Knowing that it was pitch black and there wasn't a single light, the Xu siblings simply moved the flashlight away to shine it elsewhere without turning it on.
The staff member stood up, straightened his wig, patted off his white robe smeared with red paint, noticed the lost sneaker on the ground, and asked Gu Chen and the others, "Is this your companion's shoe? Take it with you, don't leave things in here."
The staff member, who hadn't been scared, was about to leave when he walked to a wall, reached out and pushed it open, revealing an invisible revolving door. It was right there that he had appeared, following behind Wang Zehao.
After the unexpected little incident, the four people stood there at a loss.
"Shall we continue to wander around?"
Gu Chen turned around and made the suggestion, but seeing that his deskmate was expressionless and seemed not very interested, he changed his tone.
"Should we find an exit to get out?"
"..."
The entire trip lasted less than five minutes. The four of them left, ending their brief haunted house adventure, and stood under the blazing sun, staring at the exit.
How boring! Roller coasters are much more fun.
Xu Youluo yawned, swaying her body as if she had no bones, resting her chin on her sister's shoulder, and squinting to enjoy the sunlight.
"Brother Chen, give Haozi a call." Xu Youluo said leisurely, but when she saw Gu Chen looking at her, she realized something was wrong and quickly explained, "I didn't mean to urge them, it's just..." Xu Youluo's gaze shifted down to the other person's hand.
Her two hands had somehow become intertwined, and Xu Youluo glanced at them, raising an eyebrow as she turned to her other hand.
Long, slender fingers hung down naturally, forming a beautiful arc in the air.
It's pleasing to the eye.
If we ignore the oversized sneaker that was being carried.
"Won't the mouse go back to look for its shoe?"
"No way?" Gu Chen immediately dismissed the question, "It's not impossible."
Xiang Yu was very sensitive to eye contact. He noticed Xu Youluo raising her eyebrows at their hands. They had been holding hands for a while, and now that they were out of the haunted house and Gu Chen had recovered, it was really inappropriate to keep holding hands like this.
Taking advantage of Gu Chen's momentary lapse in attention while he was on the phone, Xiang Yu pulled her hand away. She gently stroked her left hand with her right, feeling the lingering warmth on it, and turned her head away, not daring to look at him.
His first thought was that he didn't want to let go, but it was strange, and he didn't know what he was doing.
Gu Chen was in the same boat. His hand went emptied as soon as he dialed the number. He blinked at Xiang Yu's profile and called his name several times on the phone before he came to his senses. "Ang Haozi, looking for your shoes? They're with me. Yes, have fun. We'll wait for you two outside."
Less than two minutes after hanging up the phone, Wang Zehao and Yang Shuhuan appeared at the exit of the haunted house, looking like they hadn't had a good time.
Wang Zehao, supporting Yang Shuhuan's shoulder, hopped over on one foot with an expression of relief, while Yang Shuhuan looked utterly dejected.
What they had in common was that they both looked like they had gone through a catastrophe and looked very tired.
Yang Shuhuan said, "Damn, this guy shouts louder than a ghost and runs incredibly fast. The more I shout at him, the faster he runs. I can't catch up with him."
Seeing the sunlight instantly washed away Wang Zehao's fatigue. He put on his shoes and took a few steps. Hearing what he said, he turned around without saying a word, just grinning mischievously: "Hehe."
"..." It would have been better if he hadn't laughed, because his laughter only made Yang Shuhuan angrier, so he went up and started punching him.
"Damn it, you're still laughing? Next semester you'd better sign up for the marathon, I'm not watching the sports meet without you!"
Seeing that it was already past eleven o'clock, the group decided to do one last activity before going to eat.
Before dinner, not daring to do any more thrilling rides, Gu Chen suggested going on the carousel.
"..." Xiang Yu wondered if he had misheard when he heard the words "carousel". This guy was the one who wanted to ride the polar roller coaster first, and now he wanted to ride the carousel. He didn't let go of either extreme. "Are you serious?"
“Yes.” Gu Chen looked down at the colorful canopy with great interest. Colorful ponies with lively expressions were spinning and dancing to music, and there were also kindergarten children crying loudly on it.
"I've already chosen it, I want the blue one."
"..."
Xiang Yu looked Gu Chen up and down, noting his height of over 180 cm, and glanced at the children in line who were no more than 140 cm tall. He thought of Gu Chen, who had blended into the group of laughing children, and remained silent for a long time.
I think that everyone is born different from others. Some people are born afraid of socializing, while others are born to do whatever they want and not care about other people's opinions.
Xiang Yu wasn't the only one who remained silent; the other four were too.
Based on past experience, Wang Zehao and Yang Shuhuan positioned themselves in a low-profile position that would not be easily noticed by Gu Chen.
Xu Youqing grasped Xu Youluo's arm, her waist slightly bent, prepared for her legs to ache at any moment. The latter secretly tugged at her sister's clothes, afraid of being called to join them.
In short, it boils down to two words.
Fear.
All right.
Xiangyu decided to respect differences.
"Go ahead and play."
"My deskmate, you're riding that white horse."
"???" The two spoke almost simultaneously. Xiang Yu's scalp tingled when he heard the words "white horse," and his eyes widened as if he were asking a question.
Are you serious?
Gu Chen said, "I think white matches you, and blue matches me."
Grass.
Xiang Yu could never accompany him, no matter what.
Xiang Yu had even imagined the scene of herself and Gu Chen sitting together.
The accompanying parents stood by, watching them, and the innocent children sat on their happy, colorful ponies, also watching. They might even say something innocent.
"These two older brothers are so strange~"
"No, no, I don't think so." Xiang Yu hadn't been nervous and stuttering in a long time. Her breathing gradually became heavier, a blush rose to her face, and she felt a slight discomfort in her stomach.
He couldn't stand it, he really couldn't stand it. He thought about it and wondered what the word was again.
Society died.
Following Gu Chen's gaze, Xiang Yu discovered that in addition to the carousel, there were also carousel teacups and a water-spraying train.
Seeing the hopeful look in the other person's eyes, Xiang Yu had no doubt that the other person would really play these games.
There was no other way, so we might as well go all the way.
"I... I have social anxiety," Xiang Yu said bluntly.
As expected, it worked. Everyone paused for a moment when they heard the word "social anxiety," and after confirming that they hadn't misheard, they looked at Xiangyu with the same expression.
"Holy crap!" Wang Zehao's pupils dilated slightly. He nudged Yang Shuhuan with his elbow and whispered.
"Wow, my brother Yu's acting skills are just as good as Sister Xu's. It looks so real."
[Author's note: The first time Xiang Yu hit someone, his fist trembling: Actually, I'm socially awkward, really.]
The bruised and battered thug: Yes, yes, boss, you're socially awkward, whatever you say goes.
Chapter 41 Gu Chen: I thought my deskmate's problem was very serious.
Chapter 41 Gu Chen: I thought my deskmate's problem was very serious
"The acting was indeed convincing." Yang Shuhuan whispered, afraid the person in question might hear. "The school bully said he was socially awkward, would Brother Chen really believe that?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Chen frowned, looking as if the matter was of great importance and could not be ignored.
"Then let's not play."
As if afraid his deskmate wouldn't believe him, Gu Chen repeated, "Deskmate, then let's not play anymore."
Xiang Yu pursed her lips and nodded, feeling a little guilty when she saw the other person's nervous appearance. She thought to herself that she was just not good at facing other people's gazes, and this idiot didn't need to be like this. "If you want to play, go ahead, but I can't accompany you."
"I'm not playing anymore," Gu Chen shook his head and said.
After saying that, she grabbed Xiang Yu's wrist and walked towards the food area, saying, "Let's go eat, let's not think about this anymore."
Gu Chen seemed to be trying his best to avoid this topic.
Xiang Yu was being dragged away by Gu Chen. Looking at the other's back, she felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The other four walked side by side behind them. Wang Zehao, seeing his brother Chen's reaction, grinned at Xu Youqing and, pretending to conduct an interview, raised his phone and asked, "Mr. Xu, what do you think of my brother Yu's acting potential?"
Xu Youqing smiled slightly at the camera: "I think it's great."
Next to the amusement park's food and beverage area, there were also several places to play ring toss and shooting games to win prizes. As the group passed by, they slowed down and looked around.
Gu Chen said, "Hey deskmate, is there anything you want? I'll win one for you."
The prizes laid out on the ground were all plush toys, remote-controlled cars, and other things that children like. Xiang Yu didn't know if Gu Chen could be considered to have lost his childlike heart, but he was indifferent to these toys, so he shook his head and said, "No."
“I have them, I have them.” Yang Shuhuan’s eyes locked onto the two familiar packaging boxes a few rows behind the ring toss box. He pointed and said, “Those two things. When I took my two naughty kids to the supermarket during the National Day holiday, they both cried for them.”
Gu Chen glanced at it and felt it looked familiar, then he remembered.
He would bring some small gifts with him before going to the orphanage. These two toys were phoenix head dragons on the upper shelves of the girls' and boys' sections, with eye-catching prices.
One is 599, the other is 799, a half-life princess doll and a remote-controlled airplane.
It was a new model that came out quite a while ago. Gu Chen has a good memory, and he matched the price and items one by one.
Yang Shuhuan quickly paid for twenty rings, confidently tossed them over the bar, looking just like a cowboy lassoing a horse in the West.
The five people stood by and watched him try to win twenty times and twenty times without success.
I actually won several plush toys from the first few rows.
"Good heavens." Wang Zehao looked at the cheap, wholesale doll he was holding and earnestly advised, "Forget it, Huanhuan, you could buy one if you added a little more money."
This thing is like the lottery you get for 50 cents a time at the store outside the elementary school. You always feel like you're just one step away from winning, and the more you try, the more addicted you become.
Gu Chen stuffed a white cat plush toy into Xiang Yu's arms. Xiang Yu stared at the cat's dark, round, cross-eyed face and fell into silent contemplation.
For the first time, the school heartthrob began to doubt her own looks.
"Does this really look like me?"
“It looks like it.” Gu Chen used this to amuse his deskmate, but when he leaned closer, his smile froze. “Why are your eyes crooked?” He then fiddled with them and straightened them.
"Look how cute it is."
"..." Xiang Yu stared at the silly grin on the cat's face, resisting the urge to throw the toy at Gu Chen's face, and said, "Thank you."
"Sis." Xu Youluo noticed that her sister had been staring at the ring toss stall since earlier and asked, "What are you looking at?"