Chapter 56: Crimson Apartment 16

"Hey, you guys..."

Someone emerged from the elevator, their voice casual and cold, a faint smile playing on their lips. "What is all this commotion about?"

It was the landlord.

His eyes were soft, and his lips curved in a smile, but his gaze dropped coldly as he looked over the group.

Yet, that indifferent gaze suddenly halted the moment it landed on Zhou Zhou.

Lingering for an imperceptible few seconds, Lu Cheng finally looked away.

Where did this guy pop up from?

Fang Yu glared coldly at the suddenly appearing instance boss.

Being forced to accompany the young lady alongside that NPC already felt grating enough, and now someone was constantly getting in the way.

"We're heading out to look for something. Is there a problem?"

Su Muyan stepped in front of Zhou Zhou, blocking her, as if he wanted to shield the young lady from Lu Cheng's gaze.

Seeing this, Fang Yu let out a scoff and took a step forward as well.

Lu Cheng asked, "What kind of thing?"

"...A phone," Su Muyan lied expressionlessly.

"Is that so?"

Lu Cheng let out an "oh," his words making a cold sweat break out across Zhou Zhou's forehead: "How come I heard someone lost their room card?"

Su Muyan's face chilled. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just mentioning it casually," Lu Cheng smiled, completely unfazed by Su Muyan's icy glare.

Casual mention, my foot.

He was doing it on purpose.

Lu Cheng had heard their argument from far away. He hadn't planned on coming over, but the young lady's sweet and soft voice had inexplicably struck a chord in his heart.

How could anyone have such a mesmerizing voice, and why was she so entirely to his liking?

The man walked closer. Being tall and long-legged, his approach carried a genuine sense of oppression.

Zhou Zhou tightly clenched her fists. She had no idea that her nervous demeanor made her look infinitely easy to bully.

It made people want to reduce her to tears.

He kept getting closer.

Zhou Zhou couldn't stop the rising panic.

What... is he planning to do now?

Is he going to kill her?

Sweat slipped from the young lady's soft, fair skin down into the collar of her shirt, making someone want to tear the fabric open and knead her unceremoniously.

"It was your room card that got lost, wasn't it? Room cards don't just vanish for no reason..."

Ignoring Su Muyan completely, he stood right in front of Zhou Zhou, his voice low and eerie.

"Just like room 312... Were you knocked on your door last night, too?"

—It was a statement, leaving no room for rebuttal.

He seemed entirely certain that someone had knocked on her door.

Zhou Zhou felt close to fainting from fright.

Having the instance boss pierce through the secret she had been trying so hard to cover was clearly not a good omen.

Right now, she was practically drowning in debuffs, feeling so uneasy that she imagined she might die in the very next second.

"What... what are you trying to say...?" Zhou Zhou wanted to cry. If he was going to kill her, could he just get it over with cleanly?

Stop scaring her... her heart couldn't take much more of this.

Amidst her terror, Zhou Zhou suddenly felt her hand tightly grasped by a large palm, as if in comfort.

"Don't scare her."

The young lady's hand was exceptionally soft, bringing to mind the sensation of her holding other things.

Secretly holding the young lady's hand, Fang Yu's ears turned red, his voice hoarse.

Lu Cheng stared at their intertwined hands, a flash of darkness crossing his expression.

Su Muyan noticed it as well, his face darkening. He initially wanted to yank him away, but he paused when he saw the young lady's uneasy expression.

After a brief thought, he instead reached out and grabbed Zhou Zhou's other hand.

"Zhou Zhou, don't be afraid."

"O-Okay..." Zhou Zhou bit her lip, the tips of her ears flushed pink. Both hands felt extremely hot and gripped her very tightly, leaving her too afraid to speak much.

"You guys are so disgusting." At this sight, Lu Cheng wore a murderous, vicious look. "...Are you that starved, clinging to her like this?"

"Disgusting?"

Su Muyan mocked him, "Didn't you notice your own eyes are practically glued to her, yet you have the nerve to frighten her with your self-righteous act?"

"Aren't the two of you doing the exact same thing?"

Lu Cheng's tone was foul. "Like stray dogs catching the scent of blood, just dying to lick her all over."

W-What kind of things is he saying?

The young lady's scalp went numb, and her head felt hot.

"...S-Stop talking, both of you," Zhou Zhou said in a soft, flushed voice, sounding remarkably like she was pouting. "...Can you please just stop?"

"...Fine, I won't say anymore."

Su Muyan's palm grew even hotter.

On the other side, Fang Yu gave a low laugh and echoed an "mm."

What should I do? I'm so jealous.

"Zhou Zhou..." Lu Cheng kept his piercing gaze fixed on the young lady as he continued, "I've heard of you."

He had heard tales of her—a gloomy, ugly gold-digger who had rented a room.

Word was that she hoarded the money she scammed, refusing to spend it, accumulating wealth like a miser.

Who would have thought that the thoroughly wretched person from the gossip would turn out to be such a pretty little creature.

Her soft, sweet voice felt like wandering fish caressing his ears and sensitive spots.

It kept the heat on his ears from fading, and even made a certain part of him burn up.

A dark glint flickered in the depths of his eyes.

"Tenant of 115... You like seducing rich men, don't you?"

"What...?" Zhou Zhou was dazed for a second.

"Didn't you understand? Let me put it simply, then."

The man spoke in a breezy tone, as if his words weren't completely absurd at all:

"Since the two of them are acceptable... what about me?"

She heard Lu Cheng let out a laugh, his tone laced with excitement: "I'm very rich... Although it's my first time, I'm not bad in that department either; I can definitely satisfy your needs."

"Besides... I have tentacles, you know? How about it?" He lowered his head to ask her: "...Do you want to give it a try?"

"Wait a minute," Zhou Zhou didn't quite grasp the meaning of that last sentence, but the rest of what he said was enough to make her brain short-circuit: "...Are you out of your mind?"

The man labeled as out of his mind shamelessly followed them all the way to the phone store.

When Zhou Zhou asked why he was following, the man smiled and said, "I'm accompanying you, of course. Protecting the tenants is my responsibility."

Lu Cheng's words were so utterly shameless that they left Zhou Zhou at a loss for how to respond.

How could an instance boss possibly protect the players?

Zhou Zhou bit her lip, and the moment she stepped inside, she saw the boss sitting in a chair. His features remained just as striking, his dark eyelashes unfurled, and a faint, elusive smile hovered on his lips.

It was as if he had anticipated her return all along.

Yet, the next moment, his expression shifted the instant he spotted those obnoxious men trailing behind her.

The boss fixed a somewhat murky gaze on Zhou Zhou. "What is the meaning of this, little kid?"

"You come to my place and still bring along a few pieces of trash."