“Am I bothering you?” Xie Xueer lowered her voice, feigning a sob, “I just wanted to see you. We haven’t met in so long…”
“Sorry, I’m just tired,” Huo Qizhi sighed. “I’m very busy these days. Come over another time.”
Ah, men.
Lin Xiaoman was not someone who went back on her word; when she promised something, she never reneged. She gave a definite response at the time. Afterwards, Ji Zhixian sent her an address but didn’t explain what it was for.
Lin Xiaoman knew he didn’t want to say anything, and asking would be useless, so she didn’t reply, just waiting for their meeting the next day.
After finishing filming, she told Xiaobai and went to meet Ji Zhixian.
“You can take off your glasses and scarf.”
After getting into the car, Ji Zhixian glanced at her and offered advice.
“Where are we going?”
“A place with no one around.”
When they arrived at their destination, Lin Xiaoman discovered he meant an amusement park.
“There won’t be anyone here?” Lin Xiaoman was about to put on sunglasses.
“I’ve rented the entire park,” Ji Zhixian got out of the car and opened her door, “Today, this place is yours.”
Lin Xiaoman looked at him suspiciously: “What are you going to do?”
A romantic date at an amusement park was not something Ji Zhixian would do. If he actually did something like this, she could only think there must be a trick.
“Didn’t you say you would repay me?” Ji Zhixian walked ahead, “And I want someone to accompany me to properly enjoy the amusement park.”
“What do you want to play?” Lin Xiaoman felt the smell of conspiracy growing stronger.
Ji Zhixian didn’t answer her. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and the park’s lights instantly illuminated. The carousel and Ferris wheel spun with lights, everything looking beautiful, exactly like a young girl’s romantic fantasy.
But not like Ji Zhixian.
Lin Xiaoman remained calm. Since being tested by Ji Zhixian last time, she had always been vigilant.
“I’ll play everything here,” Ji Zhixian turned back to look at her, his mouth slightly raised, “And what you need to do is accompany me.”
Whether it was the romantic environment around them or the gentle tone of his voice, Lin Xiaoman’s heart suddenly beat violently.
“I’ll accompany you,” she heard her own voice was unexpectedly gentle.
Lin Xiaoman had been famous since childhood and unlike other kids, couldn’t play freely. Growing up, she was busy filming. The only time she’d been to an amusement park was while shooting a youth drama, and she had been busy memorizing lines then, never truly enjoying it.
So, this could be considered her first time at an amusement park.
Lights flickered in rainbow colors, music played softly and tenderly, with a gentle person beside her. Lin Xiaoman suddenly understood why couples liked dating here.
“This is a secret that he must not know,” Lin Xiaoman made a hushing gesture, smiling at him, “This is a secret between us.”
“So smart!”
“Lin Xiaoman’s eyes lit up, happily patting his shoulder. She suddenly remembered, ‘He has claustrophobia!’ This was something only a few people knew, something she had heard from Ji Zhixian’s assistant after they were once trapped in an elevator.
At the time, she hadn’t noticed, because she was too worried about the elevator issue to pay attention to Ji Zhixian’s discomfort.
Now, thinking back, he was probably worried about scaring her if he had an episode, so he had been enduring it.
‘As long as we trap him in the elevator and make him uncomfortable, I’ll have an excuse to send him home.’
Although she felt this wasn’t very kind, Lin Xiaoman had no other choice. If they entered the haunted house, her fear of ghosts would definitely be exposed.
Ji Zhixian would definitely ask questions. She couldn’t let him find out.
‘Can you find where there’s an elevator nearby? I’ll take him there.’
‘There’s an exhibition area not far ahead with an elevator,’ Xie Chi, who had come in, had already investigated the amusement park’s facilities, ‘I can make it temporarily malfunction.’
‘It’s up to you.'”
“When Lin Xiaoman went back to find Ji Zhixian, he was standing quietly by the fountain, looking somewhat lonely.
“Let’s go,” she quickened her pace to his side, trying to dispel the loneliness, “There seems to be an exhibition hall ahead, let’s go take a look.”
Ji Zhixian turned his head to look at her, an involuntary smile appearing on his face.
The two arrived at the exhibition hall, and Lin Xiaoman suggested taking the elevator. Ji Zhixian didn’t suspect anything, and they got in together. Lin Xiaoman counted the time, and three seconds later, the elevator suddenly jolted and stopped with a “ding”.
“What’s going on?” Lin Xiaoman feigned surprise.
Ji Zhixian furrowed his brow, barely keeping his voice steady: “Press the red emergency button.”
Lin Xiaoman obediently pressed the button, receiving no response. She looked at Ji Zhixian disappointedly: “Seems like it didn’t work.”
“Don’t worry, there are still people in the amusement park who will notice us,” Ji Zhixian tried not to show any abnormality, lowering his voice to comfort her, “Don’t be afraid.”
His face was pale, clearly very uncomfortable, yet he still wanted to comfort her. Lin Xiaoman couldn’t bear to look at him and turned away.
The elevator fell silent.
Fear swept over him like a tide. Ji Zhixian began to feel dizzy but still tried hard to appear normal.
“Are you okay?”
Lin Xiaoman couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m fine,” Ji Zhixian straightened his body, but his body was uncontrollably going soft and about to collapse. He gripped the railing, his veins showing, and on this cool night, his forehead was covered in sweat.
“You seem to be breaking out in a cold sweat,” Lin Xiaoman’s voice was not very steady. Ji Zhixian’s appearance frightened her. She was starting to regret this plan.
“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” Ji Zhixian’s vision began to darken, breathing becoming difficult, the person in front of him blurring, “…just a little uncomfortable. If I pass out, don’t be scared, it’s just a normal reaction.”
“What normal reaction? You’re not allowed to faint!” Lin Xiaoman began to panic. She had only wanted to make him uncomfortable for a while, but hadn’t expected such a severe reaction. “I’ll call for help, we’ll get out immediately.”
She took out her phone, but there was no signal at all, and she couldn’t make any calls. Damn it!
“I won’t faint,” Ji Zhixian, seeing her panic, softly comforted her, “Don’t worry, don’t be afraid.”
His hand was still trembling, his complexion worse. Lin Xiaoman felt his words had no persuasive power. She walked to the camera, desperately waving at it.
But after several minutes, the elevator remained unresponsive.
Lin Xiaoman began to feel uneasy. The person beside her could barely stand, clearly terrified but trying hard to hide it.
“It’s all my fault,” she blamed herself.
“It has nothing to do with you,” he replied.
“No, I brought you here. I’m the reason you’re like this.”
“You didn’t know the elevator would malfunction, or that I would react like this,” Ji Zhixian’s voice was gentle, making her even more uneasy.
She knew it would turn out like this, yet she still did it.
“It’s my fault,” she was extremely remorseful, wanting to share the truth.
“If you feel guilty,” Ji Zhixian was in discomfort, speaking intermittently, “just hold my hand. I’ll feel better.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Lin Xiaoman quickly grabbed his hand. “How are you now? Are you feeling any better?”
Ji Zhixian slowly opened his eyes. The concerned expression of the girl before him was genuine, her scent at the tip of his nose, her palm… He felt less uncomfortable.
This isn’t so bad. It would be nice if we could stay like this forever.
Suddenly, the elevator doors opened.
★ Chapter 60: Threat
The two emerged from the elevator.
