Chapter Seventy-Three: A Visit

Given the awkward relationship between the two, or at least Yang Huishu’s one-sided dislike for Wang Yuluo, Ning Shuyi did not believe the excuse she’d given her programmer fans. Yang Huishu and Wang Yuluo couldn’t really be called friends. If she only wanted to play a prank, a simple jump scare pop-up would have sufficed—Ning Shuyi had seen plenty online, and their fright effect was top-notch, plus it would save the cost of two movie tickets.

Clearly, Yang Huishu would rather pay out of her own pocket to invite someone she disliked to the movies, all while “doing good without leaving her name,” using a so-called “prize” as a pretext to trick Wang Yuluo. There was calculation behind this.

That she could find a believable reason for Wang Yuluo to have won a prize indicated she’d put some effort into researching her. If so, it was entirely possible she’d discovered a few “little secrets” about Wang Yuluo.

There were countless private cinemas, large and small, in W City—why had Yang Huishu chosen the one so close to the “Truth or Dare Love Adventure Club”? It certainly wasn’t a coincidence.

Everything was part of her plan.

On her phone screen, the beautiful girl who seemed untouched by the mundane world was, in reality, surprisingly scheming and remarkably petty.

Chewing her food, Ning Shuyi couldn’t help but reflect that appearances truly could be deceiving—a timeless truth.

By the time Kang Ge and Huo Yan returned with the address, Ning Shuyi had finished eating. In the livestream, the lovely Lamb Xiao Lamb was still gently answering fans’ questions, her eyes bright, her smile blossoming.

“We’ve got the address. Don’t leave the livestream—just keep watching her. We’ll head over now,” Huo Yan said.

Ning Shuyi stood up immediately, phone in hand, and the group drove off, following the address. All the while, Lamb Xiao Lamb’s broadcast continued, her mood clearly buoyant as fans kept sending gifts, with no sign she intended to end anytime soon.

But as the car drove on, Ning Shuyi began to feel uncertain.

They had passed through the city center, heading further and further from the bright, bustling streets into narrower, dimmer roads. The grand high-rises gave way to dingy, decrepit low buildings. Ning Shuyi couldn’t help glancing at the car’s navigation screen.

Huo Yan noticed and said while driving, “Don’t worry, I haven’t taken a wrong turn.”

He had seen right through her unspoken concern, and Ning Shuyi laughed, not bothering to hide her suspicion. Since Huo Yan had dismissed the possibility, she decided to voice her thoughts.

“Lamb Xiao Lamb’s livestream is quite popular—at peak there were twenty thousand viewers, now it’s dropped a little but still over ten thousand, with fans constantly sending gifts. And her streaming environment looks really good, so I assumed she lives somewhere decent. That’s why I was surprised to see we’re heading into the old part of town,” she said to Huo Yan.

Huo Yan nodded. He hadn’t watched the stream and didn’t know what Yang Huishu’s setup looked like as Lamb Xiao Lamb. All he knew was that Kang Ge had easily pinpointed her location, and the address was definitely here.

He didn’t know much about cosplay, but after accompanying Ning Shuyi on a few occasions, he’d realized it was a hobby—or even a profession—that required significant time and money.

From what they’d gathered from the videos Ning Shuyi had found, Yang Huishu’s financial situation was plainly not as good as Wang Yuluo’s, but given Wang Yuluo’s family was extremely well-off, the gap was understandable.

However, judging by the area they were now in, the economic disparity between the two was remarkable.

Eventually, they parked in an open lot near some low-rise buildings.

This area had once been the site of a factory in W City—half the land was the factory itself, the other half comprised worker dormitories and family residences. Back when the factory was prosperous, this place had seen its share of bustling, lively days.

But with the changes of time and the market, the once-flourishing factory had declined, and the entire residential area had fallen into disrepair. The lively past was now just a distant memory. After more than a decade, all that remained was an abandoned factory and rows of empty, desolate apartment blocks.

Stepping out of the car, Ning Shuyi had worried they might only be able to narrow down the search to a general area, making things difficult. But after a glance around, she realized there was no need for concern.

There were so few residents left that, in each building, at most one or two windows were lit. Some blocks were completely dark, without a single light.

“Look here,” Ning Shuyi said, showing Huo Yan the corner of her phone screen. “There’s some colored light flickering—looks like those ambient LED strips. You can see the edge of a windowsill in that direction, so the lights must be in the window.

Let’s just find the lit window with the ambient lights!”

Huo Yan glanced at the livestream and nodded. “Got it.”

With this clue, they quickly identified their target: a top-floor apartment in one of the residential buildings.

The floor was reassuring—at least it ruled out the possibility of someone panicking and escaping by jumping out the window.

Ning Shuyi stayed in the Lamb Xiao Lamb livestream as they quietly made their way upstairs. At the door, Huo Yan glanced at Ning Shuyi, who nodded her approval, and he knocked on the battered steel security door.

Huo Yan’s strength made the knocking sound especially loud in the quiet hallway. Though Ning Shuyi’s phone volume was off, from Yang Huishu’s reaction on camera, it was clear she’d heard it—she jumped in fright and nervously peered off-camera.

Almost immediately, the comments section was flooded with concerned fans who’d also heard the knocking and saw the streamer’s startled, anxious expression. Everyone advised her not to open the door to strangers late at night, and to at least ask who it was first.

Some suggested she keep streaming and take her phone with her to check—safer that way.