"Chao Chao! You're finally here!!"
Zhu Jinzhao had just reached the entrance of the escape room store when Ning Shi and Jiang Jingwen hugged him tightly.
The two of them hung on either side of her, clinging to her like koalas.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Jinzhao raised his hands, putting an arm around each of them, and asked with a grin, "Did you miss me?"
"No," the two people in my arms said in unison and firmly.
"..." Zhu Jinzhao pursed her lips, instantly losing her desire to smile. "Then what's wrong?"
"Hey..." Ning Shi wiped her eyes insincerely and let go of Zhu Jinzhao. "Without you, there's no one to be the bottom of the bunch of cowards."
“Yes.” Jiang Jingwen also let go of her and echoed, “If you were here, Ning Shi and I wouldn’t be laughed at by them even if we were cowards. But since you’re not here, we’ve become the objects of their ridicule.”
"..." Zhu Jinzhao looked at them expressionlessly, "So my role is to be a little coward and draw your fire?"
"No!" Ning Shi put her hands on her hips and solemnly defended herself, "You don't need to act like a coward, you are a coward by nature! As long as you're around, those men won't bother to laugh at us!"
Zhu Jinzhao: "...Is there a difference? My role is still to draw fire."
"No, no, no!" Jiang Jingwen grabbed her arm and dragged her into the store. "This isn't called drawing fire, it's called diverting the attention of those idiots!"
Zhu Jinzhao: "I don't believe it."
Jiang Jingwen: "You have to believe me!"
Ning Shi: "Zhaochao, listen to our excuses..."
Because the first round of games was too terrifying, the group unanimously chose "Les Misérables," recommended by the host, as the theme for the second round.
“Les Misérables… why does that sound so creepy?” Jiang Jingwen followed behind the host, feeling a chill run down her spine the more she thought about the name.
"Um..." The host paused for a moment, his tone inexplicably a little guilty, "The behind-the-scenes story of Les Misérables is very touching, it shouldn't scare you like the last dungeon."
"...Should?!" Duan Qing was on the verge of collapse. "No, why 'should'? Didn't you say this instance was very gentle?"
"Yes," the host said, speaking with his eyes wide open, "I personally think this instance is very mild."
"Individual..." Xiao Jiming pondered these two words, then his right eye twitched twice. "Damn it, we might have been tricked..."
Ning Shi: "Is it too late to switch dungeons now?"
The host smiled and shook his head: "There's no time, everyone. The venue is ready, please come in."
"Bang!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the host closed the door to the secret room.
"..."
Ning Shi turned her head and saw that the host had already disappeared from the secret room.
"Huh—" Her eyes widened, she gasped, and then said, "It's starting..."
"Aaaaaah!!!"
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
"Ah!! Help!!!"
"Mommy! Let me out! Let me out now!!"
"Ahhh!!! Don't come any closer!!"
Compared to the previous dungeon, Les Misérables is significantly more frightening.
The group of people each had their own way of shouting, and they were all yelling and wailing at the top of their lungs!
Except for Shi Jing and Zhu Jinzhao.
From the moment she entered, Zhu Jinzhao's reaction was indifferent. Even when the NPCs chased after her, she wouldn't scream at the top of her lungs; at most, she would frown and take a few steps back.
Ning Shi looked at her with a terrified expression: "Chao Chao, aren't you scared?"
Zhu Jinzhao calmly shook his head: "I'm not afraid."
Before she traveled through time, she had worked part-time for a few months as a horror NPC in an escape room. She knew that these NPCs were all played by people, and that scaring them was just a job requirement. In addition, she had long been numb to being scared while working, so she was not afraid at all now.
“Shi…Shi Jing…” Ning Shi turned her head stiffly, looking at Shi Jing beside her, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Shi Jing straightened his back and firmly protected Zhu Jinzhao behind him.
"No, I'm not afraid!" he said through gritted teeth, his neck stiff. "I'm not afraid at all! How could a grown man be afraid of something like this?!"
"Wow..." Ning Shi exclaimed enviously, "Shi Jing, you're amazing!"
As she spoke, she shakily extended one hand, preparing to give Shi Jing a thumbs up.
But the next second, Zhu Jinzhao asked, somewhat speechlessly, "If you're not afraid at all, then why are your legs shaking?"
"...Huh?" Ning Shi quickly withdrew her thumb. "Is Shi Jing shaking?"
Shi Jing's expression froze: "..."
"...Stop pretending." Zhu Jinzhao brushed his arm away and pulled him behind her. "If you're scared, hide behind me. I won't laugh at you."
"..." Shi Jing only held her breath for a second before hugging Zhu Jinzhao and leaning on her shoulder, wailing loudly.
"Aaaaaah!! I admit I was faking it just now! Chaochao, help me!!!"
"..."
Everyone: "Tch..."
"I thought you weren't afraid at all..." Qin Ming hid behind Xiao Jiming, pouting and rolling his eyes.
"I...I saw through Shi Jing's act a long time ago." Jiang Jingwen clung to Xie Lang's arm, looking disgusted. "I was just too lazy to call him out on it, you scheming green tea!"
"Hmph..." Shi Jing clung to Zhu Jinzhao's side, complaining pitifully, "Chaozhao, they're talking about me."
"It's okay." Zhu Jinzhao patted his head. "You can hide behind me, I'll protect you."
Shi Jing pouted and replied in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Mmm~~ Chaochao, you're so nice..."
"..." The men stared at him in silence.
Ning Shi: "...Could an NPC come and kidnap him?"
"Ha—" The female ghost in the corner suddenly let out a roar, as if responding to Ning Shi's words.
"Aaaaaah!!!!"
Ning Shi screamed and fled in panic.
Shi Jing: "You're not happy now that you've actually come... Aaaaaah!!! Chao Chao, run!!"
Zhu Jinzhao: "...It seems you've come to the wrong place."
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
"I ran the wrong way, damn it!!"
"Holy crap! Holy crap! That guy over there has an axe!! Run!!"
The wailing and howling erupted again, and Zhu Jinzhao, holding Shi Jing's hand, turned and ran in the other direction.
Zhu Jinzhao is a person who keeps her promises. In the latter half of the game, she always kept in mind her mission to protect Shi Jing. No matter how scary the NPCs were, she held Shi Jing's hand firmly and protected her behind her.
Even after the game ended and they successfully escaped from the secret room, she did not let go of Shi Jing's hand.
Their hands were clasped together for a long time, and both palms were covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Sweat made her palms sticky, and Zhu Jinzhao didn't like the feeling, but she didn't let go of Shi Jing's hand.
Shi Jing hooked his finger and gently scratched her palm, then bent down and whispered in her ear, "Why is Chaochao holding my hand so tightly?"
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