By this time, the 4D movie was probably nearly over. Sure enough, by the time Qian Wei dragged Lu Xun to the theater entrance, the previous audience was already filing out. Qian Wei spotted the tall figure of Qian Chuan right away, gallantly clearing a path for Mo Zixin through the crowd, sheltering her as they walked.

Qian Wei pulled Lu Xun along and stepped forward to clap Qian Chuan on the shoulder.

“Finally caught up with you two. Let’s do the rest together.”

Qian Chuan’s brow furrowed, clearly displeased—but the moment he spotted the shirts Qian Wei and Lu Xun were wearing, his irritation evaporated entirely.

“Ahahahaha, Lord and Treacherous Minister, ahahahaha, Qian Wei, this suits you so well.”

Mo Zixin glanced at Lu Xun, then at Qian Wei, though she didn’t look like she wanted to laugh—rather, she seemed to be holding something back, and Qian Wei got the sense her mood had soured.

Qian Wei hastily explained, “These aren’t couple shirts, the shop just only had this style.” She shot Lu Xun a look. “I only ended up changing because I realized I’d thrown up on myself too.”

The look she gave him backfired spectacularly—Lu Xun, as if suddenly remembering something, said, “Ha, you didn’t throw up on yourself at all. It all went on me.”

“…” Lu Xun, did you really have to blow my cover right then and there? I was trying to smooth things over and explain on your behalf! Don’t you understand the concept of a well-intentioned lie?

The moment he said it, Mo Zixin’s gaze toward Qian Wei visibly changed, as though she now saw Qian Wei as some scheming girl who’d manufactured every excuse to wear matching shirts with Lu Xun. Qian Wei choked, unsure how to even begin explaining—heavens, she’d deliberately made up an excuse to clear things up so Mo Zixin wouldn’t get the wrong idea, and this idiot had just made her look worse with one sentence…

“Qian Wei!” As if the drama wasn’t enough already, Liu Shiyun’s voice rang out from behind her—she’d apparently just come out of the 4D movie herself, and having no idea about the vomiting incident, her reaction to the sight of Qian Wei and Lu Xun was even more exaggerated. “What the heck, where did you two go? Why’d you change clothes? And matching outfits too? Are college students these days really this shameless? Zero restraint? Not caring at all about us poor onlookers?” She stared hard at Qian Wei. “And what is this taste level, exactly?”

Qian Wei had no choice but to explain the whole thing again. Liu Shiyun still looked somewhat suspicious, but eventually let the matter drop.

“So what’s next? Qian Chuan, didn’t you supposedly plan out a whole detailed itinerary? Where are you two headed?”

At Liu Shiyun’s question, Qian Chuan clearly seemed to want to keep things under wraps—eager to shake off the extra company so he could focus entirely on wooing his goddess. Unfortunately, Mo Zixin cheerfully announced their plans to everyone.

“Qian Chuan mentioned earlier he wanted to check out the haunted house.” Mo Zixin pressed her lips together in a slight smile, glancing at Lu Xun. “Why don’t we all go together? I heard this haunted house recreates scenes from several famous horror films almost exactly, and they even have staff dressed up as ghosts—it’s supposed to be really scary. Might be less frightening with more people around.”

Qian Wei jumped at the chance. “Let’s all go together, everyone!”

Ha! A haunted house—with its eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere—was the perfect stage for guys to show off their masculine charm and appeal. Did Qian Wei not know exactly what Qian Chuan was scheming? If it were just the two of them, Mo Zixin would surely get scared, and then she’d have no choice but to lean on Qian Chuan. Once a girl gets scared, forget hand-holding—she might throw herself right into a guy’s arms. That kind of moment was plenty ambiguous on its own—the girl gets to enjoy feeling protected, and over time, that builds affection.

“Qian Wei, aren’t you night-blind, and terrified of ghosts?! Why would you go to a haunted house?!” Seeing his perfect plan about to fall apart, Qian Chuan couldn’t help but shout. “I don’t want to survive the haunted house only to get scared to death by your screaming!”

Qian Wei put on a brave front. “Didn’t you say I was manly? I’m so tough, I’m not scared of ghosts—being night-blind is actually perfect, since I won’t even be able to see them clearly in the dark.”

“Don’t worry, Qian Wei’s got me.” Liu Shiyun came over and draped an arm around Qian Wei’s neck. “I’ve watched every horror movie on the planet without so much as blinking—they don’t call me ‘Fearless Liu’ for nothing.” She waved everyone forward. “Come on, stop standing around, let’s go, the sooner we’re in line, the shorter the wait.”

Lu Xun neither agreed nor objected to the haunted house idea, offering no opinion either way.

And with that, the matter was settled. No matter how unwilling Qian Chuan was deep down, he had no choice but to watch Qian Wei, Liu Shiyun, and Lu Xun join the group.

The group lined up and got into the haunted house without trouble. Being a popular attraction, though, it was naturally packed with people. Past the entrance corridor, once properly inside the haunted house, the interior turned pitch black to heighten the horror atmosphere. Because of her night blindness, Qian Wei’s vision always got hazy in dim light—sometimes she couldn’t make anything out at all beyond blurry shapes. She was genuinely afraid of the dark, always feeling like something was lurking within it. But there was no time to dwell on that now. Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the crowd, sticking close to Qian Chuan, trying to wedge herself between him and Mo Zixin. By the occasional flicker of “ghost fire” lighting, she glanced back and saw Lu Xun following at an unhurried pace, while Liu Shiyun stayed right beside her.

“Aaaaahhhh!”

“Ahh—!”

Some horrifying scene lay ahead—Qian Wei hadn’t even entered yet when she heard the shrill screams echoing from within, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Some visitors who’d already entered the next scene, apparently unable to bear the terror inside, came rushing back the way they’d come, scattering the group. In the pitch darkness, unable to see clearly, Liu Shiyun somehow got swept away by the crowd and separated from her. Frightened, Qian Wei could only try to retrace her steps to where Qian Chuan had been standing. Fortunately, she eventually found him—in the dark, though she couldn’t make out his face, that tall frame was unmistakably his. Like grabbing a lifeline, she immediately seized his arm.

“I’m scared!”

There was no need to feel awkward with Qian Chuan anymore—Qian Wei trembled, huddling behind him. “Hey, the next part looks really scary, you go ahead, I’ll follow behind you, I’ve got my eyes closed, I don’t dare look.” With that, she gave him a push forward.

Between the crush of the crowd and Qian Wei’s deliberate meddling, Qian Chuan had also gotten separated from Mo Zixin, who was now nowhere to be found. This clearly bothered him somewhat, because when Qian Wei grabbed his waist to hide behind him, his body stiffened for a moment. Her hand brushed against the thin, toned muscle at his waist.

Qian Wei gave his waist a pinch. “Whoa, you’ve really been working out lately—this muscle tone, feels like something out of those photos online, the kind that charges at least a thousand a night.” She let out a snicker. “Hey, you know the saying? A man who trains his waist drives women wild, a woman who trains her waist drives men wild, and if both of you train your waist, the bed can’t handle it.”

Qian Wei and Qian Chuan had always liked bickering and taking jabs at each other, but underneath it all, their relationship was genuinely close, and they could joke about anything with each other.

One pinch wasn’t enough for Qian Wei—she gave him another squeeze. As far as she remembered, Qian Chuan had never specifically worked on his physique, and yet under her hand now was a distinct set of abs. Following the line of his abdomen downward, just as she was about to reach what was rumored to be an Adonis belt, his hand caught hers and shoved it away without ceremony.

Qian Wei pouted. “Well, well, spring’s really got you blooming, all this shaping up lately. Fine, fine, I’ll stop bothering you, just lead the way up ahead, this place is creepy as hell, scaring me to death, let’s hurry up and get out.” With that, she gave his backside a pat—and honestly, this guy really had been working out. His glutes were firm and tight; going by feel, they were probably the perky, well-shaped kind. Qian Wei thought to herself, who would have guessed—didn’t the pants he normally wore just look flat back there? She distinctly remembered his backside being rather flat and unremarkable.

Even hiding behind Qian Chuan, though, Qian Wei still ended up thoroughly terrified by the next scene—a sudden burst of drifting “ghost fire” effects, the eerie play of light and shadow inside the haunted house, and the occasional whiff of some bizarre, bloody odor. Her already overwrought nerves were pushed to their absolute limit when one of the costumed staff, made up as a terrifying ghost, silently appeared right beside her. She finally lost it and let out a full-throated scream. To make matters even more disastrous, plenty of other girls around her were having the same reaction, scattering and fleeing from the “ghosts” chasing them, and in the chaos Qian Wei got pushed away from Qian Chuan by the crowd.

Qian Chuan hadn’t been wrong—she really was a coward. Ever since childhood, Qian Wei had been afraid of the dark and of ghosts, and to this day she’d never dared watch a horror movie.

Perhaps her reaction had been so extreme that Qian Chuan finally remembered his sibling duties. Just as Qian Wei was trembling with fear, a pair of hands reached out in the darkness and took hold of hers. She looked up and vaguely made out, amid the crowd, the tall, upright figure of Qian Chuan. He was tall, standing there in the dark, and even without being able to make out his face clearly, there was an illusion of him being like a lighthouse. Qian Wei clung tightly to his hand—broad, warm, and dry. Just holding it like this was enough to settle her nerves. This was, in fact, the first time she’d held hands with Qian Chuan since becoming an adult. Without her realizing it, her little brother had grown up too. In her hand, this was unmistakably a man’s hand, with well-defined knuckles and slender fingers. Alongside her relief, Qian Wei felt a small pang of guilt in what little conscience she had left—was it really okay to be selling out her own brother like this, working behind his back as Lu Xun’s little strategist, all for the sake of her own future prospects? But then again, even with her help in her past life, Mo Zixin and Qian Chuan had still ended up breaking up in the end. On reflection, Qian Wei decided she should be nicer to Qian Chuan going forward—maybe once they were back at school, she’d hurry to set him up with someone new, to help take his mind off things.

Lu Xun ought to be with Mo Zixin by now, right? Surely the mood between them was good at this point—maybe by the time they got out of the haunted house, Qian Chuan wouldn’t even factor into things anymore.

Qian Wei had just been letting her mind wander on this thought when, from the next scene up ahead, an even more piercing, agonized scream rang out—apparently some especially terrifying scene lay in store. Just as she instinctively started to retreat, a pair of hands reached out from behind her and covered her eyes. Her view of the horrifying haunted house scene was instantly cut off. She blinked reflexively, feeling her eyelashes brush lightly against those hands. All around her, girls’ screams rose and fell along with the haunted house’s spine-chilling sound effects, but Qian Wei’s entire world had narrowed down to just this pair of clean, slender hands. In this moment, she felt utterly protected. Even knowing it was Qian Chuan, her heart couldn’t help but race a little faster. Not bad, she thought, this move was seriously effective for wooing girls. This little brat Qian Chuan really did have some tricks up his sleeve—if she hadn’t been sabotaging things from the sidelines, Lu Xun genuinely might not have stood a chance against him.

In the darkness, despite the terrifying atmosphere, the noisy, eerie surroundings, and the crush of the crowd, Qian Wei was led steadily along, passing through one haunted house scene after another. Holding onto that dry, warm hand, she felt completely at ease.

Feeling truly grateful to Qian Chuan this time, she decided to smooth things over with him: “I know I’m not exactly on your side about this whole chasing-Mo-Zixin thing, but don’t think I’m betraying you either. We’re blood relatives—do you really think I’d abandon you to suck up to Lu Xun? Helping Lu Xun—look, it’s hard to explain right now, but I promise it won’t hurt you. And you should know, Lu Xun doesn’t hold a candle to you in my heart. You come first, always. You’re way better than Lu Xun in my eyes—just in terms of being approachable and down-to-earth alone, you leave him in the dust. He’s like some aloof, untouchable snow lotus from the Tianshan mountains, always staring off into the distance like everyone else is just dust, just nothing, acting all high and mighty just because he’s got a decent face. Hasn’t he ever heard the saying—today you can’t be bothered with me, tomorrow I won’t even be able to afford you…”

For some reason, Qian Chuan, usually never short on words, stayed unusually quiet the whole way through, but that didn’t dampen Qian Wei’s enthusiasm in the slightest. In the dark like this, there was no better way to distract from the fear than rambling on about completely unrelated nonsense.

“Honestly, I don’t get why so many people are obsessed with that face of Lu Xun’s. He seems like the boring, unromantic type. Handsome, sure, but always so cold and expressionless, and with skin that pale, at his age it’s practically like he’s got kidney deficiency…”

Having suffered plenty under Lu Xun’s tyranny at work in her past life, old grudges combined with new ones, and once she started complaining, it poured out of her like floodgates opening.

Before she knew it, still griping about Lu Xun the whole way, she’d already reached the exit of the haunted house, where the lighting gradually brightened, sweeping away the earlier gloom. Qian Wei let out a breath, looked up—and was met with a shock far more terrifying than anything the haunted house had offered.

Standing in front of her right now was not Qian Chuan at all. It was unmistakably Lu Xun, his handsome face wearing an equally unmistakable, thoroughly unpleasant expression…