The familiar force, the long-missed touch.
President Lu was thrilled again, following Shen Ranxin into the manor with a handprint still on his face.
Shen Ranxin wondered whether the production crew had installed central air conditioning throughout the manor. The moment he stepped inside, the temperature seemed several degrees lower than outside, and a layer of tiny goosebumps rose on his skin.
Every hair on his body stood on end, his muscles taut like a cat with its fur puffed up.
Lu Zhi let Shen Ranxin clutch him as he followed his steps deeper inside.
The first ten meters were all right—just some horror music mixed with blood-covered props.
Though the props looked quite realistic and especially terrifying beneath the dim lights, they were at least inanimate objects. As long as you did not touch them, they would not touch you.
It was still within Shen Ranxin's tolerance. He merely pressed himself a little deeper into Lu Zhi's arms before continuing onward.
Farther ahead were machine-operated props: a mummified corpse doing sit-ups in a coffin, withered claws suddenly reaching out from the roadside grass, plastic figures mechanically swinging knives up and down, and infant bodies flying overhead while making strange noises.
Shen Ranxin's breathing had already grown ragged. Pressed tightly against him, Lu Zhi could smell the pheromones he was struggling to control because of his unstable emotions.
Aggressive pheromones unique to an Alpha spilled out even through an inhibitor patch.
Lu Zhi knew that everything so far was already at the edge of Shen Ranxin's tolerance. If they went any farther and encountered live NPCs, Shen Ranxin might enter a certain... horrifying state.
Everyone had seen that state before.
It was probably like the night Gu Yifei insisted on singing Love You Till Death in the middle of the night.
It was a form of self-protection Shen Ranxin had developed, as well as an aftereffect left behind by that experience and the surgery.
Lu Zhi soothingly rubbed Shen Ranxin's neck, gently nuzzling the gland at the back of his neck. "If you're really too scared, we don't have to look anymore, okay?"
Shen Ranxin spoke with trembling lips. "D-Don't fucking talk nonsense. If we don't look, how are we supposed to get out? How are we supposed to find the red string?"
Lu Zhi held Shen Ranxin by the shoulders. "How about this? Say something nice, and I'll find a way to let you get the red string with your eyes closed."
Shen Ranxin paused, biting his lip as he hesitated. "...Can you really?"
"Of course." Lu Zhi said, "Now, baby, call me husband. How about it?"
Shen Ranxin fell silent for two seconds, then muttered sullenly, "...I can't say it. Pick something else."
Lu Zhi lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Shen Ranxin's. "Then call me Zhi Zhi."
Shen Ranxin froze, nearly forgetting to be afraid. "Zhi Zhi... Who's called Zhi Zhi? Don't tell me it's you? Hahahahaha... How could you have such a childish name?"
Lu Zhi lowered his gaze and said quietly, "Yeah. How could someone give me such a childish name?"
Shen Ranxin sniffled, coughed, and said softly, "Zhi Zhi, take me out."
Lu Zhi held his breath. After a long while, he let out a soft laugh as though defeated. "Who exactly is the seductive ghost here, Teacher Shen? How did I never know you were so good at tempting people?"
Shen Ranxin muttered, "So annoying. You said you could take me to the red string. Are you planning to... Ah!"
Before Shen Ranxin could finish, Lu Zhi lifted him up by the butt.
Shen Ranxin was very familiar with this position. Back in the themed suite at the restaurant, Lu Zhi had held him like this too.
Lu Zhi seemed to like this position very much. One hand slid to Shen Ranxin's neck and pressed his head into the hollow of his own neck. "Teacher Shen, close your eyes. Zhi Zhi is taking you away."
Before him was a scorching chest. A powerful heartbeat traveled through where their bodies pressed together, thump after thump, steady enough to set his mind at ease.
Behind him were Lu Zhi's strong arms, as though he had enclosed Shen Ranxin within an exceptionally safe little space.
Shen Ranxin's wildly pounding heart finally calmed under the rhythm of Lu Zhi's heartbeat.
Lu Zhi's arms were strong. Holding an adult Alpha who weighed over one hundred and thirty pounds did not seem difficult for him at all. His steps remained steady, and he was not even breathing heavily.
Shen Ranxin's ears quietly reddened. He buried his face against Lu Zhi's neck, his breath heating the fabric until it was scorching, yet he did not lift his head.
His legs instinctively hung at Lu Zhi's waist, then tightened. "If you think I'm heavy, you can stop and rest for a while... But you promised me—you can't put me down, okay?"
"Mm." As Lu Zhi spoke, the vibration in his chest traveled through to him.
Reassured, Shen Ranxin kicked his legs lightly, wrapped his arms around Lu Zhi's neck, and closed his eyes in peace.
Lu Zhi carried him like that for a stretch, leaving the live NPCs waiting in the manor completely dumbfounded.
No, fucking hell, they could show off like this too?
Someone, come deal with this! They were flaunting their love even in a haunted house!
They had worked here for years and scared away countless young couples, yet they had never seen anyone this shameless. So they worked even harder to deliver the performance of their lives!
Several NPCs pulled out every trick they had, yet they could not make Lu Zhi retreat even half a step.
Instead, the coldness in Lu Zhi's pale eyes beneath the dim lights made the NPCs themselves shiver.
No, whose home turf was this supposed to be!?
The night-vision cameras in the haunted house perfectly captured every movement Shen Ranxin and Lu Zhi made, transmitting it all back to the livestream.
[President Lu's boyfriend energy is off the charts!]
[How high do I need to stack my pillows to have a dream like this?]
[President Lu really is the Ancient Greek god in charge of hormones... I'm more excited than when I watch them sleep together!]
[Can Shen Ranxin be any more useless? An Alpha who's one meter eighty, acting like a delicate little wife! Where's an Alpha's pride and dignity?]
[I'm dying, who needs dignity in front of their husband!]
[These NPCs are useless. If I were an NPC in there, I'd definitely scare Shen Ranxin so badly he'd jump right off Lu Zhi!]
Perhaps the NPC performer had somehow connected with that viewer's brainwaves. Just as Lu Zhi easily obtained the red string and was preparing to carry Shen Ranxin out, an NPC suddenly leaped over without fear of death and viciously clawed Shen Ranxin across the back!
Before you continue