Yu Huan was interested in everything. Whenever she came across something novel online, she always wanted to try it.
However, she was also extremely娇气 (spoiled and delicate) and could not handle even the slightest scare.
Anything even slightly frightening could give her nightmares, leaving her listless for several days, like a wilted flower.
Yet Yu Huan had an exceptional talent for ordering people around. With her sweet, crisp voice calling someone’s name and her bright, watery eyes staring straight at them, even the most cold-hearted person would find it impossible to refuse her.
So the girl who had grown up spoiled would always, whenever she wanted to try something but was too scared, get someone else to do it for her.
She would hide far behind, slender fingers covering her eyes, peeking through the gaps to satisfy her curiosity.
Yu Huan had seen this horror game a long time ago and had added it to her library the moment it was released.
Unfortunately, it was a multiplayer horror game, and when it launched, summer vacation had just begun—she had never managed to find someone to play it with her.
Now the timing was perfect. Zhu Heqing had come to find her, and Zhou Muyang was also at home. It just so happened to make up two people.
No matter how much Zhou Muyang complained, once he met Yu Huan’s face, he still obediently went back to fetch his computer.
When he was in his teens, Zhu Heqing had dabbled in many things, but after entering the company, the time he spent on electronic entertainment gradually decreased.
So aside from a slight initial unfamiliarity, he quickly regained his rhythm.
The game had excellent reviews. It used Chinese-style folk superstition as its foundation, paired with eerie horror background music and sudden jump scares that made many players’ hair stand on end.
Yu Huan lay on Zhu Heqing’s back, covering her ears with her hands. Whenever something scary appeared, she buried herself against his back and tightly covered her ears.
Warm breaths passed through the thin fabric and landed on his back. While controlling the character to solve puzzles, Zhu Heqing softly soothed her in a low voice.
Time passed quietly.
By the time Zhang Ya and the others returned holding large red fans, the game had just reached its ending phase.
Another jump scare appeared, and Zhou Muyang screamed without warning.
The moment they opened the door, they were met with his voice cracking in fright.
“Son, what are you yelling about?” Rong Xia poked her head in, then noticed the man sitting across from him and paused before recognizing him. “Little Zhu, you’re here too.”
After the jump scare ended, an animation played. Zhu Heqing first turned to steady Yu Huan, then stood up to greet the four of them.
“Uncle, Auntie, I apologize for the disturbance.”
“No, no,” Zhang Ya quickly said. “Fufu has been talking about you these past few days. Old Yu, go cut some watermelon.”
After some small talk, there was no new topic to continue.
With guests present, Rong Xia and the others did not want to stay longer. Once the game ended, they called Zhou Muyang and went home.
Yu Hezhang brought out cut watermelon and asked, “Little Zhu, what do you like to eat? I’ll cook it tonight.”
Zhu Heqing was very polite. “Uncle, your cooking is excellent. I like everything you make.”
“Auntie, I have a favor to ask.”
Zhang Ya asked curiously, “What is it?”
The man, whose temperament was refined and distinguished, appropriately revealed a trace of embarrassment.
“Fufu really likes your braised prawns in oil. She doesn’t like the ones outside, so I wanted to learn a bit of your technique.”
“Of course,” Zhang Ya said gladly. “Then later, you can come with me to the market to buy prawns. I’ll teach you step by step. I guarantee you’ll make something Fufu will love.”
The sun had just set, and faint red clouds still lingered in the sky when Zhang Ya took Zhu Heqing to the wet market.
After growing up, Yu Huan had not been to a wet market for a long time, so she insisted on going too.
In the end, they decided all four of them would go—there were two electric scooters at home, enough to fit everyone.
So Zhang Ya carried Yu Huan, and Yu Hezhang carried Zhu Heqing, and the four of them set off together in a lively procession to buy groceries.
But the moment they arrived, Yu Huan regretted it.
The market was crowded with stalls, the ground covered with vegetable leaves and spoiled produce, and the seafood stalls were especially wet and slippery.
With her cleanliness obsession, Yu Huan refused to walk and looked at Zhu Heqing pitifully.
Without hesitation, he squatted down in front of her, ready for the spoiled little princess to climb on.
Zhang Ya smiled and tapped Yu Huan’s upturned nose. “You really have been spoiled by us.”
Along the way, familiar vendors teased them kindly.
“Your daughter found a great boyfriend—so thoughtful.”
“Such a sweet couple, sweeter than honey. Even shopping at the market, he carries her.”
“When are you getting married? Remember to invite us.”
“Truly your daughter—so good at choosing a boyfriend, tall and handsome.”
“……”
Yu Huan’s face turned red from embarrassment. She buried her face against Zhu Heqing’s neck, using her fluffy head to face away from the crowd, and softly ordered him:
“Walk faster. So embarrassing.”
But Zhu Heqing responded to every teasing smile with a composed, polite expression.
“It’s not embarrassing. Everyone is blessing us.”
At a stall near the corner, a fat woman with short permed hair slammed vegetables down loudly.
“Tch. She’s just relying on her looks to hook a rich man. Once he gets bored of her, she’ll be dumped first.”
“Rich people are just playing with her for fun. Does she really think she’s something special?”
Someone nearby couldn’t stand it anymore. “Your mouth is too much. They’re a sweet couple—why are you so nosy?”
“Mind your own business,” the fat woman snapped. “My mouth, my rules.”
“I’m not wrong. That Yu Huan looks exactly like a seductress—flirting with every man she sees. People like her are the most shameless.”
She kept cursing until there were no more customers around, then packed up her stall and rode home.
The moment she entered, an aluminum can flew at her.
“You’re back so late—are you trying to starve me to death?”
The fat woman did not get angry. She smiled instead. “Son, I’m sorry. I’ll cook right away.”
In the living room, a man so fat his eyes were nearly squeezed shut lay on the sofa. Trash and cigarette butts covered the floor.
He scratched his nose, finished his last bottle of cola, and said impatiently, “Hurry up.”
“Okay, okay, right away.”
While chopping vegetables, the woman said to her son, “I saw that little bitch Yu Huan today.”
“She wasn’t ashamed at all. She hooked up with a rich man at least seven years older and even paraded him around. She’s completely embarrassed her ancestors.”
The man, upon hearing the name Yu Huan, felt a sharp pain in his scalp as he recalled being dragged and having his hair pulled when he was younger.
He touched his greasy hair and gave a sinister smile.
“That bitch… I’m waiting for her to get played to death by that old man.”