Su Mo took Ye Qingyi’s room key but didn’t show up for their appointment because he had other matters to attend to. As a result, Ye Qingyi waited alone for a long time without any sign of him.
“Where did that guy run off to? He couldn’t have been drugged again, could he?” Ye Qingyi muttered to herself.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
She opened it to see a message from someone saved in her contacts as “Little Vixen”: “I’m waiting for you in the first-floor lobby.”
Ye Qingyi’s eyes lit up, and she hummed under her breath, “Couldn’t hold back anymore, huh?”
But then she grew suspicious. “That doesn’t make sense. If he really wanted to reveal his identity, he wouldn’t be waiting for me downstairs… Something must have happened. He needs my help!”
Without another word, Ye Qingyi immediately stood up and left.
In the lobby, a girl dressed in black, her face hidden by a mask, was waiting for her, legs crossed and a smile in her eyes.
Initially, Ye Qingyi had been teasing Su Mo in her mind for being unable to resist meeting and thus blowing his cover. But the moment she saw him, she was the one who almost lost her composure, nearly leaping into his arms.
“Hehe…” Ye Qingyi sat down beside Su Mo, her eyes overflowing with tenderness.
Su Mo, like an older sister, put an arm around Ye Qingyi’s shoulders and smiled affectionately. “Have you been getting into any trouble behind my back?”
“Of course not.”
Ye Qingyi rested her head on his shoulder, drawing puzzled glances from passersby.
“Isn’t that the minor celebrity Su Mo who was trending? How come he’s with another girl? He sure gets around.”
“Shh, keep your voice down. That’s just how these people are. Why else would they seek fame? But you have to admit, his taste is impressive. Even though you can’t see her face clearly, this one is obviously a beauty, even prettier than that Lin girl from before.”
Su Mo raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and pushed Ye Qingyi’s head away. “What ‘Lin girl’? You’d better explain yourself!”
Ye Qingyi was taken aback. *Shouldn’t you be the one who knows about this ‘Lin girl’? Why are you asking me?*
She lowered her head with a wronged expression, like a child caught misbehaving. “I only see her as a little sister.”
Su Mo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He grabbed her by the ear and led her outside. “You’re coming with me!”
He wasn’t using much force, but Ye Qingyi still winced in exaggerated pain.
Once they left the hotel, the two naturally fell into step, walking arm in arm, pressed close together.
“How did you get here? I didn’t hear any news about your arrival.” Ye Qingyi’s words carried a hidden meaning; she was actually asking if his direct exposure would arouse suspicion.
Su Mo puffed out his chest confidently. “Who do you think I am? I come and go as I please, swift as the wind. I leave behind only a trace of dust, taking not a single— Ow, ow, ow!”
“Speak properly!” Ye Qingyi pinched the soft flesh at his waist, putting on a fierce expression.
Su Mo cleared his throat and adopted a serious tone. “Don’t worry, your ‘little sister’ won’t find out. She’s currently… tied up at the moment.”
“Huh?” Ye Qingyi looked at him in disbelief. “You dared to kidnap my dear Lin sister…”
Su Mo opened his mouth, a smile threatening to break through. “Not only did I kidnap her, but I also mistreated her. It all depends on whether you—”
Su Mo.
Hearing this, Ye Qingyi felt relieved, but then she gave him a strange look. *We’re the original pair here, so why does this feel like some secret affair?*
Su Mo didn’t bother overthinking it. After all, they were one and the same—it didn’t matter.
As a certain philosopher once said: “To strictly hold oneself accountable for one’s own cuckolding is the mark of a true gentleman.”
As they walked, they arrived at that billiards hall. They exchanged a look, and Su Mo entered first. Ye Qingyi found a spot outside, pretending to wait for a car.
Billiards halls are usually busy in the evening, but in the late night, it’s less certain.
“Beautiful lady, playing alone?” The owner’s eyes lit up when he saw Su Mo, and he warmly greeted her.
Owners of places like this especially loved having beautiful women around. It wasn’t necessarily a personal preference, but mainly because beauties tended to attract more customers. So, if he could find a way to get this one to become a regular, he could make a killing.
Su Mo adopted an aloof demeanor and said coolly, “Get me a table. And find me a playing partner. No ugly ones, and no women.”
The owner was slightly taken aback but then smiled. “No problem, miss. Please wait a moment, I’ll find someone right away.”
Before long, the middle-aged man who had made eye contact with Su Mo during the day came out.
While he didn’t have the youth of a younger man, he carried the mature charm characteristic of middle-aged men, which could be quite compelling.
But none of that had any effect on Su Mo.
The man attempted to make conversation, and Su Mo was happy to play along.
They chatted about this and that, and Su Mo took the opportunity to observe his behavior. He noticed the man had a very peculiar little habit: sticking out his tongue.
This wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but it was somewhat odd coming from a middle-aged man.
However, that wasn’t Su Mo’s main focus. He noticed the man stuck his tongue out quite frequently, almost every thirty seconds.
That wasn’t even the main issue. More than once, he observed the man’s pupils turn into vertical slits, seemingly subconsciously, without any apparent stimulus.
Besides that, the man’s skin was very rough, and beneath his clothes, there seemed to be scale-like patterns.
Sticking out his tongue, vertical pupils, scales.
Su Mo immediately thought of a species—snake.
The probability of a snake cultivating into a spirit on its own is extremely small, almost impossible. Therefore, he suspected the other party was an invasive creature from another world, just very well hidden.
However, no one else here showed these signs, only him. For now, he could tentatively conclude that this man was the only otherworldly being in the establishment.
Su Mo didn’t act rashly. He couldn’t be sure if there were other beings like him elsewhere on Starfall Island. Furthermore, what if this guy was just a mutant or had some kind of superpower?
Meanwhile.
Outside the billiards hall.
Ye Qingyi stood by the roadside trying to hail a cab, but it seemed no car met her standards; she turned them all away.
One taxi driver couldn’t hold back as he drove off: “If you’re not getting in, why are you waving? If you were a beautiful lady, I might understand, but a grown man acting like this in the middle of the night? You’ve got some issues.”
Ye Qingyi’s hearing was excellent.
So her expression was… complicated.
When Su Mo came out, her lips were puckered in a pronounced pout, her face full of reluctance.
“What’s wrong with you?” Su Mo didn’t understand what could have happened to make her look so upset.
“It’s nothing.” Seeing he’d noticed her expression, Ye Qingyi’s sadness turned to joy. “So, tell me, what did you find out?”
Su Mo glanced around. “Here?”
Ye Qingyi blinked, her face suddenly flushing red. “Of course we should go back to the hotel…”
Su Mo’s lips curved into a slight smile. He pinched her cheek and gave it a gentle squeeze. “What would we do back at the hotel? Do you want to eat me?”
Ye Qingyi met his challenge without backing down, pinching his cheek in return with a provocative look. “You think I wouldn’t dare?”
Su Mo raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that!”
Arm in arm, the two of them left, disappearing into the night.
Shortly after they left, the man Su Mo suspected came to the entrance. He gazed into the distance at their retreating figures and murmured to himself, “This place is really quite nice.”