027. False Alarm
After being scared half to d*ath, the tension among the three of them eased considerably. Zhang Shaoqing was grinning ear to ear, sharing wild stories about outdoor romances, while Wen Yang maintained a calm smile. Only Ning Chu had a face that screamed, “I’m done!”
It wasn’t that he was let down by their cowardly behavior; rather, he was genuinely amazed that this was truly the world of Little Emperor Wen.
And it hadn’t even been long since their arrival! They had already stumbled upon two pairs of couples in the wild…
Back in his past life, although he sometimes heard of people encountering outdoor romances, it was more like once or twice in total. Now, in just one day, they had met two!
These people must not be able to afford hotels, right?
Sure, it was a bit perverted, but it was pure-hearted LSP (Lecherous but Pure) behavior; they were merely seeking thrills and didn’t do anything too outrageous—at least they knew to find a hidden spot. Even if the police caught them, they’d probably just get a slap on the wrist.
Ning Chu couldn’t help but sigh.
He had naively thought everyone here was perfectly normal…
“One of my high school classmates once ran into an outdoor couple while trying on clothes in a fitting room. Broad daylight, mind you. Tsk tsk, what a way to have fun,” Zhang Shaoqing turned around just in time to catch Ning Chu’s sigh, “What’s up? Did your innocent heart get tainted?”
“Not really…”
If Ning Chu was even a little innocent, he definitely wouldn’t be writing Little Emperor Wen, let alone landing himself in this weird world.
“Then what’s with the sigh? I’ve never seen anyone so shy,” Zhang Shaoqing shot him a look, bravely declaring, “Who gets scared stiff watching a movie~”
Seriously? It’s not like you were watching a real movie!
If he were watching it with close friends, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But he had only known these two for about a few weeks—barely friends at best.
“Enough goofing around, back to business,” Wen Yang said as he held up his phone for light, breaking up their bickering.
“Yeah, what ghost? I bet someone got spooked by the rustling over there,” Zhang Shaoqing muttered, “Just like us a bit ago…”
“Well, let’s take a look around the teaching building, and if we find nothing, we head back.”
Zhang Shaoqing brandished the wrench in his hand, shouting, “If I run into a ghost, I’ll smack it silly!”
“Right, and who was the one who ran away first?” Ning Chu shot back without mercy, boasting about his own courage, “Look at you guys, so manly and yet each as jumpy as a little girl!”
Sure, at that moment, he had been completely dazed, with his legs stiff and mind blank.
“Ha ha.” For the first time, Zhang Shaoqing conceded defeat, crossing his arms in silent agreement.
The tense mystery vibe had morphed into something rather peachy, with Zhang Shaoqing spouting off some nonsensical jokes he clearly pulled from who-knows-where, while Wen Yang, the little virgin, just listened obediently. Ning Chu, however, unconsciously noted down the jokes for potential use in his writing…
Wait! I’m literally the character in the story!
The Little Emperor Wen manuscript he had been working on over the years was usually a jumbled mix of whatever works had inspired him—his personal way to amuse himself.
That’s how this world ended up as a modern urban landscape filled with all sorts of demi-human beings huddled together.
The three of them casually strolled up the steps to the second floor, and in the distance, they distinctly heard a sweet, heavy breathing sound coming from… somewhere.
Ning Chu’s face was a blank slate, but he couldn’t help but feel like laughing.
Of course, there weren’t any normal people in this world!
“If there were really ghosts here, wouldn’t they be pervy ghosts?” Zhang Shaoqing quipped, “Who wants to come find thrills only for us to be the third wheel?”
Perhaps hearing his voice, the noises on the second floor stopped abruptly.
Wen Yang sighed in exasperation, “I told you there are no ghosts; you scared that couple away.”
“Why not just stay in the dorm and game?”
Listening to their chatter, Ning Chu relaxed a bit, but he was still vigilant, shining the phone light into every nook and cranny.
He wondered if that female ghost would be as beautiful as the one described in his novel.
But what if it wasn’t even the same ghost?
What if it was a guy?!
His mind wandered off into chaos, and his peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of a white figure at the end of the hallway.
Chills ran down his spine. He instinctively grabbed Wen Yang’s hand and pointed, “There’s something over there!”
“Don’t scare me.” Wen Yang calmly followed Ning Chu’s finger. “Let’s go check it out.”
“What’s wrong with you? How did you become such a wuss?” Zhang Shaoqing teased, leading the way.
Reaching the end of the hallway, Ning Chu nervously glanced around and found he was at the bathroom entrance.
“Splash!”
All three of them jumped, collectively looking down to find Wen Yang standing in a puddle of water.
It wasn’t that unusual to see a puddle in front of the bathroom.
“d*mn it! You scared me!” Zhang Shaoqing cursed as he trudged toward the bathroom. “I need to use the restroom… nah, I’ll hold it.”
“Okay, let’s hit the third floor again.”
Ning Chu was suspicious that the shadow he just saw was a ghost, but that thought also made him more nervous. He hurriedly followed Wen Yang, beginning to regret ever getting involved.
But if he didn’t come, what if Wen Yang got eaten by a ghost? All those efforts would go to waste!
If he did come… at least he could witness how Wen Yang got devoured, so he wouldn’t feel guilty about doing nothing.
The teaching building had four floors, and after strolling around the fourth floor and peeking at the rooftop, they left feeling somewhat disappointed.
Wen Yang seemed to have pieced together the situation, guessing it was just some scared student who had run into that outdoor couple and reported it to the school, sparking the ghost rumors.
If there really were ghosts, wouldn’t those couples look scared too?
“Let’s go back; this is a real buzzkill!” Once back on the well-lit path, Zhang Shaoqing suddenly regained his bravado, boasting, “That ghost was just lucky to have missed us today!”
“Right right right~” Ning Chu half-heartedly chimed in.
“So, what now?” He turned to Wen Yang, asking.
“Report it to the school; let them know what’s up.” Wen Yang shrugged helplessly, “Have the security patrol more at night. That should keep the ghosts at bay.”
“Too bad there aren’t any ghosts. Otherwise, I could’ve made some cash off my uncle,” Ning Chu sighed in relief. He dreaded the thought of Wen Yang being headstrong and refusing to back down without finding any ghosts.
What a false alarm; he thought he’d actually triggered a ghost-hunting plot!
The memory of that fleeting white shadow still made him feel uneasy, and he kept glancing back at the teaching building, feeling a knot of anxiety in his stomach.
Perhaps it was just the larger group; the female ghost couldn’t handle all three of them at once, so she didn’t show up. What about next time?
He definitely couldn’t let Wen Yang come to the teaching building alone!
Ning Chu tried to reassure the bummed-out Wen Yang, who was disappointed about having lost money: “No worries, if there is a ghost, the three of us might just end up stuck here tonight.”
“True.”
He had to admit, little innocent Wen Yang was rather naive.
If it were him, even without ghosts, he would at least put on an act, jump around a bit for show, and rake in some cash for the school!
“Let’s go to the cafeteria on the second floor and grab some late-night snacks.” From a distance, Zhang Shaoqing spotted the bright cafeteria lights and waved to the two, “My treat; how about chicken cutlet and milk tea?”
Suddenly, Ning Chu found this antagonist much more palatable: “I want a hand-grabbed pancake!”
