Chapter 15: Reason for meeting: I want to sit and waste time with you...
The next day, Fang Xin'ai and Chang Xile sat opposite each other and reflected on their mistakes.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have indulged in drinking and admiring handsome guys." Fang Xinai lowered his head in shame.
"I really don't know how much I can drink." Chang Xile simply decided to quit drinking, which hadn't yet made her addicted.
Now that there is no problem with the bar, the next step is to investigate the haunted house.
"So what is the name of this haunted house?" Chang Xile asked.
"Nameless haunted house."
"No name? Then how can players get information about it on various apps?"
"I mean, this shop is called the Nameless Haunted House." Fang Xinai smiled and nodded at Chang Xile's head. She hadn't gone to the haunted house for fun before, but had worked part-time as a ghost NPC for a week out of interest.
Several people specifically checked the user reviews of the "Unnamed Haunted House" on various apps, and many people exclaimed, "It's too scary!" This is very normal for a haunted house, and it can even be considered a good review.
"Three people mentioned that the child NPC in the mirror in the corner of the third level kept talking to himself, and they didn't know what the point of this setting was." Chang Xile noticed some common points in the comments.
Fang Xinai looked up and agreed, "Yeah, I used to be behind the mirror, responsible for pulling people's ankles. I felt bored when no one was around, but he ignored me when I tried to talk to him."
"But isn't it illegal to employ child labor?" Chang Xile discovered a blind spot.
"We'll know when we go and take a look tomorrow." Yang Guisi made the decision.
"No, why do I have to go to the haunted house too?" After class the next day, Chang Xile hugged the classroom door frame and refused to move. Fang Xinai tugged at Chang Xile's arm, while Yang Guisi tried to persuade her.
"Don't you also think there's something wrong with the haunted house?" Yang Guisi was puzzled by her change of mind at the last minute.
"I said it's very likely a haunted house! I didn't say I was going there!!! I'm useless and will only cause more trouble if I go." Chang Xile shook his head vigorously.
"Baby, I don't allow you to say that about yourself. You are very useful!" Yang Guisi threw out a flyer to show her. There were all kinds of ghosts and monsters drawn on it, and one line of red words was particularly shocking.
[Group of four, half price per person!]
"Only four people can play at home. If there aren't enough people, we have to rely on strangers. But what we want to do is not convenient for ordinary people to participate, so..."
"Am I not an ordinary person? I am also an ordinary person!" Chang Xile said sadly and angrily.
"An unlucky ordinary person who saw a weasel disguised as a human?" Yang Guisi asked her slowly, "Do you still want me to find a master to help you?"
"Let's go quickly. It'll be dark if we're any later." Chang Xile released the door, straightened her clothes, and prepared to leave with them as if nothing had happened. She looked at the two who hadn't reacted yet and said gracefully, "Any other questions?"
Fang Xinai pointed at the red words on the flyer: "We have four people in our group, but we're still one short."
Yang Guisi looked over at Ren Qing, who was still sitting in the classroom and hadn't left yet. He knocked on the door and asked, "Are you going, Ren Qing?"
Fang Xinai was helped back to the dormitory by her yesterday. After thanking her awkwardly this morning, they still couldn't get back to their previous good relationship, so she didn't say anything.
Chang Xile had a feeling Ren Mei would refuse, not only because she had already refused to go to the bar together the last time, but also because Ren Mei was also afraid of ghosts, as evidenced by her frequent nightmares about ghosts.
As expected, Ren Qing shook his head and said "No".
When they reached the dormitory building, Fang Xinai sighed, "We're one person short. Do we have to rely on passersby?"
Yang Guisi thought for a moment and asked them, "Do you have any other reliable acquaintances? Actually, the requirements are not too high. They just need to be able to keep secrets, stay out of other people's business, and be braver than you two."
Just as a vicious dog likes to chase and bite those who are afraid of it, ghosts are the same. As long as you are not afraid of ghosts, they can't do anything to you.
However, they had only been at the school for a month, and although they knew many people, they had few close relationships. After some calculation, they found that there was no one who met the requirements.
Fang Xinai thought for a while, then suddenly turned to ask Chang Xile, "Is your boyfriend free?"
"Huh?" Chang Xile was stunned. To be honest, if Fang Xinai hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have thought of Anping.
"You have a boyfriend?" Yang Guisi was slightly surprised.
"Yes, but I can't blame you for not knowing. They're completely different from the couples I usually see. When they're in the throes of love, they can't wait to be together all day and night, and even at night they'll walk each other back to the dorm and cling to each other non-stop." Fang Xinai had actually wanted to ask this for a long time, "And you're staying in the dorm with us all day and night. Are you really in a relationship?"
Chang Xile and Anping didn't see each other often. Most of the time, they would just sit together by Linhuan Lake or in the studio. She would take pictures of the scenery while Anping quietly painted her.
As for how ordinary lovers get along with each other, Chang Xile doesn't understand.
"Then don't you think this kind of love is boring? Not exciting at all." Fang Xinai was sincerely confused.
"But he's really handsome." Chang Xile blinked and said sincerely, "As soon as I saw his face, all my anger disappeared."
Fang Xinai had to admit: "That's true."
Anping had few friends, so he was indeed well-suited to keeping secrets. However, Chang Xile couldn't help but wonder, was he brave enough?
He always looked gentle and bookish. However, they spent so little time together that Chang Xile never asked him if he was afraid of ghosts.
Thinking of this, she simply took out her cell phone and sent a message.
(＾v＾): [Are you afraid of ghosts?]
After a full ten minutes, Anping still didn't reply.
Chang Xile put away his phone and said firmly, "He doesn't usually like to look at his phone."
The last time Fang Xinai heard such rhetoric was when Yang Guisi described her otherworldly master. Honestly, the relationships between these people, whether mentor or apprentice, or lovers, didn't seem as close as the one between her and her neighbor—at least every time she invited him for a late-night snack during the holidays, he'd reply instantly.
She suddenly recalled: "Didn't you say that he told you before that he didn't even have a cell phone?"
Chang Xile recalled it with amusement: "This is true. At the time, I thought he was just looking for an excuse to reject me."
That day by Linhuan Lake, Anping gave Chang Xile the painting he'd made for her, and Chang Xile made it her social media profile picture. She happily rolled up the paper and placed it in a long cylinder, planning to take it home and frame it when the holidays came.
"Xile, your avatar is so beautiful." Ren Qing was the first person to notice that Chang Xile's avatar had changed. Originally, her avatar was a cloud in the shape of a little white cat.
"What's that avatar? Let me see!" Fang Xinai immediately rushed over to join in the fun. She clicked on Chang Xile's WeChat profile picture, and the new image took a second to refresh. The next second, they heard her exclaim, "It's beautiful! Is this hand-painted?"
Chang Xile nodded, and then heard Fang Xinai say "eh" in confusion. She looked up and asked uncertainly, "Is this the same place as the photo you printed today?"
"That's right, let me tell you, that lake is super beautiful, and it's most beautiful at sunrise!" Chang Xile was very excited when he mentioned his experience of the past two days. Looking back, he still felt like he was dreaming.
Anping always gave people an unreal feeling, making her feel like an elf that only appeared in dreams.
"Ah, I found it." Ren Qing took out the school map she had asked for from her senior and pointed at the wooded area at the westernmost part of the map. "Is this it?"
"That's not the point!" Fang Xinai stroked her chin. As perceptive as she was, she suddenly smiled with an ambiguous smile and asked Chang Xile, "Was this painting painted for you by the beauty in your photo?"
She placed a heavy emphasis on the word "beauty".
"Yes." Chang Xile nodded again, but this time she seemed a little absent-minded, as if she was thinking about something.
Judging from Fang Xinai's emotional experience, this kind of behavior similar to exchanging tokens is usually in the budding stage of a new relationship, but Chang Xile himself is not sure whether he is aware of this.
In fact, Chang Xile was not aware of it at first.
"original".
In other words, she has realized it now.
The story begins when she and Anping parted in the morning.
Chang Xile and Anping quietly admired the entire sunrise together. Then she stretched and asked Anping with a smile, "This time, you still have to tell me, don't you have a cell phone?"
Anping turned his head to look at her, seemingly confused: "What's the use of a cell phone?"
"Can two people who are far away from each other contact each other?" Chang Xile had never heard of this question before. She tilted her head and tried to summarize it.
Anping was still digesting the meaning of this sentence, while Chang Xile suddenly stopped worrying about it.
She still didn't think it was possible for an ordinary person living in society to not have a cell phone, or rather, it was impossible for them not to even know what a cell phone was used for. Saying "no" was probably just a way to reject her.
Many people have exchanged contact information but have never spoken a single word to each other in their lives. Some people don't even know each other's names but may have shared extremely deep memories.
After these two days, Anping still didn't want to exchange contact information with her, and the painting was just a return gift for the photo.
Fate cannot be forced. Since Anping is unwilling to give it, she shouldn't force it.
"I understand." Chang Xile smiled with relief and said to him, "Then, see you again if we're lucky."
She stood up and planned to go back to the dormitory to take another nap.
Anping also stood up and asked her, "Should I take you home today?"
Chang Xile shook her head. She took out her phone and shook it, saying proudly, "I've found the map of the school!"
Anping stared at the "cell phone" she mentioned, as if thinking about something. He didn't even respond when Chang Xile said goodbye to him.
When Chang Xile was about to walk into the woods, Anping suddenly asked, "Will we meet again tomorrow?"
Chang Xile paused, turned around, and didn't quite understand what Anping meant. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
"If there is nothing wrong, can't we meet?" An Ping asked back.
"That's not the case..." Chang Xile opened his mouth slightly, not knowing what to say for a moment, "But people always need a reason to meet each other, right?"
For example, I have something to say to you.
For example, I have something to give you.
For example, I heard that the food in that restaurant is delicious, why don’t we go and try it together?
"Reason?" Anping pondered for a while. It was the first time that Chang Xile saw him with such an embarrassed expression.
Just when Chang Xile was about to say, "Alright, alright, don't think about it. We can still meet even without a reason," Anping finally looked up, as if he had finally found the perfect words to express his thoughts:
"because I love you."
"So, I want to bask in the sun with you, enjoy the scenery, and sit and waste time with you."
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