The King of Hell Came and Went (20): Reunion

On the twelfth day of filming for "The King of Hell Is Here," the actors returned to the set.

Naturally, that did not include Meng Tian, who had died, or He Li, who had gone mad.

Bai Cha, however, had yet to appear, claiming that he had "already wrapped."

Everyone looked grim, but by unspoken agreement, none of them mentioned why filming was continuing.

The "mastermind," Li Qing, watched the crew prepare for the next scene with half its staff missing. He held an iced coffee, looking just like any ordinary crew member.

Since the horror Dungeon Instance's boss refused to work, Li Qing had created a few horror effects himself.

He considered his work flawless. It fit the theme of this Dungeon Instance perfectly and had provided a certain amount of entertainment.

It was practically one of the few artistic highlights in his methodical, rational life.

Satisfied, Li Qing took a sip of coffee, then opened the lid and added another packet of sugar.

Filming now resumed from the plot point of Meng Tian's death.

The police discovered evidence that Tao Lele had been in Meng Tian's home.

Combined with the clues provided by the female lead, An Ya, they soon identified Tao Lele as the culprit-

It turned out that the previous string of "accidents," as well as the "female ghost" they had seen, had all been Tao Lele's doing.

"There are no ghosts in this world."

As he was arrested, Tao Lele stared straight into the camera with bloodshot eyes and gave a crazed smile.

"-The ghosts are all in people's hearts. Every one of you was an accomplice in Yu Xiaohe's death!"

"But Yu Xiaohe jumped off the building herself!"

An Ya protested.

"Jumped herself? Ha! An Ya, it seems your boyfriend never told you about that?"

An Ya froze.

Tao Lele stared at An Ya with a vindictive smile. "That night, before Yu Xiaohe jumped, she confessed her feelings to Gong Yao-and Gong Yao rejected her!

"Ha! Why else do you think she jumped? Why did Gong Yao's depression get worse afterward? Because he had a guilty conscience!"

By the time Tao Lele finished speaking, his features had twisted completely. The shy, bashful young man from five years ago had long since vanished from this world along with Yu Xiaohe's death.

An Ya watched wistfully as Tao Lele was escorted away, yet she could not help feeling relieved.

Were they finally going to be free of the curse that had followed them for five years...?

So it had all been Tao Lele's revenge!

She turned and left the police station, heading straight for Gong Yao's home with a spring in her step.

She had to tell Gong Yao the good news!

"Cut!"

The scene was soon finished.

Although a dark cloud hung over everyone's hearts, they all gave their most professional performances to complete the task as soon as possible.

While waiting to move to the next location, the four actors sat together as though there had never been any bad blood between them.

Yu Xiaohe held her cup in a daze. "Just two more scenes, and we'll be completely done..."

Tao Lele slammed his hand on the table. "Someone has to be behind this! Just like in the movie!"

Gong Yao was relaxed enough to chuckle. "At least you're consistent."

Tao Lele said, "Then what do you think, Gong Yao? Do you really believe Meng Tian would send us messages from the underworld?"

Gong Yao cast a seemingly casual glance at An Ya-at the mention of Meng Tian's name, her gaze had flickered before a trace of mockery appeared.

"I don't think those are really calls from a ghost, either, but no one can find out who hacked our electronic devices. Until we know what our enemy wants, it's better to be cautious."

He paused, then added:

"After all, none of us can afford the consequences of not returning to the set, even if that's only the worst-case possibility. Isn't that right?"

The four fell silent.

Li Qing brought over tea, and their gazes drifted toward him.

Yu Xiaohe instinctively wanted to draw closer to Li Qing, but when he looked her way, she averted her eyes, seemingly wrestling with something.

Gong Yao, however, greeted him with a smile. "Mr. Li, you're back too?"

Li Qing nodded. "It's my job. I had to come back."

Yu Xiaohe lowered her head. "Even Li Qing came back, but there's still no word from Bai Cha... What if something really happens to him?"

Just then, An Ya spoke. "He'll come back."

Yu Xiaohe looked at her in confusion.

An Ya merely lifted her teacup and took a small sip, concealing the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

That evening.

After dinner, everyone went off to rest. Li Qing received a message from Yu Xiaohe asking to meet him alone at the café.

"I thought about it for a long time after I got back..." Looking uneasy, Yu Xiaohe raised her head and watched Li Qing cautiously. "I... I still can't bring myself to do it."

Li Qing was not surprised. He simply nodded calmly.

"You won't release my old photos, will you?" Yu Xiaohe looked at him nervously.

Li Qing shook his head. "I won't."

Yu Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of the people who know about your past, Meng Tian is already dead. You can relax a little."

His words instead made it impossible for Yu Xiaohe to relax. Her eyes widened warily.

Li Qing poured her some hot water and continued, paying no mind to Yu Xiaohe's reaction to Meng Tian.

"As for Gong Yao, the 'chief culprit'... I imagine that if you don't remind him, he won't remember that incident."

Yu Xiaohe pressed her lips tightly together. After a long moment, she gathered her courage and said, "I won't remind him... If we can just leave each other alone from now on..."

Then she added hesitantly, "Actually, he might not be a bad person."

Li Qing gave a noncommittal "Mm."

Without Li Qing's explicit support, Yu Xiaohe remained deeply uneasy. She asked tentatively, "Are you angry? Am... am I really useless?"

In Yu Xiaohe's scrolling comments, many viewers were frustrated by her lack of resolve, while some of Gong Yao's supporters praised her for knowing how to read the situation.

[Little Yu is just as kind as Lord Gong Yao,] someone commented approvingly.

Li Qing's brow shifted slightly when he saw that comment.

As a C-Rank player, Yu Xiaohe did not have many viewers in her livestream. Most of them had probably been drawn there by Li Qing.

Thus, they did not know what Meng Tian had once threatened Yu Xiaohe into doing.

Nor did they know that Yu Xiaohe had secretly approached An Ya.

There was no denying that Li Qing had witnessed the changes in Yu Xiaohe's simple string of code, but those changes ended here.

She had not stopped because some fierce inner struggle had reaffirmed her fundamentally "kind" nature.

...She was simply too lazy.

Too lazy to act, too lazy to agonize, too lazy to hate.

Content with the status quo, she chose to coast through life.

In a way, that sort of personality was unbeatable too.

Li Qing felt a rare touch of helplessness, but he still answered Yu Xiaohe calmly. "No. It's all right. You can do whatever you want."

Whether this girl occupying the boss's position could awaken no longer mattered to Li Qing.

Because now, someone who could drive the Dungeon Instance forward had arrived.

He turned his head slightly and looked through the café's glass toward the outside of the hotel.

A tall, elegant young man stepped out of a luxury car, stood at the hotel entrance, and took a deep breath.

Then, as though sensing something, he raised his head and happened to spot the white-clad figure beside the café window.

The young man removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of quiet eyes with a hidden edge.

-Bai Cha, who had intended to flee the set, had returned.