She didn’t hesitate when Feng Yu invited her—she said yes before she even had time to think. As they followed Feng Yu and the others through the maze of the attraction, the girl insisted she knew the way and told them to follow her.
The farther they went the stranger it felt. Finally the girl stopped, looked at Feng Yu and Wu Jin and smiled. “See—” Her words cut off mid-sentence. For a heartbeat there was nothing, and then the girl simply vanished.
Wu Jin let out a terrified shout. He had known better than to follow—he shouldn’t have come looking for excitement at all.
Feng Yu was visibly startled too. She leaned forward, feeling along the floor; the boards were solid. Where had the girl gone?
At that moment someone clapped a hand on Wu Jin’s shoulder. He spun around and came face to face with a ghastly mask—an up-close, grinning ghost face. Without thinking he slapped it, and his fright made him spring straight onto Feng Yu’s back.
Feng Yu’s brows drew together in irritation. This wasn’t the Wu Jin she knew.
“I— I want out! I want out!” Wu Jin kept muttering from her back.
The masked figure backed away, apparently taking the hint. “Xiaoyu, this place is definitely haunted—let’s get out of here,” Wu Jin whimpered.
“Then get off my back,” Feng Yu replied coldly. “Do you want me to carry you all the way out?”
Embarrassed, Wu Jin slipped down gingerly.
Wu Yue wasn’t any braver. She’d fainted before she could even be startled properly; He Feng had carried her straight out of the attraction. As for Wu Jin, he and Feng Yu got separated in the chaos. He stood frozen, trembling, calling Feng Yu’s name in tiny, fearful whispers. Every rustle set him off.
More masked faces popped up as if to mess with him—jump scares materializing from thin air. Once, without noticing, Wu Jin stepped hard on a mask’s foot. The masked figure let out a pained shriek; Wu Jin yelped too. The ghoul fled again.
He tiptoed the rest of the way, convinced he was being hunted.
Feng Yu and He Feng were already outside when they noticed Wu Jin was missing. Feng Yu’s unease grew.
Near the exit a masked face came out first. Behind it, half-dragged, was a familiar figure—who else but Wu Jin? Feng Yu blinked. She hadn’t expected the two siblings to be such cowards. Is this what they meant by being both afraid and drawn to thrills?
When Wu Jin and Wu Yue finally recovered enough to realize they’d made it out, relief washed over them. Wu Jin patted his chest. “Thank goodness. I’m alive.”
But his relief was short-lived. A masked figure suddenly burst back through the door, and Wu Jin screamed as if the world had ended. The figure removed its mask and revealed a delicate, pretty face. A girl, pale and pretty, looked embarrassed and said, “I’m really sorry—did I frighten you?”
Wu Jin stared. This was the same girl from inside the haunted house. Of course—she was a staff member, not a spirit.
Time and calm did their work; Wu Jin’s jittery mood eased.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” he announced and left.
Inside the restroom he overheard the staff girl complaining to a coworker who hadn’t noticed him. “You wouldn’t believe it. That big guy punched me, stepped on me, and hit me a few times—what a brute.”
Wu Jin’s face burned. He stepped forward to apologize, but the girl continued, laughing. “It’s fine. I was keeping my eye on him on purpose—trying to scare him. I wanted to see if he’d really faint. Turns out he’s a total lightweight. Hahaha.”
Wu Jin’s cheeks heated hotter. He couldn’t even be bothered to use the toilet now.
Back at the villa, Wu Yue suggested a walk, but He Feng’s answer surprised her. “Feng Yu, you go— I’ll come.”
Wu Yue’s smile wilted. A little of her hope drained away; no matter what she did, He Feng didn’t seem to reciprocate her feelings.
“I’ll rest first, then,” she tried, but He Feng was quick to change his mind. He set down what he’d been carrying, stretched lazily, and said, “Actually, I’m rested now. Let’s go.”
Wu Yue looked at him in disbelief as he rose and walked out with her.
Feng Yu and the others lounged at the villa for a while, then restlessness set in. They wanted to explore the hot-spring area. She did not expect to run into the one person she most wanted to avoid.
Fu Qianchen had come with them.
“Third brother, I heard this is the best hot-spring spot around. You should relax while you’re here,” Bai Shaoting suggested, smiling.
Fu Qianchen seemed indifferent at first, but when he caught sight of a familiar retreating figure his eyes lit up. “Xiaoyu…”
Bai Shaoting glanced where he was looking, saw only empty air, and raised an eyebrow. He assumed Fu was seeing things.
Feng Yu slipped back into her room and felt the urge to get out of there as fast as she could. She was here to unwind; she hadn’t expected Fu Qianchen’s presence to make that impossible.
Wu Jin noticed that her mood had gone odd and wanted to ask, but Feng Yu shut him down. Despite the enmity between the Wu family and Feng Yu’s enemies, she treated the brothers as friends—and this wasn’t something she wanted to explain.
“I’ve got something urgent— I’m leaving,” she said, packing hastily.
Wu Jin frowned but didn’t press.
Then she realized something important: one of her belongings—her necklace—had been left in the mixed hot-spring area. She rushed to retrieve it.
In the storage room she crawled, peering under crates and through gaps. She finally spotted the chain wedged in a crevice and reached down to pull it free. Her posture was awkward, but she didn’t care about anyone watching.
Triumphant, she drew the necklace into her palm and lifted her head. Her smile vanished. In front of her were a pair of legs and a bath towel. Her gaze traveled up. Fu Qianchen stood there in a towel, his lower half wrapped, his torso exposed—broad shoulders, sculpted abs, a body that made it impossible not to stare.
Feng Yu snapped her eyes away and turned to leave, but he was faster. Fu Qianchen caught her hand and tugged her back toward him.