Chapter 552: Shielding the Bullet

I heard him shout, "Stop."

That voice was indeed Qi Xia. A person as clever as Qi Xia would never waste effort on something pointless; his goal wasn't to halt me, but to alert everyone in Tian Tang Kou to the sense of intrusion. In his view, as long as he spread the feeling of danger from an intruder throughout Tian Tang Kou, capturing me would be easy. But he miscalculated. Without enough "information," he couldn't make the best judgment. I wasn't an "intruder"; I was the sole king of Tian Tang Kou at that moment.

That night, I successfully escaped and didn't go to see Chu Tianqiu again. I felt things were getting strange—was it possible that Chu Tianqiu was manipulating me? He didn't actually need to know about the "aura" on those people; what he wanted was to undermine Qi Xia's sense of security and subtly stir up a conflict. And once again, I had become the "gun." I had thought Qi Xia was about as I expected—he was hard to control, but he could navigate through various games with ease. But what I hadn't anticipated was how quickly the twist would come.

At the next day's "welcome meeting," Qi Xia figured out my identity with just one conversation. His gaze was terrifying, as if it pierced straight through my body to my soul. The moment he said the words "Miss Xu Liunian, as an actress," my facade crumbled, revealing my true self. Fortunately, I had mastered my "hui xiang" well, and in just a few seconds, I transformed back into Chu Tianqiu. In those few seconds, no one should have seen me, but I was still scared. This man named Qi Xia was far beyond my reach; any disguise was useless against him.

"I want to talk to the real Chu Tianqiu. You can't handle what's next."

When he said that coldly, I felt a chill run through my entire body.

"Qi Xia, don't cause trouble. I can't expose my identity here."

At that moment, my mind went completely blank.

"You helped me before, so I'm not making things hard for you. Just let me see Chu Tianqiu."

I... helped him? Qi Xia's words shocked me. What had I done to help him? Had he already realized I had taken on the appearance of Yu Nian'an and stood before him? No... that was impossible. No matter how capable he was, even if he retained all memories from last time, he was still just a mortal. He couldn't have such clear consciousness in his dying moments. So, the "help" he meant was probably just me bringing him to the city edge.

Hearing that, I felt a bit relieved. No matter who I was dealing with, my only advantage was having more information. Upon hearing Qi Xia's words, I decided to play along. The more he wanted to see Chu Tianqiu, the more I would tease him with uncertainty.

"No!" I lowered my voice and said, "You should know his 'memories' are the key to escaping here. He hasn't lost his memory for two whole years! Doing this would put him in grave danger!"

See, you thought I was just taking the bullets while Chu Tianqiu schemed in the shadows. Little did you know, it was all a lie I made up on the spot. Go ahead and keep misunderstanding—Chu Tianqiu used me, pushed me into the spotlight, and hid himself away. How could someone like that deserve to be a leader?

I deliberately showed a hint of grievance and said to Qi Xia, "Qi Xia, you really can't see him. If you have any plans, I can relay them for you."

That was exactly what a proper "puppet" should say. I wonder if Chu Tianqiu realized I had outmaneuvered him here?

"Very well..." Qi Xia thought for a moment and said to me, "Just ask him one question for me."

"What question?"

"Ask Chu Tianqiu, 'How long have you been here?'"

Hearing that question, I was clearly stunned. Why was that? Why, after racking my brains, could I still not figure out what this man in front of me was thinking? At that moment, he could have shared his plans with me or asked something crucial, but he chose this one.

How long have you been here?

Where was "here"? The school, Tian Tang Kou, or the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di"?

"If Chu Tianqiu answers wrong this time, I'll make sure he's completely out."

After saying that, Qi Xia turned and left, but my heart was in turmoil. Although I was forced into their game, I couldn't decipher this question.

After thinking it over, I still went to the basement, but I had no idea how to bring it up.

"He has a question... he wants to ask you," I said.

"Let me guess..." Chu Tianqiu interrupted me first. "It wouldn't be... asking how long I've been here, would it?"

When I heard Chu Tianqiu's words, I knew I had lost the moment I joined this game. Those two could pass information through me directly, but I had no clue what they were saying. This kind of human game didn't even need encoding; I was thoroughly just a puppet.

"That's right," I said quietly.

"How interesting... Qi Xia, that's more like it..."

What could I do right now to get back into this game? After thinking for a bit, I said, "It's all my fault... I didn't expect Qi Xia to see through the flaw."

For now, I was on the same side as Chu Tianqiu, so I could afford to admit a weakness.

"It's not your fault. Even if we could fool everyone else, we couldn't fool Qi Xia. He was bound to find out eventually; it just happened earlier than I expected."

Hearing that, I fell silent again. So, Chu Tianqiu had known from the start that Qi Xia would discover my disguise. What was his purpose in all this? I had thought I wasn't the "bullet taker," and that was just a lie I threw out. But now, it seemed I was being ridiculous—like the "taxicab driver," my lie had once again become reality. Chu Tianqiu had been using me as a shield all along.

"So, how are you going to answer this question...?" I asked almost despondently. "He said if you answer wrong, he'll make sure you're completely 'out.'"

I didn't even know what game he and Qi Xia were playing, or how it would end.

Chu Tianqiu didn't answer directly; instead, he asked me a few questions in a row. I only remember him asking, "Has Lin Geng joined Tian Tang Kou?"

After I nodded, he actually suggested meeting Lin Geng.

"But... she's from the 'Ji Dao'..." My voice had a hint of panic, because I was hiding a key detail. She wasn't just from the Ji Dao; she had colluded with "Qing Long" and appeared in Qi Xia's interview room. There was something very off about her.