Upon hearing this question from Shu Xin, Jiang Xiuxiu was completely stunned.
"Ah, Shu Xin, what are you talking about?" she asked, bewildered. "How have I lied to you?"
"Oh, really?"
Seeing that Jiang Xiuxiu refused to admit anything, Shu Xin continued to sneer at her, as if watching to see
how long she could keep pretending. "Do you think I would accuse you without solid evidence?"
Jiang Xiuxiu was dumbfounded.
What solid evidence? What was Shu Xin talking about?
Being inexplicably scolded by Shu Xin left Jiang Xiuxiu completely confused.
After a moment, she decided to share the important information she had discovered today. "I found out
something really important today. Just now, Xu Bai told me—"
"Xu Bai, huh? You made up that name too, didn’t you?"
Shu Xin couldn't help but mock.
She cut Jiang Xiuxiu off sharply, her tone icy. "How much longer are you going to lie to me? Tell me, have
you ever actually encountered the boss?"
Shu Xin had always been puzzled by why the boss had spared Jiang Xiuxiu so many times and how a newcomer to
escape games like her had managed to survive in the game for so long.
Now it seemed clear: she had been pretending all along.
Jiang Xiuxiu had never met the boss. She had been lying to her from the start.
She was just a seasoned player in escape games, pretending to be a novice to deceive her for information and
money.
The thought of being fooled by someone like this for three whole days made Shu Xin's anger boil
uncontrollably.
Luckily, she had always been wary of Jiang Xiuxiu and hadn't revealed any important information to her.
Otherwise, she would have suffered a great loss.
"Enough," Shu Xin said coldly. "Give me my money back."
Jiang Xiuxiu was at a loss.
"Give the money back?" she asked, confused. "Why should I return the money?"
Even though she hadn't done much work and had mostly been coasting along, why should she return the
agreed-upon money without reason?
Besides, she hadn't lied.
"I really did meet the boss," she insisted, "I haven't lied to you."
"Do you have any proof?" Shu Xin suddenly asked.
She looked at Jiang Xiuxiu with a mocking expression. "You can't find the name Xu Bai in the archives. Tell
me, do you have anything besides this fake name to prove you've met the boss?"
His birthday and even his backstory were shared with her.
Jiang Xiuxiu instinctively wanted to argue, but she paused before speaking.
No, those things didn't seem convincing.
As Shu Xin had said, Xu Bai's information wasn't available in the school's records due to his special
status.
Moreover, his connection to that massacred family was also hard to verify since the reporters had used
pseudonyms.
And as for his birthday, if she couldn't even prove his name was Xu Bai, a birthday would be meaningless.
She realized she had no concrete evidence.
Even calling out Xu Bai's name and having him prove her story wasn't possible until the next day due to his
game restrictions, allowing him to appear for only five minutes a day, which had already been used up.
A cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xiuxiu's forehead.
She really had no way to prove she had met Xu Bai.
If this continued, she'd have to return the money she had earned.
"I... I..."
After hesitating for a while, Jiang Xiuxiu still didn't want to give up. "Even though I can't prove the
name, I know other things. Remember the demon I mentioned this morning?"
"All lies!" Shu Xin raised her voice, mercilessly scolding her. "Just illusions created by ghosts to scare
people. All fake! Are you still trying to deceive me?"
"Return the money," she said coldly and firmly. "If you don't, I'll report you for fraud. Believe me, my
methods won't disappoint you."
Jiang Xiuxiu realized Shu Xin had completely turned against her.
She didn't understand why Shu Xin was doing this, but it was clear she had to return the money.
Their agreement was only verbal and made within a virtual game, making it difficult to provide evidence.
If Shu Xin successfully reported her, her reputation would be damaged, severely impacting her future.
However, she hadn't lied at all.
Even the most patient person would be angered by such baseless accusations.
Being scolded out of nowhere made even the mild-tempered Jiang Xiuxiu upset.
"I'll return the money, but I really didn't lie to you," Jiang Xiuxiu insisted. "You know my task is
impossible to complete. If it weren't for you wanting to team up, I would have gone to die already."
"Enough with the act. How could there be an impossible task?" Shu Xin sneered impatiently. "Anyone familiar
with the forums knows that the game's difficulty is the same for everyone. The game never sets an impossible
task for players."
Seeing she couldn't convince Shu Xin, and with Shu Xin continuously looking at her with disdain and disgust,
Jiang Xiuxiu finally fell silent.
She sighed and transferred the money back.
Watching her balance drop sharply, her mood plummeted.
Previously, when she was venting about the boss, thinking she should just take the money and leave, she
hadn't anticipated Shu Xin turning against her so quickly.
She even wondered if Shu Xin had done this deliberately to get free labor from her, but Shu Xin's genuine
anger suggested otherwise.
What had happened to Shu Xin? Why was she suddenly so convinced she was lying?
Everything had seemed fine before.
Confused and exhausted, Jiang Xiuxiu dragged herself back to her room.
Because of the lengthy argument with Shu Xin, by the time she had washed up and lay in bed, it was almost
midnight.
The moon hung in the sky, and the cold moonlight poured through the curtains, casting a silver glow over
everything in the room.
She turned off the light and closed her eyes in despair, feeling a deep sense of uncertainty about the
future.
Reflecting on the past three days, she felt like a joke. She had spent three days in the game for nothing,
ending up empty-handed.
But she didn't want to leave the game labeled as a fraud.
She was unwilling.
Even though rationality told her to cut her losses, emotionally, she couldn't accept such a humiliating end.
She wasn't one to suffer losses. She couldn't let this go without getting to the bottom of it.
Especially since she truly hadn't lied.
"Sigh."
Emotion welled up inside Jiang Xiuxiu, and she let out a deep sigh.
"What's wrong? Feeling down?"
At that moment, a soft, ethereal voice echoed in the quiet room.
Its tone was incredibly gentle, the words striking right at the heart: "You can tell me any of your
troubles."
The voice was so tender, like a mother's affectionate caress or the warm sunshine of a spring day, that it
instantly evoked a sense of goodwill and openness, inviting one to share their worries.
Naturally, Jiang Xiuxiu was no exception.
Under the influence of this gentle voice, she felt a moment of blankness in her mind, her emotions magnified
a thousandfold. The grievance in her heart burst forth. "I—"
"What’s wrong?" the voice asked softly.
"My fifteen thousand yuan..." Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
The voice remained silent.
Jiang Xiuxiu wiped away her tears, her voice trembling with sorrow, "Fifteen thousand... I could've bought
21 of the 688 mobile game packs with that."
The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, and the more wronged she felt. Her tears kept falling.
"Why, why did this happen? What did I do wrong? I feel so terrible. I really need someone to comfort me
right now."
As she spoke, she asked hopefully, "Will you be the one for me?"
The room fell silent.
Jiang Xiuxiu waited patiently for over ten minutes but did not receive the comforting words she longed for.
Perhaps, now that she started crying, the ghost that wanted to take advantage of her vulnerability had
quietly slipped away.
Jiang Xiuxiu's sobs grew louder.
However, sometimes, letting out one's emotions can be beneficial.
Although the ghost's intentions were far from kind, after crying, Jiang Xiuxiu felt much clearer-headed as
she wiped away her tears and reflected on what had just happened.
Previously, she had only thought about the money and proving that she hadn't lied, overlooking many details.
For instance, why had Shu Xin's attitude changed so suddenly?
And what about the "solid evidence" Shu Xin mentioned?
Just as Shu Xin said, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't prove she had met the boss.
But equally, could Shu Xin prove she was lying?
Could Shu Xin prove that "Xu Bai" wasn't the boss's name?
A person like Shu Xin wouldn't act so harshly without good reason. Even if she doubted Jiang Xiuxiu's
information, she would only be suspicious and not make such a rash conclusion based on a few guesses.
So, what exactly happened on Shu Xin's side?
Jiang Xiuxiu opened her eyes blankly and stared out at the moon.
After a while, she suddenly shivered and sat up.
Looking at her hands, Jiang Xiuxiu's eyes sparkled as if she had thought of something.
If her guess was correct...
Then she had to stay. She must stay.