Underworld Player

"So, you two know what happened at the orphanage, right?"

Without waiting for an invitation, Bai Zhi took a seat on the edge of the bed and addressed the girls seriously.

In truth, he barely knew anything about the "real" campus belle, whose face was currently firmly buried in her pillow—if anything, the "impostor" campus belle, who had repeatedly tried to get closer to him, had left a stronger impression.

Strictly speaking, the only times he had even met the real campus belle was their first meeting in the cafeteria, and again when she followed him to school, so the sight of her completely hiding her face in an act of blind avoidance did not strike him as odd.

After all, in his mind, the real campus belle was someone who desperately tried to avoid making the slightest contact with him.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Xia Wen quickly planted herself between Bai Zhi and Lin XiaoYi, even as she threw the latter a disdainful look that said "an opportunity just fell into your lap and you wasted it".

The mind of the lovestruck young girl was beyond Xia Wen's understanding... Obviously it was safe to assume their conversation had already been overheard by that guy, so what was the use in acting all shy now?

"Simple. I'd like a basic overview of events."

Bai Zhi nodded at her.

"Starting with why you decided to go there at all, and what you encountered when you got there... In other words, how much do you remember about what happened at the orphanage?"

Xia Wen frowned. "Is this an interrogation or what?"

She could not help feeling irritated at Bai Zhi's calm, measured speech.

"You see, the orphanage was a place I called home, but it's been reduced to a pile of rubble, and you two are the only survivors thus far."

"...Sorry."

"It's not your fault, no need to apologize. I just need your help to piece together what happened. Do you mind?"

After a brief silence, Xia Wen spoke. "We arrived at the orphanage yesterday afternoon..."

She left out the reason behind their little excursion, but otherwise faithfully reported all that she and Lin XiaoYi had experienced at the orphanage.

According to Xia Wen, they arrived at the orphanage without incident, but as soon as they set foot inside the compound, they could not find the way out no matter how hard they tried. They had found the whole place empty, which gave them the creeps.

Just when they had exhausted all their ideas, horrible, terrifying monsters had appeared behind them, and in their mad dash to escape their clutches, they found themselves escaping to the rooftop. Just as they thought it was over for them, the entrance to the rooftop magically disappeared, leaving them trapped.

Her memories of what happened after that were fuzzy. All she knew was that they had fainted from extreme hunger and thirst, and when they finally came to, they were already on their way to the hospital.

...Were they simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? They don't seem to know half as much as Chu Tsi... Had the director trapped them on the rooftop for their own safety?

Bai Zhi listened to Xia Wen's account in silence, then nodded and asked another question.

"Why were you at the orphanage at all?"

"Ah, because..." Xia Wen rolled her eyes slightly and said with a straight face, "Because love, it softens every blow."

"...So all things are seen through rose-tinted glasses?" replied Bai Zhi with a single raised eyebrow.

"Because love that grows unimpeded..." There was a glint in Xia Wen's eyes now. "Makes a heart that's always crazy for you.*"

Bai Zhi stood up suddenly, grabbing a bag of fruit next to his feet, which he had purchased en route to the hospital, as he did.

Placing the bag on the bedside table, he said, "Fine, if you won't give me a straight answer, so be it. Everyone is entitled to their little secrets. I appreciate your help today, and since we're schoolmates after all, please accept these fruits as a token of my sympathy."

"Eh? You shouldn't have." Xia Wen's attitude softened as soon as she realized there was food.

"It's just fruit, no big deal. Get some rest now."

Bai Zhi glanced at the campus belle, who hadn't lifted her face from the pillow the whole time, and shook his head. He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Even though he hadn't expected to learn much from this visit, he could not help feeling just a little disappointed... Those fruits had been a waste of money.

Meh, I should have just picked some wildflowers from the roadside... Easy-peasy, wouldn't cost a penny...

"The perfect opportunity fell into your lap , but you just blew it."

Xia Wen gritted her teeth as she pressed a finger to the forehead of a certain campus belle, who had immediately sat up as soon as Bai Zhi left.

"Were you doing an impression of a speechless, motionless boulder earlier? Where did all that bravado earlier go?"

"How was I supposed to know he was standing right outside? I could just die of embarrassment if he'd heard any of that!"

Lin XiaoYi huffed, slapping Xia Wen's accusing finger away.

"Besides, I wasn't even presentable—"

"Wasn't pre— Girl, you need to get it through that skull, opportunity knocks once in a lifetime yo. The gods blessed you with a shower of good luck but you went and dodged every drop."

Xia Wen gave a derisive smirk while her fingers busied themselves with opening the black plastic bag that Bai Zhi had left behind.

"If you ask me, you're just chickening out. That Bai Zhi seems friendly enough. And he's got a sense of humor... I can't help wondering what could have been the problem when you tried to flirt with him before?"

"What else? He was obviously trying to shut it down to keep me from further danger! He's always looked out for me like that... and hey, just who are you calling chicken?"

Pouncing at Xia Wen in irritation, the campus belle attacked her friend with her signature cross choke.

"At least I'm not a glutton like you, who loses all reason at the slightest promise of food. I wouldn't be surprised if you get kidnapped by the next person who offers you a stupid lollipop... No eating, put that down!"

"Don't you dare, nobody comes between me and my food..."

As the two of them fought, the black plastic bag fell to the floor, and two durians rolled slowly out onto the floor...

Both the girls looked flabbergasted.