Scream Queen: Chapter 15

Once Zhu Yang and co. retrieved the camera, they were ready to head out again. When they went back downstairs, the landlord still hadn’t gotten over the shock. 

Upon seeing Zhu Yang’s face, he sprung into action. 

When they arrived at  the gate, the crippled man who was thrown out like trash moments ago had already disappeared. 

Zhu Yang wasn’t concerned about them, and brought Lu Xin to the shopping center. 

Although the game equates human lives to grass, they weren’t stingy. 

Zhu Yang had a lot of money in her bank account and assumed that the others should have similar amounts. If the money was spent evenly throughout the seven days, there would be enough to live frivolously. 

It’s a bit like having a big, extravagant meal before execution. 

Zhu Yang wasn’t modest with her spending. Although the city wasn’t one of those big developed cities, the central business district still has a few brands she is fond of. 

She simply couldn’t bear wearing the same outfit twice. So in preparation for the remaining few days, she bought several sets of clothes at once. 

After buying the clothes, cosmetics, shoes, bags, and other accessories were a must. 

Even in a horror genre world, maintaining one’s appearance is a necessity. 

If one were to jokingly describe her, then Zhu Yang was definitely the person who would carefully dress up before her death, buy a name-brand body bag—that is up to her standards of course—and if there’s enough time, order her favorite flowers as the funeral flowers. 

Lu Xin followed her, not voicing any complaints on her shopping spree. 

Whatever she bought, he would carry the bag. Once in a while, he would occasionally offer a new perspective, making Zhu Yang feel that this guy has a good taste. 

In the real world, he should have a good family background, right? However, he must be mediocre in other aspects since she has no memory of him from school. 

There were several incidents when Lu Xin had instinctively reached into his pocket to pull out his card to pay. Fortunately, Zhu Yang did not notice. 

When Zhu Yang was finally satisfied, the day was nearly over. At three or four o’clock, the duo returned back to the house. 

Of course, Lu Xin still was carrying the bags while Zhu Yang walked in the front, holding a cup of coffee, burdenless, and stepping lightly. 

Li Li and Wang Bei were confused when they saw the two. 

Zhu Yang felt that she saved a lot of effort in finding the group once she noticed the two and the landlord were sitting at the lobby’s tea table- drinking tea and conversing. 

Several bags of clothes were tossed in front of the landlord, “These need to be sent to dry cleaning. Remember not to put any softeners or fragrances. Those scents smell cheap and can’t be on me. 

“That bag of trash in my room needs to be taken out and thrown away—it takes up too much space. Oh, by the way, remember to disinfect the towels with hot water.” 

The landlord almost fainted from the long list of tasks piling down on him. 

He hastily interjected, “This is just a cheap rental here, we d-don’t offer these kinds of services.” 

Zhu Yang waved her hand dismissively, “I didn’t say you’ll do it for free. The dry cleaning fees would be charged onto my account along with the other service fees.” 

Her demands were quick and confident, a clear sign that she’s used to acting like this. 

Recalling the events from yesterday—where she cut down someone—and today, how she fiercely ordered someone to be thrown out, she must be a tyrannical Miss back home. 

Noting that the pile of clothes were all from expensive brand names, the landlord decidedly to no longer neglect his duties. 

He immediately picked up the bags and left. Before leaving, he also went into Zhu Yang’s room and brought out the suitcase she claimed to be ‘trash’ to throw out. 

During this time, Miss Cui was about to wash up when she witnessed the whole scene of someone arrogantly ordering others around. 　

To be honest, she was very grateful for the new tenant over what happened this morning and had asked the landlord for Zhu Yang’s name. 

It’s just that Zhu Yang didn’t look very approachable, and she didn’t help her out of sheer goodwill, but rather out of contempt. 

Listening to her manner of speaking and actions just shows how domineering she is. 

Additionally, she was so beautiful that her appearance would cause those gossipy schoolmates to go crazy with spite. Miss Cui feels that Zhu Yang is not a stranger to those vicious comments. 

But how does she deal with all this? 

Even when she’s throwing a tantrum or being snobbish, she still looks so dazzling and confident. For the first time CUi Yan felt that the hateful rumors of jealous schoolgirls were no longer so dark or embarrassing. 

If those words were used on this girl, wouldn’t it be fascinating to watch how Zhu Yang would react? All those rumors which had been long entangled with her, if they were said towards Zhu Yang, wouldn’t the gossipers be the one receiving all the hate? 　

Miss Cui felt very emotional while Zhu Yang and the others had started to quarrel. 

If it weren’t for them being in the lobby, Li Li would’ve started yelling. 

In a low voice he asked, “You guys went out to investigate today and came back with this? Splurging all day on the commercial street?” 

He slapped the coffee table with a ‘bang,’ “Zhu Yang, I don’t know what kind of luck got you through the trials, but it’s not as easy as you think it is to get points.” 

“You’re just a rookie who hasn’t adjusted your mentality yet. You haven’t seen just how horrible the ghosts are in the official games. Treat this place as a playground, that’s no problem. Your life is your own business, you can treat it like a joke.” 

“But don’t jeopardize everyone else. Look at you! It’s just been a day, and you’ve offended every ghost candidate except the high schooler. Your task of investigating was thrown aside so you can enjoy yourself! I don’t care if you prioritize shopping over your study and work in the real world, but right now, lives are at stake. If you don’t restrain yourself, then we will go on our own paths.” 

“But I have to remind you, although the death rate for beginners in their first games is not that high. The difficulty is obviously higher now, and so you should seek out some blessings to help you.” 

He then turned to Lu Xin, “She’s a newcomer who doesn’t know the severity of heaven and earth, but shouldn’t  you know what kind of place this is? Don’t risk your life chasing after women.” 

His tone and words were filled with disgust towards this young man. 

Zhu Yang nonchalantly unwrapped the packaging on one of her products, waiting until Li Li had finished ranting before asking in a cool voice, “Oh, and what was your progress today?” 

Li Li choked, his momentum faltering slightly before he jumped back. With a vigorous voice, he proclaimed, “The landlord sat in the lobby the whole day, so we haven’t been able to look their rooms for the time being.” 

He hurriedly added, “But we’ve been actively searching for a way. We observed him all afternoon. All we need is his schedule, and as well as Miss Cui’s work schedule— which is very random—then we will be able to-” 

Zhu Yang interrupted him, “So, haven’t I just created an opportunity for you?” 

“Miss Cui went to the bathroom with her toiletry bag. One can infer that she’s about to head to work again. I just sent away the landlord. The place with the largest garbage bin is more than 200 meters away. The nearest dry cleaners is 2 streets away. Going from these 2 places will take at least half an hour. Plus, my clothing is expensive, so the dry cleaners would most definitely take their time with them.” 

“Mrs. Qiu gets off work at six. She’ll be picking up her son and buying groceries until 6:30. Highschoolers have self-study till at least 9 o’clock, which means that you two will have at least two hours. The master key is in the drawer of the counter. You guys spent the whole day groveling over such a simple task and yet you still dare to lecture us.” 

Zhu Yang sneered coldly, “No matter how much experience you have, it’s all about efficiency. I can finish the task that took you guys a whole day in 10 minutes, so why should you care about how I spend my extra time?” 

Li Li and Wang Bei’s mouths gaped open. After listening to her sarcastic remarks, they also realized that, fuck! This was the best time to act!

Wang Bei was the least afflicted. She has a quiet personality and doesn’t hold any independent opinions. Whoever sounds the most sensible, she’ll listen to them. 

However, Li Li relied on the fact that he was the eldest and had the most experience so being upstaged by this little girl made his expression become uglier. 

He paused for a moment, before rebutting, “There’s enough time for the others, but what if the landlord comes back early. What if he forgot something or what if the dry cleaners don’t take that long, then he may come back at any time-” 

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Yang raised up her phone screen. On it was a map with a small red dot moving. 

She smiled, “If you can think of them, how could I not have thought of them too? I threw in Lu Xin’s phone earlier. Even if he saw it, he’ll only think that Lu Xin had put it in there when he was carrying the bag. So I can see where he’s at at any time. If he comes back too soon, a phone call asking him to buy something nearby would be enough. As long as the service fee is enough, he’ll be happy to run any errands I can think of.” 

Li Li angrily clamped his mouth shut, before saying one last sentence, “Remember to do your task tomorrow.” Then he and Wang Bei left to the front desk to get the keys and start investigating. 

Zhu Yang had no expectations for the current investigation. Afterall, this was only the first day so the game won’t give them too many clues. 　　

Can this be a vacation since the game made them come seven days in advance?Although the storyline is in their minds, the events leading to the climax are slowly unfolding. 

Zhu Yng would prefer for events to happen on their own, so she determines it would be best to ignore the antics of certain fools. 

She laid against the soda, long legs resting on the coffee table as she asked Lu Xin to peel oranges for her to eat. 

To be honest, she found that this guy is pretty good at servicing people—doesn’t talk too much and is easy on the eyes. If all goes well, she might make him an attendant in the real world. 

Sure enough, after an hour, the two came out empty-handed and looking defeated. 

It didn’t take long for the landlord and Mrs. Qiu to return. The landlord handed the bill to Zhu Yang. 

Zhu Yang happily paid the money and added some more for his hard work. The landlord patted his chest and told her to find him if she had any more errands during her stay. 

For dinner, Li Li and the others wanted to order takeaway, but Zhu Yang refused, “Do you like this place that much? Won’t even leave it for a meal.” 

She then took her attendant with her to a nearby hotel to feast. 

Wang Bei saw that although Zhu Yang was a few years younger than her, she was brighter and cleverer. Compared to Li Li, her methods felt more confident and inspiring. 　

For a moment, she felt that the girl was right. This game was already terrible, but there was no need to not treat herself. Thus, she quickly followed after them 

Li Li couldn’t do anything. Seeing that the leader position was already held in the little girl’s hands—and afraid of being excluded—he quickly followed after them. After all, he wasn’t leader material in the real world either. 

Sure enough—as long as their expenses weren’t limited—the world of horror games turned out to  be very relaxing. 

After finishing their feast at the high end restaurant, the group sighed contently— grateful that they decided to go out to eat. 

In the real world, they were just ordinary working class people. How could they afford to spend a few thousand dollars on a single meal? That was enough for a family’s living expenses for a month or two. 

There was no need to restrain their spending money here. To be a bit more immoral, the whole house will die in seven days anyways. Even if they ate back at the house and owed the landlord credit, there would be no one left to collect the debt once the time limit is up. 

It was already past nine when the group finished their meal, and because the restaurant wasn’t far from where they lived, they decided to walk back to digest. 

Upon going through an alleyway, they saw a suspicious gang of people loitering about. 

Upon closer inspection, one of the suspicious persons was actually the highschool tenant of the house! 

However, the child did not seem to be in a very good situation right now. The other boys, who were wearing the same uniform as he was, were shoving hom sound. 

“You can rent a villa and still claim that you don’t have money? Don’t be so stingy ma. We’re all here, so how can you bear letting us go home empty handed?” 

Hm! Has bullying at school evolved into ‘demanding for money in front of your own house’ these days? 

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