The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 17

“Why are there so many people…” Yao Yuan covered her heart and peeked out, immediately struck by social anxiety. She and Xing Kong were standing in an alley next to the quick-service hotel, slightly hidden from passersby.

The hotel where the murder occurred was still operating normally, with quite a few people coming and going.

Some people moved very slowly, frequently looking up as if waiting for someone. After observing for a while, one could spot five or six people constantly circling and staking out the vicinity—could they be plainclothes officers?

“You just want to go inside and look?”

“Yes, hey, don’t pull, don’t pull me!” Xing Kong hooked her arm and swaggered out of the alley into the hotel. They took the stairs directly to the second floor and stopped in front of one of the doors.

There was no police tape on the door. Yao Yuan wondered if a white human outline would be visible if they opened it.

Yao Yuan stood frozen in front of the guest room: “We’re just going in?” Xing Kong grabbed the doorknob, and the door opened with a click.

A pair of eyes glared over, flashing with a strange light.

“Yikes! Yikes! Yikes! Yikes!”

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”

The person standing inside and Yao Yuan screamed at each other, face to face. Xing Kong reacted the fastest, pulling Yao Yuan inside and quickly locking the door. A ripple of sound protection spread out, confining the noise to the room.

The boy holding a skateboard yanked off his fluorescent-colored earphone: “Why are you two here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing! This is a murder scene!” Yao Yuan wasn’t backing down: “The hotel definitely wouldn’t give you a room card. How did you get in?”

“You guys are the same! Tsk, let’s not waste time, how about a truce?” The boy scratched his bright orange hair: “To be honest, I just shoot weird short videos.”

To prove himself, he flipped open his phone and showed the account page. The account, named [Flying Great Orange], had over ten thousand followers.

He waved the skateboard in his hand: “After filming here, I still have to go film skateboarding in a cornfield.”

This person was inexplicably odd, with eyes that reflected light and bright orange hair… Yao Yuan didn’t want to get tangled up anymore: “We’re also filming short videos. Xing Kong is my camerawoman.”

Xing Kong, under the boy’s bewildered gaze, took out her camera and started recording the room.

The room seemed to be maintained in the same condition as the day of the incident, with large bloodstains on the sheets and bedding. There was no white outline on the floor, and the carpet and floor were very clean.

Yao Yuan avoided touching the furniture and walked over to the window: “Why is the window open?”

“I opened it for ventilation,” the boy’s voice was a little hoarse.

Could she really be dead? Perhaps the person who committed the second crime wasn’t the girl; the scene of her dissolving into foam wasn’t long ago.

Looking down from the window, she could just see someone walking towards the hotel entrance: that dazzling blonde hair was very distinctive.

An indescribable sense of tension blossomed in Yao Yuan’s heart. She turned back to search places she could touch, even opening the bathroom to check carefully.

No, no, no… There was no remaining body, no heart-stopping foam. Even if that girl was still alive, she wouldn’t leave many clues proving it.

[Once you’ve seen everything, set your mind at ease and leave.]

Yao Yuan looked at her clean palms, seemingly seeing flowing bloodstains. She held her breath and opened the last unexamined place: the wardrobe.

A burst of white mist rushed out.

“Will you do me a favor, and I’ll help you too.”

Who was speaking? Yao Yuan couldn’t see anything in the vast, misty expanse.

“Are you sure you want to see me?”

I’m sure. Wait, why can’t my mouth speak?

Then, a blurred figure penetrated the fog, and the purple clothing brought a memory to life.

“I knew you’d be scared. Don’t worry.” The purple-skirt girl lifted her skirt: “Me, I am…”

[Static—]

What are you saying? I can’t hear you.

[Static—]

[Static—]

Don’t hurt me!!!

A deep red beam of light struck the white mist from directly above. A sharp blade followed closely, grazing past Yao Yuan’s cheek and cutting off a lock of hair.

The purple-clad girl did not raise the axe in her hand, instead collapsing into the void with a hearty laugh: “You all know, don’t you? This won’t kill me.”

[Could you not hear me just now?]

The girl’s clear voice echoed in Yao Yuan’s heart: [We’ll talk about the favor later. You need to look back first—]

Yao Yuan didn’t know why she would trust an enemy, but she did turn her head at that moment: a flash of red light hit Xing Kong’s waist, shattering instantly.

Is this… a marker the girl deliberately showed me?

She had too many questions, but the next second, she was suddenly wrapped in a soft layer of vapor and thrown outward.

“Ah—” She only managed a scream. A mass of light red bubbles entangled and covered the boy and Xing Kong, while Yao Yuan was violently thrown out the window, her shoulder instantly shattering the glass.

The strange people guarding below and the blonde woman heading towards the hotel simultaneously looked up. Everyone noticed the screaming girl falling.

The blonde woman violently ripped apart the bracelet on her wrist, and her tattoo burst into a golden light. The distance to Yao Yuan rapidly closed; she only needed to reach out to catch the falling girl.

The outstretched hand was suddenly met with nothing. The sky was suddenly obscured by a shadow, and a crimson light forced the blonde woman to look away. When she looked back, everything had returned to normal.

There was no falling girl, and no… those pitch-black wingspan.

Ding-a-ling-ling, the sound of a wind chime.

“…” Yao Yuan abruptly opened her eyes, first seeing a ceiling painted sky blue.

“Here, try this.” Xing Kong was feeding her something on a skewer.

She opened her mouth and bit the piece of meat on the skewer, chewing carefully. It tasted like fried chicken dipped in a layer of ice cream? Strange yet delicious.

The boy’s voice sounded from beside her: “You guys are having a good time. Never mind, this one’s on me.”

He was still wearing the odd fluorescent earphones, but this time he also had an apron on, and his hands were shaking a cup of milk tea.

An empty glass cup filled with pearls was placed in front of the orange-haired boy. He poured hot milk tea into it with the posture of a bartender and pushed the cup towards Yao Yuan: “Drink something sweet to calm your nerves.”

“Thank you.” Yao Yuan took a sip of milk tea: “Are you also investigating the purple-clad girl?”

“Exactly. Since we’re colleagues, I won’t hide it from you.” The orange-haired boy took off the apron and walked out: “Let’s get acquainted. You can call me Great Orange.”

“Using a screen name? Then you can call me Moonstone, and call her Xing Kong.” Yao Yuan reached out and shook his hand.

Great Orange stepped back and leaned against the counter: “This is my shop, there’s nothing we can’t talk about. Where did you learn your technique?”

“No, I’m just an ordinary person.” Yao Yuan quickly waved her hands. Are you kidding me? What if this guy counts her as a fighting force and invites her to fight monsters?

“Come on, you can summon such a powerful familiar/servant, how could you be ordinary.”

“Familiar? Are you talking about Xing Kong?” Yao Yuan pointed a finger backwards in disbelief.

“Otherwise?” The boy was very confused.

“Hmph~” Her smile suddenly brightened: “You’re right~” The devil held the cup and didn’t speak, seeming to acquiesce. Yao Yuan couldn’t help but curve her lips: “Then what did you study?”

“Ahem, I’m just an ordinary cultivator.” Great Orange lightly cleared his throat: “Look, I have to film short videos while finding time to sell fried chicken and milk tea.”

A gust of wind blew, and the wind chime jingled. There was only one “guest” in the milk tea shop.

“How much did you lose opening this milk tea shop?”

“The storefront is mine.”

“Then never mind.”

“Don’t change the subject. Can I hand over the investigation of the purple skirt girl to you?” Great Orange blinked, his eyes large and bright: “Your familiar is stronger than mine.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t bear this responsibility.”

“Huh?”

“I haven’t fully graduated yet, I need to find a job first.” Yao Yuan drooped her head. If she, an amateur, went to investigate, the situation would be over before it even started. Moreover, was it really a good idea to let Xing Kong confront the purple-skirt girl again?

“That’s easy to fix,” Great Orange raised his voice: “Do you have a TikTok account? Hurry up and register one.”

“You want me to film short videos? No way!” Yao Yuan was so scared she clung to Xing Kong: “I have no talent whatsoever.”

“You look pretty good. With good lighting and filters, it’s totally fine,” Great Orange scrutinized her: “Who needs talent? Let me show you a clear path: make good use of your familiar.”

“How do I use her? You don’t mean… having Xing Kong carry a corn cob and jump through a ring of fire?” A scene of the devil jumping through fire rings and performing aerial stunts immediately popped into her mind.

Great Orange immediately rolled his eyes: “No need for that much trouble. Buy one or two cats with pretty fur and establish a persona with her, understand? A persona!”

“What kind of persona? What does it have to do with keeping cats?” Yao Yuan still didn’t understand.

“High-visual-appeal yuri ‘tietie’ (intimate closeness)! Once the traffic picks up, sign with a good MCN, and a team will help package you. Just keep your eyes peeled when you sign the contract.”

Ti-tietie? She imagined the scene of them cheek-to-cheek and blushed deeply. No way, she didn’t want to use Xing Kong to establish any kind of persona… Besides…

“No.” Xing Kong suddenly stood up and simultaneously held Yao Yuan’s hand: “I will not let my lover do something she doesn’t want to do.”

“Lover?! Wait—are you seriously dating your familiar?!” Great Orange screamed, rubbing his face with both hands: “That’s too abnormal!”

Yao Yuan supported herself on the doorframe and looked back: “Xing Kong isn’t my familiar. She’s just, just… just a bad girl!”