Chapter 21.1: Coming out of the closet

Gu Yanshu got changed with a baleful look on his face. 

Meeting the other two groups in the living room, he found out that one group had been voted to go up the mountains to catch chickens, another was to go to the farm to feed the pigs. It was only then that he realized that his options were rather good. 

His mood calmed significantly, and he followed the crew as they set out to a newly-built amusement park in the outskirts of Beijing. 

Because it was relatively isolated, and it was also a working day, hence there weren’t too many people in the park. 

Furthermore, this was in official live broadcast, so the programme crew had already obtained the necessary permits for filming. They had also especially stressed to the fans that they should not gather around them, after having to deal with the tailgating incident from the previous day. Hence, even though there were people around them taking pictures, they all maintained a safe distance, and didn’t affect the filming. 

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Haunted mansions would usually start in the afternoon, hence the programme crew naturally booked this time slot for the haunted mansion. 

After reaching the amusement park, the entire group trudged valiantly towards the haunted mansion, not giving Gu Yanshu any time to think. 

When they reached the destination, Gu Yanshu looked up and saw a structure resembling a school building, and in front of the building hung a bloody sign – Death High School. 

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Rxxlekyvlzu, bl eked’v zkjl obyv bl pyo. 

Jlnywpl tbspv pvsaklp vbyv byrrldle kd bsprkvyzp yde pnbsszp olal wpwyzzu lmnlrvksdyzzu vlaakqukdt.

Gde qasx vbl lmvlaksa, vbkp bywdvle xydpksd oyp ycswv vball vs qswa pvsaklp bktb, yde oyp iwkvl okel, xwnb zyatla vbyd altwzya bywdvle xydpksdp. Xdl nswze sdzu kxytkdl vbl dwxcla sq vayrp yde tbspvp okvbkd.

Tsolhla, bl oyp y qypv awddla, ps vblal pbswzed’v cl y rasczlx.

Qw Zydpbw rwzzle bkp nyr esod, yde alhlyzle sdzu bkp ryzl yde pjkddu nbkd yde vbl nsadlap sq bkp zkrp vbyv olal pzktbvzu rwaple. Tl oyp nzlyazu dsv qllzkdt tsse ycswv vbkp. 

Ebld Fbld Kwl scplahle bkx, bl qlzv psxlobyv twkzvu ycswv obyv bl eke. 

Tsolhla, Qw Zydpbw oyp yzoyup wdyrrasynbyczl yde jlrv svblap yv yaxp’ zldtvb, ps kq vblal olald’v ydu prlnkyz alypsdp vs rwpb bkx, bl oswzed’v cl yczl vs twlpp bkp vbswtbvp. Gde bl oswzed’v jdso obyv bl pbswze es okvb Qw Zydpbw yp olzz. 

Tldnl, obld bl pyo vbl bywdvle xydpksd srvksd, bl nswzed’v nsdvasz bkxplzq. 

Moreover, every time after they were dragged by Huang Yinan to watch a ghost flick, someone wouldn’t dare to sleep alone, wouldn’t dare to go to the toilet alone, wouldn’t dare to go down alone to buy things. He would mince his words or refuse to say anything, and just simply stick close to him. It was really too cute. 

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As he thought about it, he felt that the twenty thousand dollars worth of fireworks display was worth it. 

He wasn’t losing out on anything. 

In fact, he was looking forward to it. 

On the other end, Gu Yanshu was clueless about Shen Jue’s thoughts. He simply listened earnestly to the instructions by the production crew. 

“The theme of the haunted mansion this time is ‘Ghost High School’. Participants will need to follow the clues obtained in the haunted mansion in order to obtain the necessary conditions for passing obstacles, before they can escape the school. At the same time, an AI sensory robot that would act as a “Headmaster Ghost” would be patrolling around the school. If the participants are discovered by the teacher, they would have to go back to the starting point of the haunted mansion and begin the quest again.” 

Gu Yanshu, who initially wanted to just close his eyes and clench his heart to rush through the haunted mansion, suddenly froze. 

Shen Jue noticed his reaction and asked, “Are you afraid?” 

Gu Yanshu replied coolly, “No.” 

“Oh, that’s good then. Because I’m scared.” 

Gu Yanshu: “?” 

“Furthermore, my arm is still injured, and this place is so dark, what will happen if I accidentally knock and injure it again?” 

“……” 

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“So, you have to protect me.” 

Shen Jue’s words were convincing. 

Even though Gu Yanshu was about 1.8M tall, and he had always been seen as a shiogao danshi [1], hence even when he was being shipped as one half of a couple, he would be the character whom the Alpha wants to conquer. 

When he stood beside Shen Jue, because he was skinnier, he looked one size smaller than Shen Jue. His shadow was almost covered by Shen Jue’s, creating the feeling of a youth who was extremely adorable. 

And thus, even the people behind the bullet screens couldn’t stand it. 

“Shen Jue! As a tall man who’s close to 1.9M tall, can you stop acting weak? How can you ask Gu Yanshu to protect you?!!!” 

Yet, Gu Yanshu only remained silent for three seconds before he walked to Shen Jue’s right. 

He didn’t say anything, but it was clear that he intended to protect Shen Jue’s injured arm. 

The bullet screen became dizzy. 

Between the two of you, don’t you know who’s the more macho one? 

After the crew gave them a few more points to note, Gu Yanshu and Shen Jue were blindfolded and brought into the haunted mansion. Behind each one of them was a VJ, and the live stream footage was turned into a night camera view. 

Gu Yanshu felt that he was being led to sit on a chair, and then the person who led him in left. 

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The entire room became eerily quiet, and the stagnant air in the enclosed space made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. 

He tried to call out, “Shen Jue?”

There was no response. 

His heartstrings tightened. 

He tried to remain calm, “Can I remove the eye mask now?” 

The VJ replied, “Yes, you can.” 

Gu Yanshu recited to himself, Prosperity, Civility, Democracy, Harmony [2]. 

He then removed his eye mask. 

Then, what he found himself staring uninhibitedly at was a ghost doll, which had a blood-filled wide grin, with eyes that were fully black, without any white in them. 

[1] Shiogao danshi, or “salt-faced guys”, are guys who have weak images but have masculine arms or hands, a prominent Adam’s apple and collarbones, messy hair. They also have fair skin and beautiful, well-defined features. 

[2] These are the four National Values listed under the Chinese Communist Party’s Core Socialist Values.