Seeing that everyone had woken up, the village secretary’s weathered old face instantly changed like a Sichuan opera mask, once again plastered with a plain, enthusiastic smile.
“Oh, teachers, you’re finally awake!”
The village secretary took a cheerful step forward, his loud voice breaking the wary atmosphere in the room. “You’ve all had a long journey over the mountains—must be exhausted, huh?”
“Ya’nan Village has crude conditions, but all of us—old and young—warmly welcome you teachers!”
Fang Ruiyang rubbed his still-throbbing temples and warily glanced at the village secretary, then at the gloomy-faced man beside him.
He forced down his doubts and spoke cautiously: “You’re too kind. Might I ask how long we’ve been asleep? And who is this?”
The man beside him stepped forward, cleared his throat, and spoke with a put-on air of authority: “I’m the principal of the village elementary school. My surname is Li. The village conditions aren’t good—sorry to put you all out.”
“To welcome your arrival, I’ve had my wife prepare a modest meal at home. Tonight, everyone come to my house to eat—consider it a welcome dinner.”
Inviting them to dinner?
A meal actively initiated by NPCs felt more like a trap.
But refusing was impossible.
Fang Ruiyang clearly understood this too. He squeezed out a decent smile and nodded in agreement: “Then we’ve put Principal Li to too much trouble. We’ll be there on time tonight.”
“Wait!”
Just as the surface atmosphere was growing particularly harmonious, a sharp question rang out.
Lü Jia suddenly shot up from the floor bed, his gaze displeased as he looked at the village secretary, his finger pointing at the luggage in the corner.
“Secretary, where’s my suitcase?!”
Lü Jia pressed. “When I came, I brought two suitcases. Why is one missing now?”
The moment those words came out, the air in the room instantly pulled taut.
Fang Ruiyang’s expression shifted slightly. He immediately reached out to pull Lü Jia’s arm, whispering a rebuke: “Lü Jia, calm down.”
Lü Jia, like a rash male university student, glared at the village secretary, looking as if he wouldn’t rest until he got an answer.
Xu Jixing and Lin Wen also immediately turned to check their own luggage, and the latter’s expression turned ugly as well.
Shen Ning sat on the bed without speaking, her gaze also locked on the village secretary.
Facing everyone’s stares, the village secretary showed no sign of panic.
“Aiyo, teacher, don’t be in such a hurry—calm down, calm down.”
The village secretary sighed, putting on an innocent, considerate look, his hands waving in front of his chest. “You’re all educated people from the city—delicate and precious. That mountain road into the village is so hard to walk. I saw you were all exhausted in the car.”
“When we were climbing the mountain and you really couldn’t go on, I took it upon myself to find a few strong young villagers to carry your suitcases over for you.”
Here, the village secretary paused.
His gaze passed over the furious Lü Jia, over Fang Ruiyang who was trying to smooth things over, and landed on Fu Songcheng and Shen Ning sitting on the single beds.
He stared at “Zhang Xinci”‘s pale, delicate, fear-stricken face, looking deeply for a few moments.
“The mountain road is hard to walk—the villagers are a bit slow. They’ll bring them to you shortly.”
The village secretary withdrew his gaze and looked back at Lü Jia, his tone growing very assured. “Don’t worry, everyone. The suitcases will be delivered back to you soon.”
The players in the room were no fools—clearly few of them believed the NPC’s explanation.
Lü Jia sneered and was about to explode, but Fang Ruiyang firmly pressed down on his shoulder.
Fang Ruiyang dug his fingers hard into Lü Jia, giving him a stern warning with his eyes not to act rashly.
He turned his head, took a deep breath, and plastered on a courteous smile, looking at the village secretary and the principal.
“So that’s how it is. Then we’re very grateful for the village chief’s and the villagers’ help.”
Fang Ruiyang took the offered out, his tone earnest and flawless. “We’ve only just arrived and we really are a bit tired. The room hasn’t been tidied yet either. Since we’ll be troubling the principal at his home tonight anyway, how about you two head back first?”
” We’ll give the dormitory a quick tidy-up, sort our things, and change into clean clothes before heading over.”
Pleasant on the surface, but bold in action—he’d actually given the NPCs a dismissal order.
Principal Li Guoping eyed Fang Ruiyang coldly, let out a cold snort, and turned to walk out with his hands behind his back: “Fine, then. Tidy up well. The road’s bad—don’t go wandering around. Remember to come on time tonight.”
The village secretary also nodded and bowed with a cheerful smile: “Yes, yes, yes. Teachers, rest first, rest first. We won’t disturb you.”
The two turned and left.
Fu Songcheng sat on the bed, his brows and eyes lowered the entire time, his lips slightly pressed together, not saying a single word.
From the moment he woke until now, he had perfectly played the part of a timid female university student who had just arrived in a new environment and was too frightened by her companion’s rage and the NPCs to make a sound.
He even deliberately made his breathing slightly rapid, like a frightened bird ready to flee at any moment.
Creak—bang.
As the worn wooden door closed once more, completely shutting the village secretary and principal’s retreating figures outside.
The instant the door shut, all the courtesy, pretense, and amiability in the room vanished like a balloon punctured by a needle.
“Fuck! To hell with their ‘villagers helping carry’!”
Lü Jia kicked the rickety wooden table beside him—the one missing a leg—making it creak under the strain. “That old bastard is definitely lying! The missing suitcases were so light—how could they be left behind?”
“Calm down.”
Fang Ruiyang furrowed his brow. He deliberately lowered his voice, clearly subconsciously treating himself as the leader among the players. “It’s the first day in the instance, the plot hasn’t fully unfolded yet. Don’t trigger a death condition with your temper.”
Lü Jia irritably scratched his hair and reluctantly complied.
“My suitcase is missing too.”
Just then, Shen Ning suddenly spoke up.
Her voice was a little tight and hollow. “The one with clothes and daily necessities.”
All eyes instantly converged on Fu Songcheng.
Fu Songcheng gave just the right flinch: “M…mine’s missing too.”
As he spoke, the rims of his eyes reddened, as if he might burst into tears the next second.
Lü Jia was already irritated, and hearing a woman’s tearful tone made him even more explosive: “What are you crying for! Will crying bring the suitcase back? What rotten luck, how did we get matched with a useless newbie like this?”
Fang Ruiyang shot Lü Jia a glare, then turned to Fu Songcheng and Shen Ning, softening his tone as much as possible: “Don’t be scared yet. Since the NPC said they’re inviting us to the principal’s house for dinner tonight, that’s an extremely important intel-gathering opportunity. We’ll go probe the situation and see if we can get our things back while we’re at it.”
“That’s right.” Xu Jixing, who hadn’t spoken until now, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. “At tonight’s dinner, everyone be sharp. Try to eat as little as possible—or not at all—of whatever they offer.”
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