Tang Xin fell into complete silence.
She was already imagining how she’d explain herself when sitting in the Black Room later, confessing her crimes.
Isn’t this just encouraging someone to do something drastic?
But the response from the other side of the screen was completely beyond her expectations.
The girl, who had just twice said she wanted to leave, immediately changed her words, and even through the screen, Tang Xin could sense her gentleness:
[Please don’t think like that, there’s nothing you can’t get through. Think more about the family who loves you—they wouldn’t want to see you like this…]
“???” Tang Xin’s head was full of question marks. She never imagined things would turn out this way.
Now, it was as if their roles had been reversed—Pei Xingyan had become the one being comforted…
“On the surface, she looks quiet and well-behaved, which means she was brought up well, at least very strictly; she wants to leave, but only dares to say it to strangers online, which means she doesn’t want the people around her to worry,” Pei Xingyan shrugged, coming to a conclusion. “Do you know what this means? It means she’s at least a very kind girl. A kind girl can’t just stand by and watch someone else do something foolish, even if she herself is under so much pressure she’s about to explode.
For a girl like this, the most effective way is to use her strong sense of morality and guilt.”
He stopped talking and quickly lowered his head to type a few words:
[My family… they’re all gone…]
The girl was clearly flustered, replying at lightning speed and completely changing her previous words: [Please don’t misunderstand! When I said I wanted to leave, I just meant I wanted to see another city, that’s all! Please don’t overthink it! It’s not what you think!]
Pei Xingyan curled his lips into a smile, like a hunter watching his prey take the bait. “See, isn’t the situation completely reversed now?”
He typed a few more words:
[Going to see another city… that sounds nice.]
The girl replied again: [Yes, yes, it’s really nice!]
Pei Xingyan: [But I don’t have any money…]
The girl: [Then-then-then I can lend you some!]
Pei Xingyan: [That’s not necessary. Why don’t you tell me about the nice places you’ve been to instead?]
The girl: [Okay, okay, no problem!]
The tables had completely turned. The girl on the other side of the screen seemed to have completely forgotten she was the one seeking help. Now she was excitedly telling stories about all the wonderful places she’d visited.
From majestic mountains and rivers to which mall had the best milk tea and exclusive collaborations, she poured her heart out, as if terrified that Pei Xingyan might lose patience and do something foolish.
“Oh my god, if you used this skill to trick little girls, I can’t even imagine how much trouble you’d cause!” Tang Xin watched the girl’s rapid transformation, pressing her hand to her chest in lingering fear.
She’d already put some distance between herself and Pei Xingyan, worried she might be the next girl to fall under his spell.
“Only a silly girl like the one we’re talking to would fall for this,” Pei Xingyan laughed helplessly. “Only a greenhouse flower who’s never seen the darkness of society would be fooled like this. Girls as pure as white paper are always the easiest targets for scumbags, you know?”
Tang Xin nodded, half-understanding, and found a new question. “But I still don’t really get it… why did you ask her to tell those stories?”
“I just wanted her to recall some of her happy times. Actually, when comforting someone in pain, it’s fine to talk about beautiful things, but nothing anyone else says can compare to what she herself remembers.” Pei Xingyan pointed at the screen. “See, after talking for so long, her tone is already a bit cheerful, isn’t it?”
“Terrifying…”
Tang Xin sucked in a breath, quietly inching even farther away from him. She marveled that she’d found the right technical expert, but also worried—if Pei Xingyan ever turned his tricks on her, what would she do?
She might end up happily helping him count Money after being sold off!
Being tricked out of something else wasn’t so scary, but what if he was ruthless and managed to scam away all her savings?
While Tang Xin’s thoughts were running wild, Pei Xingyan turned his attention back to his phone. The girl had nearly run out of stories about her happy life, but her mood had clearly improved a lot. Encouraging her to recall her own good memories had been very effective—she’d temporarily tossed her extreme thoughts to the back of her mind.
In the end, she hurriedly sent one last message: [I’ll tell you more next time, I have to go practice piano now~~] and then there were no more updates.
It didn’t feel like she’d spent a lot of Money on psychological counseling—more like she’d just been chatting with a friend.
“So… that’s it?” Tang Xin finally leaned in, staring at the phone in disbelief.
“It’s just getting started.” Pei Xingyan took a deep breath and stood up. “The root of the problem hasn’t been solved. I just got her to recall some good memories to temporarily offset her troubles. The pressure is only suppressed for now, not gone. If she faces another round of overwhelming stress, that’ll be a real problem.”
“Huh? Then isn’t what you just did counterproductive?” Tang Xin began to worry. “She’s only paid the deposit—what about the rest of the Money?”
“After this… I’ll have to take the initiative…” Pei Xingyan slumped onto a bench by the roadside, looking into the distance and sighing.
He was making his final decision.
From what he knew about girls from good families, the pressure this girl was under was definitely no small matter. This wasn’t a simple or easy task.
He didn’t know if he should keep going.
But if he succeeded, he’d get seventy thousand… Right now, he desperately needed Money. What else could get him so much, so fast, with no barriers to entry?
“Sigh~” he let out a quiet sigh.
At the same time as his sigh, a message notification sounded on his phone. He looked down—it was from the contact he’d marked as special.
[Xiao Yezi: Xingyan-gege, I think I found some news about the person you asked about last time~]
His breath stopped for a moment.
[Xiao Yezi: But the detective I found seems to be asking for a lot… The price is really high…]
[Xiao Yezi: If you’re a little tight on Money right now, I can pay for you first.]
Xiao Yezi’s messages stopped there, as if she was deliberately waiting for his reply.
Her words were so gentle, full of understanding, but the pressure on Pei Xingyan shot to its peak in an instant.
Without any extra thought, he quickly typed out a refusal:
[No need, I just found a good job recently, so you don’t have to trouble yourself.]
His phone was silent for a long time, with no new notifications.
Only several minutes later did a faint [Really?] appear, and after that, Xiao Yezi didn’t say another word.
Pei Xingyan didn’t dare imagine what the girl on the other side of the phone was thinking or feeling. All he knew was, no matter how troublesome things got, nothing would ever be more difficult than the suggestion he’d just encountered.
On the other end of the phone was a girl whose gravity was like a black hole.