Chapter 33: The Small-Time Star and His Short-Tempered Sugar Daddy (Part XXXIII)
037 yawned, listless: [What happened?]
Xiao Ji’s patience was limited: [Did you slack off work last night?]
037 refused to admit it: [What do you mean slack off? Was I supposed to stare at you two mating all night long?]
Although it said that, it hadn’t delayed business and soon discovered the perpetrator from last night.
[It was a group crime.]
It said seriously.
Xiao Ji frowned: [What people?]
037 suddenly burst into wild laughter: [You might not believe it, but it was a flock of birds.]
Hearing this, Xiao Ji reacted immediately: [That shrike?]
037 was actually somewhat surprised too: [Born at the wrong time. This shrike has gained spiritual intelligence. If it were in a small world with abundant spiritual energy, it would be a creature of extraordinary talent.]
Xiao Ji was thoughtful and didn’t speak again.
The matter of Gu Yao losing things made the four female guests present somewhat uneasy. Naturally, no one refuted Lie’s suggestion.
The four female guests focused their gazes on the four men.
Zhao Jiatong spoke first, “I have no objection. My suitcase is open on the floor of my room.”
Neither Xiao Ji nor Cheng Nuo spoke.
Cheng Nuo was in poor condition and didn’t care much about this matter.
Xiao Ji was considering if there were any details in the room that would expose his relationship with Fang Yinnian.
Fang Yinnian was obviously on the same wavelength as Xiao Ji. After pondering, he said, “Let’s check each other first. We are all public figures; it won’t look good if laid out openly. In case it’s a misunderstanding, making a scene would hurt the harmony.”
Li Yun chimed in, “I agree. Let’s confirm it’s not an internal problem before discussing it with the program team. Spreading this won’t benefit Yao-Yao either. It’s best to keep a low profile.”
Gossip is fearful. Even if Gu Yao was the victim in this matter, once it spread, a bunch of people would inevitably play “victim blaming,” cursing Gu Yao for loose conduct.
Even if not, no one would want the matter of losing their underwear to be known to everyone. It wouldn’t be glorious for Gu Yao either.
Since no one held an opposing opinion, Li Yun made the decision for Gu Yao directly:
“Since everyone is here, let’s not go back to our own rooms yet. I suggest our male compatriots observe as witnesses. I’ll accompany Yao-Yao, and Lie and Su Yu will do the searching in front of everyone. Do you think that works?”
Fang Yinnian said lightly, “I’m indifferent.”
Xiao Ji looked down at his watch, wondering what came to mind. “You can search mine and Teacher Fang’s room first.”
Fang Yinnian glanced at Xiao Ji but didn’t speak.
Lie and Su Yu looked at each other, then walked into Xiao Ji and Fang Yinnian’s room one after another.
It happened suddenly. At this time, including Fang Yinnian and Xiao Ji, no one had had time to organize their rooms.
The group arrived at Xiao Ji’s room door. Su Yu pushed the door open first and saw the curtains were still drawn tight.
Of the two beds, one was messy, with the sheets twisted and nearly dragging on the floor, while the other was clean and neat as if no one had touched it all night.
Also, the trash can by the bed was full of tissues, looking highly suspicious and inviting imagination.
Aside from that, there was nothing shameful in the room.
Fortunately, at this moment, everyone’s focus wasn’t on this. Lie walked into the room and opened the curtains, revealing two distinctly different styles of underwear squeezed together drying on the balcony.
One was black, brief style, subtly flirtatious.
One was pink with green flowers, boxer style, openly flamboyant.
For a moment, it was hard to tell which underwear belonged to whom.
Lie was silent for a moment, then closed the curtains again.
Then she turned back and asked, “President Fang, Teacher Xiao, can we open your suitcases?”
Fang Yinnian nodded without speaking, and Xiao Ji didn’t make a sound either.
Lie opened the two suitcases one after another in front of everyone. There was nothing inside.
Over here, Su Yu also opened the wardrobe and all the drawers and cabinets of various sizes in the room. She found nothing.
In the bathroom, apart from two bath towels casually thrown together on the rack, there was nothing else.
“Sorry, President Fang, Teacher Xiao. It was somewhat offensive.”
Lie said apologetically to Fang Yinnian and Xiao Ji.
Xiao Ji still didn’t speak. Even with his thick skin, Fang Yinnian inevitably felt a bit guilty like a thief. Adhering to the principle of “say less, err less,” he only said two words:
“It’s fine.”
Next to be searched was the triple room where Lie, Li Yun, and Zhao Jiatong stayed. Since girls had more items than boys, and some things were inconvenient for boys to see, Li Yun invited Gu Yao into the room and closed the door.
Five minutes later, the four ladies came out of the room, said nothing, and went directly to Cheng Nuo’s room.
Cheng Nuo knew nothing. When Lie asked him if she could open his suitcase, Cheng Nuo showed an attitude of absolute cooperation.
Su Yu also routinely checked the wardrobe.
The program’s wardrobe was no different from ordinary wardrobes. The commonly used parts were the middle sections. Especially given that there weren’t many clothes to stuff, the top and bottom shelves were basically useless.
It was clear at a glance; apart from a few clothes, there was nothing.
But just as Su Yu was about to close the wardrobe’s sliding door, unexpectedly, a piece of light purple women’s underwear suddenly fell from the blind spot of the top shelf.
At the same time, a small, round Brown-backed Shrike appeared in the monitoring room. While the staff turned to pour tea, it used its sharp beak to poke a bright red button.
At 7:53 AM, unbeknownst to anyone, the live broadcast connected ahead of schedule.
All the guests were gathered at the door of Cheng Nuo’s room, their expressions varied and fascinating. Su Yu stood in front of Cheng Nuo’s wardrobe, a piece of light purple women’s underwear hanging from her high bun.
Cheng Nuo’s face was stiff, the scene seemingly frozen.
The viewers who just tuned in saw exactly this scene.
Just as the bullet comments began to spam question marks, the live stream started being shared frantically, and countless people poured in, skyrocketing the viewer count, Cheng Nuo spoke a sentence:
“I didn’t do it. I didn’t steal her underwear.”
Su Yu raised her hand, pulled the underwear off her bun, placed it on the table, then looked up at the top shelf of the wardrobe. She pulled over a stool from the room, stood on it, and sure enough, saw a pair of matching panties.
What she didn’t see was a small-billed crow standing quietly in the corner of the cabinet.
Su Yu didn’t fish out the panties but just poked her head out to tell the crowd outside the door, “There’s another piece, also in the cabinet.”
The live broadcast ended here because the Shrike, tilting its head and watching this, pressed the red button again one second before the staff member finished pouring water and turned around, then flew out of the monitoring room.
Except for Xiao Ji, no one noticed the red light of the camera in the corner light up briefly and then go dark.
Everyone’s eyes focused on Cheng Nuo.
Fang Yinnian turned and walked away. Xiao Ji followed behind him, reminding him:
“Tell Cheng Nuo’s manager to prepare crisis PR.”
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