She sat up, opened the chat with Duan Jiaxu, and typed: Duan Jiaxu.
A few minutes later, he replied: What’s up?
Sang Zhi: Do you want to play escape room?
Duan Jiaxu: Sure.
Duan Jiaxu: Do you have a theme in mind?
Sang Zhi: There’s a new place near our school. They have a theme called ‘Class Reunion,’ not horror, and it has pretty good reviews.
Duan Jiaxu: Okay.
Duan Jiaxu: Weren’t you going to catch up on sleep? Get some rest, and I’ll call you when I’m downstairs at your dorm. –
After deciding on the matter, Sang Zhi planned things out for herself, gradually relaxing, and eventually fell asleep without realizing it.
She slept deeply until she was woken up by Duan Jiaxu’s call.
The ringing gave her a headache, and she groggily answered. Then she heard Duan Jiaxu’s voice on the other end, “Are you still sleeping?”
She couldn’t process it right away and sluggishly responded, “Did you call just to ask if I’m still sleeping?”
”…” Duan Jiaxu chuckled, “What should I say?”
Three seconds of silence.
Sang Zhi gradually came to her senses. “Oh.”
”Remember now?”
”Are you downstairs at my dorm?”
”Yeah.”
Another few seconds of silence.
Sang Zhi sat up, unable to resist complaining, “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
”No rush,” Duan Jiaxu said lazily. “Now just get out of bed, wash up, change your clothes, put on your shoes, and you’ll be ready to leave.”
”…” Sang Zhi lifted the mosquito net and climbed down from the bed. “Wait a bit, I’m hanging up.”
She quickly went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, splashed water on her face, and then changed into a different outfit.
Sang Zhi put on some light makeup and tied her hair up. She grabbed a bag casually, hooked it on her arm, picked up her phone and keys, and headed out the door.
After all that, nearly twenty minutes had passed.
Worried that Duan Jiaxu might get impatient waiting, she jogged downstairs. The moment she stepped out of the dormitory building, she spotted him standing under a tree outside. She quickened her pace and bounced over to him.
Hearing her footsteps, Duan Jiaxu looked up.
As if she couldn’t stop herself, Sang Zhi crashed into his arms.
He instinctively took a step back in fear that she’d fall and quickly placed a hand on her back to steady her. He looked a bit startled but smiled naturally. “In such a good mood today?”
Sang Zhi looked up at him without pulling back, her eyes curving into a smile. “Mhm.”
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow.
After a few seconds of looking at him, Sang Zhi stepped back two paces, took out her phone from her bag, and blinked. “I thought you’d call me out for taking so long.”
”It wasn’t that long,” Duan Jiaxu reminded her, “Next time, don’t run down—it’s easy to trip.”
She nodded. “I booked the tickets before going to sleep. We have a reservation at 8 with the manager, it’ll take about an hour, so we’ll finish by 9. Sound good?”
He held her free hand and tilted his head slightly. “Sounds good.”
Moments later.
Sang Zhi suddenly called out to him, “Duan Jiaxu.”
”What is it?”
”Nothing.” Sang Zhi hesitated, then asked, “Can I keep calling you that from now on?”
”Of course, call me whatever you like,” Duan Jiaxu replied, his voice tinged with amusement as he habitually pinched her fingertips as if playing with clay. “I was just wondering when you’d start calling me something else.”
”I feel like I should start calling you something else,” Sang Zhi thought for a moment, “Otherwise, always adding ‘ge’ makes it feel like I’m dating a parent.”
”…”
”And you’re always watching over me,” Sang Zhi added. “That just makes it feel even more like that.”
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “I’m always watching over you?”
Sang Zhi replied, “Don’t you think so? I used to want to tell you—why do you like taking care of kids so much? Why don’t you just have one yourself to look after?”
Duan Jiaxu laughed, “Alright, let’s wait until you graduate from college for this discussion.”
”…” His response made Sang Zhi realize that it seemed to have something to do with her. “By the time I graduate, you’ll be thirty.”
He thought she’d get annoyed, but her calm tone caught him by surprise.
”Huh?”
Sang Zhi seriously added a few more words, “An older parent.”
”Who told you that?” Duan Jiaxu was both amused and exasperated. “Fifty would be considered old!”
They grabbed a quick set meal nearby.
Afterward, Sang Zhi took him to an escape room shop.
The two went to the counter to meet the owner, handed over their phones, and listened as he explained the theme’s backstory. Then, the owner gave each of them a student ID card to wear around their necks.
Sang Zhi looked at the name on her student ID card, then flipped over Duan Jiaxu’s to check his.
She burst out laughing. “Your name is Xiao Hong, a second-grade, class-one student. An elementary school student.
He laughed along and hummed in agreement.
She called out, “Xiao Hong.”
He replied cheerfully, “Present.”
The owner: “…”
Love really does stink of sweetness.
The owner led them into one of the rooms and said, “You have an hour. Here’s the timer. If you need hints or want to extend the time, just use this pager to let me know.”
Sang Zhi nodded.
The door was then closed and locked by the owner from outside.
Sang Zhi hadn’t played this kind of game much, so she wasn’t sure where to start and began rummaging through everything. The room was set up as a small classroom, with several strings of numbers on the blackboard and some items on the teacher’s desk.
On a nearby table were some documents and graduation photos from previous years.
Sang Zhi found a box in one of the desk drawers, secured with a three-digit combination lock. She looked at the blackboard, noticing three math problems written there, and guessed, “If we solve the math problems on the blackboard, could that be the code for this box?”
Duan Jiaxu glanced over, took the box, and fiddled with the dials.
Soon, the box opened.
Inside were two flashlights.
She couldn’t figure it out. “What are these for?”
Duan Jiaxu, playing along, gently suggested, “We should probably turn off the lights. There might be something written that only shows up under this light.”
”Oh.” Sang Zhi felt a bit clueless, but followed his suggestion and went over to turn off the lights. “Where should I shine it?”
He handed her one of the flashlights. “Try shining it everywhere.”
The room was enclosed, and with the lights off, it was almost pitch-dark. She turned on the flashlight. The light had a purplish tint, and she randomly aimed it at the floor, walls, and ceiling.
She didn’t find any clues at first.
She crouched down in frustration. Under the flashlight’s glow, she happened to notice a number next to one of the desks by the wall. She doubted her eyes at first and stared at it for a few seconds before excitedly saying, “There’s a number here!”
Duan Jiaxu, who had been by the teacher’s desk, came over and crouched down to look. “I saw a note earlier. I think we need four numbers.”
They both crouched on the floor, close to each other.
The darkness and tight space made the atmosphere feel more intimate. His normal speaking voice somehow sounded like it was right next to her ear.
Sang Zhi instinctively looked at him, raising the flashlight and illuminating the lower half of his face. In the dim light, she could clearly see the bridge of his nose and his slightly curved lips.
She remembered Ning Wei’s words, ‘Do whatever you want,’ and suddenly lowered the flashlight and stood up.
He stood up with her. “Should we look for the others?”
Sang Zhi was silent for a few seconds before replying with something unexpected, “I don’t want you to feel too tense, so I’ll give you a heads-up.”
Duan Jiaxu, caught off guard, said, “Hmm?”
The moment seemed to freeze.
Then, Sang Zhi abruptly said, “I plan to kiss you today.”
Duan Jiaxu’s expression froze as he looked directly at her.
”So be prepared.”
”…”
Peek-Aboo 
Leave a comment