Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 247: Jingcheng? It's Just So-So

Lu Hui didn't know who Li Qiang was, but since he sent a friend request, she really had no reason to refuse. After thinking it over, she accepted. Having finished her turn to speak, she had nothing else to do. Liu Shuo didn't know how to play at all; he was still looking over the rules and asking Lu Hui what to do.Lu Hui glanced at his assigned role and instructed, "Just say you're a villager later."

"It's that simple?"

"Yeah."

In truth, their game of Werewolf was destined to be far from standard. After all, several of them were playing for the very first time. As everyone took turns speaking, Lu Hui checked out their profiles. She discovered that they were all level-one alternate accounts, with profiles displaying only a nickname, gender, age, and hometown address.

Zhou Yuwen's profile was the most ridiculous. Aside from his gender, everything else was entirely fake.

Moreover, listening to their youthful voices, they didn't sound like the wealthy second-generation heirs she had imagined.

Unable to hold back, Lu Hui turned to Liu Shuo, who was fiddling with his Phone next to her, and asked, "Who exactly are these people Zhou Yuwen dragged into the game?"

Hearing Lu Hui refer to Zhou Yuwen by his full name displeased Liu Shuo. He reached under the covers and gave her behind a sharp pinch. Liu Shuo didn't know his own strength, and the sudden, unprovoked pinch actually hurt quite a bit. She couldn't help but complain, "Why did you pinch me?"

Liu Shuo replied with complete seriousness, "You're my girlfriend now, so how can you still call my brother by his full name!"

A bit indignant, Lu Hui retorted, "I'm so much older than him. If I don't call him by his name, what else should I call him?"

"Call him brother, just like I do!" Liu Shuo declared, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lu Hui was utterly dumbfounded. Liu Shuo crawled into bed and grinned at her. "Not only do you have to call my brother 'brother,' but you also have to call me 'brother.' Hehe, my good little sister!"

Looking incredibly sleazy, Liu Shuo prepared to pounce on her.

Unable to stand it, Lu Hui quickly pushed him away. "Stop messing around," she said. "We're playing a game."

"So, are you going to call him that or not?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll call him that. Are you happy now?" Lu Hui sighed helplessly. Having finally managed to shove Liu Shuo aside, she asked him, "Who are all these people anyway? Are they Zhou Yuwen's friends?"

"Oh, the girls are my brother's girlfriend's roommates, and the guys are his roommates." Liu Shuo didn't pester Lu Hui for too long. He found this game of Werewolf quite interesting. At its core, it was just lying, and he was an expert at that.

Hearing that the guys were all Zhou Yuwen's roommates, Lu Hui immediately lost interest. Weren't they just a bunch of students, then?

Watching Liu Shuo burrow into the covers to play on his Phone, Lu Hui felt a wave of sorrow for herself. At twenty-five years old, she was playing house with a bunch of college students.

But after a moment's thought, she asked, "Is there someone from Jingcheng among Zhou Yuwen's roommates?"

"Oh, you mean that idiot." Liu Shuo didn't even lift his head.

"Huh?" Lu Hui looked confused.

"Yeah, there is one," Liu Shuo confirmed.

"My brother's girlfriend is from Jingcheng too. That idiot tried to hit on her, so I beat him up." Liu Shuo was always blunt, speaking whatever came to mind.

"You beat him up?" Lu Hui was taken aback.

"Yeah." Only then did Liu Shuo look up. "Why? Is there a problem?"

Looking at Liu Shuo's nonchalant expression, Lu Hui felt a genuine twinge of disgust. She felt that settling for Liu Shuo as her Boyfriend was doing herself a massive disservice.

Lu Hui recalled an incident back when she was in Junior College. During one of her classes, a Teacher had playfully remarked, "If you Junior College girls don't find a Boyfriend with a Bachelor's Degree, it means you lack ambition."

All of Lu Hui's previous boyfriends had attended Project 985 universities at the very least.

Back in university, while playing a dancing video game, she had met a Postgraduate Student from Qinghua University.

During her sophomore year, Lu Hui had spent a full day and night riding a Green-Skin Train alone to Jingcheng just to visit him.

She and the Postgraduate Student spent three days exploring Jingcheng together. Although he didn't have much money, he was gentle and refined, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses. After all, he was from the nation's premier university; the students they produced were simply on another level.

Those three days were an experience Lu Hui would never forget.

They maintained their online relationship for half a year.

Eventually, the Postgraduate Student mentioned he was going to the United States to study abroad, and only then did the two of them break off contact.

In truth, Lu Hui had been quite heartbroken during that period. Even now, she couldn't help but fantasize about the possibility of suddenly crossing paths with her White Moonlight someday in the future, whether spotting him on television or bumping into him on some random street corner.

"It's nothing. Just don't go around hitting people at the drop of a hat. At the very least, you should learn from Brother Zhou Yuwen." Lu Hui had initially intended to call Zhou Yuwen by his full name, but catching Liu Shuo's warning look, she tacked on 'Brother' at the end.

Liu Shuo snorted and scoffed, "What does a woman like you know?"

"My brother and I are conquering the world together—he handles the brains, and I handle the brawn!" Liu Shuo looked quite proud of himself. His impression of Chang Hao was still quite deep. Bringing up Chang Hao, Liu Shuo continued, "That guy from Jingcheng is completely brain-dead. He doesn't even look in the mirror before trying to steal my brother's woman. I told him right then and there: I'll beat him up every single time I see him!"

Seeing Liu Shuo act like this, Lu Hui secretly curled her lip in disdain. 'He's so ignorant,' she thought. 'He has absolutely no idea about the true value of Jingcheng.'

Leaving aside everything else, just the infrastructure alone was far beyond what any other small city could compare to.

Jingcheng's railway network extended in all directions, allowing one to travel anywhere they desired.

Moreover, Jingcheng hosted concerts every single day, giving people the chance to see different celebrities on a daily basis.

Lu Hui, having had a Boyfriend from Jingcheng, knew quite a bit about the city. This was primarily because her 'ex-boyfriend' truly did boast about the superiority of being a Jingcheng native with a hint of arrogance. He would brag about having the country's best hospital right at his doorstep, or how close his home was to the Forbidden City.

He also used to talk about how Jingcheng possessed the finest educational resources in the nation, claiming that getting into top universities only required three or four hundred points on the entrance exams. "Our children will be destined to beat ninety percent of the country the moment they are born," he used to say.

During a certain period in her youth, Lu Hui had genuinely fantasized about marrying into that elite university circle one day.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, her relationship with her 'lover' had quietly fizzled out in the end.

Consequently, Lu Hui harbored a complex knot of lingering emotions toward Jingcheng.

By now, the players in the Werewolf game had mostly finished their turns to speak.

Surprisingly, the Seer in the first round turned out to be Chang Hao.

Chang Hao wasn't sure whose identity to check. He wanted to verify Zheng Yanyan, but he was afraid she might be a Wolf. If he ended up having to vote her out, she would definitely be furious.

He considered checking Zhou Yuwen, but worried that if Zhou Yuwen was also a Wolf, Zheng Yanyan would undoubtedly take his side.

So, after struggling with the decision for ages, he checked Lu Lin's identity instead.

"I am the Seer, and Player Seven is a Wolf. Let's vote out Seven today. I'll probably be killed tonight, and then the Witch can lead the team." Chang Hao declared a kill on Lu Lin.

Sitting in the Living Room with her Phone, Lu Lin was rendered speechless. 'Are you crazy?' she thought. 'Why on earth did you decide to check me?'

In this round, both Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin were Wolves. With Lu Lin exposed, Zhou Yuwen naturally jumped out to defend her. "Player Five is a Wolf faking as the Seer. I'm the real Seer here. I checked Yanyan, and she's Confirmed Good."

Hearing Zhou Yuwen declare her Confirmed Good, Zheng Yanyan immediately giggled. 'Bad Hubby,' she thought. 'Always zeroing in on me.'

When it was Zheng Yanyan's turn to speak, she kicked things off with a bout of public flirting. She Pouted delicately, "Who said you could check me? Did I give you permission? Big meanie, hmph. Anyway, I think it's perfectly normal for my Boyfriend to check me in the first round, so I'm just going to blindly side with him."

Hearing this, Chang Hao immediately grew frantic. "No, wait! Player One, please take the game seriously! We're playing a game here, and it's based on listening to people's logic!"

Zhou Yuwen chimed in, "Player Five, you should also watch your attitude. Your statement didn't provide any useful information. Player One has her own logic for making deductions."

The result was obvious—Chang Hao was voted out in the very first round.

With the Love-Struck Zheng Yanyan helping him, Zhou Yuwen coasted to an effortless victory.

As the game neared its end, they voted out the final 'Wolf.' Zheng Yanyan was practically ready to pop the champagne. 'Yay!' she cheered inwardly. 'My Hubby and I make the perfect team.'

But to her surprise, the game didn't end.

"Huh? That's not right. There's one Divine Role left, one saved by the Witch, and one villager. I'm the only one without a clear identity, but I'm not a Wolf," Zheng Yanyan muttered in confusion.

At that moment, Zhou Yuwen spoke up. "I'm the Seer, and I'm calling out Zheng Yanyan as the Little She-Wolf."

Lu Lin added, "Yeah, I think she looks like a Wolf too."

Zheng Yanyan instantly panicked. "No, wait, I'm not a Wolf!"

The only remaining Divine Role, Su Qing, sighed. "Girl, are you blind? They've pulled off a Double Wolf Control!"

"Ah?!" Only then did it dawn on Zheng Yanyan. Good heavens, she had treated Zhou Yuwen as the real Seer this entire time, not even realizing something was wrong when he finally turned on her.

Once she figured it out, Zheng Yanyan scrambled up in a flurry and rushed right out of her Room, discovering that Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin were indeed both Wolves.

"You jerks! You two Backstabbed me!" Zheng Yanyan tackled Zhou Yuwen onto the sofa. Zhou Yuwen laughed out loud, telling her it was just a game and not to take it so seriously.

"Hmph! I'm never trusting you again!" Zheng Yanyan Pouted, before turning to curl her lip at Lu Lin nearby. "And you too! I'm not trusting you either!"

"What does this have to do with me?" Lu Lin replied calmly. "Your Boyfriend was the one who insisted on saving me."

"Now you're just throwing me under the bus, aren't you?" Zhou Yuwen said, shooting Lu Lin a sideways glance.

Lu Lin merely shrugged, smiling at Zheng Yanyan, who was still pinned on top of Zhou Yuwen. "Your Boyfriend seems to have some ulterior motives when it comes to me."

Zheng Yanyan let out a Pout. "You're both big bullies!"

In truth, she quite liked this dynamic—being able to joke around and bond closely with her Bestie and her Boyfriend.

She remembered when she first met Lu Lin. Back then, Lu Lin had been incredibly aloof about everything, rarely even showing a smile.

But over the past few months of spending time together, Lu Lin had opened up significantly.

Zheng Yanyan felt that this was a form of salvation.

She had saved her Bestie.

Actually, before the incident with Tao Tian, Zheng Yanyan had merely considered Lu Lin a friend she could chat with.

However, after that event, Zheng Yanyan genuinely wanted to stay close friends with Lu Lin for the rest of her life. Therefore, she didn't mind that Lu Lin and Zhou Yuwen had a good relationship.

After the game concluded, Zheng Yanyan felt deflated, but she still admitted her mistake.

"Sigh, you can't really blame me. It's mostly because Zhou Yuwen acted too convincingly, and the actual Seer didn't know how to speak properly," Zheng Yanyan said, shifting the blame.

Hearing this made Chang Hao angry. He had been voted out in the very first round and had stewed in silence for over ten minutes. Hearing Zheng Yanyan say that, he couldn't hold back. "What do you mean I don't know how to speak? Player One, be reasonable here. Was your speech in the first round any better? Just because he's your Boyfriend, you blindly side with him?"

Chang Hao's tone was aggressive. The fact that he dared to snap at her instantly irritated Zheng Yanyan. "Is it a crime to blindly side with my Boyfriend? Zhou Yuwen is my Boyfriend! If I don't trust him, am I supposed to trust you? Besides, if your logic made any sense at all, do you think I wouldn't have believed you?"

"I had no logic, but he did!?" Chang Hao was genuinely on the verge of angry tears.

"Neither of you had logic, so all things being equal, I'm obviously going to trust my Boyfriend! If you wanted me to believe you, you should have given me a convincing reason. Instead, you just started off declaring that Lu Lin was a Wolf. How was I supposed to believe that?"

Zheng Yanyan leaned against Zhou Yuwen's legs, speaking directly into her Phone.

Having said her piece, she added one more point. "Furthermore, even leaving Zhou Yuwen out of it."

"Linlin is my Bestie. You targeted my Bestie right off the bat. Even if Zhou Yuwen hadn't claimed to be the Seer, there's no way I would have trusted you."

Chang Hao wanted to weep but had no tears left. Her Boyfriend?

Her Bestie?

"Then did it never cross your mind that your Boyfriend and your Bestie might team up to deceive you!?" Chang Hao finally snapped. Compounded by all his recent grievances, his voice noticeably rose several decibels.

"Hey, why are you taking a simple game so seriously?" Zheng Yanyan felt that Chang Hao was acting very strange.

"It's not just a game! Haven't you ever considered that your Boyfriend and your Bestie might be lying to you!?" Chang Hao's eyes grew red.

"Are you insane!" Zheng Yanyan thought this guy was sounding more and more like an absolute idiot.

Why was he dragging reality into this?

Being cursed at by Zheng Yanyan brought Chang Hao back to his senses slightly. He quickly reorganized his thoughts. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just hope you can be more rational when playing the game, and not let outside relationships dictate your choices!"

The two of them were arguing over the public voice chat. They were completely engrossed in their spat, but the rest of the players were dying of laughter as they watched the drama unfold. Li Qiang, in particular, was laughing so hard he could barely contain himself.

'Hahaha, Brother Hao, now do you understand how I feel playing games with Liu Yue?'

'Though Sister Yan's combat power is definitely higher than Liu Yue's, haha!'

Aside from him, Su Qing was also highly amused. Wanting to add fuel to the fire, she chimed in, "Hey, Chang Hao, what did you mean by that last sentence?"

Shen Yu tried to act as the peacemaker. "Alright, alright, let's all stop arguing."

By this point, Zheng Yanyan was genuinely angry at Chang Hao and went completely silent. Only then did Chang Hao realize he had spoken a bit too impulsively. "Forget it, never mind. Let's just start the next round," he said.

Chang Hao already had a rough strategy mapped out in his head. He thought he could use this opportunity to drop a hint to Zheng Yanyan, tipping her off about the abnormal relationship between Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin.

He had exactly planned out what he would say. Next round, he would immediately claim the Seer role and target Zhou Yuwen!

He would address Zheng Yanyan directly: 'Don't just believe them unconditionally because they are your Bestie and Boyfriend. In reality, Boyfriends and Besties cheating together happens more often than you think!'

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to put his plan into action.

Zheng Yanyan bluntly announced, "I'm not playing anymore!"

"This is so annoying. We were just having fun playing a game, and you had to get all emotional. Whether I trust my Boyfriend or not is my business. It has nothing to do with you! Even if I knew he was a Wolf, I'd still believe him! You're completely unreasonable!"

With that, Zheng Yanyan exited the game room.

Once she left, the atmosphere instantly grew freezing cold.

Breaking the silence, Zhou Yuwen let out a light cough and said, "Ahem, since that's the case, let's all get some rest early. I'm leaving too."

After saying his piece, Zhou Yuwen left the game room as well. Soon after, Lu Lin, Su Qing, and Shen Yu all exited one by one.

The room emptied out in the blink of an eye.

Chang Hao never expected things to end after just a single round.

Seeing the current situation, Li Qiang also felt quite frustrated. He had finally managed to get into a game with several beautiful girls, yet it ended before he even had the chance to say more than a few words.

"Sigh, Brother Hao, look at what you did. How they want to play is their own business. Why did you have to go and stick your nose in?" Li Qiang asked.

Chang Hao didn't respond.

Liu Shuo, who hadn't even been in the game room at the time, only just returned. Seeing that everyone had left, he asked curiously, "Eh? Where's my brother? Did everyone leave? Are we not playing anymore?"

Lu Hui briefly explained the situation to him.

Hearing her recount, Liu Shuo merely sneered, left the game room without another word.

Under these circumstances, there was obviously no reason for Lu Hui to stay either.

She had gone to the trouble of downloading the game again, only for it to end after just one match.

How boring.

It was indeed getting very late, approaching 1:00 a.m. With the game over, everyone figured it was best to go to sleep early.

Only Chang Hao, who had carefully calculated his next move, was left hanging, his entire scheme ruined by a single sentence from Zheng Yanyan.

Her declaration—"Even if I knew he was a Wolf, I'd still believe him!"—had utterly defeated him.

Add to that Li Qiang's remark: "That's their own business, why did you have to stick your nose in?"

Every word spoken gave Chang Hao much to ponder.

Sigh, Li Qiang had genuinely wanted to play Werewolf, but because of Chang Hao, it was completely ruined.

"Brother Hao, seriously, I've realized that whenever Zheng Yanyan is involved, you lose all your rationality. Can't you just let it go? Zheng Yanyan has been dating Old Zhou for quite a while now. They say taking a step back opens up a whole new world. It's not like you're lacking in good qualities," Li Qiang advised sincerely.

Chang Hao retorted, "You don't understand. I let her go a long time ago. I just don't want to see her sink any deeper into this mess!"

"Whether she wants to sink deeper or not is her own choice. Dating Old Zhou isn't exactly a raw deal for her," Li Qiang muttered.

"?" Chang Hao was confused, wondering what kind of logic that was.

But Li Qiang continued as if stating a fundamental truth, "It's the reality. Think about it. She rides in luxury cars, stays in massive houses... out of all the cosmetics she buys and the clothes she wears, which one wasn't paid for by Old Zhou?"

"Leaving everything else aside, take the large suite she's staying in today. It's twenty-eight hundred a night. Brother Hao, if she were with you, could you afford that?"

That single question silenced Chang Hao completely.

Li Qiang pressed on, "Brother Hao, face reality. Look at the way Zheng Yanyan carries herself; it's obvious she's meant to be spoiled by a wealthy man. You might be from Jingcheng, true, but that status is only good for impressing girls who aren't from there."

"Since Zheng Yanyan is a Jingcheng local herself, what exactly does she have to gain from you?"

A Word Awakens the Dreamer.

Chang Hao froze on the spot.

Li Qiang didn't bother saying anything more to him. He was merely lamenting the fact that he couldn't keep playing Werewolf.

Seeing that Chang Hao seemed to have experienced a sudden epiphany, Li Qiang said, "Think it over carefully. I'm going to the Restroom to play a couple more rounds. Brother Hao, you really are a buzzkill. Thanks to you, I can't even play with Lu Lin and the others."

"I thought you didn't like Lu Lin?"

"That's completely beside the point."

Li Qiang ceased talking to Chang Hao. He turned around, entered the Restroom, put his earphones in, and sat on the toilet to continue playing Werewolf.

Opening the app, he discovered something unexpected.

Oh! Old Zhou's employee hadn't gone to sleep either, and was actually in another game?

"Hey beautiful, why aren't you sleeping? (Grin)" Li Qiang proactively sent a message to Lu Hui.

In reality, Lu Hui had slept quite a bit during the day. By contrast, Liu Shuo next to her was already dead to the world, snoring loudly after exhausting so much energy.

However, Lu Hui simply couldn't fall asleep. Having finally downloaded Werewolf only to stop after a single round, she was naturally reluctant to give up. She figured she'd play a few more rounds by herself, but she never expected Li Qiang to be so forward.

She considered it for a moment. Since the other party was from Jingcheng, he likely possessed quite a few connections.

Perhaps they might come in handy if she ever went to Jingcheng in the future.

She replied: "I can't sleep. I napped too much during the day."

"Oh, oh! Want to play a couple of rounds with me then? (Grin)" Li Qiang asked.

Lu Hui pondered it briefly. "Sure."

Since Liu Shuo was sleeping, Lu Hui didn't want to disturb him. Besides, after staying in the Hotel Room all day, she wanted to get some fresh air. So, she headed down to the Lobby on the first floor.

Wearing her earphones, she began chatting with Li Qiang while playing the game.

The two of them played a round, and Li Qiang had a great gaming experience. Of course, this experience was entirely curated by Lu Hui. For a twenty-five-year-old woman, twisting an eighteen-year-old boy around her little finger was effortless.

However, during their conversation, she sensed that Li Qiang didn't really seem like he was from Jingcheng.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Hui casually brought it up, "Hey, your profile says you're from Jingcheng, but listening to the way you speak, you don't really sound like it."

"Oh," Li Qiang paused to think. "Sigh, honestly, my family is just an ordinary household in Jingcheng. My parents' combined monthly income is only a little over ten thousand. There's nothing particularly special about Jingcheng, except maybe the houses are slightly more expensive."

'Hmm, this manner of speaking...'

'Now that hits the right note.'