Shi Qi exchanged a few playful words with Ji Leyu, while DM quietly listened. After they finished, the DM announced, “Now, let’s start today’s murder mystery game.”
The script began with a short scene: In the second year of Qingyuan [1] Era name during the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Southern Song Dynasty jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3574317_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3574317_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, the eldest daughter of the Song family and the second son of the Cheng family were getting married. Just as the couple was about to bow to heaven and earth, a sudden scream came from outside. The younger brother of the second son of the Cheng family stumbled in, claiming that the eldest son of the Cheng family had died.
The second son of the Cheng family was shocked and immediately wanted to see his brother’s body.
However, the bride remained calm and even reminded her husband to lift her veil first, to complete the ceremony.
“Where’s the veil, where’s the veil?” Jian Hao asked, enjoying the drama. “You might not need the clothes, but surely you can cover with the veil, right?”
Ji Leyu looked up at him. “What, do you really want to see my brother wear a veil?”
Jian Hao suddenly remembered that Ji Leyu had kept the second son’s script for himself, and had Lin Fei take the script for the Song family’s eldest daughter.
He quickly changed his tune. “No, we don’t need any of that fancy stuff. Let’s just start reading the lines.”
Ji Leyu snorted, thinking that was more like it.
However, despite his words, he was a bit curious about what Lin Fei would look like wearing the veil.
But Lin Fei definitely wouldn’t wear it. Not only would he not wear it himself, but he probably wouldn’t let Ji Leyu wear it either.
Ji Leyu had a youthful spirit, naturally playful, and especially when it came to Lin Fei, he was carefree and at ease, still embracing the youthful romance of his age.
He smiled, having come up with an idea.
The DM began leading everyone through their lines, and Dong Junbo, who had the role of the Cheng family’s younger brother, performed with great enthusiasm. The group officially entered the murder mystery game.
The first round was a simple self-introduction.
In the second round, everyone began to explain their timelines, search for clues, and identify the real culprit behind the death of the Cheng family’s eldest son.
Lin Fei, with his remarkable memory and meticulous nature, didn’t participate in the group discussions at first, only responding when others asked him questions.
Since he was always quiet, the others were used to it and continued to share their thoughts and suspicions.
It wasn’t until all the evidence cards had been distributed that Lin Fei looked at Shi Qi and calmly said, “The murderer is you.”
Shi Qi was startled, though he tried to maintain his composure. “It’s not me, I didn’t have the time to commit the crime.”
“You did,” Lin Fei replied in his usual calm tone.
Lin Fei spoke slowly, methodically pointing out Shi Qi’s inconsistencies, motives, and methods, his reasoning clear and organized. Every time Shi Qi protested his innocence and tried to argue back, Lin Fei would calmly counter his points.
Shi Qi could hardly believe it—how could someone remember everyone else’s timeline and activities so clearly? Even he had to flip back through the script to recall what he had been doing at certain times, yet Lin Fei had already memorized everyone’s timeline during their explanations and reconstructed the entire case with precision.
“Did I really say that earlier?” Shi Qi asked with an awkward smile. “I must not have been paying attention; I must have misspoken.”
“You did say that before Xiaoyu spoke in the first round, but after he spoke and we re-examined the timeline, you subtly adjusted it. You probably thought the hallway was empty during that time based on what others said, so you claimed you were there. But Xiaoyu mentioned walking through the hallway at that time, and you were afraid he’d realize you were lying. So in your second statement, you quietly shifted the timeline forward a bit, hoping no one would notice the discrepancy.”
“Of course,” Lin Fei continued in his usual calm tone, “that’s not the main issue. The main issue is that you could have used the candle in your room and your knowledge of shadow puppetry to create an illusion, making others think you were in the room when the shadow they saw wasn’t actually you. Moreover, you had the motive, and the timing was critical.”
Shi Qi: …What the hell is there left to say? He has no way to argue!
“It really wasn’t me.” Shi Qi made one last desperate attempt. “Jian Hao is also a strong suspect. His motive is pretty obvious too.”
Upon hearing this, Jian Hao immediately started bickering with Shi Qi.
When the DM announced that the time was up and it was time to vote for the culprit, Shi Qi didn’t hesitate to write Jian Hao’s character name on the card and handed it to the DM.
He anxiously waited for the DM to announce the results, only to see the DM give him a sympathetic look and slowly draw out the words, “I announce that everyone’s vote for the culprit…”
“Is correct!”
The group erupted into cheers.
Shi Qi slumped over the table, his face full of anguish. “This is just too hard. It was really too hard for me. I wanted to redeem myself, but as soon as I opened the script, I saw ‘Don’t panic, you’re the killer this round.’ How could I not panic? Especially with a genius like Lin Fei, who’s so quick-thinking—I didn’t even know how to defend myself. I could only try to deflect suspicion onto others. This is just too miserable.”
The DM was also surprised. She had hosted this game several times before, but this was the first time someone had analyzed the killer’s timeline, method, and motive so thoroughly that she didn’t need to do any additional debriefing.
“Next time I will never play with a Study God like you again,” Shi Qi said tearfully.
Lin Fei nodded. “Mm, then next time let’s play a six-player game.”
“Okay~~” Ji Leyu immediately chimed in.
Shi Qi: ??? ‘You’re really going to exclude me like this?’
Shi Qi immediately started crying even louder!
After the game, Ji Leyu checked the time and decided not to join Shi Qi and the others for dinner. Instead, he went home with Lin Fei.
Ji Yuxiao was watching TV. When he heard the door open, he turned around and saw the two of them.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet.” Ji Leyu smiled sweetly. “I came back just to eat with you!”
Ji Yuxiao felt his heart melt, and he couldn’t stop smiling.
‘Look at that!’
‘Such a good kid!’
‘So considerate!’
‘So thoughtful—he’s like a little bundle of warmth.’
‘Truly worthy of being my naive and cute son!’
Ji Yuxiao’s gaze softened even more as he looked at Ji Leyu, as if adding ten layers of gentle filters.
“Why don’t you two rest for a bit first? The food’s not ready yet; it’ll take another half an hour,” he said warmly.
Ji Leyu nodded. “Okay.”
With that, he pulled Lin Fei upstairs to change clothes.
After dinner, the three of them sat on the couch, chatting and watching a movie.
Ji Leyu barely watched for a few minutes before he couldn’t help but complain, “His acting is so bad, not even one percent as good as my dad’s.”
Ji Yuxiao hummed in agreement. “The script is decent, but the actor just doesn’t cut it.”
“Exactly, that’s why you need to watch my dad’s movies. No one else compares.”
Ji Yuxiao wholeheartedly agreed, “Your dad’s acting isn’t something just anyone can match. He’s a four-time Best Actor winner! He’s a textbook example!”
“Of course, my dad comes down to earth to act. It is hard work.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Ji Yuxiao sighed. “No wonder every writer and director wants to work with him.”
Lin Fei: … Truly, uncle and nephew are so in sync when praising someone. They could form a group to audition for a fan club for his dad.
Oh, they’re already in the fan club, so it’s fine.
Ji Leyu suddenly had a thought while watching. He was about to stand up but quickly steadied himself before doing so, acting as if nothing happened and continued watching the movie.
Around 11 p.m., Ji Yuxiao finished watching the movie, prepared to go back to his room to check some documents, turn off the lights, and go to sleep. Ji Leyu and Lin Fei followed him upstairs.
Ji Leyu, unusually, did not enter Lin Fei’s bedroom but opened the door to his own room as they passed by. “I’ll go take a shower first and find you afterward.”
Lin Fei responded absentmindedly, not thinking much of it.
— Ji Leyu didn’t always shower in Lin Fei’s room. Although Lin Fei’s room already had Ji Leyu’s toothbrush, cup, slippers, and other personal items, and even his wardrobe contained Ji Leyu’s pajamas and everyday clothes, there were times when Ji Leyu preferred to use his own bathroom, especially when he was tired and wanted to go to bed early without having to switch between two bathrooms.
Lin Fei pushed open the door to his bedroom and walked toward the bathroom.
He turned on the shower, gave himself a quick rinse, changed into a bathrobe, and dried his hair as he walked out.
However, just as he exited the bathroom, his hand holding the towel paused.
— Not far from him, on the bed, Ji Leyu was sitting quietly.
He was wearing a pale pink bathrobe that reached almost to his ankles when sitting. Despite its length, the light color suited him well due to his fair complexion, adding a touch of gentle, pure elegance to his appearance.
However, that was not the main point.
The main point was that Ji Leyu had a red veil with dragon and phoenix embroidery draped over his head.
The veil was beautiful, obscuring his face. He kept his head lowered, sitting with his hands gracefully at his sides.
Lin Fei was taken aback by this unexpected sight, momentarily stunned.
Ji Leyu, catching glimpses of the shifting light through the gaps in the veil, knew that Lin Fei had come out.
He couldn’t help but smile, anticipating Lin Fei’s surprised reaction.
But the next moment, he realized that with the veil covering his face, he couldn’t see Lin Fei’s expression no matter how surprised he was. So, he lifted his hands, gently pulling up the sides of the veil to reveal his face.
“Does it look good?”
He smiled at Lin Fei, the red veil highlighting his porcelain-like skin, as if a touch of rouge had been applied to flawless porcelain.
Bright, stunning, and captivating.
Ji Leyu tilted his head slightly, the pearls and tassels on the veil swaying gently, like fleeting lights, swaying into Lin Fei’s heart.
It looks good, Lin Fei thought. Very good.
His usually calm and steady heartstrings felt as if they were gently plucked, creating a subtle ripple of emotion.
Not overt, but impossible to ignore.
Author’s Note:
Reader: Where did this veil come from?
Luoqing: Where else would it come from? Of course, it’s a prop I took from my filming, and I even learned to embroider it stitch by stitch from an experienced master!
Luoqing: I never dreamed that this veil, which was meant for my sister in the play, would end up on my son’s head!!
Xiaoyu: Hehe~
References[+]