A shrill scream echoed through the dim and long corridor. Lin Jinran clutched Su Qinian's hand tightly, not daring to turn her head back. She followed his hasty steps and rushed forward in a panic.
The flickering green light in the distance was approaching. The two turned around the corner. When they looked up, they gasped in horror.
The entire wall was covered with countless skeletons. As if sensing the intrusion of strangers, all the skulls slowly turned their heads and stared at the intruders, as if countless pairs of eyes were peeping in the darkness.
Immediately afterwards, a creepy and terrifying laugh suddenly filled the air, becoming more and more spine-chilling with each sound.
Lin Jinran turned pale with fright. Her legs went weak. She trembled and asked, "Su Qinian, are we... going to walk through there?"
The "Soul-Shattering Haunted House" arranged by the program crew couldn't really make the two of them meet their end here, could it?
Su Qinian's face was also pale. He squeezed the girl's palm and said, "Close your eyes. I'll take you through."
"But I'm still scared." Lin Jinran tightly grabbed the man's arm with her other hand, looking a bit at a loss.
Before Su Qinian could reply, Lin Jinran felt something drop on her arm. It felt cold, like a drop of water.
"Don't look." Su Qinian reminded, but it was a bit late. Lin Jinran had already looked down, and she almost fainted.
What dropped on her arm wasn't water at all. It was clearly bright red liquid.
The scream was caught in her throat. Suddenly, a pair of warm hands covered her eyes. All the terrifying and horrifying scenes were reduced to darkness.
Her heart was soothed and gradually calmed down. It was an unprecedented sense of peace.
Among the five senses, only her hearing was working rapidly.
"Ranran, later you just close your eyes. I'll pull you and rush forward." The man beside her calmly proposed a plan to escape from the haunted house. But after knowing each other for so long, Lin Jinran could hear the nervous tremor in his voice.
She nodded and said, "Okay. Don't push yourself too hard."
Su Qinian looked up at the front, tightened his hold on his sweetheart's soft hand, and then rushed forward bravely.
As the two rushed forward, the skulls on the wall also moved with them, staring at them eerily until they walked out of the skull area.
Just as they were about to step out, Su Qinian turned his head and took a look. He gasped in horror. All the empty and expressionless eye sockets of the skulls were staring at them strangely.
Fortunately, Ranran couldn't see it, Su Qinian thought.
Then he thought again. He regretted a bit for coming to this theme for a date with Lin Jinran, making her experience such a scare.
The director who was watching the live broadcast outside the venue chuckled. "Little guys, I deliberately created a chance for you and Lin Jinran to get along. 'Soul-Shattering Haunted House', what a nice name. It's sure to quickly strengthen your relationship."
...
Half an hour later, Su Qinian led Lin Jinran out of the haunted house.
Near the exit, he carefully removed his hand and said, "Ranran, the sunlight outside is bright. Open your eyes slowly."
"Okay." Lin Jinran nodded obediently.
The fragmented light entered her sight. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. Then, her pair of glass-like eyes fully opened.
Looking at the beautiful spring scenery outside, Lin Jinran sighed, "It's really nice to be able to see the sunlight outside alive."
She turned her head and looked at Su Qinian sincerely. "Thank you."
Su Qinian leaned against the wall beside him and coughed unnaturally. He said casually, "It's okay. It's just a small haunted house."
[Hahaha. It's not easy for Su Qinian to see the sunlight outside. His face is even paler than when he usually wears makeup.]
[Who understands? Su Qinian is clearly scared himself, but for Lin Jinran, he endured his fear and took her out together. This is so sweet. I'm crazy about the 'Seven-Year Love of Ranran' CP.]
[Hey, is 'Seven-Year Love of Ranran' the name of the CP of Su Qinian and Lin Jinran?]
[Yes, yes. 'Qinian' sounds like 'seven years'. 'Zhi' in classical Chinese means 'of'. 'Seven-Year Love of Ranran' means Ranran belongs to Qinian.]
"Lin Jinran." Lin Jinran, who was rarely called by her full name by Su Qinian, was slightly stunned. When she looked up, she met the man's deep eyes.
Some unknown emotions were surging in his eyes.
Lin Jinran couldn't help but hold her breath and waited for his next words.
"Actually, whether it's the haunted house, the thorns on the way forward, or other difficulties, I will always stand behind you."
The man stared at her. His eyes were as black as if soaked in ink. The sporadic sunlight fell on his delicate eyebrows.
During this long and quiet eye contact, Lin Jinran's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her fingers hanging by her waist curled slightly.
She understood his words. He hoped that she wouldn't push herself too hard. He would help her with any difficulties, just like many years ago.
Lin Jinran lowered her head blankly and looked at the almost shiny ground.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly left that terrifying place and had these feelings. Don't put pressure on yourself."
Seemingly noticing the girl's uneasiness, Su Qinian smiled. He bent down and casually ruffled the girl's hair. His eyes were extremely gentle.
Her heart seemed to skip beats even more. Lin Jinran's lips twitched slightly. She wanted to say something, but when the words reached her mouth, she just silently looked at Su Qinian.
She didn't know if it was appropriate or should she say it. Just like before, she still chose to be quiet and silent.
After consuming most of their energy in the haunted house, the two found a restaurant to eat. The staff in charge of shooting always remembered their responsibilities and never left them.
Near evening, everyone returned to the "Heartthrob Cottage" one after another. After sending their heartthrob messages in their rooms, they came to the first-floor living room to chat with everyone out of boredom.
On the living room table were the plaster dolls painted by He Jiao and Gu Huai, one for each. And Jiang Yaoguang was vividly describing how cute and interesting the small animals were in the afternoon.
Later, urged by the director, the group came to the bench in the garden.
Maybe because of the scare in the afternoon, after the intense pounding of her heart, Lin Jinran and Su Qinian weren't in a hurry to receive their heartthrob messages.
The rules of the heartthrob message session had changed. Everyone's heartthrob messages needed to be played out loud.
Gu Huai complained, "Isn't this just public humiliation?"
Maybe because they went on dates in pairs in the afternoon, all the heartthrob messages were sent to each other.
Xie Yun and Jiang Yaoguang.
Gu Huai and He Jiao.
Su Qinian and Lin Jinran.
After the first four people awkwardly finished playing their messages and came back, Lin Jinran walked to the heartthrob message receiving area. She lowered her head and opened the tablet to find her heartthrob message.
There was only one, as always, from Su Qinian.
She clicked to play, and the familiar voice slowly sounded.
"Ranran, tonight's heartthrob message may be very special. I want to tell you a secret, a secret that has been hidden for a very long time. Do you still remember the online nickname [Qi]? Actually, [Qi] is me. If you can find the account from that year, you can try to log in and take a look."