After Becoming a Cannon Fodder, I Fell into a Love-Hate Relationship with the Heroine (GL) - Chapter 5

From the way Haowei looked, he truly seemed unaware of everything.

It wasn’t until Lu Yue showed him the photo as proof that he finally accepted the reality.

“You’re saying she disappeared for half a month, and then suddenly she’s just…” He could not finish the sentence. His emotions broke down, and he began to cry uncontrollably.

Huo Xi handed him tissues and gently comforted him. “You can tell me. What really happened?”

Lu Yue made a subtle gesture and left the room to look around, leaving the conversation to Huo Xi.

After Haowei calmed down a little, he finally began to explain what had happened.

His version of events was very different from what Hua Qiao had shared. According to him, their relationship was good.

They had been together for over a year, and Haowei said he had given her everything. But Hua Qiao seemed to have other men outside. She often went out, always with a different excuse, and each time she was with someone different.

“She always came up with new reasons. Maybe this time she got involved with someone who…” He stopped talking. His sadness was mixed with bitterness and something darker.

Haowei said he had never found solid proof that Hua Qiao had betrayed him. He still had feelings for her and could not bring himself to end things.

The sofa beside him suddenly dipped as if someone had sat down. Hua Qiao was there, smiling softly as she gently patted Haowei’s back. Her expression looked forced, as if she were holding back pain.

“I think I understand now,” Huo Xi said, trying to stay serious as she jotted things down like Lu Yue would have done. But her eyes kept glancing at Hua Qiao. She could not look away.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Hua Qiao whispered, placing her hands lightly around Haowei’s neck.

Her actions left Huo Xi confused. Just moments ago, Hua Qiao had been full of hatred, and now she was apologizing. Two versions of the truth. Which one was real?

Lu Yue finished checking the apartment and pushed the door open. The moment she stepped in, she saw everything. Her eyes met Hua Qiao’s.

Hua Qiao slowly stood up. “Can you take me away? I want to move on and be reborn.”

“Please select the correct answer to the mission prompt. Correct answers will earn points. Wrong answers will result in a deduction.”

“Who is the killer: Haowei or someone else?”

The options appeared in front of Huo Xi. She frowned and thought carefully. In most novels, the killer is someone close to the victim. But Hua Qiao had few personal connections, and the people she knew were hardly relevant.

Right now, Haowei seemed less likely to be the killer, so the second option was probably correct.

“Congratulations. You answered correctly. Main mission ‘Moonlight Accompanied by Song: Chapter One’ completed. You have earned 100 horror points.”

Huo Xi was surprised. Her uncertain guess had turned out to be right.

But the mission wasn’t over yet. Clearly, the real killer still needed to be found.

From what she remembered, this story came from a long novel. The book itself was thick and heavy, so reaching the ending would not happen any time soon.

That thought crushed her spirit. Every minute here was a struggle. She didn’t want to live in this terrifying world, constantly investigating, always thinking.

By the time she came back to herself, she and Lu Yue were standing at the end of the hallway.

Hua Qiao stood in front of them with her head lowered. “It’s fine if he doesn’t want to admit the truth. I just want him to live well. I’ve been wronged, I’ve been angry, but it’s time to let go.”

“So it was just because he didn’t support your dream? That was why you were filled with hate?” Lu Yue asked softly.

Hua Qiao smiled faintly. “It was because I loved him too much. That kind of love made it hard to breathe.”

She took the knife from Lu Yue’s hand. Then, closing her eyes, she plunged it into herself.

The blade clattered to the floor. Hua Qiao’s spirit scattered into nothing.

Only Huo Xi and Lu Yue were left standing at the corner, feeling a quiet sorrow.

“Let’s go. It’s over,” Lu Yue said gently. She picked up the knife and began walking toward the stairs.

Huo Xi caught up to her. “Aren’t we going to find out who the real killer is?”

All she wanted was to uncover the truth, so she could finish the mission and return home.

Lu Yue paused. Her eyes looked dull and tired. “There’s no truth here. Only stories people leave behind.”

The mood on the way back was heavy. Lu Yue drove in silence.

Huo Xi looked at her several times, wanting to say something to break the tension but not daring to speak.

They parked by the side of the road. The street lights sparkled in the night, and the area across the street looked lively and full of life.

There were elegant Western restaurants everywhere.

Lu Yue shut the car door with a firm motion. “Come on. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Since becoming a spirit, Huo Xi had lost her appetite. She hadn’t eaten anything in two days, yet the hunger still lingered.

The rich smell of steak filled the restaurant. It drifted into her nose and stirred her empty stomach, but also made her feel sick.

Unable to hold it in, she ran out of the restaurant and hid in the corner by the wall.

She took a few deep breaths of fresh air and began to feel a little better.

When she looked up, Lu Yue was standing in front of her. “I forgot. You can’t eat this kind of food.”

Spirits didn’t need to eat. The smell of food even made them feel nauseous.

Lu Yue gently patted Huo Xi’s back, trying to comfort her.

“Is that really the end of Hua Qiao’s case?” Huo Xi asked. She wasn’t worried about herself. What she cared about was how the case would be resolved.

“This won’t end so easily,” Lu Yue said, her expression darkening again.

“Limited time offer. For 30 horror points, unlock an exclusive scene from the female lead’s tragic childhood.”

Huo Xi had expected this.

She had already figured out how the system worked. Every time she earned a reward, it would find a way to take it back.

And now it was offering a critical piece of information. She had no choice but to pay for it.

Lu Yue had experienced that moment in her childhood already. She had seen it with her own eyes.

Her mother’s remains were scattered across the entire room.

This became the shadow that haunted Lu Yue’s childhood and stayed with her as she grew up. After more than a decade, she had never expected to face something like it again. To her, it felt like a direct challenge.

“So you went through all of that,” Huo Xi murmured to herself. No wonder Lu Yue had such incredible endurance.

Lu Yue’s pupils narrowed, and the small smile that had been on her lips vanished. “How do you know about that?”

She had never told anyone, not even Jiang Sifan.

“How do you know about this?” Lu Yue repeated, this time with a sharper tone.

Instinctively, Huo Xi took a step back and lowered her head, not daring to answer.

After a long silence, Lu Yue realized she had let her emotions get the better of her. She calmed down and placed her hands firmly on Huo Xi’s shoulders.

“Who told you? I won’t blame you, but I need you to tell me the truth.”

Huo Xi’s eyes flickered, and she quickly glanced at Lu Yue’s chest. Then she pointed to it.

“I saw it… from right here,” she said softly.

Her voice was quiet, and her body remained still. She was terrified that Lu Yue would get angry and tear her apart on the spot.

To her surprise, Lu Yue believed the lie. She frowned and asked, “You have that kind of ability?”

“Of course I do,” Huo Xi cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’ve got lots of functions.”

She spoke the boldest words with the weakest confidence and tilted her chin to appear more convincing.

Lu Yue was starting to get hungry. She left Huo Xi waiting at the door while she went into the restaurant to quickly grab something to eat.

Huo Xi sat down on the edge of a planter outside the entrance. Resting her chin on her hand, she wondered what direction her life was headed in.

Then a pair of white shoes appeared in her view and stopped in front of her.

When she looked up, she saw a little girl.

The girl wore a floral dress and had her hair in two pigtails. She smiled sweetly at Huo Xi.

Something about that smile made Huo Xi feel uneasy.

The girl stood in the middle of the street, but people walking by didn’t seem to notice her at all. They passed by as if she didn’t exist.

“Sister, you look just like me,” the girl said in a soft, childlike voice.

So she’s a spirit too, Huo Xi thought. She gave a half-hearted smile and quickly turned her head away.

She didn’t want to talk to her. Interacting might just bring trouble.

The girl moved closer when she saw Huo Xi ignoring her.

“Whose spirit are you connected to, sister?”

She lifted her wrist and showed a bracelet identical to the one Huo Xi wore.

This girl wasn’t just any spirit. She was bound to a human, just like Huo Xi. Her presence here meant her master was nearby.

“She’s mine,” said a voice from behind.

Lu Yue had returned and was looking down at the girl.

“Are you working with Song Yuan?”

The two of them seemed to know each other. The girl smiled, flashing her small, sharp canines.

“I gave you a chance before. You didn’t take it. Now it belongs to Song Yuan.”

Lu Yue didn’t take her seriously. She took Huo Xi by the arm and walked away, leaving the girl behind to disappear into the crowd.

Back in the car, Huo Xi couldn’t stop thinking about the girl. She could sense there was a history between Lu Yue and them.

“Who is Song Yuan? Why would she be connected to a little girl like that?”

Lu Yue didn’t answer right away. After a few traffic lights, she finally let out a sigh.

“That’s not a little girl.”

Like Lu Yue, Song Yuan had the rare ability to interact with spirits. They could be considered peers in that regard. The difference was that Song Yuan didn’t work as actively as Lu Yue and was rarely seen.

The spirit she was bound to had trained for over a hundred years and was skilled in deception. The little girl form was just a disguise, more than enough to manipulate someone like Huo Xi.

“You need to be careful. Stay away from them. There are plenty of people out there who would love to see you dead,” Lu Yue warned.

Huo Xi’s existence as a semi-formed spirit broke the natural order. Rumors about her had spread, drawing out people who usually stayed hidden.

There was no need to guess who started it. It was obviously Jiang Sifan. His job was to eliminate every spirit in the world. If he could do that using someone else’s hands, even better.

As they left the crowded area, the roads became quieter, and traffic started to thin out.

Lu Yue had been thinking nonstop about the case, and the lack of sleep had taken its toll. Her vision blurred slightly.

Suddenly, the sound of screeching brakes rang out behind them, followed by a loud crash.

The impact sent their car skidding forward for hundreds of meters. The crash jolted Lu Yue awake.

She quickly looked into the rearview mirror. Smoke was rising from the hood of the car behind them, which was now completely stalled.

Without hesitation, Lu Yue blamed herself. She thought she must have dozed off and caused the accident.

She pulled over and was about to get out of the car when Huo Xi suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Something’s wrong with that driver.”