Chapter 131 – Shh, He Found You – Tang Tang Cried Very Loudly (09)
Regarding Hu Peng’s identity, Yu Hongbo remained cautious. Hu Peng’s actions made him an easy target for the werewolves. His apparent fearlessness suggested that his identity had to be either the White Wolf King or the Hunter. The White Wolf King is the most unreasonable card in the game—he can blow himself up and take someone with him. Usually, the Villager side wouldn’t trade a life for a life, especially in a real-life version of the Werewolf game like this.
If Hu Peng was the White Wolf King, then others revealing their roles to him in private would allow him to quickly confirm the villagers’ identities. As long as all the villagers were killed, the game would end.
Hopefully, Hu Peng’s Hunter card wasn’t obtained through a body search.
Yu Hongbo pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his head. He had inhaled more of the green gas this morning than the others and was starting to feel drowsy.
After finishing his conversation with Yu Yi, he headed up to the fourth-floor stairs. Li Xinxin happened to be watching from the hallway on the fourth floor. When she saw Yu Hongbo, she gave a nervous smile and started walking downstairs.
As they brushed past each other, Li Xinxin suddenly called out to him. “Please wait a moment.”
“You need something?”
“I know this might sound bad, but…”
“Then don’t say it.” Li Xinxin was being too obvious, and Yu Hongbo wasn’t in the mood to play along.
“That…” Li Xinxin suddenly grabbed Yu Hongbo’s wrist. “Please listen to me. Bai Tang has a Werewolf card.”
Yu Hongbo’s expression tightened as he studied her. “How do you know?”
“This.” She pulled out a Werewolf card. “I just picked it up in the crack under Bai Tang’s door. I don’t know where she got a Villager card from, but you have to be careful. Don’t let your guard down just because she’s your girlfriend.”
Li Xinxin spoke with sincerity, wearing an expression that seemed to say, I’m doing this for your own good.
“Creak—” A door on the fourth floor opened.
“Ah Bo~” A boy stood barefoot in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. “Why aren’t you back yet?”
Li Xinxin keenly noticed a sudden shift in the young man’s demeanor—the sharp edge around him instantly disappeared.
He turned and said gently to the boy at the door, “I’m coming.”
Then he turned back and said to Li Xinxin, “I understand. Thank you for telling me.”
When he turned around again, Yu Hongbo had become polite yet distant.
He hurried up the stairs in a few quick strides. From afar, one could see him leaning down to whisper something in the boy’s ear, which made the boy giggle and lightly punch him in a playful protest—then the young man scooped him up in his arms and shut the door behind them.
Li Xinxin stared at the closed door for a long while before finally looking away, a bitter feeling in her chest. If only Liang Shengfu had been like that back then… But what was the point of thinking about him now? A sc*mbag like that wasn’t worth remembering.
That evening, Yu Yi made some simple congee and side dishes and brought them to Bai Tang’s room. Yu Hongbo hadn’t woken up yet—it was Bai Tang who opened the door.
“Sister Yu Yi.”
“Tang Tang, I made something for you. Eat up first—we’ve still got werewolves to catch tonight.”
Bai Tang nodded and let Yu Yi in.
After dinner, Yu Hongbo entrusted Bai Tang to Yu Yi and warned them that unless he or Pan Quan knocked on the door, they were not to open it no matter what they heard.
Yu Yi agreed. Yu Hongbo then turned to Bai Tang and reminded him again with great care, “Tang Tang, you must listen to Yu Yi. Don’t go out. If something urgent happens and you do need to leave, stay close to Yu Yi—don’t get separated.”
Bai Tang was frightened by Yu Hongbo’s serious tone. With Qiu’er no longer by his side and his own powers restricted, he was powerless to help even if he wanted to. Besides, Yu Hongbo was telling him everything clearly.
“Okay~” he replied.
Only after hearing Bai Tang’s answer did Yu Hongbo’s expression ease slightly. “Yu Yi, I’m leaving Tang Tang in your care.”
“No problem—leave it to me.”
After Yu Hongbo left the room, Bai Tang sat idly on the bed, lost in thought. After a while, he asked, “Sister Yu Yi, what exactly is your plan?”
Yu Yi smiled. “I don’t know either. My only task is to take care of you. Are you bored, Tang Tang? I brought a deck of cards.”
No one had ever taught Bai Tang how to play cards. Since playing cards could be associated with gambling, none of the former male leads had ever bothered to teach him.
But Bai Tang was drawn to the cards in Yu Yi’s hand. Since he couldn’t help Yu Hongbo right now, he decided to behave himself—at the very least, he wouldn’t cause trouble.
With that thought, Bai Tang started playing the simplest and most time-consuming card game with Yu Yi—Train
Time passed bit by bit. The two playing the “Train” card game were fully immersed in their match, focused on outplaying each other—shuffling, cutting, and rearranging the cards, both trying to figure out how to win more cards from the other.
To be safe, Yu Yi had turned on all the lights in the room early on, including the one in the bathroom. The entire room was brightly lit, not leaving a single corner in the dark. Unlike in horror movies, where people die because they don’t bother turning on the lights—besides, it’s not like they were paying the electric bill themselves.
The clock struck one at midnight, the deep “DONG DONG DONG” echoing through the villa. The hallway outside was dead silent. With the autumn wind chilling the room through the windows, goosebumps rose on their bare arms. Paired with that heavy, echoing chime, the atmosphere was downright creepy.
Bai Tang and Yu Yi moved on from playing Train to Go Fish, then to Blackjack (21). Despite never having played cards before, Bai Tang was getting more and more energized, while Yu Yi was struggling to stay awake, her eyelids growing heavy.
“Sister Yu Yi, it’s a little cold,” Bai Tang said as he watched the white gauze curtains by the window fluttering lightly in the air. The way they floated reminded him of scenes from horror movies—if he went to close the window, would something appear behind the curtain?
“Cold? I’ll close the window,” Yu Yi replied, not thinking much of it. She yawned and walked over to shut it.
Outside the French windows was a small balcony. Out of habit, Yu Yi stepped out to glance around. Suddenly, she spotted a dark figure darting across the path below. That brief glimpse sent a shiver down her spine, jolting her fully awake.
Whoever—or whatever—that shadow was didn’t matter to her. Her task was to keep herself and Bai Tang safe.
Yu Yi turned to go back inside. But at that very moment, something unexpected happened.
The villa lost power. The room was plunged into total darkness.
“Sister Yu Yi,” Bai Tang cried out, terrified. He was most afraid of the dark—his voice was already trembling with tears.
“I’m here,” Yu Yi said, shutting the French window.
But just as the words left her mouth, the glass suddenly shattered with a loud crash. Yu Yi instinctively ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying shards.
The night wind blew the gauze curtains over the bed, and pale moonlight poured in, forming a glowing circle on the carpet.
“Tang Tang, where are you?”
“I’m here.” Bai Tang poked his head out from the side of the bed.
Yu Yi had just started toward him when she noticed a small red dot appear on the carpet. In a villa filled with hidden traps, her mind immediately jumped to one terrifying conclusion—a gun’s laser sight.
Bai Tang was on the right, Yu Yi on the left, and the red dot was between them.
“Tang Tang, don’t come over here,” Yu Yi snapped, stopping Bai Tang from moving. She kept her eyes on the red dot that was constantly shifting, searching for a target. “Stay right there and don’t move.”
Yu Yi leaned against the side of the wardrobe, out of the laser sight’s range. As long as Bai Tang didn’t move out from his spot either, the laser wouldn’t find him. But the real danger was if the shooter got impatient and fired wildly.
As they stayed frozen, unsure what to do, a shout suddenly rang out from downstairs. At the same time, the infrared sniper fired into the room, the bullets hitting the wardrobe and bed frame. After a few shots, they heard more gunfire echoing from farther away—it sounded like someone was engaging the shooter.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Bai Tang slipped over to Yu Yi’s side. She scolded him in a panic, “Do you have a death wish? Didn’t I tell you to stay by the bed? What if that shot was just to lure us out?”
“But the wardrobe isn’t as sturdy as the bed frame. I was worried about you, Sister Yu Yi.”
That one sentence from Bai Tang silenced the harsh words Yu Yi had been about to say.
The sniper had gone quiet for a while. Seeing the opportunity, Yu Yi decided to take the risk. After all, staying inside wasn’t necessarily safer than going out. Just like Yu Hongbo warned—it really was a dangerous night.
She opened the door, pushed Bai Tang out first, and brought up the rear herself. Thankfully, the laser sight didn’t reappear as they left the room.
The villa was in chaos—outside was no better than inside. On the third floor, there was a commotion, faint flashes of firelight, and the sharp smell of something burning wafting up.
“Is there a fire?” Bai Tang, terrified of both water and fire like a little squirrel, grabbed Yu Yi and tried to stop her from going downstairs. Instead, he pulled her into an unlocked room, grabbed the showerhead, and soaked them both from head to toe.
Well, at least Bai Tang’s sense of safety was commendable. The male leads in his past worlds had taught him well.
Wrapped in wet bed sheets, they dashed into the hallway. When they reached the third floor, they saw Pan Quan fighting someone. The fire had already spread behind them.
“Pan Quan!” Yu Yi shouted.
“Bang! Bang! Bang—!”
Yu Hongbo appeared in the corridor, firing his handgun at the fire detectors above. One by one, the devices began spraying water. Following the same method, Yu Hongbo shot through the other sprinklers as well, and the fire finally came under control.
Pan Quan used his size advantage to overpower the opponent, and Yu Yi rushed over to help him up. Bai Tang, meanwhile, ran to Yu Hongbo’s side.
Yu Hongbo had clearly just been through a tough fight. His white shirt was torn in multiple places, his face was bruised, and the web between his thumb and index finger was ripped open and bleeding.
Bai Tang cupped Yu Hongbo’s injured hand and instinctively closed his eyes to heal it—only to remember that in this world, his supernatural ability was unusable.
He stared at the gaping knife wound with heartache, feeling more useless than he ever had before.
“Are you okay, Tang Tang?” Yu Hongbo looked him over. Seeing that he was only soaked through but otherwise uninjured, he finally relaxed.
Bai Tang shook his head. “I feel so useless… I couldn’t help you at all.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and slapped himself across the face.
The sound was sharp and crisp, and his pale cheek immediately turned red.
“What are you doing?” Yu Hongbo said harshly. He grabbed Bai Tang’s right hand, barely restraining his anger, and pulled him out of the villa.
Several people were already standing outside.
Scolded by Yu Hongbo, Bai Tang didn’t say a word. He just lowered his head and silently let the tears fall—hot droplets splashing onto the back of Yu Hongbo’s hand.
Watching the boy cry soundlessly with a red, swollen face, Yu Hongbo’s anger melted into pure heartache.
“Alright, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Yu Hongbo softened his tone. “If you keep crying, you’ll turn into a little crybaby.”
He used his uninjured hand to gently wipe the tears from Bai Tang’s face. “Who said my Tang Tang is useless? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have tried so hard to gather clues and figure out everyone’s identity. If I’m still alive, Tang Tang deserves a lot of credit.”
Bai Tang shook his head. He knew Yu Hongbo was just trying to comfort him. He always did this—taking the blame for everything bad and giving all the praise and recognition to Bai Tang.
Without Qiu’er, without his powers, he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t help Yu Hongbo—he was just a burden. There was a reason Qiu’er chose him for this mission. Turns out he really was just a naïve, sweet side character.
Yu Hongbo gently stroked Bai Tang’s swollen cheek, and Bai Tang suddenly burst into tears—loudly.
“It’s my fault. I should have told you everything. I made you worry,” Yu Hongbo said as he tried to comfort him, but the more he did, the louder Bai Tang cried.
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang isn’t being unreasonable. When he suddenly can’t do things he used to find easy, and has to watch someone he cares about get hurt without being able to help, it creates a strong sense of helplessness and frustration that drags him into a negative emotional spiral.