Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Pei Yanqing is gone!"

Unlike Fu Qian, Tan Ying clearly lacked any composure, blurting out the news in a panic.

"Oh?"

Fu Qian frowned.

"Since when?"

"Just now. I only went to the restroom, and when I got back, she was gone."

Tan Ying's eyebrows were practically tied in a knot as she glared indignantly at the calmly seated Fu Qian.

"Don't get worked up. We're right by the campus—how could a living person just vanish?"

Fu Qian pointed outside.

Although the area was a bit run-down and chaotically laid out, it made up for it with a rich variety of shops.

Since it was the weekend, it was the perfect place for students to stroll.

"Maybe something came up and she went back."

"She wouldn't just leave without saying a word, would she? Besides, I've called her multiple times and can't get through."

Fu Qian's attempt at comfort was clearly a bit feeble, and Tan Ying couldn't hide her worry.

"I'm the one who asked her out, so naturally I'm responsible for her safety."

"The problem is I don't really have any way to help. I don't even have her phone number."

Fu Qian spread his hands to show there was nothing he could do.

"You don't even have her number?"

Tan Ying was visibly stunned by this, seemingly finding it hard to believe.

"We're friends, after all—think of something!"

She continued in a pleading tone.

"Aren't you a professional personal security consultant?"

"Now that you mention it, I suppose there is that."

Fu Qian rested his chin on his hand, falling into thought.

During the previous disappearance incident, he had indeed introduced his job for Wen Li that way.

"Come on, help me out!"

Tan Ying batted her eyes and pointed at the table in front of Fu Qian.

"Besides, you already drank the milk tea."

"Your motives for buying this milk tea were impure to begin with, so I'm drinking it absolutely guilt-free."

"Hmph!"

Tan Ying seemed unable to muster a rebuttal.

"Speaking of which, why do you like shiny stuff like a girl?"

The next moment, she wrinkled her nose and pointed at Fu Qian's hand.

On the middle finger of his right hand, a massive blue gemstone flashed with brilliant light. At a glance, it almost seemed to be moving.

"It wasn't a gift from a girl, was it?"

"That's really hard to say."

Fu Qian looked down and examined the Lucid Dream Ring.

"Tan Ying, what happened?"

As the two spoke, the cloth curtain at the door was lifted, and a figure stepped inside, asking the question as he approached.

The newcomer looked to be in his twenties, tall and handsome.

His clothes seemed casual, but every detail revealed a carefully curated style. His every movement was steady, yet carried a sharp edge.

In short, from any angle, he was the picture of a young elite, exuding the full aura of a domineering CEO.

"Uh!"

Faced with his inquiry, Tan Ying hesitated slightly before shaking her head.

"It's nothing. I just don't know where my friend went."

"Your friend? That girl who was with you just now?"

"Yeah."

"I see."

The newcomer nodded thoughtfully.

"Then let me help look."

"Never mind, I won't trouble you. I think Yanqing might have just gone back."

Tan Ying seemed put off by his volunteering, directly using Fu Qian's earlier excuse to decline.

"That is a possibility, but there's no harm in being careful."

The domineering CEO didn't argue the point, but he remained firm on his suggestion.

"And it's no trouble. Just send me a photo of your classmate, and I'll arrange for a few people to look around. If we can't confirm her whereabouts soon, I'll put in a word and ask the authorities for help directly."

He didn't give Tan Ying another chance to refuse. Giving Fu Qian a slight nod, he turned right around and walked out.

"Hey, do you, the expert, actually have an idea or not?"

After watching him leave, Tan Ying turned back in silence and stared at Fu Qian.

"Isn't that guy already helping look for her? Do you have some kind of problem with him?"

Fu Qian gestured toward the door.

"You mean Song Hang? I just don't like owing people favors."

"That's a bit ambiguous. Do I not count as a person?"

...

"Speaking of which, that guy looks like a young elite from every angle, and his behavior is perfectly proper. As a suitor, there's really nothing to criticize, is there?"

Seeing Tan Ying rendered speechless, Fu Qian changed the subject and asked.

He wasn't just talking nonsense. This Brother Song really was Tan Ying's suitor. She had made plans to go shopping with Pei Yanqing today and had run into him by total "coincidence."

As for why Song Hang's attitude toward him was a little off, it all started when Tan Ying bought an extra cup of milk tea and gave it to Fu Qian.

This was also why Fu Qian said he could drink the milk tea guilt-free, because that was obviously the tactic of diverting trouble onto others.

As for why he was also here, there was naturally a reason for that too.

Earlier today, after finishing his work, he had ultimately chosen to return to the Real World and begin his vacation.

Not long after, however, Tan Ying's voice had popped up in his mind, and it was clearly quite agitated.

Fu Qian was already used to this and hadn't originally planned to pay it any attention.

It wasn't until he saw the Lucid Dream on his hand that Fu Qian suddenly got an idea for his vacation—he planned to test out its effects after the upgrade.

And so, Fu Qian chose to take a stroll over here, engineering his own chance encounter.

"If he's flawless, I can't find him annoying? Who made that rule?"

Tan Ying shot Fu Qian a cold look and took a fierce sip of her milk tea.

"That actually sounds a bit Zen!"

Fu Qian rather appreciated Tan Ying's answer.

"And so?"

"So, as far as I'm concerned, it'd be best if he never bothered me again."

For some reason, when Tan Ying said this, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if this conversation had happened somewhere before.

"Mm."

Fu Qian didn't comment. The next moment, the topic took a 180-degree turn.

"Speaking of which, your style is a bit different today, isn't it?"

He pointed at Tan Ying's outfit.

Her style was different...

Tan Ying lowered her head in slight confusion and seemed to freeze for a moment when she saw the skirt she was wearing.

Fu Qian sat silently across from her, paying close attention to her reaction.

"Yanqing and I swapped clothes. What's wrong with that?"

It took a few seconds for Tan Ying to seemingly recover her senses and offer a casual explanation.

Sure enough, it was different now. She didn't wake up so easily.

Fu Qian nodded silently to himself.

Tan Ying's wardrobe change was, naturally, his doing.

Without a doubt, the Lucid Dream was currently in an activated state.

After its upgrade, Fu Qian found that as the Dream Dominator, he could do much more.

For example, changing the appearance of someone trapped in the dream.

He had deliberately pointed this out to Tan Ying just to see her reaction.

It proved that even such a glaring cognitive conflict didn't affect the dream's stability.

As a young person thoroughly steeped in modern education, Tan Ying had quickly conjured a perfectly logical explanation for it.

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