“A haunted house, huh… um… do we really need to rush it like this? Don’t people usually save that kind of attraction for last?”

Hearing Shu Yuxin say that, Peng Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and nodded. “That’s true!”

Shu Yuxin let out a sigh of relief.

“We could go to the haunted house at night! It’d be way more atmospheric than during the day!” Peng Xiaoxiao added.

The moment Shu Yuxin heard the rest of her sentence, the heart she had just set at ease shot straight back into her throat—this time even more panicked than before.

Luckily, Yan Zhikai stepped in to save her. “Wake up. The night session only runs until nine. After nine, it’s closed.”

“That’s still fine! We can go around eight. It’ll already be dark by then!”

“How about… we decide when we get there, okay?” Shu Yuxin forced a smile as she cut in. “A haunted house is the same no matter when you go, right? There’s no need to fixate on the timing…”

Zhang Houlin, who had followed along, also laughed and nodded. “Yeah. It’s dark inside the haunted house anyway. Doesn’t matter if it’s dark outside or not.”

“…True.” Peng Xiaoxiao nodded thoughtfully.

At that moment, Lao Mei and Fu Bai walked over. Their “bet” between the two of them seemed to have already been settled, and both wore determined expressions.

“So, so? Everyone’s here? Are we going or what?” Lao Mei grinned lewdly, rubbing his hands together nonstop. “I can’t wait to pin Fu-dog to the ground and grind him into the dirt.”

“Get lost,” Fu Bai shot him a sideways glance, full of disdain. “You should be praying you won’t be the one getting pinned down.”

Yan Zhikai swept his gaze over the group and nodded. “Everyone’s here, right? Okay, then let’s go—”

“Wait!” Lao Guan suddenly spoke up from the side, interrupting him. He’d been playing on his phone the whole time and still had no intention of putting it away. “Lao Wei said he’s coming. Should we wait for him?”

“Lao Wei?” Yan Zhikai frowned.

Peng Xiaoxiao looked surprised. “Wei Zhanpeng? He’s coming too?”

“Yeah. He just messaged me asking where we are.” Lao Guan shook his phone.

Yan Zhikai raised an eyebrow, a strange smile appearing on his face. “Oh? Interesting.”

Not long after, a voice drifted over from afar. “Kai! Over here!”

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Wei Zhanpeng standing at the edge of the plaza, waving at them. That was where they would be taking the bus later, so he didn’t come over, just waited there for them.

Yan Zhikai waved back. “Alright, we’re coming.”

Peng Xiaoxiao was the first to run over. Wei Zhanpeng’s arrival made her happy. Although there were already several people in the group she was familiar with, outings like this were naturally more fun with more close friends. Compared to Wei Zhanpeng, Peng Xiaoxiao was actually closer to Shu Yuxin, but relationships couldn’t be measured by that alone. Her relationship with Shu Yuxin could be considered that of ordinary friends or close girlfriends, while with Wei Zhanpeng, it was more like that of kindred spirits—at least in gaming.

And for an otaku girl, what gaming meant hardly needed any explanation.

As Peng Xiaoxiao chatted with Wei Zhanpeng, even from afar everyone could sense the awkwardness and restraint on his face. He still wasn’t used to interacting with girls, looking as innocent as a sixth-grade elementary school boy. The only difference was that he didn’t have that childish notion of keeping strict distance between boys and girls.

Lao Mei stroked his chin as he sized up Lao Wei from afar and let out a “tsk.” “Didn’t Lao Wei say he was going home for National Day to help out? How’s he still here? Isn’t he afraid his dad will beat him to death?”

Yan Zhikai snorted softly as he walked over. “Probably because I told him last night that Peng Xiaoxiao was coming. Hah. A foolish boy in love.”

Lao Mei smacked his lips.

Although Laiter Paradise Amusement Park was in the same district as their school, it was still quite a distance away. They chose to take buses and the subway, switching several times along the way. During the National Day holiday, crowds all over the city were much heavier than usual. Besides the rare sight of traffic restrictions that made people sigh in amazement, the most direct impact was that nearly every bus was packed like a can of sardines. A huge bus barely had room to stand, and from the sidewalk, if you looked into one, being able to see through to the other side through the dense mass of people was already a rare sight. And it wasn’t just buses—the subway was much the same. At the worst times, just lining up to buy a ticket could stretch all the way out of the station. Even after buying a ticket, there was no guarantee you’d be able to squeeze onto a train.

Even though Yan Zhikai and Zhang Houlin had anticipated this and set out extremely early, their trip still wasn’t much better. The first bus from school to the subway station was manageable, but once they reached the subway, they truly experienced the terror of the National Day holiday. The whole journey was an eye-opener for Shu Yuxin. Before today, she had never seen such a high population density in real life.

By the time they arrived at the hotel Yan Zhikai had booked, it was already one in the afternoon. If you ignored the time spent stuck in traffic, queuing, and squeezing onto buses, the trip would have been enough for three or four round trips. But no one felt like complaining anymore—they just wanted to get back to their rooms and collapse for a bit.

The hotel wasn’t luxurious, nor did the rooms have any extravagant decorations. Of course, the group of college students didn’t care. A bed, internet, hot water, air conditioning, and a TV were more than enough. Yan Zhikai had booked all double rooms. Besides the basic amenities, each room also had a mahjong table—unfortunately, there weren’t even four people among them who knew how to play.

The hotel had ten floors. The second floor was for dining, and the floors above were all guest rooms. Their rooms were on the eighth floor, with great views from the windows. From inside, they could see the nearby amusement park… and the dense crowd of visitors inside it.

After randomly choosing a room, everyone piled in. Yan Zhikai’s first action was to wash his face in the bathroom; his second was to turn on the air conditioning. It wasn’t particularly hot today—in fact, it was fairly cool. All the sweat they were covered in came purely from squeezing onto buses and subways.

As soon as Guan Di entered, he rushed to plug in his phone by the bed, then continued cuddling his 2D waifu while wiping his sweat. “Man… there are way too many people. I’m dying of heat.”

“Heh. Believe it or not, there’ll be even more people in the amusement park later,” Yan Zhikai said as he wiped his face with the hotel towel and casually sat on one of the beds. “Alright, let’s settle everything we need to do first.”

Without waiting for the others to be ready, he took out several room cards. “I booked four double rooms. Originally, the number of people was just right, but now we’ve got one extra. You guys figure it out yourselves.”

Wei Zhanpeng immediately hooked an arm around Lao Guan’s neck. “Lao Guan, let’s squeeze together?”

“Get lost. I’m not into guys.”

“Like hell,” Wei Zhanpeng shoved him aside, then said to Yan Zhikai, “I’ll just share a bed with him.”

“Fine,” Yan Zhikai said, first handing a card to Peng Xiaoxiao. “Houlin and I will share a room. Shu Yuxin and Peng Xiaoxiao share one. How do you guys want to split the remaining two?”

Lao Mei was the first to grab a card. “Isn’t it obvious? Of course I’m rooming with my dog son.”

“Lao Mei, screw you,” Fu Bai smacked him on the back—though it was hard to tell how much damage it did.

Lao Mei laughed wickedly. “Hehe, my good dog son.”

With the last card left, Yan Zhikai handed it directly to Jiang Zixuan. “Then you stay with Lao Guan and the others. They’re sharing a bed anyway, so just make do.”

“I don’t mind,” Jiang Zixuan said calmly as he took the card.

Yan Zhikai nodded and continued. “I said before that this trip is on me. Now that we’re here, let me add something: I’ll cover the tickets and the hotel, and at most, I’ll treat you to three meals a day for these two days. Anything else—if you want snacks or whatever—don’t come looking for me. Got it?”

“Hey—Kai, that’s not cool!” Lao Mei slung an arm over Fu Bai’s shoulder, grinning at Yan Zhikai.

“Yeah, yeah. Didn’t you say you were treating us from the start?” Fu Bai joined in.

Yan Zhikai shot them a look. “Cut it out. Covering the tickets is generous enough. If I had to buy you snacks too, what—if you said you wanted bird’s nest and shark fin, would I have to buy those for you as well?”

Zhang Houlin laughed and chimed in. “I’ll buy everyone a bottle of water later.”

Jiang Zixuan shook his head. “No need. It’s already more than generous. Shu Yuxin and I don’t need water—we’ll buy our own later.”

“Then I won’t either,” Peng Xiaoxiao raised her hand. “I still have money. Enough to buy snacks.”

“I… alright, I won’t either,” Wei Zhanpeng raised his hand as well.

“Fine. Whoever wants water later can just say so,” Yan Zhikai said as he stood up and headed out. “Leave your stuff in the room. Let’s go downstairs and eat first.”

After that, everyone went back to their respective rooms to drop off their belongings. Shu Yuxin and Peng Xiaoxiao’s room was in the middle. The layout was almost identical to the previous one. Peng Xiaoxiao had brought a women’s backpack with a few changes of clothes inside. Shu Yuxin’s clothes, however, were packed together with Jiang Zixuan’s in the travel bag he was carrying. After taking out his own clothes, Jiang Zixuan directly handed the travel bag to Shu Yuxin, which left Peng Xiaoxiao speechless when she saw it.

“Yuxin… you let Jiang Zixuan pack all your clothes for you?”

“Huh? No… I just asked him to bring them along. Didn’t feel like carrying another bag.”

“Tsk. You’re way too careless.”