Chapter 3 Where are you going so late

Standing at the door, the man, although dressed somewhat casually, had a handsome face with sharp features, exuding a dignified aura and a palpable arrogance.

At this moment, the man was looking down at Ruan Qing, his deep eyes unfathomable.

Even though the man had no expression, he inexplicably made people feel uneasy from the depths of their hearts.

After seeing the man's gaze clearly, Ruan Qing inwardly cursed himself.

He slightly lowered his head to avoid the man's gaze, as if startled, then, regardless of the pain, he stood up and leaned against the door. With a bit of effort, he tried to close the door.

The original host was afraid of encountering people, so Ruan Qing's actions were not inappropriate.

However, the handsome man outside the door seemed to still be immersed in the previous scene and did not react. Seeing the door closing, he instinctively reached out to stop it, without considering the consequences.

Ruan Qing felt weak all over. Although his strength was not great, the force with which he closed the door was definitely not small.

However, even if his hand was caught by the door, the man's expression did not change in the slightest. It was as if he didn't feel any pain at all and continued to stare blankly at the beautiful young man in front of him.

Seeing the door being blocked by the man's clearly articulated knuckles, Ruan Qing's eyes widened suddenly with a watery glint. He subconsciously exerted more force in his hand, trying to forcibly close the door.

This time, the man finally came to his senses. He didn't retract his hand but instead exerted force to pull the door open, preventing the young man from closing it.

Ruan Qing's strength was too small to compete with the man's, and not only did the door not close, but it was also pushed open a bit by the man's force.

If this continued, the door would definitely be pushed open. Helplessly biting his lip, his body trembling uncontrollably, Ruan Qing stared at the man in front of him. "What... are you doing?"

Although the young man tried to put on a fierce look, his eyes were watery, making him look like a coquettish little kitten. Moreover, his voice was soft, trembling with nervousness or fear, like feathers gently tickling one's heart.

The man finally came to his senses this time. He looked at the exceptionally beautiful young man in front of him and opened his mouth, but for a moment, he couldn't say anything.

He didn't know what he was doing, he just instinctively reached out.

But the man realized that he seemed to have frightened the young man. After a few seconds of silence, he finally uttered a sentence, "... It's time to pay the rent."

Ruan Qing was slightly stunned upon hearing this. It seemed that he didn't expect the man to come to collect the rent. He felt a bit embarrassed and nervously bit his lip again. "Um, I'll transfer the money to your card later."

After saying that, he tried to close the door.

However, the man didn't give him a chance. He didn't release his hand from the door, preventing Ruan Qing from closing it.

"Please wait a moment."

Although the man looked apologetic, his gaze was still aggressive, making Ruan Qing even more uneasy as it fell on his face.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness earlier. Are you... okay?"

Although the man appeared apologetic, his gaze carried a strong sense of aggression, making Ruan Qing even more uneasy.

"I'm fine," Ruan Qing said softly, and then reached out, quickly pushing the man's hand out of the way.

Then he closed the door.

He even locked the door, as if the man outside was some kind of ferocious beast.

The man outside the door was stunned, standing in place without moving, just looking down at the hand that had just been touched by the young man, his deep eyes becoming even deeper.

So soft...

...

With the door locked from the inside, even if someone had a key, they wouldn't be able to open it from the outside.

If Ruan Qing hadn't hesitated and wasted time at the beginning, such a mistake of not locking the door wouldn't have occurred.

The actions just now had already consumed a lot of Ruan Qing's strength. Although the man's gaze was blocked by the door, he felt his body go limp and couldn't care less whether the person outside had left. He slid down to the ground, slightly calming down his sense of grievance and the urge to cry.

Ruan Qing remembered the man. After entering the scenario, the system would import some information about NPCs to help him better play the role of NPC.

That man was the landlord of this house, or should I say, the landlord of this building.

It made sense for him to come to collect the rent.

After all, the original host had already delayed the rent for more than ten days this month.

However, even if the man was the landlord, Ruan Qing couldn't let his guard down.

The original host didn't understand the landlord. He had only met him once when signing the lease, so he couldn't rule out the possibility that the man was not a killer from the horror live broadcast.

Even if he wasn't, Ruan Qing still had to be cautious.

Because of the man's sudden change in attitude and the way he looked at him, Ruan Qing felt more familiar than ever.

That look was just like the way those psychotic maniacs looked at him at first.

Ruan Qing broke the last bit of hope in his heart. It seemed that even in this damn game, his constitution remained peculiar.

Ruan Qing sat on the ground for about a minute, calming his emotions. He looked down at the things the man had thrown in earlier.

It was six steamed buns.

Ruan Qing remembered that today was the day when the aunt downstairs who sold steamed buns would bring them to him, so he hadn't locked the door as usual.

It seemed that the aunt had asked the landlord to deliver them.

The plastic bag containing the steamed buns was not tied tightly, and due to the landlord's rough handling, one of the buns had rolled out, lying conspicuously white on the gray floor.

Although the room looked somewhat shabby, it was very clean, so the floor wasn't too dirty.

But Ruan Qing had a cleanliness obsession, so he looked at the steamed bun with great disgust.

However, Ruan Qing had no choice now. The discomfort in his abdomen was clearly a symptom of being hungry for too long.

Because of his social anxiety, the original host never went out and didn't have a job, so he had no income.

He barely survived by accepting online gaming orders for companionship.

But recently, his identity as a keyboard warrior had been exposed, revealing him as a disgusting and stinking pervert, which led to him being targeted by other players in the game.

Basically, no one asked him to accompany them anymore.

No one asking him also meant no income.

So, the rent had been delayed for almost half a month.

These six steamed buns were bought with his last three dollars.

And this body had been starving for at least two days. If he didn't eat soon, there might not even be a need for the horror live broadcast's killer to act.

Ruan Qing endured the pain and disgust, slowly picking up the steamed bun from the ground.

Perhaps feeling too aggrieved by the current situation and accidentally involving the injured area, tears once again threatened to fall from Ruan Qing's eyes.

Ruan Qing couldn't control this crying body in a short period of time. He suppressed the irritation in his heart, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress his emotions and tears, softly comforting himself again, "Don't cry, don't cry."

In the narrow and dilapidated room, the teenager crouched on the ground, his eyes, like glass gems, misted over with a layer of water vapor, showing a hint of grievance at the bottom of his eyes. Clumsily consoling himself, he emitted a pitiful and helpless aura.

It was as if he was about to cry in the next moment when being bullied, very endearing, making people want to hold him in their arms and comfort him, not letting him suffer the slightest grievance.

The barrage on the screen this time was overwhelmingly in favor of him.

["Wuwuwu, he's so pitiful, I want to hug him."]

["Is that jerk sick? Why kick the door for no reason! Couldn't he just knock politely?"]

["Doesn't he know how to write the word 'courtesy'!? Even if the little cutie is annoying, he shouldn't be so rude!"]

["Everyone, hold on! There's no way he could survive for more than three days even if he wants to harm him!"]

Amidst the barrage of curses, the teenager on the screen sat back in his chair and took out a steamed bun, nibbling at it delicately.

The teenager's eating speed was very slow and elegant, like a small squirrel holding a pine cone, involuntarily attracting people's attention.

Ruan Qing nibbled on the steamed bun while playing with his phone, lost in thought.

There were only six steamed buns. One bun could last for six days, and he could probably stretch it to seven.

But the discomfort in Ruan Qing's stomach didn't disappear after finishing one bun.

The steamed bun wasn't big, but for someone who had been hungry for almost two days, one wasn't enough.

Ruan Qing pursed his lips, looking hesitantly at the remaining five steamed buns on the table.

After hesitating for a while, he finally picked up another steamed bun.

With it already chosen, if he didn't have enough strength, he wouldn't survive until the seventh day.

Moreover, only with a healthy body could his brain function quickly.

As the steamed bun went down, Ruan Qing finally felt much better, and his mind became clearer.

This scenario was called "Horror Live Broadcast," clearly indicating some sort of live broadcast.

Then who were the viewers?

Serial killers, or ordinary people?

In uncertain circumstances, Ruan Qing prepared for the worst.

That is, his every move was likely under the eyes of a serial killer.

After finishing the steamed bun, Ruan Qing leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes, and didn't move for a long time.

As if he were asleep.

Four hours passed slowly, and the teenager on the chair finally moved.

Ruan Qing slowly opened his eyes, devoid of any grogginess one might expect upon waking up. He checked his phone.

It was 1:23 in the morning.

Ruan Qing picked up his clothes from the bed and put them on over his T-shirt and pajamas. He then wore a mask.

Next, he grabbed a slightly worn messenger bag from the corner of the room, neatly packed the remaining steamed buns into it, and also grabbed a small knife, which he tucked into his pocket. Then, he slung the bag over his shoulder and quietly made his way to the door.

The entire process was conducted without making any noise.

The original owner often went out at midnight because there were rarely any people around at that time. However, Ruan Qing had no intention of coming back.

Firstly, he had no money to pay the rent, and he didn't have the time to focus on earning money.

Secondly, the room was on the fifth floor. If someone broke in, there would be no chance of escape.

So, from the beginning, Ruan Qing never planned to stay in that room for seven days.

When Ruan Qing reached the door, he didn't immediately open it. He sidled up to the peephole to observe the situation outside.

Once he confirmed that there was no one outside the door, Ruan Qing gently turned the doorknob and quietly left the room.

The corridor was dimly lit, with the light unable to reach into the distance or certain shadowy corners.

This floor housed seven or eight users, so the corridor was quite long, resembling the corridors in hotels.

At the end of the corridor was the elevator, barely visible in the dim light, appearing like a gaping monster in the darkness.

Ruan Qing tightened his grip on the strap of his messenger bag and walked silently towards the elevator without hesitation.

Just as he was about to reach the elevator, a deep, rich, and magnetic male voice sounded from not far behind him.

"So late, where are you going?"

Before Ruan Qing could react, the voice continued with a tone that was neither friendly nor hostile, "You're not planning to run away because you can't afford the rent, are you?"