Chapter 32.2
After he retracted his gaze from Old w.a.n.g’s shroud shop which was next door, Gu Liang fixed his eyes on the barbeque stall opposite of him again.
The barbeque stall was constructed out of red bricks, with five tables and twenty or so plastic chairs filling its interiors.
Its main source of light came from the lights on the wall, which exerted a small and gradual, albeit corrupting influence on the barbeque stall with its pale yellows.
The smell of c.u.min from the grates floated out with the rising smoke, which seemed to give the scenario some life in smoke and fire, making Gu Liang feel like he was really in the mortal realm instead of some bizarre game.
At 9:30, Beggar Ding finally appeared.
His clothes were tattered and full of patches, and he seemed rather lively as he bounced and skipped towards the barbeque stall.
It made the performance that Liu Ran was putting up as BBQ Li seem clumsy by comparison.
As Liu Ran was cleaning up the tables, beads of perspiration were gathering at his forehead which betrayed his nervousness.
When he saw Beggar Ding approaching, his complexion became even paler and his hands started trembling as well.
This made Gu Liang recall the first time he had met Liu Ran in the《 Death of Boss Bai 》script.
Back then, when the script had required Liu Ran to go to the kitchen to use his feigned death medicine, he had sat on the entrance of the stairway, shaking and refusing to comply. His current appearance was more or less the same.
It seems like Liu Ran was going to act against Beggar Ding for certain.
— Therefore, did he poison the barbeque?
Gu Liang did not make a single sound as he continued to watch the proceedings in the dark.
He only saw Liu Ran’s hands tremble as he toughened his scalp to say a stage line: “You… keep coming here, and affecting my business. Little brat, beat it.”
Gu Liang could imagine that when the script’s BBQ Li was speaking, he would have been extremely arrogant and despotic.
Whereas Liu Ran spoke with his head constantly lowered, and he did not even dare to look at Beggar Ding once.
Beggar Ding’s acting skills were of the highest quality; he stretched both of his hands out and pleaded with him earnestly: “Please, I beg of you! I’ve been starving for many days!”
Liu Ran read his lines out woodenly, “You’ve been begging on the streets every day, how are you poor! Are you trying to act poor!”
Beggar Ding continued to speak with sincerity: “But I want to buy Senior Student Feng a present! She said that she wanted a guitar. I need to save money to buy her a guitar!”
Liu Ran: “School Senior Feng? She’s the school flower of Seventh Secondary School, a small toad like you wants to eat swan meat? Did you think you can marry her just because you’re buying her a guitar? Why don’t you reflect on your revolting behaviour instead!”
Beggar Ding shook his head and said: “I didn’t say I wanted to marry her. I just want to make her happy!”
“Heh, a small beggar, pretending to be all pure and innocent. Forget it, who cares about you.” Once Liu Ran was done saying those words, he picked out some barbeque and gave it to Beggar Sing. “Take it, take it. Take it and go quickly; stop affecting my business!”
Beggar Ding took the barbeque happily and immediately took a chomp out of the meat skewer, looking absolutely famished.
Liu Ran revealed some hesitation, as if he wanted to stop him.
But Beggar Ding did not react at all. He thanked Liu Ran before he left as he arrived, with a perpetual bounce in his steps.
“BBQ Li gave the remaining barbeque left by the customers to him. BBQ Li’s expression was quite peculiar; his gaze also had a glint of ruthlessness.”
— These were the original words from the script that Gu Liang had received not long ago.
But in reality, let alone being devoid of ruthlessness, the BBQ Li actor, Liu Ran, appeared highly strung throughout, and there was even a trace of pity evident in his eyes.
Gu Liang pondered for a moment. Perhaps, due to the lack of strict performance requirements on the system’s part, the issues present in Liu Ran’s acting were not considered a violation of the rules.
Even though the actual performance did not match up with the detailed expression, the scenario attached importance to the detail with the script at helm, while the players’ presentation was of secondary importance.
Gu Liang did not contemplate for too long. Turning around, he returned back to his coffin shop.
According to his script, he happened to realise that there was something off-putting about BBQ Li, and because he was afraid of being seen, he had hurried back into his coffin shop through the back door.
Upon returning back to his coffin shop, the feeling that something was wrong became more p.r.o.nounced the more he thought about it. Thus, fearing that something bad had happened to Beggar Ding, he went out of his shop again.
He calculated the time. There was still an hour or so before he had to leave his place again.
Gu Liang decided to use this period of time to rummage through the cupboard and boxes, since it was highly plausible that he would find some clues that could help solve the case.
Approximately 30 minutes later, some rustling noises suddenly travelled over from the next-door backyard.
Gu Liang stopped flipping through his things momentarily.
— Was it the next-door Old w.a.n.g?
A few seconds later, Gu Liang slipped out of his back door on light feet and moved deeper into his courtyard before he looked over to the side.
In the neighbouring backyard, there was a person who was crouched on the ground, and his back figure looked a little strained for some unknown reason.
There was an iron shovel that was covered in dirt by his side, and both of his hands were similarly caked with soil, looking like he was digging something out of the earth.
This person had broad shoulders and a wide frame, and the contours of his shoulders blades on his vigorous and muscled back could be perceived through the thin, unlined long gown.
Gu Liang was extremely familiar with this back figure.
Afterall, he had “shared the same bed” with this person for several days.
During the numerous instances where he woke up in the middle of night, he would see this back figure lying on his side in front of him.
The corners of Gu Liang’s mouth raised and walked up to call out to him: “Yang Ye. You’re the ‘next-door Old w.a.n.g’ this time around?”
But the strange thing was that even after Gu Liang called out to him once, Yang Ye did not respond to him instantaneously.
His hunched-over back straightened; starting from the nape of his neck and down to his entire spinal column, all of it became ramrod straight, which made it look rigid.
It took him a long while before he stood up slowly.
Despite standing up, he did not turn him head back immediately to regard Gu Liang. Instead, he only stood there silently.
Gu Liang knitted his eyebrows together. He had a subconscious feeling that Yang Ye’s current mental state was extremely different from his usual norm.
However, before Gu Liang had the time to ask anything, Yang Ye suddenly turned his head back.
At this moment, his expression had already reverted back to normal, and Gu Liang could not find a single iota of dissimilarity.
The knit of Gu Liang’s eyebrows became tighter. On the other hand, Yang Ye strode up to him with a smile, the want for banter apparent in his gaze. “Yes, I’m the next-door Old w.a.n.g this time around. Have you done the paternity test? Is it confirmed that the child is mine?”
Gu Liang: “……”
After relaxing his furrowed eyebrows, the displeasure that came from being made a sport of immediately spread across his visage. He gave Yang Ye a one-over, and he was surprised to find that Yang Ye was cutting a sorry figure at the moment. His long gown was stained with dirt and even his face was not spared from having specks of it. Upon closer scrutiny, there was even traces of blood underneath his fingernails amidst all the grime on his hands.
— It was just the first day, what did he encounter exactly?
No, that was not right.
Gu Liang had essentially confirmed that the first day from his perspective was no longer the genuine first day, in every sense of the word.
“What are you digging the ground for?” Gu Liang asked as he moved towards the place where Yang Ye had dug a pit.
When Gu Liang went past Yang Ye and caught a glimpse of the pit, he realised that someone was buried in there— for a section of their arm was already exposed outside of the soil.
Since he wanted to go closer to have a clearer look, Gu Liang routed around Yang Ye and took a few more steps forward.
In that instant, Yang Ye, who was now situated behind Gu Liang, stretched his hand out abruptly and grabbed hold of his wrist.
Swiftly, Yang Ye lifted up his other hand, slid it past Gu Liang’s shoulders and covered his eyes.
Then, he leaned closer to Gu Liang’s ear and said in a low voice: “Gu Liang, don’t look.”
Yang Ye’s actions essentially placed him in a position where he was giving Gu Liang a hug from the back.
And with the slight height advantage that Yang Ye had over Gu Liang, his lips happened to be right next to Gu Liang’s ear.
Although Yang Ye had not intended for it, he was basically pasted against Gu Liang’s ear as he spoke.
And in hindsight? Yang Ye realised that their positions seemed a little… ambiguous.
The tips of Gu Liang’s ears were just there, just by Yang Ye’s lips. If Yang Ye were to lean closer by an inch, he could kiss his ear, or if he went a little lower, he could nibble his porcelain white nape.
Furthermore, when his gaze went even lower, going past his hair and ear, meandering to the front of him and bypa.s.sing his white T-s.h.i.+rt, he could faintly see a small section of his bony clavicle that his collar had exposed. The curve of it was pretty and neat, and the sink of his collarbone seemed perfect for putting an elegant fountain pen.
Yang Ye reckoned he should be letting go.
But he was unwilling in the moment. His Adam’s apple rolled down slightly and his throat felt dry.
Following closely, Yang Ye heard Gu Liang’s chilly voice say: “Let go.”
Yang Ye released him very quickly and saw the irritation br.i.m.m.i.n.g in Gu Liang’s eyes when he turned around to face him.
— Did he also feel that his actions had overstepped the boundaries by some degree? Did he find it ambiguous?
Subsequently, Yang Ye watched as Gu Liang raised a hand to wipe his face. To no one’s surprise, some yellowish-brown stuff was left on his hands.
Gu Liang lowered his eyes in an instant and he glared at Yang Ye’s hands. His voice was tinged with resentment. “You smeared dirt on my face.”
Yang Ye: “…………”
— Huh, I should have thought of that. After all, this is iron and steel straight man Gu Liang Liang.
Yang Ye had arrived at the shroud shop around 20 minutes ago.
At that time, he had yet to enter the shop and he was borrowing the lights along the courtyard’s ground to find his way in. However, he noticed that the courtyard’s soil had signs of being overturned recently, and it could not be more obvious.
Yang Ye’s intuition told him that something was buried underneath.
Coincidentally, one of the tools stored at the back of the yard was a shovel, so Yang Ye began to dig, wanting to see what was buried beneath the dirt.
Yang Ye unearthed an arm first. An arm he was extremely familiar with.
—The arm was only partially sleeved, everything below the elbow joint could be seen.
That elbow was white to begin with, but it was even whiter now without the flush of blood flowing.
And the sole contrast was the red cord on his wrist, which he was exceptionally familiar with.
When Yang Ye saw it, his fingers trembled and his shovel had already fallen to the floor.
Yang Ye knelt down immediately and held that hand up carefully to remove the red cord.
In a moment’s work, the hideous scar beneath the red cord was revealed utterly in its entirety.
The words “The script’s deceased is unknown” started to appear before Yang Ye’s eyes.
Yang Ye’s heartbeat became particularly fierce.
As though he was afraid of harming something, he did not dare to use his shovel again and started to use his own hands to dig at the soil.
The corpse was not buried deeply, the soil composition was very loose too.
Without needing much time, Yang Ye saw the full appearance of the corpse.
From his ankles to the bend of his legs, and further upwards to his slender but powerful waist and abdomen, then his sharp and elegant lower jaw… Last but not the least, his face, lips, nose, and those tightly shut eyes.
Similarly, Yang Ye had “shared the same bed” with Gu Liang for seven days.
The day before he was a moving person and now he was suddenly a corpse, one that he had personally dug out with his own hands.
Yang Ye did not dare to believe it.
The deceased in this script was Gu Liang?
Fortunately… Fortunately, he heard Gu Liang’s voice very quickly.
It was fortunate that when he turned around, he saw Gu Liang standing there, whole and complete.
His reaction made Gu Liang shoot him a quizzical look before he swiped away the dirt on his eyes again. Then, he turned around and peered into the pit.
Consequently, he finally saw what was buried in there.
— On the arm that was jutting out of the dirt pit, was a red cord that was exactly the same as the one on his wrist.
Gu Liang understood everything in an instant.
However, Gu Liang did not feel surprised; when he woke up today and saw the neatly folded s.h.i.+rt and jeans, he already had a hunch.
And when he saw the bowl of porridge in the refrigerator later, he had already determined that he had died once in this scenario.
It was just that after he died and resurrected, he returned back to 24 hours prior and lost all the memories concerning his death.
The only thing he did not expect was that he would find his own corpse here.
Gu Liang turned to look at Yang Ye and asked him calmly, “So, this corpse is me.”
Yang Ye raised his hand and tried to gesture for him to stop. “Don’t look. It doesn’t look good.”
Indifferently, Gu Liang said: “I was never good to look at to begin with.”
Huh? Did he misunderstand something?
Yang Ye arched his brows briefly before he scrunched them together. “That was not what I meant.”
— Do you not feel any dread from having to look at your own corpse, to say nothing of the fact that you didn’t die in a dignified manner?
In reply to that, Gu Liang pushed away Yang Ye’s arm calmly and walked towards the dirt pit.
Sure enough, when he leaned over and peered down, Gu Liang saw his own corpse.