HCB Chapter 135 It's Haunted
Chapter 135 It's Haunted
"Hehe," Yan Xun thought.
Do you think I can't find it even if you don't tell me?
[Yan Xun: You really won't tell?]
[He Jingtang: I'd rather die than tell.]
Perhaps feeling that his tone was too harsh, He Jingtang sent a voice message less than half a minute later.
Yan Xun clicked on it—
"It's hard to say about this." He Jingtang's voice sounded somewhat hesitant. "If I hadn't happened to see your search history, I wouldn't have told you about this."
"You'd better not investigate further."
Yan Xun only replied with a few ellipses.
Upon seeing Yan Xun's reply, He Jingtang immediately panicked—
He felt that Yan Xun had become distant from him and no longer treated him as a brother.
Indeed, He Jingtang thought, who would be so hesitant with their best friend?
However, considering the relationship between Yan Xun and Song Baiyuan, He Jingtang still did not intend to speak.
It was his turn to wait in line when a staff member came over to remind him, and He Jingtang had no choice but to put down his phone... When he turned around, he saw Xiao Zheng holding a coffee right behind him.
"For me?" He Jingtang asked Xiao Zheng.
Xiao Zheng nodded.
He Jingtang took it, took a sip, and noticed that Xiao Zheng wasn't in a good mood.
He Jingtang put down his coffee, puzzled as to why Yan Xun liked this brand. "Are you in a bad mood?"
He walked towards the waiting area as he spoke, with Xiao Zheng following beside him.
"I saw the staff from last time."
"Last time?" He Jingtang didn't understand what he meant. He was a guest mentor on a variety show today, and the show had been recorded for 12 hours, which made him dizzy and lightheaded. He had just caught his breath and took a moment to check on Yan Xun's situation.
"What do you mean, 'last time'?"
He repeated it again.
Xiao Zheng briefly explained, "That staff member was also present when I recorded the show with Brother Yan last time."
That program and this one are both produced by the same website, so it's not surprising to encounter similar staff, He Jingtang thought. He glanced at Xiao Zheng, "Was his attitude bad?"
"No." Xiao Zheng hesitated a bit.
They seemed unsure whether to tell He Jingtang about this.
"Speak your mind." He Jingtang couldn't stand Xiao Zheng's timid and hesitant manner any longer. The other person had been hunchbacked for many years and always spoke with his head down, which made it impossible for He Jingtang to remember Xiao Zheng's exact appearance after all this time.
"I suspect this person's identity is fake," Xiao Zheng hurriedly stated.
“When I bought coffee for Brother Yan before, I saw this person in the corridor when I left the lounge.”
"He was right at the door, as if he was just waiting for me to come out."
“That’s not surprising,” He Jingtang said dismissively. “He thought you were talking about something, so he definitely wouldn’t suddenly go in.”
“…Then I pretended to go buy coffee,” Xiao Zheng continued, “but I didn’t go far.”
He Jingtang raised an eyebrow, signaling Xiao Zheng to continue.
"I noticed him leaning against the door, as if listening to what was happening in the break room."
He Jingtang looked at Xiao Zheng with slight surprise, "Are you sure?"
"Eavesdropping by pressing against the door."
"I'm sure!" Xiao Zheng said, his voice trembling with excitement. "He really was pressed against the door, as if he was eavesdropping on something..."
"Why didn't you stop it then?" He Jing asked. "You saw it, why didn't you say anything?"
"I was called away by someone else." Xiao Zheng was a little embarrassed. He was always timid and would do whatever others said. Hearing He Jingtang's question, he suddenly felt scared.
He Jingtang was speechless, but he could only remain silent—based on his understanding of this personal assistant, Xiao Zheng was likely too afraid to say anything.
"and then?"
"Then when I came back, I found him standing outside the lounge door."
"He didn't do anything?" He Jingtang asked again.
"Probably not," Xiao Zheng said again. "Brother Yan didn't say anything, so nothing must have happened..."
"However, he went up to Brother Yan and kept saying that he was a fan of the group and especially liked Brother Yan. He also showed him a lot of the merchandise he had bought."
He Jingtang listened for a while, then became less concerned, saying, "He's probably just a fan who's a bit...lacking in boundaries."
However, the act of eavesdropping at the door of the lounge was indeed a bit terrifying. He Jingtang thought that he decided to ask the production team to retrieve the surveillance footage from that time, to see if it had captured this scene of the staff member.
"What's his name?"
"He said his name was Xiaolou," Xiao Zheng said.
"Okay, I get it."
He Jingtang waved his hand; the break was over, and it was his turn to go on stage.
When the recording ended and Xiao Zheng went to contact the driver, He Jingtang finally found a staff member he knew and said he wanted to see the surveillance footage outside the dressing room when Yan Xun and Ning Xinian were recording the show that day.
Upon hearing this, the other person gave a knowing look, "You ran into a stalker?"
"More or less," He Jingtang said vaguely.
The other party was quite generous; the last time the program was recorded was less than a week ago, and the surveillance footage had not been overwritten.
He Jingtang messaged Xiao Zheng to say that he had something to do, and after arriving at the parking lot a while later, he carefully watched the video footage.
However, in the video from beginning to end, there was no one else besides Xiao Zheng, Yan Xun, and Ning Xinian.
He Jingtang frowned—
"Do you have a staff member here named Xiaolou?"
"Interns count too."
"Xiao Lou?" The man, who was a minor manager, thought for a moment after hearing this, "There really isn't one."
"But the small building doesn't have one, while the old building does."
He Jingtang pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered who Lao Lou was referring to, "Your person in charge?"
"Correct."
The staff member scratched his head. "Our boss, you know him, he's the one who produced your show and the one with Ning Xinian as a regular."
He Jingtang actually knew this old man.
People in their 40s only care about ratings and online viewership data; they have absolutely no interest in following celebrities.
He Jingtang knew the staff were just joking, so he smiled along.
He walked to the underground parking lot, found the van, and Xiao Zheng sat in the passenger seat, looking back at him with an expectant look at the results of his investigation.
“You must have been seeing things,” He Jingtang said.
"The surveillance footage only shows the three of you; there was no small building anywhere from beginning to end."
“But…” Xiao Zheng said doubtfully, “We all saw him!”
"I'm definitely not seeing things."
He Jingtang knew, of course, that Xiao Zheng wasn't seeing things. But if he wasn't seeing things, there was no such person in the surveillance footage, and even the staff had never heard of him. Besides seeing things, there was only one other possibility.
It's haunted.
……
You're saying the TV station is haunted?
He Jingtang had just returned when he pulled Yan Xun into a small room for a whispered conversation, and then dropped a bombshell on him.
"Yes." He Jingtang looked frightened. "I didn't see Xiao Lou, the staff member who informed you of the process, in the surveillance footage at all."
He moved closer to Yan Xun and said, "How about we go pray to them sometime? It's so scary."
"But that's not surprising. I've heard that places like TV stations and film studios aren't very clean and are prone to being haunted..."