Against the Light - Chapter 141
Chapter 141: Miss You~
【??? Didn't Ran Zai push it up herself? She almost hit her head when she walked past it just now, so she pushed it up. Am I misremembering?】
【Now that you mention it, I think you're right. Oh my god, you scared me to death. Did Ran Zai do it on purpose, or did she really forget?】
【That scared me to death… I don't dare turn off the bullet comments…】
【So who closed it? Is Ran Zai trying to scare everyone?】
【Scaring people like this is too much. Could it be that she just forgot?】
"Ahhh, did someone really close it? Wasn't it like this before? Sister Ran, don't scare me! I'm a coward, ahhh!!" Shen Can was so scared her chopsticks went flying, and she hugged the person next to her, trembling.
"Who came down last?"
"I think it was me," Huo Jie said after a moment's thought.
The group looked at Gu Xinran in unison and saw her expression was very grave.
Gu Xinran thought back for a moment, then her brow relaxed. "Sorry, I think I was the one who closed it. I forgot."
"…"
"!!! Gu Xinran!!"
"I really didn't do it on purpose, I forgot…" Gu Xinran said apologetically.
The others were indignant.
"Forget it, forget it. After all, Sister Ran's brain hasn't been working too clearly lately. Let's all be understanding."
"…"
Although everyone was still shaken, they couldn't resist the allure of the hot pot and continued to feast.
Before long, they had finished their meal.
Shen Can wiped her mouth and glanced at the ceiling. "Hey, this escape room is set up quite interestingly. After we've eaten and drunk our fill, we can even go upstairs to the bedroom to sleep and rest."
"…" The others stared at her as if she were a monster.
"You go by yourself. We won't be joining you!"
"Haha, just kidding. But if we can't escape today, will we really have to spend the night here?"
"I refuse. Yilan is waiting for me at home. I have to go back," Gu Xinran said with a serious expression.
"Ooh, look at this good woman of the Gu family~"
Just as they were teasing her, a loud bang suddenly came from outside the kitchen. They all jumped, looking at each other, no one daring to make another sound.
"Did you… hear that?" Shen Can asked, trembling. As soon as she spoke, a low roar came from outside.
"Ah—"
"Shh, don't make a sound." Gu Xinran raised a hand, signaling for everyone to calm down, and tilted her head to listen.
There was a moment of silence in the room. The next second, someone pounded heavily on the door!
"…You can scream now." Gu Xinran was terrified too. She instinctively stood up and retreated to the wall, the furthest point from the door.
Huo Jie mustered her courage and piled all the chairs against the door, then huddled together with the others, trembling.
【Hahahahahahaha Ran Zai is so mysteriously calm. 'You can scream now' hahahahaha】
【Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, this is too terrifying, too terrifying!!!】
【Oh my god, if I played this kind of escape room, I'd be scared to death. The immersion is too strong. I'm so afraid the person outside will burst in! Ran Zai, hold me tight, ahhh!!】
【Although it's terrifying, why do I still want to laugh? They're playing an escape room, but instead of thinking about how to get out, they've blocked the only door! You're supposed to be running out, hello!!】
Before long, it was quiet outside again.
"What do we do now?" Shen Can asked in a small, trembling voice.
Gu Xinran glanced at the demoralized group, then bravely walked to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen.
"There's a gap under the door. Why don't we crouch down and see if anyone's outside?" Yan Xi suggested.
"No, no! I saw a horror movie with a scene just like this. The protagonist was trapped in the kitchen, and she tried to look through the gap under the door to see if the person was still there, but what she saw was that person's eye!!"
"Ahhhhhh—"
The moment Shen Can finished speaking, the others closed their eyes and screamed wildly.
Gu Xinran covered her ears and rolled her eyes. "Would you please say a few less words!!"
【Hahaha, what a character Cancan is. So timid, but her inventory of horror stories is quite extensive.】
【Haha, Xinran's getting flustered, she's getting flustered, she's getting flustered.】
【Honestly, the worst thing in an escape room is running into someone like Cancan. She single-handedly raised the terror level by N degrees, okay?】
【+1, the scariest thing isn't the NPC, it's the person next to you!!!】
"It's quiet outside now, but we definitely can't stay here long. We need to find the password and get out."
"No way. That person is right outside. If we run out now, won't we be walking right into their trap?"
"That's why we have to move before he comes back. Otherwise, if we just wait here, it's a dead end."
"I think Sister Ran is right. And guess what? Do you think that person went to find the key to the kitchen?" Shen Can said.
"???"
"If he finds the key before we do and opens the door from the outside…"
"Ahhhhhh!! Stop talking!!!"
Huo Jie took a deep breath and clamped her hand directly over Shen Can's mouth.
"The scariest thing in this escape room is you!"
"Agreed!"
"Mmmph mmmph!"
"Alright, Yan Xi, you're in charge of covering her mouth. Everyone else, find the key, quickly," Gu Xinran ordered.
"Okay," the others immediately agreed.
【Hahaha, why do they need one person just to cover her mouth? This is too much, hahaha.】
【Ahhh, so scary, so scary, ahhh! Go, Ran Zai, find the key quickly!!!】
【I feel like what Cancan said, while terrifying, makes sense!!】
【Calm down, everyone. This is a show recording, after all. They wouldn't really break in. What if they scared the guests into having an accident? I bet the production team is just trying to hurry them along, hhh.】
【That's some way to hurry them along… Do they have to be so scary…】
"Hey, what's this? A clue!!" Ling Xue'er suddenly exclaimed, then immediately covered her mouth and glanced nervously at the door.
"Where is it?"
"Here. It's really inside the ice. The production team is so ruthless."
The group gathered around and, sure enough, saw a slip of paper in the very center of the block of ice.
"Pouring the hot pot broth on it will make it melt faster," Gu Xinran said.
"Right, right."
They immediately did as she said.
Seeing only a thin layer of ice left, they stopped, picked up the block, and gently cracked it open, successfully retrieving the paper.
They immediately crowded around, eager to see the clue on the paper.
"What is this?"
Looking at the strange characters drawn on the paper, they were all confused.
"These are Chinese characters, right? The strokes have been separated. Are we supposed to piece them together into a sentence?" Huo Jie, the only one whose brain was online, quickly figured it out.
Gu Xinran turned to look at the combination lock on the door. "Huo Jie is probably right. The password is seven letters, so it should be the first letter of each word in that sentence. Let's piece it together."
"Hey, isn't this the character for 'Bai'?"
"'Bai'?" Hearing the character 'Bai', they all looked at Gu Xinran in unison.
"Hey, hey, this is the character for 'Gu'!"
"'Gu Bai'?"
Gu Xinran frowned. It couldn't be related to her, could it? The production team was really something…
Gu Xinran was stunned for a moment, then inspiration struck. She ran to the door and looked. Seven characters, Gu Bai…
She silently recalled the trending topic she had been on before.
She tried turning the dials on the lock, spelling out a string of letters: gbnhdsl.
With a click, the lock opened!
Gu Xinran immediately let go, startling even herself.
The others, still racking their brains over the password, looked at her in surprise. "How did you open it?"
"…Gu Bai Nvhai Da Shengli."
"!!! The moment I saw the words 'Gu Bai,' I knew it had something to do with you and Teacher Bai!"
【Ahhhhh, a great victory for the Gu Bai girls!! The production team is so thoughtful!】
【Thank you, production team!!!】
【Ahhh, this is so heartwarming! Shout out to the production team, so thoughtful!】
【A great victory for the Gu Bai girls!!】
"Who's going to open the door…" They stared at the combination lock still hanging on the door, but no one dared to take it off.
Gu Xinran was silent for a long moment. "I'll do it."
She resignedly walked to the door.
"Hey, listen for any sounds outside first."
"Okay." Gu Xinran bent down, pressed her ear to the door, and closed her eyes to listen carefully. She let out a breath of relief.
"No sound."
Only then did she bravely take off the lock.
The door was pushed open. The group instinctively huddled together and peeked outside.
"It's so dark!!"
"It's over, it's over. I can't do this. The moment the lights go out, I just freeze up. I can't, I can't."
"Close-close-close, close it, close it!" Shen Can was so scared she stuttered, signaling for Gu Xinran to shut the door.
"What if that person… mmmph…" Her mouth was covered before she could finish.
"How are we supposed to get out? We don't even know which way to go."
"Could there be a light on the wall?"
"No, no, it's so dark, and we know there's some unknown creature out there. Do we really have to go out? How about we just end the recording here, okay!" Yan Xi also started to back down.
"I can just imagine the bullet comments must be calling us cowards…"
Yan Xi was silent for a moment. "But we are."
"Pfft…"
【Hahaha, Yan Xiaoxi keeping it real. This is indeed a bit terrifying. Isn't this theme a bit much for a group of girls?】
【Yeah, they should have at least invited a male guest to hold down the fort. With a group of girls, it'd be a miracle if they didn't get scared out of their wits.】
【Wuwu, so scary. Ran Zai, let's not record anymore.】
【This production team is too ruthless, too ruthless.】
Gu Xinran stood at the doorway and calmed herself for a moment. She opened the door, reached out to feel the wall outside, and her expression suddenly relaxed. "Don't worry, there's a light."
The others immediately breathed a sigh of relief and followed behind her.
As the light turned on, their relaxed mood immediately tensed up again.
Outside was the ground-floor living room. It was very large, and the decor and furnishings were old, looking like they had been there for years. There were also several locked rooms to the side, probably guest rooms or something similar.
"Hey, the main door. Are we supposed to escape from here?"
The group gathered around.
"That's not right. The keyhole on this door is blocked. We probably can't get out through the main door."
"Then where do we go next?"
"Maybe we exit through one of the rooms?" Gu Xinran looked around. The locked rooms were particularly conspicuous.
"Hey, come look! There's something under this rug!" exclaimed Ling Xue'er, the little search expert.
Everyone ran over to look. On the section of floor exposed by the rug, there was a clear seam.
"Is this a cellar?"
"That's not right. Who would put a cellar inside a villa?"
"It's a trapdoor, isn't it!?"
"Hiss… It's not some kind of secret underground prison, is it?" Shen Can deduced.
"Also, look, all these rooms are locked. So where do you think that person from before went? This cellar was clearly covered by the rug, so why is half of it exposed now? I bet that person must have gone in!"
"Yan Xi, what are you doing?" Gu Xinran glanced at Yan Xi.
Yan Xi was stunned for a second, then reacted. "Sorry, I forgot." With that, she immediately covered Shen Can's mouth.
"…Mmph!"
Although Yan Xi covered Shen Can's mouth in time, everyone was still a little scared by what she'd said and instinctively moved away from the trapdoor.
"How about…" Gu Xinran paused, exchanged a look with Huo Jie, and the two of them, with perfect understanding, moved the nearby coffee table over to cover the trapdoor. That way, even if someone was down there, they wouldn't be able to get up!
Just as the two of them finished and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, another round of pounding on a door suddenly erupted!!!
"Ahhh!! He's in the room, in the room! Quick, move this, let's go down and hide!!" Shen Can broke free from Yan Xi's hand and shrieked.
Gu Xinran jumped in fright as well, and she and Huo Jie scrambled to move the coffee table away again.
"Wait, that's not right!" Ling Xue'er bravely looked at the door the sound was coming from and pointed at it, trembling.
"What's wrong, Xue'er?" Seeing Ling Xue'er's face had turned pale, Gu Xinran asked with concern.
"That door… is locked from the outside."
"!!!"
【Ahhhhhh, I've got fucking goosebumps, ahhhhhh!!】
【Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, stop recording, stop recording, this is too terrifying, ahhhhhhh!!】
【What? What does that mean? What's wrong with it being locked from the outside? I don't get it.】
【Locked from the outside means there's someone else out here!!】
【It means someone else locked that person in the room!】
【It could also be that there was someone in that room to begin with, which means the person who knocked on their door earlier might be right beside them, ahhhhhh, this is so fucking scary, ahhh!!!】
【Xue'er, let's not record anymore. This appearance fee isn't worth it [/crying]】
【Holy crap, don't be like this. I feel so bad for my cub.】
"Wuwu, Sister Ran, I'm scared…"
"Let's stop recording. Let's just stop here."
The group instantly wanted to back out.
"This is too terrifying. I seriously have goosebumps all over. It's so scary," Huo Jie said, rubbing her arms.
Gu Xinran was also covered in a cold sweat.
"I want to go home too…"
Gu Xinran looked at the others, then scanned the other rooms. Only one room was unlocked. If there was someone else in this house, that was the only room they could be hiding in.
Gu Xinran narrowed her eyes, then suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Shh, don't make a sound. I have an idea."
She tiptoed back to the kitchen, grabbed the combination lock from the door, crept over to the only unlocked door, and deftly snapped the lock onto it!
"Nice!"
"Smart!"
The others immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
"Ahhh, Sister Ran, what would this show do without you!!"
"Hero, hero, hero!"
Gu Xinran waved her hand at them, signaling for everyone to be low-key.
"Alright, let's keep thinking about how to escape this room."
"I think we shouldn't touch these doors casually. Who knows what's inside," Huo Jie said cautiously.
"Mm." Gu Xinran nodded. Everyone's gaze fell in unison on the trapdoor at their feet.
"Assuming the first person is in that room, and the second person has been locked up by Xinran, then there can't be a third person here, right?"
"Who are you trying to fool with that assumption…" Shen Can retorted.
"Hey, look at this." Ling Xue'er pulled a newspaper out from under the sofa.
"'Recently, a familicide occurred at the Ye Mansion. The father, Mr. Ye, was stabbed multiple times and died tragically in his bedroom. The bodies of his wife and son were never found! Since the three were killed, terrifying and strange noises have often been heard within the mansion. Nearby families have moved away one after another, and the Ye Mansion has become a well-known… haunted house. The murderer, however, remains at large.'" After reading the news on the paper, Ling Xue'er swallowed weakly.
"Wait, wait! A family of three! Could it be!" Shen Can's eyes widened. "There's one more person… no, one more ghost?"
"Shut up."
Huo Jie picked up the newspaper and glanced at it. "This sentence, 'The bodies of his wife and son were never found,' don't you think that's a bit strange?"
"The father was stabbed multiple times, but the family's bodies were never found… Does that mean the mother and child weren't killed in the house? Or were their bodies disposed of elsewhere?"
"Could it be…" Shen Can gulped, swallowing nervously.
"Did the father kill his wife and child, and then kill himself?"
"Then what about the bodies?"
"…He ate them?" Shen Can speculated.
"…"
"Sorry, I feel a little sick…" Li Jinjin couldn't help but feel like vomiting.
"Hey, I was just saying it casually, don't look at me like that… Okay, okay, I'll manually seal my mouth." Shen Can consciously covered her mouth.
"Let's all search a small area first," Gu Xinran said.
"Okay."
"Hey, Sister Ran, there are a few more newspapers here."
"'According to neighbors, Mr. Ye had a violent temper and his furious shouts could often be heard coming from the Ye Mansion.'"
"'Five years have passed since the Ye Mansion familicide, and there is still no news of the murderer.'"
"'This one says fifteen years have passed since the Ye Mansion familicide, and the murderer still hasn't been caught.'"
"'This one is nineteen years. The statute of limitations will be up in one more year.'"
They laid the newspapers on the floor and organized the information they'd gathered.
"Hey, how old was their child?" Gu Xinran asked.
"I think the child's birthday was written on that photo. Should we go up and get it?" Huo Jie remembered seeing information on the family photo in the bedroom, the first room they entered.
"Let's go."
Gu Xinran led the way, and they went upstairs and successfully retrieved the photo.
"It's written here. At the time of the incident, he should have been exactly eighteen."
"Hiss…" Gu Xinran suddenly gasped.
"Whoa!" The others jumped in fright. "Sister Ran, if you have something to say, just say it. A little less of that surprised tone, thank you."
"No, look at this photo. The father's expression looks ferocious and cruel. Although the mother has bloodstains and injuries on her face, if you look closely, you can see an element of fear in her expression," Gu Xinran analyzed calmly.
"Mm, I get that feeling too," Yan Xi nodded.
"And the child. The child in this photo is definitely not eighteen, but look at his expression. His eyebrows are lowered, the corners of his mouth are turned down, and there's hatred in his eyes."
"Hiss, that newspaper said neighbors often heard Mr. Ye's furious shouts. Could it be that he was abusive to the mother and child!"
"No, no, if it was domestic abuse, he probably only hit the mother. Look, there are no injuries on the child's face. But the child definitely knew his father was abusing his mother and developed a hatred for him!"
"So, Cancan's earlier speculation gave me an idea. I'm thinking, could it be…" Gu Xinran deduced methodically, and everyone immediately looked at her.
"Could it be that the child killed the father?"
"Hiss…" They all gasped in unison.
"And then the mother, to protect her child, faked her death and hid here with him, pretending to be ghosts to turn this place into a haunted house. Look, the newspaper says the neighbors all moved away."
"I think that's very likely!"
"That's not right. The child was so young. Even if he committed a crime, as a minor he wouldn't have to…"
"He was already eighteen when the incident happened!"
"!!!"
"Then that makes sense!!"
"And look, this news article says it's been nineteen years since the Ye family familicide. The statute of limitations for murder is twenty years. That means next year will be the twentieth year, and they can live in the open without facing any consequences!"
"Wow… Sister Ran, I have to look at you in a new light!" Shen Can immediately put on a fangirl face and applauded enthusiastically.
【!!! Ran Zai is amazing!】
【It's back! My Ran Zai's brain is back!!!】
【If that's really the case, I actually feel a little bad for the mother and son…】
【Domestic violence harms everyone!!】
【Ran Zai is so amazing, ahhhhhh!!!】
【What do we do? Ran Zai found her brain, so Teacher Bai's brain…】
【??? Are you the devil?】
"So the situation should be clearer now. The father is confirmed dead. Assuming our deduction is correct, the mother and son aren't dead and are hiding in this villa. All the rooms we can see are now locked. If they're in here, they've definitely been locked up by us. Of course, we can't rule out someone being down there. So, should we go down?" Gu Xinran asked.
"Let's go! Now that we basically understand the whole story, I'm not as scared. Besides, if we don't go down, we can't get out."
"Yeah, we can only go down."
"Alright." Gu Xinran nodded, stood up, and they all worked together to open the trapdoor.
"There's light, there's light."
Seeing the light below, they weren't as scared. They followed Gu Xinran and jumped down one by one.
Below was a basement. Dim lights shone on the walls. It was damp and smelled of mildew.
They walked deeper, holding hands. On the wall hung several photo frames, showing the son's birthday photos every year since he was eighteen. Only the mother and son were in the pictures. Their expressions were gloomy, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
Before long, they reached the end of the basement. The mother and son were living in a space of less than ten square meters, which gave off a strong sense of oppression.
"There's a diary here. It's in a child's handwriting."
They went over to look. It seemed the child had been keeping it since he was very young, and the handwriting gradually changed.
Skimming through it, each entry had only a short line: "Dad hit Mom today."
Looking at the dates, the entries were at most three to five days apart.
Gu Xinran flipped further. "He hit Mom again today."
"Look, at this point, the child is using 'he' to refer to his father. It shows he's starting to feel hatred."
A few more pages, and sure enough, in big, glaring characters: "I hate him!"
They finished flipping through the diary. Every entry contained the word 'hate'.
"Sigh, why do I suddenly feel so upset?" Yan Xi said.
"Feeling uncomfortable?"
"Yeah."
After speaking, Yan Xi looked around the small space again.
"Perhaps for this mother and son, in this huge mansion, only this place was their home. A home that didn't need a violent father."
"But they could only hide here secretly, protecting each other and wary of outsiders who might destroy the little happiness they had left."
"That way of thinking isn't quite right. No matter what, they still killed someone," Shen Can offered a different perspective.
Everyone fell silent. No one expected an escape room to have this kind of ending.
"Hey, is this a door? Are we out?"
Huo Jie saw a sliver of light shining from the adjacent wall. She tried pushing it and actually managed to open a small crack.
"We're out!? That's great!" They immediately threw those troubling thoughts to the back of their minds and squeezed through the opening.
"Ahhhhhh, we're finally out!!! It's almost dark!" They all took a deep breath of fresh air in unison and glanced at the sunset in the distance.
"Seriously, we were thrown in here early in the morning and only got out when it's almost dark. Are we too weak?"
"At least we didn't have to spend the night. We're already very strong, really."
As they were talking, a round of applause came from the distance. They flinched reflexively, startled. Only when they saw it was the production crew did they finally relax completely.
"Congratulations on your successful escape. Time: six hours and forty-three minutes."
"Six hours… Isn't that just insane?"
"Hey, I want to ask, were there really two people in there? The ones we locked up?" Shen Can asked.
The director looked a bit awkward. "Um, we'll release the edited version tomorrow. You can all watch it for yourselves then."
"Stingy. What's there to hide?"
"Haha~"
【Ahhh, celebrating the success of the first escape room! The cubs are all amazing!】
【Sister Ran is the best!! Carried the whole team!!】
【Really, really, Ran Zai is too amazing. What would this show do without her! She deduced the truth so quickly, she's really incredible, awoooo!】
【Ahhh, I'm so excited for tomorrow's edited version. Let me get another look at Wife Ran!】
【When does the next episode start filming? I can't wait to watch it. Can the next one not be a horror theme? More puzzles so my Ran Zai can show off her brain!!!】
【Looking forward to it, ahhh!】
【Can't wait, let me see, let me see!!!】
On the bus, the director was conducting the post-show interview.
"Sister Ran, what are you thinking about? You don't seem to be in high spirits since you came out. Do you have anything to say about today's theme?"
Gu Xinran sighed and looked at the director. "First of all, fighting violence with violence is definitely wrong. But I can understand their despair. I know that kind of helplessness. I don't think I'm qualified to tell them what they should have done. I don't want to say things like 'you should have trusted so-and-so.' When we haven't experienced that kind of despair ourselves, any advice given from the perspective of someone who's 'been there' is irresponsible."
"Don't air this part. It's too negative."
Gu Xinran sighed. Just as she'd said, she could relate to that despair and helplessness. No one, truly no one, could help you. Not even the police could help you.
"Oh, and I also want to say, everyone should take this as a cautionary tale. Don't follow Mr. Ye's example. Since you chose someone to be your wife, even if you don't dote on her, don't love her, don't cherish or care for her, you must never, ever hurt her. It's not about being afraid of some violent backlash." Gu Xinran paused and was silent for a moment.
"What is a lover? It's the person who will walk hand-in-hand with you through this entire life. There's not even enough time to cherish them, so how could you bear to hurt them?"
After speaking, Gu Xinran sighed heavily again and turned her head away from the camera.
【Ran Zai is speaking from the heart. You can tell she's really upset.】
【What does she mean by having experienced that kind of despair, ahhh??】
【Is it about the time after her divorce from Teacher Bai? Her career and love life hit rock bottom, no one could help her, and no one was willing to help her. She could only endure it all alone.】
【Wuwuwu, my heart aches for Ran Zai, it aches so much. Hurry home, Teacher Bai is waiting for you!】
【Wuwuwu @Teacher Bai, give Ran Zai a good hug.】
【Take care, Ran Zai. The Gu Bai girls love you [heart]】
After hearing Gu Xinran's final speech, Shi Qing was a little moved. She turned her head and noticed her daughter's eyes were slightly red.
"What's wrong? You were moved by that?" Shi Qing handed her a tissue.
"No…" Bai Yilan pressed her lips together. Only she understood the despair Xinran was talking about. The scene had just stirred up old feelings, reminding her of her past life.
"Alright, don't cry. The show is over. Isn't she coming back soon? You haven't made dinner yet, have you?" Shi Qing patted Yilan's head, coaxing her a little awkwardly.
"Mm, I'll go make it," Bai Yilan said.
"Okay, I'll help you," Ye Nan agreed with a nod.
That evening, past eight o'clock, Gu Xinran finally returned home.
The moment she walked in, she was pulled into a tight embrace. Feeling that warm hug, Gu Xinran's tense nerves from the long day gradually relaxed. She wrapped her arms around Yilan's waist, and the two held each other for a while.
"Your fans flooded my Weibo, telling me to give you a good hug for them," Yilan said softly.
Gu Xinran smiled. "Thank you, Wife."
"Aiyo, so lovey-dovey. This morning I was just praising you for not being so clingy, and here you go again," Ye Nan said, standing to the side and watching them with a smile.
Gu Xinran felt a little embarrassed by her comment. She gave a sheepish smile and straightened up. "I'll go change first."
"Mm, okay." Bai Yilan helped her take off her coat, hung it on the nearby rack, and accompanied her back to the bedroom.
"Tsk, it's over. Those two are at it again. Are we ever going to get to eat dinner?" The moment Ye Nan saw Yilan follow her into the room, she knew they were off to be lovey-dovey.
"How romantic," Shi Qing said, sitting at the table with her chin in her hand, smiling at the closed bedroom door.
"This? Romantic?"
As soon as Ye Nan spoke, she received an eye-roll from her boss, who also commented, "You have no sense of romance."
"…" Live on with a smile :)
In the bedroom, Gu Xinran had just stepped inside when Yilan hugged her from behind.
"Hm? What's wrong? How come you're the clingy one today?" Gu Xinran asked with a smile, turning her head to nuzzle Yilan's cheek and gently patting her hand.
Yilan shook her head. "It's nothing. I just wanted to hug you."
"Missed me?"
"Mm. Very much." Bai Yilan nodded, resting her chin on her shoulder and closing her eyes, savoring the feeling of the embrace.
"Did you watch the show today?"
"I did."
"How did I do?" Gu Xinran had a delighted expression, fishing for compliments.
"Exceptionally well."
"Is there a reward, then?"
"Hm? Whatever reward you want, it's yours."
"I want…" Gu Xinran's eyes lit up, her throat bobbed slightly as she inadvertently swallowed. Just as she was about to speak, the light in her eyes suddenly dimmed.
"Sigh." The anticipation in her eyes turned into a heavy sigh.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"No, the baby is still too young. How about you owe me for now," Gu Xinran lamented.
"…???"
Bai Yilan froze, thought about it for a moment, and immediately understood. Her pretty face flushed red, and she raised a hand to hit her. "Owe you my foot! What is your mind full of!!"
"Ahem, I'm thinking of you," Gu Xinran chuckled, turning to hug her and burying her face in her neck. She looked at her delicate, pink nape and barely restrained herself from kissing it. In the end, she only gave her earlobe a gentle nibble before reluctantly pulling back.
"Go on, you rascal." Bai Yilan pushed her away. "Get changed and come out for dinner."
"Hey, just one more hug… My fans all said you should give me a good hug for them~" Gu Xinran whined softly.
"Are you being coquettish?"
"Mhm~"
"Alright, since you're being so cute, I'll reluctantly hug you for a little while."
"Reluctantly?"
Bai Yilan gave a brilliant smile and ruffled her hair. "I couldn't ask for more~"
"Mhm~ That's more like it~"
"You conceited thing."
Outside, Ye Nan had her hands on her hips and had already paced several laps around the living room.
"Hey, it's been half an hour. Haven't they hugged enough?" Ye Nan stared at the door, rolled up her sleeves, and fought the urge to kick it down.
"Why are you so unromantic?" Shi Qing said with disdain.
"Big Boss, they've been in there for half an hour! Half an hour!!"
"Have you never heard the saying 'a day apart feels like three years'?" Shi Qing asked.
"…" Ye Nan was speechless.
"If you're hungry, just go ahead and eat," Shi Qing said helplessly.
"Boss, have you perhaps forgotten that Yilan just got pregnant? What if the two of them accidentally lose control…"
Shi Qing, who had been wearing a benevolent motherly smile, had her expression change instantly upon hearing this.
"Then what are you still standing there for!?"
"Heh, I was just afraid you'd say I don't understand romance~"
"???"
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