Chapter 77 Side Story 9

Chapter 77 Extra Story Nine

After the first round ended, the production crew led the guests onto a minibus heading to the next destination, but kept the location a secret in advance—no matter how hard the guests tried, they couldn't get a single word out of them.

To ease the boredom of the ride, the MC chatted with the guests about gossip topics.

"Speaking of which, the topic 'from school uniforms to wedding dresses' has been trending online lately. So, dear guests, did you go from school uniforms to wedding dresses with your loved ones, or did you say goodbye to your first love and choose someone more suited to you?" The MC asked this hoping to dig up some juicy stories.

At first, the guests just smiled, except for the resident goofball, who deliberately praised which female celebrity was beautiful or was his first love or something like that, for the sake of the show's effect.

But the cameraman's lens, whether intentionally or not, kept focusing on Shen Gali.

The cameraman could swear on his conscience that he wasn't doing it on purpose, but it seemed like he was habitually pointing the camera at Shen Gali's face.

The live comments were thrilled:

"Promising! Host, quick, ask Li Li about his first love—I'm really curious what Li Li's first love was like."

"Oh my god, hard to imagine. Whoever saved the earth in their past life would be the one Xiao Lizi would never forget."

Not only the viewers in front of the screens, but among the country's billions, it would be hard to find anyone more concerned than Nan Liujing.

Damn—he realized he had never asked about Shen Gali's first love. Someone like him, even at school age, would have been pursued by countless students even if he did nothing. And with the added appeal of being a sickly beauty, had he really never had a relationship? Couldn't someone have easily gotten through to him when he was at his most vulnerable?

Nan Liujing fixed his gaze on Shen Gali, forgetting to blink.

He desperately wanted to know—yet he feared it and couldn't bear the thought that Shen Gali might have loved someone other than him.

Since the camera was on Shen Gali, the MC jumped at the chance: "Hey, Jiali, we're all really curious. With your looks, you must have been pretty popular during your school days, right? Was it like in the dramas—love letters stuffed in your desk, lots of chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

"Do you remember any classmates who left a deep impression on you, or any boy or girl who made your heart skip a beat?" The MC pressed further.

Nan Liujing, hearing this question, kept his expression calm, but his face turned cold. His lips pressed into a downward curve. It was clear he wasn't happy, but since they were filming, he kept his mouth shut.

Distant memories—Shen Gali could barely recall them. His brain didn't waste energy on such things.

But now that the host brought it up, a vague impression seemed to surface.

It seemed there really was such a person?

As soon as the alarm went off, many students ignored the teacher's instructions and panicked, rushing toward the door, blocking it completely.

Shen Gali, slower to react than others, sat still in his seat, blankly watching the students screaming and stampeding out.

But then someone swam upstream—someone who had already left the classroom but turned back, strode over to Shen Gali, and without a word, scooped him up and carried him safely out of the building.

Shen Gali couldn't remember that person's face or name, but it was the only vague impression he had from his adolescence.

"Oh, there was someone. I thought it was an earthquake. I was slow to react. Everyone else had left, but someone came back to get me out." Shen Gali kept it brief. What could have been a touching story came out as flat as a discussion about dinner.

The camera cunningly focused on Nan Liujing.

He still wore the same expression—cold and distant, hard to read. The director later added an angry mark on his forehead as a joke to ease the awkwardness.

"Wow, that does sound heartwarming. Everyone thought it was a real earthquake warning, not a drill. At the most vulnerable moment, a hero goes against the current, risking himself just to protect you. Honestly, I'd want to give myself to him too." The MC got lost in his own fantasy, forgetting that this episode's guests were different from past celebrity guests—not everyone could take such jokes.

He continued to stir the pot, asking Shen Gali: "If this hero and Chairman Nan appeared before you at the same time, and you could only choose one, what would you do?"

Shen Gali got fed up: "I refuse to answer any 'what if' questions."

The audience lamented:

"First of all, Li Li always tells it like it is. The only reason he refuses to answer is..."

"He would choose the hero. So sad."

"My heart goes out to Brother Jing for a second. But honestly, anyone would be moved. It's one thing if they knew it was a drill, but nobody knew."

Nan Liujing breathed a quiet sigh, staring at the scenery outside the window without a word.

As they chatted, the minibus drove past high-rises until the roadside gradually turned to low houses and then to withered trees stretching endlessly. The sky, once bright and sunny, became overcast as they entered this dead-silent area.

The originally lighthearted atmosphere in the minibus suddenly turned tense and creepily quiet.

Everyone looked around—they could see an abandoned mountain with sparse, withered vegetation that had long been untended.

The car stopped, and before them stood a three-story derelict building. The white paint was peeling in patches, like the flaky skin of a psoriasis patient. The building looked old. The iron gate at the entrance was rusted and stained, with faint traces of soot from a fire.

When they saw the dilapidated sign at the top of the building, swaying precariously, everyone: ...

Escape room, haunted house edition.

This abandoned hospital had recently gone viral online, with elaborate rumors as if people had seen it firsthand, which happened to give the production team an idea.

The so-called suspension bridge effect refers to two people misattributing the fear-induced racing heart to attraction for each other, thereby increasing mutual affection. Although the suspension bridge effect no longer applied to these old married couples, still—

Old wine in new bottles—it's not the trick that matters, as long as it works.

The rules for this challenge were simple: each couple would go into the supposedly haunted hospital with one VJ cameraman. Within the time limit, they had to find three glow-in-the-dark name tags (including the VJ's) to win.

Shen Gali listened with a frown and rarely took the initiative to ask: "If I find my name tag first, can I leave by myself?"

Nan Liujing: ...

Where's your heart?

The MC said: "Yes, if anyone finds their own name tag first, they can leave the hospital early."

Before they were officially divided into groups and entered the hospital, the crew gave each person a heart rate monitor watch. The heart rate changes of each guest corresponded to their avatar in the upper right corner of the screen, making it more intuitive.

The funny guests couldn't laugh anymore. Before even entering, one of them had a heart rate spiking to 180.

Among them, Shen Gali's heart rate—only in the seventies—stood out dramatically.

Barrage: "Somebody save Shen Gali! Is his heart rate too slow?"

"No idea, but nobody calling an ambulance for the guy at 189? [scared]"

The MC seemed to particularly enjoy teasing Shen Gali, asking him:

"Are you normally afraid of spirits and monsters?"

Shen Gali: "I've done nothing to be ashamed of."

MC: "I'm asking whether you're scared."

"I've never done anything with a guilty conscience," Shen Gali said.

The MC tried to tease him but ended up being the one teased.

Finally, the order of entry for each group was determined by drawing lots. When Shen Gali drew "1", he understood that luck had never favored him, and he should have known that from the moment he transmigrated into this novel.

Although he was selected by lot to enter the haunted house first, Shen Gali's heart rate barely fluctuated. Nan Liujing's was a bit higher, but still only in the nineties.

The cameraman assigned to their group, on the other hand, had his heart rate skyrocket to 202 just by being at the door.

"I smell something really weird in there. I'm not joking," the cameraman said, holding his equipment and lingering at the door, unwilling to enter. He hunched his head and shoulders, looking like a scared quail.

"Just go in already! There are many people waiting behind you," the MC said, couldn't stand it anymore.

The cameraman peeked inside, but soon came back out: "My phone rang, I need to take this call."

Everyone was speechless. After the cameraman finished the call, his face flushed and excited as he shouted, "My wife gave birth! I have to go to the hospital!" He dropped the camera and hurried away despite everyone's attempts to stop him, becoming the first cameraman in variety show history to desert because he was scared.

The director gave a close-up of the lone camera on the floor.

Nan Liujing didn't want to dawdle any longer. Seeing Shen Gali's face full of impatience, and knowing that he had been standing for too long beyond his limit, Nan Liujing thought for a moment and then picked up the camera himself. "It's getting late. I'll do it," he said.

The production team was shocked! Oh my god! The chairman of an immensely wealthy conglomerate was going to be a cameraman for their small show? Would they get cyberbullied after the show?

Once the cameraman left, all tasks related to camera work fell on the two of them. Besides handling the camera, they also had to find the cameraman's name tag.

The two entered the hospital. A strange smell hit them, made more distinct by the airtight room—sweet and coppery, like warm musty dust.

The room was dimly lit. The old-fashioned wall lamps emitted an eerie cold blue light, which made the peeling paint on the walls stand out even more.

Although Shen Gali and the others were steadfast atheists, this hospital was different from the cheap haunted houses they had visited before. It had been exposed by the media for involvement in organ trafficking, and after the patients' families found out, they joined forces to set it on fire. Many souls were buried beneath this place. Moreover, with recent online rumors about it being haunted going viral, it was hard not to feel uneasy.

Besides, the place didn't rely on fake blood to create atmosphere; everything was as it was. The less it was dressed up, the more authentic it felt.

Shen Gali instinctively moved closer to Nan Liujing, clutching his arm tightly. Though he didn't say a word, his furrowed brows as he glanced around showed how uneasy he felt.

Nan Liujing, on the other hand, was enjoying this. It was rare for Shen Gali to show dependence on him. Shen Gali usually did what he could and let go of what he couldn't; he rarely asked others for help. This had left Nan Liujing, who always wanted to impress him, stuck on how to impress him.

But today, Shen Gali had taken the initiative to cling to him—once out of shyness, and once out of fear. Nan Liujing suddenly realized how much he was needed.

"It's okay, I'm here," he whispered, trying to reassure him.

Shen Gali hummed an almost inaudible "Mm."

Actually, to be honest, he wasn't that scared. Compared to mythical ghosts, he, as an actual transmigrator, was more frightening to others. But Shen Gali thought about how many times he'd have to walk those endless fifty-meter stretches in this haunted house, and the really strange smell inside. He didn't want to walk anymore; he just wanted to leave his fate in Nan Liujing's hands.

The two walked slowly. Nan Liujing, holding the camera and also looking after Shen Gali, just focused the camera on Shen Gali's face instead.

The bullet comments cracked up:

"You know exactly what the audience wants to see."

Initially, as they entered the haunted house, everything was calm and quiet, matching expectations. But as they walked further down the narrow, dark corridor without any expected jump scares, they got more and more anxious.

Just as they reached a fork in the road—

"Crack!" A strange sound rang out.

The next moment, all the viewers in front of the screens saw this through a fixed camera:

The moment the strange sound was heard, Nan Liujing, with one hand holding the camera and the other hand making a swift grab, lifted Shen Gali onto his shoulder. Carrying both the person and the camera, he strode off quickly toward the exit.

Halfway there, a staffer lurking in a corner stopped him: "You can't leave until you get the name tag."

Shen Gali's weak voice came from his shoulder: "Put me down..."

After a lot of coaxing, they convinced him to go back. Shen Gali looked around and spotted a faint green glow in the "operating room" opposite, that looked like three glowing Chinese characters.

Was it the name tag?

Just as he stood up, his keen eyes caught a movement under the bed where the name tag was placed.

Shen Gali understood: real danger often appears when people let their guard down.

He was scared, but—as long as he got the name tag, he could leave, right?

Shen Gali just closed his eyes. "Out of sight, out of mind," he tried to hypnotize himself.

Just as his hand felt for the corner of the name tag, an NPC hiding under the bed jumped up.

The next moment, Nan Liujing rushed over again, one hand holding the camera and the other lifting Shen Gali onto his shoulder. He ran out with his long legs without looking back.

Shen Gali, who had just touched the name tag only to be yanked away without mercy: ?

"Hahaha, I'm dead. Whenever something happens, he just picks up his wife and runs. Nan Liujing is actually quite nice lol."

"Save Li Li! He was this close to getting the name tag, hahaha!"

Nan Liujing carried Shen Gali and ran all the way to the door, where a staff member grabbed his leg and begged: "Please don't run away! Look at Gali—he's speechless."

Nan Liujing seemed to have taken the advice, but the next time anything went bump, he still picked up Shen Gali and ran.

What was supposed to be a thrilling haunted house tour had turned into a sitcom thanks to him. The guests waiting to enter were no longer tense and joined in the discussion, guessing Shen Gali's weight and Nan Liujing's arm strength.

After Shen Gali was lifted by Nan Liujing for the Nth time, he said weakly in protest: "I see my name tag... Let go."

Nan Liujing, who had always dared not defy Shen Gali's words, let go without a fight and watched as Shen Gali took his own name tag and asked the MC via walkie-talkie if he could go.

"Yes, whoever gets their name tag can leave first."

Shen Gali stuck the name tag on his chest, glanced at Nan Liujing out of the corner of his eye, and said softly, "I'm tired. I'll go out and rest. You worked hard."

From Nan Liujing's perspective, Shen Gali's back was firm and unyielding. He didn't even bother to look back, leaving in a hurry.

Actually, he had lifted Shen Gali multiple times not for show effect; he wasn't funny. It was just that on the way there, he had heard a topic about first love and suddenly became jealous of that guy who carried Shen Gali out during the earthquake drill.

So today, even if he was ridiculed, the moment danger arose, he decisively picked up his wife and ran. What you can do, I can do too, but I still lost to you.

After Shen Gali left, Nan Liujing had to find his own name tag and the VJ deserter's name tag. The production team, perhaps out of conscience or fear of offending Nan Liujing, temporarily sent staff to put the name tags in obvious and easy-to-reach places.

During the process, Nan Liujing remained silent. Even though countless NPCs jumped out from the shadows trying to capture his panicked expression, he always showed a cold and indifferent face.

It was the same feeling as back then: lying in the corpse-strewn Chuiyue University during the game, watching Tieniu Ju's resolute departing figure, he felt a sense of loss that no matter how cold the other person was, it couldn't top his own one-sided feelings.

After he got his own name tag, he wasn't in the mood to look for the deserter VJ's name tag. Winning or losing the game didn't matter at all.

Nan Liujing casually stuck his name tag on and walked through the dark, long corridor. Apart from the fixed cameras that could capture him, the camera in his hand swayed and only captured the peeling wall paint on both sides of the corridor. For a moment, this overly realistic live broadcast shot maxed out the creepiness.

But before he reached the end of the corridor, Nan Liujing vaguely saw a light-colored figure leaning against the wall. The glowing fluorescent name tag on the figure's chest was especially conspicuous.

"Shen Gali."

"Come here." Shen Gali's voice, faint and ethereal, sounded.

The moment he saw him, the clouds in Nan Liujing's heart instantly cleared.

He hadn't left. He'd come back.

Nan Liujing strode over and asked softly, "What's wrong? Too scared to leave?"

Shen Gali couldn't be bothered to explain. He took the camera from Nan Liujing and asked, "How do you turn this off?"

Nan Liujing took a moment to understand what he meant, still in a daze. Shen Gali didn't bother to ask again; he checked the camera, found the power button, and casually turned it off.

Then he reached over and turned off the lapel microphone clipped to Nan Liujing's collar as well.

"What?" Nan Liujing was puzzled.

Shen Gali lowered his head, doodling on the ground with his toe, and asked as if casually:

"What's wrong with you today?"

"What?"

"At the slightest hint of trouble, you pick me up and run. That's not like you." In Shen Gali's eyes, Nan Liujing had always been unflappable and steady, and this behavior was not only ridiculous but also unlike him.

Nan Liujing's eyes lowered slightly. In the dim light, the deep darkness in his eyes was unreadable, but even if Shen Gali couldn't see clearly, he knew exactly the kind of gaze Nan Liujing was giving him.

Every time Nan Liujing looked at him, his gaze was so prolonged and deep.

After what felt like a century, Nan Liujing finally spoke heavily: "Because I'm jealous."

Shen Gali was slightly taken aback. "Jealous of what?"

"Jealous that someone could leave an unforgettable mark in your most important years of youth, jealous that someone got to see the sides of you I've never seen." After saying this, Nan Liujing seemed to find the words too sappy and made him sound petty, so he quickly changed his tune, "Never mind. Just take it as me being crazy."

Shen Gali silently gazed into his anxious eyes. After a long while, he said softly:

"Is the past that important? I've forgotten it all. On that training exercise day, what the other person wore, what they looked like, what their name was, even whether they were a student or a teacher—I can't remember any of it clearly."

"But today you picked me up and ran six times. I'll remember that for the rest of my life."

Nan Liujing: The sentiment was good, but it sounded strange.

"Someone who wouldn't even run from an earthquake was willing to turn back in a fake haunted house attraction for another person." Shen Gali looked seriously into Nan Liujing's eyes. "Only because it's you."

The moment those words left his mouth, Nan Liujing suddenly felt a sting in his nose, a strange warmth surged in his heart, making his eyes sting.

He cared too much. When he learned that there was someone else besides himself who would risk their own safety for Shen Gali, he was overwhelmed with jealousy.

Not only because that person saved Shen Gali and, unprecedentedly, left a vivid mark in Shen Gali's simple mind, but also because that person had seen Shen Gali in ways he hadn't—in a school uniform, thinking over problems while looking at the blackboard, and many other past moments he never got to be a part of.

As a lazybones who never used his brain much, Shen Gali unexpectedly read Nan Liujing's thoughts and responded:

"What's the big deal? The moments you've seen, he can't appreciate either."

With that, he gave Nan Liujing a playful wink. "It's just a school uniform. I'll wear it for you."

At this moment, the barrage in the livestream almost completely covered the screen, with comments piling on top of each other:

"I know you turned off the cameras and mics to talk about something dirty, but did you forget to turn off the fixed cameras too?"

"Loudly Plotting / Live Stream Whispering"

"Damn it! Shen Gali, which kind of school uniform?!"

"Once again sighing at CEO Nan's luck. Slurp slurp. Show us the uniform too."

"Nan Liujing finally found his voice. After a day of being down, he finally got comfort from his wife. Satisfied, he leaves."

Nan Liujing put his arm around Shen Gali's waist as they walked out, not forgetting to remind him, "You have to show me."

"Got it."

At this moment, the forgotten VJ's name tag in the corner: -_-|| "Excuse me."

After the show ended, Nan Liujing had been mulling over for days:

What kind of school uniform would Li Li wear for me to see?

European-style uniforms look dignified, but they're too conservative, with too many layers that are a pain to take off;

Thai-style uniforms are nice, shorts above the knee look sexy, but if he wears them in this season, he'll freeze.

Listening to the sound of water splashing from the bathroom, Nan Liujing was getting excited, already brainstorming. Whether Thai or British style, Shen Gali would always have a different kind of hot.

The bathroom door opened. Under Nan Liujing's expectant gaze, Shen Gali came out drying his wet hair.

Nan Liujing's easily flustered heart soared to the heavens, then came crashing back down.

Nan Liujing: ...

"What are you wearing?"

Shen Gali glanced at the red-and-blue tracksuit. "School uniform."

He added exaggeratedly, "I killed so many brain cells to recall the style of my middle school uniform. Praise me."

Nan Liujing stared at that old-fashioned red-and-blue tracksuit, looking completely dumbfounded.

Why didn't anyone tell him it was a Chinese traditional sport-style school uniform?

Although Shen Gali looks good in anything, this outfit is too easy to associate with underage students, which makes him feel guilty...

Meanwhile, Shen Gali had already started putting on quite a show.

He sat at the table, pulled out a "Five Three" test prep book from somewhere, raised an eyebrow at Nan Liujing, and said in a light, slow voice, "Teacher~~~ What are you waiting for? You said that if I got into A University, I could have my way with you."

Nan Liujing's nose tingled, his blood boiling. He strode over quickly, grabbed Shen Gali, and spent the night doing—

Five Three Simulation.