IGSB – Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Who's the Murderer? (Part 6)
Soiled? What did that mean?
And who was this “she” referring to?
Could it be Zhou Xiuxiu?
This short line of text sent Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu into deep thought.
Jing Ruyu wrote a note and passed it back along with Ming Hui's notebook, asking Liu Xue to compare the handwriting.
After carefully comparing for a long time, Liu Xue discovered that it wasn't Ming Hui's handwriting.
At that moment, with a shared understanding, Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu thought of Ming Hui's note filled with accusations and curses. Connecting it with this torn piece of paper… everything clicked into place.
That note was a response to the matter on this note, but it was never sent, or perhaps she had decided not to send it!
This raised a question: who could have written this torn note?
Since it was passed as a note, it meant they couldn't talk face-to-face at the time, just like them now, afraid of being discovered by the teacher and having to rely on passing notes.
So, could the person passing notes with Ming Hui be someone in this class?
Or even…
Xia Zhiyi quietly glanced back at Sun Jun, who was looking at the blackboard.
The very person who had been dragged out and tormented by the “Political and Educational Office.”
Guessing blindly was useless. She decided to directly ask the NPCs around her.
A rebellious player wouldn't just sit and listen to the lecture obediently. With so many walking information booths around, it would be a waste not to use them. What if a clue came out of it!
She carefully tore off half a page, wrote “Do you know who Ming Hui usually passes notes with?”, and started passing it to the girl next to her, the one she had chatted with yesterday.
Jing Ruyu used the other half of the page to write “Thanks for your trouble” back to Liu Xue, then started keeping a lookout for the teacher for Xia Zhiyi.
She really hadn't done something like this in a long time.
You really could experience everything here.
The note quickly came back, with a message written on it: Why are you asking this?
Xia Zhiyi: “…”
Picking up her pen, she calmly replied: Because I'm nosy. A life without gossip is a life not worth living!
The note was passed back again, the words on it much more playful: What a coincidence. Great minds think alike.
Xia Zhiyi smiled knowingly.
Great, she had successfully started a conversation!
Xia Zhiyi: So who does Ming Hui usually pass notes with?
Girl next to her: Hmm, there are a few people. The one who did it most often was… Sun Jun, I think.
Xia Zhiyi: Sun Jun?! For real?! Didn't they say he has a girlfriend?
Girl next to her: Ah, about that. He says he and Xiuxiu are boyfriend and girlfriend, but Xiuxiu doesn't acknowledge it. She even told him in public to stop talking nonsense. Sun Jun's face turned green, it was super ugly to see.
Xia Zhiyi: So there's some inside story to it…
Girl next to her: Yeah, yeah, but no one else knows who's telling the truth and who's lying. They're just afraid it's a couple's quarrel.
Xia Zhiyi: Oh, I see. No wonder they were so sure they were a couple.
Girl next to her: Hahaha, but that's what they think. I don't think they look like a couple. Xiuxiu is completely focused on her studies; she wants to get into the best mathematics department. A cultivator has no heart for love, you get it?
Xia Zhiyi: Got it.
She even playfully drew an “OK” hand sign after it.
Then she brought the topic back to the note-passing and continued to gather clues.
The girl next to her wrote a long message back:
Ming Hui likes Sun Jun, right? They did use to pass notes often.
Later, Sun Jun said he and Xiuxiu were together, and they passed fewer notes. After that, I basically never saw them pass notes again. It seemed like Ming Hui got angry. I never saw her talk to Sun Jun after that, and then she took leave and transferred schools.
I don't know what she was angry about; I never saw the contents of their notes.
But some people think she was jealous, angry at both Sun Jun and Xiuxiu. But that's just a matter of opinion.
Xia Zhiyi scanned the information and roughly understood what was going on.
Finally, she asked one more question: Did Ming Hui really like Sun Jun?
The answer quickly arrived in her hand.
Yes, she admitted it herself.
The relationship between Ming Hui, Sun Jun, and Zhou Xiuxiu instantly became clear.
Xia Zhiyi gratefully replied with one last sentence: Thanks for telling me so much. If I had brought money, I'd definitely treat you to a meal!
The girl next to her wrote a long string of “hahahahaha's” and cutely told her she could owe her for now and pay her back later.
Xia Zhiyi turned and smiled at her. Although there would be no “later,” meeting such a cute and enthusiastic girl was still something to be happy about.
Jing Ruyu was right beside her, watching her smile at someone else.
After a moment, she couldn't help but poke her.
“Pay attention to the teacher.”
Xia Zhiyi immediately sat up straight, playing the part of an obedient and well-behaved student for the last few minutes before the bell.
As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, she immediately started sharing the information.
Wu Yong and Chen Jianxiong hurriedly gathered around.
After going through the information from the notes, the five of them tacitly looked towards Sun Jun, who was sitting motionless in his seat.
Considering he was dragged away at night and begged Zhou Xiuxiu for mercy, it was highly likely that he himself had written this extremely unsettling note, and that the “she” in it was probably Zhou Xiuxiu.
Now, all they needed to do was compare the handwriting on the note to find out the truth.
“Let's just beat him up,” Wu Yong said suddenly. “Beat him black and blue, and he'll definitely confess everything.”
Xia Zhiyi disagreed: “Wouldn't that just alert the enemy? What if he didn't do it? He'd be beaten for nothing.”
“Besides, without evidence, if he stubbornly denies writing the note, there's nothing we can do about it.”
Jing Ruyu glanced up at Wu Yong and suddenly said, “Behave yourself. Don't hold us back.”
Wu Yong: “?”
She's holding a grudge, isn't she?
This woman is definitely holding a grudge!
But I didn't call her an idiot!!
Sun Jun was looking at the scenery outside the window. When he turned his head back, he found himself being stared at with grave expressions by the five transfer students. The red-haired one even looked like he wanted to rush over and beat him up.
How strange.
The next second, he saw the most beautiful person in the group suddenly stand up and walk towards him.
“Hello, classmate,” Jing Ruyu looked down at him, her expression calm. “I haven't finished my notes. Can I borrow yours?”
Sun Jun looked up at her.
She was very beautiful, with a mature and graceful temperament. Her eyes held a lazy and casual air, a stunning beauty that could make one's heart skip a beat.
Sun Jun offered up his notebook with both hands.
“If you haven't done the previous notes, you can come to me for those too. Classmates should help each other out.”
Sun Jun smiled gently, appearing very polite and well-mannered.
“Okay, thanks.”
Jing Ruyu took it without ceremony.
That was quite easy. She had originally thought that if this kid didn't agree, she would have to use another excuse.
With the notebook easily obtained, the group huddled together and compared the handwriting with the pieced-together note.
It was him, Sun Jun.
So what exactly did it mean?
What did “already soiled” mean?
Who was the “she” in that sentence referring to? Was it really Zhou Xiuxiu?
Could the meaning of this sentence be the one they had thought of but were unwilling to consider?
Now that they had the evidence, it was fine to ask him directly.
Jing Ruyu once again took the initiative to confront Sun Jun.
She returned the notebook she was done with and asked Sun Jun to talk out in the hallway.
Sun Jun readily agreed.
Outside the classroom, by the bright window.
Jing Ruyu got straight to the point, not beating around the bush: “That note you wrote to Ming Hui, what does 'soiled' mean, and who were you talking about?”
Sun Jun was visibly stunned for a moment, but his face showed no sign of panic, and he quickly regained his composure.
He leaned lightly against the windowsill, his movements tinged with a bit of casualness: “Why are you asking me this? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, does it?”
“It does.”
Jing Ruyu crossed her arms, her eyes fixed calmly on him.
“I asked, so it does.”
Sun Jun: “…”
What gangster logic.
He turned his head nonchalantly to look at the bright sunlight outside: “What's there to ask? If your clothes get juice on them, or your shoes step in something dirty, then they're soiled.”
He suddenly turned back, smiling at Jing Ruyu: “What did you think it was? Tell me.”
He said as he moved closer to her.
To Jing Ruyu, this smile was not very pleasant.
He seemed to be anticipating a certain word to come from Jing Ruyu's mouth, to achieve some purpose, even packaging this filthy thought with a bright exterior.
Unfortunately, Jing Ruyu wasn't interested in men, no matter how good-looking. Sometimes she even found them too greasy and unpleasant.
Like Sun Jun right now.
All his melancholy and noble air vanished. A single smile could expose his true nature.
Jing Ruyu reached out her hand.
“Ah—!”
A scream suddenly echoed through the hallway.
Startled, the others rushed out to see Sun Jun with his hands twisted behind his back, his head pressed against the window, his image completely shattered.
Other students also came running out one after another to see what was happening.
For a moment, the hallway was bustling with activity.
“Your smile has ill intentions. I don't like it,” Jing Ruyu stood behind him, her tone icy, her long fingers pressing easily but firmly on his neck. “If there's a next time, I'll break your legs directly. I won't go back on my word.”
Xia Zhiyi had a “wow” expression on her face.
She had to admit, her ex-girlfriend was kind of cool…
The three of them, Liu Xue, couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
This person was truly not to be trifled with!
Jing Ruyu stared at the back of Sun Jun's head, her gaze chillingly cold: “Now, can you tell me what that note meant?”
His arm aching with pain, Sun Jun hurriedly said: “I'll talk! I'll talk!”
“That was just a joke I was playing on Zhou Xiuxiu, nothing more. Even if you ask again, there's nothing else, really!”
Jing Ruyu's gaze hardened slightly, but she soon let him go without further questioning.
Her intuition told her she wouldn't get anything more out of him. Sun Jun was suspicious, but he wouldn't tell her anything else.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered that Sun Jun was a day student and decided to find a chance to follow him after school. Perhaps she could find some clues.
With that in mind, she returned to the classroom to discuss it with Xia Zhiyi.
But she didn't know that after she left, Sun Jun's gaze remained fixed on her back, like a nail piercing flesh and blood, following her like a shadow, its sharp tip coated with venomous hatred.
She actually dared to humiliate him in front of so many people… He wouldn't let her get away with it!
Xia Zhiyi stood at the front door and saw Sun Jun's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles white from the force, his expression extremely ugly.
In that instant, she suddenly recalled what the girl next to her had said about his face turning ashen when Zhou Xiuxiu rejected him in public.
She suddenly understood.
It seemed this Sun Jun was far from being as innocent as he appeared on the outside.
She turned and went back to the classroom to find Jing Ruyu.
After discussing it, the two decided to find an opportunity to follow Sun Jun.
In any case, they had to go outside the school to take a look—to see the places where there was no fog.
It was still a long time until school ended in the afternoon. Before that, the players still had to find the Ferry Crossing.
During every break between classes, Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu would seize the time to go out and search for clues about the Ferry Crossing, but they always returned empty-handed, as if this instance had forgotten to include such a thing.
The other players had no luck either.
Xia Zhiyi suddenly felt worried.
This instance gave them only three days for the first answer submission. The time was extremely tight, and the tasks were complicated. Just completing the main quest had already taken up most of their time.
What if they came up with the perfect answer but still hadn't found the Ferry Crossing? What would happen then?
Would the New World count it as a failure to clear the instance?
But they had already completed the main quest. Wouldn't that be too unfair?
She decided to ask the quest NPC directly—the broadcast speaker in the classroom.
Walking to the doorway, she looked up and called out to the broadcast speaker, then glanced back into the classroom.
No one was looking at her. No one found it strange that she was talking to the speaker. It was as if no one saw her.
Since that was the case, she spoke to the speaker with confidence. Anyway, she wouldn't be seen as a lunatic—and even if she were, it didn't matter. Once the instance was cleared, no one would know anyone else.
“Broadcast, sigh, it's weird calling you that… I want to ask, if we get a perfect score on the first try but haven't found the Ferry Crossing, what happens then?”
She stared intently at the white broadcast speaker.
“You're not really going to give us only three days to accomplish so many things, are you?”
After a moment, the broadcast replied to her: 【If a player achieves a perfect score on their first attempt but has not found the Ferry Crossing, the remaining time for the second attempt will automatically be converted into time for the player to search for the Ferry Crossing.】
【If the player still cannot find the Ferry Crossing within the time for the second attempt, it will be considered a failure to clear the instance, and we will initiate the Clearing the Field time to eliminate the remaining players.】
【Answer complete. Players, please continue to do your best.】
So there was still time.
Xia Zhiyi was relieved for the time being. As long as they didn't have to both “investigate the case” and find the Ferry Crossing within three days, everything was manageable.
Then she looked up at the broadcast speaker again.
They still didn't know what this quest NPC was called, which made it inconvenient to address it.
Calling it “Broadcast” directly was also inconvenient. The instance broadcast was a broadcast, but the New World's main broadcast was also a broadcast.
She asked curiously, “Do you have a name?”
The quest NPC didn't speak, as if it were truly an emotionless broadcast speaker.
Anyway, class was about to start, and there was no time to go out looking for clues. With nothing else to do, Xia Zhiyi decided to continue talking to it about the name.
“Do you know Xiao Qiao?”
【I do.】 It spoke.
“Then she has a name, why don't you? Aren't you a New World staff member?”
【Of course I am.】
“Then what's your name?”
【No comment.】
“But it's hard for us to call you that way, it doesn't seem friendly or approachable. How about this, I'll give you a name right now, and you don't have to thank me.”
【…?】
How could there be a player who gives a quest NPC a name?
And who was going to thank you???
Xia Zhiyi actually stroked her chin and thought seriously, a flash of inspiration striking her: “Okay, I've got it. I'll let you ride on the coattails of a famous character. From now on, you'll be called Teletubby—Little Broadcast.”
“Wow, this name suits you so well. Do you like it?”
Quest NPC: 【…】
It doesn't suit me at all!!!
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