As Bai Ci was supported and guided by the person who looked like Fu Liu, she took the opportunity to safely zone out and open her Rain's Message panel to check it, without having to worry about slipping because she wasn't looking at the path.
She needed to confirm the identity of this Fu Liu in front of her, and she also wanted to know what kind of role she was supposed to play in this sudden scene transition.
【Rain's Message NPC: Fu Liu II
Appearance: Short black hair, tear mole
Identity: Physical Education student at Huai'an University
Relationship with Player: Classmate from a different department in the same university. Fell in love at first sight and pursued you. Currently in a romantic relationship.
Skill Levels: Stamina 13, Mind 7, Agility 10
Special Skills: None
Life Status: Human form, healthy (mild fatigue)】
Fu Liu II had appeared, and he even had a college boy setting.
Seeing “human form” in his life status, Bai Ci could be certain that the person in front of her was indeed Fu Liu.
Unlike the spiritual form of Fu Liu she had seen in the graveyard, this one was vibrant, warm, and carried the unique vigor of a young man.
Was this his identity setting in the so-called play? Or was this his original, true self?
After reviewing the information, Bai Ci closed the panel and focused on the path beneath her feet, letting Fu Liu guide her.
After walking a bit further, the boy with the flashlight suddenly spoke up: “There's a faint outline of a building ahead. We can shelter from the rain there. Let's quicken our pace and try to get there as soon as possible.”
Hearing his words, the girl with the high ponytail cheered up slightly. “Thank goodness, there's hope at last. I really can't walk any further. If I keep getting drenched like this, I'm going to catch a cold.”
The girl supporting her also sounded relieved. “Let's go, hurry up. Let's not waste any more time here.”
After another few minutes of walking, the distant outline of the building grew clearer. Piercing through the dense curtain of rain and the forest, its full form gradually revealed itself.
It was obviously an abandoned building.
The walls were covered in mottled stains, and weeds grew in the corners. It had fallen into deep disrepair, missing chunks here and there, but one could still glimpse its former glory from the tall portico and exquisite reliefs.
“It's actually still quite intact!” the girl with the high ponytail cried out in pleasant surprise, her tone filled with excitement. “We have a place to shelter from the rain!”
Arriving at the main entrance of the building, they found the peeling vermilion doors tightly shut. Pushing them open met with a distinct stiffness, and a wave of air mixed with dust, mustiness, and decaying wood rushed out at them.
“It's so dark inside...” The girl with the high ponytail instinctively shrank back and grabbed the arm of the boy with the flashlight.
The boy with the flashlight gently patted the back of her hand, comforting her in a warm tone: “Don't worry, I'm here. Let's go in and take a look first to find a dry spot to shelter from the rain.”
It certainly looked like there was mutual affection between them.
With this setup, the five-person group had one couple and one soon-to-be couple. Wouldn't the girl called Tongtong be left as a massive third wheel?
“It's decided,” Bai Ci thought. “From now on, this short-haired sister's nickname will be Filament.”
Stepping inside, they first encountered a corridor-like structure, but the ceiling above had collapsed, allowing the heavy rain to pour in unobstructed. The group had no choice but to keep moving deeper, where the building seemed to be better preserved.
Moving further ahead and rounding a wall, the scene before them suddenly opened up.
It was a structure resembling a grand theater. Broken, dilapidated seats were scattered sparsely across the tiers of steps, which descended toward a spacious central platform—or rather, a stage.
Right now, a campfire was burning in the middle of the stage. The dancing flames cast a warm glow, dispelling some of the darkness and chill while illuminating the surroundings.
Four people were already sitting around the campfire to keep warm, each with a different expression.
To the left of the fire, two men were huddled together in conversation.
One of them wore work clothes. He was tall and heavily built, occasionally raising a hand to scratch his head.
The man chatting with him wore a neat suit, though his tie hung loosely around his neck and his hair was somewhat disheveled. Despite the exhaustion on his face, he was still talking non-stop.
To the right of the fire sat a man and a woman. They kept a distance from each other, remaining silent and not interacting.
The young man wore a simple black jacket over a plaid shirt. He had a tall, upright posture and a calm expression. He was looking down at a pile of scrap paper beside the fire, tossing pieces into the flames as he read them.
The young woman wore a casual denim jacket and carried a camera bag. She was carefully wiping down her camera, her face filled with distress for her equipment.
Hearing the footsteps and blinded momentarily by the flashlight beam, the four people by the fire stopped what they were doing and looked up, their gazes landing on Bai Ci and her group of five.
The man in the suit on the left immediately stood up. With a warm smile on his face, he quickly walked over. “Oh, more friends! Come over, come over. The rain is so heavy outside. Newcomers, hurry and come warm yourselves by the fire so you don't catch a cold.”
As he spoke, he warmly welcomed them and took the initiative to introduce himself. “Don't be afraid, none of us are bad people. We're just sheltering from the rain here. My name is Qi Lixin, and I'm an office worker.”
After introducing himself, he pointed to the man in work clothes next to him. “This is Wang Er, a fellow worker.”
Then he introduced the two on the right. “That young brother over there is Fu Yan, a programmer. And this beautiful young lady is Cheng Xi—pretty name, isn't it? She's a photographer.”
Bai Ci quickly noted down everyone's information. The man in the suit, the worker, the plaid shirt guy, and the camera girl—their attire and identities matched perfectly.
Regarding Bai Ci's group of five, the worker muttered impatiently, “More people. This dump is getting more and more crowded.”
The plaid shirt guy and the camera girl didn't say anything. They merely glanced at the group before returning to their own tasks—one reading the scrap paper, the other wiping her camera.
The man in the suit didn't mind their impatience or coldness at all. He remained enthusiastic. “We're all here to shelter from the rain, it's fate. Hurry up and find a place to sit. You girls can sit a bit closer to the fire so you don't catch a cold.”
“By the way, how did you all end up here? This place is so remote, people rarely come here.”
The boy with the flashlight spoke first. His tone was gentle, his pace steady and clear. “My name is Liu Shanxi. We're students from the same university club, and we went camping together.”
“But the tents we brought broke, and then it started raining. We had no choice but to look for shelter in the mountains. We happened to spot this building and came inside.”
The girl with the high ponytail spoke up next, introducing herself: “I'm Liu Siwei.”
Filament also added, “I'm Wu Tong. We searched for a long time before finding this place. We hope to stay here until the rain stops, and then we'll figure out a way to leave.”
Fu Liu was not polite at all. He pulled Bai Ci straight to the front of the fire, terrified that she might catch a cold. Only then did he introduce himself, declaring his ownership by introducing Bai Ci along the way.
“I'm Fu Liu, and this is my girlfriend, Bai Jiu. That's ‘Jiu’ as in the beautiful jade, not ‘Jiu’ as in alcohol!”
Rate on N.U.
