Live Action Murder Mystery

Chapter 54.2

— A power outage?

A lady at the main table must have received a scare since she proceeded to let out a scream.

Butler Hao’s voice rang out in a timely manner. “Please keep calm and do not panic. Quieten down, and listen to me speak!”

After Butler Hao said those words, he switched on his flashlight. “Please stay in your places and do not move. It might be a short-circuit. I will go and have a look.”

Despite that, there were still some movements at the main table, probably because the ladies were afraid.

Butler Hao tacked on another line: “I’m speaking the truth. I just received a plot task that requires me to fix the circuit breaker, and the script explicitly states that I’ll fix the issue very quickly. Please do not worry.”

And when Butler Hao left, he brought the only flashlight with him, and the hall of the ancient castle descended back into darkness again.

There were the sounds of shuffling footsteps, clothes shifting and low whispers in the darkness.

Ever so faintly, Gu Liang seemed to hear something dropping on the ground.

— What was that? Eating cutlery like a fork or knife perhaps?

Gu Liang’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, before he felt someone hold onto his wrist.

However, Gu Liang did not find the action abrupt, most likely because the warmth and the smell of the person behind him was incredibly familiar— Yang Ye.

Gu Liang asked him: “What are you doing?”

Yang Ye’s low and deep voice sounded out beside his ear. “Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?”

Having perceived Yang Ye’s chafing, Gu Liang gritted his teeth and said: “It’s just a small psychological shadow I had in the past. There’s no need to take it that far. Moreover, where did the ghosts come from in this setting?”

Yang Ye chuckled, letting go of his hand before he turned around to stand back-to-back with Gu Liang.

Gu Liang held his breath with rapt attention, paying attention to any strange movements in the darkness.

As he was focusing on the movements in his surroundings, Gu Liang could feel the warmth transmitting from Yang Ye’s back to his as he was keeping close and guarding him.

Bizarrely enough, nothing happened during the power outage.

After some time, the lights in the main hall brightened again.

Gu Liang’s first instinct was to look towards the main table.

In Gu Liang’s perspective, the power would never go out without any rhyme or reason during a homicide case. It usually occurred because someone had deliberately tampered with it or messed around, wanting to create a chance to do something like killing someone for instance. When the lights switched back on, however, everything remained the same in the hall. Honestly speaking, this was out of Gu Liang’s expectations.

Lastly, Gu Liang’s line of sight landed on the western clock, the time displayed with 6:50 at night, which also meant that the power outage lasted for a duration of 20 minutes.

After another long moment, Butler Hao walked to the front of the stage, took the microphone and tested it. Then, he addressed all the guests: “Everything is back in order. There were mice in the electrical panel and a wire broke because of their biting. It has been repaired and the door to the panel has been locked. The evening party will continue. That—”

“Actor Ming, you may join everyone else in enjoying the dinner.”

Seeing Butler Hao looking over to him, Gu Liang nodded his head before he turned his head back to regard Yang Ye. Both of them returned back to their table and sat down.

The other players exchanged gazes briefly before they started eating their food as well.

One hour later, at 8 o’ clock at night, the evening dinner ended and the dance commenced.

The first three songs were waltz dances dedicated to the affianced couple.

Boyfriend Feng brought Lady Rong to the floor. His dancing posture was comical and clumsy; he either stepped on Lady Rong’s skirt or stepped on her feet.

Lady Rong was far more tolerating and graceful by comparison.

It was like she did not mind her fiancé’s lack of dancing skills.

During this period of time, Butler Hao would go onto the DJ stage to fiddle with the equipment every time the song needed to be changed.

Apart from that, he would go into the kitchen to bring out some wine and beverages ceaselessly, allowing all the guests to drink to their heart’s content.

When the bride and bridegroom finished dancing the three songs, the first person to leave the main hall was Meng Qian Cheng, who was acting as the bride’s father Magnate Rong.

Before he left, he waved at Gu Liang and Yang Ye.

Gu Liang watched him leave the hall and make his way towards the elevator.

At that moment, Butler Hao’s voice sounded from the microphone: “Since the newly wedded couple have danced their three songs, we will be having the free dance portion next. Anyone can approach me to select a song. We hope that the guests will enjoy themselves to the fullest.”

When Gu Liang retracted his gaze, he saw Yang Ye putting down his wine glass and looking back at him with a smile.

“What is it?” Gu Liang asked him.

Yang Ye extended his arm, moving it in an arc as he inclined his waist to offer him an invitation to dance. “Asking you for a dance, are you coming?”

Gu Liang stared at him strangely. He returned him a question: “Do you think I know how to?”

Yang Ye: “I can teach you.”

“Not learning,” Gu Liang’s rejection was very direct, “But I can watch you dance.”

“It’s not fun to dance alone.”

“Is that so? I get the sense that you’re the sort of person who is capable of playing happily even if you’re alone and no one is bothering you.”

Yang Ye chuckled because of Gu Liang’s words.

Once his laughter subsided, he looked at Gu Liang earnestly again. “The misconceptions you have about me are quite deep.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.”

Yang Ye thought in his heart, Truthfully speaking, I’m just trying to make you happy in most instances, I’m not that ludicrous of a person.

Gu Liang had situated himself near the doors of the main hall, and his main motive was to observe everyone’s movements.

Yang Ye followed him in sitting down, and bantered with Gu Liang for some time before they saw two people walking towards the door.

The Lady Rong Dong Wan was acting as, and Confidant Ai who was played by Li Xiao Yu.

Li Xiao Yu was holding onto Dong Wan’s arm as they walked, and it genuinely looked like they were close friends with a deep relationship.

Upon seeing Yang Ye and Gu Liang sitting there, Li Xiao Yu revealed some confusion on her visage. “You’re not going to dance?”

“Do you want to see both of us dance?” Yang Ye questioned her.

Brimming with expectation, Li Xiao Yu nodded. “Yeah.”

Yang Ye: “Help me persuade Gu Liang then.”

Gu Liang said in a blunt manner: “Impossible. Not dancing.”

Li Xiao Yu grinned, “While I want to stay behind and watch both of you dance, I have a timeline to follow. Lady Rong has a slight fever, and wants to go back to her room to rest. I’m accompanying her back to her room. I still have a wedding gift to give her.”

Dong Wan eyed Gu Liang before she glanced at Yang Ye. She uttered her script line: “Right, as a host, I apologise for leaving first, even though the dance is still ongoing. I hope that you guests will eat and drink your fill. I’ll be returning to my room first to rest.”

* * *

After watching the pair leave, Gu Liang reviewed the rough timeline of the dance.

From 8:00 to 8:30, the affianced couple were dancing.

At 8:30, Magnate Rong was the first to leave.

At 9:00, Lady Rong had a fever, Confidant Ai followed her back to her room.

Presently, Yang Ye, Boyfriend Feng, Designer Mei, Gu Liang himself, and the constantly busy Butler Hao were still in the hall.

After Boyfriend Feng’s clumsy dance, he had gone back to the table to eat.

It was like he hadn’t seen so many exotic delicacies in his entire life.

When Yang Ye noticed Gu Liang assessing him, he asked: “What are you contemplating about?”

Gu Liang: “I’m wondering why the Number One Débutante in the capital would be interested in such a person. The disparity between their identities are too great. Even if we were to disregard the disparity in their identities, the problem here is that Boyfriend Feng isn’t considerate in the slightest, and we can even go as far as saying that he doesn’t treat her well at all. Rather than accompanying her back to her room because she has a fever, he chooses to stay here to eat. It’s rather strange.”

Yang Ye seemed to think of something interesting, and he asked: “If we follow the implications of your words, you would only marry if someone has the money or treats you well?”

“Logically speaking, that should be the case. I’m merely analysing the characters’ behavioural logic in an attempt to find out why Lady Rong is marrying Boyfriend Feng—”

Gu Liang could not shake off the feeling that Yang Ye was going to say something strange again. He gave him a sidelong glance. “What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing really.” Yang Ye smirked, “So if I have the money and treat you well—”

Before Yang Ye could finish teasing him, Gu Liang abruptly stood up and moved in the direction of the main table.

Yang Ye followed in Gu Liang’s footsteps, and shifted his gaze towards where he was looking. Then, he discovered that Butler Hao was approaching Boyfriend Feng as if he needed to say something.

Needless to say, Gu Liang had drawn closer to them for the sake of listening to their conversation clearly.

Butler Hao: “Boyfriend Feng, perhaps it is about time for you to return to your room? The tailor has arrived, please return to your room to try the wedding suit you’ll be wearing tomorrow, and do the final adjustments.”

Boyfriend Feng: “Sure. This chicken wing, and that roasted suckling pig, help me bring it back. I want to eat it at night.”

Butler Hao: “…Mn, I will.”

Hence, at approximately 9:15, Boyfriend Feng left the ball as well.

Following closely was Designer Mei.

The main hall sank into silence.

Yang Ye and Gu Liang did not move out of the seats as Butler Hao started to clean up the tables.

Not a single thing happened until 11:00 at night.

The dance, which scarcely had any dancing, came to an end.

Butler Hao informed them that the main hall was going to be closed, so Yang Ye and Gu Liang left the hall together, making their way to the lodging area on the sixth floor through the elevator.

A while later. The sixth floor corridor.

Gu Liang stopped in front of his room and swiped his card to open the door. Just as he was about to enter, Yang Ye stretched his arm and pressed his palm against the door frame.

Gu Liang shot Yang Ye a puzzled look.

Yang Ye smiled in a provocative manner: “You really don’t want me to sleep with you? What are you going to do if the doll comes out of the closet later at night to haunt you?”

“……”

Gu Liang thought of something after a short beat. After telling Yang Ye to give him a moment, he entered the room.

Promptly after, Gu Liang appeared at the door again.

However, he was holding a doll in his hand this time around, which was precisely the one inside his room.

“Since you’re that bored, let her accompany you to sleep.” Gu Liang stuffed the doll in Yang Ye’s arms and shut the door.

Upon returning to his room, Gu Liang rested for a short while before he took a shower.

His alcohol capacity was not the best, and sometimes he would borrow the strength of red wine to help him sleep.

Apart from that, he did not have the tendency to drink. It was unknown if the cocktail he had previously drunk was the cause of the slight dizziness he felt, but he used the shower to sober himself up.

In the shower cubicle, Gu Liang raised his head, allowing the nozzle to spray the water on his head directly, which technically allowed the water flow to massage it.

The method was quite effective since he felt a lot better afterwards.

Upon careful contemplation, ever since he arrived at this ancient castle, he felt uncomfortable all over, especially after he saw that doll in his room. However, he could not distinguish if the discomfort stemmed from the doll being frightening in itself, or if it was the stifling decor he was surrounded by.

No matter what the cause was, this script was quite strange.

Take the power outage incident for example.

Logically speaking, in this kind of story, something would usually happen whenever there was a power outage.

But contrary to Gu Liang’s expectations, everything was the same.

Not only were there no changes in the main hall after the power outage, nothing had occurred during the time where he watched over the dance that went without much dancing until 11.

Gu Liang spent roughly half an hour in the shower.

Half an hour later, he stepped out of the bathroom, casually wiped his hair and wore his bathing robe before he opened the door to survey the corridor.

Gu Liang’s room was very close to the elevator.

And when he opened the door, he was capable of seeing the movements around the elevator.

It was around 11:30 at the present moment, and Su Lan, who was acting as Designer Mei, walked out from the elevator.

— She clearly left after Boyfriend Feng and she should have returned to her room, so why was she walking out from the elevator right now?

Having seen Designer Mei getting off the elevator, Gu Liang closed his door and heard her footsteps growing closer before it gradually faded away again.

The clicks of her high heels stopped roughly three doors away from Gu Liang’s room, then there was the sound of a door opening and closing.

Designer Mei should have returned to her room directly after getting off the elevator.

Gu Liang did not make a single sound as he continued monitoring the movements in the corridor.

At 12 midnight, the western clock in the main hall downstairs rang out with a “ding dong”.

Subsequently, the system broadcast sounded: “The following is a general plot. The clock rang at 12 midnight, and all the guests returned back to their rooms. The princess of the ancient castle, Lady Rong, genuinely loves her dolls. To her, these dolls were like her family. Therefore, she gave each guest a doll.

“It is presently time to sleep. These cute dolls will be accompanying everyone to their slumber. Pay attention, each person has one doll in their room.”

With how the system emphasised that it was time to sleep after 12 midnight, it indicated that it was forcibly demanding everyone to go back to their rooms to rest.

This meant that someone was definitely going to act after 12 o’ clock.

Then, a thought occurred to Gu Liang, and an ominous premonition abruptly surfaced in his heart.

Sure enough, his card issued a system notification soon after. “Ding dong, Actor Ming, where did the doll in your room go? You actually lost the doll that Lady Rong sent you callously. This is a violation of the script’s general plot. You will be punished!”

Immediately after, a system broadcast rang out from the main hall: “The following is a rule violation report. Actor Ming has violated a stipulation in the common storyline, he will be receiving a punishment. In view of the numerous rule violations that Gu Liang, the player of Actor Ming has, his current accumulative punishment time is 2 hours.”

Gu Liang: “……”

Forget it, from his recollection of the five scripts that he had played, he had gone into the small back room four times when he included this instance.

He was already used to it.

The only thing he did not expect was that it would be related to the doll this time around.

Hold on, the only script where he did not enter the small black room was The Fifth Person.

In that script, Yang Ye was not around.

— Was Yang Ye jinxing him?

Just as he thought of Yang Ye, the system proceeded to make a second report: “The following is a rule violation report. Scumbag Yu has violated the script requirements, he will be punished.”

Oh, Yang Ye was going to jail for a second offence too?

After the men in black appeared and brought Gu Liang to the small black room, they gestured for him to wait outside the door. “This player violated the rules after you, but his punishment time is shorter than yours. Therefore, please wait for some time, You’ll be going in after he comes out.”

Gu Liang: “Why didn’t you prepare more small black rooms?”

The man in black: “Our budget is limited. Additionally, if I may speak bluntly, players who constantly violate the rules like you, are comparatively harder to find.”

Gu Liang: “……”