The haunted house was located in a dilapidated entertainment center in the west part of the city. On the exterior wall of the entertainment center hung a crude promotional poster. The inferior printing technology made the haunted house photos somewhat distorted, making it look rather like a knockoff product. Cheng Lele felt comforted, thinking the terrifying images were all conjured by her own imagination—she was scaring herself. So she straightened her back and entered the entertainment center.
Once inside the entertainment center, she discovered the haunted house was quite popular. Perhaps small county towns originally had very few entertainment options, so when a new attraction appeared, it drew customers flocking to it. The ticket counter was crowded with people, and several ticket-selling staff members seized the opportunity while customers were queuing to spare no effort in promoting stored-value cards to them.
A service attendant with crystal-studded nails stood in front of Chen An and asked if they needed to get a card.
Cheng Lele asked: “How much for two people?”
The attendant said: “499 for two people.”
Cheng Lele gasped: “499? That’s 250 per person! Are you implying something about your customers’ intelligence?”
Chen An smiled awkwardly at the attendant.
Cheng Lele was still shocked by the price: “The haunted house operates on underworld pricing. Can’t even us poor people afford to be ghosts anymore? In the future, we won’t even be able to curse people as ‘poor ghosts’ or ‘dead ghosts.'”
This time, the attendant also laughed. She also felt the boss was insanely money-grabbing, but she didn’t dare say so and still had to dutifully promote: “If you top up a stored-value card with 1000 yuan, the member discount price is only 350, which is equivalent to getting an extra visit as a gift when you sign up.”
“Don’t you have any opening promotion discounts?”
“This is already the opening promotion price, miss.”
Chen An asked: “Should we get it or not?”
Cheng Lele hesitated. Five hundred yuan for a single visit was indeed too expensive, but getting a card required starting at one thousand.
Chen An finalized it with the attendant: “Let’s get one.”
Cheng Lele cried out in pain: “Let me think about it some more!”
The attendant had already pulled out the payment QR code and couldn’t easily put it away. She said: “Miss, it’s really fun inside. Look at the exit over there—all the couples come out holding hands.”
Cheng Lele looked over: “Why do I feel like they look like refugees fleeing with the elderly and children?”
While Cheng Lele was speaking, Chen An had already scanned the QR code: “Stop thinking about it. If we come several more times, we’ll earn it back.”
The attendant handed the activated card to Chen An, who then passed it to Cheng Lele: “You hold onto it.”
Cheng Lele put the card away, secretly sighing that dating was really too expensive.
After swiping the amount, the ticket-checking attendant asked: “Do you have heart disease?”
Cheng Lele shook her head.
The attendant reminded them: “If your body experiences severe discomfort, we suggest you return the way you came as soon as possible, or find our staff members.”
Cheng Lele felt a chill down her spine, her hair standing on end: “Is it that terrifying? Why didn’t you mention this when we were getting the card?”
The attendant said: “This is just our routine reminder.”
Chen An confirmed again: “Are we going in or not?”
Cheng Lele’s eyes widened: “We’ve already spent a thousand yuan—how can we not go in? Whether I go in standing or come out lying down, I’m going in.”
Bold words were spoken, but before Cheng Lele even entered the haunted house, just hearing the sinister music from inside already made her feel terrible.
“Why don’t we skip this?” Chen An tried to persuade her.
Cheng Lele encouraged herself: “Let’s go in. If others can do it, why can’t we? Let’s go, dear older brother. You’ll protect me in there, right?” Though she said this, her feet remained rooted to the spot.
Chen An smiled and pulled her: “Don’t be afraid. Your dear older brother will protect you.”
Cheng Lele took several deep breaths and finally lifted her legs to go in. Inside it was pitch black, occasionally flashing with red light, occasionally with green light, and ghostly cries of “mwahahaha” echoed overhead.
Cheng Lele grabbed Chen An’s hand in one swift motion, her voice trembling: “Dear older brother, do you see any ghosts?”
Chen An said: “There are no ghosts in this world.”
“I mean, do you see any fake ghosts?”
“Yes.”
Cheng Lele let out an “ah”: “Where?”
Chen An asked: “Have you opened your eyes?”
Cheng Lele was practically burrowing into Chen An’s armpit, stammering: “I’ll open them, I’ll open them.”
Chen An found cowardly Cheng Lele both amusing and funny: “Forget it, let’s not play. I’ll take you out.”
Cheng Lele insisted: “No way, we spent money—we must walk through the whole thing.”
Her awareness of money made Cheng Lele open her eyes again and bravely walk forward a few steps. The view ahead was dim. She stretched out her hand, slowly exploring forward, and her fingertips felt something hard. Before she could react, green light illuminated, and she discovered she was standing in front of an open coffin, and then suddenly a “ghost” with disheveled hair wearing bloody clothes sat up inside.
“Ahhh—” Cheng Lele completely latched onto Chen An. Before coming in, she had originally intended to get used to physical contact with Chen An. But at this moment, she had no thoughts except fear. Even if the person standing next to her were Huang Tiangou, she would have pounced on them without hesitation.
Chen An was also a bit startled, but only for an instinctive moment—the instant Cheng Lele latched onto him was the most lethal. He felt a burning sensation on his chin; he must have had his skin scratched by her nails.
Chen An held Cheng Lele’s waist and asked: “Are you okay?”
Cheng Lele’s muffled voice came: “Has he left?”
Chen An looked at the empty coffin and said: “Not yet.”
So Cheng Lele stayed in his embrace for a long time. Her familiar breath sprayed against the side of his neck, like a cat’s tail, lightly brushing across his heart—a bit itchy, yet feeling gentle.
Cheng Lele asked again: “Has he left?”
Chen An made an affirmative sound. Cheng Lele mustered her courage to stand up straight, but her hand still firmly gripped Chen An.
Chen An asked: “Do you want me to sing to comfort you?”
“Sing what?”
“A nursery rhyme or something.”
Cheng Lele shouted: “Ah, don’t mention nursery rhymes! I’m reminded of horror nursery rhymes. Have you heard that song—”
As if having telepathy with the haunted house management, the speakers overhead started playing “One, two, three little children…” a spine-chilling song.
Cheng Lele jumped up, her head attacking Chen An’s chin again. Chen An tasted blood in his mouth, and upon licking it, discovered his tongue was bleeding.
In this manner, they slowly yet intensely walked through the entire haunted house. During this time, Chen An’s nose and eyes were each struck by Cheng Lele. Occasionally he really wanted to tie Cheng Lele up, but in the end, he didn’t do so.
When they came out, Cheng Lele’s forehead was covered in wet sweat, her small face was deathly pale, her legs were weak, and she leaned against him like a boneless creature.
Given this condition, Chen An didn’t dare walk much further. He found a blue plastic stool and let Cheng Lele sit down to rest.
Cheng Lele buried her head between her elbows, her stomach fluids churning, clearly feeling unwell. Chen An rubbed the back of her hand, continuously comforting her.
Cheng Lele looked at the ground and said: “Dear older brother, if I got an ultrasound now, you’d be able to see my gallbladder has split in half.”
Chen An passed her a bottle of water: “Don’t worry, humans have strong self-healing abilities. It can grow back to its original form.”
Cheng Lele took a sip of water, her thoughts flying far away as she wondered: Will the place where I stabbed your heart also heal? Has all this effort she’s put into dating and enduring the haunted house made his mood even a little bit better?
After drinking half the bottle of water, Cheng Lele recovered a bit of energy, but it wasn’t suitable to go play anywhere else. The two decided to go home first. Before leaving the haunted house, Cheng Lele didn’t forget to leave a business card with the card-selling attendant: “Little sister, please pass this card to your marketing department colleagues. After it’s done, I’ll treat you to a movie.”
She winked at her and didn’t forget to praise: “Your nails look really beautiful!”
Chen An felt that Cheng Lele might truly be someone destined for great things. When she spoke with the attendant, she was full of energy, making it impossible to associate her with how she had just been scared out of her wits.
However, once in the car, she wilted, leaning limply against the car window like a deflated balloon.
When they were almost home, Cheng Lele suddenly asked Chen An: “Dear older brother, can I stay at your place?”
“Of course.”
“I want to sleep at your place tonight.” After Cheng Lele said this, she felt her words could easily be misunderstood and hurriedly explained, “I really didn’t know that place would be so scary. I’ll definitely have nightmares tonight…”
Actually, Cheng Lele had had many nightmares in Beijing as well, and she had been able to endure them. But now that she had someone to rely on, she decided to care for herself and didn’t need to pretend to be strong.
Chen An’s hand paused as he was closing the car door, then said: “Okay.”
Because Chen An hadn’t properly eaten lunch and Cheng Lele seemed somewhat exhausted, Chen An made porridge early. At five or six o’clock, he called Cheng Lele, who had just showered, over to eat.
Cheng Lele was still listless. She stirred the porridge in her bowl, ate two bites, and didn’t continue.
Chen An regretted not insisting on not entering the haunted house. His eyes concerned, he asked in a gentle voice: “Do you want to eat some noodles instead?”
Cheng Lele shook her head and said weakly: “I can’t eat anymore. Just now showering alone scared me to death again. Dear older brother, do you think our old building might have—”
“No.” Chen An decisively stopped her wild thoughts.
“True, even if there were, it would be my dad—” Cheng Lele paused, “But my dad went to become an immortal, how could he possibly become a ghost?”
She looked up and smiled at Chen An, unexpectedly discovering that Chen An actually had several long, thin, vividly colored blood marks on his face, running from his jawbone all the way across to his chin.
“Dear older brother, what happened here?” Cheng Lele asked.
Chen An shook his head: “It’s nothing.”
Cheng Lele belatedly realized: “Did I scratch you?”
Chen An drank a mouthful of porridge and touched his tongue wound, furrowing his brow. Cheng Lele spoke too quickly: “What about your mouth? Don’t tell me I bit that too?”
Thinking this statement was too ambiguous, she immediately corrected herself: “I hit it, I hit it.”
As she spoke, she stood up to find the medicine box: “That wound needs to be disinfected. Do we have iodine at home?”
Chen An said: “No need.”
Cheng Lele insisted: “Yes, we do need to.”
Chen An’s habit of storing things hadn’t changed. Cheng Lele quickly found the medicine box and brought it over.
She opened a single-use medical cotton swab packet, dipped it in the iodine bottle, and directed Chen An: “Dear older brother, lift your face up a bit.”
The dim yellow afterglow shone through the fish-eye patterned gauze curtains, sprinkling onto the wooden dining table, coating it with a layer of warm, homey luster. Chen An sat in the dining chair, his chin cupped in the other person’s palm.
Cheng Lele’s movements were very gentle, and her speech was very soft: “I’m sorry, dear older brother.”
One scratch mark was near his Adam’s apple. Cheng Lele opened a new cotton swab, bent down and leaned forward another step. Because the visibility of that area was poor, she bent her waist and tilted her head, slowly stopping at the side of his neck.
Cheng Lele had originally been single-mindedly focused. As the cotton swab approached, she saw Chen An’s Adam’s apple move very noticeably. She was startled, and her thoughts immediately became muddled.
This action was really very ambiguous. She only needed to move sideways just a little bit and she could kiss Chen An.
And she was one hundred percent certain that Chen An had also thought of this. Not only had his Adam’s apple betrayed him, his ear had also moved slightly.
He was anticipating her kissing him—she only needed to move her lips about three centimeters to the side.
Cheng Lele kept encouraging herself in her heart: Come on, you can do this. But her head was very stubborn and still didn’t move. These three centimeters seemed farther than three light-years.
If this hurdle could be crossed so easily, she wouldn’t need to cross seven years to do this thing.
Although recently she had been constantly trying to adjust herself, forcing herself to be faster, the side effects of making a great leap forward to catch up and surpass were also very obvious.
Goosebumps didn’t rise up to rebel, but her stomach felt somewhat uncomfortable. It might have been because she was scared into upheaval in the haunted house, or it might truly be that she couldn’t accept kissing her dear older brother.
She quickly and carelessly applied the medicine, then stood up straight and said: “Done.” She didn’t dare look at Chen An, afraid he would be disappointed.
Chen An said sullenly: “Thank you.”
Cheng Lele’s mood was very conflicted. Disappointing her dear older brother’s expectations made her feel失落, but she also didn’t want to go against her own will and betray her body. Perhaps deep in her bones, she still regarded Chen An as her older brother. All the care and dependence were built on the foundation of this relationship. If Chen An were her real brother, she could unhesitatingly offer a kiss on the cheek, but no one in the world would kiss their brother mouth to mouth.
Chen Xiaomu had said that no woman could sit in Chen An’s presence without improper thoughts. Of course, Chen An was Chen Xiaomu’s first love and secret crush, so her words carried a thick fan filter and couldn’t be entirely believed.
Cheng Lele guessed she was probably the type who needed spiritual and physical unity. If love hadn’t reached that level, her body truly couldn’t give more.
The ridiculous thing was, the wounds on her dear older brother’s face and in his mouth looked very much like evidence left after intense sexual activity, yet she couldn’t even give him one kiss.
Cheng Lele’s “Love Bravely” plan had suffered an unprecedented (though only a short month) major setback. She felt very discouraged and thought that she and her dear older brother could only go this far.
Once pessimistic thoughts raised their head, naturally all the previous staged achievements were also completely overturned.
Chen An put the medicine box back in its original place. Seeing Cheng Lele looked very tired, he asked: “Which room do you want to sleep in tonight?”
Cheng Lele was stunned.
If it could only go this far, then she couldn’t give her dear older brother any more hope, otherwise the two would only become more and more painful. Although sleeping here was something she had proposed, after that kind of ambiguous moment just now, she was afraid it would make her dear older brother’s imagination run wild.
So Cheng Lele shook her head: “I feel much better now. I’ll go downstairs to sleep in a bit, so you don’t have to bother making up a bed.”
Upon hearing this, Chen An said nothing. He looked down at her seriously, as if trying to prove something, and persisted: “Making up a bed isn’t troublesome.”
Cheng Lele gave a very fake yawn and said: “No need, I’ll go downstairs to lie down for a bit first.”
As she spoke, she opened the door and walked heavily down the stairs to her own home.
Outside the window, the last ray of sunlight had already been swallowed by darkness.
Chen An still stood in the same place.
Chen An thought, if there had to be somewhere to place blame for all this, it could only be blamed on the atmosphere being really too good just now.
When applying medicine, the faint light behind Cheng Lele made her face appear sacred. Her breath so close at hand seemed full of temptation. He only needed to tilt his head slightly to reach something that had been out of reach for seven years. He struggled, but in the end, he restrained himself.
But Cheng Lele still discovered his hidden impulse. The person who was even afraid of showering alone insisted on going downstairs alone, spending the night alone, preferring to keep company with ghosts rather than stay in a place where he was.
He was like a humble farmer, hoping for a drop of sweet rain to fall from the sky, but heaven had not bestowed favor upon him.