After saying this, Sang Zhi acted as if nothing had happened, swinging her flashlight toward the podium. Not hearing any movement from Duan Jiaxu for a while, she couldn’t help but glance back.
She found him still standing in the same spot, lowering his gaze as he turned off his flashlight, then saying, "Kiss?"
The already dim room grew even darker.
He was completely hidden in the shadows, his figure indistinct, his expression unclear.
Sang Zhi felt this matter needed to be settled in advance; otherwise, if she just went ahead and kissed him, it would feel disrespectful. For the sake of fairness, she decided not to let Duan Jiaxu see her expression either, crouching behind the podium as she replied, "Mm."
Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly, "So you’re just informing me?"
Sang Zhi lowered her flashlight and noticed a number beneath the podium. She memorized it, thought for a moment, and answered, "If you think today isn’t suitable or you’re unwilling, that’s fine too."
"I think it’s quite suitable," Duan Jiaxu said politely. "Will you take the initiative, or should I?"
Sang Zhi stood up and said seriously, "Of course, me."
"Alright." Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment, then asked straightforwardly yet politely, "Can we use tongues?"
"..." Sang Zhi’s grip on the flashlight slipped, and it clattered to the floor. She picked it up and replied calmly, "No."
Duan Jiaxu didn’t object. "Come here."
"Not now," Sang Zhi emphasized. "We have to play the game first. It costs fifty yuan per person. Besides, there are cameras, just like in a movie theater—they can see everything."
"Then why did you tell me so early?" Duan Jiaxu turned his flashlight back on, his tone drawn out. "Trying to make me anxious on purpose?"
"..."
Sang Zhi pretended not to hear. "I’ve found two numbers."
Duan Jiaxu walked over and handed her a piece of paper, his tone casual. "The locations are marked on it. Follow them to find the numbers. They correspond to one, two, three, four, and when connected, they should be the password for the lock under the podium."
"..." Sang Zhi felt as if he were cheating. "How did you know that?"
Duan Jiaxu’s voice carried a hint of laughter. "It’s not that difficult."
Sang Zhi followed the marked locations on the paper, searching one by one. "Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?"
"You seemed to be enjoying it," Duan Jiaxu said leisurely. "I originally wanted to take my time and play with you, to give you a sense of participation in the game, but your brother wants to get out early now."
After finding all four numbers, Sang Zhi turned on the lights, feeling a bit dazed. "You know how to get out?"
Duan Jiaxu hummed nonchalantly.
"We’ve only been in here for less than twenty minutes," Sang Zhi felt disappointed and abruptly pushed him into one of the chairs. "Forget it, don’t play anymore. Just sit here. I’ll play by myself, and don’t give me any hints."
"..." Duan Jiaxu laughed in amusement. "Why are you so domineering, little girl?"
Sang Zhi didn’t respond and walked over to the podium to unlock it. She took out the contents inside and muttered, "We haven’t even found all the clues yet, and you’re saying you already know how to get out."
Duan Jiaxu said, "Bring it here, let me see."
Sang Zhi hesitated but handed him the folder she was holding.
Duan Jiaxu glanced at it. "There’s another box in that drawer over there. Once you solve this, it’ll be—"
"..." Sang Zhi took the folder back. "Just stay quiet."
Inside the folder was only a single sheet of paper with four sentences.
They were probably riddles.
Sang Zhi sat down in a nearby chair to think.Duan Jiaxu propped his chin on his hand, tilting his head to look at her: "Why aren't you taking me along to play anymore?"
"This makes me feel," Sang Zhi said, "like my fifty yuan was wasted."
"..."
"Besides, if you can do it, why can't I?" Sang Zhi felt his behavior was like blatantly trampling on her intelligence, which annoyed her a bit. "I just haven't played much."
Duan Jiaxu waited patiently: "Alright."
He stretched out his leg, hooking it under her chair, and lazily reminded her: "Just don't forget."
This puzzle wasn't too difficult; Sang Zhi solved it in a few minutes. She stood up and began rummaging through the newspapers on the table behind her, muttering to herself: "I wonder if this is useful..."
Duan Jiaxu: "It is."
"..." Sang Zhi turned her head. "I wasn't asking you."
Even though she said that, since he had spoken up, Sang Zhi still instinctively checked more carefully. She looked up again, studying several graduation photos for a while, with corresponding names listed below.
She thought seriously, spending over ten minutes on this part.
Duan Jiaxu glanced at the time: "Time's almost up."
"We can extend." Sang Zhi glanced back at him, watching him sit there like a boss, as if he had everything under control. She pursed her lips, her tone carrying a hint of provocation. "Can I ask the owner to only extend for one person?"
"..."
In the end, Sang Zhi managed to find the key through her own efforts and exited the room.
The two walked out, returned their school IDs to the owner, and retrieved their phones. After listening to the owner thoroughly explain the story, they left the shop.
Sang Zhi still felt somewhat unsatisfied: "Thinking about it now, it's actually quite scary."
Duan Jiaxu: "Hmm?"
Sang Zhi: "The plot is about a student who suffered from school bullying and later couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide. Then we, who were also former bullies, were invited to this class reunion."
"Mm."
"Thinking about it, don't you think that classroom was pretty eerie?" Sang Zhi said. "We even turned off the lights earlier. If I had known the story background was like this, I definitely wouldn't have dared to turn them off."
Duan Jiaxu looked at her, his gaze fixed intently, and softly hummed in agreement.
"So why bully people," Sang Zhi muttered, "can't everyone just live peacefully?"
The two returned from outside the campus back to the university grounds, walking toward Sang Zhi's dormitory.
Along the way, Sang Zhi kept talking about the escape room, like a child visiting an arcade for the first time: "Should we play again another day and choose a more difficult theme?"
Duan Jiaxu complied: "Alright."
They happened to arrive at the building. Sang Zhi released his hand: "Then I'm going back. It's so late, drive safely."
Duan Jiaxu lifted his long lashes, the corners of his mouth curling up accordingly, his tone gentle yet oddly teasing.
"Did you forget something?"
"Ah?" Sang Zhi blinked, the dimples by her lips vanishing instantly as if deep in thought. Soon, she laughed again, realizing. "Oh, right. You didn't drive here today."
"..."
"Then you should go take the subway," Sang Zhi waved at him, "or it'll stop running soon."
Duan Jiaxu's gaze remained fixed on her smiling eyes, his expression softening and relaxing.
He suddenly didn't want to remind her anymore.
He had a feeling it would just make her uncomfortable and nervous again.
It didn't matter if she just had a poor memory or was teasing him—let the young girl be.She could laugh freely without a care in the world before him, chattering away with delight. Compared to those desires, such moments seemed far more capable of bringing joy.
Duan Jiaxu stood in place, watching until she entered the dormitory building before withdrawing his gaze. Just as he was about to turn and leave the campus, footsteps sounded from behind.
He instinctively looked over and saw Sang Zhi suddenly running back out, bouncing over to him.
Duan Jiaxu was momentarily stunned. Before he could even ask, "What's wrong?" she had already hooked her arms around his neck, tilted her head up, and planted a firm kiss on his lips.
It lasted only a moment before Sang Zhi stepped back two paces.
Still catching her breath, she stared into his eyes, which seemed particularly deep in the night, and stammered, "I—I told you in advance, so you could prepare yourself..."
Having just run over, Sang Zhi hadn’t controlled her strength, and the impact was not light. Her lips still felt somewhat numb, and her words came out muffled and unclear, whether from emotion or something else.
Before she could finish, Duan Jiaxu suddenly bent down, leaning close to her face, and reached out to caress her cheek.
Sang Zhi inexplicably swallowed the rest of her words.
The two locked eyes for a moment.
After a long pause, Duan Jiaxu spoke, his tone almost bewitching: "One more kiss."
Sang Zhi gripped his clothes, tightening her hold slightly. After a brief hesitation, she lifted her chin and gently brushed her lips against his.
This time, the pressure was much lighter than the first.
Less reckless, with a bit more control.
A fleeting touch, then separation.
An intimate and intoxicating closeness.
His entire presence, the reassuring feel of him, kept pulling her in, drawing her deeper.
Duan Jiaxu nuzzled her nose, letting out a soft chuckle: "Can’t you kiss a little harder?"
Sang Zhi whispered, "Don’t you think it hurts?"
"Hmm? A little."
The color of Duan Jiaxu’s lips seemed to have grown more vivid. He raised the corners of his eyes, carrying a hint of seduction as he leaned close to her ear, pausing for a few seconds without continuing.
His warm breath brushed against her ear, tickling slightly.
Sang Zhi could still see his Adam’s apple moving before her eyes, its lines strikingly handsome.
After a long moment, Duan Jiaxu laughed, his voice low and husky: "But I like it when you ravage me."
Back in the dorm, Sang Zhi sat down at her desk and took off her shoes. Muttering to herself, "How can this man be so shameless?" and "Calling him a fox spirit is absolutely right," she looked up and suddenly noticed her own upturned lips in the mirror.
She slammed the mirror shut and hummed a tune as she went to take a shower.
Sang Zhi was particularly slow in the shower, and by the time she came out, it was almost eleven. She poured herself a cup of hot water, glanced at her phone, and saw a message from Ning Wei on WeChat: 【I’m staying near Shuangcheng Square. You can come hang out with me if you’re free.】
Sang Zhi: 【Sure.】
Ning Wei: 【Hey, have you found an internship yet?】
Sang Zhi: 【I went for an interview this morning. I think I’ll probably get it.】
Ning Wei: 【I’m planning to look for one around here. It’ll be easier to commute.】
Sang Zhi: 【Yeah.】
After a moment’s thought, she decided to tell this love expert about today’s events: 【Today, I told Duan Jiaxu to get ready because I was planning to kiss him.】
Ning Wei: 【……】
Ning Wei: 【Huh？？？？】Seeing her reaction, Sang Zhi also felt a bit unsure: [Isn't this my first time taking the initiative to kiss him? I feel like I should ask, to show respect. I won’t ask again in the future. After all, when we held hands, he asked too... I’m just following his example...]
Sang Zhi: [Isn’t dating a process of learning from each other?]
After a while.
Ning Wei replied: [That’s true, it’s good.]
Seeing this, Sang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, Ning Wei added: [But it’s better not to ask in the future.]
“……”
After the final exam ended, Sang Zhi received a call from the company she had interviewed with, informing her that she could start working the next day. After hanging up, she opened WeChat and sent a message to Duan Jiaxu to let him know.
Then, hesitantly, she opened the chat window with Sang Yan and sent: [Brother, I found an internship.]
She clicked send.
As usual, a red exclamation mark appeared before the message bubble.
“……”
He still hadn’t gotten over his anger after all these days.
Sang Zhi stared at the screen, her frustration reaching its peak. With nowhere to vent, she suddenly let out a cold laugh, clicked on his profile picture, and added him to her blacklist as well.
The next day, Sang Zhi arrived at the company early.
The company seemed genuinely short-staffed, and the pay was quite low. Sang Zhi was mainly there to learn something, figuring it wouldn’t be easy to find an internship as a freshman, and she didn’t really mind the money.
The boy Wan Zhe, who had interviewed with her last time, was also hired.
The two of them were shown around the company by another intern, He Pengxing, and were assigned their seats. Sang Zhi’s position was as a designer assistant, sitting directly across from the woman she had thought looked familiar before.
Her mentor was named Shi Xiaoyu.
Sang Zhi followed Shi Xiaoyu’s lead, assisting her with tasks. She had thought she might feel a bit lost on her first day, but instead, she was swamped with work—everything seemed to be piled onto her.
The company had a principle of no overtime on the first day, so at 6 p.m., Sang Zhi watched Wan Zhe leave on time.
But Shi Xiaoyu didn’t let her go.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Sang Zhi felt that Shi Xiaoyu wasn’t very friendly toward her.
Overall, though, whenever Shi Xiaoyu spoke harshly, it was because Sang Zhi’s drawings weren’t up to par or she hadn’t handled miscellaneous tasks well. Since it was Sang Zhi’s first job, she lacked experience in many things, so she just listened to the scolding and obediently re-did her work.
Overtime was the norm at the advertising company.
Since Shi Xiaoyu hadn’t dismissed her, Sang Zhi didn’t dare leave on her own. She stayed at her desk, diligently working on her drafts.
After some time, Shi Xiaoyu stood up and looked her over: “I’m heading off now. Finish your work before you leave.”
“...” Sang Zhi nodded.
After Shi Xiaoyu left, He Pengxing came over: “Xiaoyu-jie was in a really bad mood today.”
Sang Zhi continued drawing, giving a standard response: “I really didn’t do well.”
He Pengxing, who hadn’t started much earlier than her and had also been scolded badly by his own mentor, seemed to sympathize: “But Xiaoyu-jie isn’t usually like this. Did you somehow offend her?”
How could she have offended her?
It was Sang Zhi’s first time meeting Shi Xiaoyu, and she didn’t even know her. Besides, she had been extremely humble and well-behaved all day.
Where was the offense?
Sang Zhi stuck to her standard reply: “Xiaoyu-jie is just strict. She wants me to do better.”
Even though she said that.
In reality.
Sang Zhi was extremely annoyed.
By the time she left the company, it was already past 8 p.m.Sang Zhi hadn't eaten much for dinner, only having a pack of biscuits. She bought a meat bun from a nearby shop, found a bench by the roadside, and sat down to slowly nibble on it.
Duan Jiaxu called at that moment.
Sang Zhi answered.
Duan Jiaxu: "Still working overtime?"
Sang Zhi replied listlessly: "No, I'm off work."
"Busy day?" Duan Jiaxu said, "Working overtime on your first day?"
"During my interview, the boss said no overtime would be required," Sang Zhi complained, feeling somewhat wronged, "and the intern who started the same day as me left on time too. I got scolded all day long."
Duan Jiaxu was silent for a few seconds: "Where are you? I'll come find you."
When Duan Jiaxu arrived, Sang Zhi still hadn't finished her meat bun. She couldn't eat much more and was taking small sips of fruit tea. When she saw him approaching, she didn't get up, remaining seated in her spot.
He walked over and half-knelt before her: "Sitting here eating buns?"
Sang Zhi stayed silent.
Duan Jiaxu laughed: "Why do you look so pitiful?"
Sang Zhi continued biting her bun.
Duan Jiaxu held her wrist, his tone coaxing: "Don't eat this anymore. I'll take you to get some proper food."
"I'm not hungry," Sang Zhi shook her head, "I'm going back to wash up and sleep."
Duan Jiaxu: "Is this all you had for dinner?"
Sang Zhi admitted honestly: "I also had some biscuits."
"Let's go get some congee," Duan Jiaxu frowned, "You should eat something even if you worked overtime."
"Okay."
Duan Jiaxu stood up, pulling her up with him, and casually asked: "Not happy at work?"
"In my entire life, the number of times I've been scolded," Sang Zhi sighed and muttered, "doesn't add up to how much I was scolded today."
"If you're not happy, don't go. You're only a freshman, there's no rush."
Sang Zhi felt her negative energy was a bit excessive and toned it down slightly: "No, I'm just complaining. It's only my first day, and actually it's not that bad - the scolding wasn't particularly harsh."
Duan Jiaxu: "If it doesn't work out, you can come work at my company."
Sang Zhi let herself be led forward: "Your company doesn't seem to be hiring interns."
Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly: "I'll pull some strings for you."
Thinking he was just humoring her, Sang Zhi played along: "Then save me the intern supervisor position."
"Deal."
After this exchange, Sang Zhi's mood improved considerably, and she started talking to herself again: "Forget it, I'm going to stand my ground. I refuse to believe I can't satisfy her."
Duan Jiaxu: "What exactly is she dissatisfied with?"
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and said earnestly: "Everything."
"..."
"I always feel like she has some hostility toward me," Sang Zhi looked at him hesitantly, "Are you sure you've never had a girlfriend?"
"Huh?"
"I suspect she might be your ex-girlfriend."
"..." Duan Jiaxu was both annoyed and amused, "What nonsense are you talking?"
"Oh." Sang Zhi glanced at him, "Now that I think about it, you've never posted my photos in your Moments either."
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow and handed her his phone: "What do you mean I haven't?"
Sang Zhi took it: "I really haven't seen any."
She opened his Moments and discovered he had never posted anything before. But recently he had made several posts, mostly featuring her photos, with some people restricted from viewing them: "Who did you restrict?"
Duan Jiaxu: "University classmates."
Sang Zhi made an understanding sound again, took out her own phone to check, and said: "I really have never seen you post in Moments before..."She opened Duan Jiaxu's profile and suddenly noticed the "Hide his Moments" label in the upper right corner. His gaze swept over and instantly caught it as well.
"..."
Sang Zhi suddenly remembered—after returning from Yihe that time, afraid that seeing his updates would upset her, she had muted his Moments. Afterward, she had mostly forgotten about it.
She hadn't noticed it even after changing his contact name several times.
Duan Jiaxu shifted his gaze to her and said calmly, "Care to explain?"
Author's note: Sang Zhi: Your selfies were too ugly, I couldn't bear to look (?)
OpenNovel