Su Chengning leaned against Tang Mo’s shoulder and drifted into a heavy, groggy sleep.
Amidst his blurred consciousness, he seemed to have a dream a dream of a distant and hazy memory from his teenage years.
At the bustling entrance of an amusement park, a handsome boy of about eleven or twelve years old, dressed in stylish clothes, stood with an air of youthful vitality.
At that moment, facing the crowded and lively park, he was loudly questioning another handsome youth.
“My dear cousin Chengning, is this the ‘carefully prepared’ departure gift you promised me before I go abroad?”
At twelve, Su Chengning was so beautiful he appeared almost androgynous. Clad simply in a white shirt and black trousers, he looked like an angel fallen to the mortal world, drawing the gaze of everyone around him.
“Your brother said you’ve been gutless since you were little, and that studying medicine abroad would be a waste of time. So, I made a bet with him…”
“Are you two even human? How many times have you used me for bets since we were kids? I’m finally going abroad to get some peace no, I mean, for further studies.”
“You’re a slacker,” Su Chengning interrupted him concisely, forcing him to face reality. “The term ‘further studies’ doesn’t apply to you.”
“So what if I’m a slacker? Who says my grades won’t surpass yours in the future?”
Ye Yunyi grumbled and cursed. Having lived under the shadow of two geniuses since childhood, his young heart had taken a heavy blow so much so that he suddenly had an epiphany one day.
The most effective way to distance oneself from two geniuses wasn’t to surpass them, but to stop living under the same sky.
Go abroad. He had to go abroad.
“Talk to me after you’ve surpassed us,” Su Chengning said with a hint of impatience. “Are we going in or not?”
“Going,” Ye Yunyi leaned in mischievously, unable to contain his curiosity. “What kind of bet did you make with my brother?”
Su Chengning gave him a faint look. “Oh, nothing much. Your brother just said you definitely wouldn’t dare enter the haunted house.”
Upon hearing the words “haunted house,” Ye Yunyi’s handsome face turned several shades paler.
“Who says I don’t dare?” He gritted his teeth to stop them from chattering, trying his best to appear brave.
With a single glance, Su Chengning saw right through his hollow bravado.
He didn’t call him out. Instead, he played along: “I told him you definitely would. So, since a new haunted house just opened in the park, I brought you here. Consider it a beautiful memory to leave behind before you go abroad.”
Ye Yunyi pursed his lips: This kind of memory is entirely unnecessary.
“I haven’t been inside this haunted house either. They say it’s quite thrilling.”
The two followed the crowd to the entrance of the haunted house. Many young people were gathered in groups, making the area very lively.
Su Chengning went straight to the queue. “It seems entry is by ticket. You go buy them.”
Ye Yunyi huffed at him, muttering under his breath, “Always ordering me around.”
But he still obediently went to buy the tickets.
By the time he returned, the long line had moved forward significantly. They waited for a while and it was soon their turn to enter.
The designer of the haunted house was quite creative; the first thing everyone saw upon entering was a blood-soaked hanged ghost suspended in mid-air.
Its bulging eyeballs were covered in red blood, creating a scene that was both gory and revolting.
Visually, it was quite startling.
Several girls screamed instantly, clinging to their companions or boyfriends.
Ye Yunyi suddenly grabbed Su Chengning, stammering, “I-I’m not scared.”
Su Chengning rolled his eyes and forcefully pried the other’s arms off him.
“I heard that every medical student can eat calmly while facing a corpse soaked in formalin for years.”
“Is that so?” Ye Yunyi laughed awkwardly, his skin crawling with goosebumps.
The two moved forward with the crowd. Listening to the occasional screams echoing in his ears, Su Chengning was about to say it was all fake when he turned around and realized Ye Yunyi was gone.
Fine.
Very meaningful.
Su Chengning wasn’t worried that Ye Yunyi would actually be scared to death. He found a corner to sit down in, took out his phone, and sent a message to the missing Ye Yunyi, agreeing to meet at the exit.
After resting for a bit, he intended to continue toward the exit when he heard an eerie sound behind him.
It came from behind a wall.
The wall was painted with terrifying images of clawing monsters, vividly depicting their hideous features.
In the dim light, it could easily cause a visual shock to someone with highly-strung nerves.
However, this particular wall didn’t seem fully finished, which ruined the intended horror.
Su Chengning listened intently for a moment and walked toward the back of the wall.
The eerie sound became more distinct. He paused, stepped around some scattered haunted house props, and went behind the wall.
What met his eyes were horror props strewn across the room. Even the floor was splattered with dark red blood, creating a dark and terrifying atmosphere that looked rather disgusting.
Thump.
A small object suddenly fell from a mountain of piled-up ghost props in the center, hitting the ground and kicking up a thick layer of dust.
Su Chengning stood there. He saw the small object move a few times after landing; it seemed to be alive.
He hesitated for two seconds before finally stepping toward it.
As Su Chengning approached, the little thing suddenly opened its eyes a pair of eyes that shone startlingly bright in the darkness.
For the first time since entering the haunted house, Su Chengning was startled.
He froze in place until he realized those eyes held clear defensiveness and a trace of fear. He realized it was a child.
“Why are you here?” Su Chengning walked up to him and found a young boy of about six or seven. His face was dirty, yet he was still clearly a beautiful child.
Even though his clothes were stained with filth, one could tell they were exquisite and expensive.
Looking closer, the child seemed to be tied up.
“Hypocrite.” The child’s voice was crisp and pleasant, but filled with obvious loathing and rejection.
Realizing that Su Chengning wasn’t someone he knew, the small body shifted twice, and he closed his eyes again.
“I don’t know you. Are you the child of a staff member here?” Su Chengning asked with a rare flash of patience. He observed for a moment and discovered the boy was bound by a thick rope.
A rope like that wouldn’t be easy to untie even for an adult.
Obvious shock appeared on his beautiful face.
Seeing no reaction from the child, Su Chengning reached out to help him untie the rope.
“What kind of trick are you trying to play now?” The child seemed curious that this person was different from the ones before, yet he assumed they were just trying a new way to torture him.
“Someone intentionally tied you up here.”
The child’s instinctive flinch caused Su Chengning’s heart to sink.
How could anyone deliberately tie such a small child in a place like this a place so grim and terrifying?
Even an adult would be frightened here, let alone a small child.
“Don’t be afraid. Once I untie the rope, I’ll take you out to find your family,” Su Chengning comforted him with a gentle tone, feeling a pang of pity for him.
The child seemed to let out a small laugh and said somewhat fiercely, “My brother tied me here to teach me a lesson. Do you want to go against him? Watch out, or he’ll tie you up too.”
“That laugh sounds terrible, stop it.” Su Chengning frowned, a serious expression on his beautiful face. “If your brother really did this, I’ll call the police for you.”
An older brother who abused a child like this was simply subhuman.
“What use are the police?”
Clearly, the child did not believe in the police.
Su Chengning seemed stumped by the question. He remained silent as he worked on untying the rope.
The child found him interesting, his bright, beautiful eyes staring at him the whole time.
He said, “You are so pretty. You’re the best-looking person I’ve ever seen.”
Su Chengning looked up at him, and the child returned a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
“Mhm, and your voice sounds nice too.”
As Su Chengning gradually loosened the rope, the child’s praises became more earnest. He listened quietly until, finally, he heard the child whisper, “If only you were my brother.”
The moment the rope was finally undone, the child suddenly lunged into his arms.
Su Chengning held him and felt his cold hands.
He suddenly realized.
The little boy, who had been pretending to be strong, was actually terrified.
This memory was so distant that, were it not for this dream, Su Chengning wouldn’t have remembered it at all.
The hazy memory was awakened by the dream. He suddenly recalled that when they parted, the child had chased after him, shouting loudly: “Brother, my name is Tang Mo! What’s your name?”
Su Chengning sat up abruptly. The surrounding passengers were startled by his movement and turned to look at him.
Only then did he realize he was still on the plane. Tang Mo was looking at him with a face full of concern.
“Brother Chengning, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
Su Chengning’s gaze was somewhat vacant. He stared at the handsome young man before him; the small, delicate face from the dream seemed to have grown up in an instant.
He looked down at their hands, which were interlaced at some point. The temperature of Tang Mo’s palm was scorching.
Yet, a sharp pang of pain surged in his heart.
He parted his thin lips, his voice trembling slightly as he asked: “When you were a child, did Tang Chen ever lock you in a haunted house and abuse you?”
When the plane landed at Shengjing Airport, the horizon was slightly pale. A weak light appeared in the gloomy, grey sky, yet it couldn’t break the darkness, and the world remained shrouded in night.
Passengers walked past them one by one, slowly disembarking from the cabin.
Soon, only the two of them remained.
The flight attendant gave them a curious look and walked over. “Gentlemen, do you need any help?”
Tang Mo shook his head politely at her and turned to Su Chengning. “Brother Chengning, we should get off the plane.”
Su Chengning murmured to himself, “That’s right. You were so young then; you probably don’t remember it anymore.”
It was better not to remember. Such memories shouldn’t exist in the first place.
Tang Mo followed behind him, appearing unaffected by the strange words.
However, the fingers behind his back dug deep into his palm.
He would never forget a single thing Tang Chen had ever done to him.
The two walked out of the airport in silence. Assistant Qiu, who had been waiting outside, immediately walked over upon seeing them.
He put their luggage into the trunk and sat back in the driver’s seat.
Through the rearview mirror, he noticed the atmosphere between them was bizarre.
Particularly the way they kept their hands joined it appeared intimate, yet there was an indescribable air of sorrow.
Assistant Qiu thought for a moment and spoke up, “President Su, I’ve contacted the hospital. President Tang has been rescued. His injuries aren’t too severe, it’s just—”
He paused. Seeing them both looking at him, he continued, “It’s just that President Tang’s leg is broken.”
Su Chengning asked coldly, “Is he crippled?”
“Not exactly,” Assistant Qiu replied. “The doctor said it’ll probably be three to five months before he can get out of bed.”
“That’s truly a pity.”