It’s So Noisy, A Friend Gave Me a Pearl Bird – CH25

Chapter 25

Yunduan suspected he had misheard.

He quietly clicked into [Strawberry Milk Ice]’s profile and checked carefully.

That ID number… was definitely his bro.

Yunduan fell silent, then called out in disbelief, “Bro? You…”

Strawberry Milk Ice?

Was that a name that could belong to his bro?!

It completely shattered the cool, aloof image lcberg had built for so long!

Yunduan was about to speak when the mic beside [Pineapple Donut] lit up, and a cheerful young voice came through:

“I came up with our couple names. Nice, right?”

Couple names? And Strawberry Milk Ice?!

Yunduan’s shocked expression couldn’t be contained.

Bro… were you possessed by your little brother?

Just as Yunduan tried to salvage a bit of lcberg’s dignity, he heard Si Jingce give a light cough.

His girlfriend beside him was also frantically signaling with her eyes.

Yunduan looked at their names, then at his girlfriend, thought for a long time, and finally realized something.

Yunduan: …

It really isn’t easy to dote on your partner.

Suppressing his true feelings, he said, “Nice. Really nice.”

Absolutely, explosively nice.

Yanyan smiled shyly, then turned to Si Jingce. “See? I told you Strawberry Milk Ice sounds good. I even gave you my favorite name. So next time, can you take me to eat it?”

“Mm.” Si Jingce said, “But it’s cold right now. We’ll have to wait until next summer.”

The chat burst into laughter.

[His bottom line and principles are slowly disappearing…]

[With a man who listens to his wife like this, he’ll succeed in anything.]

After a long time, Yunduan finally accepted “Strawberry Milk Ice” and casually asked, “By the way, what should we call little bro?”

“My name is Yanyan!”

[? Oh]

[Also Yan Yan?]

The chat started discussing whether the name was a coincidence or intentional. Yunduan paused briefly, then said, “Alright, Yanyan.”

He started matchmaking.

After a long wait, they finally entered the game. Si Jingce glanced at the two opposing teammates’ names—

They ran into Amlodipine again.

Amlodipine was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “Yunduan, looks like we’re going to keep matching tonight.”

He carefully sized up the two unfamiliar teammates. When his gaze passed over their names, it paused slightly.

Strawberry Milk Ice and Pineapple Donut?

Two girls?

And they were still in a team with Yunduan.

“You’re not playing with lcberg anymore?” Amlodipine clicked his tongue in amazement. “Playing with your girlfriend and bringing along two girls too—you’re really living the dream.”

Yunduan: “…They’re not girls.”

Amlodipine didn’t hear him at all and turned straight to the two of them. “Little sisters, don’t play with this scumbag. Why not team up with me? Big brother will carry you.”

Pineapple Donut: “Brother, what is he talking about? OVO?”

The voice was clear and gentle—it was a guy.

Amlodipine: ?

Then Strawberry Milk Ice spoke, in a tone that sent chills down one’s spine—

“You’re looking for death?”

Amlodipine almost fell off his chair.

He grabbed onto the desk, forcing his expression steady. “lcberg??”

Strawberry Milk Ice… was lcberg?

Amlodipine stared at the name in silence.

No matter how much he disliked Si Jingce, at this moment he couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration.

The act was way too convincing!

He glanced at his own couple name with Leidian and fell into deep thought.

The group entered the game. This time, the map was based on a haunted house somewhere in the country.

Once a thriving restaurant, it had been devastated by a fire, causing numerous casualties.

In the courtyard, withered branches tangled together, and the walls still bore black scorch marks from the blaze.

This time, Si Jingce’s role was the restaurant owner—a normal human.

“Just stay with me later,” Si Jingce instructed the person beside him.

He remembered very clearly how Yanyan had been badly frightened by horror games before—so much that he crawled into his bed in the middle of the night.

He turned his head—and saw Yanyan’s character crawling on the floor in a strange posture, head lowered.

Si Jingce: “What are you doing?”

“I’m not used to it yet,” Yanyan said, almost in tears. “Why can’t I see anything?”

Si Jingce: “Press 1. Stand up.”

Following his instructions, Yanyan finally regained proper vision. But after taking just a few steps with Si Jingce, his expression turned a little off.

“What’s wrong?” Si Jingce asked.

Yanyan shook his head. “I feel a bit dizzy.”

Motion sickness.

The little bird still wasn’t used to the human perspective. Si Jingce let him rest for a while, stepping out to pour him a cup of warm water.

After drinking, Yanyan felt much better and let out a small sigh of relief.

By then, the others had already found some items. Only then did Si Jingce bring Yanyan into the restaurant.

Severed limbs and scattered corpses lay across the ground. The layout was eerily identical to the real haunted house.

Si Jingce led Yanyan around searching for items and opening chests. Soon, they found an obsidian knife, which he handed to Yanyan. “Hold this.”

The obsidian knife could repel evil energy, keeping ghosts at bay. It had no offensive ability but could prevent ghosts from approaching at critical moments.

“Our main task is still to find holy water and identify the ghost hidden among us.”

They also needed to set up formations to weaken the ghost. At certain times, the ghost would appear to destroy the formations, so players usually worked in pairs to report anything unusual.

Yanyan nodded, half understanding. “Then what if the ghost gets the holy water? Wouldn’t we be doomed?”

“When holy water is found, there’s a system announcement, and we enter a judgment phase. Only after selecting a suspect can it be used,” Si Jingce explained. “If we guess wrong, we’ll have to rely on our items to win.”

After a round of searching, Si Jingce gave all the items he found to Yanyan. His character was now jingling with equipment.

Si Jingce himself only kept a silver dagger for defense.

They regrouped—no major progress—and split up again.

From the second round onward, formations could be set up.

One person had to stand still for five minutes while the progress bar completed.

“You stay here?” Si Jingce said. “I’ll search nearby.”

Yanyan nodded obediently. “Mm-hmm.”

After reminding him not to wander, Si Jingce went into another room to search.

After checking thoroughly and finding nothing, he accidentally touched the wall as he was about to leave.

It made a hollow sound.

Empty.

Using his silver dagger, he broke the wall—instantly losing 50% durability.

A faint pink glow shone from within.

A True Love Chest.

And a note.

Si Jingce pulled out the note. It only had three words written on it:

Who am I?

When he clicked it, a line of text appeared beside it—

Carries a faint smell of cooked food.

Each player had a role. After thinking it through, the only match was Amlodipine’s chef identity.

He pocketed the note and went to call Yanyan over.

Yanyan had already finished setting up the formation and was holding a rattle drum, shaking it with “dong dong dong” sounds.

“I found a True Love Chest,” Si Jingce called him over.

Yanyan followed him in. Together, they pulled the chest out of the wall and placed it on the ground.

“Should we call the others?” Yanyan asked.

“No. We’ll open it ourselves.”

High compatibility meant a chance to get holy water. Just as Si Jingce was about to open it, Yanyan suddenly stopped him.

“Wait, brother, let me perform a ritual!”

The boy adjusted the camera toward the chest, then clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and looked utterly sincere.

“Sun Wukong, please bless us so we can get holy water.”

After saying that, he knocked his head against the table three times.

Si Jingce was stunned.

[? What just happened.]

[I don’t get it, did he really just knock his head? But holy water isn’t even part of Chinese religion lol.]

[Hurry, move the camera a bit!]

On screen, Si Jingce suddenly left the frame, leaving only an empty gaming chair.

The audience couldn’t see anything—only faint breathing could be heard.

“Does it hurt?”

Si Jingce looked at Yanyan’s forehead and gently blew on it a few times. “Don’t hit your head like that next time. Just clasp your hands and bow three times—that’s sincere enough.”

Yanyan covered his forehead. “Oh… I see.”

With the ritual done, they opened the chest together. Yanyan kept chanting, “Holy water holy water holy water—”

They got… an ordinary talisman.

Yanyan: QAQ

“Does that mean our compatibility isn’t high enough?”

“It’s just a game. Don’t take it seriously.” Si Jingce picked up the talisman. “Let’s go find more items.”

Near the end of the second round, Yanyan found a bronze mirror.

It could identify the ghost—but only twice.

After thinking, Yanyan handed it to Si Jingce. “Brother, you take this.”

“It probably won’t be useful with me.”

Si Jingce accepted it.

They regrouped again. Leidian spoke first. “Have you all finished setting up your formations?”

Yunduan: “I’m done.”

Yanyan: “Mine’s done too!”

“That’s strange,” Leidian frowned. “The ghost didn’t come out to interfere.”

Once formed, the formations were hard to destroy. Only three more remained.

With no clear leads, Si Jingce shared the clue he found.

Everyone began to suspect Amlodipine, who was playing the chef.

“For the sake of victory, I’ll step forward,” Leidian declared righteously. “I report—after setting up the formation, Lao Huo just stood there doing nothing. I think he was secretly dismantling it!”

Amlodipine exploded, “Damn it! I went AFK to use the bathroom, okay?!”

Yunduan: “Destroying formations doesn’t take effort. What if you dismantled it and then went to the bathroom?!”

Amlodipine: “Have you never heard of urgent needs?!”

Yunduan: “Then why did you leave your character standing by the formation?”

“What do you mean why!” Amlodipine was on the verge of collapse. “If I didn’t go to the bathroom, I would’ve exploded!”

[Ugh (covers nose)]

[I can testify—Amlodipine really did go to the bathroom. I even heard the flush just now.]

[Going to the bathroom and dismantling formations aren’t mutually exclusive, right? I also slack off while setting or breaking formations. There’s no QTE anyway.]

Amlodipine: “How about this—to prove my innocence, I suggest we reshuffle teams and split up again. That way we can supervise each other. What do you think?”

This was also a common mechanic in the game—teams could be reshuffled midway.

Yanyan lowered his eyes, unable to hide his disappointment. “Ah… I have to separate from brother?”

Si Jingce opened his mouth, just about to comfort him, when the new teams were already assigned.

He ended up paired with Leidian, Yanyan with Bobo Mei, and Amlodipine with Yunduan.

The ungrateful little bird instantly changed his expression. “Yay! I’m with Bobo Mei jiejie!”

As soon as Leidian connected voice chat, he greeted lightly, “lcberg, looks like we’re teamed up.”

The reply from the other side was cold. “Mm.”

“Where should we search?” Leidian had long gotten used to his tone. “Third floor?”

“Mm.” Si Jingce still responded with just a sound, then added casually, “You’re noisy.”

Leidian: ?

The little brother had been chattering non-stop in your ear earlier—more than the entire chat combined!

And I’ve only said two sentences—you call me noisy?!

[LOL I’ve been hopping between streams, this is hilarious.]

[Go watch Bobo Mei’s stream—you can hear the pure version of Donut little bro calling her “jiejie.”]

Si Jingce didn’t even need to switch streams to hear it.

Yanyan kept calling “jiejie,” coaxing Bobo Mei into delight. In the game, his character could be seen trotting behind her happily.

Leidian felt the atmosphere grow even heavier.

He forced himself to continue searching with Si Jingce, hearing only the crisp clacking of the man’s mechanical keyboard.

In-game, Si Jingce moved extremely fast, sweeping through rooms and collecting everything in seconds, leaving Leidian with nothing.

Leidian: …

Please just let this game end already.

After setting up a formation, Bobo Mei noticed Yanyan still standing there blankly.

“Let’s go, Yanyan,” she said warmly. “We need to find items.”

Yanyan glanced at the man beside him, who was radiating low pressure.

Not happy?

He covered his mic and whispered to Bobo Mei, “Sister, wait for me a moment. I need to go comfort brother—he’s angry.”

Bobo Mei pressed her lips together, holding back laughter. “Why is he angry?”

“Probably jealousy,” Yanyan said calmly. “Brother is very possessive of me!”

The chat nearly burst from laughter.

Yanyan quickly picked up a piece of apple and held it to Si Jingce’s mouth. “Brother, are you hungry? Let’s eat some fruit.”

Si Jingce turned to look at him. The boy immediately raised his brows and smiled.

The gloom in his heart dissipated. Just as Si Jingce leaned in to take a bite, Yanyan suddenly pulled his hand back and ate the apple himself.

After a while, Yanyan picked up a strawberry and held it out again…

This time, Si Jingce didn’t fall for it. He grabbed the boy’s wrist and leaned down to eat the strawberry.

His warm breath brushed lightly against Yanyan’s fingertips.

Yanyan’s eyes widened—why didn’t this follow the script?!

[Hey hey hey, this is way too obvious!!]

[Is this really a little brother? Aren’t they already dating??]

Si Jingce glanced at the chat. “Why are you making such a fuss? This is normal interaction.”

His good mood barely lasted until the end of the third round, when Leidian found a new clue note.

“‘Neatness.’” Leidian frowned. “What’s the difference between neatness and food smell?”

Everyone gathered to discuss the clues and reviewed all identities again.

Amlodipine was the chef, Leidian the dishwasher, Yanyan the waiter, Yunduan the receptionist, Bobo Mei the cashier, and Si Jingce the owner.

“Food smell” naturally pointed to the chef, but “neatness” disrupted that line of thought.

“Food smell definitely makes you think of the chef,” Yunduan said. “But chefs aren’t exactly known for being neat.”

Leidian: “Not necessarily. Restaurants have hygiene inspections. If the chef isn’t clean, people get food poisoning.”

Suspicion turned toward Amlodipine again.

“Old Dian, even you’re accusing me?” Amlodipine shouted. “That’s pure bias! I really just went AFK to the bathroom earlier!”

Given his past record, no one fully trusted him.

Si Jingce looked at the two clues. In terms of food smell, Amlodipine, Leidian, and Yanyan could all be connected.

But “neatness” didn’t quite fit Amlodipine. As a dishwasher, Leidian both handled food residue and maintained cleanliness.

With that thought, Si Jingce used the ability for the first time and aimed the bronze mirror at Leidian.

No reaction. Leidian wasn’t the ghost.

The mirror entered cooldown—next use would be in ten minutes.

“I’ve cleared Leidian with the mirror,” Si Jingce said. “Don’t get tunnel vision. The answer might be the least likely one.”

The teams were reshuffled again. This time, Si Jingce stayed with Amlodipine, while Yanyan teamed up with Yunduan.

“Take these.” Si Jingce handed all useful items to Yanyan. “Hopefully you won’t need them.”

Yanyan hesitated, then gave back the obsidian knife. “Then brother, you take this.”

The obsidian knife could prevent ghosts from approaching.

After exchanging items, they split up again.

This was already the fourth round. Only by finding holy water could they reveal the ghost.

If not, the ghost would be forced to appear in the fifth round and begin the massacre.

“Bro, I know I didn’t treat you well before, but in this game, I swear I’m innocent,” Amlodipine protested. “I’m really not the ghost.”

Si Jingce: “When you are the ghost, do you also say you’re not?”

Amlodipine: …

Si Jingce: “Clear conscience?”

Amlodipine: “Not exactly clear… but this round really has nothing to do with me.”

“We’re teammates now. I wouldn’t sabotage my own team,” Amlodipine lowered his voice. “Look at the clues—food smell and neatness. Think carefully…”

“A waiter also carries food smell. And waiters need to stay neat and presentable at all times.”

With that, he shifted suspicion onto Yanyan.

Si Jingce’s expression gradually turned serious. “I understand now.”

“You want to break up the CP.”

And drive a wedge between him and Yanyan.

Amlodipine felt like the conversation had completely died.

By the late stage of the game, there were barely any items left to search.

Everyone focused on finding holy water and clues. Meanwhile, Si Jingce discovered another note on a charred corpse.

A blood-soaked hand gripped the note. Just as Si Jingce pulled it free, a system message appeared in the lower right corner.

[Player “Pineapple Donut” has found Holy Water.]
[All players must identify the ghost hidden among the humans within five minutes.]

Everyone was teleported to the center of the courtyard for judgment. Yanyan held the bottle, still looking a little dazed.

“Quick, five-minute countdown!” Yunduan urged. “Did anyone find more clues?”

Si Jingce handed over his note.

[Provides food.]

“Damn!” Leidian exclaimed. “Lao Huo, and you still say it’s not you? You’re the only one who provides food!”

Amlodipine jumped anxiously. “Having food smell, staying neat, providing meals… it’s not necessarily the chef—it could also be a waiter!”

Yanyan blinked. “Ah? Me?”

Everyone turned to Amlodipine. For a moment, he felt like even the game characters were judging him.

“Old Dian, after all these years, this is how you treat me?”

Just as the two were about to start arguing, another announcement popped up—

[30 seconds remaining.]

Si Jingce frowned. Something felt off—the ghost might not be Amlodipine.

But his item was still on cooldown.

“Yanyan, try splashing Amlodipine with the holy water,” Yunduan said casually. “If we lose, we just play another round.”

Yanyan fumbled with the controls. “Me?”

Leidian: “Hurry.”

Amlodipine said darkly, “Old Dian, even as a ghost I won’t let you go…”

Yanyan stepped forward and pressed E as instructed, splashing the water onto Amlodipine. He even added his own sound effect, “Splash—”

At that exact moment, the mirror’s cooldown ended. Si Jingce immediately aimed it at Yanyan.

The mirror burst out with a strange red glow.

Too late.

A shrill alarm rang out. Everyone stared wide-eyed as the boy transformed into a hideous ghost.

Yanyan looked at the screen and flinched at his own appearance.

He peeked with one eye—items were flying at him, pinning his ghost form in place.

Yunduan ran while sensing something wrong. He quickly opened the map—

Out of six points, two weren’t lit up. The formations had failed.

Bobo Mei said regretfully, “He stood there for too long earlier… I didn’t notice.”

Si Jingce recalled it. The first time had been his oversight. The second time…

“He was feeding me fruit.”

Yunduan let out a devastated howl.

Blinded by beauty! Completely blinded!!

Meanwhile, the ghost finally regained movement. Yanyan’s control was still clumsy, making the ghost move awkwardly—but its speed was fast.

He quickly caught up to the group.

Yunduan threw a few more items, barely shaving off some health.

Items were limited.

Once everything was used up, Yunduan shouted, “Yanyan, go chase Amlodipine first! I’ll buy you chocolate cake later!”

On screen, the ghost paused, slowly turned, and headed toward Amlodipine.

There was still time to fix the formations.

Si Jingce and the others rushed over, repairing formations while counting remaining items.

Yunduan had used everything. Bobo Mei had a few talismans left.

Si Jingce—who hadn’t thrown anything at Yanyan—only had an obsidian knife and a silver dagger.

Yunduan: “…Bro, where are your items?”

“I gave them all to Yanyan.”

Yunduan: “You were right next to him and didn’t notice anything wrong?!”

Si Jingce frowned. “But he was feeding me fruit.”

[Enough, stop talking about being fed by Yanyan LOL]

[Yunduan’s expression is falling apart.]

Grinding his teeth, Yunduan decided to sacrifice his brother. “Bro, for the sake of the game… how about you go seduce Yanyan?”

Si Jingce: “…”

Before he could respond, death notifications for Amlodipine and Leidian appeared.

The ghost approached steadily.

Si Jingce looked up—at the doorway, a ghastly green ghost staggered toward them.

After fighting Amlodipine, the ghost’s health was already low. Bobo Mei threw a few talismans, reducing it further.

Without formation suppression, the enraged ghost was terrifying. One strike—

Bobo Mei and Yunduan were instantly sent back to the lobby.

Only Si Jingce remained.

One obsidian knife, able to resist the ghost for five minutes. One silver dagger, capable of fighting it.

Yanyan’s health wasn’t great either. The outcome was uncertain.

The ghost glanced at Si Jingce—and rushed toward him.

Si Jingce moved his mouse—

A flash of white light.

A large “Victory” sign appeared on the screen.

Si Jingce froze for a moment, his hand slowly leaving the surrender button.

His headset filled with Yunduan’s excited screaming, mixed with Amlodipine and Leidian arguing again.

Beside him, the boy took off his headset, brushed aside the hair on his forehead, and smiled brightly at him.

“Brother, you won.”

Si Jingce paused for a long time. “There was no need to surrender. You should have won.”

“That’s a pity.”

“But it’s just a game. If brother wins, I’m happy,” Yanyan said. “Besides, weren’t you about to surrender too?”

He easily saw through Si Jingce’s intention.

The boy smiled slyly. “No choice—my hand speed is faster than yours!”

Si Jingce looked at his vivid expression, his heart pounding violently.

A comment floated across the screen at the wrong moment—

[Man, at this point, you’re still not falling for him?]

Amlodipine also cut in at the wrong moment: “Damn it!! Am I just part of your play?!”

Si Jingce snapped back to his senses, hearing Amlodipine and Leidian arguing again.

[Some lose friendships over games, some gain love.]

[I knew something was off when I saw all five were humans. Who knew lcberg would dump all his items on Yanyan.]

[Ship it. Bro, are you still streaming tonight?]

Si Jingce checked the time—it was already late.

“No more streaming.” He exited the game. “Going to shower and sleep. See you all tomorrow.”

But the moment Yanyan heard a certain word, he jolted.

Shower?!

He glanced at his “can’t walk” legs. The boy who had just been acting bold suddenly flushed pink.

“You…” Yanyan stammered, “are you going to bathe me?”

Si Jingce, who hadn’t ended the stream yet: ?

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