The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

(The third update was late, sorry. Thanks to the brothers who overdrafted their Monthly Passes for the old scoundrel, I hope more brothers get moving. There are still two days without a limit on the number of Monthly Passes. We have no chance at first place, but let's hope we can hold onto second place in the first half of the month, losing second would really be frustrating. Thanks again!)

After extinguishing the lighter, the surroundings were roughly visible, and there was no door to leave, so I stopped searching and put the phone away to save its battery.

"Say something! Even though I know this environment is fake, being here in this way still makes me feel creeped out," Wen Qianyi said softly.

What made her creeped out was talking, because if she spoke too loudly, there was an echo, which felt weird. If she spoke softly, the words were still clear, giving a distant feel. Anyway, her own voice felt unnatural in this hellish place.

"Say what? Haha, tell a joke?" Li Yan lit a cigarette, having had no chance to smoke since coming out due to work. "Want a puff?"

"No, thanks."

Li Yan took her hand, felt his way to the Reincarnation Platform, and sat on the edge with her.

"Let me think... I have a classmate who once told us during a party that in two years, he changed five mothers-in-law! As soon as he said this, everyone worshipped him, asking how he did it and saying he was amazing. Guess what?"

"What?" Wen Qianyi laughed.

"He said the amazing one wasn't him, but his father-in-law."

"I thought he was a wife killer who killed his wives to collect insurance money."

"Wow, you're really heavy-tasting!"

"Your turn to tell one."

"Me?" Wen Qianyi thought for a moment, "Once upon a time... there was a person who didn't study well, and the next day... he died."

"..." Seeing she stopped there, Li Yan asked, "That's it?"

"Yep, that's it."

"So cold..."

...

Both of them were no longer teenagers, so jokes were just for fun. After a while, Wen Qianyi asked, "Tell me about you! I feel like you seem a bit lecherous, a bit frivolous, even a bit sleazy, mainly lazy and indifferent, but sometimes you feel a bit special."

Li Yan forced a smile: "Thanks for the praise, so many flattering adjectives for me."

Wen Qianyi burst into laughter: "It's not that I don't want to praise you, but I thought carefully and could only think of those words. Would you believe me if I said you were very positive, very serious, capable and decisive, swift and resolute, unparalleled, with boundless charm...?"

"I guess I wouldn't."

"Exactly! So, what kind of person are you anyway? Tell me, so I can understand you better." Wen Qianyi's curiosity was evidently linked to the conversation in the morning. Only a person who had borne a heavy burden could understand the backpack theory so deeply; maybe his current demeanor was the result of having been through tough times.

Li Yan smiled: "I'm actually just an ordinary person, just with a little something special."

Wen Qianyi was intrigued and pursued: "Tell me, what's that one special thing?"

"Uh, ordinary, yet a little special, which adds up to... especially ordinary."

"You're teasing me!" Wen Qianyi rolled her eyes at him.

After this exchange, both gradually adjusted to the dim light inside, and sitting so close allowed some familiarity, enabling them to roughly make out each other's facial expressions. From Li Yan's expression, Wen Qianyi felt he was reluctant to talk. Everyone has their untold stories, so she didn't press further.

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm very motivated, a little special, which adds up to especially motivated."

"Haha, I can see that."

At that moment, a noise emerged from the corner where they had just fallen, and a mechanism opened as more people fell in—it seemed three people this time. All three let out startled cries, one man and two women. The faint emergency light went out, too.

Wen Qianyi grasped Li Yan's hand, squeezing it with excitement. Someone had entered, indicating that the malfunction was resolved, and a door to exit should open soon.

As she was about to speak, she felt Li Yan's mouth close in, whispering in her ear, "Let's scare them a bit..."

Wen Qianyi's ear felt ticklish; although she found the idea of pretending to be a ghost to scare people a bit childish, they had come here for fun. Since the worry of leaving was gone, she agreed. Yet, she was cautious; in the pitch-darkness, whispering close like that, it was easy to accidentally kiss. So, she just pinched his hand, signaling her cooperation.

The three people supported each other as they emerged from the sandpit, whispering nervously. They saw a faint flickering red light in the dark ahead, and the two girls clutched the boy's arm, whispering, "What is that?"

"It's okay, don't be scared! It's fake!"

They all seemed young by their voices, speaking the Cloud Island dialect. The boy seemed scared too, but with two female companions, he had to put on a brave face.

"Use your phone to light the way..." Since the boy's hands were held by the girls, he let them do it.

The girls nervously turned on their phones, but their small phones didn't provide enough light. Seeing a bit more of their surroundings made them even more terrified.

"You... from... where... to... where... go..."

With the phone light, they vaguely saw two figures sitting there and a lifelike statue of the Granny Meng. They thought the figures were also statues, but never expected them to talk. Terrified, the trio huddled together, and despite the fright, they secretly marveled at how realistic this haunted house was.

Seeing that they had really scared them, Li Yan and Wen Qianyi laughed quietly. Seeing the three huddled together, Li Yan touched the wide Reincarnation Platform and then lay down with Wen Qianyi.

Wen Qianyi was at a loss. Playing ghost as a staff member was one thing, but pretending to be a corpse? Still, she cooperated and lay down together.

The platform was cold. After lying down, Wen Qianyi found her head resting on Li Yan's arm. Their bodies were close together; there was no romantic atmosphere, but their posture, proximity – they were indeed quite close.

However, the situation didn't leave much room for thoughts. No sooner had they lain down when the Reincarnation Platform began to move upwards.

Wen Qianyi instinctively hugged Li Yan. Li Yan chuckled, thinking they couldn't get out, but the Reincarnation Platform was actually the mechanism for leaving!

Soon, the platform stopped. The surrounding environment became clear like the previous passageway, still eerie but clearer compared to the 'hell' they adapted to just now.

"So this was it!" Wen Qianyi figured it out and chuckled at their earlier worry.

After helping Wen Qianyi down, the platform descended again. Indeed, this was the exit. Maybe it symbolized reincarnation after hell!

After this stage, the remaining parts didn't carry as much terror, whether the fake settings or the ghost-imposters, they couldn't scare them anymore.

Having completed all the pathways in the haunted house, they exited and welcomed the bright light, feeling a sense of relief.

Upon exiting, they commented on the haunted house's appearance and, still having time, discussed whether to try other rides. Wen Qianyi realized she was still holding Li Yan's hand. It felt natural inside, but a bit embarrassing outside, so she discreetly let go.

As they were about to leave, three people walking out from inside recognized Li Yan among the visitors. The boy pointed at him and said, "Uncle! I recognize you… you're that, that…"

"Uncle?" Wen Qianyi glanced at Li Yan, holding back laughter.

Li Yan felt a bit embarrassed. He remembered who it was, the boyfriend of Cloud Island student Jiang Wen from the day he played a tennis match with Yu Xiaodi. Seeing Jiang Wen was there too, he joked, "Little buddy, you sure are charming, haven't seen you for days, and now you're surrounded by girls."

Upon hearing this, the three immediately separated, with Jiang Wen and the other girl holding hands. Huang Xuhui glared at him. Don't bring that up! This uncle did it on purpose. "Don't talk nonsense, we're just friends. In the haunted house, someone pretended to be a ghost to scare us; I was just protecting them. Couldn't catch them, otherwise, I'd beat them to a pulp! Uncle, you were just there, right? Did you see who those punks were who just came out?"

"..."

Wen Qianyi stifled her laughter. Who else could it be, if not the two right in front of you? (To be continued, for more, please log in to www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)