Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Pei Chuzhi’s heart tightened slightly at his words.

She suspected that before Xie Yiqian made a careless mistake, Xing Ye could at most confirm Tong Yang’s innocence but could not determine who the true serial killer was between Xie Yiqian and Ding Yang.

That was why, when collecting evidence, he had everyone scatter and deliberately said the person he suspected was Ding Yang. He wanted to ensure no one was eliminated before the third round of discussion while also lowering Xie Yiqian’s vigilance.

Xie Yiqian did not panic for long.

He adjusted his cuff, his face still carrying that gentle, noble expression: “I did sponsor her, but when did doing something kind for someone become evidence for conviction?”

Xing Ye gave him a faint glance: “Because your help wasn’t out of kindness.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, he called out to the director, “I want to reveal a clue.”

Xie Yiqian’s expression stiffened.

Revealing a clue was a move that, once used, was deadly for cautious players like him—either you die or I do.

Xing Ye spoke slowly, describing the clue belonging to Pei Chuzhi, then fixed his gaze on Xie Yiqian: “Before she left, she said the kind person was a successful individual and mentioned in a phone call that it often rains in his hometown during spring. Since you’re so familiar with the area around the factory, it’s clear this isn’t your first time in X County.”

Xie Yiqian rubbed his temple: “And…?”

“You often called her during the sponsorship, always paying attention to her growth,” Xing Ye’s eyes gleamed with certainty. “So your clue, ‘Petri dish,’ refers to the fact that you’ve been observing her all along.”

In the lounge, Fu Xingying watched the entire process, unsure how to comment: “So when I was eliminated, Xing Ye hadn’t sorted anything out at all. He just wanted to get revenge for you sooner, unwilling to let me stay another round, and even dared to set a trap for Xie Yiqian to slip up—such a reckless style…”

Many artists, when participating in similar shows, tend to be cautious, afraid that a single misjudgment will draw online criticism.

But Xing Ye didn’t consider any of that, acting purely on his mood—excessively bold and flamboyant.

Fu Xingying shook her head repeatedly: “Tsk tsk tsk, Xing Ye’s persona remains intact, but this move is something most people could never pull off.”

Pei Chuzhi also held her breath for a moment for Xing Ye. Luckily, today’s recording was the final episode. Xing Ye didn’t seem to plan on joining the next season of Who Is the Killer, otherwise she would genuinely worry he might slip up one day.

In the factory manager’s office, Ding Yang was stunned, finally realizing that Xing Ye had just been diverting attention.

He exchanged glances with Tong Yang and couldn’t help joking: “Xing Ye, can we not drag Zhi Zhi into everything and act so arrogantly? What if you guess wrong and get eliminated?”

“No, no one else would think the surveillance is broken.”

Xing Ye replied softly, then smiled casually, looking up at the camera as if through that dark lens he could see the person on the other side.

His voice became lazy, tinged with a smile: “Even if I guess wrong, it doesn’t matter. Zhi Zhi is waiting for me anyway. At worst, I’ll go find her sooner.”

“…”

When this episode aired, this segment was placed in the bloopers section.

The live comments were full of “woof woof woof,” honestly reflecting the audience’s true feelings. The most liked comment perfectly captured the deeper meaning of Xing Ye’s words:

[You single dogs call it elimination; for us, it’s called a love sacrifice.]

At this very moment, if everyone’s feelings could be visualized, four huge black characters would appear above the entire recording venue:

—Stop showing off.

In the lounge, a dozen or so eyes full of grievance fixed on Pei Chuzhi.

She was too embarrassed to lift her head.

Even knowing the words were deliberately exaggerated, her heart couldn’t help but swell with sweetness.

Voices from the screen occasionally came from other artists, but they faded into the background, only highlighting her rapidly beating heart.

It wasn’t until Xie Yiqian was voted out and began explaining his true relationship with Pei Chuzhi that she barely regained her composure.

In the script, Xie Yiqian appeared to be a gentle and polite successful individual on the surface, but in private, he couldn’t restrain his thirst for killing.

After killing Xing Ye’s younger sister, he felt staying in X County was no longer wise and used a work transfer as an opportunity to move to another city.

Perhaps due to the change in environment, his emotions shifted. After committing a few cases in the new city, he realized that killing strangers no longer brought him the same pleasure as before.

So he set his sights on Pei Chuzhi.

This poor girl, who had received his sponsorship years ago, had just finished the college entrance exam and would soon become his favorite prey in her twenties.

The thrill of raising an outstanding prey only to kill her drove him to guide Pei Chuzhi step by step—filling out her college applications, choosing her career path, submitting her resume to the company he worked at.

Then he would wait for the perfect moment to end her life.

After hearing his account, Pei Chuzhi felt a chill of fear: “This is just too…”

She originally wanted to say, “This is too… perverted.”

But thinking that Xie Yiqian was ultimately her idol, those two words hovered on her lips and wouldn’t come out.

Fu Xingying expressed deep regret: “This is entirely my fault. If I hadn’t eliminated you first, Xing Ye wouldn’t have been so ruthless.”

“You can’t blame yourself either, after all, I chose to be eliminated,” Pei Chuzhi comforted her kindly.

Fu Xingying raised an eyebrow: “That’s what makes it scarier—Xing Ye watched you die for him with his own eyes…”

She paused, shocked: “Did you deliberately use this method to awaken his fighting spirit?”

“Of course not!”

Pei Chuzhi hurriedly denied it, fearing Fu Xingying’s imagination would run wild: “Alright, let’s go back and review. Everyone’s waiting.”

When the two returned to the factory manager’s office, Pei Chuzhi had just pushed open the door and saw Xing Ye turn his head and smile at her.

The smile was faint and fleeting.

But no matter how you looked at it, it conveyed a sense of, “Am I impressive or not?”

Pei Chuzhi sat down beside him, feeling a bit embarrassed to praise him in front of everyone.

Xing Ye waited a long while without hearing a compliment. He snorted lightly and, while others were still chatting, leaned a bit closer to her.

He licked his lips and looked at her quietly: “Don’t want to say something to me?”

The low, husky tail of his voice pressed heavily, inexplicably tinged with a hint of grievance.

Pei Chuzhi blinked and saw Tong Yang in the corner grinning mischievously at her.

Her face flushed, and she turned her head, whispering softly: “You’re impressive, alright?”

“Tsk, no sincerity.”

Xing Ye complained unsatisfied, then leaned back, examining the pink tint from her earlobe to her neck under the light—whether it was from the heat on the way over or the faint color of shyness.

Feeling the gaze from the side and behind, Pei Chuzhi grew even more uncomfortable.

Clearing her throat, she decided to give a small rebuttal: “I even gave you the chance to survive. How can that count as no sincerity?”

This time, Xing Ye was slightly taken aback.

After a moment, he chuckled softly.

The laugh from his throat was like a net, enveloping Pei Chuzhi from behind.

“Yeah, you’re still impressive.”

Effortlessly, she had stirred his emotions.

Making him, in the time that followed, think only of finding all the killers as quickly as possible, so as not to betray the candy she had given him before leaving.

·

The next evening, the season of Who Is the Killer officially wrapped filming.

Pei Chuzhi and Xing Ye were both returning to Yancheng, and the production team was considerate enough to book them on the same flight.

In the airport VIP lounge, pleasant piano music flowed gently.

After sending messages to Xu Lei, Pei Chuzhi put down her phone and asked: “Did you get the news? I heard Yancheng has a heavy rain warning tonight.”

“Mm, Xiao Zhou told me,” Xing Ye glanced at the time. “If the flight isn’t delayed, we should land before the storm hits.”

Pei Chuzhi nodded, not taking it too seriously.

However, shortly after their flight landed at Yancheng Airport, countless raindrops began to fall from the sky, instantly shrouding the entire city in mist and rain.

The two said their goodbyes at the airport and each got into the car their assistant had arranged, heading home separately.

Pei Chuzhi felt a bit tired. After chatting casually with Xu Lei in the car, she couldn’t resist the sudden drowsiness and closed her eyes for a short nap.

When she woke up, the car had just left the airport highway.

She rubbed her eyes, stared at the raindrop-streaked window for a moment, and then asked, “Is there traffic?”

“Yes, the rain’s too heavy.” Xu Lei gripped the steering wheel attentively. “We’re lucky being close to the airport. For Teacher Xing, living farther away, it’s questionable whether he can even get home tonight.”

Pei Chuzhi was momentarily stunned, vaguely recalling that Xing Ye had mentioned his home address—it was actually quite far from the airport.

She opened her phone to check the news and found that due to this rare heavy rain, several main roads around Yancheng Airport were severely congested. Netizens joked that Yancheng could sail boats tonight, while others recalled a similar rainstorm a few years ago that caused numerous accidents from flooded roads.

The more Pei Chuzhi read, the more uneasy she felt.

She opened WeChat and sent Xing Ye a message: 【Is the traffic okay on your side?】

At another exit of the airport highway, the crawling traffic showed little sign of movement.

Xiao Zhou stared at the navigation: “Brother Ye, the road ahead is all red. Are we still going back west tonight?”

Xing Ye’s villa in Yancheng was nice, but since it emphasized being far from the city’s noise, its location was somewhat remote.

Luckily, he owned more than one property in Yancheng, so finding a nearby place to stay wasn’t difficult.

Xing Ye opened his eyes, rubbing his brow: “No need, just go to—”

Before he could say the name of the residence, his phone vibrated.

He lowered his eyes, saw the message from Pei Chuzhi, and replied truthfully: 【Not too bad, how about you?】

There was silence for nearly a minute on the other side, with the typing status flickering on and off. After the congested cars moved forward about ten meters, a new message finally arrived.

【It’s okay here. If it’s unsafe for you to go home now, do you want to come to my place to wait out the rain?】

Xing Ye stared at the last few words, momentarily dazed.

Xiao Zhou asked from the front, “Brother Ye, have you decided where to go?”

“I’ve decided, just wait a moment.”

Xing Ye replied briefly, then lowered his head again. His long, articulated fingers lightly tapped the screen, typing a line of text.

【Okay, send me the address.】