Chapter 1801: Side Story: Youngsters (54) - Escape Room, Intimacy, Panic Out of Control

Before going into the escape room, Qi Zhiyi even made a call home. For no other reason than his dad calling to check up on him, and once you enter the escape room, the rules say no phones allowed.

"...I just finished eating. I’m with some friends and we’re about to play an escape room."

"It’s cold out, don’t stay out too late. Around what time will you be done? I’ll come pick you up." Qi Zeyan had just taken a big order together with Jiang Jinsang, so he wasn’t working himself to death before the New Year anymore.

"No need, I’ll just grab a cab back."

...

While Qi Zhiyi was on the phone, Duan Yiyang and the other two stood off to the side. He looked at his own little sister—someone was practically bouncing with excitement about going into the escape room. Seeing her brother keep staring at her, she even gave him a goofy grin. "Bro, what are you looking at me like that for?"

"Her name’s Qi Zhiyi, from the Qi Family?" Duan Yiyang had been wanting to ask that for a while.

"Who else? There aren’t that many people in Beijing with the surname Qi." Duan Yinuo pressed her lips together.

"How did you two even become friends?"

"We just kind of met, you know? I didn’t know she was the Qi Family’s daughter at first. I just heard there was this junior who was really pretty and had a great personality, so I went to hit her up. That was just after term started, in the summer—she was wearing this little red dress, super gorgeous, tiny waist and long legs."

Duan Yiyang felt a headache coming on. "So what, you became friends with her for what exactly?"

For her looks and figure?

That really was very much in line with his little sister’s style of doing things.

"She’s pretty, has a great figure, but after getting to know her I realized she’s really a great person too."

"Then you should also know my dad and her father..."

"What’s that got to do with the two of us being friends?"

"And you actually had the nerve to think about introducing her to me as my girlfriend? It never occurred to you, if we really got together, what kind of fallout that would cause?"

"Didn’t you also refuse to even add her on WeChat?" Duan Yinuo snorted. "A modern-day Romeo and Juliet—wouldn’t that be kind of thrilling?"

"Besides, it’s not like our two families have some huge blood feud. I’ve always felt my dad’s grudge against Uncle Qi is purely childish. Maybe if you two got together and became in-laws, it’d actually resolve the bad blood between our families."

"Anyway, you’re not interested in her either, right? A girl this great and you’re still not into her. I seriously don’t get what type you men even like."

"You all like those drama queens who are really good at playing the game?"

Duan Yinuo just found it baffling—so many girls around her who were pretty and had great personalities and none of them had anyone, while some who were super green-tea, the kind she couldn’t stand, never lacked men around them.

"I’m not..." Duan Yiyang had just opened his mouth to say something when Qi Zhiyi came back.

"Sorry for making you guys wait so long, let’s go in."

"Come on, let’s go." Duan Yinuo hooked her arm through hers and led her in.

There were two guys—Duan Yinuo’s boyfriend walked in front to blaze the trail, while Duan Yiyang stayed at the back. The two girls walked in the middle, holding hands, giving each other a bit of psychological comfort.

They had just stepped into the escape room and it was basically pitch black inside.

Duan Yinuo kept hold of Qi Zhiyi and kept talking:

"We’re going to keep holding hands, don’t let go. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you."

"Don’t be scared, and don’t let go of my hand."

"It’ll be fine. Even if there are live NPCs, it won’t be that terrifying."

...

And then right after they went in, the first NPC in ghost makeup showed up, and someone beside her let out a shriek—

Qi Zhiyi wasn’t scared by the NPC at all; she was scared by her own bestie instead. And the result? The one who’d sworn up and down they wouldn’t let go of each other’s hands bolted faster than anyone. She had a boyfriend, after all—she ran, and her boyfriend went chasing after her, leaving Qi Zhiyi behind.

And that ghost NPC leaned in closer to Qi Zhiyi, apparently not planning to leave just yet.

At that moment, the only person Qi Zhiyi had to rely on nearby was Duan Yiyang. She practically took a series of rapid little steps and dove to hide behind him.

The "ghost" moved in close to Duan Yiyang. Seeing he had almost no reaction, they probably felt it was boring and retreated.

"Come on, let’s go find them." Even Duan Yiyang hadn’t expected that the sister who’d always bragged about being "Fearless Duan" would actually ditch her own bestie and run faster than everyone else.

And that shriek of hers had already spread from up ahead. Honestly, the horror escape room wasn’t half as scary as her scream.

"Mm." Qi Zhiyi stuck close behind Duan Yiyang, afraid he’d ditch her too, but also not daring to get too close—since they weren’t familiar, it felt a bit presumptuous. With the atmosphere around them so creepy, she simply grabbed onto the back of Duan Yiyang’s shirt.

In the first unit of the escape room, they ran into Duan Yinuo and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was a technical genius, with more than enough IQ, so solving the puzzles was easy. It was just that later, when they ran into some NPCs, they got separated again. Qi Zhiyi kept clutching the back of Duan Yiyang’s shirt, and the two of them ended up staying together the whole time.

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