ASPWWD Chapter 59

As Lin Fengqi thought about it, he sent Wen Xia a message: [How was the food? Did you like it?]

Wen Xia responded quickly: [It was delicious.]

Before Lin Fengqi could fully enjoy his happiness, another message came in from Wen Xia: [Don’t send it again next time.]

From heaven to hell in an instant, Lin Fengqi was stunned for a second before quickly typing: [Why?]

On the other end, Wen Xia frowned in thought for a long time before deciding on a gentle answer that wouldn’t dampen Lin Fengqi’s enthusiasm: [It’s too much trouble for Zeng Yuan and the hotel staff to make the trip. It’s exhausting.]

After a pause, he added: [The flowers were also great, but let’s not do that again. It’s too extravagant.]

As Lin Fengqi read this reply, the frown on his face eased, and a gentle look appeared in his eyes.

Wen Xia is still as considerate as ever. That hasn’t changed after all these years.

After receiving Lin Fengqi’s “okay,” Wen Xia finally felt at ease.

As he continued eating, he sent the photo he had just taken to Zou Boyan: [Take a look at this.]

Zou Boyan: [ ? ]

Zou Boyan: [If I’m not mistaken, that’s from my family’s… ]

Wen Yi Xia: [Yep, your family’s.]

Zou Boyan’s family was in the hotel and catering business, and the meal Lin Fengqi had ordered for lunch came from one of the hotels under the Zou family’s name.

Zou Boyan: [What’s the occasion? If you wanted a meal from my place, you could’ve told me. I could’ve called and got you a free meal.]

Wen Yi Xia: [I didn’t order it.]

Zou Boyan: [… It couldn’t be Lin Fengqi, could it?]

Wen Yi Xia: [You’re a good guesser.]

Zou Boyan: [… Damn, bro.]

Though Liu Feisi and the others didn’t understand the significance of the meal, they enjoyed it thoroughly. Wen Xia, on the other hand, couldn’t help but wonder how many more surprises Lin Fengqi had up his sleeve.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Lin Fengqi had no time to surprise him in the days that followed.

It seemed some project had reached a critical stage, and Lin Fengqi was either working overtime or out at business dinners. Sometimes, he didn’t get home until after midnight. Wen Xia had waited up for him once, but eventually fell asleep on the sofa. Initially, he slept fitfully, dreaming of strange and surreal things, but these dreams faded quickly like the tide, and when he woke up, he found himself lying comfortably in bed.

The clock read a little past three in the morning.

The next morning, during breakfast, Lin Fengqi asked him, “Last night… why did you fall asleep on the sofa?” His eyes held a trace of hope, as if he wanted to know if Wen Xia had been waiting for him.

Wen Xia replied, “I was just playing on my phone and fell asleep on the sofa. Thanks for carrying me to bed.”

Lin Fengqi was taken aback for a moment, then said, “No problem,” pretending not to be disappointed as he looked away.

Wen Xia bit into his fried egg, mumbling through a mouthful, “Well, I was sort of waiting for you too.”

Sometimes, comforting a big dog can be as simple as saying a few words.

In the following days, Wen Xia continued to wait for him, but now he waited in his room, staying up until he heard Lin Fengqi come home before putting down his phone and going to sleep.

Though they didn’t see each other much, Lin Fengqi continued to send Wen Xia lunch every day through Zeng Yuan, just as he had before. However, the grand gestures from that one day didn’t repeat. Instead, Lin Fengqi made sure to prepare a lunch specifically for Wen Xia, different from everyone else’s, despite his busy schedule.

But there was one thing Wen Xia didn’t understand—what nerve had Lin Fengqi struck, sending him strange, random messages to “show concern,” including but not limited to:

“Are you happy with today’s lunch?”

“I noticed you looked a bit cold when you left this morning. Don’t go out without dressing warmly enough next time.”

“Are those new shoes you’re wearing today? They’ve certainly caught my attention.”

Wen Xia: “…”

Excuse me, but who are you?

Wen Xia asked: [What strange things have you been reading?]

Observation Subject: [… Nothing strange.]

Wen Yi Xia: [Oh?]

Observation Subject replied seriously: [Just some reference books.]

Reference books, my foot.

Wen Xia lay on the small sofa in the studio, laughing like an idiot.

Wen Yi Xia: [You should stop reading those reference books. They’re not serious.]

Observation Subject: [ … ]

Observation Subject: [Have you read them too?]

Wen Yi Xia: [I’ve dabbled.]

Observation Subject was typing…

He typed for a while.

Observation Subject: [Honestly, I think… they’re not very serious either…]

Wen Xia laughed so hard he was practically rolling on the sofa.

He could almost picture Lin Fengqi blushing as he sent these messages. So damn cute. Wen Xia even suspected that someone had filled this blockhead’s head with all these unserious ideas.

And so, nearly two weeks passed. On Thursday the 18th, the year’s first snowfall quietly arrived.

The temperature inside was noticeably lower than the previous day when Wen Xia woke up that morning. As he drew back the curtains, he saw tiny flakes of snow fluttering outside.

The layers of clothing were getting thicker by the day.

That afternoon, Wen Xia received a message from “Xiao Ma.” He was momentarily puzzled by the contact name until he opened the message and remembered who it was.

He had only exchanged greetings with Xiao Ma after they added each other as friends, and they hadn’t chatted since. After all, Lin Fengqi had been busy for the past week or so, leaving Wen Xia to walk Ah Mou alone at night. He often bumped into Xiao Ma during those walks, and they would chat briefly.

Xiao Ma’s message asked if Wen Xia was free that Saturday, and he added: [Wen Ge, have you heard of a place called “World Rules”? It’s an escape room! They’re running a promotion right now with discounts. My wife and I want to go, but the group discount only applies with at least four people. I wanted to ask if you and Lin Ge are free and would like to join us this Saturday?]

World Rules was familiar to Wen Xia—it was Zou Boyan’s shop.

He also knew about the promotion, as Zou Boyan had told him about it and had been actively advertising it on social media, saying they were trying to boost sales before the end of the year.

He remembered Zou Boyan had once suggested that he and Lin Fengqi go there to “strengthen their bond.”

Wen Xia replied that he wasn’t sure if he was free and that he’d have to check with Lin Fengqi. After all, he wasn’t certain about Lin Fengqi’s schedule for that Saturday. Last weekend, Lin Fengqi had been so busy that he hadn’t even touched the ground, traveling to another city to attend a conference. Although this week seemed less hectic, it was still hard to say. Xiao Ma was understanding.

To Wen Xia’s surprise, later that evening, while Lin Fengqi was working late at the office, he sent a message asking: [Are you free on Saturday?]

Wen Xia responded with a question mark.

Observation Subject: [Escape room. Want to go?]

He even sent a picture along with the message—a promotional poster for the discount event that Zou Boyan had been frequently sharing in his social media feed.

Wen Xia grew suspicious: [Where did you get this picture?]

After a moment of typing, the Observation Subject replied: [Saw it in an employee’s social media. He’s a big fan of escape rooms.]

Wen Yi Xia: [What made you think of doing this? Do you like escape rooms too?]

Observation Subject: [Just saw it and thought it looked interesting.]

The Observation Subject hesitated for a moment, then sent a voice message.

Lin Fengqi rarely sent voice messages. For him, typing was a more comfortable way to communicate. If he needed to discuss something in voice, he would prefer to call rather than send a voice message of ten or twenty seconds—or even up to sixty seconds—and then wait for the other person to respond with another lengthy voice message.

It was too time-consuming, and he valued efficiency.

So it was surprising that this time, Lin Fengqi’s voice message lasted five whole seconds.

Wen Xia, both shocked and curious, tapped to listen.

“I’m still pursuing you. Can I take you on a date?”

The voice from the speaker had a faint distortion, softening the subtle tension in the man’s words.

It was as if he had practiced this sentence hundreds of times.

There was no way Wen Xia could refuse.

—

On Saturday, Wen Xia and Lin Fengqi met the young couple at the entrance of their community.

Lin Fengqi drove Wen Xia’s car, and the four of them fit comfortably inside. During the ride, Xiao Ma shared some tips on playing escape rooms. It was clear that he was a seasoned enthusiast. Besides Zou Boyan’s World Rules, he also checked out escape rooms whenever he traveled to other cities.

“In my opinion, one of the best I’ve played in recent years is World Rules’ ‘Immortal Village.’ It was the most interesting escape room I’ve done,” Xiao Ma said. “Maybe we could play that one.”

“You’ve already played it, haven’t you?” Wen Xia asked. “I’ve done that one too. How about we pick something new for everyone to experience?”

As Zou Boyan’s designated official beta tester, Wen Xia had been among the first to try out “Immortal Village.” Back then, it had quite a few flaws, and Zou Boyan had made several revisions before it officially launched. When it finally went public, it was a huge hit.

The current promotion had attracted wave after wave of players, and the weekend crowd was even busier. They had arrived fairly early but still couldn’t avoid having to wait in line.

When Zou Boyan heard that Wen Xia had brought Lin Fengqi, the boss himself came out to greet them. “So, which one do you want to play?”

Wen Xia had already discussed it with the young couple on the way over—as for Lin Fengqi, his opinion was simply, “Whatever you choose,” so it could be safely ignored.

Wen Xia nodded toward the poster marked “Highly Recommended”: “Let’s go with this one, ‘Carnival Night.’”

“Carnival Night” was a circus-themed escape room, one of the earliest at World Rules when Zou Boyan first opened the place. It had just undergone an upgrade and renovation this year, and both the level of terror and the difficulty of the tasks had significantly increased. Even Wen Xia hadn’t tried it out yet.

“Alright,” Zou Boyan glanced at the queue list. “This room requires a minimum of six players. You have four here, so how about teaming up with those two girls over there? That makes six. There’s one group ahead of you.”

The two girls were high school students, lively and chatty. They were just out shopping and happened to pass by, deciding on a whim to give the escape room a try. It was their first time playing.

They found a place to sit and wait. Xiao Ma leaned in, “Wen Ge, do you know the owner of World Rules?”

“Yeah, we’re friends.”

Xiao Ma looked envious. “Then you must get to try all the newest escape rooms. I saw on the World Rules website that they’re preparing a new theme. I remember trying to get a spot for the first wave of ‘Immortal Village,’ but it was impossible to get in—so many people.”

He scratched his head, quickly adding, “Don’t get me wrong, Wen Ge, I’m not trying to ask for any favors. Just expressing my admiration.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wen Xia said. “It’s just as well you didn’t get into the first wave. The original version of ‘Immortal Village’ was pretty dull.”

“Really?”

The two high school girls chatted among themselves while Wen Xia engaged in idle conversation with the couple, occasionally bringing Lin Fengqi into the discussion. After a few minutes, Lin Fengqi asked, “Thirsty? I can grab some drinks.”

“Water’s fine,” Wen Xia replied, then turned to ask Xiao Ma, “You guys want anything?”

“We’re good, thanks.”

The drink station was next to the front desk, offering simple fresh-made tea and fruit drinks, with a vending machine selling bottled drinks and water nearby. Since they were sitting with their backs to the front desk, Wen Xia didn’t think much of it and continued chatting with Xiao Ma to pass the time.

When Lin Fengqi reached the drink station, Zou Boyan drifted over. “Want another tip?”

Lin Fengqi hesitated, “Last time…” What kind of “overbearing CEO falls in love” scenario was that? It didn’t work at all.

“Ahem, that was just a joke,” Zou Boyan coughed lightly. “Blame the chat app for swallowing my follow-up message about it being a joke. But trust me, this time, if it doesn’t work, I’ll pay ten times the penalty.”

He added, “One fake tip, and I’ll give you ten Wen Xia!”

Lin Fengqi replied, “… One is enough.”

Zou Boyan clicked his tongue and leaned on the counter, “You know how it is in horror scenarios. They either bring people closer together or tear them apart faster. Aren’t you worried about that?”

Lin Fengqi nodded.

“Then I suggest you start worrying,” Zou Boyan said. “If one of you is scared and the other isn’t, that’s where the story begins. If neither of you is scared, it’s just boring. But if you get scared, you know what Wen Xia’s like. He wouldn’t just leave you hanging. You’ll trigger his protective instincts, and your bond will skyrocket—just don’t try to take advantage. Remember, I’ve got cameras everywhere. Keep it natural.”

Lin Fengqi hesitated slightly, “… Really?” He had seen Wen Xia’s livestream with Gui Qulai playing horror games. Gui Qulai was practically wetting himself, and Wen Xia didn’t even flinch. Sometimes he got so annoyed by Gui Qulai’s screaming that he sacrificed his teammate.

Zou Boyan pounded his chest, “Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

After the upgrade, “Carnival Night” had been extended from the original half-hour duration to nearly an hour and a half. By the time their turn came, nearly two hours had passed.

The escape room required a minimum of six players and a maximum of eight, with a circus theme, and the characters had corresponding foreign names.

Everyone was blindfolded and led into the room without speaking. Wen Xia quickly sensed something was off because the footsteps around him grew more scattered, indicating they were being taken to different locations.

As the footsteps near Wen Xia grew fewer, only he and the staff member leading him remained.

With his eyes covered, unable to see, Wen Xia began seriously contemplating his main objective for today.

He wasn’t afraid, of course, and Lin Fengqi had said he wasn’t either. But that made things tricky. There had to be at least one person who was scared to help develop something between them, right?

Or maybe… he could pretend to be scared, for the sake of love.

The more Wen Xia thought about it, the more he felt he was incredibly clever. There aren’t many people left who would give their suitors such opportunities.

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