Free Web NovelNear the central garden of Happiness Community, there is an owner's life activity center.
That three-story building, modeled after a Chinese garden style, has eaves with dark gray tiles on the roof. The entire wall is painted white, and the open area balconies are supported by dark red stone pillars, which look very tasteful but give a strange feeling.
When Lu Yibei first came to Happiness Community, she saw that building and felt that something was not quite right. It wasn't until she investigated the story behind the urban legend hidden in Happiness Community that she had a sudden realization.
She felt that the reason for the strange feeling might be that the layout of the building looked like a theater.
The life activity center of Happiness Community has a small supermarket, breakfast restaurant, and dry cleaner on the first floor. The gym and reading room on the second floor also have many owners coming and going, but the popularity is much lower than the first floor.
As for the third floor, Lu Yibei followed the landlord to Happiness Community that day and had already inquired about the situation.
It was a unique bar with a traditional Chinese style decoration and a theater theme. During the day, it sold soft drinks like milk tea and coffee, and at night, it switched to selling alcoholic beverages.
In the past few days, Lu Yibei had been to that bar two or three times.
Every time she went, the bar, which was as big as a football field, had almost no customers during the day, and only a few customers appeared at night. However, because it only operated until 8:30 pm, she didn't have the chance to investigate too deeply.
Of course, there was another reason: the price of dinner at the bar made Lu Yibei a bit heartbroken, so she didn't dare to go too many times.
Overall, Lu Yibei conducted a simple investigation of the life activity center, which had a strange atmosphere. Aside from finding a locked door leading to the underground parking lot on the first floor, she didn't find anything unusual. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
It was exactly five o'clock in the afternoon, half an hour before the Welcome Dance at Happiness Community began.
By this time, the sky had gradually darkened, and the dim yellow sun hung above the horizon, neither bright nor dark, making people feel unhappy.
That last ray of sunlight seemed to slowly sink into the darkness little by little, but it was still a long way from a complete end.
It was as if someone lying in the intensive care unit with tubes all over their body couldn't take their last breath.
Under the dim yellow sunlight, the friendly neighbors in the community began to gather towards the life activity center near the central garden.
Seeing that the time for the Welcome Dance was approaching, Lu Yibei counted the things she might need, put them in her guitar bag, and was about to call Jiang Li to go out together, when she found that there was an extra instrument bag on her back, containing an unknown instrument.
"What is this..."
Jiang Li slightly lifted her chin and calmly said, "Erhu."
After speaking, she walked out of the rental house door with her head held high.
Looking at Jiang Li's departing back, Lu Yibei was slightly stunned and muttered to herself, "There's no one an Erhu can't make cry, no soul a Suona can't send away. A single tune breaks the heart; where can I find a kindred spirit in the world? Do you think we should..."
Before Lu Yibei finished speaking, Jiang Li suddenly stopped in front, fumbled in her purse for a while, took out two pairs of small round-framed sunglasses, put one pair on ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) herself, and handed the other pair to Lu Yibei.
Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, took the sunglasses, and said, "You even prepared something like this? You really know how to have fun. I suddenly like you a little bit."
As soon as the words fell, Jiang Li's faint voice drifted from the front.
"Please don't, I really dislike you."
"Tsk, but, going like this, doesn't it feel like we're going to crash the party?" Lu Yibei shrugged.
Jiang Li turned her head to look at Lu Yibei and said lightly, "Aren't we just going to crash the party? Let's go, stop dawdling, the dance is about to start."
----
As night fell, the life activity center lit up. Looking through the glass with bright tile window shapes, the lights were dazzling, and figures were moving.
The property staff changed into matching Tang suits and stood smiling on both sides of the red carpet in front of the activity center, welcoming guests.
All that was missing were a few reporters pressing their cameras, focusing the flash and attention on the elegantly dressed owners.
Seeing such a scene, Lu Yibei walked side by side with Jiang Li and whispered, "They're making it quite high-class? It's just a new owner Welcome Dance, isn't this a bit too grand?"
"It's already strange for a not-so-high-end community like this to have such a large activity center."
Jiang Li rolled her eyes, "If someone told you that there is a community that is adjacent to the city center with convenient transportation, complete supporting facilities, where you can meet basic life needs without leaving home, the neighbors in the community are very friendly, and the property management will occasionally organize very stylish activities, what would you think?"
"Hmm..."
Lu Yibei propped her chin and pondered for a while, as if thinking very seriously, then said solemnly, "I would first ask the sales Miss if the house price is ridiculously expensive."
"If the house price is normal, I would think that the people in the sales office are lying to me."
"How can there be such a good thing in the world? If it's praised so highly, either the Feng Shui is bad, or there are urban legend!"
So you're not a normal person... Jiang Li thought to herself, "But some people will believe it, and they particularly like this kind of thing."
"Greedy for small gains, and then suffer great disaster? That's quite stupid."
Jiang Li didn't respond to Lu Yibei's trash talk, she just walked straight into the activity center along the red carpet, went up the stairs, and arrived at the bar on the third floor.
On the third floor, the bar chosen as the venue for the Welcome Dance had already rearranged the tables and chairs earlier, clearing out a circular area as a dance floor. Long tables on both sides were covered with white cloths and set with blue and white porcelain plates filled with abundant dishes.
As soon as she entered the venue, Lu Yibei's eyes felt a little hot, and she vaguely felt that something was observing them in the dark. She followed the source of that strange feeling, searched around for a while, and her gaze fell on the decorative facial masks on the surrounding walls.
Those artistically processed facial masks were brightly colored, and their shapes were not regular human faces, but were somewhat distorted and deformed, either elongated or curved. Under the dim lighting, they looked a bit eerie.
Lu Yibei silently walked up to those facial masks, unfolded her Spiritual Energy to investigate, and did not feel any obvious Spiritual Energy fluctuations. Just as she was about to reach out to touch them, a muffled voice came from behind.
"Miss, please don't touch randomly."
Lu Yibei turned her head and saw the property staff member wearing a dark red Tang suit and a smile that made people uncomfortable.
That somewhat short and stout man seemed to have put on makeup, but the makeup technique was not skillful, and the quality of the cosmetics was also poor. There were two unevenly applied blushes on his overly white face.
Drawing like this is worse than not putting on makeup at all, like a paper figure used for sacrifice...
And he's not even afraid of scaring others.
Lu Yibei thought to herself and said expressionlessly, "Sorry!" She quickly turned around and walked towards Jiang Li.
The music had already started, and the invited owners, accompanied by the song "Por Una Cabeza," were embracing each other in the center of the dance floor under the soft, romantic, and slightly psychedelic lighting, with somewhat strange dance moves.
It wasn't that their dance moves were stiff or strange, it was just that they all seemed to have taken dance lessons from the same Teacher. Dozens or even hundreds of couples had the exact same positioning, the exact same rhythm, and even the exact same timing for the women to twirl with the music.
They were like a group of robots controlled by a program. Jiang Li thought.
Just as she was frowning while looking at the people on the dance floor, Lu Yibei returned to her side.
"It seems like the guys on the dance floor are all old owners of the community, and maybe they've all been affected by the urban legend."
"Why are you so sure?" Jiang Li asked doubtfully.
Although she had already noticed that the people on the dance floor were a bit abnormal, she couldn't be sure that everyone was affected by the urban legend.
"Isn't it obvious?" Lu Yibei turned around and pointed to the dozen or so people on the periphery of the dance floor, holding plates and carefully selecting from the buffet at the long tables. "Those are the reactions of normal people attending this kind of dance."
"No one would really come to this kind of dance to dance, right? Of course, you have to eat until you get your money's worth!"
"Besides, putting aside the exquisite cold dishes, there are even hairy crabs! It's ♦ absurd!"
Jiang Li frowned slightly, "Are hairy crabs strange?"
"Of course they're strange!" Lu Yibei explained, "It's already the end of November, and hairy crabs are almost out of season. Buying them at this time means the meat quality is poor and the price is high, which is not cost-effective..." freёweɓnovel.com
"Oh no, urban legend doing this kind of thing probably won't care about the cost."
"Speaking of these hairy crabs, actually, our Old... Old Wang's family has a special cooking method..."
"..."
Jiang Li tilted her head and watched Lu Yibei, starting with hairy crabs, meticulously commenting on the various dishes at the dance as if counting her family treasures. In a trance, she felt that her dance partner was like a beautiful and virtuous little cook.
A moment later, after Lu Yibei finished her long speech in one breath, she realized Jiang Li was looking at her with a strange gaze.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." Jiang Li gently shook her head.
Lu Yibei shrugged, glanced at the sky outside the window, and her tone became serious, "I think the time is almost right. Have you thought about what we should do later?"
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...
Jiang Li pondered for two seconds and said, "Speak less and do less, try to minimize your presence, don't interrupt irrelevant matters, don't eat or drink randomly, just quietly observe from the side and wait for anomalies to appear."
"In short, just be an outsider, right?"
"Almost." Jiang Li nodded.
"However, I suggest we eat something first." Lu Yibei added, "Even if it's fake, we have to make it look convincing."
"Oh." Jiang Li seemed to understand Lu Yibei's meaning, turned around, picked up a coriander leaf from the long table behind her, and put it between her two red lips.
"You actually like eating coriander?" Lu Yibei sized up Jiang Li, her eyes full of disgust.
Jiang Li, "???"
"Is there something wrong with coriander?"
"No, never mind. I'm going to the restroom for a bit. I'll be back soon, wait for me here." After Lu Yibei finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the restroom.
"Mhm!" Jiang Li gently responded, then turned her gaze towards the crowd in the center of the dance floor, staring at them intently with her eyes while using her Spiritual Energy sense to detect the Spiritual Energy fluctuations in the venue, trying to find any clues related to the urban legend from them.
A moment later, someone gently patted her on the shoulder. Turning around, she saw Lu Yibei saying expressionlessly, "Alright, done!"
"Oh right, do you still remember what you promised me this morning?"
Promised...
Dance a dance? Jiang Li slightly parted her lips, "I thought..."
She had thought it was just Lu Yibei's casual remark inviting her to the dance.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yibei actually wanted to dance?
What exactly was she here for?
Jiang Li thought, just as she was about to refuse, Lu Yibei seemed to give her no chance, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the center of the dance floor.
By the time she came back to her senses, a hand had already reached her slender waist from behind, and with a slight pull, their flat stomachs lightly pressed together.
Jiang Li glanced left and right out of the corner of her eye, and hissed in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
"Dancing!" Lu Yibei replied with an innocent look and a sincere tone, "Don't worry, tango is one of my strengths!"
Or rather, it should be one of Yun Meng's strengths. The skills of the Shihekou Middle School Death-Seeking Quartet, excluding Liang Yue, are finally coming in handy... Lu Yibei muttered to herself.
Jiang Li, "..."
She stared at Lu Yibei in silence for a moment, reluctantly chose to accept reality, and secretly resolved that she would absolutely never casually agree to any invitation from this little bastard again.
However...
Perhaps there wouldn't be a 'later'. Nine out of ten bets are lost. Jiang Li felt that her chances of winning if she participated in the urban legend gamble were, at best, one-tenth.
This might also be one of the reasons she chose to finish this dance with Lu Yibei.
Just like eating a last meal before going to the execution ground, before leaving, she couldn't help but want to indulge a little.
The music started, skirts twirled, and the men and women on the dance floor danced gracefully, spreading out into a circle for a moment, with the men on the outer ring and the women in long dresses on the inner ring. Their movements were uniform.
In the entire dance floor, only Jiang Li and Lu Yibei's rhythm was different, making them seem out of place, like two cranes, one black and one white, mixed into a chicken farm.
Yes, although the two of them seemed out of place among the surrounding people, they clearly danced much better than them!
Even Jiang Li, who had attended various dances in her youth, was surprised by how well Lu Yibei danced the tango. She, who considered herself proficient in tango, was completely being led by Lu Yibei's rhythm.
Led by Lu Yibei, the skirt of her dress twirled with her body, the bow behind her gently swaying, as light as if it were about to spread its wings and fly high.
The dance was wild and free, as if they had been dancing together in coordination for many years.
Gradually, Jiang Li also became immersed in the music and dance. As the music was about to reach its climax, she tacitly coordinated with Lu Yibei to complete a magnificent high kick. Her flowing long skirt was like a blooming flower, revealing the soft lines of her slender calves.
Unconsciously, the third dance piece was nearing its end. After Jiang Li cleanly completed a backbend, the hand Lu Yibei was holding suddenly exerted force and pulled her into her arms.
Softness and softness, prominent and not-so-prominent chests, briefly collided through two layers of fabric. A hand silently reached up from behind Jiang Li's head and gently pressed her onto that slightly thin but very soft shoulder.
The next moment, Jiang Li felt Lu Yibei's cheek press against her own. Warm and humid breath, accompanied by slightly rapid breathing, puffed onto the hair at the back of her head.
A blush instantly stained her fair face. She subconsciously wanted to break free, but then heard Lu Yibei speak in a low voice.
"Don't move, everyone around is watching us!"
...
Jiang Li silently glanced at the people nearby out of the corner of her eye and only then realized that while she was immersed in the dance, the situation had developed in a direction completely contrary to her original plan.
"Do you remember what I said?"
"Keep a low profile, pretend to be an outsider, right?" Lu Yibei whispered, "But I didn't agree to follow your plan!"
"Since we're here to crash the party, shouldn't we be a bit more high-profile and attract attention so that the urban legend see us as the primary target?"
"Besides, when I was little, I watched the '007' series and thought the scenes where Bond and those beautiful women danced and investigated in the dance floor were super cool! I always wanted to try it!"
Maybe that's the real reason? Jiang Li rolled her eyes.
Soon, the music started again, but Lu Yibei didn't continue dancing with Jiang Li. Instead, she maintained her current posture and retreated towards the edge of the dance floor under everyone's gaze.
...
Jiang Li was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "This doesn't seem like your style?"
"What's my style? Run first when you encounter danger?" Lu Yibei retorted, then answered herself, "But there's no danger yet, is there?"
"Don't worry, if there's any life-threatening danger, I'll definitely leave you behind and run first!"
Jiang Li glanced at Lu Yibei out of the corner of her eye and said calmly, "As expected, I still really dislike you!"
"It's my honor." Lu Yibei said, glancing around out of the corner of her eye, "About half an hour has passed, the time might be almost up."
Jiang Li frowned and asked doubtfully, "What time?"
"The time for the poison to take effect..."
"Poison?" Jiang Li was stunned for a moment. Then, combining it with Lu Yibei's previous behavior of making her pretend to eat the dishes, a look of realization flashed in her eyes, "You mean the buffet has poison?"
"But how did you know?"
"Did a divination." Lu Yibei said casually, "If they collapse later, we'll just collapse with them."
Divination? Jiang Li nodded slightly. She knew that the second Spiritual Energy item Lu Yibei took from the Night Watch was the 【fuxing copper coin】. If she had learned some divination method, she could indeed divine it.
"But we also ate those dishes just now, will we..." Jiang Li said worriedly.
Although they ate very little, if it was poison from the urban legend, even a little could cause problems.
"Don't worry, I divined this too. The decorative green leaves and the drinks are non-toxic."
Jiang Li frowned slightly, "In that case, what if someone only drank the drinks and didn't eat the dishes..."
"So, I poisoned the non-toxic ones too! Except for the two leaves we ate just now, everything is poisoned now!"
Just don't know if Gu Qianqian's poison is reliable... Lu Yibei muttered to herself.
Remembering Lu Yibei's excuse to go to the restroom and sneak away, Jiang Li sighed silently, "You should have told me first."
"If I told you, would you have let me poison it?"
Jiang Li opened her mouth, just about to say something, when a dance piece ended, the lights in the venue suddenly went out. In the darkness, sounds of people falling to the ground came, faintly mixed with the subtle sound of a Jews Harp...
