The light rain pattered down all night.
In the morning, not long after Cheng Yi got out of bed, her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID and pressed the answer button with a sense of helplessness.
From the phone, the butler's worried voice came through, "Madam, you haven't done anything to make it more difficult for young master, have you?"
"Heh," Cheng Yi scoffed, "Do you think they need me to add any more difficulty between them?"
The butler: ...
That's true.
"Then did young master and Miss Ye go to see the sunrise?" the butler asked with concern.
"No, it rained," Cheng Yi pressed her forehead, a headache forming. "The three of us played Dou Dizhu all night, and they should still be catching up on sleep. Climbing the mountain is impossible now; they'll at most visit some nearby cultural attractions and then head back."
The butler: ...
"However, Ye Zhi really surprised me," Cheng Yi continued.
The butler paused, "Surprised you with what?"
"Everyone says Ye Zhi is a workaholic, but she didn't ask me for investment!" Cheng Yi exclaimed in surprise.
The butler: "...Madam, Miss Ye might be a bit dense when it comes to romance, but her emotional intelligence in dealing with people is really not low. This is only your first meeting, and you're not close to Miss Ye. How could she ask you for investment right off the bat? Besides, young master handles the investments, don't try to compete with him!"
"As if he's not spending Qi Corporation's money..." Cheng Yi complained speechlessly.
"Madam, both you and Miss Ye prioritize your careers. In your opinion, does young master have a chance?" the butler asked hesitantly.
"It's still too early to say," Cheng Yi sighed.
In fact, when she opened the door yesterday, she had wanted to see if Ye Zhi would misunderstand.
But after a brief moment of surprise, Ye Zhi showed no anger, jealousy, or disdain towards her. Instead, after some quick thought, she became more respectful and polite towards her.
Ye Zhi probably observed her age and demeanor and guessed that she was someone that Qi Xuan knew, thus she didn't misunderstand her identity at all.
This made Cheng Yi feel helpless. She didn't know whether to be happy that Ye Zhi trusted Qi Xuan's character so much, or to be frustrated that Ye Zhi was truly a block of wood, showing no inclination in matters of romance.
"But don't worry," Cheng Yi recollected herself, "At least Qi Xuan has the biggest chance. If he can't win her over, then no one else can!"
The butler: ...
Was this meant to be comforting?
"Madam, why don't you help young master?" the butler suddenly said.
Cheng Yi looked bewildered, "How can I help? I can't exactly tell Ye Zhi that I really like her and ask her to be my daughter-in-law, can I? That would make everyone awkward!"
"It doesn't have to be that dramatic..." the butler said, somewhat speechless. "Since you've already gone, why not take the two of them to places like amusement parks or haunted houses to help them build some feelings?"
Although Cheng Yi felt that things wouldn't go as smoothly as the butler imagined, she still agreed, "Alright, alright, I'll try."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yi went to find Qi Xuan and Ye Zhi.
Although the rain had stopped, climbing the mountain was out of the question. Cheng Yi suggested they go to a nearby escape room.
Ye Zhi and Qi Xuan naturally had no objections. After having lunch at the hotel, the three of them went to a nearby immersive escape room.
Upon arriving, all three looked around with great interest.
"What kind of theme would you like to play?" the attendant introduced. "We have mystery-themed rooms, as well as horror-themed ones..."
"Horror-themed!" Cheng Yi immediately said.
It was precisely the horror-themed rooms that she should choose! When the atmosphere built up, she could scream a few times and clumsily push Ye Zhi into Qi Xuan's arms!
In such a terrifying atmosphere, if the two of them got close, the sudden surge of adrenaline might be mistaken by Ye Zhi as the signal of affection, a sudden onset of love!
Even if the suspension bridge effect didn't work on Ye Zhi, it could make Ye Zhi feel that Qi Xuan's embrace was very secure!
The attendant continued to introduce, "We have several horror themes, such as 'Escape from the Asylum' and 'Saw'..."
"These should have real-life NPC interactions, right?" Ye Zhi asked curiously.
"Yes," the attendant pointed to the slogan on the wall and emphasized, "If you choose this type, please do not touch, curse, or hit the NPCs..."
Seeing the conspicuous slogan, Cheng Yi was speechless. She almost forgot that her son had very strong combat abilities!
If they entered this kind of escape room, and Qi Xuan could single-handedly overcome it with his strength, wouldn't that ruin her efforts?
"Do you have escape rooms without real-life NPC interactions, but are still scary, preferably with some ghosts and monsters? Do you have those?" Cheng Yi asked.
The attendant replied, "Yes, there's a theme called 'Desolate Village Ancient Well' that just became available. Would you like to choose this one?"
"This one it is!" Cheng Yi said with satisfaction.
Afterward, the group locked up their belongings and entered the escape room.
The dim, reddish lighting cast an eerie hue over the room. A background voice, accompanied by chilling music, began to introduce the backstory.
Cheng Yi secretly glanced at Ye Zhi, only to see Ye Zhi looking calm, without a trace of fear. She listened attentively to the background voice and then discussed key information with Qi Xuan.
Cheng Yi: ...
No, she couldn't have come here for nothing!
Ye Zhi and Qi Xuan quickly found a key prop in the room and unlocked the first door.
The three entered the second door. The background voice changed, the room lights suddenly went out, and then a ghost face appeared on the adjacent wall.
Good opportunity!
Cheng Yi immediately let out a scream, then stumbled towards Ye Zhi, reaching out her arm to push her!
"So scary... Huh?"
Before her scream ended, Ye Zhi grabbed her hand and said with concern, "Auntie, don't be scared, it's okay, it's all fake."
Cheng Yi: ...
She knew it was fake, but this development was not right!
The lights came back on, and Ye Zhi pointed to the place where the ghost face had been. "That part must be hollow. I... Qi Xuan, go and knock on it. See if there's a mechanism nearby that can be unlocked. Auntie is very scared, I'll stay with her."
"Okay," Qi Xuan agreed and walked to the spot.
Cheng Yi, still with her hands held: ...
She really didn't need to be taken care of so considerately, truly.
The lights dimmed again, and the ghost face reappeared.
Ye Zhi simply reached out her arm and pulled Cheng Yi into her embrace, "Auntie, if you're scared, don't look!"
Cheng Yi: ...
How should I put it, this embrace was quite secure. But...
This wasn't the kind of security she wanted!