Deceitful Game

Chapter 34 Could there really be ghosts?

"Indeed," Shi Yue nodded in agreement. "When I first met Coco, she was the one who helped me tune my pitch. I think her name was something like... perfect pitch, right?"

"oh!"

The red-haired boy, carefully taking the bass, exclaimed in surprise, "I've heard that before! I heard it in a Detective Conan movie!"

"It's not that amazing."

Gu Ke'er smiled and said, "Actually, this is something that can be learned through training... it's just that there are relatively few people who possess it without training."

Although she said it modestly, she proudly raised her head: "I haven't completely forgotten the piano I learned as a child! I reviewed it seriously last month, and I should be able to work as a tutor afterward. I found a job that pays 200 yuan an hour... Maybe I'll be able to save up enough money to buy an instrument soon!"

Those eyes became bright and clear, filled with hope.

She clearly values ​​her own talents highly.

...Perhaps it's because, for Gu Ke'er now, the talent that allows her to earn money through her own abilities is the very skill that allows her to survive. For a young girl to survive in this city with its extremely high cost of living, even just having a place to live, is no easy feat.

Judging from what she said, her mother probably still doesn't care much about her.

The good news that will allow "Frankenstein" to rest in peace is that although Coco's life is difficult now, at least she is happy.

Her eyes shone with light, and her face beamed with a smile. At least she wouldn't starve, and she had found something to do.

The only problem is that the future prospects of this job may not be very optimistic.

And you've started a band...

Making money isn't going to be easy.

It's more expensive than it is.

Mingpo sighed.

He had seen his friends in a band when he was in college, so he had a slight impression of it.

The income from a two-hour part-time band performance might be less than a thousand yuan. Even for more established underground original bands, it's difficult to earn more than two thousand yuan for a two-hour performance, and such performance invitations aren't available every day; they might be able to go once on a weekend.

In other words, with limited working hours, the average hourly wage is less than fifty yuan. A full-time band can only play about 12 shows a month, while part-time bands would see that number halved. If the skill level isn't high enough, it's difficult for each person to earn more than four thousand yuan a month.

In a place like Shanghai, you could earn more as a waiter than that.

If they want to go for something higher, or take a cut of the drinks, they'll need a larger customer base. That's something an amateur band like this can't handle.

For a moment, Mingpo didn't know whether to try to give her some support so she could continue pursuing her dreams... or to try to find her a stable and respectable job.

At her age, the fact that she can go home and play after performing on weekdays most likely means she didn't go to university.

—And what's wrong with you, you little rascal?

Mingpo looked at Shiyue with a complicated expression.

He had practically watched the girl grow up, but he had never heard that Shiyue liked this kind of thing back then.

Mingpo clearly remembered that Shiyue moved away after getting into university... Although Mingpo had only met Shiyue during her kindergarten years, he could deduce from the timeline that she was that little girl. He had felt something was off when he saw Shiyue coming out of her house before, and now he was finally certain—she was the child he had taken care of.

So, in this timeline, Shi Yao didn't get into university? Or did he drop out and go home?

Is it really true that the closer one's heart is to the guitar, the further one's hands are from their education...?

"Coco," Shi Yue suddenly spoke up, "I think you should call the police. It's been four days already... If we still can't scare that guy away, you might as well just call the police."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ke'er's smile faded considerably.

She frowned and lowered her head slightly. She neither nodded nor shook her head.

"Could there really be a stalker?"

The boy also seemed uneasy, lowering his voice: "But Sister Yaoyao, you didn't see anyone..."

"What are you afraid of!"

Shi Yue glared at him: "You called a man over here just for this! Speak up!"

"Yes!" The boy immediately stood at attention, his voice becoming a little louder.

"Cheer up, don't embarrass yourself!"

"I'm full of energy!" The boy's voice grew so loud it sounded like it was about to crack.

"Great, that's very energetic!"

Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction.

...A stalker?

Mingpo raised an eyebrow.

No wonder... Shi Yue's face was so hostile when he opened the door just now. And he always felt that there was a hint of unease hidden behind Coco's bright smile...

Mingpo actually understands this feeling quite well.

He was timid and shy when he was a child.

Back then, he watched too many suspense dramas and crime films, and was always afraid that someone was following him, or worried that a thief or robber had broken into the dark corners of his home. And if he accidentally encountered a thief, the other party might be provoked into killing him.

So Mingpo would sometimes speak loudly on purpose, in order to alert the possible "bad guys"—meaning, if you're here, run away as soon as you hear me speak, okay?

Hearing this, Mingpo knew why they were here making a ruckus—it was to add some noise.

Gu Ke'er was, after all, a girl living alone, with no one else in her home besides herself.

Being followed would inevitably be frightening. So Shi Yue brought people over and made a commotion at her house... to let the possible "stalker" know that someone was home.

But this is not a sustainable solution.

Why not install a surveillance camera?

Mingpo pondered whether she should find someone to install a camera for her—but she was afraid that would frighten her.

Or you could just come and arrest that person yourself.

No one else can see him. He no longer needs to eat or sleep. He can wander around the neighborhood whenever he has nothing to do, looking for any other suspicious people.

But at that moment, the boy's words stirred something within Mingpo.

"It's not that I'm afraid of the stalker—I'm not afraid of fighting! What I'm afraid of is..."

As he spoke, his expression turned serious, becoming extremely solemn.

Mingpo also became serious, and leaned closer to hear what he had to say.

Shi Yue also leaned in seriously—she was more than a head taller than the boy, making the gesture look even more comical.

"Sis, I'm telling you..."

The boy said earnestly in a low voice, "I'm serious—could there really be ghosts in this world?"

"Yes."

Mingpo nodded seriously and replied, "Yes, there is."

"How old are you? How can you still believe in this kind of stuff! No wonder you couldn't get into high school. Didn't you learn materialism?!"

Shi Yue laughed in exasperation, slapping him on the shoulder with a loud "smack!": "You dyed your hair like Sakuragi Hanamichi, can't you at least have the courage of Sakuragi Hanamichi?!"

Ignoring the other party's explanation that "I am A-Neng," she angrily hit the boy's back repeatedly, and in the process, she started hiccuping from anger.

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Hey, are you ever going to stop?!"

Just as Shi Yue was getting angry, she grabbed her guitar.

But then, after thinking for a moment, she put down the guitar, picked up a dumbbell, and hurried out.

Mingpo followed the other person over.

When Shi Yao opened the door again, she still saw nothing.

She gripped the dumbbells tightly in her hand, angrily glancing left and right.

The skin on her hands had turned bluish-white from the exertion, suggesting that if she were to encounter someone, she would likely deliver a powerful dunk—perhaps this was the fierce fighting prowess inherited from her father's northern bloodline.

Outside the door stood a little boy wearing a yellow hoodie.

He looked into the room in astonishment.

Mingbo stared at him with an ominous smile.

A scarlet light was gleaming in the depths of his eyes.

—In a black and white world, only the two people facing each other through the door have color.

The next moment, the little boy turned and ran!