AD Chapter 25

“……?”

“Did your brain get stuck in the door?”

That’s what Shen Du had thought the moment he saw him.

This person was crazy.

Qin Yi raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you wish for something good from me?”

“Who told you to say something like that out of the blue?” Shen Du replied irritably.

Their interaction was so familiar that Lin Yanjin and the others couldn’t help but react. “So, you two really do know each other!”

“Hello, I’m Qin Yi, Shen Du’s… friend,” Qin Yi said, pressing his lips together as he introduced himself.

He deliberately paused on the word “friend.”

However, since almost everyone Shen Du hung out with were straight guys with no ulterior motives, they didn’t catch the underlying meaning in his words.

Lin Yanjin smiled and said, “Hello, hello, I’m Lin Yanjin.”

Sisi also introduced herself, “I’m He Siyang, but you can call me Sisi, like everyone else. We’re all friends of Shen Du.”

Xiao Jia shyly said, “Hello, just call me Xiao Jia.”

When it came to Xiao Pang, the mood shifted. He was always drawn to strength, and after noticing the muscles on Qin Yi’s arm, he stared blankly and said, “Shen Du… your friend is really handsome.”

Only Sisi’s girlfriend was full of excitement as she asked, “Are you really just friends?”

“…”

Sisi quickly pulled her girlfriend back, covering her mouth, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, my girlfriend has been reading too many novels lately, and her imagination runs wild.”

Shen Du silently furrowed his brows.

Qin Yi smiled generously. “It’s fine.”

Sisi’s girlfriend’s eyes lit up.

Shen Du coldly remarked, “You’re quite generous.”

Qin Yi pressed his lips together, not responding, and instead asked, “Are you all going out to have fun?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going too.”

Qin Yi calmly nodded. “Is that okay?”

Shen Du: “…”

He looked at him with a strange expression, as if he were meeting him for the first time.

“Of course, the more the merrier!” Xiao Pang, oblivious to the tension between the two, said, “Right, Shen Du?”

Shen Du didn’t speak, but it was clear he was tacitly agreeing.

The escape room was a bit far from here, but it was okay by car; it would take about ten minutes.

Lin Yanjin called out to everyone, “Later, Sisi, her girlfriend, and Xiao Jia will ride with me. Xiao Pang, you take Shen Du and his friend.”

Xiao Pang patted his chest. “Got it.”

A few minutes later, the car arrived.

Xiao Pang called Shen Du and Qin Yi to get in. The driver, an older man, was playing “The Most Dazzling Folk Style” by Phoenix Legend, and was very into it, swaying along to the music while chatting with Xiao Pang.

In the backseat, Shen Du was looking down at his phone.

Qin Yi sat on one side, tugging at his collar, slightly uncomfortable.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

[°: Are you stalking me?]

[Blame: I thought you were planning to ignore me forever.]

[°: (Eye roll)]

[Blame Do we really have to talk like this?]

“So what are you here for?” Shen Du put his phone away, turned his head, and gave Qin Yi a once-over. “Still dressed like this.”

Qin Yi propped his hand on the car window and shifted his gaze to the right.

His voice was low, the tone lazy and smooth, as he responded, “Like what?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Shen Du said coldly, “One thing you should know, no matter how young you dress, you’re still…”

Shen Du paused for a moment. He had originally wanted to say “overdressed,” but then thought better of it.

“Then what?” Qin Yi asked.

“Still can’t escape the fact that you’re older,” Shen Du raised his eyes, meeting Qin Yi’s gaze without fear, speaking clearly and slowly, “Your eyes are full of scheming.”

“Is that so?” Qin Yi squinted, the corners of his eyes slightly lifted. “Then tell me, what have I been scheming?”

You’ve been scheming against me.

Shen Du thought to himself.

“You must have an agenda. I don’t believe you can pretend all day,” Shen Du said firmly.

Qin Yi’s gaze was not gentle at all, in fact, it looked somewhat dangerous. But Shen Du was not afraid at all. He didn’t know where his confidence came from, but he continued to stare back at Qin Yi as if whoever moved first would lose.

Psychology says that if two people maintain eye contact for more than eight seconds, they will start feeling attracted to each other.

Around the seventh second, Shen Du moved.

He raised his hand, as if to slap Qin Yi across the face. His movement was large, and his expression was anything but gentle, even furrowing his brows as if he were about to give a slap.

However, Qin Yi remained motionless, not even blinking, keeping his posture unchanged, his gaze fixed on Shen Du from behind his glasses.

But Shen Du’s thumb only lightly brushed the tip of Qin Yi’s nose.

It was like a dragonfly skimming the water, yet it stirred up a storm.

Shen Du’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he withdrew his hand, rubbing his thumb lightly against his palm. “Why didn’t you dodge?”

The spot where the boy’s thumb had brushed against his nose itched, the sensation of skin rubbing together tickling. Qin Yi still looked at him, not blinking, and asked softly, “Are you being a pervert?”

Shen Du raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think that mole of yours looks real.”

He remembered it wasn’t there before.

Qin Yi chuckled softly, the sound vibrating in his chest. He admitted, “Mm, I got it done. Does it look good?”

Shen Du slightly tilted his head and mouthed a word without sound, his lips moving as if saying: “Nonsense.”

Up ahead, Xiao Pang was still chatting loudly with the driver.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

The place was quite popular, so it was easy to find a spot, but they still had to wait in line. Lin Yanjin, acting like the head of the group, said, “Let’s go sit over there and wait.”

There was a group of young people already sitting in the waiting area.

“I saw online that the first room is a single-person room, and you have to open the door by yourself before you can meet up with others,” Lin Yanjin said.

“Is it that intense from the start?” Xiao Pang asked, voicing his main concern, “What about the NPCs? Do they say when they’ll show up?”

“Why ask about that? The whole point is the thrill, don’t you get it?” Sisi responded.

“You guys might be excited, but can someone help me out?” Xiao Pang said worriedly. “Shen Du, my good buddy, can you come find me right after you open the door?”

Shen Du had been surprised when he first heard about the NPCs, but after thinking about it, since they were all just people, he wasn’t that scared anymore. Plus, he always had the image of the big brother in front of his friends, so naturally, he couldn’t say no.

“I’ve got your back,” he nodded, suddenly feeling someone tugging at his sleeve.

He turned around—it was Qin Yi.

“?”

Shen Du gave him a confused look.

Qin Yi looked at him but didn’t say anything.

Shen Du repeated his question with another confused glance.

“What’s up?”

Qin Yi lowered his eyes, his long and thick lashes casting a shadow, his gaze calm, and his lips slightly pursed. His hair was jet black, and it seemed like he had curled it before coming, making his face appear smaller and younger.

With his current expression, looking so fragile, if Shen Du didn’t know him, he might actually believe that he was in his early twenties.

Shen Du: “…”

Shen Du: “What’s with that look? Say something.”

“Don’t go looking for your friends later.”

Qin Yi was still Qin Yi, clearly asking for something, yet it sounded like an order.

“Why?” Shen Du asked. “If I’m not looking for him, who should I look for?”

The boy lowered his head and glanced at the hand still holding onto his sleeve. He chuckled softly and said, “Are you going to look for me?”

Qin Yi still didn’t speak.

But Shen Du had already figured it out. Qin Yi was afraid.

He hadn’t expected this grown man to be scared of an escape room.

Serves him right for trying to act tough.

“Qin Yi, looks like you’re in trouble,” Shen Du smiled at him, finally finding a weakness to exploit.

If it weren’t inconvenient right now, he would shout it to the world with a loudspeaker.

It seemed like Qin Yi’s private fear had been exposed, and his expression turned a little sour, his lips pressing down in frustration.

Shen Du laughed so hard that he almost fell over.

Xiao Pang didn’t understand what was going on, but he felt a little uneasy. “What’s going on with you?”

Lin Yanjin and Sisi also looked over.

“It’s nothing to do with you, keep talking,” Shen Du waved his hand.

The others felt it was strange but didn’t dwell on it, turning back to continue their conversation.

Meanwhile, Qin Yi was still waiting for Shen Du’s response.

“Do you want me to come find you?” Shen Du hummed, not waiting for an answer. “Beg me.”

He was so caught up in his joy that he didn’t notice the faint smile that slowly curled at the corner of Qin Yi’s lips.

After waiting for half an hour, a staff member came to take them inside.

After putting on blindfolds, everything went pitch black, and the only senses they had of the outside world were their hearing and touch.

Xiao Pangimmediately panicked and screamed, drawing the attention of many people around them. “Shen Du, remember to come find me, okay?”

He was blindly groping around when he suddenly touched a pair of hands and felt relieved. “Shen Du?”

Xiao Jia paused for a moment and said, “Brother Liu, it’s me.”

“Oh, it’s you,” Xiao Pang patted him on the back. “Don’t be scared. Once I meet up with Shen Du, I’ll come find you. If you can’t get out, it’s okay, just wait for us.”

Xiao Jia was silent for a moment, then said, “Brother Liu, if you’re really scared, maybe I should come find you later.”

“Why would you come find me? With your small build, you’re not even enough to scare those NPCs,” Xiao Pang said seriously. “I’ll wait for Shen Du.”

Xiao Jia: “…”

He actually wanted to say that it seemed like Shen Du might not necessarily go looking for him first.

Shen Du was the first to enter.

He could feel the staff member guiding him into a room, and the person’s heavy breathing made Shen Du instinctively shrink his neck and unconsciously step back a little. He turned his head toward the sound, “I want to ask, do you know which room the tallest guy here will be taken to?”

The staff member maintained a professional demeanor, “I don’t know.”

Shen Du had expected this response, so he wasn’t surprised. Unhurriedly, he started to make up a story, “That person has a manic disorder and claustrophobia, he’s very strong, and if he doesn’t see anyone for a long time, he might go crazy.”

After all, no one else would know.

The staff member: “…”

He had heard many excuses like this before, so he wasn’t about to believe it.

Seeing that the staff member still wouldn’t speak, Shen Du frowned, feeling a bit stuck. This wasn’t going the way he had imagined.

“We’ve arrived,” the staff member said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ll leave you here. After I exit, you can take off your blindfold, and the game will officially begin.”

As the staff member was about to leave, Shen Du called out, “Wait a second.”

Staff member: “?”

The room was dimly lit. The boy slightly pursed his lips, his delicate neck from the jawline to the collarbone illuminated by the light, showing fine hair. His nose bridge beneath the blindfold was beautiful.

Meanwhile, in another room.

Upon hearing the sound of the door closing, Qin Yi took off his blindfold and held it in his hand. After waiting for his eyes to fully adjust to the light, he scanned the surroundings.

The room was quite dark, with many oil paintings hanging on the walls.

In front of him was a password door, and it seemed like he had to solve the puzzle to get out—or wait for someone to enter from the outside.

There was a light overhead, and the switch was on the right wall. Qin Yi walked over to turn it on. But just as he was about to reach for the switch, a small section of the wall holding the switch suddenly fell away, and an NPC with disheveled hair popped out from the hole, shouting, “Wow—”

“…”

Qin Yi quietly watched the NPC’s wild and noisy performance, not even raising an eyebrow.

NPC: “…”

The NPC silently put the wall back up, probably thinking it was unlucky.

The light came on, and the room became brighter, making it easier to find clues.

Qin Yi walked around the room and quickly figured out where the mechanism was.

It was the book on the bookshelf.

As long as he solved the puzzle, he would be able to find the code to get out.

Qin Yi opened the bookshelf and took the book.

But instead of continuing, he casually tossed the book back onto the shelf, then went to turn off the light again, walked to the center of the room, and sat down on a chair.

The entire small room was eerily quiet.

He closed his eyes and occasionally tapped his index finger on the table, showing great patience.

About five or six minutes later.

Beep, beep, beep.

Someone was entering the password, and from the sound, it was coming from outside the door.

Qin Yi opened his eyes, and at that moment, Shen Du had entered the correct password, and the door opened.

Their eyes met.

After a moment of silence.

“You’re sitting here?”

“How did you know I was here?”

They both spoke at the same time.

Shen Du entered and said irritably, “I just happened to solve the door, who knew it would be you inside.”

Qin Yi replied with a regretful tone, “Oh, I thought you were going to take care of me again.”

He stood up and walked over to Shen Du. His tall figure immediately enveloped Shen Du, and his vision darkened. Shen Du instinctively stepped back and frowned, “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

“You just came in and sat down? Didn’t even look for clues?”

Qin Yi looked at him, his gaze deep like water in the night. He was about to speak when Shen Du waved his hand, “Alright, I got it. If you’re scared, just follow me. I’ll take you out.”

Qin Yi paused and said, “Okay.”

“My puzzle over there was easy, yours shouldn’t be difficult either,” Shen Du said as he scanned the room. The layout seemed very different from his own room.

But the lighting was too dim, making it a bit difficult to find clues. He had to turn the light on first.

Qin Yi followed behind him, staring at the back of his head.

Although he had said he would only come if Shen Du asked, he still softened and followed. Qin Yi silently smiled, his gaze softening.

He followed for a while, then heard Shen Du say, “Found it.”

Qin Yi wanted to ask what he had found, but when he looked up, he realized it was the place where the NPC had appeared earlier.

“Shen Du…” he called out, but it was too late. The room was small, only two or three steps in total. Shen Du had already reached the switch and extended his hand.

So—

“Wow!”

“Dammit!”

Shen Du was startled by the sudden appearance of the NPC. He stepped back, but accidentally stepped on Qin Yi’s foot, and the back of his head bumped into Qin Yi’s nose. The latter winced in pain.

It really hurt this time, and Qin Yi furrowed his brows.

Shen Du fell into his arms, his back against Qin Yi’s chest. The scent of Qin Yi surrounded him. He could distinctly feel the warmth of the embrace, and the sound of their heartbeats echoed in his ears. For a moment, he was stunned.

Qin Yi’s arms wrapped around him, his hand resting on his lower abdomen, his chin resting on the top of his head.

His breathing was light.

This was the first time they were so close.

Time seemed to freeze, and neither of them made a move. Until the NPC let out a long, “Eh…”

He rubbed his head and put the wall panel back in place.

Shen Du seemed to wake up from a dream. He was frozen in fear and struggled to break free from Qin Yi’s arms, turning on the light.

His mind felt like it was filled with mush, all scrambled. The spot on his back where Qin Yi had touched was burning, a sensation he had never felt before. It was almost suffocating.

Shen Du’s head was spinning.

“Dammit.”

How could there be an NPC here?! Why was it right by the switch? Did Qin Yi do this on purpose? He must have known there was something going on, waiting for him to open it, trying to scare him.

Fuming, Shen Du turned around, “You—”

But the word “you” got stuck in his throat, and Shen Du couldn’t say anything. Because Qin Yi was now tilting his head back, covering his mouth and nose, with blood dripping from his fingers and onto the ground, bright red.

What the hell.

Shen Du was stunned, “What’s wrong with you?”

Could it be that he was the one who caused this…?

Qin Yi lowered his hand, blood staining it, and some on his lips too. He slightly leaned forward, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“You did this.”

Shen Du’s expression was strange. He had been scared and his palms were sweating, but seeing this scene, he couldn’t help but laugh.

When had Qin Yi ever been this miserable?

In fact, Shen Du did laugh, and to make matters worse, he said, “I heard that people with flat noses don’t have very good health. Boss Qin, you seem to be struggling.”

Qin Yi: “…”

After laughing, Shen Du realized it was inappropriate, and a fleeting moment of awkwardness crossed his face. He quickly tried to explain, “Uh… I’m not insulting you, there really is something called a flat nose.”

Qin Yi was so angry that he almost laughed. He wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, blood started flowing into his mouth. Shen Du glanced at him, then slowly moved closer, “How about you sit over there for a bit?”

Qin Yi was covering his mouth and nose, his head tilted slightly forward in an odd posture. Shen Du almost wanted to laugh again but held it back.

He helped Qin Yi sit down near a chair.

Perhaps because of the angle, after Qin Yi sat down, Shen Du could see more clearly. Qin Yi’s nosebleed wasn’t too severe, and he had caught it in time, so he didn’t look as messy as others with nosebleeds. In fact, because of his cold and indifferent expression, there was a strange beauty to it.

Qin Yi’s eyelids drooped, and through his glasses, he just quietly looked at Shen Du.

Shen Du thought he might have broken his brain earlier, because now he actually thought that look was somewhat seductive.

“Wait here.”

He walked back to the wall and knocked on the mechanism panel. After a while, the panel dropped, and the NPC who had scared them earlier peeked out from behind it.

“Hello,” Shen Du said, “My friend has a nosebleed. Do you have any tissues?”

The noise they made caught the NPC’s attention. He nodded, crouched down, and took out an unopened bottle of mineral water and a pack of tissues.

“Thanks.”

Shen Du took the items and walked back. “Do you want to do it yourself, or should I help?”

Qin Yi didn’t speak, only leaning his face forward.

The meaning was clear.

“…”

Shen Du twisted open the water bottle, “Here.”

He tore open the tissue pack and pulled one out. Qin Yi tilted the bottle, pouring water into Shen Du’s hand.

The cool water soaked his hand.

“That’s enough.” Shen Du spread the wet tissue and placed it over Qin Yi’s nose and mouth, then began to wipe, not very gently.

As he wiped, he said, “Your nose, why is it so fragile?”

Qin Yi glanced at him, “Why don’t you say your head is so hard?”

Shen Du: “…”

It seemed true—after all, noses weren’t as hard as heads.

Now that he looked, Qin Yi had a high nose bridge and a big nose tip.

Shen Du lowered his eyes, wiping carefully. When his hand touched Qin Yi’s lips, he paused slightly. The sensation was softer than he had imagined, and he didn’t dare press too hard.

“Is it good-looking?” Qin Yi suddenly asked.

“?”

“Since you’ve been staring at it,” Qin Yi said bluntly, “Is it good-looking?”

“Full of yourself, huh!” Shen Du’s heart was racing.

“How else am I supposed to wipe it if I don’t look?” He said impatiently, “Or do you want to do it yourself?”

Qin Yi didn’t speak, and the area he had wiped was now glistening under the light. Shen Du noticed that Qin Yi’s nose had turned red from the impact.

Shen Du remained silent as he continued to wipe, and after a while, he asked, “Does it hurt?”

It seemed like his headbutt had brought Qin Yi back to his senses. Qin Yi gave a faint smile, his tone turning back to its usual irritating edge, “I won’t die.”

Shen Du: “…”

Damn it, how did he end up feeling sorry for this kind of person!