Chapter 754: The Scent

The two of them left the rooftop and slowly made their way downstairs.

Zheng Yingxiong suddenly raised his head the moment Qinglong disappeared. He could sense that the scent had abruptly vanished.

“This is really strange…” he muttered. “Why did that scent disappear so suddenly?”

Chen Junnan, standing beside him, replied, “People here come and go like the wind, man. I thought you’d have noticed that by now.”

“No… Even if they ‘come and go like the wind,’ it shouldn’t be like this.”

“What’s so weird about it? The scent just disappeared, that’s all.”

“What’s so weird…?” Zheng Yingxiong turned to him, his face full of confusion. “Isn’t that strange enough? That was a *scent*! Not some shadow on a person’s body! If someone leaves and their shadow disappears, that’s normal. But if a person vanishes, their scent shouldn’t just disappear—it should linger here!”

Hearing this, Chen Junnan suddenly felt there was some logic to it. But since he couldn’t smell the so-called “scent” Zheng Yingxiong was talking about, he couldn’t quite grasp the concept of it vanishing so abruptly.

“Are you saying… when that person left, they somehow took their scent with them?”

“Exactly! Doesn’t that make them really weird?” Zheng Yingxiong said. “When they arrived, they suddenly brought this overwhelming scent that I could smell all the way from downstairs. But when they left, the scent just disappeared—not even a trace remained. What kind of bizarre situation is this?”

“Now that you mention it…” Chen Junnan nodded. “I think I kinda get it. You’re saying the scent came and went just as fast.”

“Right!” Zheng Yingxiong said. “Scents *diffuse*—they don’t just suddenly fill the air out of nowhere…”

“Hmm…” Chen Junnan stroked his chin, imitating Qi Xia’s mannerism, but he had no leads. “You’ve got a point. Unless that person was some kind of exhaust fan, taking all the scent with them when they left…”

Not far away, Qiao Jiajin, who had been listening to their conversation, also rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said in a low voice, “I think I might have an idea.”

Chen Junnan turned to look at him and chuckled. “Old Qiao, Old Qiao! Out of all of us, your ideas are always the most out there. What’s your theory?”

Zheng Yingxiong also asked earnestly, “Do you know what’s going on?”

Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment longer before speaking. “Don’t laugh at me when I say this, alright?”

“No way,” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Just spit it out!”

Qiao Jiajin lowered his voice with a serious expression. “What if… that scent was *attached* to that person?”

“Huh…?”

The sheer absurdity of Qiao Jiajin’s idea made Chen Junnan freeze for a second, but soon he realized there might be some truth to it.

If the scent came and went with that person—neither diffusing nor lingering—then it really did seem like it was *attached* to them.

Except this “attachment” was vast and completely invisible.

If it weren’t for Zheng Yingxiong being there, no one would have noticed such a small detail.

“That makes perfect sense!” Chen Junnan exclaimed. “Old Qiao, when it comes to wild theories, you’re the best! Even me and Old Qi have to step aside. If you think about it, the scent really was just *growing* on them—like some kind of *shadow*!”

“The scent was *growing* on them…?” Zheng Yingxiong watched the two of them chatting excitedly and slowly pursed his lips.

He felt like he’d been too hasty in believing them so easily.

“If the scent was growing on them… then when I smelled it, wouldn’t they have lost a piece of themselves?” Zheng Yingxiong said.

“Uh…” Chen Junnan tried to follow that logic. “Maybe it’s not like flesh, but more like hair? Losing a strand isn’t a big deal.”

Zheng Yingxiong shook his head and decided to stop engaging with them.

……

The people gathered on the playground saw Chu Tianqiu and Qi Xia emerge from the school building and immediately swarmed toward them.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin were about to speak when Qi Xia raised a finger to his lips, signaling them to stay silent.

The two exchanged a knowing glance and swallowed their words.

“Yun Yao, you’re here too?” Qi Xia called out.

“Ah… Qi Xia?”

First sentence.

Yun Yao, Zhang Chenze, and Li Xiangling all looked surprised. Before coming to “Paradise,” they’d heard that Qi Xia had already gone to “Cat,” so they’d planned to stop by “Paradise” first to look for Sweet before heading there.

But they hadn’t expected to run into Qi Xia here—though he seemed slightly different from how they remembered him, as if something subtle had changed.

Chu Tianqiu frowned beside him, glancing at Qi Xia. He had no idea what kind of scheme he was playing at.

Did he really expect them to mention *Wen Qiaoyun* within three sentences?

Even though he knew Qi Xia was a gambler, this was one of the most bizarre bets he’d ever seen.

Qi Xia smiled and said to Yun Yao and Zhang Chenze, “You look like you have something to ask me. What’s up?”

“We… we…” Yun Yao snapped out of her daze at his prompting and said, “We were actually looking for you because of someone…”

Second sentence.

Chu Tianqiu’s expression shifted the moment he heard this. No matter how he looked at it, things were unfolding exactly as Qi Xia had predicted.

Who had leaked this information to them?

“Oh?” Qi Xia nodded. “Who is this person?”

“Her name is… Wen Qiaoyun.”

Third sentence.

Qi Xia immediately turned to Chu Tianqiu and said, “Do you concede?”

Chu Tianqiu nodded grimly. “I concede.”

Yun Yao and Zhang Chenze exchanged confused glances, not understanding what was happening.

“What do you mean, ‘concede’…?” Yun Yao asked. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing.” Qi Xia turned back to them. “What about Wen Qiaoyun?”

Yun Yao collected her thoughts and began explaining the fabricated story they’d prepared.

Qi Xia listened with interest as they spun their lies.

They claimed they’d participated in several complex games, even making up a few sets of rules that sounded plausible at first glance but fell apart under scrutiny.

Then they described encountering an incredibly skilled woman during the games—her name was Wen Qiaoyun.

She had led them through challenge after challenge, nearly gambling a “Land-level” to death, and they’d realized she possessed exceptional leadership skills, a sharp mind, and a kind demeanor.

Yun Yao concluded casually, “Having someone like her active in ‘Endgame’ is a good thing, right, Qi Xia?”

“Oh?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“We could recruit her!” Yun Yao said. “With such a powerful ally, everything would be easier—whether we’re gambling against ‘Zodiacs’ or planning other strategies. She’s an invaluable asset!”