“This young lady might have fallen asleep, so I’m planning to lift her red veil for her.”
“?”
She wanted to ask if he was serious.
“More real than pearls.”
Song Qiuyu’s lips moved slightly. Jiang Xiao was playing predictions today—he even got humorous and was making jokes.
Is this… right?
She couldn’t help but support Jiang Xiao’s judgment. After all, if they kept stagnating, when would they ever get out? Still, there was an important matter that needed attention:
“Jiang Xiao, you can’t lift it. If you lift the bride’s red veil, you’ll have to marry her!” Jiang Xiao’s outstretched hand twitched slightly.
Then, outside the door, someone who loved to stir things up, Xie Zhuran, spoke up: “Go ahead and lift it. Don’t let the poor girl suffer any longer!”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiao deliberately put on a stern face, turned his head, and rolled his eyes at Song Qiuyu. “Song Qiuyu, that’s where you’re wrong.”
Song Qiuyu blinked her beautiful apricot-shaped eyes twice, a little confused as she looked at Jiang Xiao.
“The poor girl is suffering this injustice. We’re here to help her escape it. And you’re just sitting there all timid—does that look like a man to you?”
“Uh…”
Song Qiuyu widened her eyes and suddenly felt an urge to retort—though, really, she didn’t have to. No matter how you looked at it, she was still a girl!
But she just hid those feelings and true thoughts, pursed her lips, and looked toward the bride.
“I didn’t think it through well. I apologize for any offense. But this red veil—how about I do it?”
At those words, Jiang Xiao stared at her for a moment, saying nothing. Before she could reach out, he beat her to it and politely lifted the bride’s red veil upward.
Once the veil was lifted, they saw a face without any features, utterly colorless, like a mannequin… Both of them jumped in fright.
Huh?
So it wasn’t an NPC, but a mannequin?
Jiang Xiao stayed silent and quietly inspected it, then confirmed—this really was a mannequin!
Fortunately, although the mannequin couldn’t speak, a letter slipped out from its sleeve during the inspection.
However, the clues on the letter were so complicated they gave everyone a headache. In a group of eight, seven immediately wanted to call the staff for help.
The last person quietly finished reading and told everyone to keep searching for other clues.
After some searching, the room brightened, and they found more potentially useful clues.
“Based on the positions of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise, find the Drum, Horn, Zhu, and Yu instruments. Play them in the order indicated above, and it should open the door. Then you can come over.”
After piecing all the clues together, Jiang Xiao explained calmly.
Watching Jiang Xiao confidently direct everyone in solving the puzzle, Song Qiuyu’s expression became complicated.
Soon, outside, Xie Zhuran, Lin An, Sang Tian, and a fiercely looking girl each picked up their corresponding instruments and stood in their assigned spots.
With a bang, the two rooms fell into darkness again, but in the next moment, an eerie red light glowed all around.
The lights went out, and the ceremony officially began.
“Ah!” Two girls screamed in fright.
Then, a strange, hoarse male voice echoed:
“The auspicious hour approaches.” “The wedding ceremony begins.” “Play the music!”
The four holding instruments trembled as they started playing according to instructions.
In the bridal chamber, Song Qiuyu also shivered but endured it, no longer clinging to Jiang Xiao as before—only groping for and holding his large hand.
“It’s okay, Jiang Xiao. I’m here.”
Even after everything that had happened, she subconsciously felt that Jiang Xiao was scared too. Now he was just pretending to be steady like her.
Jiang Xiao’s fingers twitched, almost unable to resist pulling back her small hand.
This was something Xi’er had once said to him.
Is there really such a coincidence in the world? When coincidences pile up too much, they can’t be coincidences at all.
According to common theory, it should be like this.
Song Qiuyu, you…
The music finished, and with a bang, the two rooms lit up again, and the door lock disengaged.
Puzzle solved.
“Damn, Lao Xie, no, from today on I hereby proclaim you Jiang God!” Xie Zhuran was overjoyed.
Lin An agreed.
Besides that, they all felt enormous pressure.
They had contributed plenty of brilliant ideas throughout the process, but in the end, no one matched Lao Xie’s brainpower.
This wouldn’t do. If things kept going like this, they’d be letting down their two roommates!
Luckily, this escape room had only just begun. There would be plenty of opportunities ahead.
Xie Zhuran rushed forward and pushed open the unlocked wooden door.
Finally, they entered the bridal chamber where the two roommates were trapped.
Lin An followed closely behind.
The girls stayed at the back, each shooting Jiang Xiao admiring glances—including Sang Tian.
No wonder he was the man Song Qiuyu liked.
Sang Tian thought to herself.
Song Qiuyu caught that look and immediately understood—it meant Sang Tian was practically swooning over Jiang Xiao, unable to look away.
Bringing Jiang Xiao to the escape room was definitely the right choice!
Next, they’d see how Sang Tian and the others would react in fear—because instinctive actions in fear really depended on one’s character.
She looked up.
Seeing Sang Tian still smiling warmly at Jiang Xiao, Song Qiuyu’s lips twitched—curled up, but then slowly drooped. She couldn’t keep the smile.
A strange heaviness rose in her chest.
Then Jiang Xiao’s gaze suddenly fell on her face, and he said something she didn’t want to hear.
Song Qiuyu nervously scratched her cheek, her heart racing.
“The door’s unlocked, so why do you look unhappy?” Jiang Xiao stared at her unblinkingly.
“Not at all! I’m very happy!”
Song Qiuyu forced a smile from deep inside her cheeks and deliberately turned her face to smile at Jiang Xiao.
Jiang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
He pinched his fingers, feeling the emptiness between them. How he wished he could pinch the cheeks that puffed up when she smiled.
Curious how she’d react.
“That’s it? Just a mannequin?”
Xie Zhuran looked at the mannequin bride sitting on the bed and shrugged.
Seeing Xie Zhuran’s usual steady composure afterward, Lin An chuckled softly, grabbed the keys they found, and stepped forward to try unlocking the bridal chamber door.
Unlock successful.
Before they could celebrate, a deep gong sounded, and the strange male voice returned: “The bride leaves… without looking back.”
“Ahem, I get this. If you look back, you get dragged into the abyss, so we absolutely must not look back!” Xie Zhuran’s eyes flashed with fierce determination.
“That’s wise.”
Lin An teased as he pulled open the door.
“It’s too dark outside. How about we line up front and back like when we came in, each putting a hand on the shoulder of the person in front?”
Sang Tian suggested.