​​Chapter 79: South Street Apartment​

​The four of them descended from the sixth floor. When they reached the third floor, they encountered an unfamiliar young woman stepping out of the elevator.

The elevator was old and dilapidated, its doors plastered with layers of small advertisements. The players had checked it out earlier in the morning—the interior was lined with wooden planks, the lighting dim and flickering, the gaps filled with trash and reeking of foul odors. When it operated, the cabin creaked ominously, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Elevators were also prime locations for horror movie ghost attacks, so the group had unanimously decided to take the stairs instead.

But the residents of South Street Apartment seemed perfectly accustomed to the elevator. The slender, delicate-looking girl lowered her eyes shyly when she saw strangers loitering by the stairwell, clutching her crossbody bag as she hurried past them.

Li Zhi had initially wanted to strike up a conversation, but the girl’s obvious social anxiety made her hesitate.

Continuing downward, they reached the second floor when Qiao Junyuan, who had been quietly trailing behind Li Feng, suddenly turned to glance down the hallway. Though around the same age as Meng Hanhan, his pitch-black eyes lacked any trace of youthful innocence or energy.

Noticing his reaction, Li Zhi asked gently, "What’s wrong? Did you notice something?"

Qiao Junyuan shook his head.

The siblings exchanged a look but didn’t press further. As they exited the apartment, they ran into the players who had gone out to explore. Their expressions were grim.

"There’s nothing out there," one of them muttered. "Aside from a grocery store around the corner, everything else is shrouded in white fog. We couldn’t get close."

Li Zhi nodded in understanding.

It seemed their investigation was confined to the apartment building, just like the school in the previous instance. All clues would have to be found within these walls.

Fu Huan and Xiang Ling were still at Granny Qiu’s stall, helping wash dishes and tidy up to earn her favor. The breakfast stall hadn’t closed—Granny Qiu was already prepping lunch boxes. Watching her swift, practiced knife work, Li Zhi recalled the lavish spread of dishes at the first-floor altar last night. They must have been her handiwork.

Next to the stall stood a drinks cooler. Li Zhi bought a bottle of water and smiled. "Granny, mind if we borrow your stools for a bit?"

Granny Qiu’s face remained stern, but she didn’t shoo them away.

The players settled around the stall. After taking a few sips, Li Zhi casually brought up their findings from the sixth floor:

"...Mr. Chu dotes on his wife. Not only does he work, but he also does all the chores—laundry, cooking, everything. His wife just stays home, not lifting a finger. Marrying a man like that must be such a blessing."

She deliberately didn’t lower her voice. Back turned to Granny Qiu, she shot the others a meaningful glance. They caught on immediately.

"Right! Where else would you find a man like that? His wife is so lucky!"

As expected, the players’ gushing finally provoked Granny Qiu. Her rhythmic carrot-chopping faltered. With a loud thunk, she slammed her cleaver into the cutting board and scoffed, "You wouldn’t call it ‘luck’ if you were the one getting beaten!"

Fu Huan and Xiang Ling had spent all morning working for Granny Qiu without extracting a single clue. Yet Li Zhi had managed to pry one loose with just a few sentences.

Li Zhi turned around, feigning shock. "Huh? Beaten? What do you mean?"

Granny Qiu lifted her cleaver—still flecked with carrot shreds—and said coldly, "Everyone in this building knows Chu Guangyan abuses Chen Meixi. Anyone who calls him a ‘good man’ has a rotten heart!"

"Abuse?" Fu Huan gasped. "Mr. Chu doesn’t seem like that type! Granny, are you sure there isn’t some misunderstanding?"

Granny Qiu sneered. "A wolf in sheep’s clothing. All polite and refined on the surface, but at home, he beats his wife until she looks like a ghost. I’ve heard Chen Meixi crying from my apartment on the first floor. Marrying a man like that is the worst curse a woman could suffer."

The group recalled the composed, well-dressed Mr. Chu they’d seen that morning. It was hard to reconcile that image with a violent abuser.

Li Zhi’s expression darkened with anger. "I can’t believe Chu is that kind of person! Granny, have you seen Chen Meixi? Is she... badly hurt?"

"A few times." Granny Qiu resumed chopping. "That girl’s timid, never greets the neighbors. Always scurries in and out with her head down. Once..."

She paused, squinting at the memory. "She bought a bag of oranges. On her way back, the bag tore at the entrance, oranges rolling everywhere. She knelt to gather them, and my two..."

Her voice wavered briefly before steadying. "My two good-for-nothing grandsons ran over to help. But the girl abandoned the oranges, clutching just a few to her chest as she fled upstairs without a word."

She sighed, her tone bitter. "Chu Guangyan beat the courage right out of her."

"He must’ve forbidden her from talking to other men!" Fu Huan fumed. "Forbidden her from speaking to strangers—or else she’d get beaten! That bastard Chu must be a control freak!"

"A neighbor on the sixth floor mentioned Chen Meixi hasn’t left the apartment in months." Li Zhi leaned in, eyes wide with feigned horror. "Granny, have you seen her recently? You don’t think Chu... killed her, do you?"

Granny Qiu shook her head. "No, I saw her just last evening." She looked down. "When I was preparing the homecoming feast for Xiao Bo and Qiangzi, she came to help."

Though she resented Chu Guangyan, she couldn’t bring herself to hate Chen Meixi—allowing the girl to atone through small acts of assistance.

"But it’s true—I haven’t heard Chu beating her these past few months." Granny Qiu pondered. "When I saw her last night, she seemed... brighter. Not as cowed as before."

Of course she’d seem brighter without the abuse.

But what had prompted Chu’s sudden change? Domestic violence was a cycle—once it started, it rarely stopped. For a long-term victim like Chen Meixi, Chu’s abrupt cessation of violence was suspicious. Combined with the sixth-floor gossip, could it be... she was pregnant?

At least Granny Qiu’s account confirmed Chen Meixi was still alive, disproving Li Zhi’s earlier theory of murder and corpse concealment.

Then again, this was an instance. Just because someone was "alive" didn’t mean they were human. They’d need to see Chen Meixi in person to be sure.

By the time they wrapped up their inquiries, lunchtime had arrived. Granny Qiu’s lunch boxes were nearly ready, and the players gathered around. As the noon crowd swelled, more residents streamed downstairs—many heading straight for Granny Qiu’s stall.

The players seized the chance to observe. Aside from Floral Shirt from earlier, they spotted the slender girl Li Zhi had seen on the third floor. Li Zhi overheard Floral Shirt greet her:

"Xiao Ke, boxed lunch again?"

Xiao Ke nodded shyly, grabbed her meal, and scurried off.

Floral Shirt plopped down at the stall. Li Zhi bought him a drink. "Big bro, is she also from the third floor?"

"Xiao Ke? Yeah." He twisted open the bottle. "Heard she’s a writer. Stays cooped up in her room all day scribbling away. We’ve asked to read her stuff, but she’s too shy."

Li Zhi propped her chin on her hand, smiling. "Your third floor’s full of hidden talents. That Qu Rong I met this morning didn’t seem ordinary either."

"Reporter Qu, of course she’s not ordinary." Floral Shirt’s face lit up with the gleeful expression men wore when sharing salacious gossip. "A big-shot journalist living in our dump? Guess why?"

Li Zhi chuckled. "Why?"

Floral Shirt snapped apart disposable chopsticks, grinning. "Easier to meet her lover, obviously."

"You gossip worse than an old hen!" Granny Qiu swung a broom at him, scowling. "That girl’s decent! Stop spreading filthy rumors!"

Floral Shirt dodged, lunch box in hand, scowling as dust from the broom settled on his food. "What rumors? It’s the truth! Her and Chu Guangyan—"

"Take your food and get lost!" Granny Qiu chased him off before he could finish.

Cursing under his breath, Floral Shirt stalked away.

When Granny Qiu turned back, the players were staring. She huffed, grudgingly explaining, "It’s Chu Guangyan making advances! Xiao Qu’s not that kind of girl!"

At lunchtime, Li Jianxi emerged from the guard booth, locking the door behind him. Even in an ordinary security uniform, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs gave him the aura of a manga character cosplaying—elevating the drab outfit into something stylish.

Li Zhi beamed and waved from afar.

Li Jianxi quickened his pace, bought a lunch box from Granny Qiu, and sat beside Li Zhi.

Fu Huan, seated across from them, bit her chopsticks, eyes darting between the two, alight with the thrill of witnessing her ship in person. She’d devoured every forum post about "ZhiXi" and had been eagerly awaiting this moment since spotting Li Zhi in the instance last night.

To her, Li Jianxi had always been more fiction than reality—a character to ship from afar. Now that he was right there, Fu Huan felt giddy.

But before she could fully indulge, a lunch box thudded onto the empty seat beside Li Jianxi.

Li Feng sat down, his entire demeanor radiating hostility.

Li Jianxi: "......"

Fu Huan: "???"

What the hell? Why did he look like a farmer guarding his cabbage from a wild boar?

Li Zhi sighed at her brother, well aware of his grievances. After a moment’s thought, she leaned toward Li Jianxi, who immediately inclined his head to listen.

"Turn on the muffler," she whispered.

Li Feng’s fists clenched as he watched them whisper intimately right in front of him.

Just as he was about to intervene, Li Jianxi nodded. Li Zhi turned to her brother.

"Ge, he’s my friend."

Li Feng frowned instinctively, glancing around.

"It’s fine," Li Zhi said. "The muffler’s on. The audience can’t hear."

Li Jianxi added, "Neither can anyone nearby."

True enough, aside from their little group, the other diners continued eating, oblivious to the tension.

Fu Huan, sitting beside them, gasped. "Brother? He’s your brother?"

Li Zhi nodded, then said to Li Jianxi, "This is my older brother, Li Feng. He doesn’t mean you any harm."

Li Feng: "......"

Wrong. He meant all the harm.