive. Even though my parents divorced when I was very young, I never felt miserable. If they don’t love each other, they should chase their own happiness—far better than being forced to stay together and torment one another.

Maybe because I’ve always been easygoing, I haven’t suffered much injustice. My parents, teachers, and classmates all like me, which makes me willing to be kind.

My favorite person is my older brother. Even though I moved to the UK with my mother, my brother and I never lost contact. We corresponded the old-fashioned way—by “letters”—and met whenever we had time. My brother and I are the same: same personality, same hobbies, born to be brothers.

But my brother seems to have terrible luck. He has many friends, but none are sincere; they often radiate malice, and yet my brother cherishes their friendships.

Later, in my brother’s letters, he suspected they wanted to kill him.

He said he wanted to save them. If he failed… then perhaps kindness would not be rewarded, and he would stop being a kind person.

That typhoon night, my brother was truly “killed.” I was on my way back to the country and called him several times, but he didn’t pick up. I was terribly worried, so I braved the storm and rushed straight to the villa.

My brother—who could swim—died in the pool. It was far too suspicious.

Fortunately, I found that camera—the one the Xu siblings had set up to record and prank my brother. Following that clue, I uncovered the malice behind my brother’s so-called accident.

Those “friends” really were full of malice—they wanted my brother dead.

I will no longer be kind. I want revenge.

I concealed my brother’s death, disappeared from our social circle for a long time, and then falsely claimed I’d been in a car accident.

From that day forward, I am no longer Li Yang. I am Mu Xingchao.

1. 水军 (shuǐ jūn): Water army, paid internet trolls hired to sway public opinion.

2. 逼逼赖赖 (bī bī lài lài): Colloquial insult for nagging, whining, or talking nonsense.

3. 孟加拉猫 (Mèngjiālā māo): Bengal cat, an expensive breed, symbolizing wealth.

4. 打我的脸 (dǎ wǒ de liǎn): "To slap my face"; idiom for public humiliation.

5. 偷情 (tōu qíng): Secret affair, illicit romance with connotations of betrayal.

6. 安眠药 (ān mián yào): Sleeping pills, the drug used to incapacitate the victim.

7. 话术 (huà shù): Manipulative rhetoric - clever language used to deceive/persuade.

8. 人脉 (rén mài): Connections/network

9. 伪善 (wěi shàn): Hypocrisy

10. 顺藤摸瓜 (shùn téng mō guā): "Follow the vine to find the melon"; idiom for tracing clues to the source.

Characters (Players)

• 终栩 (Zhōng Xǔ)

  • Role: Protagonist 

  • Game Role: Later assumes the identity of 宋慕思 (Sòng Mùsī), the idealistic guesthouse owner with a hidden agenda tied to her friend’s death.

• 季舟 (Jì Zhōu)

  • Role: Self-proclaimed "萌新" (newbie)

• 老玩家 (Lǎo Wánjiā, Veteran Player)

  • Role: Experienced survivor

• 瘦弱男人 (Shòuruò Nánrén, Thin Man)

  • Role: Terrified newbie

• 眼镜男 (Yǎnjìng Nán, Glasses Man)

  • Role: Silent observer

~~~~~~

• 宋慕思 (Sòng Mùsī) – The protagonist; a quiet, introspective young woman who organized the friends' gathering and owns the 民宿 (guesthouse). Hides complicated past relationships.

• 江栀 (Jiāng Zhī) – Outgoing and sociable; Song Musi’s close friend (闺蜜) but also entangled in a love triangle involving Sang Long. [Been Dead Prior]

• 崔书颖 (Cuī Shūyǐng) – Another extroverted friend in the trio; makes Song Musi feel like a third wheel at times. [Dead]

• 桑隆 (Sāng Lóng) – Jiang Zhi’s current boyfriend and Song Musi’s ex; their past relationship is a hidden source of tension.

• 骆方 (Luò Fāng) – A timid, cowardly classmate whom Song Musi dislikes. Later revealed to have a peanut allergy. [Dead]

• 徐杭泉 (Xú Hángquán) & 徐杭佳 (Xú Hángjiā) – Self-centered siblings; both are classmates disliked by Song Musi. [Dead]

• 周至 (Zhōu Zhì) – A smooth-talking, socially adept classmate (possibly a surgeon); Song Musi finds him insincere.

• 梁青 (Liáng Qīng) – An insecure and overly sensitive classmate; another person Song Musi dislikes.

• 牧星朝 (Mù Xīngcháo) – A hypocritical rich kid (富二代) with a photography hobby; Xu Shuangyuan’s boyfriend. [Been Dead Prior]

• 许双园 (Xǔ Shuāngyuán) – Proud and arrogant; Mu Xingchao’s girlfriend, whom Song Musi resents.

• 林怀平 (Lín Huáipíng) – Jiang Zhi’s cousin who joins the group through her; displays incompetent arrogance, disliked by Song Musi. [Dead]

• 陈警官 (Captain Chen) – A recently acquainted police detective; annoys Song Musi by replying slowly to messages.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!