Yandere is contagious
The next day, Yan Kui got up very early again.
As she was leaving, she ran into Lan Xin, the gardener, whom she rarely encountered. This middle-aged man with a distinctive demeanor rarely interacted with the people in the house. He would only occasionally give the maid some simple instructions on cultivation and pruning, and most of the time he would just finish his own work and leave.
So even though he was a rare sight, Yan Kui didn't feel comfortable talking to him. She simply greeted him and prepared to leave.
"Good morning, Uncle Lan."
She didn't expect Lan Xin to pay attention to her, but before she could even turn around, he actually spoke.
And surprisingly, the first thing she said was news that interested her.
"Has the young master been home these past few days?"
In this family, the only person she would call that was the boy she needed to call "brother."
Yan Kui instantly realized what he meant and looked at him in surprise, "You've seen him before?"
Lan Xin remained calm, took out a card from his pocket, and handed it to her.
Yan Kui took it and saw that it contained the name of a bar and its address.
“I saw him when I was drinking yesterday, and I thought I was seeing things.” Lan Xin remained expressionless. “Go find him quickly.”
"Thank you, Uncle Lan!" Yan Kui's eyes crinkled with excitement. She hadn't expected Lan Xin to provide such a great help as soon as he arrived.
Lan Xin waved his hand and threw himself back into his gardening career.
Yan Kui originally intended to go directly to the address on the card to find Shen Xiuyan, but after seeing the bar's opening hours, she hesitated and decided to go to the previous neighborhood first.
This bar only opens at night, but Shen Xiuyan has to go out early in the morning, so he must have other plans.
Yan Kui had never done anything like asking for help before, and hesitated about whether to find some assistance, but how could she keep it from her mother's knowledge...?
Just as I was thinking about it, the pillow was handed to me.
"Xiao Kui, why haven't you come to visit me lately? By the way, how are things going with your brother?"
As soon as Yang Tao sent the message, Yan Kui knew that she and Qin Yuan must have had a fight.
Since she had nothing better to do, Yan Kui replied to her message, "Disappeared again. I'm still looking for her everywhere."
Sure enough, not long after, Yang Tao, who had dressed up carefully, arrived at the destination community before her.
"Here!" Yang Tao waved to her with a big smile, and was about to continue speaking when a voice interrupted her.
“I asked the landlord, and he wasn’t planning to rent out this room. It was only because Xiuyan said it was just for a short-term rental that he agreed.” Qin Yuan put down his phone and looked at them. “Don’t look at me like that. I really don’t know where he went this time.”
Yang Tao's face was full of distrust. "Come on, we even traveled together. I told you where to rent a house. I trust you more than I trust my sister. I have no credibility with you now."
"You obviously don't have any siblings. It's only siblings who can't trust each other, okay?" Qin Yuan wanted to argue with her again, but then he heard Yan Kui say something quietly.
"travel?"
They had all been at school before, and as far as Yan Kui knew, their only recent trip was that one.
Yang Tao stomped her foot. "Oh dear, I forgot to tell you. I only found out by accident after I got home. Your brother went with Qin Yuan before, but I don't know why he left."
Yan Kui recalled the timing of Qin Yuan's appearance, pondered for a moment, shook her head and smiled at them, "It's alright, let's go in."
Yang Tao didn't think much of it and started discussing some fun things that had happened recently.
Upon reaching the foot of Building B, Yan Kui glanced at a small square not far away and said to Yang Tao, "I've seen a few people over there in the elevator. I'd like to go ask them."
"I'll go with you," Yang Tao instructed Qin Yuan. "Yuan, go up and take another look."
Qin Yuan was also concerned about Shen Xiuyan's whereabouts, but he didn't say much about things that required efficiency, so he nodded in agreement.
After assigning tasks, Yan Kui was still thinking about how to strike up a conversation with those aunties when she saw Yang Tao sit down near the group of people with a worried look on her face, complaining to her, "My mom insists that I find a way to support myself and even told me to get out! Don't you think she's crazy?"
Yan Kui was momentarily taken aback by her performance, and gently replied, "Auntie is probably too anxious. You've only just graduated from high school, how can I really let you work and earn money on your own?"
"Heh." An old lady next door, fanning herself, chuckled. Yang Tao caught it, turned around, and glared at her. "Auntie, what are you laughing at?"
“It’s funny how young people these days are all the same age, yet there’s such a big difference between them.” The old woman exchanged glances with the people around her, and they nodded in agreement.
Yang Tao had expected this reaction, so she asked, feigning sarcasm, "What difference? I don't believe it. What can someone this age do?"
“Young lady, I’m not in a position to speak up for your mother,” the old woman said, shaking her fan again. “But a young man who rented a room here a few days ago works hard from dawn till dusk every day, and I haven’t seen his family worrying about him.”
Yan Kui subconsciously turned her head away.
Fortunately, the older women's attention was focused on Yang Tao, whose face was etched with arrogance, and they didn't notice her coming to look for people every day.
"Work? Really? I don't believe it." Yang Tao pouted, behaving like a troublesome girl who needed a beating. "What can he do?"
"She works two jobs, a piano teacher during the day and a temporary worker at night! Just to earn some tuition fees..."
Piano teacher.
Yan Kui turned her head to look at the old woman who had started teaching Yang Tao, and couldn't help but ask, "Where does he work as a piano teacher?"
"Hey, aren't you..." The old woman looked up and noticed her. She recognized her at a glance as the pretty young girl she used to run into.
"Auntie, where is he?" Yan Kui had a face that evoked sympathy, and with her gentle temperament and her experience as a former class monitor, she was very approachable. As soon as the old lady saw that she was anxious, she immediately told her everything she knew.
Upon receiving the news, Yan Kui thanked her gratefully and turned to leave.
Yang Tao was still battling with another aunt next door when she saw her leave, so she got up and followed her, looking back as she walked, as if she was still eager to continue the fight.
"Auntie, I have something to do today. I'll definitely do it next time, next time."
"Oh, you unlucky child! You should listen to your mother, you know!"
Yang Tao waved happily and caught up with Yan Kui, who was walking quite fast, "Wait for me, Xiao Kui."
“I heard it all. Your brother is amazing. He’s a private piano tutor, and it sounds like a legitimate institution.”
Yan Kui thought of some things from her childhood, and a hint of weariness showed in her smile. "If my uncle knew that he would rather go out and teach children to play the piano, he would be so angry that he would have to be put on a ventilator."
Shen Xiuyan has a high talent for the piano. He was personally taught by his uncle, a pianist, from a young age, so his skill level is not ordinary. In her first life, when she was involved in Xie Chi's affairs, he seemed to have gone abroad to participate in a concert.
However, she had a phobia of his playing the piano. In the past, during the Chinese New Year, this kind of talent, which was easy to perform, could attract a lot of praise from relatives and friends. She was forced to perform a four-hand duet with him, and her hands were almost injured. She was also ridiculed by relatives, both openly and subtly. From then on, she deeply hated musical instruments.
"Why is it that other people's talents are practical when teaching children to play the piano?" Yang Tao was hurt once again by the different ways her peers made money.
Yan Kui shook her head and just then saw Qin Yuan walking out of Building B.
Qin Yuan walked over with a solemn expression and said to the two of them, "Someone actually died here."
"A dead person?!" Yang Tao shrank back and hugged Yan Kui's arm.
“Something did happen, and Shen Xiuyan happened to be staying in that room,” Yan Kui said quietly, and Yang Tao quickly released her.
"It's alright now, the murderer has been caught long ago, but I heard it's haunted." Qin Yuan put his arm around Yang Tao. "I felt something was off about that room before, but he insisted on staying there, sigh."
Hauntings are a minor issue; murders are the truly terrifying part.
"I also heard something interesting. I heard that some people were so bothered by ghosts that they staked out places at night to catch them, and guess what happened?"
Some terrifying images flashed through Yang Tao's mind, "They didn't catch anything?"
"We didn't catch the ghost, but we did catch the person," Qin Yuan sighed. "It was an old man who came out in the middle of the night to scare people. The neighbors said that this man is likely the victim's biological father, who went crazy because he couldn't accept his daughter's death."
Yang Tao sighed, then seized on the key point, "So you've been up there for so long, and you haven't gotten any news about Shen Xiuyan at all?"
Qin Yuan choked. Yang Tao shared the information they had just received, and the three of them discussed it and decided to go to the tutoring institution to find someone first.
Not only did he fail to find the person on his trip, but Qin Yuan almost got persuaded by his teacher to enroll in a children's ballet class.
In the end, all their hopes were pinned on the bar that night.
"I've never been to a place like this before." Qin Yuan, a complete otaku, followed Yang Tao, who seemed completely at ease, incredulously. "How come you're so skilled at this?!"
Yang Tao shrugged, about to speak, but was interrupted by a voice.
"Class monitor?! So you come here to hang out too!"
Fang Ziqian stood in front of the three of them with surprise, but only looked at Yan Kui. "I called you before but you never came. I thought you wouldn't come to these places."
When you run into classmates outside, it's usually just an awkward but polite exchange of pleasantries before moving on.
However, Fang Ziqian seemed unaware of this and enthusiastically invited them to join him in the room he had booked.
Yang Tao saw through his intentions at a glance and smoothed things over by saying, "Let's talk about it another time. We have things to do right now."
Something wrong? What could possibly be the point of coming here?
As soon as we were talking, something happened.
Yan Kui looked at the familiar figure at the bar, slowly pulled away from Yang Tao's hand, and quietly walked forward.
The slightly distracted young man was wiping the glass, thinking about what his colleague had told him, when he looked up and saw her on the verge of tears.
Shen Xiuyan: ?
“I’ve finally found you…” Yan Kui’s voice even trembled.
Shen Xiuyan: ? ?
If he remembered correctly, they had met just two days ago.
He continued wiping the glass, watching Yan Kui's performance with leisure.
"Brother...please go back and see Mom..." Yan Kui's voice grew increasingly mournful, her eyes brimming with tears, "She..."
Although this was somewhat unexpected, Shen Xiuyan was not in a hurry. He raised an eyebrow and said, "What's wrong with her? Continue."
"She..." Even if Yan Kui had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to curse Zhao Shuyi, but her expression was right, and she could just choke out the rest of her words.
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