Clown Game
Chapter 190 - 190 178 Story Six

Chapter 190: Chapter 178 Story Six Chapter 190: Chapter 178 Story Six A quick zoom in obscured the lens with an object blocking the light.

This was a film transition technique that had been overused in movies; when the image reappeared, it was surely a different scene.

Those few seconds were precisely the time given to the contestants to ask questions…

In the recent plot sequence, the chief had covertly given the third-rate detective some exclusive information with a witness present. A vagrant pointed out that the murderer wore a beige trench coat and seemed to be holding the murder weapon. Mr. Andrew showed a peculiar hesitation about this “absolutely exclusive” clue. From any angle, these scenes should be crucial moments in the story, yet the two contestants seemed indifferent to the conversation that had just taken place in the tavern, not even asking a single question.

…

…

The story continued,

In the darkness, the sound of “click, click” from unlocking was heard once more, followed by the camera pulling back to reveal the same messy apartment. Just as before, Andrew listlessly opened the apartment door and walked in.

From his hairstyle and attire, he must have just returned from the bar. He flung his shoes carelessly into the corner, then walked over to the fridge out of habit, intending to grab a beer.

But as he opened the fridge door, he paused for a moment.

The camera turned to the inside of the fridge, where one could see that, although the fridge had been full of beer in the previous shot, there seemed to be a lot less now.

Andrew looked puzzled but still took out a bottle and began drinking…

Then he turned around to look around the room. The camera followed his gaze, sweeping through the living room littered with wads of tissue, clothes piled up in disarray, and corners stacked with mountains of instant noodle cups. One could almost smell the rancid scent of the noodle broth through the screen… All this was no different from the living room as seen in the previous shot.

Andrew frowned, took another gulp of beer, and walked toward his bedroom…

At this point, the camera reversed, aiming out from inside toward the bedroom door. But due to the angle, the inside of the bedroom wasn’t clear.

A “click” sounded as the doorknob turned, and then the door opened.

There was a close-up of Andrew’s face, looking half-awake, still with a mouthful of beer he hadn’t swallowed yet!

Then

…

It was gone.

Er… yes, it was gone. I know this plot may seem baffling, and it ended abruptly, but that was it, the TV screen just abruptly went to black, as though the complete image was harshly snipped off.

…

And then!

“I want to see his bedroom.”

The very next second after the image disappeared, Chen Xiao shouted.

Following him, Yuto also yelled loudly, “I want to see it too! I’m bidding!”

…

For some reason, these two care a great deal about the shot of Mr. Andrew’s bedroom.

“Ah, ah… don’t yell, I can hear you,” the voice from the TV sounded helpless. If it had hands, it would be cupping its ears with an impatient expression right now… oh, but that would require ears.

“Now… the bidding is for ‘the image of Andrew’s bedroom?’… Worth 50 points!”

…

…

Although the reason was still unknown, the price of this piece of information was incredibly high, a full five times more than Mr. Andrew’s personal information or the content of those phone calls.

But the two contestants didn’t seem too surprised by it.

“51 points!” Chen Xiao immediately raised his hand and shouted.

“60 points!” Yuto followed without hesitation, directly throwing out a price 10 points higher.

Chen Xiao’s face darkened, “Hey, you didn’t care at all about that crucial clue in the last scene, so why are you being so generous with this ‘minor scene’ now?”

Yuto scoffed with disdain, “Minor scene? The look of panic on your face just now didn’t seem like one appropriate for a ‘minor scene’ at all! Could it be that you have some strange preference for disheveled, middle-aged bachelors?” Yuto looked surprised, as if he had uncovered some shocking news.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao hurriedly shyly lowered his head, “…Since you’ve seen through me, I won’t hide it any longer, yes, I indeed enjoy looking at messy men’s boudoirs, I can’t help it, so, please Mr. Yuto, cede this scene to me.”

Seeing Chen Xiao’s coy demeanor, Yuto’s eye twitched violently, “Hey, hey, you’re just running with my ridicule now! Are you willing to throw away your dignity just to save a few chips?”

The two of them wasted time with their back-and-forth banter.

…

Strictly speaking, the television could hardly be counted as human, but even as a household appliance, it just couldn’t stand this kind of pointless dialogue any longer.

“Hey, hey, hey, can you stop the useless chatter! If you don’t raise your bid, you’ll be considered to have given up! 5, 4, 3…” as it spoke, it even started a countdown.

Chen Xiao also realized that playing cute was getting him nowhere, as the opponent clearly understood the importance of this scene.

Indeed… the transition in this scene was very stiff, one could clearly feel that it was deliberately edited to hide something, the significance of which was self-evident.

In other words, if he did not put forward a satisfying bid, the other party was not going to back down.

“Alright… how much are you thinking?” Chen Xiao asked with a vacant gaze.

“100 points!” Hesitating slightly, the other party announced their final price and casually leaned back in the chair, indicating, “This is the most I’ll give, you either raise the price or give up.”

“Double the starting price, huh… A very fair price indeed.” Chen Xiao licked his lips and said, “Alright, 101 points, I’ll take it.”

“Oh? So hasty!” Yuto revealed a mocking expression, “Although it’s an important plot point, to bid so recklessly when your own chips are fewer than your opponent’s… Well, you probably won’t have any competitive edge in all the upcoming auctions, and I guess a few scenes later, you might not even be able to ask a question… Haha.”

He taunted.

After hearing this, Chen Xiao turned his head away haughtily, clearly unwilling to entertain the other party. Right then, his phone began to ring.

Chen Xiao glanced at the phone screen, and whatever he saw caused his eyes to widen dramatically.

Yuto, having spotted his exaggerated expression, sneered, “Heh… all just a bluff.”

Chen Xiao looked up, “Cut the nonsense, let’s get on with the story.”

…

Following his words, the television screen came back to life, this time focusing on a noisy street. The sunlight in the upper left corner of the screen formed a halo, and beyond the flow of traffic, one could see a not-so-large private hospital. Those with sharp eyes might notice the empty parking lot nearby, probably indicating that it rarely had many patients.

…

At that moment, the camera had advanced to the front of the hospital, and the revolving door was being pushed.

…

Then, Mr. Andrew walked out looking full of worry, carrying a non-transparent bag which made it impossible to see its contents.

He shook his head, ran his hands through his hair, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep draw…

Just then

“Ring, ring, ring…”

The sound of a phone ringing. Mr. Andrew seemed startled by the ringtone, his expression becoming very tense.

After gritting his teeth, he took out his phone, stared at the caller ID for several seconds, and then, trembling, he answered the call.

“Hello…”