In the center of the room was a large circular Thomas the Tank Engine train track.
A tall NPC, his face painted with a clown mask and clad in a zebra-striped patient gown, sat before the Thomas train tracks. He picked up a small doll, laid it flat on the tracks, and started the train. With a crazed expression, he watched as the train ran over the doll, splitting it in half. Blood from the doll’s internal blood pack splattered everywhere, staining the surroundings. Yet the NPC, playing the role of a patient, seemed completely unaware, repeating the action over and over again, sending chills down their spines.
The more warm and normal the environment appeared, the more insane and obsessive his actions seemed, making their scalps tingle.
Ma Qingyu quickly grasped the intention behind this setup. “This is the reason Xiao Hong was driven to suicide after being admitted to the psychiatric hospital.”
“Mm,” Che Xiayun nodded emphatically, deducing, “Then the third floor must be where Xiao Hong took her own life.”
The two exchanged a glance before turning to leave the room. The NPC, who had been about to hand them a clue card, froze mid-action. These two were just too sharp.
On their way to the third floor, Che Xiayun clearly heard the screams of the general and Ran Shan. She was puzzled they had already been through all the rooms on the second floor, and there was nothing particularly horrifying or frightening there.
Upon reaching the third floor, Ma Qingyu noticed that one room was locked, while the other was not. “We need to find the key.”
“Mm.” Che Xiayun glanced toward the unlocked room. “The key is probably in the pockets or a hidden layer of the clothes on Xiao Hong’s corpse. There are no more clue cards here. On the third floor, we just need to pick out the most important item.”
Yes, you guessed correctly. The staff were utterly impressed, she was a logical genius, to say the least.
After easily obtaining the key, they entered the selection phase. Originally, the hidden challenge of the task was to identify which one was the real Xiao Fang. Even if they couldn’t figure it out, it would come down to which team had better luck or was faster. But now, this hidden challenge had been completely bypassed, leaving the staff caught off guard.
The locked room contained only a table with four items on it: a ball of yarn, a pair of sharpened iron chopsticks, a doll that closely resembled Xiao Fang, and a broken mobile phone containing a black-and-white photo of Xiao Fang.
Ma Qingyu looked at Che Xiayun, who was deep in thought, and gazed at her profile as she asked softly, “Which one are you planning to choose?”
Che Xiayun turned to look at her, pondering for a moment. “Is there anything you like among the winner’s small rewards?”
Ma Qingyu licked her lips, her mouth feeling a bit dry. “There’s a doll that looks really nice soft and chubby. It must feel great to touch.”
Che Xiayun nodded slightly and pointed to the items on the table. “Let’s take the ball of yarn and the chopsticks. These are items that need to be used together, they can be used to knit a sweater by hand.”
Ma Qingyu picked up the two items she mentioned. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Xiao Hong had been a garment factory worker in her lifetime, and Xiao Fang happened to be wearing a hand-knitted sweater both clues pointing to this conclusion. As for the cloth doll in Xiao Fang’s hand, it was a red herring, not something Xiao Hong valued but rather something she detested.
Che Xiayun deduced that Xiao Fang had likely run into the middle of the road to retrieve the cloth doll she had dropped, and due to her tinnitus, she couldn’t hear the car horn, leading to the accident.
As for the phone containing Xiao Fang’s photo, while most people would consider it important, in the eyes of Xiao Hong, a psychiatric patient repeatedly traumatized, the black-and-white photo on that phone only brought her endless pain.
The two of them stepped out of the third-floor room. Wei Ziyue and Jiang Shuai were still suffering in a room on the second floor. Ma Qingyu stood in the stairwell, glancing downward. “Let’s wait until they’ve had their fill of fun before going down.”
Che Xiayun idly played with the small light in her hand, repeatedly flicking the switch on and off, making the light blink intermittently. “Mm.”
Ma Qingyu looked at her wrist, where a fluorescent green bracelet glowed. “Did they give you bracelets too?”
Che Xiayun glanced at her own wrist and raised it, shaking it slightly. “They weren’t handed out. Jiang Shuai was worried we wouldn’t be able to find each other if we got separated, so she prepared these bracelets.”
“Mm.” Ma Qingyu nodded slightly. “It’s a bit too big for you.”
Che Xiayun agreed, pressing her thumb and forefinger against her neck dramatically. “It could even fit around my neck.”
“Pfft!”
Ma Qingyu laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “If it were around your neck, it would definitely be too small then.”
The screams from below subsided, and Wei Ziyue’s slightly excited voice rang out, “Come on, let’s go check out the third floor.”
Jiang Shuai, looking wilted, pleaded, “Sis, can we slow down a bit? My legs are weak, I have no strength.”
Hearing their voices, Che Xiayun started heading downstairs. “There’s nothing particularly scary on the third floor, it’s mostly about solving the case. We’ve already finished.”
Ma Qingyu followed behind her, holding the selected items in her hand.
Jiang Shuai immediately perked up, straightened her posture, and clapped her hands. “Great! Let’s get out of here quickly!”
Wei Ziyue, however, seemed a bit reluctant to leave. “We’ll come back and play again next time.”
The group of five arrived at the first-floor morgue. Ma Qingyu placed the items next to Xiao Fang’s body. Shortly after, a voice came through the walkie-talkie: “Congratulations on completing the mission. Please wait patiently for one minute. Staff will come to escort you out.”
After exiting the haunted house and retrieving their phones, Che Xiayun checked the time, it was just a few minutes before 4:30. Ma Qingyu went to choose a reward, while Jiang Shuai, still shaken, clung to Ran Shan, her face pale with fright.
Ma Qingyu happily returned carrying a large kumquat plush toy soft, plump, and covered in slightly fuzzy fabric that looked incredibly pleasant to touch. Wei Ziyue exclaimed in admiration, “It’s so pretty, this doll!”
Che Xiayun turned at the sound and saw the large kumquat in Ma Qingyu’s arms. Her smile froze on her face as she imagined the fate of the kumquat doll being squeezed and deformed in Ma Qingyu’s hands. She thought bitterly, Can’t you even spare a kumquat plushie?
Ma Qingyu gently stroked the kumquat’s soft fur, then pinched its bright yellow belly, her smile growing wider. “It really is quite lovely.”
Wei Ziyue waved them over. “Come on, everyone, let’s take a group photo before we leave.”
The five of them surrounded Ma Qingyu, who was holding a large kumquat, in the center. Che Xiayun forced a smile as she was directed to strike various poses while the staff took several photos of them.
Wei Ziyue pushed Che Xiayun closer to Ma Qingyu, lifted her hand to rest on Ma Qingyu’s shoulder, and placed her other hand on the kumquat. With a cheerful smile, she said, “Now a photo of just the two lovebirds.”
Ma Qingyu subtly tilted her head slightly toward Che Xiayun and shifted the kumquat in front of both of them, making it look as though Che Xiayun was the one actively embracing her, while she appeared delicate and reliant.
Wei Ziyue raised her phone and snapped three pictures in quick succession. “Get a little closer, and try another pose.”
Suddenly, Che Xiayun felt as if they were taking wedding photos. But in her memory, she and Ma Qingyu had had a whirlwind marriage, they hadn’t even held a wedding ceremony, let alone taken wedding photos.
It really wasn’t fair to Ma Qingyu. She couldn’t help but glance at the omega in her arms, just as Ma Qingyu happened to look up at her. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Che Xiayun gazed at her with a hint of curiosity, even leaning in slightly to study her lips and examine her features closely. Ma Qingyu’s heart fluttered nervously, her eyelashes trembling faintly.
Wei Ziyue clicked away, taking several more shots, and praised, “You two look so perfect together.”
As if snapping out of a dream, Che Xiayun released Ma Qingyu and awkwardly stepped aside, her face flushing. Why had she felt the urge to kiss her just moments before?
She could still recall every subtle expression when Ma Qingyu looked up, a touch of surprise, a hint of tension, but mostly joy. She could even count Ma Qingyu’s long, slightly upturned eyelashes and remember her dark, profound pupils.
Maybe this is what they call a “professional couple”?