Chapter 21 - What Should I Do if My Younger Brother’s Crush Has Taken a Liking to Me?

Chapter 21 The theme of this haunted house… is no theme. The boss is a man in his thirties. He reconstructed the place on his own land. According to him, the construction of the haunted house incorporates all the horror elements he likes, essentially a maze. The entrance is underground, and the exit is on the ground floor. In the pitch-black darkness, within numerous doors, no one knows the way out to the ground floor. That is the terrifying core of this haunted house. "Finally, visitors! Little boys and girls, do you want to play something terrifying or less terrifying?" the boss asked with a smile. Yellow Hair scratched his head, "We can choose the level of horror here? I don't remember you asking last time." The boss chuckled, "Because business isn't good at night. Some of the NPCs have gone off duty. Also, I've added some atmospheric devices recently. So, I just wanted to ask about your level of acceptance." "Uh..." Yellow Hair turned around and saw everyone staring at him. He straightened up, "Well... slightly more terrifying, then." The boss narrowed his eyes, "Slightly scarier, no problem~" "By the way, are there any couples among you? Do you want some props to prevent breakup?" Saying so, the boss took out a plastic toy hand and waved it in front of them. "Huh?" Yellow Hair saw the item clearly and laughed, "There are no couples here, but are you sure this thing isn't a breakup-inducing prop?" Amidst laughter, Xi Ning lifted her eyelids without much expression. Kong Nianxi fixed her gaze on the prop for a few more seconds, her eyes gleaming with thought. "Well then, enjoy the game~" The boss pressed a button on the table, and a golden door on the opposite wall slowly opened. There were three flashlights in total, and a few people walked into the dark, narrow passage. A chilly breeze blew in, combined with eerie music from an unknown source. The haunted house atmosphere was actually quite well-done. As someone who had played once and boasted about quickly clearing it, Yellow Hair naturally took the lead. "Can you walk any faster? Even a snail is faster than you." Yellow Hair leaned against the wall, using the flashlight to step forward cautiously. "If you can do better, then you lead the way!" The guy behind him fell silent. It was a very narrow, straight passage. It seemed that only three people could walk shoulder to shoulder. Besides the dim lights from their flashlights, there were no other light sources around. Xi Ning walked in the middle of the group. Although they were close together, she couldn't see the outlines of the people around her clearly. She only knew that Tu Xiao Yuan was next to her, holding a flashlight, and apart from that, the very clear and cold fragrance constantly reminded her that Kong Nianxi was very close by. "Hey, why does it feel like something dropped on my face? Do you guys feel it too?" Yellow Hair suddenly stopped and turned around to shout; his voice echoed as it faded. "No, did you get too nervous?" someone from behind replied. As he spoke, something wet fell on Yellow Hair's face, and his back chilled. He shivered as he shook the flashlight. "...Darn it! There really is something! Up there..." He shone the flashlight upward, revealing the uneven grey wall, and a hideous, grinning face with a crimson tongue flashed past. "Ah!" Yellow Hair's hair stood on end. He pushed back into the crowd behind him, "Ah! There's a ghost!" With his shout, the group instantly panicked, screams filled the air. Xi Ning was pushed and stumbled, falling into a soft embrace. In a fluster, she quickly got up, and the person behind her reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. Sensing the cold fragrance from behind and feeling the warmth through her thin clothing, Xi Ning hesitated for a moment before trying to push the person’s hand away, but the darkness completely hid her unnatural expression. Amidst the chaos, a calm voice reached everyone's ears clearly, "It's just a projection. Don't panic." Despite not being loud, the calm voice cut through the chaos. Following the beam of the flashlight, everyone saw a projector hung directly across the wall. "..." "Haha, scared me! Yellow Hair, are you sure you can handle this? Haven't you played before?" "I... I didn't encounter this before. The boss said he added new atmosphere devices!" Tu Xiao Yuan, who had been clinging to her like a koala, impatiently said, "Can you be quiet?" Yellow Hair quieted down, and the group continued forward. At this pace, Xi Ning was worried they wouldn't make it back to school before curfew. She quickened her pace and silently moved to the front of the group. Yellow Hair was still trembling from the previous scare. Suddenly, he noticed someone beside him. Shining the flashlight, he saw it was Xi Ning. He breathed a sigh of relief, "Smart student, I'll take the lead. You can stay at the back with peace of mind." Xi Ning: "..." It's you I'm not at peace with. "You take a rest." Xi Ning was always brief when speaking to unfamiliar people. She held out her hand, indicating that she wanted the flashlight. "Huh? Hey, you don’t need to be so polite..." Yellow Hair naturally wanted to maintain a bit of chivalry in front of a beautiful girl. However, despite not being able to see her face clearly in the dark, he could feel the overwhelming chill. After a brief stalemate, he handed the flashlight over. Hmm... I wonder how Nianxi got close to this ice beauty. After receiving the flashlight, Xi Ning slightly quickened her pace, at least faster than Yellow Hair's crawling speed. "There's a fan in the left corner." Xi Ning shone the flashlight, and indeed, they saw a round pipe sticking out of the corner of the wall, with a wig over the pipe. Walking past would certainly result in the hair getting entangled with the legs. The people behind her murmured, "Don't look up." Someone couldn't help but to curiously glance upwards, only to be terrified by the "hand" hanging down, letting out a loud scream. Xi Ning sighed and reached up, pulling down a plastic hand. The others: "..." Compared to Yellow Hair who was prone to jump scares, being behind Xi Ning offered a much better sense of security. After an unknown period of time, they finally saw a faint light ahead. It was a fork in the road, with two doors leading to different directions, and dimly lit bulbs hanging above the empty door frames. "Uh, which door should we take?" someone asked. There was a moment of silence as no one came forward with a suggestion. "Let's leave it to luck then." Kong Nianxi slowly walked past the front, thinking for a moment, and moved toward one of the doors. "Nianxi, wherever you go, I'll follow! I'll go check out the path ahead!" Yellow Hair flattered and went inside first, not feeling scared anymore. Kong Nianxi glanced at Xi Ning in the dim light, her expression unclear. After a couple of seconds, she turned and walked into the door behind her. Most of the others followed her in, leaving only Xi Ning and her own group standing in place. Seeing that Xi Ning showed no intention of entering, Tu Xiao Yuan asked in confusion, "Ning Ning, are we not going in?" After a moment of silence, Xi Ning turned and walked into the other door. "Let's go in, this way." Tu Xiao Yuan: "??" Su Yuqi followed closely, “It’s perfect. I didn't want to stay with those noisy people anyway." The two of them went inside, leaving Tu Xiao Yuan behind, feeling dazed, as the eerie music intermittently played in the passage behind her. Startled, she quickly caught up, “Wait for me!” The inner corridor was a slope, still pitch dark. As they rushed forward, Tu Xiao Yuan clutched Xi Ning's arm tightly, fearing the unknown. "Why aren't we going with them?" Xi Ning carefully observed her surroundings with the flashlight and replied calmly, "There's nothing wrong. It's just that in this situation, splitting up will help us find the exit faster." Tu Xiao Yuan swallowed hard and lifted her head to look at Xi Ning's face. Although she could only see the air in the dark, she could imagine the unchanged expression on the person's face. She couldn't help but think back to the last time, which was a long time ago when they played an escape room for the first time. It was a super terrifying theme that scared everyone into a frenzy, yet Xi Ning remained expressionless and focused, solving codes as seriously as if she was playing house. Passing through the sloping passage, they arrived at a corridor with a "U" layout. Along the inner wall of the corridor were a row of iron doors. "It's noticeably less atmospheric here. There wasn't much activity on the way here, so it might be time for the NPCs to appear, right?" Su Yuqi's voice came from behind. Tu Xiao Yuan jumped, "What?! Don't scare me like that!" Xi Ning surveyed the surroundings, "The haunted house isn't very large. The stairs leading to the exit on the upper floor should be behind one of these doors." Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly heard a piercing scream coming from deep within the corridor. It was ear-piercing, as if someone was straining their voice to the limit. Xi Ning raised an eyebrow and looked towards the dark corridor, "It's them. Let’s go and take a look." However, Tu Xiao Yuan squatted down, holding onto Su Yuqi's leg, "Waaah, my legs are weak..." Su Yuqi reluctantly moved a little to the side, while the person on the ground held onto her small leg tightly. "Then you guys stay here and look for an exit. I'll go check it out." Xi Ning's voice sounded in the darkness, and she then turned and walked towards the darkness. "Tap, tap" Her quiet footsteps echoed in the silent corridor as Xi Ning went alone towards the direction from which the scream had come. The lighting in the surroundings was slightly improved compared to before. As she reached the end of the corridor, the top suddenly lit up with glaring light which went off a few seconds later. Xi Ning squinted slightly. The sudden light irritated her eyes that were accustomed to the darkness. However, in those brief two seconds of light, she seemed to have seen a motionless figure standing in front of a metal door. "Thud, thud "Ahh!" Two distinct knocks on the metal door sounded, followed by the familiar scream. This time, Xi Ning heard clearly. It was Yellow Hair's voice, and it seemed to come from inside the door directly facing the figure. With the faint flashlight in hand, Xi Ning walked calmly towards the figure. "Tap, tap, tap" The wooden floor made her footsteps particularly clear in the dim environment. Xi Ning calculated the distance, and when she was close to the iron door, before the faint light hit the person, she heard a timid voice beside her, "Xiao Hei, is that you?" "..." Xi Ning's lips moved, unsure of what to say. So, she raised the flashlight, wanting to see the position of the other person. As she lifted it just below her chin, she suddenly heard a sharp "Ah" that pierced her eardrums, then a gust of wind rose up, and there was a faint white figure that swiftly passed by. "..." With a crack, Xi Ning pushed open the metal door and looked inside to see a lit candle, somewhat surprised. With the aid of the light, she also glimpsed the scene inside—an empty room with Curly Hair and Yellow Hair huddled in one corner, coiled up, and upon hearing the door open, they screamed even louder. Xi Ning couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. She shifted her gaze and saw Kong Nianxi sitting cross-legged on a metal box on the inside, her face barely visible due to the dim candlelight. Kong Nianxi seemed to have seen her too. She slowly stood up, then staggered a few steps, trembled slightly, and fell into Xi Ning's arms, "Waaah, it's so scary." "..." But your tone didn't sound scared at all. Both of them in the corner, after hearing the commotion, finally got up, relieved upon seeing the newcomer, and started walking towards the door. At that moment, Su Yuqi's call came from outside. Although Xi Ning moved, the person in her arms held onto her hand. Then, she heard a faint click, and she felt a strange sensation on her wrist. She quickly looked down and saw the "anti-breakup" prop that the boss had shown earlier was now handcuffed to her and Kong Nianxi's wrists! Xi Ning paused in astonishment. "This little prop seems quite fun~ Let's give it a try, shall we?"