Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Jiang Lan scrolled down the group chat messages and saw the last message Xiao Xiaoyu had posted in the group.
She said her friends seemed really off, and the two insisted on staking out the hotel. Worried, she followed them. She assumed her friends had been brainwashed by Bai You’s cult followers and concerned for her friends’ safety, could only vent her frustrations in their small group chat while also going to the hotel.
Xue Meng, however, felt something was wrong when he saw the message. He subconsciously worried that some kind of demon or monster was at work and frantically tagged Jiang Lan and Zhang Tianxing in the group.
Zhang Tianxing apparently didn’t see the message and didn’t reply. But Jiang Lan popped up and tagged Xiao Xiaoyu, asking her to send over the address of the hotel where they were staking out the location.
Xiao Xiaoyu replied after a while, sending an address and saying they were already on their way to the hotel by taxi. Because she had gone with her, her friends’ emotions had calmed down, and they kept talking to her about Bai You, their behavior resembling that of those notorious, fanatical fans on Weibo. And judging from their conversation, they weren’t the only two fans who would be waiting at the hotel; there were others too.
Jiang Lan suspected that Bai You was involved in this matter, especially after discovering that Bai You was trying to get close to him and kept inviting him to concerts. This feeling became even stronger now. If his guess was correct, then Bai You was likely not an ordinary person.
After all, an ordinary person wouldn’t go to great lengths to get close to him.
For safety’s sake, Jiang Lan suggested that Xiao Xiaoyu find an excuse to leave after arriving at the hotel and try to avoid mingling with the fans. They could decide what to do after he arrived.
Hearing that Jiang Lan was coming, Xiao Xiaoyu felt a little embarrassed. Although Xue Meng had been rambling in the group chat about ghostly occurrences, Xiao Xiaoyu didn’t believe in supernatural things. She just thought Jiang Lan was worried about her and that having more people would be helpful. If she were alone, she definitely wouldn’t want to trouble Jiang Lan to make the trip but thinking about her friend who was clearly not feeling well, she agreed to Jiang Lan’s suggestion.
The taxi stopped in front of the hotel. Xiao Xiaoyu and her friend got out of the car and saw several young women standing in front of the hotel. They must have come in groups, as they were talking quietly in front of the hotel. Xiao Xiaoyu was far away and could only vaguely hear words like “nine o’clock at night.” In addition, they were all carrying camera bags and had suppressed excitement on their faces, just like her two friends. Xiao Xiaoyu guessed that they were also fans of Bai You who had come to wait for him.
The girls at the hotel entrance seemed to notice Xiao Xiaoyu’s gaze. They turned and glared at her before heading towards the hotel’s back entrance.
The two girls were still discussing where to stake out Bai You so they could spot him as soon as possible when Xiao Xiaoyu glanced around and saw the bus stop across from the hotel. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she decided to tell them to wait at the bus stop.
The bus stop opposite the hotel was large and had metal benches for resting. The view from the bus stop was right in front of the hotel’s main entrance, which satisfied the girls’ need for a good spot while preventing them from getting too close to other fans.
It was unclear whether she subconsciously harbored prejudice against Bai You’s fans. The group of girls waiting at the hotel entrance earlier made Xiao Xiaoyu feel uneasy.
Although she had promised Jiang Lan that she would find an excuse to leave first, she was still willing to try her best to prevent her friends from going over and meeting up with those fans.
Fortunately, she managed to convince her friends, and Xiao Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. She went with them to the opposite platform to wait and then sent a message to Jiang Lan.
….
Jiang Lan tidied herself up, greeted Ying Qiao, told the three little ones to stay home obediently, and then headed to the hotel.
The hotel address sent by Xiao Xiaoyu was a bit out of the way. When Jiang Lan arrived, he found that it was a Chinese-style hotel with a very simple and old-fashioned style.
Jiang Lan searched on Baidu and found out that the hotel was converted from an old building and had been established for many years.
He got off the bus and looked for Xiao Xiaoyu at the bus stop across the street. However, after searching around, he couldn’t find her.
It was a little past 8 PM, normally the busiest time of day, but because the hotel was in a remote location, there were hardly any people at the bus stop. You could see them clearly at a glance.
Xiao Xiaoyu and her sisters were not here.
Jiang Lan frowned and dialed Xiao Xiaoyu’s number directly.
The phone rang for a few seconds before being hung up, and then Xiao Xiaoyu sent a WeChat message.
[Have you arrived yet? My girlfriends are next to me, so I can’t answer the phone.]
[We’re sitting in the middle of the stop. If you get there, just come over. I told my girlfriend you’re also a fan of Hakuyu, so I asked you to come and stake out the place with me. Don’t let it slip later.]
Jiang Lan looked at her message, then glanced up at the much emptier platform across the street—the three passersby from before had already boarded the bus. Now, only two people remained on the stop.
There was no one on the bench in the middle that Xiao Xiaoyu mentioned.
Jiang Lan’s expression turned grave, realizing that Xiao Xiaoyu had likely been dragged into this mess.
[Which stop are you on? I don’t see you. Could you take a picture of the stop for me?]
Xiao Xiaoyu replied with an “okay”.
A few seconds later, a photo was sent over.
Because it was nighttime, the photo appeared somewhat distorted, with an overall reddish tint.
The camera was filming the hotel behind Jiang Lan. From the angle of the shot, Xiao Xiaoyu’s location was indeed at the bus stop across the street.
Jiang Lan then scanned the bus stop area with her eyes but did not see Xiao Xiaoyu.
Xiao Xiaoyu was still sending messages, saying that she had heard from her friends that Bai You might arrive around 9 o’clock… She was completely unaware of her situation.
Jiang Lan lowered his eyes, not rushing to tell her the truth, but simply asked her to turn on real-time location sharing on WeChat.
Xiao Xiaoyu opened the map as instructed, only to find that Jiang Lan’s location on the map was very close to hers, with the dots on the map almost overlapping.
However, after looking around, she did not see Jiang Lan.
She frowned in confusion and texted Jiang Lan: [Are you nearby? I can’t see you.]
Jiang Lan considered for a moment and said to her, “Something unexpected happened on my end, so I might be a little late. See if there’s anyone else on the stop. If there isn’t, don’t wait there; find a secluded place to hide.”
After saying that, he crossed the zebra crossing and went to the stop on the other side.
The last two people on the stop had already waited for the bus to leave, and now the stop was completely empty.
Jiang Lan walked from one end of the stop to the other but couldn’t find any trace of a barrier or other restriction.
Xiao Xiaoyu said she was at the bus stop, but she couldn’t see Jiang Lan, and Jiang Lan couldn’t see her either. Clearly, something was separating Xiao Xiaoyu and him into two different worlds.
Moreover, the fact that someone could be transferred to another world so easily and without anyone noticing clearly indicated that Xiao Xiaoyu’s situation was exactly the same as reality.
Jiang Lan opened the photo Xiao Xiaoyu sent and zoomed in to examine it closely. After looking at it for a few moments, he noticed that the entire hotel was shrouded in a faint red hue, even the edges of the streetlights’ glows were blurred with a light red halo.
The reddish hue in the photo was not due to distortion from nighttime photography, but rather because the entire area covered by the photo, centered on the hotel, was shrouded in a faint red mist.
Jiang Lan looked at the quiet hotel across the street, glanced at the message sent by Xiao Xiaoyu, and walked towards the hotel.
….
Xiao Xiaoyu felt a strange, inexplicable feeling when she received Jiang Lan’s message.
The dots representing the two people’s locations on the real-time map were very close together, and Jiang Lan’s sudden suggestion that she find a secluded place to hide only made her seem more suspicious.
She glanced around; there was no one else on the stop besides the three of them. A sudden chill ran down her spine. She suggested to her friend, “Should we go somewhere else?”
The girl looked at her strangely: “Didn’t you say this place has the best view and you can see Brother You right away?”
Xiao Xiaoyu gave a dry laugh: “It was dark earlier, and there were many people waiting for the bus on the stop, and some people were covering for us. But now there are only the three of us left on the stop. If we are still waiting here, it will be too conspicuous. If Brother You really comes to the hotel, we may be treated as unwanted people and kicked out.”
The two girls agreed that what she said made sense, and suggested, “Then let’s find another place to stake out around the hotel.”
As they pulled her towards the hotel, Xiao Xiaoyu asked, “Are you sure Brother You will arrive at nine o’clock?”
“Yes, I’m sure. The news came from a big fan. They’ve all met Brother You and know his schedule.” The girl said with an air of certainty.
Xiao Xiaoyu found it increasingly suspicious. Unless the big fan had connections with the studio, how could they possibly know Bai You’s schedule?
Furthermore, they were able to leak the itinerary to other ordinary fans, telling them to wait at the hotel. It seems like the studio or even Bai You himself was deliberately guiding them.
But this was just her one-sided guess, without any evidence. Xiao Xiaoyu couldn’t explain the trickery to her friends and could only be passively dragged into the alley on the side of the hotel.
The streetlights couldn’t penetrate the alley, making the light somewhat dim. Xiao Xiaoyu glanced around, and when her gaze inadvertently fell upon the opposite stop, her pupils suddenly contracted—
The stop, which was originally empty, now had a red figure.
The figure was truly just a figure, entirely red, with no discernible features. Its humanoid body was blurry, like a cloud, drifting on the empty platform. Its indistinct head was twisting around, as if searching for something.
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