The real young master thought he was hated by everyone - Chapter 97

Luo Zhi had brought his students out for a fun trip, a way to relax before the exams.

Families who could afford to have him teach violin usually had good conditions in other areas as well.

The few teenagers, who appeared to be in high school at most, followed behind him, greeting the two of them politely and well-mannered.

Luo Zhi’s appearance hadn’t changed much from before. He was still wearing glasses, but the chain for his glasses was different, shorter than the one he had last time.

He was refined and graceful, and even the rebellious-looking teenagers behind him acted very obedient in front of him.

—Although when greeting them, the expressions on their faces showed some reluctance.

Li Heng bought each of the teenagers a skewer of candied fruit, feeling unsure of how to politely, yet not rudely, indicate that he had something else to do.

Although he still found Aunt Luo’s attitude somewhat ambiguous, Luo Zhi was Luo Zhi. He treated him like an old neighborhood older brother, with a bit of fondness, but nothing more.

Fortunately, Luo Zhi’s next destination was not the haunted house, but the roller coaster. They only traveled a short distance together, finished walking through the entire food street, and then split at another entrance of the food street.

The candied fruit test didn’t succeed. If there was another unexpected turn of events at the haunted house, the only remaining test item would be the Ferris wheel.

Gu Mingyue had said that at the highest point of the Ferris wheel, he should look into the other person’s eyes, make eye contact, and then pay attention to whether the other person hesitated or avoided the gaze.

However, he felt there was little chance of another accident at the haunted house. Aside from the carousel, the candied fruit test had essentially succeeded—it was just that an almost impossible event had occurred.

They couldn’t possibly run into familiar people again in the haunted house. Even if they did, in the dim environment, it would be hard to recognize who they were. External interference could be completely ruled out.

The haunted house required a separate ticket, and as Li Heng was buying his ticket, he saw various prank toys for sale at the stall nearby, such as chewing gum that shocks you when you reach for it, remote-controlled devices, and skulls that suddenly pop out of a box…

Unable to resist, he bought a few items, planning to prank Xie Sizhi later.

Xie Duzhi hesitated, almost wanting to tell him that Xie Sizhi wouldn’t fall for something so obvious, but then thought it wasn’t necessary.

He could just hand the items to Xie Sizhi directly. Xie Sizhi had a strong stereotype about him, so it would definitely catch him off guard and be a good prank.

—Xie Duzhi simply grabbed the bag from the stall and held it with one hand, walking into the haunted house side by side with Li Heng.

“Watch your step. There might be props that deliberately trip people,” he reminded him seriously after glancing at the background introduction on the wall before they entered.

No one could tell that, since just now, he had been preoccupied with other thoughts.

Xie Duzhi was still thinking about that unshared skewer of candied fruit, feeling a slight regret that he should have reacted faster. He even had a subtle feeling of discomfort toward Luo Zhi.

—Although he had always been somewhat bothered by Luo Zhi’s presence.

Especially after learning about the playful old matters between the elders.

“But aren’t we holding hands?” Li Heng blinked, not thinking too much. “Even if we trip, we couldn’t both fall, right?”

If he tripped on something, Xie Duzhi would catch him, and vice versa.

The subtle feeling in Xie Duzhi’s heart immediately faded, and he hummed in agreement, falling back into his usual silence.

—But his lips were slightly curled.

Li Heng had completely forgotten the excuse he came up with earlier and didn’t even lift the camera.

The inside of the haunted house was very dim, with only the walls and corners faintly visible. Occasionally, small candle-like lights would flicker on and off. If you got distracted, you could easily bump into someone.

He wasn’t frightened by the dim, mysterious atmosphere, nor by the skeleton frames that hung upside down or the claws of bones that stretched forward.

Compared to those, he found the sudden, untraceable screams of men and women more frightening.

The haunted house was great, with excellent lighting, atmosphere, and well-performed actors.

Just as they passed a hallway corner, a worker suddenly popped out from the side, with a hideous face, blood tears streaming from his eyes, and a long tongue hanging down.

The worker even had a prop hidden in his sleeve, extending a skeletal claw dripping with blood, adding to the eerie effect.

However, Li Heng wasn’t scared.

Neither was Xie Duzhi.

After seeing that their repeated probing didn’t work, the worker gave up on them and hid again, waiting for other potential visitors to pass by.

The two had no choice but to continue walking.

“Are you not taking pictures?” The worker probably would have cooperated.

Xie Duzhi asked him.

“…Oh, oh, I think the earlier one’s look wasn’t tidy enough,” Li Heng searched for an excuse. “It was at a corner, and there wasn’t the same candle background as before.”

By all rights, when the worker suddenly appeared, he should have acted scared and rushed into Xie Duzhi’s arms.

But the problem was the suddenness of it. He didn’t expect there would be a worker lying in wait, and wasn’t mentally prepared. The first thought that flashed in his mind when he saw the long tongue was, “…Is he playing the hanging ghost?”

By the time he had fully recognized the worker’s look, the opportunity to jump into Xie Duzhi’s arms had completely passed.

The boy instinctively pressed his lips together, focusing even more intently on every corner or wall, anticipating a staff member to suddenly appear.

However, after wandering through the haunted house for a long time with Xie Duzhi, they didn’t encounter any other actors as skillful as the one at the beginning, only bumping into a few props.

For example, various white bones placed near candles, or Buddha statues that immediately changed their faces when touched—if Xie Duzhi hadn’t mentioned that there were triggers, Li Heng wouldn’t have even noticed the change in the statue’s face.

It was possible that the haunted house staff were all wearing communication earpieces, and after encountering them, the actor who played the hanging ghost had informed the others, so they didn’t bother with them anymore.

Li Heng could only think of this possibility.

While they wandered around the haunted house, they could still hear the screams of other visitors, so it was clear that there were more staff members.

“Maybe we can communicate with them,” Xie Duzhi also realized the issue.

His night vision was slightly better than Li Heng’s, and he was very observant, probably able to deduce where the staff were hiding.

Whether or not they would be scared was one thing, but since they had paid for tickets and the experience, the haunted house should ensure they had a good time—especially since Li Heng still wanted to take photos.

“What…?”

Li Heng hadn’t had time to speak before he saw Xie Duzhi walk confidently toward a wall, and instinctively followed him.

He thought the corner was just a wall, but it was actually two walls.

The staff member was hiding between the walls, and Xie Duzhi reached him before the staff member even realized.

However, once they were found, and still not doing their job, that was really careless.

Li Heng hadn’t realized what Xie Duzhi was planning, but when he stepped forward, he saw the staff member in exaggerated makeup, with his entire eye socket painted black, slowly “floating” out.

Half of his face was human, and the other half was bone.

Li Heng didn’t have time to think about what kind of character the staff member was supposed to be. His only thought was to seize the opportunity, and almost instinctively grabbed Xie Duzhi’s sleeve.

The sudden motion and the force made Xie Duzhi unconsciously take a step back.

The young man looked up in confusion, about to ask what was wrong, when Li Heng’s warm body suddenly collided into his chest.

“…I-I got scared,” Li Heng stammered, “It, it was just a bit too sudden…”

The staff member: …

Young couples these days have all kinds of tricks.

The staff member even lazily skipped his standard “Heh…heh” greeting.

He silently floated a few steps, then floated back.

Xie Duzhi didn’t hear what Li Heng said in his arms.

The sudden warmth overwhelmed his brain, making him freeze, as if his system had crashed.

The hug was so sudden… so sudden that he didn’t know how to react.

They hadn’t had physical contact before, but just a few days ago, he had carried Li Heng all the way from the garage to his apartment without waking him up, carrying him upstairs.

But that was when he was fully awake, and in full control of his senses.

Now, the young man was unusually stiff, temporarily losing control of his body.

Li Heng also realized his mistake. Gu Mingyue had said he needed to show fear and anxiety, to see if the other person would comfort him by pulling him behind or even hugging him.

…But just now, he had probably, no—he had definitely thrown himself into Xie Duzhi’s arms.

Realizing that he had acted on impulse without thinking, the boy’s face turned as red as a boiling kettle, all the way down to his toes, and his head seemed to be emitting steam.

So embarrassing.

Feeling frustrated, he couldn’t help but think to himself, and also felt Xie Duzhi’s stiffness.

It seemed that he really didn’t have any feelings for him other than those of a brother.

From now on, whether it was the Ferris wheel or a movie, no matter what he was thinking, he should interact with Xie Duzhi normally, like before, and be more natural.

He instinctively tried to pull away, and the warmth from his face gradually faded, calming down quite a bit.

—Well, it’s fine to continue liking him, it doesn’t matter.

He comforted himself in his mind, and before he could fully pull away from the embrace, Xie Duzhi pressed him back.

He did this instinctively.

A moment later, the young man seemed to have heard those words and finally responded:

“…It’s okay, I’m here.”

It sounded more like an attempt to cover something up.

Li Heng was still trying to understand why Xie Duzhi had hugged him again, and suddenly realized something. His eyes began to shine a little.