Chapter 96, "The House-Viewing Man," is a story about true feelings beyond the script...

The next day, Zhong Jiyao was still at the hospital taking care of Jian Dieda.

Just then, the nurse came to change Jane's dressing. She had a wound on her chest and needed to unbutton her clothes.

Just as Jane untied two buttons, the ward door opened. The long-haired man who had gone outside to water the flowers for the patient returned. Seeing this scene, his eyes darkened. He walked straight to the bedside, pushed the nurse aside, and even blew a ghostly wind behind her to scare her.

The nurse was swept away by an unseen supernatural force, turning pale with fright. She guessed she had encountered a ghost and hurriedly packed her things and ran out.

Ignoring the situation, the man picked up a cotton swab, dipped it in iodine, and gently wiped the wound.

Jane could sense that he was afraid of hurting himself, which was completely different from the terrible person in her dream, and also somewhat different from how they were last night.

“You weren’t this gentle in your dream last night,” Jane Dieda said deliberately.

The man who always teased him paused, looked up at him with a smile in his eyes: "Oh? My dear fan? Do you prefer the me in your dreams, or the me now?"

Jane looked away: "Nobody likes it. Nobody likes being treated like a toy."

The man chuckled, leaning closer. His warm breath brushed against the man's wound, making him shudder. "Tch, only a primary school student would say one thing and mean another. How unlovable."

The man's fingertips were unwilling to trace across his collarbone.

“Your amulet really can’t ward off some special evil spirits. Here, I’ll give you this.” He pulled a cross out of his trench coat.

“This cross is a souvenir from my childhood orphanage. Keep it with you; at least it comes from the Hong Kong Catholic Church, which is protected by legitimate laws.”

Jane touched the cross on her neck, about to say thank you.

The man who revealed his past then reverted to his playful demeanor: "Don't overthink it. Like you said, with my personality, and being a big star described by the newspapers and media as someone who plays the field, what kind of flowers and plants haven't I seen before I died? I just don't want my 'toy' to die too soon. You have to keep working hard to investigate the case and rescue those poor ghost neighbors in the building. I'm really looking forward to seeing you being chased by ghosts in the building next time."

After saying that, he disappeared, leaving only a faint scent of mint tobacco. Even the topic of why the superstar everyone admired was born in a church orphanage was put to rest.

In the afternoon, my senior sister arrived with her friend, Arlene, and things took a turn for the better.

Since this young lady works as a private investigator, she naturally had a thick stack of files in her hand.

But the content actually revealed the background of the Causeway Bay Community Association behind St. Mary's Hospital.

The senior sister told the junior brother an old news story that had never been published in the newspaper.

"Ah Xiang, I investigated Qiao Ye's background and found that he and the boss of Shengtian Entertainment back then were sworn brothers. The two of them also jointly invested in St. Mary's Hospital. More than 20 years ago, a male star named Zhong Jiyao from Uncle Jian's company committed suicide by self-immolation. The newspapers said it was because some secrets behind their backs were discovered. However, the news quickly reversed and became a story about Zhong Jiyao's chaotic private life. Not long after, he was completely blacklisted."

This also explains why the face of the fourth member of Shengtian Entertainment was crossed out.

Arlene lowered her voice and joined the conversation, "Ding Xirong was Master Qiao's lover. Could it be that she was also like that, and that's why she wanted to run away, but was killed by Master Qiao and her soul is trapped in the Jiali Building? So, is Zhong Jiyao also in the building? He died in the recording studio on the 15th floor."

Jane suddenly remembered the cassette tape, but he wasn't sure if Zhong Jiyao would be willing to reveal the cause of death. His heart raced in front of the two witnesses: "Was Zhong Jiyao really a self-immolation?"

That's what they say on TV because they've never seen Ah Yao's soul. He was burned to a crisp, not as clean-faced as he is now.

Arlene shook her head: "I'm not sure. Rumor has it that he was cursed by his agency before he died and also owed high-interest loans, but these could all be rumors spread by Mr. Qiao. I found out that Zhong Jiyao had a silver cross back then, which was his talisman, but it disappeared after he committed suicide by self-immolation."

Jane immediately touched the cross on her neck, but then heard the informant add a sentence.

"Also, he did come from an orphanage. At that time, there were many abandoned Portuguese and Spanish mixed-race children in Hong Kong, and he was one of them."

Arlene handed him a photo, a group photo of Mr. Qiao and a group of church children. "These are children from the church orphanage. Mr. Qiao adopted several of them, and they all have extremely Yin birth charts. It's just a coincidence that Zhong Jiyao was also chosen as one of the lucky ones from this church."

As soon as Arlene finished speaking, the system notified her: ["Congratulations, host, on unlocking clues to recent death cases and gaining 7 points of favorability with Zhong Jiyao!"]

[“At the same time, a reminder to the host: because the haunted, dilapidated building's spirit is not receiving nourishment, and the building's paranormal events are constantly being reported in the newspapers, as a responsible office worker, shouldn't you find the original owner's community records in advance and wait to collect his multiple unemployment benefits?”]

【“【Unemployment Benefit Application Form Template】”】

"Commercial insurance ( )"

[“Commercial Insurance 2()”]

【“Hong Kong Area Medical Insurance 3 ( )”】

Jian Xiang is really...

I'm impressed.

This guy might not be a good person, but he's truly a hard-working individual with the most passionate sales spirit in all of Hong Kong. Since that's the case, Jian Dieda has almost finished organizing the first phase of his deductions. He wants to revisit the building's haunted house before Paul fires him, ideally reenacting the scenes they witnessed during their last haunting night.

However, this matter is of great importance, and he needs to invite a few players to come in and play at night.

He has been playing this game for a long time.

There were only a few familiar IDs in the list. He was closing his eyes and thinking about which world's teammates to look for when a few people entered his mental channel.

The character design also perfectly matches "senior sister" and "A-Zhi".

[Deer: "Hi, host, are you there? I saw on the game's public channel that you're recruiting?"]

[Bald Qiang: "Boss!!!!! You're finally not invisible!! It's been so long!!"]

Jane made a decision immediately: yes, it's the two of them.

"Little system, at 3 AM tonight, send them into the instance. I want to run the Carrie Building for the second time."

...

Night fell, and Jian Dieda was the only one left in the ward.

Before the game officially started, he couldn't help but stroke the cross until a long-haired NPC appeared.

"What? Missed me?" The man sat on the edge of the bed with a smile, but Jane Dieda was not in the mood for jokes and told him what Arlene had said first.

Zhong Jiyao's expression was unreadable, but the usual playfulness was gone from his eyes.

"As expected, you really are different from Jian Xiang. Don't you think you're the one playing with fire and getting burned?"

Zhong Jiyao had a terrible headache. He pressed his temples and earnestly tried to persuade him.

“You’re such a fool. You can secretly help Ding Xirong, but don’t worry about karma and retribution. People are wicked. No matter how much you trust them, they will betray you. You’ve already inexplicably taken on the karma of many people. When something happens, you won’t get any good reward.”

His voice carried a subtle, almost imperceptible emotion. Jian Dieda suddenly asked, "Did you really die from a fire?"

The man was stunned, then gave a bitter smile, and deliberately brushed aside his long hair to reveal a faint scar on his forehead, which must have been left by the fire years ago.

"Hmm, look, do you think this burn scar is fatal?"

Jian Dieda shook his head. Just as Zhong Jiyao was about to continue, he heard Jian Dieda say something else.

“But it must hurt a lot,” Jane Dieda said, raising his hand to touch the scar the man had hidden, just like last time, as if he were petting a gentle, affectionate large dog.

Zhong Jiyao suddenly became stunned.

He wasn't usually the kind of person who was easily moved, but now he realizes that everything was wrong; he's become too easily satisfied by a single sentence.

But who can blame them when this phrase is like a light left on and a warm claypot rice served to someone who's working late at night?

The two were originally bickering lovers with a strained relationship, but now the atmosphere has become strangely ambiguous.

Jian Dieda didn't speak to the man. He casually picked up a cassette tape in front of him, put it into his black Walkman, and a Cantonese song belonging to the man in front of him began to play, singing "First Love".

That night, many things flowed through their hearts, as if a force was breaking through their bodies.

Jian Dieda wasn't as indifferent and composed as his game skin suggested. Zhong Jiyao lay on the ground with his back to him, guarding him. He no longer frivolously climbed up to perform the playboy's body, and seemed to be stubbornly saying something from the bottom of his heart.

That sentence...

...a glimpse could be obtained from a game terminal.

If you listen carefully, you'll find that it comes from the deafening roar of a long-haired male ghost NPC who is unable to extricate himself after his heart stops.

"Lord, I'm just a minor character outside the script, so why have I become the destined one that players search for every time?"

"Merciful Heavenly Father".

"Is this our sin, or fate? But how can I not love him?"

...

The story of this small world isn't over yet.

Following Zhong Yu's monologue, the perspective shifts back to Jian Dieda.

In his view, the five-year marriage between Zhong Yu and Jian Dieda, whose names are actually related, is similar to that of many couples who are only superficially compatible.

As the old man's only heir, Zhong Yu had spent a busy day at the company and really didn't have the energy to be a good husband, so he came to chat casually with his wife who didn't work at home.

Therefore, Jane Dieda never doubted that the two had no other feelings for each other.

Zhong Yu only treats him as a friend. He never holds hands, hugs, or kisses him, which is enough to prove that they are just friends.

Before Christmas of the first year, they rarely ate together, but Zhong Yu still made time on Christmas Day to invite him to a restaurant to celebrate.

Jian Dieda dressed very casually and went there. When he was with Zhong Yu, he never cared about so much.

He didn't want to talk while eating with Zhong Yu; his mind was full of novel ideas, outlines, and specific topics for his next work.

When Jane Dieda noticed that Zhong Yu seemed to have been silent for a long time, the two of them were almost face to face. Yes, her husband had mysteriously moved from his original seat to stand in front of Jane Dieda.

Furthermore, Zhong Yu had never shown any spoiled brat temper towards him before, but his tone that night became very abnormal.

This universally praised gentleman, Young Master Zhong, seemed like a wronged person. Although Jian Dieda didn't know what he was upset about, he heard Zhong Yu's laughter, which was an indescribable mix of self-mockery.

"Is it really that uncomfortable for you to have a meal with me?"

There was a stool next to the table. Zhong Yu moved his hand away and half-knelt down. He was so tall that he pinched Jian Dieda's chin with his hand at this angle. His posture was just like a rose overlooking the scenery.

"Will you leave me the year after next?" he asked Jane Dieda.

Jane Dieda thought that his current life did not depend on him, but if the young master did not want it anymore, he had no objection.

But it seemed impolite of him to say that, so he simply said, "I don't know."

"Okay, I don't know, um, maybe... I really am too greedy."

Zhong Yu waited for a while, but Jian Dieda still didn't react, so he didn't say anything more.

Those rich, fragrant eyes could never do anything to Jian Dieda, but at that time he was a bit like the frozen surface of the sunset sea, containing too many complicated things that Jian Dieda simply did not understand.

Jane Dieda also thought she would never understand.

But by the time you understand, it's already too late.

Because he discovered...

Zhong Yu is dead.

He will never come back.

So, outside of the script, will this time be an outcome about genuine feelings?