“Ow!!”
Ah~ That familiar opening scream again.
Mo Qingrou had long since gone numb to it. She stared at the wooden dummy right in front of her face, dressed in a Black Impermanence costume complete with a tall hat. Its pale little face was smeared with two red cheek spots.
Especially those eyes—painted pitch black with only dark pupils and no whites at all.
Pfft, what a quirky little thing.
Mo Qingrou eyed the “ghost” up close, its wooden expression as blank as ever. She raised her hand and shoved the fake dummy right back.
Turns out, the dummy was fixed to the wall of the next room.
Whoa, fierce! Liang Sheng nearly burst into applause. This was true heroic light! This was the light of justice!
But even after it was pushed back, Liang Sheng still hovered timidly, not daring to step into the other room.
Mo Qingrou went in first. After confirming there were no more traps, she waved to Liang Sheng, signaling that it was safe and beckoning her to come on in.
Tears welled in Liang Sheng’s eyes. Mo Qingrou really was a woman who made you feel utterly secure!
Liang Sheng took a deep breath and stepped into the next room.
Now, over on Gu Yuqi’s side.
After Gu Yuqi and Bai Zhen entered their room, the two ignored each other completely. Song An’an was so scared that tears were about to spill out, but she didn’t know who to turn to.
Ni Sihan, though a bit frightened, wasn’t on the verge of tears like Song An’an.
Still~ she had to put on a show of fragility.
So when the staff member jumped out to scare them, Ni Sihan lunged straight toward Bai Zhen.
At that exact moment, Bai Zhen had spotted a fake dummy and leaned in to examine it.
As she studied it, she noticed the dummy’s black eyes staring toward the right-hand wall.
What was on that wall? Curious, Bai Zhen darted over to check it out.
And right then, Ni Sihan came flying at her.
Bai Zhen didn’t catch her, but as the saying goes, when heaven closes one door, it bolts it shut with a heavy lock besides.
Ni Sihan ended up crashing into the dummy instead—a grotesque half-human, half-exposed muscle prop.
Huh? Why was Sister Bai Zhen so hard? Eyes squeezed shut, Ni Sihan had no idea what had just happened.
“Ni… Ni Sihan…” Gu Yuqi finally spoke up, stunned by the scene. “What… um… what are you doing?”
Ah! Was the other handsome girl jealous?! Ni Sihan recognized Gu Yuqi’s voice and figured her hug with Bai Zhen had sparked envy in the others.
Smug with her apparent success, Ni Sihan congratulated herself on her smooth strategy.
“Ni, Ni, Ni, Ni, Ni Sihan…” Song An’an’s voice cracked from fear as she nibbled on her little hand. “Classmate Ni Sihan, you’re so brave. Not scared at all.”
Huh? Scared of what? Something felt off to Ni Sihan all of a sudden.
She opened her eyes and looked up.
Holy crap—direct lightning strike to the eyes.
“Waaah!!!” This time, she was genuinely terrified. She scrambled away on all fours and bolted toward Gu Yuqi.
Gu Yuqi wasn’t as gentle with other girls as she was with her own little junior sister Liang Sheng. Faced with the wild, panicked Ni Sihan charging at her with a twisted expression, she felt at a loss.
Should she dodge? Gu Yuqi hesitated, thinking it wouldn’t look good—after all, this was her little junior sister’s classmate.
But letting Ni Sihan cling to her felt too awkward, and she wasn’t in the mood to comfort her.
As Gu Yuqi wavered, Ni Sihan latched onto her waist, burying her head in Gu Yuqi’s stomach, her knees nearly buckling to the floor.
“Hey, you…!” Gu Yuqi’s arms shot out, hovering awkwardly without daring to rest on Ni Sihan’s shoulders.
“Pfft~” Bai Zhen, watching the drama unfold, pulled out her phone without a second thought.
Snap~ Fresh photo captured.
Bai Zhen dangled the phone in front of Gu Yuqi.
Gu Yuqi’s heart sank. Was she going to show this to Little Junior Sister Liang Sheng?!
“Ni Sihan,” Gu Yuqi said urgently, shoving at the clingy nuisance on her. “Don’t hug me so tight—I can’t breathe.”
But Ni Sihan wasn’t listening; she was too freaked out to think straight.
Whoosh~ Adoration Value dropped.
“Gu Yuqi’s Adoration Value toward Ni Sihan: Unable to view.”
What a pain. Gu Yuqi itched to shove her to the ground right then. She was terrified Bai Zhen might send that photo to her Little Junior Sister Liang Sheng—and even more afraid that Liang Sheng might misunderstand, pulling away from her as a result.
Losing her temper would be minor; if Liang Sheng got disappointed and saw her as some loose woman who’d let anyone cuddle up, that would be disastrous!
The Adoration Value alert snapped Ni Sihan back to reality. Once she came to her senses, she awkwardly released her grip on Gu Yuqi’s slim waist.
“Phew~” Gu Yuqi exhaled in relief and hurried over to Bai Zhen.
Bai Zhen smirked playfully, tilting her head back.
At 180 cm, she was already tall, yet she’d squeezed into five-centimeter heels besides.
Gu Yuqi, at 178 cm, was a full seven centimeters shorter—a disadvantage that made her presence feel diminished right off the bat.
“What’s wrong, little sister? Staring at me like that?” Bai Zhen held her phone up to her lips, deliberately positioning it where Gu Yuqi could get a good look.
“The phone,” Gu Yuqi said darkly, extending her hand. “Hand it over.”
Bai Zhen stuck out her tongue mischievously and stuffed the phone into her pocket, clutching it tight.
“Little sister, taking someone else’s things by force is bad manners, you know.” Bai Zhen adopted a big-sister tone, lecturing smoothly.
Gu Yuqi gritted her teeth. “You took that photo without my consent. That’s unethical, and not something a grown woman should do. Delete it, please.”
The tension crackled like a showdown was brewing. Nearby, Song An’an and Ni Sihan shrank back in fear.
The staffer hiding in the corner had no idea what was going on but tensed up anyway.
Women catfighting was fiercer than ghosts versus humans! Hair-pulling, heels flying. Both staffers flashed to those fight videos they’d scrolled through.
But refined types like Gu Yuqi and Bai Zhen wouldn’t resort to hands, right?
Bai Zhen still wouldn’t let go of her phone. Smiling at Gu Yuqi, she said, “I just thought you looked so cute, sister dear, so I snapped one pic. Don’t be so stingy, little one.”
That attitude, those words—it was pure main wife energy, like an empress from ancient times schooling the emperor’s concubine.
Gu Yuqi laughed out of sheer annoyance. “No, you’re the pretty one. Just delete the photo. And stop with the ‘little sister’ bit. Looks like our big star’s been filming some costume drama lately!”
