Hu Liena stopped in her tracks.
"How is that possible!" Her voice shot up. "Me, fall for Tang San? That scumbag? Are you out of your mind!"
Qin Chuan looked at her.
"Really?"
"Of course!"
A crooked smile tugged at Qin Chuan's lips. "Want to play Truth or Dare and put that to the test?"
Hu Liena's expression changed. She knew there might have been a spark once, but that was all in the past.
Hu Liena hurried over, grabbed Qin Chuan's arm, and leaned against him, shaking his arm.
"No, no! Let's get down to business! Didn't you want to see Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing? They live just up ahead."
Hu Liena pointed at a small two-story building ahead.
Qin Chuan looked at her clinging to his arm and smiled without saying anything. You sure changed tack fast.
"Let's go."
The two of them walked over and pushed the door open.
The room was well lit, its windows open, the breeze billowing the curtains.
Meditation cushions covered the floor, and a low table stood against the wall.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were meditating on the cushions. At the sound of the door, both opened their eyes and stopped.
"Qin Chuan," Xiao Wu spoke first.
"Qin Chuan." Zhu Zhuqing greeted him too, her voice subdued.
Qin Chuan nodded and sat down beside the low table.
"My Douluo Game Hall opens tomorrow. You already know, right?"
Xiao Wu rose from her cushion and came over to sit at the table.
"We know. I heard playing games there can increase your Soul Power. Is that true?"
Qin Chuan said, "Of course."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"That's great. But Qin Chuan, it only just dawned on me how much fun those games on the arena stage the day before yesterday were. Coin of Fate, Rock-Paper-Scissors, Truth or Dare, and Destiny Roulette."
Zhu Zhuqing interjected, "By the way, Qin Chuan, what's your fifth Soul Skill?"
Qin Chuan settled back against the wall and stretched.
"My fifth Soul Skill is called [Happy Cultivation]. It's a cultivation-support Soul Skill. As long as you play games with me, or play games at my shop, your Soul Power will increase ten to a hundred times faster than through meditation, depending on how happy I am. Women get an additional twofold bonus."
The room fell silent for two breaths.
Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Hu Liena all pricked up their ears.
"Ten to a hundred times?" Xiao Wu repeated, her voice rising a notch.
"Women get an additional twofold bonus?" Hu Liena's eyes darted thoughtfully.
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but the way she looked at Qin Chuan changed. There was something more in her gaze.
Xiao Wu shook her head. "I don't believe it. Not unless we play together and see for ourselves."
Qin Chuan glanced around the room. "All right. This place isn't much of a setting. How about the four of us head into a room and play [Blindfolded Tag]? Interested?"
"How do we play?" Hu Liena asked.
Qin Chuan briefly explained: one person wore a blindfold and played the blind seeker, while the others hid and stayed still. After finding someone by touch, the seeker had to identify them by feel. A correct guess meant switching seekers; a wrong guess meant remaining the seeker.
The three exchanged glances. It sounded refreshingly new.
"Come on, let's go to the private cultivation chamber. There's more room there." Hu Liena took Xiao Wu's hand and headed out.
Zhu Zhuqing stood, brushed off her skirt, and followed.
The private cultivation chamber stood at the far end of the residential area, a stone room of roughly fifty square meters. It held a few simple furnishings: a low table, a wooden cabinet, and two chairs.
Once the four were inside, Qin Chuan pulled a special piece of black cloth from his pocket.
"Since it's our first time, I'll be the seeker."
He waved the black cloth in his hand. Hu Liena took it and tried it on. Once blindfolded, she couldn't see anything, and even her Soul Power perception was blocked.
"This thing is pretty impressive." Hu Liena handed the cloth back.
Xiao Wu tried it too, blinking hard several times, but she couldn't see a thing.
"You really can't see anything."
Qin Chuan took the black cloth.
"All right, I'm putting the blindfold on now. You have twenty seconds to find your spots."
He tied the black cloth around his head and pulled it tight. Everything went pitch-black, and his Soul Power perception cut off too.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Happy Cultivation!"
The [Clown Dwarf] sprang from his palm and somersaulted in midair.
"Game Domain activated! All participants, please hide within twenty seconds. Players may freely swap their looks-hairstyles, clothes, and shoes are all allowed. You may also use a few props, but you cannot change your faces."
All three girls' eyes lit up.
They could change their looks?
The twenty-second countdown began.
Hu Liena moved first. She ducked under the low table and tucked in the hem of her skirt.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't crawl under the table. Instead, she leaped up and silently crouched on top of it.
Xiao Wu looked around and found all the good spots taken, so she simply hid two steps behind Qin Chuan.
The darkest place was right beneath the lamp.
The three stifled their laughter and exchanged gestures.
"Time's up," the [Clown Dwarf] announced. "Game Domain activated. All participants must obey the rules, remain within the domain, and stay in place while the seeker feels for them. The seeker is forbidden from touching faces."
Qin Chuan began to move.
Without Soul Power perception or sight, he was no different from someone truly blind.
He stretched both hands ahead and shuffled forward, step by step.
First, he found the wall. He followed it to the left, his palms scraping over the stone twice.
He took a few more steps and banged his knee against the corner of the cabinet.
"Ow, shit." Qin Chuan rubbed his knee. "You sure tucked yourselves away."
A stifled laugh escaped behind him.
It was faint, but Qin Chuan heard it.
Behind him.
He turned, stretched out his arms, and felt his way toward the sound, one step at a time. Three steps, two, one. His fingers touched someone's shoulder.
"Got you. You little sneak, hiding behind me."
Xiao Wu covered her mouth, but laughter had already leaked through her fingers.
Qin Chuan gripped her shoulder and didn't let go.
The Clown Dwarf prompted him, "According to the rules, please guess the other player's name within ten seconds."
He began feeling around.
Her hair came first. His fingers slid down it and found a braid, thick and long, hanging all the way down past her waist.
"A scorpion braid. That's way too obvious!"
He felt farther down. Her shoulders weren't broad, she wore a short top, and her waist was narrow. Lower still, his fingers touched the edge of a skirt. A short skirt.
Then her feet. Qin Chuan crouched and felt them. Princess shoes, with rounded toes and soft soles.
Qin Chuan stood and clapped his hands.
"I've figured it out. A scorpion braid, princess shoes, and a short skirt. This definitely isn't Xiao Wu."
He paused.
"I guess Hu Liena! You swapped your looks."
The room went silent for a breath.
The [Clown Dwarf] floated down from the air and tilted his head. "Sorry, you guessed wrong!"
All three burst out laughing.
Xiao Wu laughed so hard she crouched on the floor. Hu Liena crawled out from beneath the table, slapping her thighs with laughter, while Zhu Zhuqing crouched on the tabletop, unable to stop grinning.
Qin Chuan pulled off the black cloth and looked.
The person in front of him was Xiao Wu. Scorpion braid, princess shoes, pink short skirt. She hadn't changed a thing.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to follow the script?" Qin Chuan froze for a moment. "Didn't you know you could swap your looks?"
"I knew." Xiao Wu laughed until tears streamed from her eyes. "But I didn't change anything. I wanted to see what you'd guess."
Hu Liena chimed in from the side, "You overthought it yourself. Who else can you blame?"
Qin Chuan: "..."
"Again." He tied the black cloth back on.
The [Clown Dwarf] announced once more, "Participants, please settle into your positions within twenty seconds. You may swap your looks with one another."
Before you continue