Chapter 35: Interrogation
Fortunately, Yi Ning had sharp eyes. The moment Lu Zheng's head peeked out, she snatched a cushion from the sofa and hurled it forcefully at the corner where he was hiding.
But with such a big movement, of course the two on the other side of the screen wouldn’t miss it.
“What are you doing?”
Ji Ping tilted his head slightly, trying to peer past the screen toward where Yi Ning had thrown the cushion.
Luckily, Yi Ning had lazily used a camera that couldn’t pan, so Ji Ping’s effort was in vain.
Yi Ning casually made up an excuse: “Nothing. A cockroach suddenly popped up over there.”
Lu Zheng, curled up in the corner, felt a bit hurt.
And since the two people on the other side were old acquaintances of Yi Ning, this excuse wouldn’t fool them.
“I don’t remember you ever being scared of cockroaches.”
Even Xia An looked at Yi Ning with a scornful expression.
Ji Ping squinted and rubbed his chin.
He wasn’t like Xia An—his attention wasn’t on superficial things.
To him, Yi Ning’s action looked less like killing a bug and more like a signal.
Could there really be someone hiding in Yi Ning’s home?
That idea suddenly flashed through Ji Ping’s mind.
Combined with some of Yi Ning’s obviously-not-for-them expressions and her wandering glances, he increasingly felt that his guess was right.
But this was Yi Ning we were talking about—who could be capable enough to be hiding in her home?
“Aren’t you living in the Mirror World? I remember there’s no other living creature there besides you, right?”
Ji Ping probed.
“Accidentally brought one in at the door.”
Yi Ning turned her head slightly, not daring to look at the two people on the screen.
“How careless do you have to be to bring a cockroach into the house?”
Even Xia An could tell she was lying.
“Say, Yi Ning. This is just my speculation—”
Ji Ping prepared to deliver the final blow.
He crossed his hands and rested his chin on them, posing like Commander Ikari.
“You’re not hiding someone in your home, are you?”
“That’s right! Yi Ning, you’re not serious...”
Xia An nodded along and suddenly shot up, exclaiming.
“Yi Ning’s hiding someone in her house!”
“Who, who?!”
She leapt from her chair and pressed her face to the screen, trying to peer into Yi Ning’s place.
“I don’t know what nonsense you’re babbling.”
Yi Ning still stubbornly refused to admit anything.
“If you really think I’m hiding someone, then tell me who. Even slander needs some evidence.”
Who else could it be?
Ji Ping rolled his eyes.
Yi Ning’s social circle was small—besides them, the landlord, construction crews, and material suppliers, there were only the heroes from the Hero Association.
If it were someone like a contractor or landlord for work reasons, she wouldn’t have brought them home, let alone acted so evasive.
So there was only one truth!
The person hiding in Yi Ning’s home had to be that Pixel Mask guy she called her archenemy!
But having reached the truth, Ji Ping actually felt a bit of a headache.
No wonder Yi Ning refused to admit it.
She was technically a villain—having a hero in her home was too sensitive.
He had gotten a bit too excited catching her slip-up.
“Speaking of which, that idea Xia An had about seducing your archenemy—I don’t think it’s such a bad strategy.”
Ji Ping wisely chose to change the subject.
“What is seducing Pixel Mask? That guy is still a hero, you know.”
Yi Ning quickly picked up on the new topic.
She didn’t particularly like it either, but it was better than sticking with the person-hidden-in-the-house topic.
And of course, she instantly understood that Ji Ping had guessed the identity of the one hiding in the corner.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have diverted the conversation so smoothly.
Seeing the two shift topics, Xia An, though still curious about the identity of the hidden person, temporarily let it go.
She immediately jumped into the conversation.
“So what if he’s a hero? Before being a hero, he’s still a man! And as long as he’s a man, no way he doesn’t like sweet, soft, fragrant girls! Plus, Yi Ning, your record’s super clean, right?”
“You said it—‘girls’. I was still a man just a few days ago.”
Yi Ning was exasperated.
Was this torture?
Why was she even discussing whether she and another man might have romantic potential?
And that man just so happened to be nearby.
She looked toward the corner where Lu Zheng was hiding.
Despite trying hard to stay hidden, the ear sticking out betrayed the fact that he’d been eavesdropping the whole time.
What kind of shame play was this?!
Yi Ning pulled her legs onto the sofa, hugging them with both arms and resting her chin on her knees.
“Anyway, about today’s mission—”
She tried changing the topic again.
“Maybe report it when you actually succeed for once.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Usually, Yi Ning used the excuse of being out in the field to mercilessly mock these two. They weren’t about to miss this rare chance to turn the tables.
Aside from teasing her for fun, Ji Ping also genuinely believed that building ties with someone in the Hero Association might be a way forward for Yi Ning.
She wasn’t like the rest of them—because of how she was raised, she never harmed innocent people, giving her more options in life.
Xia An was just purely enjoying how flustered Yi Ning was—wasting this chance would be criminal.
“So what if you were a man? Your body now is 100% female, y’know.”
She deliberately dragged out the topic.
“I even went to the hospital for a check-up. All the functions are working just fine...”
She trailed off for suspense.
Unfortunately, she’d said too much up front, and Yi Ning easily guessed the next line.
“Even having kids won’t be a problem.”
Xia An gave a thumbs-up and winked at Yi Ning.
What are you winking at me for!?
Yi Ning could only cover her face in despair.
She really didn’t need to know this kind of information!
“Anyway, now that the reports are done, I’m shutting this down.”
Yi Ning couldn’t take the torture anymore. She ignored the two on the screen and ran to turn off the communication.
But of course, those two weren’t going to let her off that easily.
Barely a few seconds later, the TV started beeping again with a new signal...