Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 110 You're Not Afraid, But I Am

Han Zhou panicked.

He really didn't expect that he would lose Mo Yixia without even realizing it; she was clearly with him not long ago.

Getting lost in a haunted house isn't necessarily dangerous, but fear is inevitable. You have to understand that in such an environment, the courage of one person is completely different from that of a group of people. Even though Mo Yixia had shown considerable courage before, she might not be able to remain so calm after being alone.

The thought of that guy wandering around alone in this eerie and terrifying haunted house made Han Zhou's heart clench.

Moreover, given that guy's personality, even if he's scared, he'd never obediently let the staff take him out of the haunted house. He's probably huddled in some corner right now, trembling with fear.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. The most important thing right now was obviously to find Mo Yixia as soon as possible. This haunted house had many forks in the road, and if he didn't turn back and find her immediately, it would be difficult to deal with her if she ran off somewhere else in a panic.

Han Zhou dared to stop and lean against the wall to think, but the others didn't have his courage. They were so frightened by the sudden appearance of the chainsaw killer that they screamed and scrambled to the front, disappearing from sight in no time.

Soon only two people remained in the same spot.

Besides Han Zhou, there was also the chainsaw-wielding killer wearing a terrifying hood standing in front of him.

It has to be said that this NPC is quite dedicated, trying his best to look scary. The chainsaw is whirring as he tries to drive the lingering player forward, but the player stands still and doesn't seem to be afraid at all, as if he doesn't take him seriously at all.

This deeply hurt the NPC who played the murderer.

Han Zhou wasn't being disrespectful on purpose; he was simply trying to recall exactly when he had stopped seeing Mo Yixia.

The haunted house was unusually dark, and everyone had to hold onto the walls to move. He recalled that, at least before the haunted house NPCs appeared, Mo Yixia had been staying close to him.

The other party getting lost obviously happened after the NPC appeared.

As everyone was frightened and ran around, the scene became chaotic. Not only him, but Mo Yixia also seemed to have been pushed away from her original position by the running crowd and gradually drifted away from him.

As for when that guy disappeared, Han Zhou had no idea. He hadn't paid much attention at the time, so even now, he couldn't remember.

He felt somewhat guilty. He was clearly responsible for Mo Yixia getting lost. Ultimately, it was because he trusted that guy too much, assuming that the other person would always stay close to him. As a result, he didn't pay much attention to the other person's movements, which eventually led to the two of them being separated.

Of the two girls he is most familiar with now, Guzheng has amazing physical abilities. She is not afraid of anything except ghosts. Not to mention protecting her, he can even make her protect him.

Mo Yixia, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm at all times, even in the haunted house, seemingly unafraid of anything.

Well, these two guys are both too reliable, which sometimes makes him subconsciously overlook the fact that the other is actually a relatively weak girl.

If he had been more careful, Mo Yixia wouldn't have been lost.

But that guy wasn't one to shout or yell. Even though he was pushed far away, he didn't utter a sound. I don't know if he was too reserved to speak or too calm and indifferent.

Han Zhou pondered for a moment. Mo Yixia was clearly not the type to be reserved. If she really wanted him to turn back, she would probably call him "husband." So there must be another reason...

He suddenly remembered something. In his memory, when everyone was running away, Mo Yixia seemed to have reached out her hand to him, but before he could react, she pulled her hand back, and then her pace slowed down.

Han Zhou snapped out of his thoughts. Now was not the time to waste. Mo Yixia had gotten lost not far behind him. If he moved quickly, he could find her soon. He remembered the route he had taken back, so he immediately started running back along the wall.

Seeing this, the chainsaw killer who had been putting on a show for half a day without success couldn't hold back anymore. He thought to himself, "This tourist is ignoring me, but does he not know how to tell directions?"

So he lowered his voice and kindly reminded him, "It's best not to get separated from your companions in the village. You should go in that direction, hehehe..."

He pointed to the other side of the corridor, the direction everyone was fleeing in. Although it was a well-intentioned reminder, he still couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh, maintaining his persona as a capricious and ruthless killer.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I'm going back to find my lost companions now."

Han Zhou spoke very quickly. He was worried that if he dawdled any longer, Mo Yixia might go astray. So, as he spoke, he grabbed the wall and ran away.

……

Meanwhile, Mo Yixia, alone, was walking slowly down the dark corridor.

She tripped over something while running, tried to grab the wall but accidentally pushed open a door and stumbled inside. She was startled by the NPC hiding in the room, and when she came out, she found that Han Zhou was gone.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh.

That idiot was so focused on running that he didn't seem to notice that he had left her behind. But even if he's slow on the uptake, he should have realized it by now and is probably on his way.

Mo Yixia was certain that once he realized he was missing, he would definitely come back.

She began to reflect on herself, realizing that she hadn't shown enough of the fragility a girl should have in her daily life. Even after entering the haunted house, she hadn't shown any fear, which made Han Zhou quite trusting of her and thus neglect to pay attention to her.

This doesn't seem right... Should I become a little more delicate?

Mo Yixia ended up alone partly by accident and partly by deliberate choice.

She had originally planned to grab Han Zhou's hand and run away together, but then she thought that it should be the other party who took the initiative, since she was a reserved and innocent high school girl, so she withdrew her hand.

However, it's hard to say whether that idiot was too serious or too slow-witted, because he didn't react for a long time. Since that guy wasn't taking the initiative, she would have to create an opportunity herself.

Mo Yixia looked ahead. She remembered that everyone had run along this road. If she kept walking, she should be able to see Han Zhou soon. She would definitely make him apologize properly.

There's nothing I can do if they don't admit their mistake.

After all, I couldn't bear to hit or scold him.

The haunted house wasn't as interesting as she had imagined. It had very little effect on increasing her heart rate, let alone verifying the suspension bridge effect. Perhaps Han Zhou was right; even doing some strenuous exercise would have made her feel her heart rate increase more.

And it's free.

Han Zhou probably never imagined that Mo Yixia was much braver than he thought, and that she wasn't afraid even when walking alone in the haunted house.

This is a courage that even the guzheng player can only envy.

Mo Yixia never considered herself a very brave person. The reason she wasn't afraid was simply because she was more rational than most people and could more clearly distinguish between reality and falsehood.

She couldn't be sure if ghosts existed, but knowing that everything in the haunted house was fake, fear was clearly an unnecessary emotion.

It sounds impressive, but in Mo Yixia's opinion, sometimes it's not a good thing to be too clear about the difference between truth and falsehood.

Looking at the dark corridor ahead, her eyes flickered slightly. Fear could be avoided, but walking alone in such a dark environment, loneliness seemed to be an inevitable emotion.

She instinctively crossed her arms to her chest, but found them empty. She then realized that the black cat doll had been taken away by the haunted house staff for temporary care.

Without that guy around, the haunted house seems less interesting.

Mo Yixia continued forward, when she suddenly heard a strange noise ahead. Then she saw two figures with strange walking postures appearing at the intersection ahead, wandering back and forth in the darkness.

There were no other roads around, which meant that to continue forward, they had to pass by these two long-haired, face-covering men.

Mo Yixia could basically guess how these two guys would scare her next. Most likely, they would suddenly pull back their long hair to reveal a terrifying face as she passed by, and then chase after her while screaming.

She calculated the time and felt that the current situation should basically meet her expectations, so she decided to wait for Han Zhou here and kill some time.

Thinking of this, she immediately pretended to be trembling, looked at the two figures in the distance, and said in a trembling voice, "Um... can you please stop scaring me? I've gotten separated from my boyfriend."

Her voice was soft and she tried to look pitiful, but unfortunately, this was a haunted house, and the two NPCs weren't buying it.

A girl all alone? That's quite rare.

As staff members of a haunted house, scaring people is both their job and their fun, so they certainly won't go easy on players just because of a few words from them.

Instead of moving aside, the two people lingering ahead immediately stopped, mechanically twisting their necks, their eyes beneath long hair fixed on the girl wearing a mask not far away.

As the two blocked the road, the girl trembled even more violently, her voice trembling with tears: "Please, I'm a coward, please just let me through, okay? I want to meet up with my boyfriend first..."

The two NPCs did not respond, but stared at her without moving, already imagining what kind of terrified expression she would show next.

Seeing that her pleas for mercy were in vain, the girl was anxious and scared. She stood there hesitating for a long time before finally making a difficult decision to muster her courage and slowly move forward.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and carefully moved forward, feeling her way along the wall, seemingly intending to pass through with her eyes closed to minimize her fright.

"What a naive girl, does she think this will work?"

The two NPCs were thinking in sync, both determined to make the masked girl scramble to her feet and flee the place, as that would be a fair wage for them.

But just as they were eagerly waiting, the masked girl suddenly opened her eyes, looked behind her with a terrified expression, and screamed, "Who? Don't tap my shoulder!"

Her voice sounded like she was about to cry.

However, despite her terrified tone, there was clearly nothing behind her. The two NPCs could see it clearly; there was absolutely no one behind her, and no one patted the girl on the shoulder.

The two chuckled to themselves, thinking that this little girl was really timid. Was she just imagining things because she was scared?
Although she was trembling with fear, the girl was quite determined. She glanced back several times in terror, but ultimately chose to close her eyes and continue forward, muttering to herself as if trying to bolster her courage.

At this moment, the two NPCs fully demonstrated the professional qualities that haunted house staff should have, remaining motionless in their previous head-turning pose, like hunters waiting for the girl to enter the optimal range of fright.

But then, something unexpected happened to them again.

Suddenly, the girl looked behind her again with a tense expression. This time, her voice was even more panicked than before, and she pleaded in a trembling voice, "Please, I'm a scaredy-cat. You can scare me, but please don't pat my shoulder anymore..."

Her teary-eyed look didn't seem fake at all, as if someone had really patted her on the shoulder. However, the two NPCs could see very clearly that there wasn't even a shadow of anyone behind her, let alone anyone patting her on the shoulder.

Besides, this intersection has always been the responsibility of the two of them, and I haven't heard of any other colleagues coming over to scare people.

"Ha, if you think you can scare us with a self-directed performance, you're being too naive..."

The two quickly guessed the girl's intention. Players scaring NPCs wasn't uncommon; they'd encountered it a few times before. However, just as they were sneering, something truly terrifying happened—

"whee."

Suddenly, a chilling, eerie laugh echoed through the dark corridor.

The laughter came out of nowhere, and it sounded like a little girl's voice, completely different from the girl's voice on the other side, yet it also seemed to come from the girl herself.

Or perhaps… it came from behind her. Thinking this, the two disheveled NPCs felt a sudden chill. They were quite certain there were no other colleagues in this place, and certainly no startling element like a “little girl’s laughter.” Since that was the case…

Where did that laughter come from?

The story of this haunted house is related to a little girl. It tells the tale of a terrifying little girl who plays hide-and-seek and turns everyone into vengeful spirits. Once caught by her, you will become a vengeful ghost who will never be reincarnated...

"whee."

Seemingly sensing the unease in their hearts, the eerie laughter rang out again, this time even sharper than the first time.

The girl in the mask had obviously heard the laughter as well. She looked around in a cold sweat, clearly terrified. Then, she ran towards them without a care in the world, passing by them as if fleeing.

Perhaps because breathing heavily while wearing a mask was uncomfortable, she pulled the mask down a little, just enough to expose her lips.

The two NPCs remained motionless. It was the first time they had encountered such a situation, and they were momentarily at a loss, so much so that they forgot to scare the girl.

They simply couldn't figure out where the laughter was coming from.

Just then, the chilling laughter rang out again, this time followed by an indistinct sentence.

"Hehe, I caught you..."

This time they heard it clearly; the laughter was definitely coming from the girl.

But the girl's mouth clearly hadn't moved...

Both of them were sweating profusely, and suddenly remembered the girl's words, "Don't pat my shoulder," and couldn't help but gasp, their scalps tingling—

In the story of "The Corpse Village," the terrifying little girl uses a pat on the shoulder to indicate that she has caught someone...

Holy crap, did we really attract something evil?

……

Finding Mo Yixia went much more smoothly than Han Zhou had imagined.

When he found Mo Yixia, he was confronting two disheveled NPCs. The two sides seemed to have been locked in a stalemate for a long time, and the atmosphere was quite tense.

To his surprise, the two NPCs were trembling quite violently. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were scared; they were probably playing the role of frozen ghosts. They must have been having a really tough time...

I don't know if it was just my imagination, but when he led Mo Yixia away, the two NPCs seemed to breathe a sigh of relief...

It’s weird.

Anyway, it's good that he's safe and sound; he doesn't seem to be injured.

Han Zhou breathed a slight sigh of relief and looked at Mo Yixia beside him, asking, "Are you alright?"

"Ah."

"Is it really okay?"

"fine."

Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, but still felt it necessary to remind the other person: "But you're shaking so badly, it doesn't look like you're alright..."

Mo Yixia sighed, "You've already figured it out, so why are you asking me?"

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she had been terrified when she was alone, and it was unclear what terrible thing she had experienced.

While blaming himself, Han Zhou couldn't help but feel a little puzzled: "I just find it strange, you shouldn't be this scared, right?"

Mo Yixia said irritably, "You just left me here without a word, and you still have the nerve to criticize me for trembling with fear?"

Han Zhou was speechless for a moment, and quickly admitted his mistake: "It was indeed my oversight. I apologize to you, and I will definitely not do it again next time."

"And next time?"

"No no."

Mo Yixia glanced at him: "Just an apology?"

"What else do you want?" Han Zhou asked, somewhat puzzled.

Mo Yixia didn't answer, but sighed and said with lingering fear, "What should we do if something like this happens again later?"

Han Zhou knew she was referring to losing the other person, and comforted her, "No, it's not. It was a bit chaotic just now because there were too many people. Now it's just the two of us, so I can focus my attention on you. I definitely won't lose you again."

"It's disgusting that you keep staring at me."

Mo Yixia was silent for a moment, then said, "Think again, isn't there a simpler and more effective way?"

She subtly stretched her hand outwards.

Han Zhou didn't notice, assuming she was still scared. After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "Of course I am. If you're really scared, I'll have the staff take us out right now. What do you think?"

Mo Yixia closed her eyes helplessly: "Did you do this on purpose?"

"What do you mean?"

Mo Yixia did not answer, and suddenly a terrifying laugh rang out from her body.

"whee."

Han Zhou was startled and quickly protected the other person, looking around, but he couldn't see anything.

That laughter...

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Finally, he turned his suspicious gaze to the girl beside him and asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Have you learned ventriloquism?"

There was no one else around, and the laughter had been very close. Considering the previous unusual occurrences, he felt that this was not impossible.

"Ah."

Mo Yixia didn't really want to talk to him, but she still admitted, "I'm not very good at it yet, so it's a little difficult to talk."

As if he had just thought of something, Han Zhou's expression suddenly became a little strange, and his lips twitched as he said, "Those two NPCs were shaking so badly just now, could it be that they were scared by you?"

Mo Yixia sighed: "If only you could be that perceptive about important matters someday... By the way, is that laughter scary?"

"It was quite terrifying to be caught off guard."

Mo Yixia nodded in satisfaction, then extended her right hand.

"As I said before, you can hold my hand if you're scared."

Han Zhou gave her a strange look: "But I'm not scared."

This idiot...

Mo Yixia, unable to bear it any longer, glared fiercely at the guy, grabbed his hand without saying a word, and gripped it tightly as if venting her anger.

"You're not afraid, but I am!"

The sound of clenching teeth carried far down the corridor.

Han Zhou was taken aback. Was this guy really that scared?

Mo Yixia rarely experiences such intense emotional fluctuations; it seems she was truly frightened...

However, something was strange. Although it wasn't the first time he had held Mo Yixia's hand, this time he actually felt his heart racing. Was this the suspension bridge effect?
Feeling the soft touch in his hand, Han Zhou couldn't help but have a strange thought: maybe this was Mo Yixia's scheme, planning to use the suspension bridge effect to make him fall in love with her or something...

Thinking about this, he felt both amused and exasperated.

Mo Yixia glanced at him, activated her mind-reading skill again, and said calmly, "This is not the suspension bridge effect. After all, there are no dangerous or exciting situations nearby. Your situation is easy to explain. You have simply fallen in love with me."

Han Zhou wasn't going to believe this guy's nonsense. Suddenly realizing something, he turned to look at the other person for a moment and asked suspiciously, "By the way, why did you suddenly stop shaking?"

Mo Yixia did not answer.

Han Zhou's face darkened, and he said with a toothache, "You weren't just pretending to be scared, were you?"

"so what?"

Mo Yixia didn't take it seriously. "You only get one chance to hold my hand openly. Instead of taking the opportunity to touch it more, you have time to worry about whether I'm really trembling?"

She glanced at the other person, slightly disappointed.

I'm definitely not suited to be a weak girl, and I can't wait for this idiot to take the initiative.

Since he wouldn't reach out, she took the initiative to hold his hand tightly.

Anyway, she wasn't going to let this guy escape.

"Don't hold on so tightly, I'm not going to run away, let's go."

"You're the one who's using force, ouch... don't pinch me!"

"This is to help you wake up."

"..."

The haunted house seems to have become interesting again.

This is from yesterday.
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(End of this chapter)