The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

As the saying goes, a person can be so frightening that they can scare someone to death.

But there is a group of people who specifically seek this adrenaline rush. Take, for example, this haunted house right in front of us, where the entrance is simply marked with two large, blood-red characters.

Perhaps to avoid frightening tourists and children, there wasn't much decoration; just two words to indicate that this is a haunted house. However, the occasional screams coming from inside already demonstrated the intensity of this haunted house.

Ye Shu himself wasn't particularly interested in this, but with the mindset of "since I'm already here," he stopped and glanced at the queue at the entrance.

Fortunately, there weren't many people.

Xia Qing took his arm, stopped to look, and then said nothing, acting as if she were just passing by, before lifting her foot to continue walking forward.

However, Ye Shu noticed that Xia Qing seemed to lean closer to him intentionally or unintentionally, and tightened her grip on his arm.

"Since we're already here, why don't we go in and have a look around?"

Ye Shu was led forward by her, and asked a question while looking at her sideways.

Xia Qing didn't stop; instead, she quickened her pace, not even turning her head, and said with a hint of disdain:

"Huh? What's so fun about this? It's all just people in disguise, pretending to be ghosts. It's boring and a waste of time."

She talked as she walked, as if she had made up her mind.

Ye Shu was being held by Xia Qing, and he could feel Xia Qing tighten her grip on his arm.

He suddenly stopped, and Xia Qing, who was walking forward, had no choice but to stop as well, pulled by him.

"What are you doing? Let's go."

Xia Qing turned around, her brows furrowed, and looked at Ye Shu with a look of incomprehension and a hint of anxiety.

Ye Shu didn't move, but carefully looked at Xia Qing's face. The sunlight shone from the side, highlighting her delicate features and fair skin; she was indeed very beautiful.

He suddenly laughed, a provocative smile just like Xia Qing's, but it looked rather incongruous with the lip print on his forehead.

"Sister Xia Qing, are you... scared?"

"What did you say?!"

Xia Qing's eyes widened upon hearing this:

"I'm scared?! It's just a group of people wearing masks trying to scare me, what's there to be afraid of?!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, attracting the attention of passersby who thought the young couple was arguing. A woman with a child walked by; the child looked up at the lipstick mark on Ye Shu's forehead, pointed at it with his little finger, and then said to his mother:

"Mom, Erlang Shen!"

Seeing Xia Qing's obviously suspicious expression, Ye Shu tried hard to keep a straight face and pretend to be calm. He suddenly remembered what Sister Zhi Qiu had said when she commented that he was "not good at lying." Now he understood what other people thought of someone who was not good at talking.

It's really obvious, Sister Xia Qing!

A small thought of revenge popped into Ye Shu's mind. He smiled at Xia Qing:

"Really? So Sister Xia Qing isn't afraid. That's perfect, shall we go in and take a look around? We're already here, it would be a shame not to experience it."

Tang Xiaotao, who had been quietly observing the situation, quickly raised her hand upon hearing this:

"Brother, sister-in-law, you go ahead. I'm scared, so I won't go. I'll wait for you outside."

Xia Qing immediately found a way out and nodded:

"Yes, yes, Xiaotao is scared, let's not go in. Let's go, let's go, I heard there's a theater performance about to start..."

As she spoke, she tried to pull Ye Shu away.

But Ye Shu stood rooted to the spot, motionless, looking at Xia Qing with a defiant expression:

"If Xiaotao is scared, let her play something else. But if Sister Xiaqing is scared too, then there's nothing we can do."

"Bullshit! I'm not afraid of anything! I'll go! Who's afraid of who!"

Xia Qing blushed, not from embarrassment, but from anger; she was so angry that she swore.

She was truly provoked by Ye Shu's newly learned provocation, or rather, she absolutely refused to be looked down upon by Ye Shu, especially after just punishing him.

The two returned to the entrance of the haunted house. While waiting in line, Xia Qing listened to the screams inside and pressed herself against Ye Shu again.

Ye Shu turned her head, revealing a smug smile:

"Sister Xia Qing, to put it nicely, I might consider taking you to ride the carousel."

These were the words Xia Qing had said to him when they rode the roller coaster before, and now she was returning them verbatim.

"Dream on!"

Xia Qing's competitive spirit overshadowed her initial enthusiasm, and she pulled Ye Shu along, leading the way inside.

She would never admit defeat! Nor would she yield to Ye Shu! It's just a haunted house, what's the big deal!

Ye Shu was pulled along by her, watching her back as she pretended to be calm despite her obvious weakness, and his desire for revenge was satisfied.

It seems... bullying Sister Xia Qing is quite interesting.

As soon as I stepped inside, a black curtain blocked out the sunlight, and the surrounding light instantly dimmed. Only a few wall lamps emitting a green glow remained, illuminating the frightening decorations.

All I could hear were the sounds of wind, crying, and even a faint gasp from the stereo; the atmosphere was certainly well-done.

"Well......"

Xia Qing gripped Ye Shu's hand tightly, pressing her body against his. Although her voice trembled slightly, she still stubbornly insisted:

"Don't let go of my hand. If you get lost, I... I'll have to spend time looking for you... It's such a hassle."

Ye Shu found it somewhat amusing to watch her progress.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Xia Qing didn't hear Ye Shu's response, so she immediately turned her head and stared at him with wide eyes.

She was genuinely scared. Ye Shu's heart softened immediately. "Don't frighten me," he quickly said.

"Um, Sister Xia Qing, we can still make it back now, we haven't gone far from here."

"No!"

Xia Qing refused without even thinking; her strong-willed personality wouldn't allow her to do something so shameful.

"I'm already here! I'm not scared! If you want to go back, go back; I'm going to move forward!"

She was incredibly tough on the outside, but her actions told a different story. After she finished speaking, fearing that Ye Shu would really go back, she gripped Ye Shu's hand tightly with one hand, grabbed his clothes with the other, and then snuggled closer to Ye Shu.

Ye Shu gave up trying to persuade her and could only let her hug him.

"Okay, let's move forward then."

Xia Qing gave a muffled "hmm," her eyes almost closed, as she moved forward little by little, close to Ye Shu.

Ye Shu was genuinely uninterested in haunted houses; he was the kind of person who dared to watch Chu Renmei alone in the middle of the night, although he was scared by Xia Qing in the latter half of the night...

Just as the two slowly moved to the corner, a hand suddenly reached out from the wall.

"ah!!!"

Xia Qing suddenly let out a world-destroying high-pitched sound, and Ye Shu felt a ringing in half of his ear. He wasn't frightened by the hand, but rather by Xia Qing.

Xia Qing moved extremely quickly, almost instinctively turning around and plunging into what she now considered the safest place.

Ye Shu felt a tightness in his chest. Xia Qing's face was buried in his chest, her hands tightly wrapped around his waist, and her body was still trembling.

Ye Shu raised his hand, hugged her, and patted her back gently to comfort her.

"Okay, okay, don't be scared, it's all just scary."

The person in her arms didn't move. After several seconds, Xia Qing spoke:

"Are we just going to leave like this? I... I'm not playing anymore! You... you take me out of here, quick!"

Xia Qing gave in, without being stubborn or putting on a show, without even offering an explanation; she simply gave in.

Ye Shu twitched the corners of his mouth, but still managed to hold back his laughter. He knew that if he laughed out loud now, the ostrich in his arms would definitely bristle.

"Okay, let's stop playing and go outside."

"Um......"

The two remained in this embrace, Xia Qing's head never lifting, her eyes closed, as she followed Ye Shu's movements, backing away step by step.

"How much longer is it?"

After walking for a while, I heard a slightly anxious voice coming from my arms.

"Almost there, almost there, just a minute."

Ye Shu comforted him, though he didn't actually know how far it was, but it was better to coax him along.

"Why haven't we arrived yet...?"

After a while, Xia Qing's voice sounded a little aggrieved, as if she was about to cry.

"We're almost there. There seems to be light ahead."

Ye Shu kept making things up as he carried her forward, swaying back and forth like two penguins hugging each other.

After walking for a while, whenever scary props or staff appeared, Ye Shu would cover Xia Qing's ears, and Xia Qing would shrink even tighter into Ye Shu's arms.

Finally, after turning a corner, we saw the exit. Sunlight streamed in, and we could hear sounds from the amusement park outside.

"Sister Xia Qing, the exit is just ahead."

Hearing Ye Shu's words, Xia Qing slowly loosened her arms around him and stepped out of his embrace. But the next second, she quickly grabbed his hand again.

"When we go out later, you can't tell Xiaotao what I looked like just now, understand?"

Ye Shu looked at Xia Qing, who was strong-willed throughout her life, smiled, and deliberately teased her:

"What was that like just now? Was it you clinging to me tightly and refusing to let go? Or were you hiding your face in my arms, too ashamed to look at me? Or were you letting me carry you the whole way... Ouch!"

Before Ye Shu could finish speaking, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand; Xia Qing's fingernail had pinched it.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Sister Xia Qing, you are brilliant and courageous. A mere haunted house is laughable..."

Xia Qing snorted softly. She always felt that Ye Shu was mocking her, but she had no evidence.

Stepping out of the haunted house, Xia Qing immediately adopted a nonchalant expression.

Tang Xiaotao was already waiting for the two at the exit, leaning against the railing, holding two strings of candied hawthorns in one hand and half a string in the other, her cheeks bulging from eating.

Seeing the two of them come out, he jogged over and handed them the candied hawthorns he was holding.

"Brother, sister-in-law, how is it? Is it scary inside?"

Xia Qing took the candied hawthorn, took a bite, and then waved her hand:

"Scaring? It's nothing special, just an old, tired trick to scare kids. It's not interesting at all."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Ye Shu, glared at him, and asked:

"Right, isn't it not scary at all?"

Ye Shu was biting into a candied hawthorn, watching Xia Qing's calm expression but her fingers still trembling slightly, and nodded to Tang Xiaotao:

"Yes, that's right, Sister Xia Qing is right. It's not scary at all."