The friend request had been rejected.
Wen Ruyu could understand that. If he encountered someone like the original host, he would probably delete him even faster than Yang Ruiqing did.
But the problem was that now the one being deleted was him.
And he still needed to start from Yang Ruiqing to find out who wanted to kill him.
Wen Ruyu lowered his gaze to the rejected request on his screen.
The original host had already burned every bridge. Even if Yang Ruiqing were willing to meet him, he would probably never cooperate.
It seemed the only option was to imitate the original host and secretly follow Yang Ruiqing.
As long as he could understand Yang Ruiqing’s network of relationships and find out who held hostility toward him, he should be able to uncover some clues.
Moreover, this way he would not have to reveal himself.
He would not risk causing any unexpected changes to the plot because of his own presence.
Coincidentally, both he and Yang Ruiqing had classes the next day.
In order to secretly photograph Yang Ruiqing, the original host had long ago obtained his class schedule and even figured out his daily routine.
Now that information became convenient for Wen Ruyu.
The first university class began at eight in the morning.
Wen Ruyu woke up early.
Before the sky had fully brightened, he had already wrapped himself up tightly.
He pulled the black baseball cap down extremely low, completely covering the upper half of his face. The lower half was hidden beneath a mask, and he also wore a pair of large sunglasses.
The original host had not been good looking.
One could even say he was ugly, and his body was somewhat overweight. His clothes were much larger on Wen Ruyu.
But that worked perfectly for Wen Ruyu.
He directly put on a hoodie two sizes larger than himself. The oversized hem almost hung to his thighs, completely hiding his slender frame.
After confirming that not even a strand of hair was visible, he slung a shoulder bag across his body and quietly pushed open the door of the rental room.
The old district was extremely dilapidated.
Parts of the walls had already peeled away, exposing the bluish gray bricks underneath.
The road underfoot was old cement, uneven and full of puddles.
The air carried the sour smell of trash bins, making it especially unpleasant.
At the alley entrance that served as the only path out of the building, several men in slippers were squatting and smoking.
Empty beer bottles were scattered around their feet.
A dangerous aura clung to them. They eyed passersby with malicious curiosity. They were clearly idle thugs who spent their days doing nothing.
When they saw Wen Ruyu walking out of the building, someone’s gaze immediately swept over and settled on him.
The look crawled over his body as though sizing him up.
It felt sticky and uncomfortable.
Wen Ruyu’s heart skipped a beat under that gaze. Instinctively he tightened his grip on the strap of his shoulder bag, his pale fingertips turning slightly white.
He did not dare raise his head.
He could only keep his head down and quicken his pace toward the alley entrance.
He knew his outfit was too conspicuous.
It stood out awkwardly against the surroundings.
But compared to exposing his appearance, a few extra stares meant nothing.
"Hey, look at that one."
After staring for a while, one of the men nudged the person beside him with his elbow and lifted his chin toward Wen Ruyu’s retreating figure.
The other man squinted through the cigarette smoke.
What he saw was someone wrapped tightly from head to toe.
The hat was pulled low. The mask covered half his face. The hoodie hanging from his body was ridiculously large.
It was impossible to tell whether he was male or female, let alone what kind of figure he had.
He looked like someone who did not want to show his face.
The only visible part was a pair of slender legs wrapped in black athletic pants.
His steps were fast and hurried, carrying a faint trace of panic.
The man inhaled from his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"So what? Just someone wrapped up like a thief."
"Don’t you think he looks pretty?" the first man said, rubbing his chin with an ambiguous look in his eyes.
The other man froze slightly before examining him again.
Indeed.
Although the person was tightly covered, his walking posture was strangely graceful.
Even beneath the oversized hoodie, there was a faint sense of indescribable elegance.
It was a very special kind of presence.
It made people unable to look away.
Like a piece of jade covered in dust.
Even if hidden beneath thick fabric, the light inside could not be concealed.
It made people instinctively believe that underneath, he must be astonishingly beautiful.
The man narrowed his eyes and crushed his cigarette underfoot.
"A little."
The two men exchanged glances.
Both saw a trace of interest in each other’s eyes.
In the next second they stood up almost simultaneously and quietly followed behind him.
But just as they began walking, Wen Ruyu had already reached the alley entrance and raised his hand to stop a passing taxi.
The car door slammed shut.
The taxi quickly drove away, leaving only a cloud of dust and a fading silhouette.
The man who had spoken first clicked his tongue and kicked a stone on the ground irritably.
"Damn. Ran pretty fast."
The other man shrugged.
"Forget it. Probably just some poor student."
They cursed a few more times before squatting back at the alley entrance.
Soon they forgot about the matter entirely.
Inside the taxi, Wen Ruyu watched their figures disappear in the rearview mirror.
Only then did the tension leave his body.
He leaned back against the seat and exhaled weakly.
His palms ached from how tightly he had been gripping them.
Luckily the taxi had arrived in time.
Wen Ruyu glanced at his watch.
It was only seven thirty in the morning.
There was still plenty of time to reach the university.
The taxi sped along and soon stopped at the university gate.
At exactly eight o’clock, the class bell rang.
Before the bell rang, Wen Ruyu had already blended into the bustling crowd of students and entered the teaching building.
His first class was not the same as Yang Ruiqing’s.
They were in different buildings.
The teacher for the original host’s class was strict. Hardly any students dared skip it.
Even the original host had not dared to.
Since the original host did not skip, Wen Ruyu naturally would not either.
He sat in the last row of the classroom.
Throughout the class he remained somewhat distracted, occasionally glancing at the time displayed on his phone.
Wen Ruyu did not notice that while he was distractedly checking the time, several students were also distractedly watching him.
They were not strange looks.
Most university students were quite tolerant.
Even if someone dressed like a wanted criminal sat nearby, they would not judge them strangely.
But quite a few people still looked at him several times.
Even they did not understand why.
The person was wrapped up like a dumpling, yet they still felt inexplicably drawn to look.
They kept having the strange feeling that this person must be very beautiful.
The more they looked, the more convinced they became.
Even more irritating was that hat.
It made them want to lift it and see exactly what he looked like.
They really wanted to see.
Once such thoughts appeared, they rooted themselves in the mind.
Then they grew uncontrollably.
The person sat in the last row.
Behind him was the aisle.
If they waited until class ended and pretended to walk past him, accidentally knocking off his hat would be perfectly normal… right?
However, this plan never had a chance to happen.
The moment the class bell rang, the person sitting in the last row had already disappeared.
Even though they rushed outside immediately, they never saw that familiar figure again.
Wen Ruyu had been counting down the minutes until class ended.
One minute before the bell rang, he had already packed his belongings and quietly slipped out through the back door.
He was going to follow Yang Ruiqing.
Yang Ruiqing’s third and fourth classes were physical education on the large athletic field.
To avoid the students leaving class, Wen Ruyu deliberately went around to the back entrance of the building and waited until most people had left before heading toward the field.
The university athletic field was enormous.
It had been divided into several sections, with multiple classes currently having PE.
Standing in the shadows not far away, Wen Ruyu quickly scanned the crowd.
Soon he locked onto a figure wearing a white sports uniform.
Yang Ruiqing.
He was playing basketball with several other boys.
Sunlight fell over his body, outlining his tall and straight figure.
His dribbling was crisp and clean. His jump shot posture was handsome and precise.
Many people watching from the sidelines could not help staring at him.
Wen Ruyu did not approach.
Instead he turned and walked into the abandoned building behind him.
The building had been deserted for several years.
A warning sign reading "No Entry" was posted on the door.
Wind blew through the corridor, producing a low whistling sound that made the place feel eerie.
The original host used to come here often to spy on Yang Ruiqing.
The corridor on the first floor faced the basketball court directly.
As long as one stood at the end of the corridor, every movement on the court could be seen clearly.
Yet the players on the court would rarely notice this dark corner.
It was the perfect location for spying and stalking.
Wen Ruyu softened his footsteps and followed the route the original host used to take.
Silently he entered the building.
The hallway smelled of dust and mildew.
Old discarded desks and chairs were piled along the corridor.
Without lights, the place looked extremely dim.
Wen Ruyu stepped around the furniture and walked straight to the end of the corridor.
From there he could see Yang Ruiqing on the basketball court.
He could also observe the people around him.
The person who used the original host’s scam victims to kill Yang Ruiqing must know him.
It was even very possible that the person was someone close to him.
Wen Ruyu slowly swept his gaze across the people on the field.
He even took out his phone and opened the camera.
Pointing it toward the court, he began recording.
It was not for scams.
He wanted to record everyone there.
Just observing with his eyes might miss something.
If he recorded it, he could examine it carefully later.
But the moment he pressed the record button, another sound suddenly came from behind him.
It sounded like a muffled groan.
Someone was behind him.
Wen Ruyu’s body instantly tensed.
Instinctively he turned his head.
At the corner not far away, two figures were tangled together.
A male student wearing a gray jacket was pinned against the wall by a man in a black hoodie.
The man’s body almost completely blocked the student from view.
"Why… are you… doing this?"
The student’s voice came out broken and weak.
Each word seemed squeezed from his throat.
"Why?"
The man in the black hoodie laughed quietly.
The laughter was soft but carried a twisted pleasure.
"There’s only one guaranteed graduate school recommendation slot."
"If you’re still alive… how could I possibly get it?"
"Just for… a recommendation slot… you…"
The student’s voice was full of disbelief.
As if he could not believe such a trivial matter would lead to this.
But his voice was growing weaker and weaker.
He could barely finish his sentence.
"Yes."
The man answered lightly, with a smile that sounded completely natural.
"I’ve never failed to get what I want."
The moment he finished speaking, the man suddenly raised his hand and stabbed downward again into the student’s abdomen.
One stab.
Another stab.
Only when the student finally fell silent did the man stop.
He slowly pulled the knife out.
The blade was covered in blood, reflecting a cold glint in the light.
When the student’s body slid limply to the floor with a dull thud, Wen Ruyu finally saw the spreading blood on the ground.
He also saw the knife in the man’s hand.
Time seemed to freeze.
Wen Ruyu’s mind went blank.
Every hair on his body stood up.
His body became so stiff that he forgot how to breathe.
Someone had been murdered.
He had witnessed a killing.
Wen Ruyu’s slender body tightened completely.
He instinctively stepped back, his back silently hitting the cold wall behind him.
He bit his lip hard.
His heart pounded violently, but he did not dare make the slightest sound.
He could not be discovered.
Almost instinctively, Wen Ruyu turned around, hoping to escape before the man noticed him.
But the moment he turned—before he could even take a single step—a cold knife suddenly pressed against his back.
The icy blade touched through the thin hoodie.
The chilling sensation froze his entire body instantly.
He did not dare move even a finger.
The next second, a light yet icy voice spoke beside his ear.
It carried a heavy smell of blood.
"So."
"You saw it."