Chapter 284 - 283: Something Happened

Chapter 284: Chapter 283: Something Happened

Recently, Gu Qingyin had been waking up early every day to exercise and get back in shape, so she had developed a fixed biological clock. Her eyes would open right at six in the morning.

But today, she didn’t get up after her eyes opened. Instead, she snuggled deeper into Huo Yunjing’s embrace and closed them again.

’It’s a vacation, after all. It’s okay to indulge once or twice.’

Gu Qingyin convinced herself and groggily drifted back to sleep. By the time she opened her eyes again, the sun was high in the sky. Huo Yunjing had gotten up at some point and was now sitting on the edge of the terrace, fishing. He looked utterly content.

Gu Qingyin stretched comfortably, got out of bed to wash up, then carried a cup of coffee over to Huo Yunjing. Peeking into the bucket behind him, she said in surprise, "You’ve caught quite a few. Impressive."

Huo Yunjing accepted her praise with a smile and promised, "Just two more, and then I’ll make a feast of fish for us."

Gu Qingyin clicked her tongue. "Well, good luck with that!"

"Breakfast is in the thermal container. Go and have some."

Gu Qingyin smiled and turned to go to the dining area. They had ordered breakfast the previous night, and the staff had delivered it in a thermal container that morning. Even though several hours had passed, the food was still warm and perfect for eating.

After she finished eating, Gu Qingyin returned to the terrace. Huo Yunjing had already put away his fishing rod. She raised an eyebrow. "All done?"

Huo Yunjing raised an eyebrow and nodded. "To make sure the fish feast is a surprise, I’m going to have to ask you to go out for a while. Wait for me to call you back."

Gu Qingyin clicked her tongue in discontent. "But we were supposed to be on vacation *together*."

Huo Yunjing walked over, leaned down to kiss her, and coaxed, "Be good. I’ll spend time with you later. Go have some fun by yourself for now."

Gu Qingyin reluctantly agreed and went to the walk-in closet to change her clothes.

It was still a bit chilly this time of year, so she put on a pair of wide-leg trousers, canvas shoes, and a knit hoodie.

It was a simple outfit, but very comfortable.

After telling Huo Yunjing she was leaving, Gu Qingyin grabbed her phone and headed out.

Their villa was situated in the middle of a lake. To get to the main resort area, she had to leave the courtyard and cross a wooden bridge.

Gu Qingyin strolled along leisurely, taking pictures as she went.

The sunlight was perfect today. Whether she was taking selfies or photos of the scenery, they all came out beautifully.

Gu Qingyin got a little hooked, stopping to take a picture every few steps. It took her more than half an hour of dawdling to finally cross the bridge.

She stood at the head of the bridge, feeling a bit directionless for a moment. Then, she looked down, pulled up the resort map on her phone, and looked for somewhere fun to go.

She skipped past the various recreational facilities and dining options, which didn’t leave many places to go.

In the end, Gu Qingyin decided to go to the flower fields—a sea of lavender that looked incredibly romantic in the photos.

She decided to scout it out first. If it was as beautiful as it looked, she could bring Huo Yunjing with her tomorrow.

After figuring out the route, Gu Qingyin put her phone away and started walking toward her destination. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far, and she could pass the time by taking photos and enjoying the scenery along the way.

But one thing was strange: she passed several people who were all hurrying, and they all seemed to be heading toward the flower fields as well.

Gu Qingyin was puzzled. ’The resort isn’t officially open yet,’ she thought, ’so there shouldn’t be any event in the flower fields, right?’ At that thought, she quickened her pace.

As the flower fields came into view in the distance, Gu Qingyin’s heart sank.

It was nothing like the scene she had imagined, with people scattered about taking pictures. Instead, everyone was crowded into one corner of the field, as if they were rubbernecking at something.

In her experience, a scene like this meant something bad had happened.

As she drew closer, her expression grew grim. She could see ghost energy beginning to coalesce. It wasn’t hard to guess what that meant: the crowd was surrounding a body, and the person had died very recently.

"What should we do? Should we call the police?"

"We should contact the resort management first."

"For something like this to happen before the grand opening... who’s going to dare to come here in the future?"

...

The onlookers murmured amongst themselves.

Gu Qingyin strode forward, pushing through the crowd as she dialed Huo Xingye’s number. "There’s trouble at the resort. I need the manager’s phone number."

The people she pushed past were initially annoyed, but when they saw she looked ready to take charge, they fell silent. They simply sized her up discreetly, wondering who she was.

Since returning to the Huo Family, Gu Qingyin had only made a single public appearance, and that had been a long time ago. Even if some people here had seen her then, she would only look familiar now, and they wouldn’t dare to presume her identity.

Huo Xingye quickly sent over the manager’s number. But before Gu Qingyin could even dial, her phone rang. It was him.

"Madam, this is Manager Wang from the resort," a clear male voice came over the line.

Gu Qingyin responded with an emotionless "mm-hm." "There’s been a death in the flower fields. Get your staff over here to disperse the onlookers."

"Understood. We’re on our way now," Manager Wang replied, his voice steady. "I’ve already called the police, and security is pulling the surveillance footage. The resort is on lockdown, with access restricted."

A flash of appreciation appeared in Gu Qingyin’s eyes. "Very good. I’ll be waiting."

"Thank you for your trouble, Madam."

After hanging up, Gu Qingyin scanned the crowd of onlookers. "Who was the first person to discover the body?"

The crowd exchanged glances and collectively took a step back. After a few seconds, a hoarse voice finally spoke up. "It was me."

Gu Qingyin looked over to see a young woman in a long dress with a flower tucked by her ear. Her eyes were red, and she was leaning against the man beside her, obviously terrified.

Gu Qingyin’s expression softened. She walked over to the woman. "Don’t be afraid. Just tell me what you saw."

As she spoke, Gu Qingyin glanced at the ghost soul that had already formed next to the corpse. ’If new ghosts weren’t always so confused—unable to regain full awareness until after the first seven days—I wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of asking other people.’

At her words, the other onlookers turned to stare. The young woman visibly flinched in fear, biting her lip and saying nothing.

Gu Qingyin frowned, a headache coming on as she surveyed the crowd. ’I can’t let these people leave. The death was recent, which means whoever was in the flower fields at the time is a prime suspect.’

’But in this woman’s state, I probably won’t get anything out of her.’

She sighed and said in a soothing voice, "It’s all right. Just focus on calming down for now. Try to remember everything you saw, and we can talk again when the police get here."

The woman nodded, fresh tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

The man holding her tightened his grip on her shoulder, his expression darkening. "We were invited guests, and now this happens. The Huo Group had better give us a reasonable explanation and compensation!"

When he said this, the people around him exchanged glances, but almost no one voiced their agreement.

The guests invited to the opening ceremony were all prominent figures from various industries. Even if they were unhappy, they would be thinking about what advantages they could leverage from the situation, not just brazenly demanding money.

Besides, saying something like that out loud, especially in front of so many people, was just classless.

’They would never stoop so low.’

And so, after a moment of silence, the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves again.

"Who is that guy? He has no class."

"Exactly. Someone is dead, and he’s already thinking about compensation? He must be desperate for a payout."

"He looks unfamiliar. Do any of you recognize him?"

"I don’t. But the woman he’s with... I think that’s the second daughter of the Bai Family."

After a moment of silence, someone let out a sneer. "Oh, so he’s just a plus-one. No wonder..."

The man’s face flushed with shame and anger, and he didn’t dare utter another word.