Game of Deception Chapter 34: Are There Really Ghosts?

"Exactly," Ti Key nodded in agreent. "When I first t Ke'er, it was because she helped tune my instrunt. I think it's called... perfect pitch, right?"

"Whoa!"

The red-haired boy carefully accepted the bass and let out a surprised cry. "I've heard of that! I saw it in a Detective Conan movie!"

"It's not that amazing."

Gu Ke'er smiled. "Actually, it can be learned through training... it's just that not many people are naturally born with it."

Despite her modesty, she raised her chin proudly. "I haven't completely forgotten my childhood piano lessons! I spent last month brushing up on them, so I should be able to work as a tutor soon. I found a gig that pays two hundred yuan an hour... I might be able to save up enough money to buy an instrunt very soon!"

Her eyes turned bright and clear, brimming with hope.

Clearly, she highly valued her own talents.

...Perhaps it was because, to the Gu Ke'er of today, a talent that allowed her to earn money was a skill that kept her alive. For a young girl to survive on her own in a city with such a high cost of living, even having a place to stay was no easy feat.

Listening to her, it sounded like her mother still wasn't paying her much mind.

The good news that could let "Frankenstein" rest in peace was that, although Ke'er's life was difficult now, she was at least happy.

There was light in her eyes and a smile on her face. At the very least, she wouldn't starve, and she had found sothing she wanted to do.

The only problem was that the future prospects of this job might not be too optimistic.

Moreover, starting a band...

That was not an easy way to make money.

Or rather, it was a great way to burn through it.

Ming Po sighed.

He had watched friends start bands back in college, so he had so idea of how it worked.

The inco from a two-hour gig for this kind of part-ti band might not even reach a thousand yuan. Even for a more formal, original underground band, a two-hour performance rarely brought in over two thousand yuan, and those kinds of invitations didn't co every day. Scoring one gig over the weekend was about the best they could hope for.

In other words, with limited working hours, the average hourly wage per person was less than fifty yuan. A full-ti band could perform about twelve tis a month, and a part-ti band would cut that number in half. If their skill level wasn't up to par, it would be difficult for each person's monthly inco to exceed four thousand yuan.

In a place like Shanghai, even a waiter might make more than that.

If they wanted to earn more or get a cut of the alcohol sales, they would need to draw a crowd. That wasn't sothing an amateur band like this could pull off.

For a mont, Ming Po didn't know whether he should figure out a way to support her so she could keep chasing her dream... or if he should help her find a stable, proper job.

At her current age, being able to perform on a weekday and then go ho to hang out most likely ant she wasn't in college.

—Besides, what's going on with you, you little punk?

Ming Po looked at Ti Key with a complicated gaze.

He had practically watched the girl grow up, but he had never heard about her liking this sort of thing back then.

Ming Po clearly rembered that Ti Key had moved away after getting into college... Although he had only seen her during her kindergarten years, doing the math confird she was indeed that little girl. He had thought it was strange when he saw Ti Key coming out of her house earlier, but now he was finally certain—she was the kid he had looked after.

So on this worldline, did Ti Key not get into college? Or did she drop out and move back ho?

Could it really be that the closer the heart is to the guitar, the further the hands are from a diploma...?

"Ke'er," Ti Key suddenly spoke up, "I think maybe you should call the police. It's been four days already... If we can't scare that guy away, you might as well just report it."

Hearing this, the smile on Gu Ke'er's face faded significantly.

She frowned and lowered her head slightly, neither nodding nor shaking it.

"It can't really be a stalker, right?"

The boy also seed a little uneasy, lowering his voice. "But Sister Key, you haven't even seen anyone..."

"What the hell are you afraid of!"

Ti Key glared at him. "I called a guy over for exactly this reason! Speak louder!"

"Yes!" The boy imdiately stood at attention, his voice growing a bit louder.

"Show so spirit, don't embarrass us!"

"I! Have plenty of spirit!" the boy's voice grew so loud it almost cracked.

"Good, very spirited!"

Ti Key nodded in satisfaction.

...A stalker?

Ming Po raised an eyebrow.

No wonder... earlier, when Ti Key opened the door, her face had been filled with so much hostility. And he had also sensed a hint of unease hidden within Ke'er's radiant smile...

Ming Po actually understood this feeling quite well.

When he was young, he had been timid and shy.

Back then, he had watched too many suspense and cri shows, so he was always afraid soone was following him, or worried that a thief or robber had snuck into a dark corner of his house. And if he accidentally ran into a thief, the intruder might lash out in a panic and kill him.

Because of that, Ming Po would sotis deliberately speak loudly to startle any potential "bad guys"—aning, if you're there, please run away as soon as you hear my voice.

Hearing this, Ming Po understood why they were roughhousing—it was just to make so noise.

After all, Gu Ke'er was a girl living alone; there was no one else in the house.

If she were being stalked, it was inevitable she would be scared. So Ti Key had brought soone over to make a ruckus... The idea was to signal to the potential "stalker" that there were people ho.

But this wasn't a long-term solution.

Why not install a security cara?

Ming Po considered finding soone to help her install one, but he was worried it might scare her.

Maybe he should just catch the guy himself.

Others couldn't see him anyway, and he didn't need to eat or sleep nowadays. He could just wander around the neighborhood in his free ti and look for anyone suspicious.

But right then, the boy's words caught Ming Po's attention.

"I'm not afraid of a stalker—I'm not scared of a fight! What I'm afraid of is..."

As he spoke, his expression turned incredibly grave.

Ming Po also grew serious, leaning in to hear what he was going to say.

Ti Key leaned in solemnly as well—she was more than a head taller than the boy, which made the movent look rather comical.

"Sis, I'm saying..."

The boy whispered earnestly, "I'm being serious—could there really be ghosts in this world?"

"There are."

Ming Po nodded earnestly and answered, "There really are."

"You're almost an adult, how can you believe in that kind of stuff! No wonder you couldn't pass the high school entrance exams, haven't you studied materialism?!"

Ti Key laughed out of sheer disbelief. She slapped him on the shoulder, producing a loud smack. "You dye your hair like Hanamichi Sakuragi, can't you have a little bit of Hanamichi Sakuragi's courage?!"

Ignoring his defense of "I'm Exusiai!", she furiously pumled the boy's back, hitting him until she made herself hiccup from anger.

Right at that mont, another knock ca at the door.

"Hey, is there an end to this?!"

Still seething with frustration, Ti Key grabbed her guitar.

But after a mont's thought, she set the guitar back down, picked up a dumbbell instead, and stord out.

Ming Po followed her over.

As Ti Key pulled the door open again, sure enough, there was nothing there.

Gripping the dumbbell tightly, she glared left and right.

Her knuckles were white from the force of her grip. If she actually ran into soone, she would probably smash them right on the head—this was perhaps the fierce combat power inherited from her father's northern bloodline.

Outside the door stood a little boy wearing a yellow hoodie.

He stared into the room in astonishnt.

Ming Po smiled ominously, locking eyes with him.

In the depths of his pupils, a scarlet light was shining.

—In the black-and-white world, only the two people looking at each other across the doorway had color.

The next mont, the little boy turned around and ran!