Setting the Bait What a Cunning Plan (Bonus Update)

"You need not force yourself to blend into every clamor, nor do you need to prove anything to anyone."

"I know your heart holds mountains and seas; though silent, they shine like the stars."

After Lin Yu left the laundry room.

Ye Mengfu read the words on the card over and over again.

She gently shook the card, ensuring the ink dried thoroughly.

Then, she fished a plastic zip-lock bag out of her pocket and carefully placed the card inside.

Today.

It wasn't just a happy day for Lin Yu.

...

Lin Yu came out of the laundry area.

Seeing clearly that it was Ye Mengfu inside, Maomao raised her microphone to notify everyone:

"Our birthday boy has already caught two people and harvested two gifts."

"Time is limited; there isn't much left for the birthday boy."

"Everyone, please be sure to hide well and increase the difficulty of this activity."

Lin Yu continued his search in the first-floor lobby.

Passing by Maomao, he couldn't resist reaching out and vigorously rubbing her head.

"Alright, Maomao. It's one thing if you don't help me, but you're actually telling everyone to hide better?"

"Is it possible someone is hiding on the balcony where you water the flowers every day?"

Lin Yu asked a question while observing Maomao's reaction.

Maomao glanced at the balcony, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Lin Yu, and said:

"I won't tell you."

Lin Yu gave her a thumbs up.

Okay, okay.

That single-threaded little brain really couldn't lie.

The intention behind deliberately avoiding looking at the balcony was simply too obvious.

Lin Yu headed straight for the balcony, checking to see if the door showed signs of having been opened.

Before he could even inspect the door clearly, he saw a looming figure behind a wall pillar, peeking in his direction.

Seeing Lin Yu approach, the person immediately shrank back.

There was no need to doubt it now.

Confirmed on the spot!

Lin Yu swaggered over, pulled open the balcony door, and looked toward the collection of flower pots.

"Wow, found so quickly? I feel so defeated!"

"Junior Lin Yu, sorry about that. I didn't know there would be this segment today."

"I still gave my gift too early. I didn't get to give it along with everyone else!"

Fang Xinran walked out from among the flower pots, speaking with a hint of unwillingness.

If she had been a bit more patient and given the gift later, the effect would probably have been better, right?

Lin Yu shook his wrist, showing off the bracelet Fang Xinran had just given him.

"What's wrong with giving it early? This was the very first gift I received today."

"Senior Fang, now it's my turn to give you something..."

As he spoke, Lin Yu pulled out a card and placed it against the wall.

Using the wall for support, he began to write a message for Fang Xinran.

Fang Xinran didn't peek; she waited quietly to the side, curious to see what Lin Yu would write.

"Even if the road is obscured by mist, still choose to journey forth."

"May your future days be like the wind, like poetry, a growth of freedom that never ceases."

Fang Xinran took the card and couldn't help but freeze in place.

...

The time for catching people was limited.

Lin Yu circled the first floor again but didn't make any significant discoveries.

According to common sense, if they weren't hiding in the bedrooms, the first floor offered the most suitable space to hide multiple people.

The public spaces on the second and third floors weren't nearly as plentiful.

And yet, only three people were hidden here?

Was that really it?

Just as Lin Yu prepared to go upstairs, he suddenly realized something.

He had ignored an important location on the first floor...

The yard!

Before entering the house, Lin Yu hadn't known what was going to happen.

All his attention had been focused inside the main hall.

After learning the rules, his first thoughts were about the spaces inside the building and where everyone might choose to hide.

He had almost overlooked the space in the yard.

That was a wide-open area!

Even so, Lin Yu didn't go directly to the yard.

Instead, he ran up to the third floor in one breath, planning to eliminate areas from top to bottom.

Time was a strict constraint he had to be mindful of; searching a space as large as the yard could easily lead to time management issues.

Searching from the third floor down was much friendlier for managing his time.

Upon arriving at the third floor, Lin Yu noticed that the "storage room," which rarely had its door closed, was actually shut today!

Did this even need explaining?

There was definitely someone inside!

Sticking to his method, Lin Yu opened the door to the storage room the moment he noticed the anomaly.

Even without turning on the lights, the environment inside was mostly visible.

Behind a raincoat hanging on the wall, a figure that couldn't possibly stay hidden awkwardly straightened up.

"T-that fast to find the third floor?"

"I just joined in, and now I'm already eliminated."

Xia Xiashan awkwardly smoothed her messy hair, stepping around the various sundries at her feet as she inched her way out.

Upon learning they also needed to join the game, Xia Xiashan had been very cooperative.

While Lin Yu was searching the dining room for people, she had sprinted up to the third floor.

She thought it would take at least ten minutes or so before she saw Lin Yu.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yu's speed was this fast!

"It's too narrow to talk in here. Lin Yu, let me out first."

"According to the rules Maomao mentioned, you should..."

"Write something for me, right?"

Xia Xiashan carefully maneuvered her body and finally walked out of the storage room.

Just as she prepared to casually close the door behind her, Lin Yu's hand slammed onto the door panel, stopping her action.

*Bang!*

The sound of the heavy impact made Xia Xiashan tremble.

She froze on the spot, looking at Lin Yu at a loss.

Lin Yu slowly pushed the door open and analyzed, "Sister Shanshan, it makes sense for you to run to the third floor to hide since you had nowhere else to go after coming back."

"But such a suitable hiding spot... before you arrived..."

"Did no one else really discover it?"

Xia Xiashan: "!!!"

Here it comes!

Lin Yu's strange deductive ability.

He had already demonstrated it once when grilling Xiao Chi in the car.

Who would have thought he would show it again now?

Lin Yu pointed at Xia Xiashan's hand holding the door, then hooked his finger towards the back, signaling Xia Xiashan to let go so he could go in and look for himself.

Xia Xiashan: "..."

Stunned for a moment, Xia Xiashan ultimately chose to let go.

The door stood wide open.

Lin Yu entered, poking his head in to look toward the deeper piles of clutter.

There was another important reason why Lin Yu suspected someone else was hiding inside.

Although the storage room wasn't wide, it was quite long.

If someone really wanted to hide here, why would they only hide right at the surface?

When Lin Yu was searching the first floor, he had given Xia Xiashan plenty of time to hide.

How could she have hidden so poorly in such a simple place?

This indirectly confirmed Lin Yu's suspicion.

Xia Xiashan had likely just plotted with the "other person" inside the storage room.

Wait until Lin Yu comes looking, then deliberately sacrifice one to save the other.

If things went smoothly, the storage room would become a "searched" location, allowing the other person to remain truly hidden.