Bar: Waiting for Someone

The spotlight grazed Lucen’s nose, shattering with a heavy crash right before him. Then, a chorus of screams erupted throughout the mall.

Lucen reached through the mist to grasp Bai Wei’s shadow, but as the fountain cascaded down, the other side was empty—his wife was nowhere to be found.

He looked left and right; aside from the stunned customers and the mall manager rushing toward him, there was no one else. Lucen wondered if that moment had been nothing more than an illusion born of longing, or perhaps Bai Wei had simply been frightened away—an unsurprising possibility.

Bai Wei must have been terrified… On the one hand, she feared Lucen discovering her secret surveillance; on the other, she was struck by the horror of nearly witnessing her husband’s death before her eyes. Lucen thought with a trace of pity.

Her courage was still too frail.

He accepted the manager’s apologies and, surrounded by staff, entered the jewelry store to purchase the set he’d been eyeing. Then came mineral water, seafood, and other essentials for his transformation… Two hours after Lucen departed, two oddly dressed individuals—a woman and a young man—walked through the second floor of the upscale mall.

“The ice cream in this world is delicious,” said the blue-haired boy. “Come on, sis, stop being so tense.”

“You think we’re here on vacation? With the commotion caused by the twin-blade woman and her crew, the whole city is aware of us. Do you realize how many serial killers are lurking in the shadows, planning our demise? Danger hides everywhere—in everyday life, even above your head…”

The green-streaked woman squatted midway through her speech, staring at the empty lamp fixture ahead. The boy rested his chin on his hand. “What’s going on?”

She questioned the janitor about the earlier incident, her face growing grimmer. “Let’s go check the security footage.”

Surveillance in the mall was limited. After reviewing it, the green-streaked player fell silent, deep in thought. The blue-haired player was puzzled but didn’t interrupt; after all, his companion was a renowned strategist in the national gaming community.

“Do you think something’s off?” he asked.

“Definitely. I suspect that customer is being targeted by a serial killer,” she replied solemnly. “Look—the lamp broke at precisely the moment he passed, nowhere else. And the fixture was in a blind spot, right where the cameras couldn’t see. Plus, the fountain rose, obscuring anyone behind it. That customer spent lavishly; he must be someone important. There’s a huge conspiracy behind the attempt on his life.”

“Wow!” the blue-haired player said, excitement rising. “Sis, maybe we’ll catch a top-20 serial killer!”

…

At that moment, Bai Wei was not involved in any earth-shattering conspiracy. If anything, he suspected his late husband might be plotting one.

After the spotlight incident, Bai Wei didn’t linger in the mall. He returned to the parking garage, where a message from Lucen arrived.

“Darling, what are you up to?”

“Honey, I’m at home, tidying up my study,” Bai Wei replied via voice message. “You have no idea how messy the renovation crew left my books.”

His tracker showed Lucen visiting the jewelry store, the underground supermarket, then the rooftop restaurant. Lucen replied, “Ha, if you were in Black Harbor City, I’d want to have dinner with you.”

Lucen glanced at the city’s nightscape, feeling a twinge of regret. A waiter approached. “Sir, your two-person meal is ready. Is the other lady or gentleman not joining you?”

“No, I’ll eat alone,” Lucen said. He assumed Bai Wei’s pride was what kept her from coming upstairs.

Bai Wei sent another casual message: “Honey, what are you eating? When you’re out, make sure you eat well—don’t go for street food every day.”

Lucen replied, “Darling, I’m eating splendidly. This meal cost 1,248 yuan.”

1,248 yuan!

Bai Wei’s hand tightened around his phone, veins standing out—not because the meal was expensive, but because he frequented that restaurant. He knew exactly what 1,248 yuan bought: the deluxe set for two.

Lucen, who are you sharing that meal with? Who gave you permission to spend my inheritance so freely?

Lucen wrote, “Darling, why aren’t you replying? Is the meal too expensive? Honestly, I’m quite rich.”

Bai Wei responded, “Honey, your comfort matters most ^_^ Honey, where are you staying tonight?”

Of course—if Bai Wei had come to Black Harbor City, he’d naturally need a hotel.

But tomorrow marked the start of Lucen’s transformation period; he could not share a room with Bai Wei. With this in mind, Lucen called the hotel to book an extra room—under a different name.

If he saw Bai Wei at the hotel, he would knock him out and confine him to a room, Lucen thought. He’d leave Bai Wei enough food for the next few days; Black Harbor City was simply too dangerous to let him roam. He would find a way to erase Bai Wei’s memories, somehow.

Ah! Sometimes, having a wife who loves you too much is such a burden!

Lucen realized he was growing irritable—clearly, his transformation period was imminent.

Bai Wei had endured patiently. The parking garage was crowded with surveillance cameras; otherwise, he would have already planted a bomb in Lucen’s car. At last, he saw Lucen return, hauling his many purchases, driving off toward the hotel.

Bai Wei followed.

The staff, relieved to have seen off their big-spending guest, wiped their brows. One clerk asked the manager, “Why did that customer buy chains and shackles?”

“Mind your own business,” the manager snapped. “Don’t pry into guests’ privacy.”

A few hours later, the green-streaked and blue-haired players examined the purchase records of their suspect, pondering, “There’s definitely something going on here.”

Meanwhile, Bai Wei had already followed Lucen to the hotel. He hid in the shadows, observing that after checking in, Lucen didn’t go upstairs. He sent his luggage up with the bellboy, but remained in the lobby bar, as if waiting for someone.

Bai Wei was increasingly baffled. Frankly, discovering his husband might be waiting for someone else was hardly reassuring… But then he reconsidered: the scenario of Lucen cheating with a mysterious stranger, murdered by that stranger, was a decent plot twist.

Yet, the more he watched, the more it seemed Lucen was waiting for him. Lucen even messaged, “Darling, where are you now?”

Was that dinner also meant for him to join Lucen upstairs? Bai Wei felt a chill. No, that couldn’t be true. If it was, how could he stage the mysterious stranger’s assassination?

Lucen was indeed waiting for Bai Wei in the bar. But he hadn’t anticipated that Bai Wei would not enter the lobby.

Bai Wei, after reviewing staff records, found a waiter who had taken leave for a few days. He donned the uniform, slipped into the bar’s back area, and added a little something extra to the drink meant for Lucen.