In the dead of night, everyone sat around a circular table, eyeing the figures around them with mutual vigilance and suspicion.
Xia Miao spotted a few familiar faces.
Lin Gaoshan sat beside her, while Leng Yeting and Ruan Zhizhi sat diagonally across from her. Ruan Zhizhi happened to be watching Xia Miao as well, and feeling unsettled, she unconsciously inched a bit closer to Leng Yeting, her expression strained.
At the center of the round table, a paper-crafted figurine cradled a small box and chirped excitedly, “Let’s all gather around and play a game of Truth or Dare tonight! It’s going to be so thrilling!”
Truth or Dare—just hearing the name of this game spelled trouble.
Everyone held deep reservations about the “Dare” part and tacitly resolved to choose “Truth” no matter what came up.
Xia Miao looked curiously at the paper figurine, baffled by how a flat piece of paper managed to move and speak. Meanwhile, her phone in her pocket kept buzzing annoyingly. Pulling it out, she took a glance:
【Look, flowers!】
【Look, grass!】
【Look, the clouds in the sky look like a puppy!】
【Just like you!】
【Look, a lump of mud!】
【Aren’t the footprints I stepped in pretty?】
【Look, look! This is the bird’s nest I climbed a tree to take a picture of for you!】
【Look, bird eggs!】
【This is a squirrel nest!】
【I dug up so many pinecones!】
…
Meaningless messages popped up one after another. Because typing was difficult for him, they were all voice messages accompanied by a string of utterly unesthetic photos. Too lazy to listen to them, Xia Miao tapped to convert every single one into text.
Noticing Xia Miao frowning at her phone, Lin Gaoshan assumed she was paralyzed with terror. Figuring that no strategy guides existed for searching a phone during such a bizarre game, he rolled his eyes and whispered, “The Butcher tonight is definitely the conjoined twin brothers.”
Xia Miao: “The conjoined twins?”
“Their absolute favorite thing to do is play games. The moment you lose a game, they’ll wipe you out. Plus, their games are always rigged with traps.”
Sure enough, the paper figurine beamed with a wide, eerie smile. “However, to make our game a little more fun, everyone is required to choose a Dare!”
The expressions on everyone’s faces shifted instantly.
Holding the small box filled with folded slips of paper, the paper figurine continued, “Whatever is written on the slip you draw, you must complete that task. You have a one-hour time limit. Anyone who fails their Dare will have some very interesting people dropping by to play with them instead!”
A chill crept down everyone’s spines. The “very interesting people” the paper figurine referred to couldn’t possibly be anyone other than that pair of conjoined twins who loved lurking in the dark to spy on people!
The paper figurine giggled. “Everyone, draw your lots!”
With no other choice, everyone reached forward and cautiously unfolded their slips of paper. Their reactions varied wildly upon reading the text, but they all instinctively and silently concealed their slips, making sure no one else could see what Dare they had been assigned.
Xia Miao drew a slip as well. Written on it was:
“In the rumored haunted projection room, when a horror movie plays, do ghosts actually appear?”
She rubbed her chin, pondering whether the prompt meant she needed to track down the projection room.
Lin Gaoshan sneaked a peek at Xia Miao’s slip and shivered. Seeming to offer well-intentioned advice, he warned, “They say anyone who steps inside that projection room never comes back out. It’s way too dangerous. Xia Miao, why don’t the two of us team up? I can help you.”
Giving him a skeptical look, Xia Miao replied, “No need.”
She shoved the slip into her pocket and walked out the door just like everyone else.
Lin Gaoshan wanted to tag along, but glancing down at his own slip of paper, he realized he had a task of his own to finish. Frustrated and resentful, he had no choice but to head out in the opposite direction.
Back when she spent time with Fang Ke’ai in their club, Xia Miao had heard Fang Ke’ai mention that the school’s projection room was located on the fourth floor of an abandoned experimental building situated right behind the multi-purpose building.
Walking along the pitch-black path, she could still make out other silhouettes at first, but as she ventured deeper and further into the gloom, all other figures vanished from sight.
With a heavy creak, she pushed open the thick iron door. Choking on a cloud of dust, Xia Miao coughed a few times, pulled out her phone, and glanced at the screen. Seeing the “99+” unread message notification from the contact nicknamed “Idiot,” she hesitated for a moment before turning on “Do Not Disturb” mode.
Giving him a phone in the first place must have been the worst mistake of her life.
Xia Miao switched on her phone’s flashlight and took the stairs step by step.
By the time she reached the fourth floor, the deeper she went, the colder the air became. Dressed in nothing more than her school uniform, she couldn’t help shivering.
The night wind rattled the tree branches, making the window panes bang noisily in a sound chillingly reminiscent of a beast’s growl. From corners shrouded in shadow, faint creaking noises echoed intermittently.
Unsure whether the sounds were caused by rats, Xia Miao rubbed her arms as goosebumps broke out across her skin.
Pushing further into the innermost corridor, she finally spotted a door sign bearing the words “Projection Room.” Pushing the door open, a wave of stale, heavy air rushed over her.
Carefully dodging the trash scattered across the floor, she stepped inside. By the beam of her light, she spotted a cassette tape resting in front of an antiquated desktop television set.
Right behind her, a pale white figure crept forward in absolute, ghostly silence, waiting to snatch away her soul the moment it touched her.
The instant Xia Miao spun around, the ghastly figure threw open its arms and shrieked, “Ugly monster, I’m going to eat you!”
With a loud thud, the response it received was a punch thrown straight by the girl.
The youth wrapped in window curtains let out an “Oof,” clutching his face right where two holes had been crudely snipped out, revealing a pair of furious, resentful fish-eyes staring back from within.
“Why aren’t you scared at all?!”
“I knew it was you, what’s there to be scared of?” Xia Miao crossed her arms. Even though she was shorter and had to tilt her head up to look at him, the haughty expression on her exquisite, pretty face didn’t falter in the slightest. She looked utterly pleased with herself.
Lu Yan asked blankly, “How did you know it was me?”
“I memorized your scent. The moment you got close, I could already smell the burnt aroma of biscuits on you.”
Lu Yan stammered, “S-S-S… Scent?!”
Beneath the curtain, he slouched, hunching his shoulders as he covered his burning face, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs.
The next second, Xia Miao lashed out with a kick, slamming the door shut. Clenching her fists, she demanded, “What did you just call me? An ugly monster?”
A jolt ran through Lu Yan and he spun around to bolt.
Xia Miao chased after him. “If you’ve got guts, don’t run!”
“I don’t have any!”
With the door shut, Lu Yan couldn’t escape outside, but he was light-footed and agile enough to leap all over the confined space, darting back and forth so she couldn’t touch a single hair on his head.
Before long, however, he tripped over the trailing hem of the curtain wrapped around him and tumbled onto the sofa with a loud thump.
Seizing the opportunity, Xia Miao let out a triumphant “Aha!” She leaped up onto the sofa as well, straddling his waist and raining blows down on him with both hands. “That’ll teach you to call me an ugly monster!”
Lu Yan shrieked in protest, throwing his hands up in a frantic scramble to block her.
As her hand brushed against his waist, his body suddenly convulsed. “Hahaha!”
She paused for a fraction of a second, a mischievous, wicked grin spreading across her face. Keeping both hands planted firmly against his taut waist, she began mercilessly tickling and kneading him right there.
“Haha… so itchy… stop!”
Amidst his wild flailing, the curtain slipped away, exposing his bandage-wrapped face to the moonlight. His previously lifeless eyes had curved into crescent moons, hazy with mist. The forced laughter lit up his eyes like twinkling stars, sparkling brilliantly.
Given his strength, he could easily have shoved her off. Yet he didn’t. As he struggled, those ice-cold hands of his kept instinctively hovering around her body, making sure she wouldn’t accidentally tumble off him.
Sensing the hands on his waist suddenly halt their attack, Lu Yan finally caught his breath. Opening his eyes, his blurred vision caught the sight of the girl looming over him, staring down with intense concentration.
For reasons unknown, his heart began racing faster and his body grew scorching hot. The burning flush on his face threatened to singe his bandages yet again, bringing a fresh wave of mortification. He didn’t dare meet her gaze directly, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her either.
Xia Miao cupped his face in her hands, leaned down, and slowly closed the distance.
Sensing her intent, Lu Yan beat her to it by peeling away the bandages covering his lips. With eager anticipation, he tilted his head up, parted his lips slightly, and pressed them against hers.
A gentle capture, a slow, lingering suction, and then a gradual, intimate intertwining. The lingering kiss stretched on for so long that even the stale air grew thick and languid.
Amidst the dizzying intimacy, he panted softly and muttered, “Why… why do you keep kissing me?”
“If I want to kiss you, I kiss you. Since when is there a need for so many whys?”
Locked lips and teeth, he let out a soft, aggrieved “Hmph,” laden with a surprising hint of coyness. “I never even said I agreed to let you kiss me.”
Xia Miao: “Plus ten points!”
A brilliant light flashed in the youth’s eyes. Wrapping his slender fingers around the back of her head, he pulled her down even tighter. “Then I’ll give you a few extra points… keep kissing me a while longer.”