53

 6 a.m.

  Just a few hours after the boys' dorm quieted down, Zhao Ying and Liu Shuyao from the girls' dorm quietly got up. One was applying foundation, the other curling her hair. The desk was cluttered with bottles and jars.

  Before they left, Liu Shuyao didn’t wear the dress with large cut-outs. Instead, she changed into a fitted white dress with red canvas shoes and tied her hair into a neat round bun. With her rosy cheeks, she looked youthful and radiant.

  The escape room was in the city, and they could take the school bus there. Taking the highway would save them a lot of time.

  There were quite a few people going out on the weekend. Liu Shuyao looked at the bus seats, now mostly filled, with only a few empty spots left, and started worrying.

  What if she wanted to sit with her boyfriend?

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Zhao Ying looked at Liu Shuyao, who still hadn’t sat down, and asked.

  Then, following her gaze, she saw Xiang Ran and a few others who had come together and immediately understood.

  “You want to sit with your boyfriend?”

  “Don’t you want to sit with Qi Dong?”

  Zhao Ying blushed a little after being called out by Liu Shuyao. She waved her hand and quickly sat down in the back, stammering.

  “I-I just didn’t want to disturb you and Xiang Ran since you’re all lovey-dovey. Otherwise, who would want to sit with him~”

  “I get it, I get it~”

  Liu Shuyao had barely exchanged a few words with Zhao Ying before she saw Wang Hao and Fatty come up first.

  She noticed that Qi Dong and Xiang Ran were still behind, and suddenly had an idea. She stood up, blocking the aisle, and pointed out seats to Wang Hao and Fatty.

  “You guys sit over there~” Then she regretfully glanced at Qi Dong.

  “There are no more double seats left. How about you sit with Yingying?”

  “Aren’t you going to sit with Zhao Ying?”

  Qi Dong was happy, but he still asked politely.

  “Ah, I get carsick and need to sit in the front!”

  Liu Shuyao pointed to the seats in front.

  Qi Dong, who now had a legitimate reason, happily nodded and headed to the back.

  But before leaving, he didn’t forget his friend, who was still blocked behind Liu Shuyao.

  “Brother Ran...”

  At that moment, Xiang Ran was about to say he didn’t need to worry, but Liu Shuyao cut him off, sounding a bit reluctant.

  “It’s fine, we’ll just make do. It’s not a long ride anyway.”

  But where no one could see, Xiang Ran was gently bumped by his girlfriend’s hip, her eyes holding a hint of mischief.

  After speaking, Liu Shuyao gestured to the seat beside her, once again showing a businesslike demeanor in front of others.

  Xiang Ran didn’t mind, his thoughts lingering on the earlier comment about her getting carsick. He was about to ask if she needed motion sickness patches from the clinic when he noticed the girl in front of him raising her eyebrows, excitedly taking her seat.

  Only then did he realize he’d been tricked again!

  Sure enough, Liu Shuyao couldn’t resist reaching out her hand as soon as she sat down.

  First, she lightly traced along the seam of Xiang Ran’s jeans. When he didn’t react, she slowly ventured deeper.

  But before she could move five centimeters, he shot her a warning look.

  It didn’t work!

  To cover for his girlfriend’s actions, Xiang Ran had to shift over as much as possible, even crossing his legs, but he still couldn’t escape those restless little hands.

  “I just want to hold hands~”

  Liu Shuyao, facing resistance, mouthed the words pitifully.

  “There are people around!”

  Xiang Ran glanced at their surroundings.

  “I don’t care. Figure it out!”

  Liu Shuyao’s expression said that if he didn’t solve it, she’d do it anyway.

  In the end, Xiang Ran had no choice. He took several deep breaths, looked around, and noticed that most of the passengers had already fallen asleep, likely due to the early hour. No one seemed to be paying attention to them.

  So, he used his bag to cover the front and secretly let Liu Shuyao hold his hand.

  But why did this sneaky romance feel kind of thrilling?

  Technically, this was their first time holding hands.

  Xiang Ran felt a soft sensation, as if he were touching the finest silk—smooth, tender, with a slight coolness. Liu Shuyao’s fingertips lightly brushed his palm, sending electric tingles through him. Xiang Ran could feel his temperature rising, his mind wandering into fantasies, but outwardly, he maintained a serious expression, even flipping through “Computability and λ-Definability” with his free hand.

  People really do change. A month ago, if someone told him he’d use Turing’s paper as a cover for a romantic rendezvous, he’d have thought they were crazy!

  When they arrived at their destination, Wang Hao’s girlfriend Xiao Qiao was already waiting at the entrance of the escape room.

  Xiao Qiao and Wang Hao had grown up together as childhood sweethearts and were incredibly close.

  After a quick round of greetings, the group entered the shop.

  As soon as Zhao Ying got off the bus, she looped her arm through Liu Shuyao’s and smiled mischievously as she glanced between her and Xiang Ran.

  “Doesn’t seem like you got carsick today, huh?”

  Liu Shuyao could tell Zhao Ying was teasing her in retaliation for the earlier joke on the bus, so she tilted her chin up.

  “You don’t know that falling in love cures all illnesses!”

  With that, she went over to chat with Xiao Qiao, while Qi Dong and the others went to the front desk to register.

  “There are seven of you?”

  The shop owner looked at the group of six young people, three men, three women... oh, and one more!

  “Our escape room has both pairs and single-player tasks for the first half.”

  The owner briefly explained the group setup, meaning one person would definitely be doing the solo mission.

  “Huh? A solo mission?”

  “Is it scary?”

  Fatty swallowed nervously, clearly not fond of anything too frightening.

  Then he glanced at the group.

  “Wang Hao and Xiao Qiao are a couple.”

  “Brother Dong is here to woo Zhao Ying today.”

  “I definitely need to stick with Brother Ran. He’s brave and smart!”

  “So that leaves... Liu Shuyao by herself?”

  At that moment, the three girls gathered, listening to Fatty’s analysis.

  “But it’s not right to make a girl do the solo task, is it?”

  Fatty looked at Liu Shuyao, thinking she didn’t seem like someone with a lot of courage.

  “Wait a minute!”

  “You want me to do the solo task?”

  Fatty suddenly realized what was happening, but it was too late. Qi Dong and the others, upon hearing his suggestion, immediately agreed.

  Fatty found himself being pushed toward the shop owner while the others split into their respective pairs and headed to their assigned rooms.

  Liu Shuyao had thought that once inside, she could find a place to get cozy with her boyfriend, but things turned out the exact opposite of what she imagined.

  Before she could react, someone blindfolded her with a black cloth.

  Then she was led into a room and placed on a bed.

  She thought that would be the end of it, but the next second, she felt cold metal on her wrist. In the quiet room, she could faintly hear the sound of metal clinking against metal.

  She had been handcuffed!

  Her eyes were covered, her hands were cuffed in front of her chest, unable to stretch or touch anything. The restraint made her anxious.

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