The Buggiest System 143 Sleuthing

Footsteps echoed across the area, which was otherwise dominated by the sound of silence. The man looked menacing, getting nearer to Zhou Lei with each step he took.

Meanwhile, the latter was out of his wits, not knowing what to do. He looked around the arcade, searching for a particular girl with the surname of Lin.

After seconds of extensive searching, he gave up, failing to see even a single trace of that girl. 'That Ying...! Why did she abandon me?'

Eventually, Zhou Lei found that the man was right in front of him. The intimidating expression on the man's face made the meek Zhou Lei shudder once more, imagining what was going to happen.

"Kid, you..."

Just as the man was about scold Zhou Lei, the girl who had her head tilted down and stayed silent the whole time spoke up. "M- m- m- me too!"

Her head raised and her eyes sparkled, looking at Zhou Lei as though he was a fellow kindred. Although she stuttered and looked kind of bashful, the sheer passion she showed overshadowed both of these shortcomings.

Zhou Lei's eyes started to sparkle, just like hers. 'So it turns out that... she did reciprocate my feelings!'

The people were dumbfounded. Especially the man that was about to scold Zhou Lei.

He felt cheated. 'Why would you act that way, girl? Why?!'

With a face burning red, the man decided to do a tactical retreat. Who knew where he went...

At that moment, multiple other eyes sparked, and they looked at each other before they rushed towards where Zhou Lei and the girl were.

.....

Lin Guiying waited for a few minutes outside.

"Hmm... I'm going back."

Her initial embarrassment already subsided, with only a small trace of bittersweetness left. Besides, she felt guilty for leaving Zhou Lei alone in the arcade.

As she walked back to the DDR machine, the surroundings got progressively rowdier as she got closer. Fumbling around and bumping on other people, Lin Guiying eventually arrived at the center point of the mess.

A concentrated mass of people collected right beside the DDR machine, all of them looking fascinated by the technology.

Of course, these people couldn't care less about the machine, but Lin Guiying wouldn't know that.

She tapped someone on the shoulder. "Excuse me sir, what's happening here?"

The stranger turned his head, exposing his face for Lin Guiying to see. "Hmm?"

"Ah, er..." She discreetly scanned the face of the man. It was relatively normal and average looking. What caught her attention was the glasses that he wore...

What was supposed to be the lens that was attached inside the frame of the eyeglasses... were pictures of the famous teen idol, Lin Guiying.

Just then, she remembered the time when the agency she was signed up with, Crystall Entertainment, decided to produce limited edition merchandise. And this pair of glasses... was one of the merchandise.

She could remember being so angry and ashamed that one of the merchandise was that pair of glasses that didn't even allow one to see through! And that wasn't even the worst of the lot!

Because of her reminiscing, her mind was a mess. However, she was a top tier actor, so that didn't show on her face. Instead, she proceeded to ask the guy who wore the ridiculous glasses, "What's the situation here? Why is everyone crowding around this place?"

The man, who was initially thinking that the girl was bothersome, suddenly turned enthusiastic. "Oh, it was because my goddess Lin Guiying had been here!"

The sound of thunder resounded in Lin Guiying's mind. 'What. Are. You. Talking. About.'

"It's like this, last Saturday, someone reported a lost and found item to the staff of the arcade, and after some sleuthing, we found out that the item was Lin Guiying's!"

Composing herself, Lin Guiying continued her interrogation. "Hmm, what kind of item is it? And what kind of sleuthing did you do?"

Seeing the girl becoming interested in the situation, the guy became slightly giddy. 'Awww man, I'm gonna rope this girl in the fandom, and then goddess Lin will have one more fan! She will surely be happy if I do this!'

"The item was a limited edition album, the 'White Flower Season 6 OST'." The guy couldn't contain his ever-increasing smile as he continued to speak.

'White Flower... OST? So that's where it went!' She recalled that the one she bought went missing, so she bought a new one, albeit with the normal cover. Although she was slightly depressed that she didn't get the limited edition cover, it was fine.

As for why she just didn't ask the staff of the anime for the OST with the alternate cover... This idea truly didn't cross her mind. She didn't want to abuse her job to get items and merchandise that were supposed to be limited edition.

"As for the sleuthing... it really wasn't complicated."

Uncomplicated sleuthing? Lin Guiying wondered how they found out that it was hers. Could it be that she wrote her name on it?

"Firstly, after news spread that the limited edition album that sold out in an hour was available in an arcade, White Flower fans swarmed in the arcade to claim that it was theirs. By some coincidence, the one who got it in the end was a goddess Lin fanatic! After getting the OST... he felt guilty and planned to return it to its original owner.

He headed towards the store where he thought it came from, Anime u0026 Me. After all, this was the only store that sold the album in the vicinity. He asked about the customers who bought the same album in the this store. Of course, the staff refused to disclose the info. Not only would that be a violation of privacy... the staff had also already forgotten the people anyway."

Lin Guiying widened her eyes. 'Th- this is uncomplicated sleuthing?'

The guy noticed that the girl's eyes widened, and hr misunderstood it as her becoming more invested with the story. He continued, his voice filled with more conviction than before.

"Feeling desperate, he took out the album and showed it to the staff, admitting that it wasn't his and that it was lost. The staff grabbed the album from his hands and searched for something.

Then, they revealed it to m- him that because there was only 30 copies of the album with the alternate cover available in the store, they wrote numbers on the packing to make sure that none of them got lost. The number written on the album was '#30', the last copy available."

Lin Guiying nodded her head. She did remember the staff saying that she was lucky that she got the last copy. If she had arrived even a second later, she wouldn't have gotten the album. The long line behind her overheard the information and dispersed.

"It was then that the staff revealed that the last person who bought the album was memorable, as they wore a cap, sunglasses, and a facemask, with a brown coat covering the rest of the person's body. The voice was feminine, but they did not assume that they were female... although it was more likely that she was indeed a girl.

He left the store, as the staff informed him of everything they could. His imagination started to run wild, forming an image of the person, the original owner of the album that remained untouched in his hands. Suddenly, one specific example came to light inside his head."

'I think I know how he found it was mine now... although this really isn't uncomplicated sleuthing. It's not complex, sure, but it isn't easy either.' Lin Guiying listened attentively.

"Lin Guiying? At first, he only thought of his idol for fun. What if she was actually the one that lost the album? Wouldn't that be a wonderful coincidence?

But as he started to think deeper about it, the more it connects! The first evidence, the countless interviews where goddess Lin stated that her favorite anime was White Flower. The second evidence, the fact that the customer wore suspicious clothes, as if they were trying to hide their identity. And the last, and most vital one... the 'twat' that she posted that aligns with the time line!"

The guy observed the girl's expression as he spoke. He was sure that the last revelation would stimulate her interest.

And as he expected, one of her eyebrows suddenly raised as if she was truly curious about what happened. "Hmm? What was the content of the 'twat' then?"

Obviously, as the one who posted the 'twat', e already knew what the answer to that question was. But the guy was having fun telling the story, she couldn't just ruin that, right?

"You see, the 'twat' actually said:

[i lost a precious something ;-;].

So this 'twat' actually pieces everything together! Goddess Lin must've bought the album, went inside the arcade, and accidentally left it here! She then discovers it later, and posts a 'twat' about it!

In the end, the man returned the album to the arcade, confessing that he didn't have anything to do with the owner. I mean, just an ordinary guy, how could he have any relations with Goddess Lin...

And that's the end of that."

Satisfaction washed over the guy as he finished telling the enthralling story towards the female stranger.

However, what he didn't know was that Lin Guiying was even more relieved than him! 'Finally, he finished that story, it went on for any too long.'

She imagined herself letting out a long sigh, feeling a sense of satisfaction similar to that of the guy's.

However, doubts began to spring in her mind. She kept holding in the sigh she wanted to let out and spoke, "Wait, wait. How did you find out about this... As a matter of fact, how did anyone find out?"

"Hmm? I posted it online, of course." The guy said without pause, like it was a completely natural and instinctive response.

"What? Then you..."

"Yes, Yours Truly is the guy in the story!" Whilst talking, his tone spiked up and his intonation rose, proportional with his pride over this situation.

Fate chose him, and he obtained the album. If it was someone else, they would probably not have thought it through as much as him. The album would be forever lost...

As such, Lin Guiying felt good graces for this guy. To even return the album he suspected to have belonged to his idol, that was just worthy of her respect. Well... it was more because it was her album that got lost and found.

Chapter end