Chapter 40: New Year's Eve Dinner Vlog (2)

"This is what I made with malt sugar! See? Doesn't it look realistic?!" He Junhao proudly rotated the plate in his hands, making the hollow eye sockets of the skull face Xiao He.Xiao He stared back at the skull through empty space, taking an exasperated step back. "What kind of twisted mind came up with this? I genuinely want to call the police on you!" What kind of normal person would make something like this? He was truly speechless!

He Junhao puffed out his chest with earnest pride. "Bro Xiao, this was inspired after watching you play that serial killer!"

Xiao He: "..."

"Think about it - after finishing his daily 'artistic creations,' the killer sits elegantly at the dining table to enjoy his meal—" He Junhao narrated dramatically while setting the table, then pushed Xiao He into a chair with expectant eyes. "Then he licks his masterpiece while giving a twisted, chilling smile to the camera—hehehe—"

Xiao He: "...You're unbelievable."

Might as well let you be the director.

"I even specially prepared this!" He Junhao produced a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and forcibly put them on Xiao He.

After examining the result, He Junhao nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect, absolutely perfect with that black shirt you're wearing today."

Xiao He looked down at his rare choice of a black shirt and deadpanned: "No wonder someone kept insisting yesterday that I wear black today."

So this was all to recreate "Mu Ze"!

"Come on! Since you're already here~ might as well go all out!" He Junhao's creepy grin made Xiao He's hair stand on end. Crossing his arms defensively, Xiao He warned: "This is the limit! Don't even think about pushing your luck!"

"Bro Xiao~~~~~~"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fine—"

Seeing Xiao He's firm refusal, He Junhao wisely backed off and pulled him to the table to prepare sauces and start filming.

"Hello everyone! Welcome back to Handsome He's Food Channel! Today we have a special mystery guest—"

"Ta-da! Please welcome Mu Ze's portrayer, Xiao He!"

"Hello everyone~"

For some reason, there was constant noise coming from outside. Though He Junhao lived on the 12th floor—not exactly low—they could still faintly hear commotion from downstairs during filming.

He Junhao checked the time discreetly—only around 6pm.

Odd. Though it was rush hour, there usually wasn't this much noise...

"Will the footage work?" Xiao He had also noticed the noise but was more concerned about the recording.

"It's usable." He Junhao nodded, picking up his DSLR. "Perfect timing—have some cake while I take some photos."

"Alright."

Xiao He picked up the skull, examined it carefully, then praised sincerely: "The bone structure is incredibly accurate. Did you research this properly?"

"Hehe, borrowed a real skull from a med school senior next door." He Junhao admitted sheepishly.

Xiao He: "No wonder—"

Credit where it's due—He Junhao truly excelled at his craft. For an amateur to recreate human skull anatomy this precisely using only malt sugar was remarkable.

"Can I really eat this?" Xiao He double-checked.

It was so lifelike he almost felt reluctant.

"Go ahead, Bro Xiao!"

Taking a deep breath, Xiao He broke off the skull's frontal bone.

To his shock, there was red filling inside!

As the filling threatened to drip, Xiao He quickly licked it—strawberry jam.

Xiao He: "......"

Staring at the red goo covering his hand, Xiao He was genuinely tempted to crack open He Junhao's skull to see what kind of "legally questionable" ideas were brewing inside.

Meanwhile, the instigator cheered excitedly: "Yes! Perfect! Look up now! That bloodstained lip with shadowed eyes! Damn! So twisted, so perfect!"

Xiao He: "...Whatever makes you happy."

Drawing on his acting professionalism, Xiao He recreated a scene from the show—slowly licking the red jam from his thumb while lifting dark, fathomless eyes that promised violence, as if ready to devour whoever watched through the lens.

He Junhao hadn't expected such cooperation—nor such intensity. For the first time as the cameraman, he felt genuinely hunted, goosebumps rising as an involuntary shiver ran down his spine.

In that moment, He Junhao profoundly realized how different Xiao He had become.

This version was utterly foreign—nothing like the friend he'd known for four years.

A terrifying unfamiliarity beneath familiar features.

He Junhao immediately lowered the camera.

Once the lens was gone, Xiao He reverted to his usual calm self—the longtime friend He Junhao knew.

That chilling aura seemed like just a figment of imagination.

But reviewing the footage brought sobering silence.

What happened wasn't imaginary.

The person on camera wasn't Xiao He—but Mu Ze.

That "suave psychopath killer" who lived on through Bilibili fan edits.

"Bro Xiao...you're definitely going viral." He Junhao said with unprecedented seriousness.

Xiao He chuckled at the sudden declaration. "Thanks for the blessing."

Initially, he'd just wanted to survive.

But after encountering all sorts in the entertainment industry, Xiao He changed his mind.

Since he was here anyway—if those people could be stars, why couldn't he?

At the very least...he was good at "eliminating" people!

After the photoshoot, Xiao He went to wash his hands while He Junhao noticed the noise outside growing louder. Puzzled, he went to the balcony and opened the window to look down—

A dense crowd had gathered below, all looking upward toward their building.

"Huh?" He Junhao wondered aloud. "What are they looking at?"

Assuming they weren't staring at his floor, He Junhao followed their gaze upward—and saw thick black smoke billowing from a higher floor!

"HOLY SHIT!!"

He Junhao fumbled for his phone, finally noticing his neighborhood group chat exploding with messages.

During filming, both their phones had been silenced, missing all alerts!

Scrolling frantically through videos and photos shared in chat, He Junhao's eyes widened at the latest clip—showing a little girl hanging from the burning apartment's balcony!