Serenade

Chapter 15

Bo Yan raised the corners of his lips and leisurely took the milk tea cup. He didn't expect Xu Chaoyang to grab the cup and say to Jin Xi, "Jin Xi, he's a guy!"

Jin Xi looked at Xu Chaoyang innocently, "My brother is a guy too."

Ever since they were little, she and Shen Pingchuan would snatch milk, chicken legs, cakes, etc from each other. There was basically no food they wouldn't fight over. This always gave Shen Shishan, whose worth was tens of millions, the misconception that his family was so poor the kids didn't have enough to eat and had to steal food from each other.

Xu Chaoyang was exasperated, "Jin Xi, Teacher Xu must seriously educate you. All men are pigs, you must keep your distance!"

Jin Xi's clear eyes blinked, "Does that include Teacher Xu too?"

"Of course not, I only care for and cherish you girls, unlike a certain old fox with evil intentions."

Xu Chaoyang glared at Bo Yan.

Bo Yan pushed Xu Chaoyang's hand away and took back the milk tea, disdainfully saying, "You're getting addicted to being a teacher. I'm just helping my student avoid wasting her drink."

"Hmph, just excuses!"

The milk tea was Oreo cookie crumble flavor. Bo Yan pinched a POP pearl into pieces and immediately thick, fragrant chocolate syrup flowed out from the pearl, melting on his tongue.

"Delicious."

"Right?" Jin Xi watched his adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed and tugged at his clothes worriedly, "Senior, save some for me."

Bo Yan shook the bottle, "Oh no, it's all gone already."

Jin Xi: ......

She hadn't even drank a third of it in half an hour, yet this guy finished off her entire milk tea in just a few gulps!

Just what kind of creature are men, drinking delicious beverages like water to quench thirst!

"Then what about the pearls?" She asked anxiously, "Are there any left?"

Bo Yan opened the milk tea bottle cap and peered inside, "There's still lots left."

"I want to eat them!"

So Bo Yan handed the bottle over. Jin Xi bit the straw and carefully sucked up the pearls on the bottom, crunching them one by one. The sweetness melted on her tongue and an unknowing expression of happiness appeared on her face.

"At this rate you'll be sucking them up one by one forever. Here, let me help you." Bo Yan took back the milk tea cup, "Open up."

Jin Xi obediently opened her little cherry mouth. Bo Yan tilted the cup and the pearls slid into Jin Xi's mouth.

"Alright you two, that's enough."

Xu Chaoyang interrupted them, "Even couples in relationships aren't as lovey-dovey as you, feeding milk tea and pearls. Since you're so close, why don't you go upstairs and spend the night!"

Jin Xi's mouth was full of pearls. She steadily crunched each one, her face full of happiness. "Where's upstairs?"

Chu Zhao cheerfully giggled, "A love hotel."

Jin Xi crunched another pearl, "Oh."

Bo Yan saw the fair-skinned cheeks flush red, and the small ears were also red like little rabbit ears. Yet she was still forcing herself to stay calm.

He glared at Xu Chaoyang. "Kids these days, such complex thoughts."

Xu Chaoyang was furious. He swore that in the escape room he would definitely make Bo Yan lose face in front of the girl!

The staff member led them to the escape room entrance. They could occasionally hear desperate screams coming from the room next door. Xu Chaoyang started feeling uneasy.

He braced himself and pretended to be calm, "Tsk, what's with the useless screaming. Are you still a man? L-Later, girls just follow me and don't get lost!"

Bo Yan pulled Jin Xi to his side, leaving only Chu Zhao very graciously following behind Xu Chaoyang.

Including them, there were a total of 5 people entering the escape room this time. Jing Chi was busy and didn't come. The venue also helped them add another chubby round guy to meet the minimum number of people.

They put on blindfolds and lined up in a row to enter the room.

Once inside, Jin Xi could clearly feel the surrounding light darken.

At this time, a low, rich male voice sounded in the background―

"You are art students who have come to Changling Town to sketch. It's gotten dark and you are lost, so you can only spend the night in an abandoned school on the outskirts. After entering the school, you realize you can't get out. You are trapped in this creepy elementary school. Waiting for you will be...something..."

The background audio ended. Everyone took off their blindfolds and found themselves in a pitch black school corridor. The lighting was extremely dim. The surroundings were obscured by gray fog. On the walls were a few shabby bulletin board drawings and award certificates with curled edges.

"The atmosphere is so realistic!" Xu Chaoyang said to the two girls, "Don't worry, Teacher will protect you from danger!"

But just after he finished speaking, something suddenly rolled over from the end of the dark corridor.

Xu Chaoyang paled in fright and continuously retreated, "Holy crap! What is that thing!"

Jin Xi was closest to the thing, and was also startled when it rolled over. But she kept relatively calm.

She could see clearly that the unidentified rolling object was a gray rubber ball.

The other end of the corridor opposite them was still shrouded in darkness. Nothing could be seen.

Xu Chaoyang was badly frightened. He hid behind Chu Zhao, burying his head in her shoulders, "It's a ghost!"

Chu Zhao forcefully shook off his hand clasping her wrist, helplessly saying, "Teacher Xu, it's just a ball, there's no ghost."

Xu Chaoyang's voice changed, "No g-ghost? How did it roll over by itself then!"

Chu Zhao explained, "There's probably a staff member hiding as an NPC up ahead. Don't be scared, aren't you supposed to protect us?"

Only then did Xu Chaoyang raise his head, but he still didn't dare look at the ball, "Yes, I'm here to protect you. Jin Xi, hurry and get behind me!"

Jin Xi had also been quite frightened. Looking at the situation, she felt the most calm one right now was Senior Bo Yan, so she obediently shifted to Bo Yan's side.

Bo Yan's mouth quirked up slightly as he asked, "Scared?"

Jin Xi shook her head unconvincingly.

Bo Yan's eyes curved up gently, "What to do, I'm so scared."

Jin Xi thought for a bit before saying, "Then let's walk together, I'll protect you."

Bo Yan pulled all his shirt that had been tucked into his pants out, handing it to Jin Xi, "Protect me well, don't let me get dragged away by ghosts."

Jin Xi looked at the white shirt hanging loosely around his waist, slightly wrinkled. She rarely saw him in formalwear, and preferred this kind of relaxed casual look.

She picked up a corner of the shirt and clutched it tightly, her voice trembling, "O-Okay."

Bo Yan checked the mailbox and took out a few old photos. Under the dim ceiling light, he could see they seemed to be pictures of a school sports meet.

There were empty spaces for a few photos on the bulletin board. Following his intuition, Bo Yan placed the photos in chronological order into the board.

Triggering the mechanism, they heard a "clack", and the classroom door at the corridor turn opened.

Fuzzy yellow light seeped through the door crack.

The chubby guy exclaimed, "Nice, bro! Must be your second time here right, solving it so easily?"

Bo Yan: "First time."

Chubby Guy: "Then you must play a lot of escape room games."

Bo Yan: "No, first time. I'm scared easily, I'm super frightened right now."

After saying that, he pulled Jin Xi closer to his side, "Jin Xi, protect me."

The quivering Jin Xi nodded, "O-Okay."

Chubby Guy: ......

The classroom had some desks and chairs, and props for passing the room were placed on the podium.

For discovering clues, Xu Chaoyang was basically useless now. His 185cm tall frame shrank behind 158cm Chu Zhao's shoulder, his hand on her shoulder, head buried in her hair, continuously chanting, "Teacher will protect you, don't be scared, don't be scared."

Chu Zhao looked back at Xu Chaoyang's pale complexion and felt he was rather unreliable. She went to the back of the classroom herself to look for clues.

Xu Chaoyang hurriedly followed, clasping her wrist, "Don't run around, be careful you get hurt. Teacher should hold your hand instead."

Chu Zhao could clearly feel his palm was hot and moist, beaded with fine sweat.

What a pathetic level of courage!

Jin Xi picked up a small notebook on the podium and struggled to read in the dim light, "Xiao Hong is lonely, doesn't like sitting with...with...can't see clearly, too dark."

Bo Yan took the tattered notebook and swept his eyes down, reading, "Xiao Hong is lonely, doesn't like sitting with girls. Li Dawei is her best friend. They always sit together. Zhou Ping often pulls Xiao Fen's braids. Deng Yun is mischievous and always sits alone under the podium..."

Jin Xi looked at him incredulously. His eyes were buried in the shadows, as deep as black jade.

What magical eyes, night vision goggles! To read it all clearly in this darkness.

"We should arrange seats for each student."

Bo Yan put down the worn notebook and glanced around the classroom desks. He quickly discovered wooden blocks carved with student names in a corner. Following the notebook's hints, he hung the blocks on the seating chart on the wall, immediately triggering the next plot.

The male voice sounded again in the speakers: The séance has now begun. Outsiders, please sit at the desks. No matter what you see or hear next, do not leave your seats, otherwise something very frightening will happen.

The two girls hurriedly sat in the back row of the classroom, the seemingly safest spot. The guys voluntarily sat in the more dangerous front row. Bo Yan looked back and told Jin Xi, "Hold on to me tight and don't let go, otherwise I won't know if you're still here."

Jin Xi: "Are you really that scared, Senior?"

Bo Yan expressionlessly replied, "Very very scared."

So Jin Xi stretched her hand over and held Bo Yan's hand under the desk.

Bo Yan's palm was slightly cooler than hers, soft with a faint chill. Being held by him, Jin Xi felt her restless heart calm down a lot.

Strangely, he seemed to have a natural tranquil aura.

Moreover, holding hands in a classroom setting like this gave a peculiar...first love-like feeling.

Xu Chaoyang refused to sit alone at his desk. He trembled as he crouched by Chu Zhao's desk, clinging to Chu Zhao's arm and refusing to let go. "I won't leave you," he said.

Chu Zhao: ...

Senior student, please have some self-respect.

Even the staff in the monitoring room couldn't stand to watch anymore. They sent an audio message over the intercom: "Players, please abide by the rules on your own and stay at your desks, otherwise terrible things may happen."

Xu Chaoyang cried woefully, "There are still terr...terrible things? Chu Zhao, do you want to stop playing? Why don't we go out?"

Chu Zhao pulled his hand away. "Instructor Xu, don't be scared."

"I'm not sc...scared at all."

Xu Chaoyang nervously went back to his seat.

Everyone was seated and in position.

The already dim lights went completely dark in an instant, plunging the classroom into endless blackness where you could barely see your hand in front of your face.

Just then, the old door of the classroom let out a creaky "creak" as it opened. Something seemed to have come inside in the darkness.

It lingered at the lectern for a while, then walked over to the aisle.

There was a rustling sound beneath its feet.

Jin Xi clearly felt that this thing was right next to her, breathing into her ear.

Jin Xi tightly grasped Bo Yan's hand and called out tremblingly, "Bo...Bo Yan..."

In the darkness, Bo Yan's deep voice responded, "Go away, don't scare her."

Perhaps his voice was too calm and commanding, because the NPC playing ghost was actually stunned for a moment before leaving as told.

Jin Xi heaved a sigh of relief. The fear in her heart was replaced by a great sense of security. Being held so firmly by him, she was no longer very afraid.

Xu Chaoyang had not forgotten to comfort the girl behind him: "Student Chu Zhao, don't be afraid. Just hold on to the instructor's shoulder and you'll be fine. Don't be scared."

Chu Zhao: "Instructor Xu, I'm not holding your shoulder."

Xu Chaoyang: !!!

The scene was suddenly quiet for a few seconds. Xu Chaoyang felt the pair of icy cold hands resting on his shoulders amidst the endless darkness, and he nearly fainted from fright!

However, what no one expected at that moment was that Xu Chaoyang's coarse, majestic military training voice rang out from the darkness—

"Unity is strength, this strength is iron, this strength is steel~~"

He sang with heart-wrenching intensity and solemn determination.

The NPC who had been playing ghost for so many years had never encountered such a hilarious oddball before. He couldn't help but burst out laughing!