Was she letting infatuation cloud her judgment?
There were only two girls, Mi Zhuzhu walked on the edge, so her side would naturally be the boys. Besides, Ren Mo had to take care of Lai Jielun who was puking his guts out. Shen Hong and Ren Yu, Ren Yu was more familiar with her.
So it was perfectly normal for Ren Yu to walk on her left!
Calming down, walking beside Ren Yu, Liu Chen realized for the first time that Brother Ren Yu was so much taller than her?
Her head barely reached Brother Ren Yu's chin.
"Brother, why are you back today? Ms. Ren said you would be back next Sunday?"
"Signing a contract."
"Are you still coming back next Sunday? Mom has been preparing a week's worth of a feast."
"We'll see."
As the brothers' brief conversation concluded, the six of them entered the dessert shop within Happy Valley.
"Order whatever you want, your Brother Ren is paying today!"
Although someone was paying, Lai Jielun had no appetite. Mi Zhuzhu, seeing the handsome man on Chen Chen's phone, instinctively wanted to act ladylike. In the end, everyone ordered an ice cream bowl with two waffle biscuits on top, which looked quite fancy.
Of course, the price was also fancy, 68 yuan in 2008... Even Shen Hong winced a bit when she swiped her card.
"Why did you guys decide to come to Happy Valley?" Shen Hong took a bite of her yogurt-flavored ice cream and started the conversation.
With Shen Hong, who was good at chatting, the atmosphere finally began to liven up. Liu Chen then learned that Shen Hong and her group were in C City to sign a contract temporarily because the department responsible for this business had moved to C City.
But since they were here, Shen Hong's desire to play was piqued.
"I haven't been to Beijing Happy Valley yet, so let's experience it this time. Come on, let's go explore the haunted house!"
Haunted house?
Liu Chen paused her ice cream spoon, pursed her lips, and took another large scoop.
She was afraid of the dark.
But... with friends, it should be okay, right?
As a person, one must dare to break through their limits!
After giving herself a large bowl of chicken soup, they paid and left. While queuing, she looked up again and realized they had unknowingly reached the entrance of the haunted house.
She saw the staff members standing at the entrance maintaining order, with zombie makeup on their faces.
Well, although the makeup looked very realistic, it was clearly fake at a glance. That was a relief.
Comforting herself, Liu Chen shuffled forward behind Mi Zhuzhu. For safety, Shen Hong led the way, and Ren Yu brought up the rear.
The group of six entered the haunted house, and the large door behind them was closed from the outside.
Liu Chen swallowed.
She was already considering whether she could go back and bang on the door to let them out.
"Everyone, stay close to me if you're scared!" Shen Hong's voice came from ahead. Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat secure.
Walking about ten steps inward, the temperature suddenly dropped, and a mournful sigh echoed from all directions.
"Creak..."
A strange red light suddenly lit up on the left. Liu Chen saw a coffin placed in a groove on the left side of the corridor. With the mournful sound, the coffin began to open slowly.
Shen Hong was no exception. Just as she was looking intently, she felt a ticklish sensation at her ankle. Looking down...
"Ah!!!!"
Liu Chen, following behind, only heard a scream, and then Mi Zhuzhu also bolted.
Liu Chen instinctively followed, but the red light from the coffin suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness. The music began to play faster.
Liu Chen stood still, fumbling in the dark, her feet slowly moving forward.
"Thump thump thump!!"
Liu Chen heard a loud noise from above and instinctively looked up. A red light suddenly illuminated from the side.
A pale face was hanging upside down above her. As if seeing Liu Chen looking at her, the mouth on the face opened, and a long tongue protruded.
"Ah!!!"
Liu Chen also let out her sharpest scream yet, took off running with her eyes closed.
After running a bit, her shoulders were grabbed by a pair of cold hands. For a moment, Liu Chen exploded. Just as she was gathering the courage to fight the 'ghost' restraining her, Ren Yu's calm voice came through:
"It's fake, don't be scared." Sensing Liu Chen's still tense shoulders, Ren Yu added:
"Hold onto my clothes."
With that, the hands on her shoulders released, someone moved from beside her to the front, and then stopped.
Thinking that Ren Yu was standing in front of her, for some reason, Liu Chen suddenly felt less nervous.
She obediently reached out, fumbling forward. After her fingertips touched a shirt, two fingers pinched a small piece of fabric.
With someone accompanying her, Liu Chen's fear instantly faded. She even started to recall that when she touched the shirt earlier, it seemed, perhaps, Ren Yu's waist was very slender?
It felt thinner than her own. Hmm, thinking about it, Ren Yu seemed even more handsome than her.
She followed, holding onto the shirt fabric all the way. When she felt scared, she closed her eyes. After what felt like a long time, the person in front suddenly stopped. Liu Chen was startled and didn't have time to stop her feet, bumping directly into them.
A muffled groan.
Liu Chen quickly took a step back.
"Sorry, Brother Ren Yu, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. We're here."
Upon hearing this, Liu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. She remembered Ren Mo's question about Brother Ren Yu's birthday possibly not being next Sunday.
"Happy birthday, Brother Ren Yu. This is your birthday gift."
As she spoke, Liu Chen unzipped her backpack, fumbled inside, and retrieved the gem cufflinks temporarily stored by the system, placing them in a jewelry box, and then handed the jewelry box to Ren Yu.
Under the dim blue light from the exit sign, Ren Yu looked at the jewelry box in the girl's hand. After hesitating for two seconds, he finally accepted it, and thoughtfully did not open it, only nodding.
"Thank you."
After giving the gift, they stood by the door, waiting for the remaining four.
Occasionally, they could hear various screams from unknown places in the alley. She remembered how often she had screamed while holding Ren Yu's shirt. She was almost thirty in her psychological age...
It was quite embarrassing, and Liu Chen's cheeks couldn't help but flush.
They didn't have to wait long before Shen Hong and the other four also reached the end. However...
Compared to Ren Yu, whose shirt was slightly wrinkled, and Liu Chen, whose face was a little flushed, the four in front were not only dirty but Shen Hong was also sweating profusely from running. Seeing Ren Yu and Liu Chen, they leaned forward, supporting themselves on their knees, gasping for breath.
With all six gathered, Liu Chen, holding Mi Zhuzhu's hand, was the first to turn the doorknob to open the door.
As Liu Chen stepped out, with a scream from Mi Zhuzhu, the two immediately recoiled and jumped back.
Mi Zhuzhu stepped on Ren Mo's sneaker, while Liu Chen felt her back pressed against a burning chest.