After telling me the most important rental information about Jiulongju Commercial Street, the guy selling milk tea also handed me the signature milk tea I had just ordered. I took it from him and then handed it to Ye Zhi.
Holding a cup of milk tea, Ye Zhi asked me, "Are you interested in this commercial street?"
"Would you dare come inside with me and take a look?"
Ye Zhi leaned in and looked inside, then said, "I'm afraid of the dark."
I glanced inside with her and sighed, "This commercial street is quite strange. It's only a fifty-meter alley away from where we are now, but while we're surrounded by people, it's completely deserted... I really want to go in and take a look... If you're scared, just wait here for me for a bit."
Ye Zhi thought for a moment and replied, "Never mind, I'll go in with you. The two of us can look out for each other."
"Haha... You make it sound like you're going through fire and water for a commercial street!"
"For people who are afraid of the dark, this is like going through fire and water."
"Then you'd better not go."
“It’s so dark, I’m worried about you going in alone.”
I chuckled again and replied, "Then let's go on an adventure together... But you're a strange person. You're not afraid of the cold Erhai Lake, but you're afraid of a commercial street without streetlights."
"Everyone has a weakness... When I stay in a hotel alone, I always sleep with the lights on."
Her words reminded me of a detail. At the time, I was staying at Tie Nan's "Fengrenyuan Hostel," and she was staying at the "Haitu Inn" next door. I always saw that the light in her room was on, and I thought she had a habit of staying up late. Only now do I realize that she was afraid to turn off the light to sleep.
I joked, "So you do have times when you stay in a hotel with someone?"
Unexpectedly, Ye Zhi did not take it as a joke. She said to me very seriously, "Sometimes when I travel for work, I stay with my assistant."
I have a really bad habit: once I start joking, I can't stop easily. So I said to her again, "How come I can't remember what your assistant's gender is?"
Ye Zhi glared at me, a rare occurrence for her, and replied, "If I had a bad temper, I would definitely have thrown the milk tea in your face right now."
"You're being too ruthless. I'm someone who makes a living based on my looks."
"How about I throw sulfuric acid at you instead?"
I stared at Ye Zhi for a moment and replied, "Are you possessed by Yang Sisi? Of all the people I know, only she could say something so venomous."
"After spending a lot of time with you, it's hard to stay friendly to you all the time... Now I understand why Sisi always argues with you."
"Why?"
"Because when you don't speak properly, you can be really annoying."
...
After walking through the alley, which was only 50 meters long, Ye Zhi and I arrived at the "Jiulongju" commercial pedestrian street...
It doesn't seem particularly bright from the outside, but once you go inside, you'll find that there is still some light, as some merchants are still holding on. However, this faint light doesn't create any sense of life; instead, it makes this huge commercial street seem even more eerie.
We walked a little further in, and Ye Zhi and I both turned on the backlight of our phones. Ye Zhi was genuinely scared. Before, when we were side by side, we would keep a little distance, but now she stayed right next to me.
After observing for a while, I said to her, "I think the layout of the shops here is quite strange. It seems like the first floor is for shops, and the second floor is used as living quarters by the merchants... If this is a pedestrian shopping street, I really can't understand this design."
"Yes, this design will subtly diminish the commercial atmosphere here."
Ye Zhi and I continued walking forward, and then we came to a fork in the road. Ye Zhi asked me nervously, "Which way do we go?"
"Let's go to the right, and then we'll come back from the left later."
Ye Zhi didn't object; she kept up with me closely...
I thought there would be no more light as we walked deeper into this commercial street, but unexpectedly, a sliver of light appeared from a shop. Ye Zhi became very nervous. She grabbed my arm and said, "Let's go to the left... I can't even imagine if there's a person sitting in that shop right now?!"
"It's pretty creepy... Let's go to the left then."
I turned to leave, and Ye Zhi followed suit. We sheepishly retreated back like that. But then again, it's quite a strange thing that a perfectly good pedestrian shopping street could scare someone like that…
Of course, I was doing this to take care of Ye Zhi; nothing related to superstition could scare me.
Switching to the left, Ye Zhi became even more cautious, but the more focused she became, the more easily she was startled... So, when a dog's "whimpering" came, she was so frightened that she stopped in her tracks and couldn't move.
I deliberately spoke in a trembling voice to comfort him, "Don't be afraid, it's not some monster or demon, it's just a dog locked in a cage!"
"How could there be a dog in this pitch black?"
"Do you think everyone sleeps with the lights on like you? Just because you're scared doesn't mean the dog is scared too!"
After a brief pause, I said to her with a cold smile, "Tell me, how would you feel if I turned and ran right now?"
Ye Zhi held me tightly and replied, "Michael, don't joke like that, I'm really scared."
"Do you feel like I tricked you?"
"Yes, I shouldn't have come in with you."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com