An Yubei had serious trouble making choices. Being asked to choose could leave him agonizing forever.
Neither choice was good. Whoever wasn't chosen would definitely feel hurt.
One was his older brother, and the other was his friend. It really was hard to choose.
So An Yubei looked from one to the other and said, "Brother, Lu Jinsheng, you two play. I'll head to the haunted house first."
The haunted house was nearby. Because it was so frightening, there weren't many people in line, only two couples ahead of him.
An Yubei stood behind them and breathed a sigh of relief.
His brother and Lu Jinsheng were acting so strange today, almost as if they were jealous.
The girl ahead clung tightly to her boyfriend in fear and said, "Hubby, you have to protect me in there. I'm scared."
The girl nestled dependently in her boyfriend's arms, and he said proudly, "Wifey, don't worry. I'll definitely keep you safe."
"Hubby, you're so good to me. Love you."
"I love you too, wifey."
Looking at the couples ahead, all paired up, wasn't he a little lonely by himself?
Soon, someone tapped his shoulder. An Yubei turned to look and saw an unfamiliar young man.
The young man smiled and said, "Are you here for the haunted house too? Let's go together."
The young man was clearly the outgoing type, acting as though he already knew An Yubei.
An Yubei frowned and said quietly, "But I don't know you?"
An Yubei really didn't know the young man before him, but his voice sounded a little familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.
The young man smiled and stood beside An Yubei. "I'm the frog from this morning, the one who kept apologizing."
He imitated a frog's croak, making An Yubei burst out laughing.
Soon, the young man held out his hand to An Yubei and introduced himself. "Hi, my name's Li Liang."
Only then did An Yubei realize. No wonder his voice had sounded so familiar.
"Hi, my name's An Yubei."
Li Liang asked, "Where are your friends?"
When he'd seen An Yubei that morning, there had been two people with him. Both were very good-looking, and they seemed to treat An Yubei very well.
An Yubei said, "They're riding the bumper cars."
"Then let's do the haunted house together. I'm super brave, so I can protect you!" Li Liang patted his chest in assurance, just like the young man who had made that promise earlier.
The only difference was the form of address. That young man had called the girl his wife.
A strange feeling swept through An Yubei, and he nodded in bewilderment.
"Sure, I can protect you too."
As they grew bored waiting, Li Liang took out a coin. "We still have to wait a while anyway. How about a little game?"
An Yubei nodded. "Sure."
"Guess which hand the coin is in. If you get it right, I'll buy you a meal. If you get it wrong, you give me your WeChat."
An Yubei: "...!"
He wouldn't lose out either way, so what was the point of playing?
Li Liang put the coin in his left hand, then switched it back and forth right in front of An Yubei, who watched without blinking.
Soon, Li Liang stopped moving his hands and looked up at An Yubei. "Guess which hand the coin is in?"
An Yubei had watched carefully. The coin had been in his right hand when he stopped, so An Yubei was certain it was in the right.
Li Liang smiled confidently. "Really?"
An Yubei nodded. "Really."
So Li Liang revealed the answer, opening his right hand. It was completely empty. There wasn't a trace of the coin.
An Yubei searched Li Liang's hand, curious about where the coin had gone.
He'd been watching. It had been right there in his right hand. How had it disappeared?
"Why did it disappear?"
Li Liang chuckled. "Then shall I make it reappear for you?"
An Yubei nodded eagerly. "Yes."
Like a magician, Li Liang asked An Yubei to blow on his right hand.
An Yubei did as he was told. Soon, the right hand opened, and the vanished coin appeared.
An Yubei exclaimed at how amazing it was. "How did you do that?"
"Do you really want to know?"
An Yubei nodded like a curious child. "Yes."
Li Liang seized the opportunity. "Then give me your WeChat first, and have a meal with me. Then I'll tell you."
"Okay." Completely unguarded, An Yubei opened the QR code on his phone and held it out.
Li Liang smiled with his lips pressed together. Just as he scanned the code, someone suddenly snatched away the phone in front of him.
Li Liang looked up and saw the man who had held An Yubei that morning.
The man's expression was slightly cold, and he said in a distinctly unfriendly tone, "Xiao Bei, how could you add a stranger on WeChat?"
An Yubei gestured excitedly in front of Ji Shang. "Brother, Li Liang is amazing. He can do magic tricks. It's really incredible."
An Yubei excitedly shared what had just happened with Ji Shang, who listened quietly, while Lu Jinsheng took the opportunity to cut Li Liang off.
"Keep your little schemes to yourself. Stay away from him."
Ji Shang and Lu Jinsheng were like two bodyguards, protecting An Yubei and refusing to let anyone near him.
Faced with Lu Jinsheng's threat, Li Liang was unconcerned. "That's not up to you."
Li Liang stepped past Lu Jinsheng and smiled. "It's our turn. Let's go in together!"
An Yubei looked over and agreed.
He happily walked over to Li Liang again and asked, "How exactly did you do it? Could you teach me?"
[Once I learn, I'll show Dad and Brother.]
[I want to make Dad and Brother happy too.]
Ji Shang: "...!"
He could actually learn magic tricks and perform them for Xiao Bei.
Li Liang thought An Yubei was a little interested in him, so he leaned closer and said, "It's actually very simple. It's easy to learn...!"
The two walked ahead, with Ji Shang and Lu Jinsheng following behind. Both wore grim expressions, like beasts ready to devour someone.
They also looked a little like resentful husbands abandoned by their wives.
Li Liang added, "Beibei, if you're scared, you can hold on to me. I can protect you."
Being called Beibei made An Yubei uncomfortable all over. He politely declined. "No need. I'm not scared."
"Also, don't call me Beibei."
"Okay, Beibei."
An Yubei: "...!"
The haunted house was filled with eerie sound effects, and the lighting was dark green and red.
There wasn't much light, and with their vision impaired, nothing looked very clear.
All sorts of terrifying scenes assaulted their eyes, along with NPCs who occasionally jumped out to scare them.
An Yubei felt himself growing nervous.
Suddenly, a female ghost resembling Sadako lunged at An Yubei. Li Liang reacted quickly and pulled him away.
An Yubei was inwardly startled. "Thank you, Li Liang."
"You're welcome."
The two resentful husbands abandoned by their wives grew even more jealous.
Lu Jinsheng poked Ji Shang beside him and whispered, "President Ji, let's work together and deal with him."
If they kept fighting, someone else would snatch their baby away.
That Li Liang clearly had no good intentions. Their baby would be tricked.
Watching Li Liang and An Yubei chatting and laughing, Ji Shang felt deeply unhappy.
So he said, "Here's to working together."
A temporary united front was very necessary. They couldn't let someone steal their baby away.
Soon, they reached the zombie section, and Li Liang began playing his little games. "Zombies scare me the most. Beibei, protect me."
Because Li Liang had saved him earlier, An Yubei said, "All right, then. I'll protect you."
By protection, he had meant nothing more than protection, yet Li Liang actually wanted to hug him.
An Yubei froze slightly. "I...!"
Ji Shang strode forward and stood between them, cutting off Li Liang's little move. His tone was neither friendly nor hostile, but carried a warning. "Aren't you scared? Hug me. I'm not scared."
Li Liang: "...!"
There was really no need!
Lu Jinsheng stamped his feet and beat his chest. Why was he always a step behind Ji Shang?
Why did he never get a turn to be the hero saving the beauty?