Chapter 248 | My Class Is Ghost Bride, But This Isn’t Romance

Qu Ling saw right through his thoughts but couldn't be bothered to stand by and watch the delay, so she stepped straight forward.

Her gaze locked precisely onto a dusty gray suitcase adorned with a niche cartoon character sticker. She reached out and dragged it over to herself without a moment's hesitation.

She had carefully searched her small handbag earlier; in one of its inner compartments lay a half-used sheet of those same cartoon character stickers.

At this moment, two suitcases remained near Wang Dong: a black rolling suitcase and a blue one.

And inside the trunk, there was still one shiny, delicate pink suitcase left.

In other words, once the final suitcase was removed from the trunk, Wang Dong's excuse would run out.

But Wang Dong wasn't a fool either. Even after the suitcases were moved, the trunk still held prop boxes and professional photography and styling equipment.

“Leave the equipment for now,” the group leader called out to stop him in time. “Our luggage goes to our lodging, but the equipment goes to the site. They aren't in the same place.”

“We'll leave the equipment and props in the car for today. Tomorrow morning, we'll come back to move them all together.”

As the group leader stepped up to stop him, he also pulled his own suitcase out of the trunk.

To everyone's surprise, that shiny, delicate pink suitcase actually belonged to the group leader.

With a slightly embarrassed yet somewhat showy smile, he turned to explain to Village Chief Shen and Shen Li beside him.

“Pardon the laugh, gentlemen. This suitcase belongs to my daughter. The one I usually use for business trips broke not long ago, and she was so thoughtful that she insisted I take her new suitcase for this trip.”

“Children just love these bright colors. It's indeed a bit flashy for a grown man like me.”

“Pardon the laugh, Village Chief. This suitcase isn't company property; it belongs to my kid. The suitcase I usually take on business trips got damaged by accident, and I didn't have time to replace it. My daughter was so sweet, she insisted on shoving her new suitcase on me. A child's item is bound to look a bit flashy.”

Now, only the last two suitcases remained: one black, one blue.

Whoever took theirs first—if they got it right, nothing would happen. But if they got it wrong, they would have to endure being stared down, just as Xie Lai had moments ago.

Xie Lai, who had made the mistake earlier, still had her head hung low. She silently wiped away her tears, looking utterly dejected and listless, with absolutely no intention of stepping forward to claim her luggage.

Perhaps she knew which suitcase was hers—after all, the clues were on the players themselves, easily found with a careful search—but she was deliberately refusing to step forward.

This was her petty revenge for being abandoned by the others just now.

Or perhaps she really didn't know which suitcase was hers, and she was staying back to let Wang Dong make a choice first.

Whether he was right or wrong, she would know for sure which suitcase was hers.

The atmosphere became increasingly subtle.

Standing by the suitcases, Wang Dong knew that stalling any longer was pointless. Gritting his teeth, he finally reached out and lifted the larger black suitcase.

His movements were steady. After picking it up, he subtly scanned the NPCs. Seeing their expressions remain flat and normal, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He had guessed right. The black suitcase was indeed his.

With that, only the final suitcase was left.

Xie Lai silently walked forward, extended the handle of the blue suitcase, and claimed the last one.

Thank goodness. It seemed no one was suffering from oxygen drunkenness, and everyone had identified their own suitcase correctly.

Bai Ci walked under the parasol Sang Lan held open.

She had retrieved her own suitcase early on, leaving her with plenty of time to observe the other players' reactions.

The brief process of retrieving their luggage had torn away the illusion of peace among the players.

Retrieving the luggage was neither the cause nor the outcome; it was merely a warning sign on the path toward the end.

Clearly, the players in this instance would likely not be able to band together and cooperate.

It wasn't a problem for everyone to have their own agendas, but when things reached a state of subtle antagonism, it became a major issue—practically destroying any possibility of cooperation.

With their luggage in hand, the group lingered no longer and followed Village Chief Shen deeper into the village.

The concrete road beneath their feet was flat and clean, stretching all the way into the heart of the village. Along the way, Western-style buildings stood scattered about, looking entirely out of place in the rustic environment of these deep mountains.

Before long, they arrived at the village chief's house.

Matching the architectural style they had seen at the village entrance, the chief's home was also a neat, Western-style building.

Village Chief Shen was highly hospitable, introducing the place as they walked. “The village has limited resources, and we don't have any spare guesthouse rooms. For the next few days, everyone's meals and lodging will be arranged at my house.”

“Please bear with the simple accommodations. If you need anything, just let me know at any time.”

There were only two guest rooms in the building, meaning they had to be split by gender. The village chief's wife personally led them upstairs to get settled.

The woman appeared gentle and simple, treating them with great politeness. On the way upstairs, she carefully went over the rules of their stay.

“Our mountains aren't like the city. The mosquitoes here are numerous and highly venomous, so you must be careful day and night.”

“We burn incense regularly every day to repel mosquitoes, which keeps most of them away, but it's safest to keep an eye out yourselves.”

“Remember, you must shut all the windows tightly before dark. No matter what happens at night, do not open them. Wait until daylight the next day before opening them to let the air in.”

“If you get bitten by one of the venomous mosquitoes in the mountains, the bump on your skin will swell up red, itchy, and painful, and it won't go away for several days. Do not take this lightly.”

As they spoke, they reached the guest rooms on the second floor.

The rooms had just been cleaned; the floors were spotless, and the air was filled with the light, woody scent of some unknown timber.

There were no individual beds inside. Instead, a thick, solid wooden platform was laid across the floor, raised about a finger's width above the ground.

Layered with soft, clean cotton futons and covered with sheets, it formed a single, spacious platform bed—plenty of room for three people to sleep.

After entering, Bai Ci quickly scanned the entire room, her gaze soon landing on the window.

According to the village chief's wife's warning, though it wasn't dark yet, it would be safest to close and lock the window ahead of time.

She stepped forward, preparing to shut the half-open window completely, her gaze instinctively drifting outside.

Amidst the overlapping mountain forests and layers of foliage, a striking red pointed-roof building stood out. It resembled the Western-style churches Bai Ci had seen in books.