Chapter 90: Transmigrated as a Fraudulent Male Streamer (14)
Once seated, the group began reminiscing about their high school days. As an outsider, Cen Yu listened intently.
Pei Hengyun didn’t say much, politely offering a response only when someone occasionally brought up topics like, “I remember you guys used to be really close,” or “Pei Hengyun used to be the sports representative, how on earth did he end up an art teacher?”
Seemingly worried that Cen Yu might feel bored, Pei Hengyun would occasionally glance at him while speaking. Whenever he noticed Cen Yu’s bowl was empty, he would scoop food into it for him.
Everyone present was well-versed in the ways of the world, and they instantly picked up on the fact that the relationship between these two was far from ordinary.
He Yongning was sitting to the right of Pei Hengyun. As Cen Yu observed the group, his eyes happened to lock with He Yongning’s for a brief second.
He Yongning immediately averted his gaze. Feeling bored, Cen Yu whispered to Pei Hengyun, “I’m going out for a breath of fresh air,” then offered a polite goodbye to the others before leaving the farmhouse restaurant.
Standing outside the restaurant, he lit a cigarette from his pocket.
Perhaps because the lunch rush had passed and things were no longer busy, the owner of the farmhouse restaurant happened to come outside for a smoke as well. The two stood not far apart, the owner puffing on his cigarette while staring at Cen Yu.
After being stared at for a while, Cen Yu finally couldn’t help asking, “Have you looked your fill?”
The owner hadn’t expected Cen Yu to speak up so suddenly and gave an awkward laugh. “…You just look so familiar.”
Cen Yu held his cigarette between two fingers. “I’ve never been here before.”
With the cigarette dangling from his mouth, the owner spoke in a muffled, slurred tone, a look of complete perplexity on his face. “…But I really feel like you look familiar.”
When a passerby NPC in a horror novel brought up the same key phrase repeatedly, it could only mean one thing—
A narrative plot point was right here.
Cen Yu looked at the owner. “Is that so? Have you seen someone who looks a lot like me before?” he joked. “Or do I really just have a generic face?”
“No, that’s not it either.” The owner slapped his own forehead. “I just feel… the vibe you give off is very familiar.”
Looks like he wasn’t going to get anything out of the owner.
Cen Yu thought to himself that it was just like a puzzle game: when an NPC repeatedly threw the same piece of information at you but failed to offer any further answers, it was telling you to go investigate on your own.
His cigarette had already burned halfway down. “Where is Pei Hengyun’s house? I mean the one that got destroyed by the mudslide.”
Seeing a question he could actually answer, the owner’s expression relaxed considerably.
Dangling the cigarette from his mouth, he pointed the way for Cen Yu—
“Just follow this road straight up. You’ll see a small convenience store, then take a turn up the slope, pass through a cornfield, and you’ll be at Pei Hengyun’s house.”
Pei Hengyun’s house could hardly be described as a home anymore.
The structure before his eyes had turned into little more than ruins. Although people had helped clear away part of the debris back then, the spot had been left uninhabited for so long that rubble, soil, and wild weeds had completely reclaimed the land.
Cen Yu stood at the entrance of Pei Hengyun’s house.
Perhaps because it was a mudslide caused by a landslide at the time, although rubble mixed with mud had surged into Pei Hengyun’s house and destroyed half of it, the other half still stood, teetering precariously… Cen Yu observed it for a moment and was just about to climb inside—
When he heard footsteps approaching from behind him.
When he turned around, he saw an out-of-breath Pei Hengyun who looked as though he had sprinted all the way here.
“Little Yu.” Pei Hengyun hurried over immediately, his expression rife with concern. “Why did you run out here all by yourself?”
Feeling as though his tone might have sounded a bit too intense, he immediately softened his voice—
“…If I hadn’t asked the restaurant owner, I wouldn’t even have known you came here.”
He turned his head toward the blatantly hazardous structure in front of them, then looked back at Cen Yu. “It’s very dangerous here.”
“What did you come here for?”
Cen Yu looked at Pei Hengyun in front of him. Seeing the man’s anxious expression, he seemed genuinely worried that something might happen to him here.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to admit he came to try his luck and scavenge for clues to uncover the truth. Instead, he pulled out his phone and said to Pei Hengyun, “Don’t you think this place is perfect for live streaming?”
“If I stream here in the middle of the night, the theatrical effect will definitely blow up.”
Pei Hengyun stared intently at Cen Yu, his expression easing up slightly only after hearing Cen Yu claim it was for live streaming.
“But it’s too dangerous.”
Pei Hengyun looked at Cen Yu with concern. “It’s better if we head back first.”
“Did you never come back after that?”
Cen Yu heard He Yongning’s familiar voice, spotting him standing on the gravel path beside Pei Hengyun’s house, looking as though he had walked over together with Pei Hengyun… Meeting Cen Yu’s gaze, he offered a nod.
“Even if you’re this dedicated to your job, I won’t arrange a better featured slot for you.”
“…” Hope you’re still alive to speak a week from now, Cen Yu thought to himself.
Realizing that his solo exploration attempt had failed, he almost suspected this was the plot intervening to prevent him from discovering the truth too early.
Left with no choice, he retreated from the old house under Pei Hengyun’s persistent dissuasion.
He glanced toward the destroyed window of the old house again, realizing that the spot where he stood happened to correspond to a bedroom.
Ignoring the dissuasion of Pei Hengyun beside him, he simply walked up to the ruined window, leaned over, and carefully scrutinized the interior decor inside.
The floor was covered in mud and rubble, the contents of the room swept into utter disarray, and cracks ran along the walls. Then, Cen Yu spotted several posters of basketball stars pasted above…
He turned his head to look at Pei Hengyun, who was watching him with concern. “You were this obsessed with sports in high school?”
How come there wasn’t a single item related to sports in Pei Hengyun’s current home?
“He used to be the sports representative.” He Yongning stepped over from the gravel path, joining the two of them in looking at the basketball star posters inside. “I thought you’d go into sports later on.”
Pei Hengyun joined them in looking into the bedroom as well.
Standing behind Cen Yu, he didn’t answer He Yongning’s question, but merely whispered in Cen Yu’s ear, “Little Yu… I’m a little scared.”
“How about we head back first?”
He rested his hand on Cen Yu’s shoulder—rather than a gesture of wanting to hide behind him out of fear, it felt more like an act of taking control over him.
He squinted at everything inside the bedroom, looking as though he were genuinely terrified that some horrifying entity might spring out from within.
“No one’s lived here for far too long…”
“I’m worried that thing might be here.”
“That thing?” Cen Yu immediately recalled Pei Hengyun’s character persona. “You mean a ghost?”
“Don’t say that!” Pei Hengyun immediately slapped a hand over Cen Yu’s mouth. “What if one really shows up?”
“Mmph! Mmph!” With half his face abruptly smothered by Pei Hengyun, Cen Yu nearly choked on air. He immediately slapped Pei Hengyun’s shoulder with force… Only after Pei Hengyun realized he had messed up did he lower the hand covering Cen Yu’s mouth.
“I’m sorry, Little Yu.” Pei Hengyun immediately began apologizing like a big dog that had done something wrong.
“I was too scared just now… so I got a bit too worked up.”
Panting for air, Cen Yu glared at Pei Hengyun with a scowl. “I believe you used to be in sports now.”
“?” Pei Hengyun instantly put on a puzzled expression.
“You’ve got the strength of an ox,” Cen Yu said, pointing to himself. “You nearly suffocated me just now.”
