New store opening
After scaring my crush into fainting while playing the ghost in a locked room
Written by Xishan Youwu
Published exclusively on June 1, 2024.
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Shen Muwei looked up at the dark clouds rolling in the sky, and unconsciously turned the handlebars of the electric scooter all the way to the bottom with her right hand.
Her electric scooter, compliant with the new national standard, is limited to a speed of 24 km/h, so even with the speed limit fully turned up, it doesn't go much faster. Watching her scooter struggle to pick up speed, she felt a little anxious.
At this time on Saturday morning, there were few pedestrians on the street, and the stuffy, humid smell filled Shen Muwei's nostrils.
The dark clouds overhead piled up, and soon it was completely dark. Before Shen Muwei could react, the rain poured down, so heavy that it blurred her vision as it hit the visor of her helmet.
In this kind of weather, we have to slow down.
She reached out her left hand to push up the goggles that were covered in raindrops, and cursed under her breath, "What bad luck!"
This was the first rain of autumn, and the temperature dropped sharply during the downpour.
The air conditioning at the mall entrance was blasting cold air. As soon as Shen Muwei entered, she was hit by the cold air and sneezed.
In a corner on the fourth floor of the mall, the gloomy and eerie decor and the scattered flower baskets at the entrance made what should have been a lively opening day seem rather bleak due to the rain.
Shen Muwei didn't wait for the direct elevator. She felt that if she waited, she might not make it in time, so she ran up the escalator.
She had anticipated the desolate scene at the door, as the downpour had been so sudden and unexpected. Correspondingly, her boss, who had just hung up the phone, wore a clearly troubled expression.
The boss's eyes happened to fall on Shen Muwei, and he shrank back slightly before smiling and affirming her, "Dedicated, truly dedicated!"
Shen Muwei grinned at the boss, took out his phone from his soaked pocket, and wiped the water-stained screen with his palm.
Nine o'clock in the morning, the timing is just right.
She thought her boss was praising her for being on time on her first day of work, and was about to explain when a wet strand of hair stood out in her line of sight, which was really an eyesore.
She casually tossed the strand of hair behind her head, then tossed her head to the left as she did so.
In that instant, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass next to her.
She wore an unbuttoned black and white checkered shirt over a cropped T-shirt, and loose cargo pants. Her shoulder-length hair was plastered to her cheeks, making her face appear pale and thin.
Even worse, her makeup came off. Her whole face looked like a spilled palette of colors. Her eyeliner, however, didn't come off, thanks to the waterproof eyeliner she bought. But her mascara wasn't waterproof, which wouldn't have been a problem for everyday use.
But for Shen Muwei, who had just come through a heavy rain, her mascara now looked like huge dark circles under her eyes, and the black water running down her chin made her look quite terrifying.
It looks exactly like someone who has just crawled out of a stinky ditch.
The boss touched his blond hair and said with a grin, "Okay, this is fine too. You don't even need to wear makeup. Just go to work like this!"
"What a load of rubbish!" Shen Muwei thought to herself. "I should have known better than to put on makeup this morning!"
She has good skin, and her love for exercise and health maintenance keeps her complexion rosy, so she rarely wears makeup.
But this morning, for some reason, she felt that she should put on makeup on her first day of work to show her respect for the job.
It wasn't until I got on my electric scooter that I realized I didn't need to wear makeup today, and if I did, I'd have to make it look scary.
Who would have thought that it would start raining not long after we started riding?
The proprietress came out from the back room, scolded the boss a few times, and told him to stop talking nonsense at this time. She then turned to hand Shen Muwei a towel, telling her to dry her hair and be careful not to catch a cold.
Shen Muwei's allowance was cut off after her mother, Mu Qing, discovered her rock climbing during the summer vacation.
Having lost her source of income, Shen Muwei had no choice but to spend her savings. Just when her savings were about to run out, school started.
Just when I thought Mu Qing had calmed down, she said, "I said I'd cut it off for three months, and I mean it for three months. Otherwise, you won't learn your lesson!"
So last week, in order to support herself this semester, Shen Muwei saw this soon-to-open escape room while shopping at the mall and decided to apply for the job.
She exercises regularly, and during her job interview, she performed a challenging crawling motion that startled the boss, who immediately hired her.
In the lounge, Shen Muwei only dared to cover her face with a tissue and press it hard. She didn't plan to remove her makeup; it was already quite frightening even like this.
Today's heavy rain came at an inopportune time. Shen Muwei arrived relatively early, while some NPCs arrived later, and without exception, they were all soaked.
The only saving grace was that the downpour only lasted for half an hour and then stopped quickly.
The rainstorm was about to stop, and everything was back on track. The flower baskets at the shop entrance were also being delivered slowly.
It wasn't until almost 10 o'clock that the first group of customers finally arrived.
Seeing this, the NPCs arrived one after another, entered the secret room and took their posts to prepare to start work. Shen Muwei was no exception. Her hair was short and almost dry. She changed her clothes and went in to prepare.
The morning passed quickly. Shen Muwei chased after the players in the darkness, running until she felt warm all over. She found enjoyment in it and suddenly felt that coming here to work was the right decision.
After lunch break, Shen Muwei went to the rest room to relax, and the proprietress ordered chicken cutlet rice for everyone.
Shen Muwei was already starving, and she wolfed down her food in the room, quickly finishing a bowl of rice without leaving a single grain.
The boy next to her, from the neighboring school, exclaimed in surprise when he saw Shen Muwei eating so heartily, "You...you're amazing!"
Shen Muwei swallowed the last bite of rice, revealing a smile that brought dimples to her lips and curved her eyes. Even with her terrifying makeup, it couldn't hide her excellent natural beauty.
"It's just so-so," Shen Muwei said.
The boy blushed instantly and forgot to chew. It wasn't until Shen Muwei got up to get some water that he hurriedly swallowed his food, followed her to her side, and took a glass of water as well: "Hello, I'm a student from the University of Science and Technology next door. My name is Zhang Wenhao."
Whether it was due to nervousness or something else, the boy's voice trembled slightly. When he spoke the character "Wen" in his name, the tone suddenly rose for a moment along with the character "Hao".
Shen Muwei filled her glass with water from the water dispenser, but before drinking, she asked in confusion, "Question mark?"
"No, no, no, Wenhao, Zhang Wenhao, the Wen in Chinese language, and the Ritianhao."
Shen Muwei nodded thoughtfully: "Hello, I am a student of Hui University, my name is Shen Muwei."
The boy wanted to continue talking to her, but he was so nervous that he rubbed his hands together and then didn't know what to say next.
Just then, four people entered through the door. The boy in the lead was very tall, wearing a black T-shirt and cargo pants, the same brand as the ones Shen Muwei was wearing.
His eyes were listless, his thin lips were tightly pressed together, and his thin, angular face was cold.
Shen Muwei heard the boss start greeting the customers. At the same time, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She glanced down at the phone screen, noticed the contact name, pointed to the phone at Zhang Wenhao, and then turned and went into another empty room to answer the call.
Shen Hongtao was far away in Nigeria, making a video call; it was just sunrise there.
The first thing he noticed was Shen Muwei's strange makeup. He laughed and asked, "Oh my! Little one, what are you doing? Dressing up as a ghost?"
Shen Muwei looked miserable: "Professor Shen, when are you coming back? My mom cut off my allowance, and I'm working outside now."
"Your mom will scold you again if she finds out you're working as a ghost, right?"
"Why don't you just stay silent? Are you a traitor?"
Shen Hongtao laughed heartily: "How could Dad be a traitor? But your mom is right, the essence of our exercise is to improve our health. You shouldn't always be doing those extreme sports, it really takes a toll on your heart!"
Shen Muwei knew that Shen Hongtao must have discussed it with Mu Qing beforehand, which was why he came to lecture her. She impatiently scratched at the wall with her index finger, listening absentmindedly to Shen Hongtao's lecture while peeking at the outside through the crack in the door.
Shen Muwei felt that the boy leading the way outside looked familiar, so she opened the door a crack to get a better look.
It was truly strange; she actually saw Xiang Zhixing. She still remembered how Xiang Zhixing had fainted at her feet after only standing at attention for ten minutes during military training.
The boy, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall and had one hand in his pocket, looked up at A-Jie and said, "We want the hardest one."
Ah Jie chuckled: "Then I recommend you guys play 'Midnight Factory,' it's the scariest one right now. Someone played it this morning and gave feedback."
The boy next to Xiang Zhixing was also quite tall, about 1.85 meters, with a buzz cut. He said to Xiang Zhixing, "This is it. This is what Lei Zi was talking about. He said it's really scary."
Xiang Zhixing smiled and said with certainty, "I want this one."
Ah Jie kindly reminded everyone: "Gentlemen, I must first point out that based on the feedback, we need to downgrade this dungeon. Two groups played it this morning and both said it was very scary..."
Before he could finish speaking, the boy next to him suddenly sneered, "You look down on us? Let me tell you, what kind of escape room haven't we played in? Do you think we're afraid of yours?"
Xiang Zhixing chuckled and raised an eyebrow with a touch of arrogance: "Don't worry, this level of difficulty is a piece of cake for us."
Shen Muwei, peeking through the crack in the door, muttered somewhat irritably, "Who does he think he is?"
The sound was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz, but Xiang Zhixing suddenly looked up and glanced in his direction, his cold eyes seemingly having spotted the spy.
Startled, Shen Muwei pressed herself against the wall to catch her breath. After a while, she peeked out, only to find that Xiang Zhixing had already looked away.
Ah Jie's initial goal in creating this escape room was to make it the scariest escape room in the country, the scarier the better. It seemed the other person was determined to challenge him, and a strange competitive spirit surfaced. He stubbornly insisted, "I'm not kidding, it's extremely, extremely scary!"
Xiang Zhixing's face was full of disbelief: "Is it that scary? I don't believe it can scare me. The scripts and level settings of your escape rooms are all pretty much the same, and the NPCs aren't very innovative either. Just chasing people isn't scary."
Zhou Chengming chuckled twice and wagged his index finger: "Boss, please stop emphasizing how terrifying this is, our..."
As he spoke, he patted Xiang Zhixing on the shoulder and said, "He's a true master."
Shen Muwei chuckled behind the door. A master? What kind of master? A master who would faint if he stood in the sun for two minutes? So weak, what are you pretending for? I'll show you your true colors in a moment.
Since they are customers after all, Ah Jie nodded and said, "Alright, then we'll arrange this for you."
Shen Hongtao was still rambling on the phone: "Xiaowei, extreme sports are too scary. You can do whatever you like, but let's not do this, okay? Dad will transfer some money to you, it'll be on your card in a bit..."
Shen Muwei lowered her head and said softly, "Dad, let's talk later. I have to go to work now. If you want to send me money, just send it. I'll take it. Bye."
After hanging up the phone, Shen Muwei packed up her phone and prepared to leave when the boss slipped in through the crack in the door.
He patted Shen Muwei on the shoulder and said, "Xiaowei, I'm giving you a difficult task."
He still remembers how terrifying it was when Shen Muwei was writhing and crawling on the ground; it really scared him half to death.
Shen Muwei glanced behind the boss and saw the boss's wife leading Xiang Zhixing and a few others to make preparations.
The boss rubbed his hands together: "Could you add a little something extra to your signature move today?"
Shen Muwei enjoys exciting things, and Xiang Zhixing's attitude just now has also angered her. Since Xiang Zhixing is so arrogant, then let her handle it and teach him a lesson.
She gave a faint smile: "Boss, leave it to me, don't worry."
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