Chapter 416
Such lighting only lasted a moment before the entire haunted house plunged back into darkness, as if everything that had just happened was nothing but an illusion.
Ariel wasn’t startled by the sudden appearance of the ghosts, but rather by Lin Mengyao’s shrill scream.
Once again enveloped in pitch darkness, she couldn’t discern the situation, but it wasn’t difficult to deduce what had happened from the sobs echoing through the air.
Ariel played with her folding fan using the hand that had been freed, quietly waiting for the next terrifying moment to arrive.
She listened as Xu Ke softly consoled Lin Mengyao, while she idly counted seconds in her mind. When she reached the tenth second, the lights in the haunted house flickered back on, and eerie singing emanated from all parts of the small town, followed by the roars of beasts from behind them.
Sometime unknown to them, over a dozen zombies with special effects makeup had appeared behind them, where there had once been nothing.
They stood in a row, contorting their bodies, their eyes devoid of black pupils stared at the three of them, mouths agape as they shuffled towards them.
“Seems like your dear wife isn’t as invested in you as you are in her. They say that only in times of adversity can you see true feelings, didn’t expect a haunted house to reveal such truths too.” Ariel waved her fan in the eerie haunted house, dismissing the surrounding zombies as inconsequential. Her eyes mocked them, and when a zombie reached out with its long nails to scratch her, she slapped their hand sharply with her fan, making them retract.
Under the alternating red and green lights, Xu Ke’s expression appeared slightly twisted.
“This is between her and me, it’s none of your business, just mind your own.” Xu Ke raised his eyes and spoke to Ariel with an expressionless face.
“You are my business, you know that I’m quite interested in you, so your business is my business. And you should be careful; little by little, I’ll infiltrate your life, acting as the wedge in your already unstable marriage, prying it apart until there’s room for me.” Ariel’s expression was not at all forced; on the contrary, it radiated strong self-assurance.
The workers exchanged glances when they saw the two conversing. Taking advantage of the distraction, they slipped along the walls to leave the main group and pursue the fleeing Lin Mengyao.
Compared to these two fearless individuals, a person like Lin Mengyao, who could be scared, offered them more satisfaction.
“Why would a young lady like you want to do something like this, following a man without a name or status without fearing your father’s disappointment?” Xu Ke found it difficult to understand Ariel’s thought process, “You could walk anywhere in this city unchallenged with your status, what kind of man can’t you find? Why invest your heart in me?”
“You’re right, with my status, there are all kinds of men I could want, but there’s only one of you, and I only wish for you. Plus, in my culture, it’s open-minded, even if I were to become a mistress, my father wouldn’t say anything. In fact, he doesn’t meddle in most of my affairs, as long as it doesn’t harm his interests, even if I do something outrageous, he won’t mind.”
Ariel didn’t mind expressing her feelings about Xu Ke openly, not embarrassed to declare her affection for Xu Ke in public, contrasting with Lin Mengyao’s reserved nature.
The hand that had gripped Lin Mengyao’s earlier now felt empty and hollow. Xu Ke repeatedly clenched his palm, a seemingly stable aspect of his thoughts experiencing a significant shift.
Xu Ke tightened his hand, closing his eyes. He was a man who understood things perfectly, aware that his attitude had changed, although he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when. The fact that he didn’t dislike this change said volumes.
“I know you’re still wrestling with your thoughts, weighing your options, observing, but I don’t mind waiting. Shall we stop wasting time here and go after Yaoyao? Though it’s a haunted house with no real dangers, we should bring her out to prevent her from crying too much,” Ariel suggested.
Xu Ke did not object, though the look he gave Ariel was noticeably warmer, even carrying a hint of tenderness.
It was only when they snapped out of their conversation that they realized the zombies confining them had dwindled unexpectedly.
“Where are your colleagues?” Xu Ke turned to ask the remaining zombies.
“They followed your companion.” A zombie who had eavesdropped on the juicy conversation burped contentedly, realizing they couldn’t scare them anymore, so he dropped the frightful facade and calmly replied to Xu Ke.
Eyes hidden behind white contact lenses darted around the two as if analyzing their situation.
“You have a way to communicate with them, right? Ask your colleagues to report their position; we need to find someone,” Xu Ke instructed.
“No problem, but they might not reply to me right away. You know your companion’s jumpy nature is exactly what we love in this line of work; they might be too preoccupied with her now to respond,” the zombie agreed to help Xu Ke locate someone but also expressed his own assumptions, advising them not to get their hopes too high.
Just as the zombie was about to dial on the walkie-talkie, a piercing female scream came from the east side of the town. Without a moment’s hesitation, they knew who it was. Xu Ke and Ariel exchanged a glance and quickly sprinted towards the sound’s origin.
Although Ariel held up a huge skirt, her pace was equally brisk, with neither holding the other back. Not fearing the ghost characters played by the workers around them, they rushed straight to Lin Mengyao’s location without pause,
“Don’t come any closer, don’t come near me. I’m not afraid of you, I’m not afraid at all.” Lin Mengyao brandished a human leg bone she had picked up from somewhere as a weapon, swinging it to keep the zombie-like workers at bay.
Tears stained her face; this usually aloof and noble person now exposed a vulnerable and endearing side, presenting a different kind of beauty. Though Lin Mengyao didn’t possess Western-style features, she still drew their gaze irresistibly.