PANT - Chapter 34
Chapter 34
After putting on the night-vision camera, Shi Ning thought she could just swagger right in, but Su Tianxue grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back.
She was overjoyed. “We don’t have to go, right?”
Su Tianxue looked up at her, her gaze seeming to say, What are you thinking?
She gently dangled a black blindfold from her fingertips.
“This,” Su Tianxue said, “you have to wear it.”
Seeing this setup, a bad feeling bloomed in Shi Ning’s heart.
She forced herself to sound tough. “Actually, I prefer to wear blindfolds on other occasions.”
【What occasions?】
【Is it the occasion I’m thinking of??】
【Shi · Racecar Driver · Ning hhh】
Su Tianxue pinched the corner of the blindfold’s strap, wrapping it around her finger thoughtfully before asking seriously, “Are you scared?”
Shi Ning gritted her teeth and shook her head.
Scared of what!
If you’re a woman, you go down a hundred floors!
Su Tianxue noticed Shi Ning’s strange behavior. She pursed her lips and, after a moment, asked, “Should I help you put it on?”
Shi Ning grunted in affirmation.
She was slightly taller than Su Tianxue. Standing in front of her, face to face, she bent down slightly, lowering her head to make it easier for Su Tianxue to put the blindfold on her.
The blindfold was made of velvet, soft and plush, and felt comfortable against her face without any prickling sensation.
Su Tianxue’s fingertips accidentally brushed against Shi Ning’s ear. Both of them felt a jolt of electricity, as if a hidden current was crackling where they touched.
Su Tianxue lowered her gaze.
Shi Ning subconsciously grabbed Su Tianxue’s wrist.
Su Tianxue: “What’s wrong?”
Shi Ning cleared her throat. “Can we negotiate? Can you tie the blindfold a little looser?”
Su Tianxue: “Why?”
Shi Ning hesitated before speaking. “That way, I might be able to see a little.”
【She’s openly cheating!!】
【It’s confirmed hahaha is Shi Ning scared!】
【Xiao Shi: Wife, I need my wife to comfort me.】
Su Tianxue skillfully adjusted the tightness of the blindfold for Shi Ning, explaining as she worked, “It might be better not to see than to see.”
Shi Ning froze. “What does that mean?”
A sense of amusement rose in Su Tianxue’s heart, but her expression remained impassive, her emotions hidden away securely. In her usual cold voice, she said, “Did you not listen when the director was introducing the backstory for this escape room just now?”
Shi Ning: ?
Her mind had gone completely blank; she was in no mood to listen to any backstory.
Su Tianxue slowly recounted it for Shi Ning. “It’s actually very simple. Today, we have to enter the escape room to help a doll maker find her favorite doll. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“It’s just that the dolls’ appearances might be a bit… unexpected.”
Shi Ning: “...Who said I was scared!”
She wasn’t scared!
But Shi Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Ahem, dolls, as in… the porcelain doll kind?”
Su Tianxue: “Perhaps. I don’t know about that. Should I find one for you to look at when we go in?”
Shi Ning: “...No need!”
Judging by Su Tianxue’s tone and voice, she really didn’t seem scared at all?
This woman must have been a tank in a past life!
Su Tianxue made a final adjustment to the blindfold, then gently shifted its position for Shi Ning. “It’s on.”
“Wait for me a moment, we can leave soon.”
Once the blindfold was on, Shi Ning’s world was plunged into darkness.
Actually, we don’t have to leave so soon, she thought.
Really.
I can stand here a little longer.
Shi Ning raised a hand to adjust the blindfold’s position, only to discover that the production team was truly sincere. They hadn’t cut any corners at all. It was pitch-black before her eyes—nothing but void. She couldn’t see a thing.
Normally, when a person closes their eyes, they can still perceive some light sources and use these faint glimmers to judge the objects and situation in front of them.
But with a blindfold over one’s eyes, completely blocking them with some light-proof material, even the faint light from before disappears. All that remains is blackness, endless blackness.
With her vision gone, her other senses became more sensitive.
Shi Ning stood rooted to the spot, not moving. She felt a breeze blowing from directly in front of her, brushing against her face, lifting her long hair, and sending strands of it backward. She could hear the other guests’ voices. Su Wanxing was also a little nervous, and Zhu Yu was probably comforting her. Zhou Lu was silent, but Xin Ya’s voice was loud, sounding like she was pumped up and ready to charge into the escape room and wreak havoc.
Su Tianxue.
Shi Ning couldn’t hear Su Tianxue’s voice.
She felt a bit flustered and subconsciously tried to find the woman. But all she could do was turn her head several times while blindfolded and reach out to grasp at the air, only to catch emptiness.
The director was speaking again, probably through a microphone. Her voice was amplified several times, and through the electronic speaker, it sounded somewhat distorted.
Director: “Guests, please line up. The person behind should place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front. Follow our staff inside.”
Shi Ning: “.......”
Do they have to be so serious about this!
Just as she was disoriented and confused, she suddenly heard Su Tianxue call her name, very softly. “Shi Ning?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Shi Ning replied.
She was like a wooden plank fixed in place, unable to move.
The next moment, her hand was taken.
Shi Ning’s first thought was that the staff member was being too bold, but when the owner of the hand moved a little closer, a faint scent of snow drifted on the wind. Only then did she realize it was Su Tianxue.
Su Tianxue had taken her hand.
In the darkness, Su Tianxue became her only support.
Shi Ning licked her somewhat dry lips and asked uncertainly, “Su Tianxue?”
Su Tianxue’s hand moved up hers, from her wrist, bit by bit, caressing her arm, then her shoulder. Su Tianxue shifted her position, silently standing in front of Shi Ning, then took her hand again and placed it on her own shoulder. Every light touch, every subtle movement, penetrated Shi Ning’s skin and lit a fire in her soul. This fire burned away her helpless panic, this fire illuminated the utter darkness.
Shi Ning squeezed the spot her hand was now touching.
Su Tianxue’s shoulder blades were a bit rounded; Shi Ning had kissed them before. Now, touching them through a veil of darkness, Shi Ning hesitated for a moment before gripping her shoulder.
Shi Ning: “Are you going in front?”
Su Tianxue’s voice sounded as calm as she was. “Mhm.”
Shi Ning: “Aren’t you scared?”
Su Tianxue: “What’s there to be scared of? From a physics perspective, ghosts shouldn’t exist in this world. If they did, their material composition would be very special and well worth studying.”
Shi Ning: “.......”
Ghosts are something completely beyond the scope of science, okay?!
Su Tianxue added, “So-called escape rooms, no matter what happens, are all man-made arrangements, which further rules out supernatural phenomena. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” After saying this, Su Tianxue probably felt she was being a bit too dogmatic, so she added, “I mean, for me, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Shi Ning: “I’m not scared either.”
Su Tianxue: “Mhm, I believe you.”
【If Shi Ning took off her blindfold right now, she’d see Su Tianxue’s expression is full of helplessness 2333】
【I have a feeling that once everyone gets inside the escape room, things are going to get very interesting.】
【Why am I so afraid Su Tianxue is going to grab an NPC and start lecturing them on physics /facepalm】
With the help of the production staff, the group finally managed to form a single file line.
All Shi Ning knew was that the person in front of her was Su Tianxue…
Suddenly, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
Shi Ning jumped and whipped her head around. “Who is it!”
Zhu Yu said helplessly, “Me, me, me.”
Zhu Yu was too tall for Su Wanxing to reach her shoulders. She tried, gave up, and felt a bit too embarrassed to wrap her arms around Zhu Yu’s waist. Hearing Shi Ning speak, she asked, “Shi Ning-jie, is my sister in front of you? Can we switch places?”
If she was holding onto Su Tianxue, Su Wanxing would have no worries at all.
Understanding Su Wanxing’s meaning, Shi Ning immediately hugged Su Tianxue tighter. “No, we’re not switching.”
Su Tianxue tilted her head back and said with a deadpan expression, “Shi Ning, let go.”
If she didn’t let go soon, she suspected she was about to be strangled to death.
“Hmph.” Shi Ning released her.
Zhu Yu suggested, “Wanxing, just hug my waist directly, so we don’t get separated later.”
The bullet comments went wild.
【Xiao Yu!!! Mommy won’t allow it!!!!】
【Alphas and Omegas shouldn’t be so familiar!!!!!】
【No no no no!!!!】
The CP fans were setting off firecrackers.
【Hug her! Hug her tight! Squeeze her!】
【The Zhu-Xing CP is serving sweets!!】
【Zhu Yu really cares about the little sister. It’s obvious Zhu Yu is the more proactive one between them. I don’t know why some fans always pick on the little sister. If your idol wasn’t throwing herself at ours every day, would we have any sweets to eat? Any medicine to take?】
The bullet comments were once again descending into arguments.
Su Wanxing was oblivious to all this. Right now, a feeling of being moved suddenly washed over her.
For some reason… seeing Zhu Yu like this, she, as a mom fan, couldn’t help but feel emotional: My child has grown up and can stand on her own two feet now.
She remembered when Zhu Yu had just debuted and participated in a segment like this on a variety show. She would be teased and scared by malicious seniors. Anti-fans had deliberately made a compilation of Zhu Yu’s embarrassing scared moments and would collectively push the video to the homepage from time to time for others to laugh at.
Now, she could walk in front of her.
Su Wanxing recalled how, after Zhu Yu got scared back then, a rival fandom used it to mock her, saying Zhu Yu was just an attention seeker putting on an act for screen time. The moment she heard that, Su Wanxing immediately rallied other fans to fight back, driven by a natural instinct to protect her cub. During that period, she was on her phone all day, every day, except when she was sleeping. She battled people online, and as a major fan, she had to guide the fan army from time to time.
Now, now.
It seemed Zhu Yu had moved past that phase and grown a lot.
And she had changed too. She wasn’t as flammable and explosive as she was when she first started stanning. She had become more zen, more peaceful, and no longer liked to participate in those fandom wars.
Zhu Yu…..
Su Wanxing hummed softly in agreement, reached out, and wrapped her arms around Zhu Yu’s waist.
She still didn’t dare to hold on too tightly, just a loose embrace.
Zhu Yu felt the light pressure on her waist and simply reached back, grabbed Su Wanxing’s wrist, and pulled her forward until she was pressed against her back. The arms around her waist also tightened a bit.
Zhu Yu: “What are you afraid of? Su Wanxing, hold on tight. I’m not responsible if you fall later.”
Su Wanxing’s face was beet red. She could feel Zhu Yu’s defined abs under her hands.
Ah.
Those were… the abs that countless Zhu Yu fans coveted.
Jiejie’s waist isn’t a waist, it’s a deadly scimitar.
And right now, it was about to take her life.
Such intimate contact, so directly feeling the other person’s Alpha scent, which was present even though it had been suppressed—for the first time, Su Wanxing realized that Zhu Yu was no longer the idol on the screen, the cub in her phone whom she saw as someone needing her protection.
But rather…
The scent of pine made Su Wanxing feel at ease.
She nodded and no longer refused.
Zhou Lu was about the same height as Su Wanxing, so she placed her hands on Su Wanxing’s shoulders. Xin Ya, being too tall, looked rather comical as she leaned on Zhou Lu.
【The people in front look normal, why do Zhou Lu and Xin Ya look so weird?】
【The sky tree and her little dwarf.】
【Xin Ya leaning on Zhou Lu looks like a blind old lady using a cane to cross the street hahaha!】
The bullet comments were laughing, but Shi Ning was not feeling good.
She was genuinely a little spooked.
She could feel their group being led by the staff into the old castle.
Su Tianxue, walking at the very front, reminded them, “There are stairs, be careful.”
Shi Ning hummed in acknowledgment and passed the message back.
After the six of them squeezed into a small elevator, Su Tianxue stopped moving forward. She reached out to feel her surroundings and said calmly, “The staff member is gone.”
Zhu Yu: “Has it started already?”
Shi Ning: “Started what—ah!”
With a loud clang, a huge noise suddenly exploded by Shi Ning’s ear. She reacted instinctively, subconsciously throwing her arms around the person next to her. Like a doll hanging from behind, both her hands were clasped around Su Tianxue’s neck. She was just short of lifting her legs and clamping them around Su Tianxue’s waist.
Su Tianxue was held tightly by her. Because of the motion, she had to tilt her head back slightly. It was a little uncomfortable; she could feel a near-suffocating pressure on her neck.
Su Tianxue thought to herself, the biggest boss in this escape room wasn’t anyone else, it had to be Shi Ning.
There was no one else who could torment her like this.
She frowned helplessly and patted Shi Ning’s arm reassuringly. “It was probably just the sound of a door closing.”
Shi Ning hummed but didn’t let go.
Su Tianxue: “Shi Ning, I can barely breathe.”
Shi Ning hastily released her hold on Su Tianxue.
Shi Ning: “Wife, can I hug your waist?”
Su Tianxue: “.......”
A cold laugh came from Su Wanxing in the darkness. “Didn’t someone say they weren’t afraid of the dark?”
Shi Ning: “I’m hugging my wife. What’s that got to do with whether I’m scared of the dark?”
Su Wanxing: “You-you’re just making excuses!”
Shi Ning: “I’m just stating the facts. If you had a wife, you could hug her too.”
Su Wanxing was so angry that blood rushed to her head. She felt like she could transform into one of the evil ghosts in the escape room and pounce on Shi Ning to tear her to shreds.
How could such an annoying and punchable person exist in this world!!
So hateful!
Xin Ya, standing at the very back, commented with feeling, “Is this the legendary ‘enemies are bound to meet’?”
Shi Ning and Su Wanxing denied it in unison: “Who’s her enemy!”
Su Wanxing tossed her head, wanting to give a cool hmph, but instead, a muffled grunt came from Zhou Lu in the darkness.
Zhou Lu: “Su Wanxing, your hair just hit me in the face.”
Su Wanxing was mortified. “S-sorry.”
Shi Ning made no effort to hide her schadenfreude, laughing out loud before reaching out to hug Su Tianxue’s waist.
Recalling Shi Ning’s behavior before they came in, Su Tianxue tolerated her little actions.
But this woman had too many little actions.
The hand around her waist was not at all well-behaved. Since it was dark and the cameras couldn’t see, Shi Ning’s hand slowly traced small circles on Su Tianxue’s waist.
Su Tianxue turned her head without a change in expression and asked, “What are you doing?”
Shi Ning heard the undertone in Su Tianxue’s voice and quickly stopped. “Nothing.”
She really didn’t have any other messy thoughts. It was just that when she was nervous, her hands got restless, and she instinctively wanted to do something else to distract herself.
Shi Ning let go of Su Tianxue.
She didn’t want Su Tianxue to think she was taking advantage of the chaos and darkness.
But just a moment after she let go, a strange melody filled the small space. It had the style of a nursery rhyme, and the voice singing was the tender tone of a little girl.
“The little bird in the cage / Always wants to come out / On the night of the dawn / When the crane and turtle are united / Who is the one behind you!”
The more innocent the voice singing such a strange song, the more unsettling it was.
A cold sweat broke out on Shi Ning’s back.
【I’ve heard it! I’ve heard it!! This is the Japanese nursery rhyme ‘Kagome Kagome’!】
【Oh my god… isn’t this song originally just for a game, like our Duck Duck Goose?】
【Mmm, it’s still different. In Kagome Kagome, one kid is the ‘oni’ in the middle, and the other kids circle around them. When the song ends, if the kid in the middle guesses who is standing behind them, that kid has to be the new ‘oni’.】
【Turn on the bullet comments! Turn on the bullet comments! Bullet comment shield activate!!】
After finishing the song, the little girl giggled. The sound was crisp, like something rolling on the ground.
“You can take off your blindfolds now.”
The little girl reminded them gently.
Hearing her words, Shi Ning’s movements were sluggish, as if her body had prematurely entered a state of elderly stiffness.
Zhu Yu ripped off her own blindfold. Seeing Shi Ning’s slow movements, she reached out to help her. But the moment her hand touched Shi Ning’s blindfold, Shi Ning became as alert as a cat, immediately turning her head towards Zhu Yu. “Who are you, what are you doing?”
Zhu Yu smiled. “I say, Shi Ning, I didn’t realize you were scared of this kind of thing.”
Shi Ning pursed her lips and took off the blindfold herself.
Now, all of them were trapped in a small elevator-like compartment.
They were surrounded by iron bars, like the entrance to a prison cell. Looking out, they could only see darkness; nothing was clear. Even the audience could only catch occasional glimpses of the scene through the night-vision cameras. The details were all blurry; you could only make out who was who and what they were doing.
Xin Ya was genuinely unafraid. With her thick skin, she looked around and then kicked the iron door, which let out a huge clang.
It was as loud as thunder.
Xin Ya: “This won’t kick open.”
Zhou Lu: “...Violently destroying props might result in a fine.”
Xin Ya silently retracted her foot, then patted the iron bars as if comforting a child.
【Strongwoman Xin Ya: I Beat Escape Rooms with Brute Force】
【Ms. Xin’s thought process is never the same as a normal person’s 2333】
The first thing Su Wanxing did after opening her eyes was to run to Su Tianxue’s side and cling to her left arm like a little rabbit, warily observing her surroundings.
Seeing this, Shi Ning felt she couldn’t do the same thing as Su Wanxing.
Mhm, it wouldn’t be appropriate.
So many people were watching.
She backed up, leaned against the iron bars, and gripped them, forcing herself to calm down.
But it was dark all around. Directly in front, a faint light flickered, as if a pair of beastly eyes were watching her from the other side of the bars.
It seemed some danger was always lurking. After staring into the distant darkness for a while, Shi Ning couldn’t help but imagine that in a moment, a pair of hands would reach out from afar, getting closer, and closer—
“Ah!!”
Shi Ning screamed. Her usually radiant face was now as pale as wallpaper.
【Ahhhh!!!! You scared me!!!】
【My cat heard the noise and thought something happened to me, it immediately ran over and jumped on my lap for a hug wuwuwu】
【What happened what happened what happened! What’s going on!!】
Shi Ning was drenched in a cold sweat; her clothes were soaked through.
When the wind blew, it was chilling.
Describing it as a sinister wind was no exaggeration.
Just now, as Shi Ning was vigilantly staring ahead, she suddenly felt someone behind her touch the hand she was using to grip the bars. From the outside, someone had touched her hand on the bars.
.........
The person who touched her was not one of the guests.
Shi Ning was about to lose her mind.
She sprang up and instinctively latched onto Su Tianxue, like a startled cat digging its claws into its owner’s clothes.
With one person hanging off her left and another off her right, Su Tianxue looked like a human coat rack.
She sighed helplessly and gave Su Wanxing a look. Su Wanxing pouted reluctantly and let go of her sister’s arm, thinking to herself that her sister was really sacrificing too much for the show. Even at a time like this, she didn’t forget to take care of Shi Ning and act out the part of a loving couple.
But she, her little sister, was also very scared!
Seeing Su Wanxing without her support, Zhu Yu silently walked to her side and offered the corner of her shirt.
Su Wanxing paused for a moment, then accepted, taking hold of Zhu Yu’s clothes.
Seeing this, Zhu Yu turned her head, hiding her smile in the darkness.
She understood Su Wanxing’s caution and her efforts to avoid suspicion, which was why she offered her the corner of her shirt.
And what about Su Tianxue? Seeing Su Wanxing let go, she reached out and patted Shi Ning’s back, as if comforting a child. When she spoke, her voice was as calm and gentle as ever, no different from usual. But it was precisely this steady tone, like a clear spring, that washed away all the panic in Shi Ning’s heart.
Su Tianxue: “What’s wrong?”
Shi Ning shook her head, shifting the arm she had around Su Tianxue. “Someone touched me just now.”
Zhu Yu said jokingly, “Are you sure it was a person?”
At these words, Shi Ning’s eyes went vacant. She was numb.
Su Tianxue felt the woman hugging her tense up instantly, like a cat whose fur was standing on end, entering a state of high alert. Helplessly, she glanced at Zhu Yu and explained to Shi Ning, “Everyone here is an NPC, working for a salary. They’re all people.”
Shi Ning: “I know, but what if?”
Su Tianxue: “What if what?”
Shi Ning: “What if it’s not a person?”
Su Tianxue said in all seriousness, “The staff works very hard. We shouldn’t talk badly about them behind their backs. It’s already tiring enough to pretend to be ghosts all day, let’s give them a chance to be human.”
【Su Jiejie sounds like she’s comforting a child hahaha!】
【I never thought I’d see the day when our Xiao Shi was this cowardly, it was worth it!】
【I’m saying Su Tianxue is the top, no one’s going to argue with me, right?】
【To the person above, don’t underestimate a cowardly top!!】
Su Tianxue deduced, “Since they could touch you from behind the iron bars, it means the space behind them should be empty. Let’s check our surroundings and see if it’s empty all around.”
Xin Ya rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll do it!”
She threw two punches directly at the space behind the bars, shouting with each punch, “Ha! Hey!”
After a few punches that only met the whistling wind, Xin Ya stopped.
Xin Ya: “Reporting, it’s all empty.”
Su Tianxue: “So this isn’t an elevator, but something like a cage. Is it used to imprison or confine something?”
Shi Ning, still hugging Su Tianxue with her chin resting on the woman’s shoulder, came back to her senses and quipped, “Playing this big, is this S&M?”
Su Tianxue turned to look at her. “What’s S&M? A new form of punishment?”
Su Wanxing was furious. “Shi Ning!!”
Shi Ning’s eyes darted away. “I was just talking nonsense, it’s nothing.”
【Elaborate, a friend of mine is interested.】
【Young people these days are really something else. The little sister understood something even Su Jiejie has never heard of /facepalm】
【Why don’t we just forget about escaping and put on an S&M performance right here? We’d love to see that.】
Based on her past experience with escape room variety shows, Zhu Yu deduced, “There should be a lock here that can be opened. That’s how we’ll get out.”
Zhou Lu felt around and shook something, producing the sound of metal clanking. “You mean this?”
“Yes!”
Zhu Yu moved closer. “This is a combination lock. It probably needs a four-letter code.”
Xin Ya: “Why is it so troublesome? Can’t we just smash the lock?”
Zhou Lu: “...You do it.”
Xin Ya lifted her leg and kicked the lock hard.
Xin Ya: “Mmm, doesn’t work.”
Zhou Lu: “Satisfied?”
Xin Ya nodded. “No more kicking, no more kicking. The only other kick I’ll do is a roundhouse kick of my love for you.”
【What the hell is a roundhouse kick of love!!】
【My mom is asking me why I’m shipping a CP in an escape room】
Hearing there was a lock, Su Tianxue wanted to go take a look, but Shi Ning was stuck to her like a plaster… Every step Su Tianxue took, Shi Ning followed with one of her own.
The kind where she had to take tiny, shuffling steps to keep up.
Su Tianxue stopped and looked back at Shi Ning helplessly. “Hm?”
Shi Ning didn’t let go of her. “I’m scared.”
Actually, she wasn’t that scared anymore.
When Shi Ning said this, Su Tianxue could feel that the woman hugging her was in a much more stable emotional state than before. From the most direct physiological reactions, Shi Ning’s face wasn’t as pale, and her grip was much more relaxed. She had likely recovered from the state of extreme shock.
Su Tianxue had every reason to refute Shi Ning and tell her to let go. But, seeing this usually flamboyant and unrestrained Shi Ning clinging to her arm, her face pressed against her shoulder, looking up with those beautiful eyes full of a coquettish plea…
Su Tianxue: “Then you can keep holding on.”
A triumphant smile flashed in Shi Ning’s eyes.
Su Wanxing had been watching Shi Ning’s expression. Seeing this, she immediately shouted, “Jie!! She’s faking it!!”
Su Tianxue was focused on the lock. Shi Ning secretly turned her head and shot Su Wanxing a smug look.
Su Wanxing gritted her teeth and reached out, wanting to pry Shi Ning’s hands off Su Tianxue.
Zhu Yu patted Su Wanxing on the head. “What are you getting involved in the young couple’s business for?”
Su Wanxing: .......?
【Hahahahahaha!!】
【Even though it’s dark all around, I can read the despair on Su Wanxing’s face.】
【Su Wanxing: I shouldn’t be here, I should be under a car.】
Su Tianxue focused on the lock. There were no relevant clues on it.
Suddenly, the iron cage they were in lurched forward, then jolted again with great force. Everyone in the cage screamed in fear.
Su Tianxue remained the calmest.
With this movement, a light on the right side of the cage suddenly turned on. An NPC stood there, a creepy smile on his face. He was holding a notebook.
Zhu Yu shouted, “Is that notebook related to the password!”
Su Wanxing said with a tremor in her voice, “Does that mean we have to find a way to get the notebook from him?”
Xin Ya was excited. “Let me, let me!”
She looked like she was about to reach out and snatch the notebook from the NPC’s hands like a robber.
From the NPC’s perspective, Xin Ya’s current actions were like a ferocious beast about to escape its cage or Sadako about to crawl out of the TV.
Her movements were exaggerated, and her expression held a hint of bloodthirsty impulse.
NPC: Who’s the real ghost here!!
He silently pulled his hand back, clutching the notebook in his arms a little tighter.
【People scaring ghosts, ghosts scaring people, when will this mutual scaring end!】
【Xin Ya should just defect to the monster team, I think it’d be a good fit /facepalm】
The cage was still moving forward, and the group was practically huddled together. They had discovered that the cage seemed to be heading towards a monster. They didn’t know if it was a special effect or a specially made prop, but its eyes were streaming tears of blood, and its mouth was wide open, as if it could swallow the cage in one gulp.
Su Wanxing screamed, “What is that thing!!”
Zhu Yu was anxious. “The notebook, did you get the notebook?”
Xin Ya: “Not yet, we might have to wait for the next pass.”
Zhou Lu: “...There’s a next pass?”
Shi Ning was already numb.
She held onto Su Tianxue and looked up at her.
Su Tianxue noticed her gaze, patted her head reassuringly, then looked down at the lock in front of her. She looked up again, at the flickering light in the long, dark, endless corridor.
She asked, “Has that light been flashing this whole time?”
Shi Ning remembered it vividly. “Mhm.”
Click, click-clack.
Over and over again.
Su Tianxue silently watched the distant light, then her hands moved quickly.
A moment later, with a soft click, the lock opened.
The cage, which had been pushing forward, came to a halt.
The lights in the entire space came on. The ferocious monster from just now had vanished, replaced by a cute symbol. Looking again, everyone realized it wasn’t a monster at all, but a glasses-free 3D screen.
“Congratulations on clearing the stage” popped up on the screen, along with a cute big-headed doll doodle wiggling around, giving off a Y2K manga vibe.
The place they were in was a spacious room, decorated like a movie theater.
The NPC who had been scaring them was gone.
The room only contained several half-human-sized ball-jointed dolls.
They looked similar to humans, but more exquisite. Their beautiful yet empty eyes held a subtle eeriness.
The cage door was open. Xin Ya was the first to swagger out.
Zhou Lu followed behind her.
Zhu Yu and Su Wanxing were right after them.
Only Shi Ning remained standing in place.
Su Tianxue asked her, “What’s wrong?”
There was a hint of concern in her voice.
Su Tianxue guessed, “Are your legs weak?”
Shi Ning argued, “I’m not that timid!”
A faint, almost imperceptible smile seemed to hang on Su Tianxue’s lips, her eyes filled with doubt and disbelief.
Shi Ning said in a small voice, “It’s just that, Wife, you’re so cool.”
Such a direct compliment even made Su Tianxue pause for a moment.
She reached out and touched Shi Ning’s forehead.
Su Tianxue: “You don’t have a fever.”
Shi Ning secretly glanced at the others and saw they were all focused on solving the puzzle. So, she pulled Su Tianxue’s hand over, kissed her palm, and then casually took her hand.
Su Tianxue: “?”
Shi Ning said righteously, “I’m scared.”
Su Tianxue: “Being scared doesn’t explain your previous action.”
Now Shi Ning was righteous without reason. “Why not? Kissing you helps me recharge and cheer myself on.”
Su Tianxue: .......
Was she treating her like a human power bank?
【The lights are on, what’s there to be scared of hahaha!】
【Scheming.jpg】
【Learned something new, I’ll use this next time I go to an escape room with my girlfriend. Oh, wait, I don’t have a girlfriend.】
The two of them walked out of the cage. The other four had already found some clues and were gathered together looking at them.
Suddenly, Zhu Yu asked curiously, “Teacher Su, how did you open that lock just now?”
Su Wanxing was confused. “My sister isn’t a teacher.”
Zhu Yu: “Sorry, I just subconsciously wanted to call her that.”
【Me too hahaha!】
【Why do I always feel like Su Jiejie has this awe-inspiring righteousness like a teacher of the nation!】
【I want to know too!! I’ve been watching for ages and haven’t found any clues!! How on earth did Su Tianxue solve it??】
【I’m dying of curiosity, I’m dying!】
Hearing Zhu Yu’s question, Su Tianxue explained, “Because of the light.”
“The faint light in the darkness was flashing rhythmically. I observed it for a while and found that the flashing frequency basically matched Morse code. So it was easy to solve.”
Su Wanxing tilted her head. “So, that booklet probably had information about Morse code? To help us decipher the password from the light?”
Zhu Yu scratched her head. “Then Su…”
Su Tianxue: “You can call me Teacher Su, if you find it more convenient.”
Zhu Yu nodded. “Teacher Su, how did you know which letter corresponded to the flashing frequency of the light?”
Shi Ning lifted her chin, feeling a sense of pride as if she had accomplished it herself. “That’s because our Teacher Su is smart, of course.”
Every time Su Wanxing saw her like this, she felt the urge to roll up her sleeves.
This Shi Ning!
It’s just acting for a show! Does she have to be so self-righteous!
And “our Teacher Su”… Jiejie is clearly hers!
Just as it seemed Su Wanxing was about to confront Shi Ning, sparks flying from her eyes, a loud bang suddenly drew everyone’s attention.
The four of them looked over. Xin Ya had kicked down a door panel, and the door was open.
And Zhou Lu stood beside her with a wooden expression, looking only at the camera and asking one question: “Do we have to pay for this?”
The camera didn’t respond to her.
Zhou Lu pointed at the woman standing on the door panel with a happy expression. “Get her to pay for it.”
Seeing this scene, the director team had a bad feeling.
Before they could even think, they saw on the monitor that Xin Ya had directly picked up an NPC who had rushed out to scare them. Ignoring the person’s struggles, she commented, “I think your blood makeup looks very fake. Do you want me to help you fix it on the spot?”
The NPC screamed, “Mommy!! Let me go home!!”
【Hahahahaha!】
【The first person to scare away an NPC in an escape room!】
【Xin Ya, the constitution of an Omega, the courage of a giant tank 233】
【To the person above, Xin Ya’s physical strength completely surpasses that of a typical Omega!】
Whenever they encountered an NPC or a mechanism that could be violently dismantled, Xin Ya would charge in like a fierce woman.
And if there was a puzzle they couldn’t solve, Su Tianxue could basically glance at it and give the answer within three minutes.
The group cleared the initial, ordinary stages as if on fast-forward.
Su Wanxing organized all the information they had gathered so far, trying to piece together the backstory of the escape room.
“So, this old castle belongs to a doll maker. When she was young, she had a good friend, but that friend passed away. So, from that moment on, she was determined to become a doll maker, or rather, a humanoid doll maker.”
Su Wanxing frowned. “What’s the necessary connection between those two things?”
Zhu Yu waved a photo in her hand. “Didn’t you see this picture of her good friend in her diary?”
“I saw it, but there weren’t any clues on it.”
Shi Ning, with her arm around Su Tianxue’s waist, sat on the bed and said faintly, “How are there no clues? You just have to compare this photo with the dolls in her display case.”
Su Wanxing frowned, not understanding.
She remembered that they had just passed through a dark corridor. Halfway through, the lights suddenly turned on.
Shi Ning had jumped in fright and immediately gave Su Tianxue a bear hug.
Su Wanxing heard the commotion and looked back to find that the entire corridor was a glass display case, with all sorts of dolls arranged on both sides. The dolls were all placed in exquisite yet cold settings. The cool-toned lights shining on the dolls made their skin look translucent. The dolls’ eyes also glinted with a faint, eerie light.
Su Wanxing swallowed hard. She wasn’t as embarrassingly scared as Shi Ning, who had jumped up, but she was still a little afraid. Then, in the next second, Zhu Yu reached out and covered her eyes.
Her mind went blank; she couldn’t remember anything.
All she could remember was the warmth of Zhu Yu’s palm covering her eyes.
That warmth dispelled her momentary fear and also made her completely forget what the dolls looked like.
So, when Shi Ning brought up the dolls again, Su Wanxing couldn’t recall them at all.
As she was frowning in thought, Xin Ya suddenly came in from outside, holding two dolls.
........
Everyone was silent.
Zhou Lu: “What were you just doing?”
Xin Ya said innocently, “I was just standing guard outside when two dolls popped out from above to scare me. I saw how uncomfortable they looked hanging in mid-air, so I kindly helped them down.”
Zhou Lu: “Helped them down?”
Xin Ya fiddled with her fingers. “The string was tied a bit tight, so I gave it a hard pull, and then it broke.”
The director team, monitoring the situation: .......
【Number one prop destroyer!】
【Say no more, Xin-jie, I believe it was an accident.】
Shi Ning glanced at the two dolls Xin Ya had brought back and reminded Su Wanxing, “Take a look at what they look like.”
Su Wanxing looked over, confused, and then froze.
The faces of these two dolls bore a striking resemblance to the good friend in the photo.
But they weren’t a one-to-one replica. One had eyes that weren’t quite right, and the other’s mouth had a different curve.
Shi Ning: “Understand now?”
A chill ran down Su Wanxing’s back. “So, the owner of this castle made countless dolls just to create one that looked exactly like her friend?”
As soon as Su Wanxing finished speaking, a loud noise echoed through the room. The lights went out, and everything went dark.
In the chaos, everyone’s breathing became tense.
When the lights came back on, Shi Ning, who had been lazily sitting on the bed, and Su Tianxue, whom she was hugging, had disappeared.
The bed was still the same bed, but the two living people were gone.
Su Wanxing grew anxious. “Jiejie!”
In the room, the little girl’s eerie, childlike voice sounded again, along with a laugh that seemed to pierce through one’s skin.
“Hee hee hee.”
“The little bird in the cage / Always wants to come out / On the night of the dawn / When the crane and turtle are united / Who is the one behind you!”
Zhu Yu really couldn’t take it anymore. Hearing the song for the second time, she said softly, “Actually, my dear, have you realized that you’ve been singing off-key this whole time?”
The director team: .......??
Can you please show some respect for this segment!!
On one side was the room with Su Wanxing, Zhu Yu, Zhou Lu, and Xin Ya.
The four of them had to quickly find clues to leave the room. Only by escaping on their own would they have a chance to find the missing Su Tianxue and Shi Ning and save their partners.
Everyone began to search frantically.
Even the violent Xin Ya was of little use.
Because there were no obvious mechanisms in the room, even a super demolition team would have a hard time starting without a target.
But if they had to rely on brainpower and IQ to pass…
The brainpower they had been relying on, Su Tianxue, had already disappeared from the room.
They could only feel their way forward, truly experiencing the proper way to play an escape room.
On the other side were Shi Ning and Su Tianxue, who had been taken away together when the mechanism activated because they were sitting on the bed.
Seeing this situation, the director team was speechless.
The director went to talk to the props team staff.
Director: “Did you arrange this?”
Props Staff: “No.”
Props Staff: “We didn’t expect anyone to sit on it.”
Director: “...So what do we do now?”
Props Staff: “Don’t worry, it’s basically like they skipped several stages and entered the little black room to find clues early. They can clear the game once they get out of there.”
Director: Numb.
She was really a bit numb.
The team was her team; she had to endure it.
The director immediately told the camera crew to pull up the feed from the little black room.
【The little black room, this is getting exciting.】
【Has this production team finally decided to broadcast something we viewers actually want to see?】
【It’s so dark, I can’t see anything!!】
【Where’s the night-vision camera??】
【Maybe the cameras all fell off during that flip. They probably broke?】
【Wuwu, now we can only see from this one fixed camera in the corner!】
【It’s okay, it’s okay, a silver lining in this misfortune, at least we can see a little bit.】
Just now, as Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were sitting on the bed, it suddenly twisted violently, flipping a full 180 degrees. Shi Ning instinctively threw her arms around Su Tianxue, pulling her into an embrace.
She was afraid of the dark, she would subconsciously get nervous in this kind of situation, she would worry, she wouldn’t know what to do.
But the moment the crisis occurred, her instinct still made her make a subconscious choice—to protect Su Tianxue.
By the time the two of them reacted, the bed had flipped, and they had been completely turned over. Shi Ning used herself as a human cushion, landing underneath Su Tianxue.
She let out a muffled grunt.
Su Tianxue quickly spoke, her voice seeming a bit urgent. “Are you okay?”
The room was very dark, with no light. A faint glimmer was just enough to illuminate Su Tianxue’s face. Su Tianxue’s eyes were very bright, like a lighthouse on a vast sea, or a beam of sunlight in the mist.
So dazzling, so dazzling that Shi Ning felt a desire to keep her for herself.
She spoke with a bit of a nasal tone. “I’m not okay.”
Shi Ning: “I’m hurt.”
Su Tianxue didn’t suspect a thing and asked, “Where does it hurt? Did you fall?”
Shi Ning nodded. “I fell.”
Su Tianxue: “Let me see.”
Shi Ning: “It’s not convenient to look here.”
Su Tianxue: “What’s not convenient? Your back?”
Shi Ning shook her head, then her gaze shifted downward, signaling to Su Tianxue. “My heart hurts.”
【You’re still the smoothest.】
【Damn it! She’s secretly acting cute with her wife again!!】
【Xiao Shi, let me find you a cardiac surgeon for a check-up, okay? A hurting heart is a serious problem, you need a professional to look at it! Your wife can’t cure it! Why don’t you just give your wife to me!】
Hearing Shi Ning’s words, Su Tianxue couldn’t be bothered to say more to her.
She swiftly tried to get up, but before she could exert any force, something else poured down from above their heads.
With a loud rustling sound, it was like it was raining.
And it was the kind of heavy rain you get in a thunderstorm, relentless, complete with thunder and lightning.
Shi Ning subconsciously raised her hand to shield Su Tianxue’s head.
Plop. A soft, plush doll fell onto her hand.
Along with the plush doll came the plastic balls you’d find in a children’s playground ball pit.
Shi Ning and Su Tianxue were immediately surrounded by a pile of things.
Su Tianxue had to maintain her position. She awkwardly called Shi Ning’s name. “Can you get up?”
Shi Ning: “I can.”
Su Tianxue: “Okay, then get up first. This position is very strange.”
Shi Ning: “But I think this is great.”
Shi Ning hugged Su Tianxue, refusing to let go. “Wife, I like this.”
Su Tianxue sneered, “You’re not afraid of the dark anymore, are you?”
Shi Ning: “With such a smart, cool, pretty, and beautiful wife here, I’m not afraid of anything.”
Su Tianxue: “.......”
Su Tianxue was afraid that more things would fall down and completely bury the two of them. After all, they were currently lying flat on the ground, stacked on top of each other. It wouldn’t be difficult for these things to bury them. By Su Tianxue’s estimation, one more wave would be enough.
Once they were truly buried, it might not be so easy to get up.
So it was best to pull Shi Ning up now.
Su Tianxue, sitting on Shi Ning’s waist, pushed aside the surrounding balls and dolls, looked into Shi Ning’s eyes, and asked seriously, “What will it take for you to get up?”
Shi Ning pouted. “Aiya, baby fell down, I need a kiss from my wife to get up.”
Su Tianxue: “...That style of line doesn’t really suit you.”
Su Tianxue couldn’t bear to look.
Su Tianxue: “I suggest you don’t try it again next time.”
Shi Ning reined in her wicked desire to go for a soft and cute style and said lazily, “Anyway, I just want a kiss from my wife.”
Su Tianxue: “Are you really going to do this in front of the entire country?”
Shi Ning: “It’s pitch-black, what can they see?” She whined, “Wife, just give me a little kiss.”
【We might not be able to see clearly, but we can hear clearly!!】
【Tsk, so you’re this kind of Shi Ning.】
【So this is what it feels like when a top-tier Alpha acts cute online.】
Su Tianxue couldn’t withstand Shi Ning’s pestering. With a helpless sigh, she lowered her head and placed a kiss on her lips.
Su Tianxue: “I kissed you, now get up.”
Shi Ning cried foul. “That was way too perfunctory!”
Su Tianxue: “Then what kind do you want?”
Shi Ning huffed twice. “One more kiss.”
Su Tianxue patiently kissed Shi Ning’s lips again. She felt that her attitude towards Shi Ning was sometimes like a parent’s towards a child. There was a sense of indulgence and coaxing.
Having received two kisses from the beauty, Shi Ning’s eyes curved into crescents, and she got ready.
Shi Ning: “Wife, you get up first.”
“I can’t get up with you sitting on my waist.”
In the darkness, it was impossible to see Su Tianxue’s expression, to tell if she was shy or not. Anyway, without saying a word, she swiftly stood up.
As the weight of the woman on her disappeared, Shi Ning gritted her teeth, pressed her lips together, and pushed herself up from the floor.
She reached back to touch her waist and, sure enough, felt a sticky, wet sensation.
She couldn’t see it now, so she didn’t know the exact situation.
But from the moment she fell, Shi Ning had felt something sharp on the ground tear through her clothes and pierce her skin. The feeling of flesh being torn wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t unbearable either.
Although there was pain, by bantering with Su Tianxue to distract herself, Shi Ning had almost forgotten the taste of that pain.
Wife’s kisses really worked.
Shi Ning raised her hand, wiped the corner of her mouth with the fingertip that had just touched the wound, then stuck out her tongue and licked it.
The taste was metallic, like rust.
Mhm.
It was bleeding.
Shi Ning remembered Su Tianxue’s worried question the moment they fell. She lowered her gaze and silently pulled her pants up hard, wishing she could pull them right up under her chest.
That way, she could cover the wound.
“Shi Ning?” Su Tianxue called out to her.
Seeing Shi Ning remain silent for a long time, the room returned to quiet, and Su Tianxue felt a little unaccustomed to it.
Shi Ning collected her thoughts and put on a smile. “I’m here, Wife. Miss me?”
Su Tianxue: “Be careful.”
Just as she finished her warning, the second wave of the ball and doll storm hit.
Shi Ning quickly turned around; she couldn’t take the balls to the face.
Her face still had to be seen in public.
Su Tianxue reached out to protect her head, pulling her towards her shoulder.
Shi Ning went with the motion and wrapped her arms around Su Tianxue’s waist.
She buried her head in Su Tianxue’s shoulder, smelling the scent that was uniquely hers.
It was a scent that calmed her, that allowed her brain, which was so tense it was ready to snap and start screaming at any moment, to quiet down.
The new round of balls and dolls had already piled up to their waists.
If two more waves came, the entire room would probably be blocked.
Su Tianxue’s gaze swept around the room, searching for the solution to the puzzle. After a quick scan in the dim light, Su Tianxue found a clue.
There was a controller on the wall, which should be used to control the falling dolls.
Below the controller was a keypad.
A four-digit password. As long as the correct one was entered, the controller would stop.
Above each digit position was a corresponding symbol: an eyeball, lips, a joint, a dress.
Su Tianxue frowned.
In this room, there was nothing related to these symbols.
The director team watched the monitor with growing alarm.
A props staff member sensed something was wrong and rushed over, shouting, “Director, Director, there’s a problem, Director!”
Director: “Why are you in such a panic? If there’s something wrong, say it properly.”
Hearing this, the props staff member took a deep breath and began to speak calmly. “It’s like this, Director, we’ve discovered a major bug.”
Director: “Just hurry up and say it!”
Props Staff: ...Weren’t you the one who told me to speak slowly??
The props staff member blurted out everything he had to say in one breath. “The mechanism in the room Shi Ning and Su Tianxue are in now requires information collected from the previous rooms to be solved, but they’ve basically skipped ahead, so—”
The director’s eyes widened. “So?”
The props staff member said in a small voice, “So this combination lock is impossible to solve. Director, we should stop the recording and let them out now.”
The director was utterly shocked. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
The props staff member was also helpless. “We just remembered it too.”
“Director, should we stop now?”
The director looked at the monitor, at the progress of the live broadcast, and fell into deep thought.
She gritted her teeth. “Wait a little longer.”
“I remember this stage’s mechanism has two more activations. Let’s wait.”
Even she didn’t know what she was waiting for when she said that.
It was just… for some reason, she had a thought in her mind, a feeling that Shi Ning and Su Tianxue could find their own way out.
So she wanted to wait a little longer.
In the room, Su Tianxue and Shi Ning were completely unaware of this accident and crisis.
The small, dark space, clogged with balls and dolls, became even more crowded, making it impossible to move. Shi Ning could only stand in place.
She felt her breathing becoming more and more unsteady.
Su Tianxue noticed this too, her brows furrowing. “Shi Ning, what’s wrong with you?”
Shi Ning shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
At this moment, her voice was tinged with weakness and vulnerability.
A guess flashed through Su Tianxue’s mind.
Could Shi Ning have claustrophobia?
Although from her previous interactions with Shi Ning, she had seemed perfectly at ease in elevators and other such places, without any abnormalities. And in the previous segment, faced with the iron cage in the dark, Shi Ning hadn’t had any special reaction.
But… the situation now was different.
This place was even darker than the iron cage just now. Most importantly, the constantly pressing balls and dolls would create a strong sense of suffocation.
Even Su Tianxue felt it, let alone Shi Ning.
Considering Shi Ning’s special status, and recalling what she had said before about a business rival wanting to harm her—although it was later clarified that this was just a lie Shi Ning told to cover for Su Wanxing and Jiang Ningran—Su Tianxue believed that this possibility couldn’t be completely dismissed.
So, now was not the time to ask her directly, and it was best not to let others in front of the screen see.
Su Tianxue cupped Shi Ning’s face. “Shi Ning, look at me.”
Shi Ning’s back was already drenched in cold sweat.
Her heart was beating abnormally fast.
Shi Ning looked at Su Tianxue instinctively. In the darkness, Su Tianxue’s eyes lit up with a flame.
“Let me recharge you, okay?”
Su Tianxue asked softly.
Shi Ning’s mind was hazy, unable to react to anything. The next moment, Su Tianxue’s face suddenly drew close, and she felt a soft touch on her lips.
She was being kissed.
Oh.
So kissing was recharging.
Su Tianxue’s kiss was very gentle, completely at odds with her appearance. As she kissed, her hand gently stroked Shi Ning’s long hair, like a mother coaxing a baby, patting rhythmically.
Shi Ning’s attention was quickly drawn away by this gentleness.
Her mind forgot the darkness, forgot the pain, forgot the time she first saw her father with someone else as a child and hid in the closet out of fear of being discovered, eventually fainting. She also forgot waking up the next day, being scolded by her father, and being chased and beaten with a bamboo stick.
Shi Ning was someone who hated the dark.
The reason she hated the dark was definitely not just because of that one incident of being locked in the closet.
As far back as she could remember, she had always been alone in her own room. When the lights were turned off, darkness would fall.
After growing up, when she faced the deep night alone again, she would always remember those lonely and difficult moments of her childhood.
That’s why she liked lively places, liked bars, liked having a well-behaved and obedient girl chattering by her side.
All these noisy, bustling things could pull her away from the darkness.
At least, before meeting Su Tianxue, Shi Ning had always done this.
She even thought it was the only way.
But now, Su Tianxue’s kiss was like a small snowflake unexpectedly drifting in from the window.
Crisp and cool.
That snow covered the black places, forming beautiful ice crystals bit by bit.
Su Tianxue’s kiss was not intense; it was like a gentle rain that nourishes things silently.
In her kiss, Shi Ning quickly calmed down.
And once she calmed down, she wanted to do something bad.
Su Tianxue’s kiss was originally meant to be gentle, just a light touch. But Shi Ning deliberately took advantage of the moment Su Tianxue slightly parted her lips to slip her tongue in, tangling with hers, chasing hers, back and forth, creating quite a stir.
Su Tianxue didn’t notice at first. By the time she reacted, Shi Ning had already turned from defense to offense, holding her and kissing her passionately.
The image wasn’t clear enough to see the details. The audience could only watch from a distance as two women kissed on the screen.
Exactly how they were kissing, what it looked like, they couldn’t see or figure out.
【Right now, immediately, turn up the video quality!!】
【I want to see!!!】
【Through the Norwegian Wood, let me walk into your dream, the setting sun falls on my armor, the prince doesn’t necessarily ride a white horse, it’s now 11:27 AM, you don’t have to pretend to be cold, and I don’t want to be the last to pester you. One last question, where the hell is the HD version?!】
【Sisters, listen to me, instead of struggling with the video quality, you’re better off turning up the volume. Friendly reminder, it’s best to use headphones.】
Someone saw this bullet comment and silently swiped up on their screen.
Volume up.
And then........
The sound of panting.
The sound of saliva being stirred in their mouths as their lips and tongues moved back and forth during the kiss.
And the rustling sound of their clothes rubbing against the balls and dolls.
【Help!!!!! I can’t take it anymore!!!】
【Mom, listen to my explanation!! I’m not watching anything weird!!! I’m really watching an escape room!!!】
Ding—
Amidst this rather indecent sound, a crisp notification tone suddenly appeared.
Audience: ???
Director: ????
The mechanism above that was supposed to be dropping balls and dolls was only halfway open, with many things stuck inside, frozen. It seemed the mechanism had been stopped just as it was about to drop another load.
The director was bewildered. “Is there a problem with the props?”
The props staff shook their heads. “No.”
【What’s the situation??】
【Huh? The mechanism was solved??!】
Amidst a sea of shocked bullet comments, the tightly shut door of the little black room slowly opened.
Outside the door was a bright light.
Su Tianxue walked forward. Seeing Shi Ning still standing there, she turned back and held out her hand to the woman. “Let’s go.”
Shi Ning looked at her.
Su Tianxue was silhouetted against the light. The light from outside fell on her, outlining her figure with a brilliant edge.
Shi Ning lowered her gaze, took Su Tianxue’s hand, and walked out of the dark room with her.
The warmth in her palm reminded her that she was no longer the child from her childhood.
【Am I getting old? Why am I so moved by this scene 5555!】
【Ahhhhh!!! They cleared it!!!!】
【Am I the only one who cares about one thing? So Su Tianxue cleared the stage while kissing Shi Ning??? God!! How on earth did she do that!!】
【Question: If Shi Ning finds out about this, will she be sad that her kissing skills weren’t enough to make Su Tianxue fully invested, or will she be obsessed with her wife’s intelligence?】
Su Tianxue and Shi Ning were the first to clear the stage, while the remaining four were still struggling frantically in the room.
Seeing the two of them come out, the director team was stunned.
A props staff member hurried over, pulled up a chair for Su Tianxue, and asked with a look of utter confusion, “Teacher Su, can I ask a question?”
Su Tianxue pulled over another chair for Shi Ning to sit on, then looked up at the props staff member. “Go ahead.”
The props staff member fidgeted for a moment, then said embarrassedly, “I just wanted to ask, Teacher Su, how did you solve the password for the mechanism in the little black room just now?”
Su Tianxue casually threw out two words: “Guessed it.”
Props Staff: ......??
Are you serious??
Is this some kind of escape room lucky charm persona???
Shi Ning: “Wife, stop teasing them.”
Su Tianxue became serious. “Alright.”
“It was actually very simple.”
“The symbols on your mechanism corresponded to different parts of the dolls. We saw a whole cabinet of dolls in the corridor earlier. I guessed that the numbers were related to the quantity of the dolls. So I did some simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.”
Props Staff: “...How is that simple!”
The staff member was about to go crazy.
“The specific numbers for all those parts were supposed to be found from statistical data in other stages, how did you—wait.......”
The staff member suddenly stopped talking.
He looked at Su Tianxue as if she were a monster. “Teacher Su, don’t tell me you memorized the entire situation in the cabinet with just one glance?”
Su Tianxue corrected him, “It wasn’t just one glance.”
“When I was passing by that place, I was silently memorizing it.”
Su Tianxue tilted her head. “Mhm, my intuition told me that with so many things displayed there, it couldn’t just be for aesthetic purposes.”
Shi Ning complained, “How was that aesthetic at all!”
【I’m kneeling, I’m kneeling before Teacher Su!】
【Super brain… does Teacher Su have a photographic memory?】
【Oh my god, even if I went back now, paused, took a screenshot, and counted them one by one, I feel like it would take me at least three days and three nights… how did she manage to calculate the answer while kissing!!】
The question that had been repeatedly mentioned in the bullet comments finally popped into Shi Ning’s head.
She looked at Su Tianxue. “Something’s not right.”
Su Tianxue: “What’s not right?”
Shi Ning scrutinized Su Tianxue’s face. “Are you messing with me?”
Su Tianxue: “?”
Shi Ning: “When we were kissing, I clearly felt that you were enjoying it too, but how could you be thinking about solving puzzles while kissing?”
Shi Ning gave Su Tianxue a suspicious look. “So, Wife, you weren’t very focused when you were kissing me.”
Su Tianxue: “...Mhm, getting you out alive was more important, right?”
Shi Ning: “Hmph.”
Su Tianxue: “Are you unhappy?”
Shi Ning: “No, I’m very happy that I survived.”
Su Tianxue smiled imperceptibly, then returned to her calm demeanor. “Actually, scientists have discovered that kissing can activate brain cells and promote thinking.”
Shi Ning: “...Shut up, you.”
It was finally her turn to say this to Su Tianxue!!
Look at this person, her ability to talk nonsense was clearly no worse than her own!!
Amidst their bickering, the other four also came out.
Their escape was partly due to Zhu Yu’s intelligence and partly due to Xin Ya’s brute force.
The first thing Zhou Lu said to the director was, “Remember to get her to pay for the damages.”
Su Wanxing quickly said, “We can split it!!”
Zhu Yu walked closer and saw Shi Ning’s pants pulled up to her waist, laughing at her. “What kind of fashion is this?”
Shi Ning: “It’s the new trend, you wouldn’t understand.”
Zhu Yu didn’t believe her and wanted her to stand up for a look.
But the moment Shi Ning stood up, Zhu Yu reached out and pulled her waistband down. “I really can’t stand your taste in clothes, my friend.”
But with that one pull, Shi Ning’s torn clothes and wound were exposed.
Zhu Yu was stunned. “Shi Ning, what happened to your waist?”
Hearing Zhu Yu’s voice, everyone looked over. Su Tianxue was the fastest to react. She glanced at it and quickly understood the cause of the injury.
Su Tianxue’s face was as if the air conditioner had suddenly been turned down by eight degrees.
Su Tianxue: “Did you get that when you fell just now?”
Shi Ning felt a little guilty for some reason. She hummed in agreement, then put on a smile. “It’s nothing, not serious at all.”
Su Tianxue raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
She took the cotton swab that a staff member hastily handed over, raised her hand, and pressed it hard against Shi Ning’s wound.
Shi Ning sucked in a sharp breath of pain, almost jumping up on the spot.
Su Tianxue sneered, “Didn’t you say it wasn’t serious?”
Shi Ning said aggrievedly, “You pressed so hard, even if it wasn’t serious, it would become serious!”
Snap.
Su Tianxue snapped the cotton swab in her hand with one hand.
【Fuck fuck fuck!! It’s so rare to see Su Jiejie get angry!!】
【Danger! Danger! Danger! Wife is angry!】
【Su Jiejie is so Alpha like this ahhhhh I love it so much, Jiejie don’t break the cotton swab, break me instead?!!】
【I advise some people to put on some pants!】
Su Tianxue took a new cotton swab, had Shi Ning sit sideways on the chair, and knelt beside her to treat the wound.
Shi Ning turned her head slightly to look at Su Tianxue. At this moment, her expression was incredibly serious.
It was the first time.
The first time someone had seen her injured and been so nervous, so angry, and treated her wound like this.
Shi Ning said in a small voice, “It’s really nothing. This kind of wound isn’t serious.”
Su Tianxue: “Are you a doctor? Do you get to decide?”
Shi Ning: “......”
Su Tianxue: “We’ll treat it first, then you’ll get a tetanus shot later.”
Shi Ning: “No, I’m not getting one.”
Hearing Shi Ning’s firm refusal, Su Tianxue’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of needles?”
Shi Ning: “How is that possible!”
Twenty minutes later, a private doctor came to check on the situation and then pulled Shi Ning into a small vehicle for a tetanus shot…
“Wuaah.”
The people outside the vehicle could hear Shi Ning’s suppressed, pained voice.
When she came out again, there was a hint of moisture in her eyes.
Shi Ning clutched her arm and called out pitifully, “Wife, where’s my big wife?”
Su Tianxue had just finished discussing shooting safety issues and related matters with the production team. Hearing her voice, she walked over quickly. She didn’t mention her negotiations with the team at all, just stood by Shi Ning’s side, accepting her nonsensical ramblings.
Seeing Su Tianxue walk away, the director couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from her forehead.
When the boss’s wife gets angry, her presence is truly terrifying.
After this whole farce ended, the director looked at the time and realized it was just lunchtime.
The director, who had thought that today’s segment could fill a whole day’s broadcast time: ?
??
Hmm????
Why does it take other people seven or eight hours to get out of an escape room, but this group got out so quickly??
What was she supposed to show the audience this afternoon??
The director looked at the six people in front of her, her eyes vacant.
Su Wanxing asked with concern, “Director, are you okay?”
Director: “I’m fine.”
As if!!!
Having just gotten her shot, Shi Ning, who was clinging to Su Tianxue and pretending to be a baby, shamelessly continued to lean on her.
Su Wanxing watched her, gritting her teeth.
But even so, Shi Ning didn’t let go of Su Tianxue’s hand.
If today’s escape room experience gave Shi Ning anything new, Shi Ning would say that it gave her a legitimate reason to stick to Su Tianxue and hold her hand.
At this moment, Shi Ning looked at the director and saw right through her pretense. “I say, Director, what are you nervous about? Isn’t it good that we escaped so quickly?”
Zhu Yu’s eyes lit up. “Could it be that you only arranged this one activity for today, thinking we would spend a long time inside? And now you’ve realized we got out quickly and don’t know what to do next?”
Shi Ning played along with Zhu Yu. “Well, that’s easy to solve.”
“Since it’s a date day anyway, why not give us the autonomy to plan our own dates?” Shi Ning said with a smile. “You can just treat it as a day off for yourselves? Hmm?”
Hearing this, the director was actually a little tempted.
Zhu Yu chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, why not let us arrange our own dates.”
On the second day of recording, being led by the nose by the guests, was that really okay? But damn it, the urge to take a day off was stirring restlessly in her heart.
Zhou Lu: “We will have a good date.”
Looking at her expression as she said this, the director didn’t believe her at all.
Zhou Lu’s face clearly said: Great, I’m going to start playing dead now.
Seeing this, alarm bells went off in the director’s mind.
No!
No way!!
Even if she let them have their own dates, she had to give them some tasks! Otherwise… who knows what these people would do!!
For the sake of the show’s effect, the director had a flash of inspiration.
“You can freely arrange your dates later, no problem at all. However, each guest must come to me individually to receive their date objective and task for today.”
“If you complete the objective and task, you will receive a romantic grand dinner provided by us, and you will also accumulate travel funds for future date trips.”
At the mention of money, Zhou Lu perked up. “Excuse me, will the production team also be paying for this afternoon’s date?”
Production Team: “...Mhm. We will.”
Zhou Lu: “I am honored.”
Production Team: “.......”
Damn it!
She really didn’t want to look at this group of guests for another second!
She quickly gathered everyone to receive their tasks one by one.
Shi Ning’s task was: Confess to your partner during the date and get a response from them. Additionally, you need to achieve the task of ten kisses. For example, if she says “I love you,” Su Tianxue must say, “Me too.”
Shi Ning thought to herself: Great. I might as well skip tonight’s grand dinner.
Getting Su Tianxue to say she loved her?
In her dreams.
Shi Ning: “What does ten kisses mean? Does kissing ten times count?”
Director: “No, it’s kissing ten different places.”
Shi Ning: “.......”
The director said smugly, “What, scared?”
Shi Ning: “No, I can kiss her, but can you broadcast it?”
Seeing the challenge in Shi Ning’s eyes, the director fell silent.
She couldn’t help but advise, “Why don’t you, uh, handle the level of intimacy yourself. We are actually a wholesome, proper, all-ages romance variety show. Not the adult-oriented kind, um…”
Shi Ning: “Don’t explain, you look ridiculous when you try to explain.”
Director: ???
【Hahahahaha!】
【What about that ice cube kiss challenge before, that was clearly super high-level intimacy, okay!!】
【Ten places… hehe, hehe.】
【This problem is easy to solve, right? Just kiss each of her ten fingers, and it’s done?】
【To the person above, the way you describe it, it sounds less like kissing and more like washing hands.】
Shi Ning took the card and walked away coolly, waving it by her ear as if fanning herself.
The next person to receive a task from the director happened to be Su Tianxue. As they passed each other, Shi Ning secretly covered the contents of her card.
Su Tianxue: This person is so childish.
After she heard the task the director gave her, she no longer wanted to laugh at Shi Ning. Because in an instant, she understood why Shi Ning had acted that way.
It was too embarrassing.
Director: “Please fulfill the second wish Shi Ning wrote down before, and express your feelings for her in public. The method is not limited, but you must have more than ten people witness your confession.”
Seeing Su Tianxue’s silent expression, the director hummed twice, hiding her success and fame.
She had principles when assigning tasks! They were tailored to the individual!
Su Tianxue stared at her card for a long time. “Can I quit the show?”
The director went crazy. “No!!!”
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