Chapter 14 - Did They Elope?

Chapter 14: Did They Elope?

“Kid, you’re straightforward. Let’s do it, split everything fifty-fifty. We won’t take advantage of you.” Old Hu, being on his first tomb expedition, was cautious. Truthfully, he had no idea how much antiques were worth.

They agreed to set out together the next morning. That night, Hu Yifei squeezed into a tent with Yingzi, while Chen Yuze shared one with Old Hu. Though Chen Yuze had a spatial backpack with supplies, pulling it out now might freak them out.

While things were going smoothly here, back at the Love Apartment, chaos had erupted—Hu Yifei and Chen Yuze had vanished.

“Disaster! Disaster! My sister and Yuze are both missing! Did they elope?!” Lu Zhanbo burst into the apartment, shouting. The gossip-loving residents immediately swarmed out.

“What?! Who eloped with who?!” Chen Meijia shot out like a bullet, eyes wide with excitement. Others emerged from their rooms just as Lin WanYu descended the stairs.

“Zhanbo, stop exaggerating. Why would Yifei elope with Yuze? They barely know each other! Maybe they’re just busy with something,” WanYu reasoned.

“But—but my sister hasn’t been reachable all day! She said she was looking for Yuze this morning, and then they both disappeared! What else could it be?!” Zhanbo frantically recounted the morning’s events.

For some reason, Teacher Zeng looked both concerned and oddly amused. “Hah! What’s wrong with living? Yuze is sacrificing himself for the greater good by taking Hu Yifei off our hands. I can already picture his miserable future with her. Honestly, it’s kinda thrilling!”

“Wait, this drama is too good—I need popcorn!” Meijia interrupted, dashing off to grab two buckets before plopping onto the couch, eyes gleaming with gossip. “Okay, spill! What happened next?”

The group stared at her, momentarily speechless.

“Why’re you all looking at me? Keep going!” Meijia shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth, urging Zhanbo to continue.

Zhanbo’s Story:

That morning, Hu Yifei made breakfast just as Zhanbo woke up. She immediately grilled him: “Do you know what Yuze’s been up to lately? Feels like he’s hiding something.”

“Sis, you’re so nosy. Yuze can take care of himself—probably just work stuff,” Zhanbo mumbled through a mouthful of milk.

Hu Yifei shoved his head aside in frustration. “Ugh, you bookworm! He’s our roommate—shouldn’t we care? And what does him being capable have to do with anything?”

“Then just ask him yourself. He’s been on the rooftop lately,” Zhanbo muttered, biting into a fried dough stick.

“WHAT?! The rooftop?! Is he suicidal?! I’m checking on him!” Yifei bolted out without another word.

Zhanbo didn’t think much of it until after breakfast, when neither Yifei nor Yuze returned. He went to the rooftop—both were gone. That’s when he realized something was wrong.

Zhanbo finished his story and looked at the group. “So… do you think they committed a lovers’ suicide?”

“Genius, you’re overthinking it,” Teacher Zeng scoffed. “If they jumped, there’d be bodies downstairs. And it’d be all over the news by now.”

“Right—the news!” Zhanbo lunged for the TV. The others stared blankly. How has this guy survived adulthood?

“Breaking news: A young couple, believed to be in their early twenties, were found dead in an apparent suicide pact. Authorities have yet to identify the victims. We urge families to come forward and remind young lovers to act rationally.”

Clunk.

WanYu’s orange hit the floor. The room fell dead silent. Even Meijia’s popcorn tumbled from her gaping mouth.

“SIS!!!” Zhanbo wailed—the woman on screen was wearing clothes identical to Hu Yifei’s.

“Wait, call the police!”

“What good’ll that do?! We need to go to the station!”

Pandemonium erupted. Nobody knew what to do.

“STOP! Everyone calm down!” Lü Ziqiao, surprisingly the voice of reason, pointed out: “Zhanbo, you’re on the wrong channel. This isn’t our city—it’s a province over.”

“So they eloped to another province to die?! No wonder their phones are off—they must’ve been on a plane!” Zhanbo spiraled further into panic.

“Use your brain! By that timeline, we were all still asleep. How’d they get there? Teleport?” Ziqiao’s logic finally sank in.

WanYu took a deep breath and sat back down. “Zhanbo, I knew you’d overreact. It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Oh really? Then who just screamed about calling the cops?” Teacher Zeng glared at her.

“Ahem… Did I? Must’ve slipped my mind.” WanYu laughed awkwardly. The scare had been real.

She cleared her throat. “Anyway, the story I know is different.”

“What, did Hu Yifei murder Yuze and flee?” Ziqiao quipped.

“No! I asked Yuze earlier if something was up. He said he had work—something dangerous, like a tomb expedition.”

“Tomb raiding? Now that’s a plot twist. Gotta remember that for future scams,” Ziqiao nodded sagely.

“Ugh! But what does that have to do with Yifei vanishing?” Meijia kicked Ziqiao before turning back to WanYu.

“Remember how Yuze invited us before? Yifei was probably interested and went with him.” WanYu recalled Chen Yuze’s offer—though the others had dismissed it as a joke, Yifei had seemed genuinely intrigued.

“But they’ve been gone all day! And their stuff’s still in their rooms!” Zhanbo argued.

(To be continued…)