Deadly Trap

Chapter 109 Extra: The Murder at the Mountain Lodge in the Snowstorm

It was a winter night, and the snow kept falling. The mountains outside the window were pitch black and endless, and the snowflakes were like fine goose down.

The rented mountain villa was warmly lit, and the dining room was filled with laughter. The table was laden with desserts, and drinks of alcohol, juice, and barley tea mingled.

Yu He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his belly where he could no longer eat, his wedding ring sparkling: "Lihua, didn't you say you wrote a murder mystery game? Now's the perfect time to play with it!"

"Script-killing?"

Monday, who had been listlessly sipping barley tea, immediately perked up. Now a full-time writer, he couldn't help but stare intently at Su Li: "Impressive. An architect switching to screenwriting? I admire you."

Sipping her Baileys, Su Li's smile was indistinct, the blush on her face hard to tell if it was shyness or drunkenness: "Just writing for fun. Anyway, everyone's tired from skiing all day, so this is a good way to refresh our minds. I won't participate."

Welsh, on the other side, was unusually nervous: "I've never played this before."

Li Enzuo gently patted Welsh's shoulder and stretched. He smiled like a child, revealing two dimples: "Welsh, your leisure time is too simple. Play first, and you'll know how fun it is."

"But isn't it too easy for Mu Fei to play this?" Dai Ze grumbled slowly. "Shouldn't we put some restrictions on the 'great strategist of Minzhou'?"

Su Li smiled mysteriously: "Not necessarily. Apart from me, no one knows who the real murderer is. Maybe Mu Fei is the one being hunted."

Hearing Su Li say this, Gu Mufeng gently shook the honey-colored cognac in his hand, his handsome cold eyes filled with indulgence and doting, and he held Su Li's waist tightly.

Everyone was in high spirits and drew lots to assign roles as requested by Su Li.

When Li Enzu saw his character card, he couldn't help but let out a wail: "Screenwriter? I can't even finish my thesis."

But Zhou Yi excitedly held up the card, beaming: "Finally, I've become an investor! Junior, you have good taste!"

Lulu exclaimed with satisfaction, "Great director! I love this!"

Yu He smiled: "A psychologist? Let me see who's hiding something."

Welsh looked helplessly at his movie lead role card and muttered, "I just don't have that vibe at all. Unless..."

"Act in 'The Terminator'?" Yu Hyuk joked, but his words hit the nail on the head. She's truly an excellent "psychologist."

Gu Mufeng and Dai looked at each other, their cards featuring movie actresses, number one and number two, seemingly vying for attention.

Li Enzu laughed until tears streamed down his face: "Sister Su, you're so mean!"

Dai whispered, "I never expected this, Mu Fei, that we sisters would have a fight today."

Gu Mufeng smiled triumphantly, his expression calm: "Don't cry if you lose."

"Can you add more scenes between the female stars? I want to see that." "Me too!" Lulu and Yuhe chimed in.

Su Li said in a serious tone, "Everyone has to act seriously. I'm the judge, and these are the physical evidence."

She handed out several presentable photos, which were passed around among the people at the table: "After you've finished your performance, go wait next door for a bit, and then we'll identify the murderer together at the end. Okay, let's begin!"

Soon after, Li Enzuo was the first to be eliminated. Who told him to draw the victim? After showcasing his actress mother's acting talent to the fullest, Li Enzuo collapsed to the ground, wailing, "Sister Su, you're taking revenge on me!"

Su Li smiled and said, "What revenge do I need?"

With Su Li's gaze silencing him, Li Enzuo could only mumble as he opened the door to the next room.

On Monday, he reluctantly got up to testify, his earlier smugness completely gone. He sighed, "I had an affair with actress number two."

"Wait, Mu Fei, put your hand on Senior Zhou's waist!" Su Li instructed.

Gu Mufeng pulled Zhou Yi into his arms with ease, even adding his own touch of demureness.

The entire audience burst into laughter. Yu He laughed even harder: "Hahaha, there's absolutely no chemistry between them! It's more like they're secretly pinching each other's waists! Hahahaha!"

On Monday, Zhou Yi clutched his head and exclaimed, "I, a respectable investor, only invested in a female celebrity like Gu Mufeng! I was blind!" After this exhilarating performance, Zhou Yi left the stage with a flourish.

Before everyone had finished laughing, Zhou Yi suddenly popped her head out from the doorway: "Isn't Li Enzuo next door?"

Su Li didn't mind: "You went to the restroom, right?"

Lulu then appeared, her voice still soft and sweet: "Actress number one, Dai, is my go-to actress, but the investor hinted that I should change the lead actress to number two, Gu Mufeng. Pear Blossom, why don't I have any scenes involving unspoken rules?"

As she spoke, she carefully flipped through the script.

Dai immediately tried to ingratiate himself: "Director, please consider our past relationship."

Gu Mufeng's performance was even more convincing: "Director, newcomers are always better than veterans."

Surrounded by the two bosses' attentive flattery, Lulu couldn't help but laugh: "Boss and President Dai, as shareholders and executives of Yunjian, this mental trauma deserves a raise."

She covered her mouth with a smile, exchanged a glance with Su Li, and then Lulu nimbly left.

As soon as Yu He's psychologist arrived, Lulu returned with a puzzled and serious expression: "Strange, there's no sign of Young Master Zhou and Renzo. No one answers when we call them. The whole villa is like it's empty."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, a chill creeping up their spines. Indeed, it was best to go and check on them first.

They entered the large living room. The flames in the rough stone fireplace burned gently, the solid wood ceiling soared high in a triangular shape, and the antler lamps cast a soft, comfortable glow on the sunken floor mats.

At the far end of the living room, outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was completely dark, with only the quiet, falling snow.

"Why is the balcony door open?" The curtains swayed slightly as Dai asked in surprise, "There are footprints in the snow? They couldn't have gone out in the middle of the night, could they?"

Yu He was very worried: "Impossible. Old Zhou is like a flower in a greenhouse. He would never run into the snow."

Silently, Gu Mufei had already crouched down by the door, examining it carefully. His brow furrowed calmly, and his phoenix eyes narrowed sharply: "No one went out. Someone came in." He then pointed to a faint trail of water stains against the wall by the door: clearly, someone had quietly entered, and the snow they brought in had recently melted.

Terrified, Su Li clung tightly to Gu Mufeng's hand. Welsh immediately suggested, "Let's check each room."

As he spoke, Welsh grabbed a fire poker from beside the fireplace. In the kitchen, Dai picked up a wrought iron frying pan and casually shoved a sharp cleaver into Gu Mufeng's hand.
"Mu Fei, time for another job tonight. It would be convenient if you still had your switchblade. A kitchen knife... well, that'll do. They're all knives anyway."

The three of them, with their experienced hands, launched a surprise search of the upstairs bedroom. They'd only taken a few steps when Su Li, who had been following behind, suddenly cried out, "Lulu and Yu He! They went silent after they reached the stairs. The basement… the basement door is open!"

With one hand gripping Gu Mufeng's arm tightly, Su Li's outstretched hand was pale and trembling.

The group descended the narrow staircase to the basement. The interior was dark and bare, with only a solitary lamp at the far end illuminating the washing machine and dryer running silently. Beside them sat a worn-out folding chair, magazines spread out, and a half-empty beer, but no one was in sight.

Gu Mufei squinted slightly and leaned closer to take a look; the two machines were just spinning idly.

He decisively pulled out his phone: "Let's call the police."

Just then, everything went completely black before his eyes.

The basement lost power instantly. The washing machine and dryer stopped working immediately. Before Gu Mufei could react, the backup generator outside the window roared to life. All he could see was half of the snow covering the area outside the small window.

Power was restored two minutes later. Gu Mufeng was the only one left in the empty basement.

He paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

This was exactly as he had guessed. The phone screen displayed the cold, indifferent number 25 above 00:01. Midnight had passed; tonight was Christmas. Su Li…

Gu Mufei lowered his eyes, his breathing becoming light and labored.

Su Li's desire to surprise him for his birthday couldn't be more obvious, and he simply went along with it.

But his birthday will always be the anniversary of his sister's death. Celebration is accompanied by guilt, and even a fleeting moment of joy at being alive is like a knife twisting in his heart, making it hard to breathe.

Even if the great revenge is achieved.

His chest tightened, his heart pounding. He released the cleaver and gently placed his hand on the washing machine. Leaning down, he took a deep breath. He told himself that Su Li's kindness and his friend's companionship were even more precious. Today was more important than yesterday. He couldn't let them down.

Having mentally prepared himself, he finally went upstairs. His legs felt like lead. More exquisite than any performance he'd given that night, he acted out the ease and nonchalance he'd grown accustomed to over a decade.

Back in the living room, only Su Li was standing in front of him waiting for him.

Softly, her red lips trembled slightly, her eyes fixed with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, she said:
"Merry Christmas."

Slender fingers wrapped around and tugged at the end of the red ribbon on her long, thin neck...

"Mr. Gu, now you can open your gift."

The soft white mink carpet slipped to her feet, but it paled in comparison to the rosy glow of her skin, her soft breasts rising and falling with her breath, illuminated by the lamplight.

She wasn't wearing anything.

Gu Mufeng was slightly taken aback, then understood everything.

The night was deep. The flickering firelight from the fireplace illuminated the heavy snow outside the window. With their breaths as witness, two lovers kissed and embraced passionately, whispering sweet nothings and merging into one another, their passion intertwined.

It turned out that all of this was Su Li's plan: she would only give herself to him, without burdening him in any way. She had arranged for her friends to stay elsewhere in advance, just to give him a pure white world that belonged only to him and her, with nothing else.

his birthday.

……

Their breathing gradually returned to normal after endless calls, kisses, and hoarse sounds. The large French windows were already covered with warm white frost. Covered in mink fur against their skin, he and she lay on the sunken rug in front of the fireplace, quietly embracing and watching the firelight.

Su Li said softly, "Mu Mu, have you guessed the murderer in the murder mystery script I wrote?"

"Yu He, the psychologist." Holding her soft body tightly in his arms, Gu Mufeng closed his eyes slightly and spoke calmly.

Su Li asked in surprise, "How did you know we hadn't even finished acting?"

Gu Mufeng smiled indulgently: "You deliberately wrote the script in an exaggerated and misleading way. But the evidence speaks for itself."

Su Li nestled warmly in his arms. His keenness and intelligence remained unchanged.

Boundless with love for Gu Mufeng, Su Li leaned forward to look into his handsome eyes, then suddenly smiled mysteriously:
“But actually,” she ruffled his messy blond hair, “there is someone else entirely. That is… myself.”

Her fingertips gently pressed against his pounding heart, her red lips breathing softly, mimicking firing a gun:
"boom."

One finger, two fingers… Gu Mufeng tightened his grip on her hand, gently pulling her close to his heart once more. The afterglow of their passion lingered long that night. His voice, gentle yet firm, whispered in her ear:
"Su Su, I'd rather be murdered by you for the rest of my life."

　[Author's Note | The Snowstorm Mountain Lodge]

　　(Pay attention!)

　　Tonight, Su Li used three tricks:

　　The first layer is the murder mystery game where the characters pull each other's hair, the second layer is the gradual disappearance disguised as a snowstorm in the mountain villa, and the third layer is the large number of participants disguised as a collective birthday celebration.

　　Gu Mufeng saw through the first two layers, but not the third. There's no way around it; who would use trickery as bait?

　　This couple has some fun.

　　(The spring night is too short to enjoy the sunrise, so remember to destroy the evidence before your friends come home tomorrow morning!)
　　(End of this chapter)