Chapter 71: The Haunted House Debacle

Liu Hong gazed at Lin Qing, who stood beside him. Though Lin Qing’s long hair still obscured his face, making his expression unreadable, Liu Hong couldn’t shake the feeling that he had thoroughly disappointed his future brother-in-law.

It was all his fault!

He was the one who had proposed the trip to the amusement park.

Yet, the outcome was a complete failure.

He had utterly failed to live up to his future brother-in-law’s expectations!

What he had envisioned as an effortlessly successful plan had been derailed by that damned female ghost.

Heaven knew how incredibly expectant Liu Hong had felt while waiting inside the iron cage.

When a commotion finally arose, he had been certain it was Su Yao entering.

Filled with a mix of shyness and excitement, Liu Hong had bashfully emerged from the iron cage. His initial thought was to avoid startling Su Yao with a sudden appearance, lest he frighten her.

Yet, in the dim light, when he finally saw Su Yao sprawled on the ground, terrified, Liu Hong felt his heart clench painfully.

His pure and adorable little rabbit had been reduced to such a state of fear.

That damned haunted house!

He would never return there again.

At that moment, Liu Hong completely forgot that the entire outing had been his idea. He could barely contain his excited heart, his eyes unable to meet Su Yao’s gaze, even as one hand instinctively reached out.

In such a moment, extending both hands.

It would surely move Su Yao to tears, letting her know he was the one who could protect her.

If Su Yao were to grasp his hand, then their relationship would be sealed!

If she didn’t…

He couldn’t lose heart.

There would always be another chance.

His future brother-in-law had gone to such lengths to help; he couldn’t give up too quickly.

However, just as Liu Hong’s thoughts raced wildly, a hand swiftly seized his.

It gripped him tightly, refusing to let go.

So proactive and enthusiastic, the grip was surprisingly strong, making the bones in his wrist creak audibly.

‘This must be Su Yao’s dependence on me!’

No matter how hard the grip, Liu Hong felt no pain.

‘He only perceived it as Su Yao’s love for him.’

‘But, why was Su Yao’s hand so large?’

As these thoughts crossed Liu Hong’s mind, he couldn’t help but raise his hand to touch it.

‘Hmm, a hand that was both large and firm.’

‘Unless his memory was failing him, could Su Yao actually be a man?’

‘Impossible.’

‘Something must have gone wrong.’

‘Or perhaps, the person holding his hand wasn’t Su Yao at all!’

At this realization, Liu Hong instantly discarded his earlier bashfulness and looked up at the person who had seized him.

The next moment, their eyes met, and a scream tore through the air…

****

After nearly wetting himself from fright, Liu Hong immediately pushed the female ghost away, desperate to escape. However, some heartless wretch had bound the iron cage door shut with a rope.

‘Was this a fight to the death for a trapped beast???’

Just as Liu Hong nearly knocked the female ghost unconscious with a punch, the ghost seemed to sense the danger. To prevent herself from fainting again, she quickly lifted her long black hair, revealing a man’s face.

His expression held a touch of bitterness, having never expected to be knocked out by a visitor. ‘It seems every profession is dangerous these days…’

Afterward, the ‘female ghost’ explained that he had been chasing a couple just moments before. He recounted being knocked unconscious from behind by an unknown assailant and subsequently dumped in that very spot.

It was truly a stroke of bad luck.

Once Liu Hong understood the full sequence of events, he realized his ‘Heart-Thumping Haunted House’ plan had utterly failed.

It was precisely because of his guilt towards Lin Qing, who had arranged the plan, that Liu Hong hadn’t immediately replied after seeing Lin Qing’s text message.

He decided to wait until they met on Monday to discuss it!

Such an important matter required a grand apology to ensure Lin Qing would continue to help orchestrate his romance with Su Yao!

“If my plan had been a little more detailed,” Liu Hong began, “and I’d called Zhou Lin and Wang Jian to help, that damned scoundrel wouldn’t have ruined everything, completely wasting the opportunity you worked so hard to secure! It’s all my fault, I’m truly sorry.”

Recalling his recent ordeal, Liu Hong clasped his hands together and spoke to Lin Qing with profound apologies.

This groveling posture, however, only left Lin Qing speechless.

The ‘scoundrel’ Liu Hong referred to was, in fact, Su Yao…

Moreover, there was no need to apologize to him.

After all, he had already received the meal tickets and shopping cards; theirs was a transaction of mutual benefit.

Furthermore.

“Liu Hong,” Lin Qing reiterated, “Su Yao and I aren’t relatives. We’re just ordinary classmates.”

Mindful of Liu Hong’s persistent misunderstanding, Lin Qing explained himself once more.

“Future brother-in-law, you don’t need to say more, I believe you!”

Yet, the effect was clearly underwhelming. Liu Hong’s ‘I understand’ expression left Lin Qing at a loss for words.

‘No one believes the truth!’

Realizing that words alone would not correct Liu Hong’s misconceptions, Lin Qing gave up trying to persuade him, opting instead to wait for Liu Hong to discover the truth on his own.

“Oh, right, future brother-in-law,” Liu Hong suddenly said, “I found out Wang Fanran’s whereabouts yesterday.”

Upon hearing Liu Hong’s words, Lin Qing immediately perked up.

‘Had they finally uncovered Wang Fanran’s trail?’

“Where is he?”

“Wang Fanran hasn’t left the city. He’s been lurking around the school, acting suspiciously, seemingly to evade the police investigation. He hasn’t even contacted his family.”

Seeing Lin Qing’s interest in Wang Fanran’s whereabouts, Liu Hong naturally didn’t prolong the suspense, instead directly relaying the information he had gathered.

As for Wang Fanran, that ‘dead fat pig,’ Liu Hong didn’t believe he could stir up much trouble.

However, Lin Qing seemed concerned about Wang Fanran. To curry favor with his future brother-in-law, Liu Hong felt compelled to find Wang Fanran, catering to Lin Qing’s interest.

Although locating Wang Fanran initially encountered some obstacles, it only took a few days before people, swayed by the reward, voluntarily provided information on his whereabouts.

Indeed, no one could resist the allure of money.

“Do you know where he’s staying?”

“I haven’t found that out yet. I’ve instructed my informants to keep an eye out these next few days; we’ll definitely have more detailed information soon.”

When Lin Qing heard that Wang Fanran was still loitering around the school, an unsettling premonition began to spread through him for some reason.

Coincidentally, Lin Qing’s home was very close to the school, less than a ten-minute walk away.

Just as he had initially thought, if Wang Fanran truly sought revenge, he would undoubtedly target someone seemingly easy to bully, like Lin Qing.

He needed to be careful lately.

“Future brother-in-law,” Liu Hong declared, “I hope you won’t give up because of my mistake. There will definitely be other opportunities!”

As Lin Qing pondered these thoughts, Liu Hong, brimming with excitement, tried to grasp Lin Qing’s hand, only for Lin Qing to swiftly evade him.

Liu Hong’s hand met empty air.

This caused Liu Hong to widen his eyes in surprise, having not expected Lin Qing to dodge so quickly.

His own speed was not slow; only someone trained or accustomed to fighting could have evaded him with such ease.

‘It seems his future brother-in-law harbors many secrets!’

However, considering Lin Qing’s connection to Director Ye of the police department, and then recalling Lin Qing’s helplessness in not being able to reveal his true identity, Liu Hong immediately cast a sympathetic glance his way.

‘What a pitiable future brother-in-law.’

‘Rest assured!’

‘He, Liu Hong, as his future brother-in-law, would certainly protect his future brother-in-law well.’