Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 270 Visiting Xiao He

Yan Xun chuckled twice. "I think you had quite a dual personality when you were pretending to be an intern at the TV station."

The thought of Lou Yanchuan, with stars in his eyes, saying that he was his idol in the "sister-in-law" scenario gave Yan Xun goosebumps.

"But what does it mean that he specifically looked at the goldfish?" Yan Xun now felt that he had gone down the path of being paranoid, and he felt that everyone's words had a hidden meaning.

"Maybe they just think the goldfish are pretty," Lou Yanchuan said, holding the goldfish.

He placed the fire extinguisher the man in the suit had just given him on his lap. "Want to go shopping some more? Or go home?"

"Let's go explore other places," Yan Xun said.

The items in the market were all pretty much the same, and he had already looked around them all. Since the rules hadn't been updated today, Yan Xun decided to go to other places to gather more information first.

"I'll take you back first," Yan Xun said, looking at Lou Yanchuan.

"then you?"

"I'm going to Xiao He's place," Yan Xun said, referring to their neighbor whom they had visited not long ago.

"By the way..." Yan Xun looked at Lou Yanchuan, "find an opportunity to take a look at other houses."

Lou Yanchuan feigned surprise, "You're going to break in?"

"Do you see me as a criminal?" Yan Xun asked, puzzled. "You immediately assumed I was going to break into another house just because I said I was going to look at other houses?"

"You're the one who wanted to break in!"

"Yes." Lou Yanchuan nodded in agreement.

Yan Xun: "..."

"While they're still at the market, this is a good opportunity," Lou Yanchuan said.

He looked at Yan Xun and said, "But if a thick fog forms, you might be in danger inside the roof with the wrong color."

The reason Du Yun and the others had no problems at Shu Fan's house before was because they accepted the homeowner's invitation.

If Yan Xun intends to come uninvited, he can only go to the house with the white roof to avoid the influence of the heavy fog.

"If what you say is true, and these roofs of different colors all have meaning, then the other houses with white roofs might also house a large family."

Compared to a black roof for a solitary dwelling, or a red roof for a couple, the probability of being discovered in a white-roofed house is obviously much higher.

Yan Xun sighed, "It's not yet confirmed whether the roof color in the dungeon is related to the residents."

After all, they only saw one person at Xiao He's house.

He pushed Lou Yanchuan away from the Sunday market temporarily. "We didn't see any strange neighbors along the way, nor did we encounter any heavy fog."

"I'll go to Xiao He's house first," he said to Lou Yanchuan. "We'll see how things go with the rest."

Lou Yanchuan didn't object further. "It's perfect timing; I can continue asking about your grandmother."

“Our previous plan didn’t come in handy,” he told Yan Xun. “We didn’t find an opportunity to speak at breakfast.”

Indeed, Yan Xun thought, their attention was on the new note at the time, and then Shuangshuang kept asking to see the little rabbit.

There wasn't a suitable opportunity to bring up the matter of the dream.

He pushed Lou Yanchuan back home, and along the way they encountered neither strange neighbors nor dense fog.

Just then, Yan Xun and his family returned from shopping. Lou Yanchuan nodded to Yan Xun, who greeted his parents and then hurriedly left.

"Where is he going? Why is he in such a hurry?" Yan Xun's father asked.

"I met a neighbor yesterday," Lou Yanchuan said. "We got along quite well, and now I think I'm going to be that neighbor."

Lou Yanchuan then looked at Yan Xun's father.

"There's something... I'd like to talk to you about alone." He looked at Yan Xun's father, then turned his gaze to his own room.

Although Yan Xun's father was puzzled, he nodded. He pushed Lou Yanchuan to the other person's bedroom, closed the door, and then asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Making it so mysterious."

Lou Yanchuan turned around and looked at Yan Xun's father.

"Brother, I had a dream yesterday." He sighed and said to Yan Xun's father, "...I dreamed about Mom."

She asked me why I hadn't come to see her.

Lou Yanchuan stared at Yan Xun's father, "Tell me, is Mom blaming me?"

……

Yan Xun rang Xiao He's doorbell.

About half a minute later, he heard footsteps inside the door. Then Xiao He opened the door and saw Yan Xun standing there. She looked somewhat surprised.

Yan Xun immediately tensed up, "Did I disturb you?"

"No," Xiao He replied immediately, stepping aside slightly. "I just didn't expect you to come looking for me."

"At this time, they are all at the market."

He gestured for Yan Xun to come in, "Did you go to the market?"

Yan Xun looked very reserved. He followed Xiao He cautiously and said, "Let's go."

"It's very lively."

At Xiaohe's suggestion, he sat in the same spot as that day. "We also saw a goldfish scooping stall."

"You two?" Xiao He took a drink out of the refrigerator. "You mean you and your sister?"

"No, it's my uncle." Yan Xun thanked Xiao He for the drink, "I caught a goldfish for him."

Perhaps recalling the young man in the wheelchair who was difficult to communicate with, Xiao He looked at him with sympathy, "What kind of goldfish was it?"

He seemed very interested in what Yan Xun was sharing.

Yan Xun enthusiastically gestured to show the size of the goldfish and explained in detail how difficult it was to catch. Finally, he asked, "Aren't you going to the market?"

"It looks very lively."

“It’s always the same stuff at the market,” Xiaohe explained. “I don’t like crowds, so I’m not very interested in those kinds of events.”

Yan Xun nodded as if she understood, and then brought up the man in the suit again.

He complained, "He said even scented candles weren't allowed."

"We can only use a candle melting lamp," Yan Xun muttered childishly. "It's just a scented candle."

"Do you like scented candles?" Xiaohe asked.

"My friend likes them, so he gave me some," Yan Xun lied without batting an eye.

“The community is always so heartless in this respect,” Xiaohe said sympathetically.

"They have banned all open flames."

Yan Xun didn't expect to get such definite information from Xiao He—the man in the suit's previous statement was ambiguous, giving the impression that there was room for maneuver.

However, Xiaohe said that all open flames are prohibited in this community.

"Is it because of the fire?" Yan Xun asked immediately. "I heard there were some major accidents here because of open flames."

"Maybe," Xiaohe said. "I haven't lived here long, so I don't know about these past events."

"Do you live alone?" Yan Xun asked.

The question was a bit abrupt, but the image he had previously cultivated in front of Xiao He—a straightforward young man with a strong desire to share and no ulterior motives—made it seem natural for Yan Xun to ask it, even though it was abrupt.

"Me?" Xiao He didn't seem to care much. "I live with my family."

He countered Yan Xun's question, "Do I look like someone who lives alone?"

“Maybe it’s because you were home alone both times,” Yan Xun said, her voice suddenly lowering. “Should I lower my voice a little?”

Is anyone taking a break?

“No,” Xiaohe said. “They’re not home.”

Yan Xun then showed a puzzled expression.

“On vacation,” Xiaohe said again.

“My family’s situation is very similar to yours,” Xiaohe said, looking out the door. “When we moved in, we were also a family of five.”

"It's a pity that my grandfather passed away not long after we moved in."

He told Yan Xun, "We got a pet to help our mother feel better."

“But they’ve been in much better spirits lately. To keep my mother from getting too caught up in her sadness, I paid for them to go on vacation.”

Seeing Yan Xun's nervous expression as if he had said something wrong, he comforted him, "His health was already very poor before he moved in here."

"We decided to move in because we heard that people who live in this neighborhood often encounter incredible things."

Yan Xun suddenly remembered that the excuse he had given Xiao He was also that they wanted to use this magical community to help Lou Yanchuan stand up again.

But the other party said that their grandfather had passed away, which didn't sound like a good omen.

Yan Xun's heart sank again, at least on the surface.

“…Then…” He hesitated and looked at Xiao He, hoping to get some comfort, “My uncle.”

Xiao He comforted her, "Didn't the previous owner of your house get rich and leave?"

“So, believe in this amazing community,” he told Yan Xun. “As long as you listen to your parents and follow the community rules, a miracle might happen.”

"Listen to your parents?" Yan Xun didn't understand why Xiao He suddenly spoke in a tone that sounded like she was coaxing a child.

"Yes," Xiaohe said, "Just follow your parents' instructions."

As he was saying this, his phone suddenly rang.

Xiao He looked down and said, "Sorry, something came up at my company."

Yan Xun knew this was a signal that he was about to leave, so he immediately said he wouldn't disturb Xiao He and that she should go ahead with her business.

Then he slowly walked to the door.

"Do we not need to follow the rules on weekends?" Yan Xun asked, turning back before leaving Xiao He's house.

"Rules?" Xiao He recalled, "Maybe."

"I can't remember."

“After all, it was only a short 30 days,” Xiaohe said. “For me, this happened last year, and some details are still vague.”

Yan Xun was not surprised by Xiao He's answer.

He couldn't expect to get a definitive answer about the rules from the NPCs.

After another round of pleasantries and farewells, Yan Xun slowly departed.

Xiao He nodded to him and then closed the door.

"Is it a coincidence?" Yan Xun said to the system in his head. "They are also a family of five."

"Didn't you already determine that the color of the roof is related to family members?" the system asked.

"I still find it a bit strange," Yan Xun said. "Why would this kind of division exist?"

He followed the street to other houses with white roofs. He didn't go inside, but just stood somewhere pretending to make a phone call. After a while, the family of four followed the road to that house.

They quickly noticed Yan Xun making the phone call.

Yan Xun immediately smiled and greeted them.

They nodded and smiled, then opened the door and went home.

“That was a family of four,” Yan Xun said, “the parents and the child.”

However, one of the children was already a high school student, while the other was lying in a stroller.

It's summer, but the stroller is completely covered up; I wonder if they're afraid the child will catch a chill.

Xiao He only mentioned that she was a family of five, but Yan Xun guessed that she had no siblings, otherwise Xiao He would most likely have brought up the topic when he mentioned Shuangshuang last time.

But this isn't absolute. Yan Xun thought, what if Xiao He has a very bad relationship with her siblings and doesn't want to talk about it at all?

Even so, the other party will likely remark that their relationship with their siblings is not harmonious.

Therefore, Yan Xun could only assume that the other party was an only child.

In this family of five, the maternal grandfather has passed away, and the remaining family member is likely the other party's maternal grandmother.

The family members were not very similar to those of the family we just passed by, or even to Yan Xun's family.

Do you remember the previous resident of our building?

"The reason for installing barrier-free facilities in the house is that there was an elderly person with mobility issues in the previous household."

What do you think our four families have in common?

The system was puzzled. "You should ask Lou Yanchuan, not me."

How would I know!

It doesn't need to participate in decryption!

Yan Xun thought to himself, talking to the system is really boring.

He sighed, realizing that Lou Yanchuan wasn't entirely without merit.

“The common point is that there is a ‘frail’ person in each of our four families.” Yan Xun held up a finger. “In our family, Lou Yanchuan can’t walk.”

“The previous resident had an elderly person with limited mobility.”

"Xiaohe's maternal grandfather is also in poor health." Although it is unknown exactly what happened, it is easy to conclude from Xiaohe's description that her maternal grandfather has been suffering from a long-term illness.

"As for the family of four from earlier," Yan Xun knew his deduction was a bit bold, but he still decided to say it, "Babies are inherently more fragile and easily injured."

And judging from how tightly the stroller was covered up, the child's health might indeed be poor.

The system was taken aback by Yan Xun's words. [That seems to make some sense.]

"However, this can only be considered my guess," Yan Xun said.

"We're missing some crucial clues."

“Unless we visit other white rooftops,” Yan Xun said, “or simply ask the people inside the white houses.”

"The white house?" the system asked. "You mean the NPCs in the property management office?"

Would they answer that kind of question?

"No," Yan Xun said, "but I can ask it another way."

【for example? 】

"For example, other communities also care for the elderly and organize physical examinations."

"Or it could be organizing extracurricular activities for elementary school students."

Why doesn't our community have this?

Yan Xun said, "Whether their answer is that there are too few people or that they cannot organize for some other reason, we can still find some clues."

Even if this kind of probing doesn't work.

“We can also use organizing this event as an excuse to knock on other residents’ doors and see where the family members are located.” Yan Xun said as he walked back to the entrance of the weekend market.

【Why are you at the market again?】The system didn't understand what Yan Xun wanted to do.

“Buy some pet treats and see if I can strike up a conversation with the person walking the dog,” Yan Xun said. “Then I’ll find an opportunity to go to his house to look for clues.”