Chapter 518: Script Murder!
「Jiangling University.」
It was one of Huaxia’s key universities, boasting a strong teaching staff and superior facilities. Those admitted were all top students, the cream of the crop from across the country. Xu Yao’s admission to Jiangling University was a testament to her abilities.
Previously, Su Xiaomei’s family likely couldn’t have afforded the tuition. They would have had to swallow their pride and ask to borrow money from the Su Family. Whether they would have succeeded was another matter, but they certainly would have faced the Su Family’s ridicule.
Therefore, for being able to attend her dream university, Xu Yao was most grateful to Lin Mu.
Recently, Xu Yao had been selling houses in Coiling Dragon Bay, earning enough money to cover all four years of her university expenses. Compared to other students who had to rely on their parents for money, Xu Yao was already quite accomplished in every respect. This was also why Lin Mu was so attentive to his younger sister.
When he heard that the person Xu Yao was meeting today was a senior she had met on an online forum, Lin Mu suspected something was off. He decided to go with her to see for himself.
Today was registration day, and the entrance to Jiangling University was swarming with people. New students registering, parents seeing their children off, and senior students and teachers welcoming the newcomers all created an extremely lively atmosphere.
A fashionably dressed girl glanced at the sun overhead and said with some impatience, "Cai Heng, when is this freshman you mentioned going to arrive? It’s almost time. If she doesn’t show up soon, we’re leaving."
"Qiu Ning, don’t be so anxious," the young man named Cai Heng said with a smile. "I already made plans with her. It’s not right to stand her up now."
"But the club already called to hurry us along. If we don’t go now, they’ll cancel our room," Qiu Ning complained, agitated.
"Call her. If she doesn’t show up in five minutes, we’ll go ahead. She can come find us on her own later; it’s not far from the university anyway," another young man suggested with a frown.
Cai Heng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, we’ll do as Young Master Chu says. I’ll call her now."
Qiu Ning glanced at the young man called Young Master Chu, her eyes sparkling. His full name was Chu Tian, and he had just recently graduated. He had returned to the university to handle some personal matters and was the organizer of this event. Qiu Ning was already a senior and hoped to find a good company after graduating. I heard Chu Tian’s family is very wealthy; they even own a company. If I could just... With that thought, Qiu Ning secretly made her decision.
"Five minutes are up. Let’s go," Qiu Ning urged after the time had passed.
Cai Heng looked helpless and was about to leave when a taxi pulled up in front of them.
Lin Mu and Xu Yao stepped out of the car. Xu Yao was holding her phone, looking around.
"You must be Xu Yao, right? I’m Cai Heng." Upon seeing her, Cai Heng walked over, waving his hand, but his eyes immediately locked onto her.
Xu Yao was stunningly beautiful, with fair skin and slightly plump cheeks that gave her an adorable look. More importantly, she radiated a bright, youthful energy that was absent in the older students. Cai Heng’s heart began to beat a little faster.
Seeing Cai Heng staring at his sister, Lin Mu frowned and put an arm around Xu Yao’s shoulder. "Yaoyao, do you know him?"
"Oh, Brother, this is the senior from my department I told you about," Xu Yao explained, shaking Lin Mu’s arm.
"Hello, my name is Cai Heng," he said, extending his hand toward Xu Yao. "If you run into any trouble at school, you can always look for me."
"Thank you, Senior Cai Heng." Xu Yao was a little excited to finally meet him.
Cai Heng explained, "Junior Xu Yao, I can assure you that this will be an eye-opening experience for you."
"Really? I’ve been looking forward to this day for so long," Xu Yao said, a mix of nerves and excitement in her voice.
Lin Mu glanced at her and frowned. "What is it?"
Before Xu Yao could speak, Cai Heng jumped in, "A murder mystery game! It’s super popular right now. Our department has always been small, so we invite all the newcomers to play together on registration day."
"Yes, yes! Brother, please just let me go this once," Xu Yao pleaded. "Please, dear brother, I’m begging you."
Cai Heng laughed. "If you’re worried about Xu Yao, you’re welcome to join us. It’s not far from the school anyway."
"Exactly! Brother, let’s go," Xu Yao urged. She then whispered, "Besides, this is a great chance to get on good terms with the seniors. You don’t want your sister to have bad relationships with her classmates, do you?"
Lin Mu considered it and nodded in agreement. University was a melting pot, a miniature version of society. Xu Yao would have to face the real world sooner or later, and building good relationships with her classmates would only benefit her. Besides, what trouble could a few college students possibly cause?
Seeing Lin Mu agree, Cai Heng nodded and made a call. He arranged for someone to take Xu Yao’s luggage to her dorm and for someone else to handle her registration. Everything was quickly sorted out. Qiu Ning had already hurried them several times, so once everything was handled, the group set off.
On the way, Lin Mu got a general idea of what this murder mystery game entailed.
Simply put, it was a tabletop role-playing game. Based on a script, each player took on a role and had to complete their assigned tasks to earn rewards.
Just hearing the description was enough to get Xu Yao incredibly excited. She aspired to become a famous scriptwriter, and a game like this could provide her with a wealth of inspiration. As for Cai Heng, although he was just a student, he was already a fairly well-known author in their circle.
Suddenly, Chu Tian spoke up. "However, with an extra person, we might need to choose a new script."
"Senior Chu Tian, does that mean we can’t play if there’s an extra person?" Xu Yao asked.
Chu Tian glanced at Lin Mu. "You two haven’t played before, have you?"
Lin Mu shook his head. He had no interest in these sorts of things.
Chu Tian smiled. "No problem, it’s very simple. If we get a script with paired characters, I can teach you how to play."
It was obvious that Chu Tian was interested in Xu Yao. It was no wonder. Lin Mu had given Xu Yao a few Elixirs, which made her appearance and aura far more outstanding than the average person’s. Combined with her youthful beauty and sunny disposition, she was utterly captivating.
"Wow, then thank you, Senior Chu Tian!" Xu Yao beamed with a naive and sweet smile, completely oblivious, which made Lin Mu frown repeatedly.
Qiu Ning, however, interjected with a mocking tone, "Don’t get your hopes up. We’re playing a horror scenario. Try not to get scared."
"A horror scenario?" Xu Yao was a little confused.
Qiu Ning said dismissively, "What? Scared already? If you’re frightened, you’d better have your brother protect you. If you get so scared you make yourself sick, we’re not taking any responsibility." They came in a taxi, not driven by their parents in a nice car. A commoner like her has no right to compete with me for Young Master Chu.
"Qiu Ning, don’t scare the newcomer," Chu Tian chided gently. He then said to Xu Yao, "A horror script isn’t actually that scary. The key is not to frighten yourself."
"Yeah, we’ve played it several times already," Cai Heng added. As he spoke, his face suddenly turned pale for a split second. He masked it quickly, but not before Lin Mu noticed. This piqued Lin Mu’s curiosity.
Is this murder mystery game really that terrifying?