Chapter 128 – Shh, He Found You – The Real and Fake Identity Cards (06)
Yu Hongbo’s back stiffened. He never expected Bai Tang to come out at this moment—let alone walk in on… that scene.
“No—no need, you go in first.” Yu Hongbo turned his back to the bathroom door, hiding completely in the darkness.
Bai Tang pulled his head back in, listening to the sounds from outside.
Soon, Yu Hongbo composed himself. Bai Tang walked past him and turned on the light. Yu Hongbo had returned to normal, with only the lingering scent of osmanthus in the air betraying the awkward moment that had just occurred.
Late at night, Bai Tang lay on the bed and reached out to hug Yu Hongbo around the waist. “Ah Bo… actually, I can do it…”
Bai Tang blushed furiously. Was it too forward of him to take the initiative like this? Was he being too shameless?
He leaned against Yu Hongbo’s chest, where the other’s calm heartbeat thundered the moment he said those words.
“Tang Tang…”
“Mm?”
“Can I kiss you?”
In the darkness, Bai Tang couldn’t see Yu Hongbo’s face, but he could feel his breath growing heavier.
Their warm skin touched, and their shadows overlapped and parted. The sound of their breathing gradually intensified.
“Ah—!”
Suddenly, a high-pitched female scream from the third floor pierced through the intimate atmosphere just as things were about to escalate.
The young man clutched the youth leaning over him, his breath unsteady. “Th-that…”
Yu Hongbo reached out and adjusted Bai Tang’s messy robe, then lay on his side and pulled him into his arms. He gently stroked his inky hair. “Sleep. I’m here.”
Bai Tang murmured an “Mm,” eyes wide open as he curled into Yu Hongbo’s embrace.
After the scream, a deathly silence fell outside. Bai Tang, filled with worry, thought about his identity card. What if the Seer pointed him out as a werewolf tomorrow?
With that troubling thought, his eyelids grew heavy, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
After confirming that Bai Tang was asleep, Yu Hongbo got up, used a small object to block the peephole in the door, then returned to bed and wrapped his arms around Bai Tang again.
Not long after, the crisp sound of keys jingling came from outside. Someone stopped in front of Bai Tang’s door, inserted a key into the handle, turned it, and fiddled with it for a while. After confirming it wouldn’t open, they left reluctantly.
The boy mumbled in his sleep, “Pine nuts… sugar… sugar-roasted chestnuts…”
Yu Hongbo smiled silently. What a little foodie.
He recalled that this deserted island seemed to have pine trees. Maybe tomorrow he could take Tang Tang out for a walk and look around.
…
In the morning, Yu Hongbo woke Bai Tang. Bai Tang got out of bed, groggy and disoriented, unable to tell east from west. He almost walked straight into a wall, but Yu Hongbo reacted quickly and pulled him back, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Seeing the boy still unable to open his eyes, Yu Hongbo sighed helplessly. He gently pressed Bai Tang down to sit on the bed, then went to the bathroom to run hot water.
When he came out with a warm towel, the boy had already flopped back onto the bed, curling up like a lobster against the chilly morning air.
After Yu Hongbo wiped Bai Tang’s face with the warm towel and helped him rinse his mouth, Bai Tang finally shook off his sleepiness.
“Little sleepyhead, it’s time to head down.”
Downstairs? Go where?
Bai Tang suddenly sobered. The voting—right, they had to vote. Had the Seer checked him last night?
He couldn’t help feeling resistant to going to the second floor, but Yu Hongbo had already opened the door. He had no choice but to follow.
When they arrived on the second floor, about half of the contestants were already there. As usual, Yu Yi was busy in the kitchen, and the smell of fried eggs was even stronger than yesterday.
“We’re in for a treat today. Yu Yi’s cooking those bird eggs we found yesterday,” Pan Quan peeked into the kitchen now and then, as if Yu Yi might come out at any moment. He wanted to be the first to taste the eggs!
But with the looming vote that could cost someone their life, not everyone was in such a good mood. Like Pan Quan and Yu Yi, the others had also heard the scream last night, but no one dared to go out and check.
One, two… More and more people came down. Bai Tang counted—nineteen people. Not a single one missing. Did the werewolves not kill anyone last night?
Yu Hongbo, sitting at the table, curled his lips into a smile. As expected…
“Breakfast is ready! This one’s the best egg—move, this one’s for Tang Tang.” Yu Yi slapped Pan Quan’s hand away and placed the largest fried egg in front of Bai Tang.
“Thank you, Sister Yu Yi.” Bai Tang expressed his thanks, but didn’t start eating right away. His troubled expression did not escape Yu Hongbo’s notice.
“Eat your breakfast first. I’ll take you out to look for pine nuts later,” Yu Hongbo said.
“Really~?” Bai Tang’s round eyes lit up. “There really are pine nuts?”
“Alright, everyone’s here. Looks like it was a peaceful night—no one died,” Hu Peng said in an official tone.
“But… someone definitely screamed last night…” Zheng Yao looked confused. If no one died, then who was screaming?
“Cough, cough…” Liang Shengfu covered his mouth as he coughed. “Sorry about that.”
He was sitting directly across from Bai Tang. Since others were eating, it was rude to cough so carelessly and potentially spray saliva.
“If no one died, then let’s proceed with the vote. Anyone claiming to be the Seer? Seer, did you check her last night?” The short-haired woman pointed at Bai Tang, her tone laced with hostility.
“This…” Everyone looked at one another, but no one spoke.
It was unwise to reveal oneself as the Seer at this stage—only two people had died so far, and it was unlikely they were werewolves. With so many players left, the werewolves were still well hidden. Anyone who revealed themselves now would likely be targeted and killed tonight.
“Who said the werewolves didn’t make a move last night? One of them came to Tang Tang’s room,” Yu Hongbo said, gently stroking Bai Tang’s back. He lowered his voice, “Eat slowly, don’t choke.”
“Then was it her screaming last night? Why isn’t she dead?” the short-haired woman said with irritation.
“Hey, stop pointing fingers!” Yu Yi slammed her chopsticks down. “What’s wrong with you—do you want someone to die? What are you up to? Don’t tell me you’re the inside agent working with the people who kidnapped us!”
Next to her, Pan Quan rolled up his sleeves, showing off his bulging biceps.
Calm and unbothered, Yu Hongbo pulled out a card and placed it on the table—Guardian.
Everyone suddenly understood. If he was telling the truth, then it all made sense.
The Guardian can protect one person each night. With Yu Hongbo guarding him, Bai Tang—targeted by the werewolves—naturally remained safe and unharmed.
Liang Shengfu glanced at Yu Hongbo, then turned his head and began coughing violently again.
“Last night, the werewolves chose Tang Tang as their target. They got a key to his room, but I had locked the door from the inside,” Yu Hongbo explained.
“Why were you in her room? That still doesn’t prove she’s a good person…” the short-haired woman continued to press.
“My relationship with Tang Tang is—”
Bai Tang looked nervously at Yu Hongbo, silently pleading with him not to reveal anything. He was already under suspicion—he couldn’t drag Yu Hongbo down with him.
Yu Hongbo took Bai Tang’s hand. While everyone’s attention was above the table, he slipped a card into Bai Tang’s hand with the other one, hidden below.
“Seriously? You still have the heart to talk about romance at a time like this?” Zheng Yao muttered, clearly irritated by the short-haired woman’s aggressive questioning—but she wasn’t fond of Bai Tang either, especially since he was even prettier than she was.
“Let’s hurry and vote. We don’t have much time.”
The grandfather clock on the first floor ticked steadily. According to the game rules, there were only twenty minutes allotted for voting. Once that time passed, everyone would be disqualified.
Bai Tang met Yu Hongbo’s gaze. The latter gave him a firm, reassuring nod.
“I’m a good person,” Bai Tang said softly.
It was the first lie Bai Tang had ever told. His hand, still holding Yu Hongbo’s, had grown damp with sweat.
He placed the card on the table—Villager.
Yu Yi saw it and gave a look that said, I knew it. She raised her chin confidently. “What else do you have to say? If you’ve got the guts, show your identity card too!”
Revealing one’s identity card was extremely dangerous. Once the werewolves confirmed who the villagers were, they could systematically eliminate them. If all the villagers died, the werewolf faction would win.
At this moment, Bai Tang’s act of revealing his card was practically placing his life directly in the werewolves’ hands.
The short-haired woman glared at Bai Tang but said nothing. She simply sat back down.
The situation was still unclear. Bai Tang had a Villager card, and Yu Hongbo had the Guardian card, but the werewolves still hadn’t made an appearance.
Ding ding ding— The sound of the clock downstairs startled everyone.
Oh no, they still hadn’t chosen the outcast. Did this mean everyone would die?!
Click. The doors and windows downstairs automatically locked.
Green smoke began to pour out from the walls, the foul odor stinging their noses.
“Not good, it’s poisonous gas!”
“Quick, vote for the outcast…”
Everyone, gripped by the fear of death, started pointing fingers at each other before they collapsed.
Yu Hongbo ripped the tablecloth off and poured water onto it, covering Bai Tang’s mouth and nose with it. While it didn’t completely block the gas, it would at least slow down the rate of inhalation.
The group’s accusations quickly turned into physical conflict. Since Bai Tang and Yu Hongbo were positioned more toward the inside, the fight didn’t reach them.
The short-haired woman, small in stature, was squeezed in the crowd. Already struggling to breathe, now she had no place to stand. She tried to break through the encirclement, but the man in front of her was pushed out by her.
Bang bang—
Two gunshots rang out, and the man fell to the ground, blood spilling out from beneath him.
Someone realized what had happened and immediately ran downstairs to open the door. The others followed quickly, desperate to escape the building. A girl in a dress was knocked to the ground by the crowd, landing face-first onto the corpse. She screamed a high-pitched note directly in the face of the dead man.
Yu Hongbo quickly scooped Bai Tang into his arms, taking two steps at a time as he descended the stairs. Yu Yi followed close behind with Pan Quan’s protection. When they saw the girl sitting dazed on the floor, Yu Yi kindly reached out to help her.
Outside, everyone took deep breaths of fresh air, slowly feeling like they had come back to life after the intense panic.
Hu Peng counted. Aside from the man who had been shot, the remaining eighteen people had all managed to escape.
Not sure if it was because he had inhaled more of the gas, Hu Peng started coughing violently, as if his lungs were about to come out. The others didn’t look much better either.
Bai Tang, protected by Yu Hongbo from the start, had inhaled less of the gas. Among the group with pale faces, he looked the most normal.
“Ah Bo, thank—”
Yu Hongbo, gasping for breath, quickly covered Bai Tang’s mouth, “Shh! Don’t… don’t say it.”
He gave a pointed glance at the others, and Bai Tang nodded in understanding. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, patted his shoulder to relax his muscles, and let Yu Hongbo rest against his back.
Author’s Note:
Is the male lead’s identity card the Guardian? Or is he the Seer? Or something else entirely?