Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 192: Chapter 166: Counterattack

"Please wait a moment." The woman’s voice on the other side became muffled, as if her hand was covering the mouthpiece, "Ms. Wu, did you find any car keys during your shift last night? A gentleman, his face was injured."

A moment later, an older woman took over the phone, and Pei Qiuyu quickly repeated her previous explanation.

"I’m sorry, ma’am, your husband must be mistaken, I was on duty last night, and I didn’t see anyone with a face injury," the older woman at the pharmacy replied calmly, with a very good attitude.

Pei Qiuyu raised her voice in surprise, feigning astonishment, "That’s not right, the bag my husband brought back has your phone number on it, as well as the logo of Song’s Pharmacy. Can you think again?"

"I really didn’t see anyone with a face injury last night. What did your husband buy?" the woman asked.

At this question, Pei Qiuyu suddenly became alert and countered, "How do you know my husband bought medications?"

The woman on the other end paused, and then her tone became somewhat impatient, "This is a pharmacy, what else would your husband be here for if not to buy medicine? Didn’t he take a bag from our pharmacy home?"

"Oh, I’m truly sorry, I was so confused by my husband," Pei Qiuyu deliberately took the bag and rubbed it back and forth, producing a rustling sound as if she was checking the medications inside, "It was like this, my husband bought Mercurochrome and some gauze for dressing changes, do you remember that?"

"I remember now, there was someone who came last night to buy Mercurochrome, gauze, and alcohol for disinfection, but I recall no one had a face injury," the woman answered.

"They?" Pei Qiuyu felt she had grasped an important point.

"Yes, two men, they came in the rain. I even asked them if they needed to borrow an umbrella," the woman on the phone recalled.

"Was there also a young woman, a very young woman?" Pei Qiuyu pressed on.

"I don’t remember, it doesn’t seem so," the woman pondered for a moment before answering.

Pei Qiuyu was about to confirm again when the other end of the phone erupted into noise, as if customers had walked in, and the woman hung up the call.

Holding the phone, Pei Qiuyu stared at the gauze in her hand, contemplating the reasonableness of it all, keenly aware of Yang Xiao’s cunning and that Song Yan was strategizing for him.

It had rained last night; the number on the bag was water-damaged, which confirmed they had left the house on a rainy night.

Just now, she had asked how many people had gone to the pharmacy last night, and the other party answered two men. Pei Qiuyu then deliberately asked if there was also a woman, which was a small trap. If the answer came back affirmatively, then there would be a problem, because if there had been a woman, why not mention her from the start? It made no sense to only remember two men and ignore the woman who came with them.

Last night’s rain was heavy, and logic would dictate that business at the pharmacy would be quiet in such weather; it made no sense that they could not remember such a simple event clearly. freēwēbnovel.com

The only explanation was that the other party knew exactly who those people were: Chu Xi, Song Yan, and Yu Mi, clearly aware that the three of them were together.

This was a trap set for her.

But judging from the outcome, it was not so, and Pei Qiuyu also noticed a detail: the pharmacy clerk’s attitude had turned somewhat impatient, perhaps for fear of a complaint, which is why she humored her for a while longer.

With this thought, Pei Qiuyu suddenly laughed, realizing she had been scared into imagining so many conspiracies. Chu Xi and Song Yan, as formidable as they might be, were strangers to this world; how could they possibly have found so many people to act in a play with her overnight.

Grabbing the bag and taking the evidence inside, Pei Qiuyu walked out quickly, her mind already formulating a plan.

Directly accusing Chu Xi of faking an injury was somewhat unseemly, and even if she could eliminate him, it would anger the rest of the team members, which was too great a risk.

But Pei Qiuyu had a way. She put away the bag and returned to the classroom where they were filming, discreetly seeking out Ms. Sun.

Ms. Sun was Director Ding’s assistant and had a significant say in the crew. During this period, Pei Qiuyu had not been idle and had cultivated a very good relationship with her.

When Ms. Sun saw Pei Qiuyu coming, she waved her hand to send the props team away and turned to her, "Qiuyu, where did you run off to? We couldn’t find you. How is your scene preparation going?"

"Ms. Sun, I... I..." Pei Qiuyu feigned a hesitance to speak.

"Hmm? What’s wrong?" Ms. Sun frowned, "Are you feeling unwell?"

With Pei Qiuyu’s prompting, they stepped outside. Pei Qiuyu pursed her lips, as if struggling with an intense inner conflict.

"What’s the matter with you?" Ms. Sun asked, sensing that something was amiss.

"Ms. Sun, I... I have something I’m not sure whether I should say, but I did see it. You are the person I trust most in this crew. I don’t want to keep it from you. I know how much effort you and Director Ding have put into this shoot, and I don’t want someone to ruin it, even if he’s my friend." Holding Ms. Sun’s hand, Pei Qiuyu spoke the lines she had prepared for a long time.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Ms. Sun became anxious.

"It’s like this, Ms. Sun. I had gone to the restroom earlier and was about to push open the stall door to leave when I heard footsteps; someone came in. But that person spoke up, and it was... it was a man’s voice."

"I was terrified because it was the ladies’ restroom and thought I had encountered a peeping Tom, so I dared not move. But the voice was so familiar; when I listened carefully, it turned out to be... it turned out to be Chu Xi!"