Chapter 28

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Chapter 28: Title

Gu Feng took out his phone and placed it on the table, asking, "What do you need it for?"

[Gu Feng claims to be reluctant, but he still obediently takes out his phone. LOL]

[I notice Mr. Gu is listening to Sister Song more and more.]

[Gu Feng is the classic "tsundere" type—complains but complies. Haha!]

[If it were me, I’d also follow Sister Song’s arrangements obediently—who wouldn’t want to experience being carried to victory?]

Song Yutian watched Gu Feng take out his phone and said, "Open the account the program group created for us. Check our final earnings from yesterday."

"Why suddenly check this…" Gu Feng asked, then paused as realization struck. "You mean—"

Song Yutian nodded. "Mhm."

Gu Feng opened the payment app and read out the balance in his bank card, "One-three-six-zero-seven."

Song Yutian dialed the last five digits into the combination lock in this order, pressed it, but it didn’t open.

Gu Feng, who had been watching Song Yutian try the password, said, "Let me try."

Song Yutian moved her hand away, letting Gu Feng take over.

Gu Feng turned the box around and pressed the combination lock from different angles several times, but it still wouldn’t open.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Gu Feng also felt Song Yutian’s guess made sense. The program group had specifically fixed the first digit as zero, likely hinting that the password was their five-digit income from yesterday, which aligned with the "Yesterday Once More" clue previously given.

But after trying it, it still didn’t work.

Gu Feng frowned, lowered his head, and pondered where they’d gone wrong.

Song Yutian said, "Let me have a look."

Gu Feng was deep in thought when suddenly, he saw a slender, pale hand reach over and snatch his phone away.

He followed the retreating hand with his gaze, opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated and stopped.

Earlier, the two had each ordered a drink. Now, Song Yutian was sipping her juice while scrolling through his phone.

The woman lowered her gaze slightly. A disobedient strand of hair fell across her eyes, which she casually tucked behind her ear with practiced ease. Perhaps lost in thought, she lightly bit her straw, her parted lips glistening with moisture.

Sunlight spilled across her delicate profile, her lowered lashes casting faint shadows on her cheeks—the entire scene was tranquil and picturesque.

Gu Feng was suddenly struck by an illusion: as if this were some lazy weekend, and his girlfriend had sat down across from him, stealing his phone to playfully demand an impromptu "loyalty check."

Gu Feng had always disliked—no, loathed—the act of phone-checking in relationships. So when he realized he was imagining such a scenario, and worse, that his gut reaction wasn’t disgust but rather, "this wouldn’t be so bad," it shocked him to his core.

Song Yutian’s voice abruptly severed Gu Feng’s train of thought.

"Found it," Song Yutian said. "Gu Feng, try 14032."

The default lock screen password for the competition-issued phones was the same for everyone. Gu Feng hadn’t changed his, so Song Yutian easily unlocked it and quickly found the results she wanted.

Gu Feng snapped back to attention and adjusted the last two digits of the combination lock to the numbers Song Yutian had mentioned.

The lock made a "click" sound and opened.

"Just as I thought," Song Yutian said with a smile.

Gu Feng asked, "What is this?"

"Our total income from yesterday," Song Yutian replied. "That is, the net income you just reported, plus our expenses for lunch, buying water, and printing promotional posters at the print shop."

As she spoke, Song Yutian removed the lock and set it aside, then opened the box.

A retro-style Republic of China-era tea shop.

More than twenty minutes had passed since the competition began.

Song Yutian and Gu Feng were the first to leave, followed by Liu Tian’s group as the second to depart. After a while, Zhong Yueli and Shen Xi also went out. As a result, only Gong Yu and Wei Yao, along with Qin Yuanzhuo and Su Moying’s groups, remained in the tea shop.

Qin Yuanzhuo and Su Moying had started searching for clues early on, but even after a long time, they still hadn’t found any useful hints.

Initially, both were careful not to disturb the shop’s items, only observing the walls and furniture for hidden clues. But as they continued to come up empty-handed, while Su Moying remained gentle in her movements, Qin Yuanzhuo visibly grew impatient and started rummaging through drawers and cabinets more vigorously.

Eventually, the proprietress became anxious too and raised her voice, "Hey—young man, don’t touch that cupboard! If you mess it up, I’ll have to clean everything up!"

Qin Yuanzhuo hurriedly apologized, "I’m sorry, madam. I won’t check this cabinet then."

Seeing the young man’s decent attitude and handsome appearance, the proprietress softened her tone. "Never mind, but you’d better stay out of the kitchen. There’s nothing there."

Qin Yuanzhuo nodded and walked out.

Su Moying, who had been mostly silent, suddenly seemed to realize something and asked, "Sister proprietress, since there’s nothing in the kitchen, could you tell us where the clues are?"

Although the landlady was well-maintained, closer details revealed that she was approaching forty. Being called "older sister" repeatedly by an eighteen-year-old pretty girl clearly delighted her.

"Young girl, you’ve been searching so hard. Why did you only think to ask me now?" the landlady said with a smile.

Hearing this, Qin Yuanzhuo finally caught on and followed up, "Landlady, do you know what the clue is?"

The landlady smiled mysteriously. "I can’t tell you."

Qin Yuanzhuo’s expression visibly dropped, but he still said, "Alright, thank you, landlady."

Su Moying gave the landlady a sweet smile. "It’s okay, sister. We can keep looking ourselves. I’m sorry for messing up your place. After we find it, I’ll help you tidy up."

Qin Yuanzhuo glanced at Su Moying upon hearing this but said nothing.

The landlady laughed again at Su Moying’s words. "You’re so adorable and sensible. I really like you. No need to tidy up—I’ll handle it. Although I can’t tell you the clue, I can give you a hint."

The landlady beckoned Su Moying to lean in, then whispered a few words into her ear.

Su Moying’s eyes lit up after hearing this. "Great, thank you, sister!"

"No problem, no problem." The shop owner waved her hand. "You’re such a cute girl—helping you makes me happy too."

Originally, Su Moying’s group had searched for twenty minutes without finding anything, and the viewers were growing weary. Some non-fans had already switched to other sub-rooms to watch different teams. But seeing this scene, the remaining viewers finally perked up.

[As expected of Moying, winning over everyone—young and old, men and women!]

[The landlady was actually won over by Moying instead of Qin Yuanzhuo? Could the landlady be a sweet-girl enthusiast?!]

[Who wouldn’t like a cute and polite young girl!]

[Finally, some progress! Watching them search for so long was making me anxious.]

Inside the Beverage shop.

Song Yutian opened the box and found an envelope inside, which had "Mr. Gu and Miss Song" written in traditional characters on it.

Song Yutian took out the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out a slightly yellowed sheet of letter paper. The writing on the letter was done with a brush, arranged from right to left and top to bottom, exuding an air of antiquity.

"Mr. Gu, Miss Song." Song Yutian read the six characters in the upper right corner, glanced at Gu Feng, noted that he was listening, and continued reading.

"I heard that you have finally returned from your business trip out of town, and both I and several ladies were delighted by the news. This Monday, I’ve arranged a small gathering with two other ladies at our usual spot, and we happen to be one person short. We were wondering if Mr. Gu and Miss Song would be willing to join us? We look forward to welcoming you both."

After Song Yutian finished reading, she looked up at Gu Feng.

Gu Feng had been listening attentively. When she finished, he said, "Monday? Isn’t that today?"

"Yes. So the question now is—where does ‘our usual spot’ refer to?" Song Yutian summarized.

Gu Feng asked, "Is there anything else in the box?"

Song Yutian said, "Just this letter. You can take another look."

Gu Feng took the box, inspected it from every angle, shook it several times, and tapped around it, finally confirming that nothing else was inside and that there were no hidden compartments.

While Gu Feng was examining the box, Song Yutian also thoroughly checked the envelope and the letter paper, inside and out, but the result was the same—there was no hidden writing or additional notes.

After finishing the inspection, Song Yutian said, "It seems the only clue lies within the letter itself."

Gu Feng reached out his hand, "Let me see it."

Song Yutian passed him the letter.

Gu Feng read it slowly again, word by word. When he reached the end, Song Yutian suddenly said, "Don’t you think there are a few odd aspects to this letter?"

Gu Feng said, "For example… the lack of a sign-off?"

Song Yutian hummed in agreement, "Right. This might indicate that the sign-off isn’t important—meaning the writer’s identity isn’t a crucial clue."

Gu Feng pondered, "That would suggest we can temporarily rule out the possibility that ‘our usual spot’ refers to someone’s private residence… By the way, you said there were multiple strange aspects. What else?"

Song Yutian said, "There’s a part here that seems inconsistent… Bring it a bit closer."

Gu Feng moved the letter in his hand forward and rotated it slightly, allowing both of them to view the contents simultaneously despite sitting face-to-face.

"Here—" Song Yutian’s fingertip glided across the page, pausing at a particular line. "It first mentions that there happens to be one spot left, but later says ‘awaiting both of you.’ While not grammatically incorrect, it feels deliberate. If inviting both of us, why mention only one vacancy initially?"

"There happens to be one spot left…" Song Yutian murmured to herself, her brows furrowing in contemplation.

Song Yutian shifted her finger slightly and read the preceding text aloud, "…Mrs. Zhang and I, along with two other ladies—"

Song Yutian suddenly looked up, her eyes meeting Gu Feng’s at just the right moment.

Both saw the answer reflected in each other’s eyes.