Just a moment ago, Yi Qingju caught a glimpse of Hei Meilu in his shiny black suit, which appeared to be elegant but, in reality, revealed his distress. The dust mark on the inside of his right trouser leg exposed everything.
It seemed that he couldn't even afford the fare for a taxi just to stay across from her.
Xiao Jiji listened to the host's analysis, his soft voice filled with admiration for her.
[Host is amazing! So the host deliberately attracted him, waiting for him to do something reckless, and then counterattack him!]
He indeed bound to a very clever host!
Yi Qingju smiled confidently. [Not really.]
Xiao Jiji: [?]
[Actually, I didn't expect him to follow me.]
Xiao Jiji exclaimed anxiously, [Ah... What do we do now!?]
Yi Qingju calmly removed her makeup and tied her long hair into a ponytail.
[What now? We'll go downstairs and have a meal.]
In order to maintain the image of the original owner, who had a small appetite, she hadn't eaten much on the plane.
She had endured all the way until now. Even when she saw Hei Meilu, the first thought that came to her mind was that his black and white suit resembled a big Oreo cookie.
Originally, she wanted the hotel staff to deliver the meal to her room.
But for some reason, whether it was a fault in the communication system in Yi Qingju's room or not, no matter how she called, there was no response from anyone.
She had no choice but to take the elevator herself.
She remembered that Wan Sui mentioned that the restaurant was on the second floor when she left.
"Ding dong, second floor."
The elevator's prompt sounded, and only then did Yi Qingju divert her gaze from the top trending news on her phone, which read "Serial Killer Strikes Again."
She needed to have a full meal before going back, as the male anchor would soon start his broadcast, and she couldn't miss it.
The entire second floor had no residents; it was a restaurant specifically provided for guests who didn't want to eat in their rooms.
Through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, there was a vast scenic lake, offering a wide view.
But in the spacious restaurant, there was no one except for the small TV hanging on the wall, emitting cheerful sounds, reminding customers that today's special was fresh king crab.
Yi Qingju's attention was instantly drawn to the king crab.
Bypassing the self-service area, she walked towards the seafood section following the signs.
The kitchen here had a semi-open design, allowing customers to see clearly how the chefs handled the ingredients about to be served.
As she searched for the king crab with her gaze, she suddenly caught sight of a figure sitting by the window.
"Qi Xinian?" Yi Qingju exclaimed in surprise.
The child who had been bowing his head raised it and looked at Yi Qingju, momentarily stunned.
She walked over, lowered her head, and looked at the child. "Weren't you supposed to go out to play with Assistant Wan?"
At the mention of this, Qi Xinian pouted. "That was the plan, but he suddenly had something come up and sent me back."
Yi Qingju had a thought and asked, "Is the communication in your room not working?"
Otherwise, why would the child come down alone to eat?
Qi Xinian nodded. "The service in this hotel is really terrible. I'll have Uncle Wan complain about them later."
Ignoring the childish words, Yi Qingju thought she should find someone to ask.
Yi Qingju's gaze swept across the large restaurant until she finally spotted someone.
Beside the seafood area, a well-built chef with his back to them was busy making sushi.
Seeing Yi Qingju about to leave, Qi Xinian didn't want to stay alone, so he hopped off his chair and caught up with her.
Without paying attention to him following, Yi Qingju spoke up to the sushi chef, "Excuse me, is the hotel's communication system broken?"
The man remained motionless, as if he hadn't heard Yi Qingju speak.
Yi Qingju furrowed her brows and took a step forward, reaching out to pat the chef's shoulder.
"Ch-"
Before the first sound could fully leave her mouth, the chef's body went limp as if drained of strength, and he slowly turned around.
Revealing a face covered in blood, a pitiful and gruesome sight.
At the same time, Yi Qingju also noticed the gaping hole in his abdomen, from which blood was steadily flowing.
Her fingers trembled.
She gently retracted her hand, turned around, and was about to say something when Qi Xinian lifted him up.
His other hand firmly covered Qi Xinian's mouth as they ran off --
The sight that suddenly intruded Qi Xinian's gaze was a dazzling red.
An overwhelming sense of terror surged, almost making him scream. His eyes, which had been like black grapes, were now filled with fear.
"Close your eyes."
Sensing the child's stiffness in her arms, Yi Qingju softly spoke while continuing to run without any hesitation.
Qi Xinian's body twitched for a moment, then he slowly nodded. The two small hands that had been trying to break free from Yi Qingju's embrace weakly hung down, clutching tightly onto her clothing.
Although not raised in a pool of blood, the children of the Qi family were accustomed to encountering murder cases.
Instead of taking the elevator, Yi Qingju chose to use the stairs in the emergency exit.
Going to the first floor was absolutely out of the question. The lack of response from the communication system indicated that the hotel staff were probably...
She forcefully pushed away those thoughts and ascended the stairs at the fastest speed she could muster.
Fortunately, her room was on the sixth floor, so climbing up wasn't a matter of life and death.
If it had been a higher floor, she would have considered jumping off.
Carefully pushing the door open, she first peeked out into the corridor.
After making sure no one was there, she quietly hurried to her room's door.
Placing Qi Xinian on the ground, Yi Qingju twisted her thigh to ensure her hand didn't shake, then began searching for her room keycard.
When she touched the thin card, she subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
But in that instant, a piercing scream suddenly came from the end of the corridor.
"Help! Ah! Don't kill me!"
Followed by the sound of something sharp cutting through flesh and bone, and a bone-chilling, sharp laughter.
Her hand trembled.
The sound of the room keycard falling onto the marble floor was piercing in the empty corridor.
At the same time, the laughter abruptly stopped, giving way to footsteps that were getting closer and closer, approaching their direction.
Qi Xinian involuntarily took a step back, muffling his own cry before it could escape his lips.
Picking up the room card, swiping it, and closing the door.
These three actions were almost done in one breath by Yi Qingju.
Fortunately, the door of the Fei Cold Hotel was of good quality, so the sound of closing it was not loud.
But when she dropped the room card, the villain already knew that there was someone inside.
Yi Qingju considered herself an ordinary person. She had always felt that this kind of murder case, which only happened in movies, was far away from her.
But now she was not an audience outside the screen, complaining about the protagonist's various hindrances.
She was the one experiencing it.
Trembling, she dialed Qi Weiran's phone number.
Almost subconsciously, Yi Qingju prayed that the person on the other end would pick up the phone.
"Hello."
At the moment when that low-pressure voice sounded in her ear, Yi Qingju's tense emotions suddenly relaxed.
Qi Weiran truly lived up to his reputation.
He didn't say anything that would prompt Yi Qingju to call the police or find a way to save herself.
He only left two words.
"Wait for me."
After hanging up the phone, Yi Qingju leaned against the wall and took a few seconds to calm her emotions and rationality.
Then she stood up and carried the trembling Qi Xinian into the innermost room, tucking him under the bed.
She casually picked up her eye mask from the bed and handed it to him, instructing, "If you're scared, wear this."
"Remember, no matter what you hear or see, absolutely do not come out."
"The Ox Warrior never takes off his mask!"
The child nodded vigorously, and as Yi Qingju was about to leave, he reached out and grabbed her pants. "What about you?"
He asked with a trembling voice.
Yi Qingju revealed her first smile since the incident.
"I believe there are Ultramen in the world, so Ultraman Tiga will save me."
Yeah, right...
Looking at the pair of blood-red eyes in the doorbell camera.
Yi Qingju cursed.
Even though she knew the other party couldn't see her at all, she almost screamed.
Taking a deep breath, she showed a slightly sinister smile.
[Xiao Jiji, do you know what it means to fight fire with fire?]
Xiao Jiji had long been too scared to make a sound, and when she heard Yi Qingju's words, she didn't answer.
Yi Qingju didn't mind.
Taking out her phone again, Yi Qingju dialed a number with steady fingers.
The other side answered the call three seconds later.
Facing those blood-red eyes, Yi Qingju softly spoke, "Professor Hei, your takeout has arrived."
