Male Model

"Could it be the abused girl?" the girl analyzed. "The girl was abused to death, her resentment turned into a vengeful spirit. She's the one who killed the middle-aged man at dawn."

So far, her analysis seemed reasonable.

"It's possible, but we still need some evidence," the burly man's imposing presence weakened considerably after he came out of the bathroom, and fine beads of cold sweat could be seen on his forehead.

Jiang Cheng knew he wasn't as calm as he appeared.

Lunch was left to Fatty alone, while the girl helped wash vegetables.

Before long, a fragrant meal was ready. Even in their current circumstances, everyone finished every last bite, a testament to Fatty's culinary skills.

"Are you a chef?" the burly man asked, sipping hot soup, his gaze softening considerably towards Fatty's large face.

"No," Fatty scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "I just travel around, doing all sorts of jobs, so I picked up a few things."

"What do you all do? It's quite a coincidence that we're all gathered here," the burly man put down his bowl, his eyes also softening. "My name is Fan Li, I'm a bodyguard."

"I-I'm Xie Yu, I work at an insurance company," the male clerk said softly.

"My name is Chen Xiaomeng, I'm a university student, majoring in law," the girl introduced herself.

It was the woman with the mole by her lip's turn. They had expected her to be dismissive, but a slow voice finally spoke, "You can just call me Sister Nuan. I'm older than all of you. My profession..." She gave a subtle smile. "I sell things."

Everyone looked at her with an unreadable expression. The aura this woman exuded was far from that of an ordinary vendor, and what "things" she sold was likely something with a lot of hidden meaning.

But no one dwelled on the matter. They all turned their attention to Jiang Cheng, their curiosity about him even surpassing that about Sister Nuan.

Jiang Cheng straightened up and said seriously, "My name is Hao Shuai, I'm a male model."

"You're a model?" the girl sounded somewhat disbelieving. "At a film company?"

Jiang Cheng slowly turned his head, giving her a meaningful glance. "I work nights at a KTV."

Everyone stared at him with surprise, but no one commented. Everyone had the right to choose their own profession, and besides, they felt Jiang Cheng truly had the physical attributes for it.

The daytime in this world seemed unusually short. After they chatted for a while longer, the sky darkened again.

The burly man walked to the window and looked outside, then returned. "It's not going to rain; the sky has genuinely turned dark."

Just as he said, half an hour later, night fell once more.

They gathered around the living room fireplace, warming themselves and analyzing the clues they had gathered.

For safety, they had moved some firewood from the storage room to the living room during the day, so they wouldn't have to go fetch it when it got dark.

Fatty, sitting closest to the firewood, occasionally tossed a log into the fire.

The fire burned brightly, casting a reddish glow on everyone's faces.

Chen Xiaomeng still clung to her earlier theory, believing that other members of the family had abused the girl, leading to her tragic death. The ghost in the villa was the girl from the family of four.

She seemed fixated on this idea, her emotions becoming agitated whenever she spoke of it, a stark contrast to her gentle demeanor earlier.

Considering her law major, Jiang Cheng thought she might be a girl with a story.

After several rounds of discussion, there were no new developments. Someone even yawned, indicating that Jiang Cheng wasn't the only one who hadn't slept well last night.

Fan Li stood up, stretching his slightly numb legs, and suggested, "Let's go to bed."

His suggestion was quickly met with agreement.

Since the middle-aged man had died mysteriously on the first floor, they decided to all sleep on the second floor tonight.

Xie Yu quietly asked if they could all stay together for safety, but Sister Nuan immediately dismissed the idea, saying that they might miss something that way.

Xie Yu's eyes widened in fear, but in the end, no one asked Sister Nuan what "something" she was referring to.

Despite this, they tacitly avoided the bedroom the girl had used.

They planned to split into two groups: one group would sleep in the boys' bedroom, and the other in the master bedroom.

Sister Nuan and Chen Xiaomeng were both women, so they would naturally stay together. They chose the second-floor master bedroom, the one the couple had used, where they had slept the previous night.

Fatty insisted on sharing a room with Jiang Cheng, so Jiang Cheng and Fatty entered the boys' bedroom together.

Next were Fan Li and Xie Yu. It was clear they both wanted to stay in Sister Nuan's room, as those two had more experience, and staying with them would increase their chances of survival.

Finally, after Sister Nuan and Chen Xiaomeng conferred, they chose Fan Li. The three of them entered the room and closed the door.

Only Xie Yu was left alone in the hallway.

A cold wind blew, causing him to instinctively hug himself, goosebumps erupting on his arms.

He ran all the way to the door of Jiang Cheng's bedroom and quickly knocked.

Bang, bang, bang!

"It's me, open the door quickly!"

Jiang Cheng casually replied as he slowly inspected the room, "Didn't you want to leave me alone in the bathroom earlier? You can go stay in the room next door."

Xie Yu stared at the door next to him, which was left ajar. The door trembled slightly in the breeze, as if something was about to rush out at any moment.

That was the girl's bedroom.

Xie Yu shivered in fear, turned around, and pleaded with a crying voice, "I'm sorry, I was wrong! I shouldn't have said that, please forgive me!"

After inspecting the entire room, Jiang Cheng finally sat down with a sigh of relief, casually unscrewed a new bottle of mineral water, and took a shallow sip. "What did you call me?"

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed comfortably.

"Hao Shuai! Hao Shuai!"

Fatty: "."

"Hoo–" Jiang Cheng let out a satisfied breath, then waved his hand, signaling Fatty behind the door to open it.

As soon as the door opened, Xie Yu darted in like a gust of wind, then slammed the door shut with a "bang."

After what just happened, Xie Yu didn't dare to breathe too loudly, obediently shrinking into the corner of the bedroom, afraid of angering Jiang Cheng and being thrown out.

Pulling out a quilt, Jiang Cheng's gaze swept left and right on the floor, as if looking for a place to sleep.

"Ge." Xie Yu's expression was incredulous, "You're not sleeping in the bed?"

"Not sleeping." Jiang Cheng didn't even look at him, answering very naturally, "I'm not used to it. I sleep on the floor at home."

"Is it because sister-in-law is fierce with you?" Xie Yu asked in a small voice.

"None of your damn business!"