Chapter 23: A Little Game

Everyone nearly froze as they stared at her. She sighed. Obviously, everyone would be on edge if they heard that. She continued, "I had a conflict in my family and had to excuse myself from the school a couple months before I started school there. Thanks to that, I have yet to inform that I have a change in name and that I removed myself from the family registry."

"Then, why are you returning?" Mister Wu questioned cautiously.

"Before school started, I was already prepared to be kicked out of the household, so I moved my belongings to a place in Hebei." She answered with a shrug, "It's a good thing that my place wasn't anywhere close to Beijing or I'd have lost everything. I also have to sort out my financial support. No doubt I can get in contact with them, but I'll just wait till they notify us or not. What about the rest of you?"

"I was supposed to be studying in Beijing too." Mister Wu replied, "But, due to the situation, I requested to transfer to a university in Anhui. I'm majoring in computer science."

"I'm looking for my son who lives up North." said Si.

Apparently, Miss Si was actually a Missus Si.

"He was a student from Beijing too, but he graduated and never returned home after he declared that he was going to do some photography." she continued with a sigh, "He's no longer in Beijing, but I'm traveling to where his father works west from here. I ran my parents' book shop. I only left because my parents couldn't handle not hearing anything from him either."

"Am I the only one that has a decent reason?" Mister Gu sighed in exasperation, "I'm here to take shelter for the night. I'm actually traveling south from here to return home. My place in Beijing was burned down, so yeah..."

"So, I don't have a decent reason?" Mister Wu grumbled as he heard this.

"You're not the only one." Miss Qi said with a sigh.

"You're a medical student in traditional medicine, correct?" Willow said.

"Huh?" Qi stared at her in bewilderment as she heard this, "I've been studying traditional medicine for a couple years, but I wouldn't call myself big."

"Whether you become big or not depends on you." Willow stated with a shrug, "However, I can tell that because you smell of ginseng and dates. You probably work with traditional medicine for children?"

"That's true." Qi said with a nod, "Wait, I smell?!"

"Enough of the jokes." The manager sighed, "I've been a manager here for two decades. This is the first I've seen such a case in this complex."

"Then, let's take a look at the money box." Willow looked to the manager who saw her gaze and grumbled as he carefully placed the metal money box on the wooden table.

The box was designed to be similar design as briefcases used to store important valuables, such as money and treasures. There was a place for the codes, but it had been smashed apart along with the interior lock.

"It looks like it has been smashed open from the outside." Shu stated upon observing the box and pointed to the damaged part, "See this, whatever was used was pretty heavy if it could leave an imprint on the metal. the person used enough force to bust the lock. Even the hinge is broken off."

"The sloted numbers for the code is also busted." Willow pointed out with a raised brow, "They're really into destroying this box."

"Since they want the money, it'd make sense." Gu said with a nervous expression across his face.

"You can start first." Willow stated with a smile towards the elderly man.

The man scowled, "Fine. But, Miss Shu has to accompany Miss Qi."

Miss Si wore an ugly expression as she heard this, but Willow still smiled seeing that the elderly has reconsidered his thoughts, "Fine."

"The pillow cases and pillow." The manager said.

Right away, the two girls began looking through the room. Ten minutes later, the two returned as Miss Shu responded, "Nothing. We've flipped through the cases and the pillow are all intact."

The manager nodded glancing at the door and sighed without a word. Willow stared at the manager, "Let's see... the drawer or the bed..."

The manager scowled as he wiped the sweat off his face. It really annoyed him how this gal had the guts to smile during such a dire time and play.

"The bed, then!" Willow nodded firmly with her decision made up and turned to Mister Gu, "Please check the beds. As to which parts..."

She thought carefully as she turned to the manager, "The side? Or the top bunk bed?"

The manager raised a brow in confusion before Willow smiled, "All right. Check the top bunk bed just above the manager's."

The manager froze as he watched the man go into the room. there was the sound of creaks as if something heavy had walked up the top plain bunk bed. Ten minutes later, the man returned and turned to her, "Nothing."

"Nothing in particular?" Willow raised a brow until Gu responded shaking his head, "All right."

"My turn." The manager called out as he snorted, "Hmph! Check under the bed!"

"R-Right!" Qi squeaked in bewilderment as she hurried into the room with Shu following after her.

However, not even five minutes passed when they returned.

"The floor are bare and clean." Qi responded nervously.

"What did you say?!" The manager exclaimed in bewilderment as he heard this.

"What's wrong?" Willow raised a brow, "It sounds like you're very certain that I snuck the money under the bed?"

"No, no..." The manager responded nervously with a small smile. However, his eyes darted from one direction to the other as if searching for something.

Willow nodded, "Well, okay. Mister Gu, you checked the top bunk bed, right?"

The man nodded back as Willow continued, "You know those wooden bars under the mattress? I want you to examine the mattress below the bed frame. See if you can find any pecularity?"

"The same bed?" Mister Gu responded as he raised a brow.

She nodded before watching the man walk back into the room. It was about three minutes when they heard excited shouts from inside, "There's a hole in the mattress! Ah, a hammer!"

Hearing this, all eyes turn to the manager in confusion as the man scowled with a reddening face, "You accuse me of thievery?! Horse arse! Stop fooling around! You-!"

He pointed at Willow, "You! You set me up! I mean, think about it! I went to the bathroom just before the sound that came from the living room and Mister Wu saw the box on the bed!"

As the atmosphere grew tense and nerve-wracking, Mister Gu timidly spoke up, "Actually, the manager is right. He was gone before the sound was heard and I saw that the box was in one piece."

"You accuse me of pinning the crime on you?" Willow scowled and laid back in her chair as she folds her arm and watched Gu return with a small sledge hammer that he placed on the table, "Then, you can start to continue your search that proves that I set it all up. It's all part of the game, right?"

"You-!" The manager jumped out of his seat when a knock on the door could be heard.

Hearing this, the manager froze in place, and nervously sat back down as he continued to glare at her. The instance the knocking on the door occurred was way too coincidental. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if this Japanese man was on her side. However, despite his thoughts, Willow knew very little of the man as well. In fact, the very thought of it was giving her the goosebumps more than the glare of a stranger was. She shuddered from the nervousness and returned her glance to the manager, "Your turn."

With a nervous look, the manager stared at her. Wasn't she nervous or scared? It's been nearly a century since that incident, but the scars still bore deep in the people around the coast. With how the man appeared and locked them in after they discovered that their phones weren't working, it could only mean that this man has a backing and he mustn't be alone. He stared at Willow as if staring at someone holding a knife to their own neck. Was this child a lunatic?

"Then," The manager finally said, "The crevice between the bed and the wall."

"O-Okay." Qi and Shu hurried to their room before returning in five minutes.

"N-nothing." Shu responded nervously.

The manager frowned in deep thoughts as Willow nodded with a sigh, "Then, it's my turn."

As she said this, eyes turned to her expectantly. Not wanting to repeat her method, she thought back for a bit before responding, "Table."

"Huh?" Gu stared at her in confusion.

"There's a table in the men's room too, right?" Willow questioned with a raised brow, "Check there, including the drawers. You don't have to search around it."

"Um, okay?" Gu responded curiously having heard here specific instructions once again.