Chapter 227 - 132: A Three-Person Date

Chapter 227: Chapter 132: A Three-Person Date

"You know her?"

"Well, she happened to have three tickets for an escape room, so we’re all going together later."

"Mm." Xiao Wanqing nodded. As long as she was with Su Ran, it didn’t matter what they did.

Of course, she trusted Su Ran. He wasn’t the type to hide things. The fact that he’d suggested the three of them meet to clear up a misunderstanding showed he had a clear conscience. This only made Xiao Wanqing trust his character even more.

The two of them chatted for a while longer, keeping the conversation proper. The more improper topics would have to wait until they returned to Chuyuan, where they could be discussed at leisure when the two of them were alone.

「After dinner.」

"Are you full?"

Xiao Wanqing rubbed her flat stomach. "Mm, I’m stuffed." Seeing Su Ran staring at her belly, she smiled. "What, you want to touch it?"

"What’s there to touch? I’m not interested."

"Alright, then. I’ll remember that."

Xiao Wanqing looked at Su Ran’s self-righteous expression and smiled playfully. ’Just don’t come begging me to touch you here and there when we get back to Chuyuan tonight.’

...

They left the restaurant, chatting on their way to a shopping mall. After arriving, they went inside. The new escape room venue was on the fourth floor.

It was a popular spot for young people looking for a thrill. Most of the customers were guys who had brought girls along, because as soon as an NPC jumped out, the girl would scream and leap into the guy’s arms, making the ticket price feel well worth it.

Of course, plenty of couples also broke up after doing an escape room. All it took was an NPC jumping out to scare them for the boyfriend to abandon his girlfriend and flee, hiding in a room and refusing to open the door for her no matter what.

Xiao Wanqing was confident Su Ran wouldn’t be like that. He would definitely protect her. But if he really did act that way, she would just convince herself, ’It’s normal to be timid and afraid of ghosts.’

Hmm, there was just something special about Su Ran that made the women around him perpetually ready to forgive. No matter what happened, they would try to see things from his perspective and avoid being unreasonable. Of course, you couldn’t compare Su Ran to an ordinary guy.

"Hasn’t your classmate arrived yet?"

"Let me check." Su Ran called Shen Qingning. She said she had just arrived on the first floor and was on her way up.

"Okay." Su Ran hung up. "...She’ll be here in a moment. You can sit for a bit. I’m going to the restroom, so I don’t piss myself from fear later. When my friend gets here, just chat with her. You’re both girls."

As Su Ran walked to the restroom, he glanced back at Xiao Wanqing. Blushing, she shook her head, signaling that she would not be following him.

Just as Su Ran left, Xiao Wanqing saw Shen Qingning coming up the escalator. A little surprised, she waved at her. "Hey!"

Shen Qingning saw her too and walked over. "What a coincidence! Are you here for the escape room too? Where’s your friend?"

Xiao Wanqing replied, "He went to the restroom. Don’t tell me you came by yourself? You’re not that brave, are you?"

Shen Qingning said, "No, I’m meeting my classmate here. Huh? Where’d he go?"

Xiao Wanqing asked, "Is that the one you like?"

Shen Qingning stammered, "Uh... yeah!"

Xiao Wanqing said, "Congratulations, then."

"No, no, no," Shen Qingning said quickly. "We’re just hanging out, it’s not a date. He brought a friend, too."

"..." From a woman’s perspective, Xiao Wanqing was speechless. ’He brought a friend along? It’s so obvious he has no romantic interest in this girl. Sigh...’ She felt rather sorry for her. A girl’s first love is often unrequited, and for it to be someone who doesn’t like you back... it’s just painful.

「At that moment.」

Shen Qingning sent Su Ran a message on WeChat: Class President, I’m here. Are you here yet?

Su Ran: I’m here. Just got out of the restroom and I’m heading over. You can get the tickets checked first.

Shen Qingning put down her phone and said to Xiao Wanqing, "You can wait here a moment, my classmate is on his way. I’m going to go get our tickets checked."

Xiao Wanqing nodded and sent a message to Su Ran as well: Su Ran, has your friend arrived? It’s almost our turn to go in.

After sending the message, she looked up and saw Su Ran walking over from around a corner, chatting with another woman. ’That must be the classmate who leaned on his shoulder,’ she thought.

Xiao Wanqing waved. Su Ran looked over and saw her standing beside Shen Qingning at the ticket checkpoint. "Hurry up, you two!" Xiao Wanqing called out. "We’re about to go in."

"Okay."

Su Ran saw that Shen Qingning had arrived and was at the ticket checkpoint. He figured the two women had probably introduced themselves while he was in the restroom.

Xiao Wanqing also took out two tickets. Shen Qingning turned back and, seeing Su Ran walk over with his "beautiful friend," felt a sense of relief. "Hurry up," she said, then put on a blindfold—part of the mysterious ritual required before entering.

"Bye-bye, handsome. Thanks again for helping me catch that pervert earlier. Bye!" After speaking, the woman swayed in her hip-hugging skirt as she went down the escalator.

Su Ran watched her leave, thinking to himself, ’Wearing a hip-hugging skirt on a cold day like this and running into a pervert... Sigh...’

Saying nothing more, he walked to the entrance of the escape room. He saw Shen Qingning and Xiao Wanqing, both blindfolded and holding hands, looking excited and scared as they gave each other encouragement. ’Girls sure get along easily,’ Su Ran thought. He put on his blindfold, stepped between them, and said, "Don’t be scared. I’m here."

"Mm."

On his right, Xiao Wanqing nodded and fumbled for Su Ran’s hand, grasping it tightly.

"Mm."

On his left, Shen Qingning nodded. She had meant to reach for Su Ran’s arm, but when she touched his hand instead, she instinctively pulled away.

After a staff member gave some final instructions—"Do not damage the set, and do not hit the NPCs"—the door opened, and Su Ran’s group of three went inside along with two other couples.

Su Ran knew there were three of them.

Shen Qingning and Xiao Wanqing, however, both thought there were four.

Once inside, the back door slammed shut, and eerie sound effects began to play. A wave of terror washed over everyone as they ripped off their blindfolds. The theme was a haunted house. The venue was vast and unlit, the surroundings incredibly dim. They could only vaguely make out the genders of the other players. Suddenly, a terrifying, corpse-like NPC leaped out, its face illuminated by a fluorescent light. The female players screamed, their survival instincts kicking in as they scattered in a panic. Su Ran, having just removed his blindfold, was so startled he yelled, "Holy shit!" He grabbed the two small hands on either side of him and didn’t stop running until they were a good distance away.