Xu Zhaozhao wondered if she had misheard and looked up in surprise.

He happened to look down, and his peach blossom eyes caught Xu Zhaozhao's flustered almond eyes. Both of them were wearing masks.

Even through a mask, one can easily imagine the other person's face.

Xu Zhaozhao's throat was gripped by an invisible hand, and she couldn't utter a single word.

My brain raced for a while before I finally realized what was happening.

Is there any necessary connection between his self-protection and calling out "baby"?

Coming to her senses, Xu Zhaozhao finally heard the sounds around her.

"Ouch, who the hell created this video?!"

"The organizers really know how to have fun, sending a slovenly guy to welcome us! I hope he bumps into me and hurts!"

"That's really amazing. I didn't even see anyone float past. I even suspect that a real ghost sneaked in."

"Zhang Qiang, what's wrong with you? Look at that guy, he's holding his girlfriend in his arms and protecting her, and you just stand by and watch that slob hurt me!"

...

A commotion erupted around us.

It was that last sentence that completely brought Xu Zhaozhao back to reality.

Looking around, apart from the occasional slovenly ghost that appeared with incredible speed, I didn't see anyone embracing each other.

The girl could only be referring to the two of them.

Xu Zhaozhao nudged Gu Qingyan, signaling him to let go, but the hand on her waist tightened involuntarily.

“Answer me.”

Gu Qingyan had no intention of letting her escape so easily. He pressed her head down, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Why don't you call me 'baby'?"

Under his gaze, Xu Zhaozhao's face flushed slightly.

"That's different; it's a term of endearment for children."

Unable to break free, she could only clench her small fists and hit him, whispering, "What are you yelling for? Let me go."

"Then I'll call your name."

His warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and the world seemed to stand still; she could only hear him speak.

"Baby Zhao Zhao".

At the same time, he loosened his grip on her, but his gaze remained fixed on her.

Xu Zhaozhao's face flushed red. She hurriedly shook off his hand, pulled away from his embrace, and walked forward.

She didn't know where she should go, but right now she just wanted to get a little distance away from Gu Qingyan.

So, she pretended to be nonchalant and strode towards Yu Yu and Xiao Kai.

Xiao Kai was just scared by the slovenly ghost, but Gu Yulin protected him, and he was fine in an instant.

He forgot about it immediately and excitedly pulled Gu Yulin toward the novel shop he had discovered.

"Hey, Brother Fish, there's a shop over there that sells sugar bead glasses!!"

The City of a Hundred Ghosts has many stalls selling all sorts of things... that fit the atmosphere.

Take, for example, this realistic candy eyeball.

When Xu Zhaozhao caught up, the two children were carefully observing the sugar beads on the stall and exclaiming in admiration.

Xu Zhaozhao's gaze happened to sweep over those eyeballs, and she froze instantly.

It's nothing serious, just that my eyes hurt a lot.

"Wow, these eyes are so realistic, they even have blood vessels!"

"Look at this, look at this, this even simulates the effect of a toothpick piercing an eyeball."

"This, this bloodshot eye is also very beautiful."

...

Listening to their discussion, Xu Zhaozhao felt as if the air in her lungs was being slowly squeezed by an invisible hand, making it gradually difficult to breathe.

She was still putting on a brave face, but the woman who had been so nonchalant just moments before turned around just as decisively and ran towards Gu Qingyan—

They cheered happily simply because the stall owner popped a sugar eyeball, and the red syrup that flowed out made them laugh.

She saw Gu Qingyan open his arms, his cloak billowing in the wind, and she uncontrollably bumped into his arms, grabbing his hand by muscle memory.

The hands, cold from fear, greedily absorbed Gu Qingyan's warmth in his palm.

Xu Zhaozhao can breathe again.

Gu Qingyan's voice followed, smiling, "Baby Zhao Zhao, I won't let you go this time."

Xu Zhaozhao froze again.

What kind of quirk is that!

She's not a child anymore, yet she still uses such an overly affectionate term of endearment.

But there was nothing she could do. Once she left Gu Qingyan, she couldn't take a single step in this City of a Hundred Ghosts, and she couldn't even breathe.

Baby is baby, living is the most important thing.

"cough."

After hugging him once, Xu Zhaozhao pretended not to hear Gu Qingyan's address and led him forward, saying, "Hurry up and catch up with the two of them."

Xiao Kai and Yu Yu moved on, and she led Gu Qingyan to catch up.

Only then did I realize they were eating two "eyeballs" in their hands. They were so realistic, it looked like they were eating a real eyeball...

"Such sweet candy~"

Xiao Kai took a lick and said to Gu Yulin.

He nodded, agreeing with Xiao Kai's statement, and added, "The jam inside is strawberry flavored."

The jam inside is actually the "blood plasma" from the eyeballs.

After saying that, Gu Yulin turned back to look at Xu Zhaozhao. Just as he was about to ask a question, Xu Zhaozhao quickly waved her hand.

"I won't eat it! I won't eat it!"

He shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum, "Mom won't eat."

Xu Zhaozhao didn't dare to look at it for long.

She loves everything strawberry-flavored, but not this strawberry-flavored "eyeball"!!

Gu Yulin didn't insist, bit off the sugar pearl in one bite, and pulled Xiao Kai to continue exploring the shops.

The deeper you go, the more ghosts you encounter.

Slovenly ghost, long-haired ghost, one-eyed ghost... everyone carries a small nightlight, making the already dim environment even more eerie.

Every now and then, I could hear a few screams.

Xu Zhaozhao felt that she was doing relatively well; at least she had held on until now without letting out any outrageous screams.

Ding—

A sudden gong banging echoed through the City of Ghosts, startling many people, including Xu Zhaozhao.

Several more screams rang out.

Xu Zhaozhao was different; she was frightened, but she immediately hid in Gu Qingyan's arms.

Ding—

Another gong was struck.

The noisy environment quieted down considerably because of this sound, and the sound of wheels moving forward could be heard.

It's not over yet.

Thump—!

The third bang was even louder than the previous two, completely silencing the city of a hundred ghosts.

The sound of wheels turning continued, and the quiet crowd searched for the source of the sound.

The atmosphere froze, as if on the eve of a storm.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't dare to look up, but quietly huddled in Gu Qingyan's arms.

She's afraid of the dark, but now she'd rather have darkness in her field of vision.

"I suspect you did it on purpose, just wanting me to stay in your arms forever."

As Xu Zhaozhao spoke, she quietly slipped her free hand inside her cloak and pinched his waist.

"You did it on purpose!"

A soft laugh came from beside her ear, very clearly. Although Xu Zhaozhao couldn't see it, she noticed that he had lowered his head.

"You caught me! Baby is so smart."

Xu Zhaozhao was both angry and embarrassed, and the hand that had been pinching his waist went limp.

This guy's really addicted to shouting!