Chapter 207: A Kind of Business Acumen ④
“Whatever! Nie Qiu, we’re bored at home, let’s go out and have some fun!” Huang Yan pouted.
Nie Qiu had never thought about how to spend her winter holiday or summer holiday. Time marches on, and life marches on, shouldn’t it just take its course? But life should also be colorful and flavorful. That’s why when Zhang Haiyang proposed a study tour, she had no objection.
But… go to People’s Park again?
“Us? Who else besides you?” Nie Qiu asked.
“Me, Zhang Haiyang, and the one from your house,” Huang Yan said with a smile.
Nie Qiu naturally guessed Zhang Haiyang would be there, but… the one from her house? Nie Qiu’s face turned a little red, “What do you mean the one from my house? We’re not together.”
“Haha…” Huang Yan burst into laughter, “When I say the one from your house, I didn’t specify who. I might be talking about your cat, your dog, or your slippers and notebooks. I didn’t say who from your house, Nie Qiu, who were you thinking of?”
“Huang Yan!” Nie Qiu said angrily, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Nie Aifang, who was selling vegetables, looked at Nie Qiu and asked, “Qiu Qiu, who called?”
“It was Huang Yan,” Nie Qiu said to Nie Aifang with a blush.
“Did she call to ask you to go out and play? Then you should go!” Nie Aifang said with a smile, “It’s rare to have a holiday, what are you doing here at the market accompanying an old woman like me? You should be out with your classmates. What’s fun about being in the market? Go on, go.”
“Mom…” Nie Qiu looked at Nie Aifang with some surprise. After interacting with many junior high school students, she knew that many parents didn’t want their daughters to go out and play, especially during holidays. She had heard girls complain more than once about their parents not letting them go shopping or anything else. Nie Aifang being so open-minded was a bit unexpected, “Mom… isn’t it better for me to stay and help you?”
“Go play!” Nie Aifang smiled and took out money from her purse, “Do you want ten yuan? Do you have any money?”
Nie Qiu shook her head and looked at Nie Aifang, saying, “I still have money. Mom… you’re different from other moms.”
“Haha, silly girl, what are you talking about!” Nie Aifang laughed and tapped Nie Qiu’s forehead with her hand, which was still wet from handling vegetables, making Nie Qiu’s hair damp. “As long as you’re not going out to commit murder or arson, what’s wrong with going out to play?” In the past, Qiu Qiu had no friends. She constantly saw news about celebrities committing suicide due to depression, so she was very worried. If Qiu Qiu had no friends and didn’t talk much, would she overthink and get depressed? Now that Qiu Qiu had one or two good friends, she was relieved and wouldn’t stop her child from going out to play. Going out to play wasn’t bad; it could change a person’s personality to some extent. Being cheerful wasn’t bad either; at least one could live happily.
Nie Qiu smiled, wiped the water from her forehead, and felt lucky to have such an open-minded mom.
“Then I’ll tell Huang Yan I’m going out to play,” Nie Qiu said to Nie Aifang, then turned to Huang Yan on the other end of the mobile phone, “My mom agreed to let me go out and play. I was wondering, can we change the location? Not People’s Park?”
“Let’s meet up first! We’ll talk after we meet,” Huang Yan said with a smile, “We’ll wait for you on the road opposite the vegetable market.”
“If you’re all here, why don’t you come in? And why waste money on phone calls.” Nie Qiu hung up the phone, put her mobile phone in the purse of Nie Aifang’s apron, said goodbye to Nie Aifang, took off her apron, and walked out.
As expected, she saw Huang Yan and Zhang Haiyang standing hand in hand across the road, and Li Kai was also standing by the fence of the green belt there.
After much discussion, the four of them decided to go to the haunted house that had been rebuilt in People’s Park. It was still People’s Park, but when they went before the exam, the haunted house was undergoing repairs and renovations. Today, junior high school students were handing out flyers on the street, saying the haunted house had reopened, and it was 20% off on the first day of its reopening. Huang Yan happened to get a flyer.
The four of them, chatting about the questions they remembered from the exam, got into a taxi and headed to People’s Park. Since there were only three seats left besides the driver’s seat, Zhang Haiyang was determined to sit with Huang Yan. Nie Qiu and Li Kai simultaneously opened the passenger door, and then… Li Kai let Nie Qiu get in and sat in the back seat with Zhang Haiyang and Huang Yan.
Upon arriving at the park, the four of them headed straight for the haunted house.
The haunted house was built inside a mountain in the center of People’s Park, designed to look like a cave. There were two stone lions on either side of the entrance. Looking up, the stone gate had two naked Western demons. Above the demons, a sign read: No entry for the elderly, those with heart conditions, or those with high blood pressure. From a distance, the entrance was pitch black, with faint glimpses of swirling smoke and red and white lights.
Huang Yan was extremely excited and ran ahead to buy four tickets. After handing them to the other three, she rushed towards the cave alone. Zhang Haiyang helplessly chased after her, “Huang Yan, wait for me, let’s go together.”
At the entrance, two people dressed as Black and White Impermanence, wearing masks and fake tongues, were checking tickets. The four of them, along with other tourists, lined up. After handing their tickets to Black and White Impermanence, they stepped into the haunted house.
As soon as she stepped into the haunted house, Nie Qiu’s steps faltered. Li Kai gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and took Nie Qiu’s hand, “Are you scared?”
Nie Qiu didn’t even notice her hand was being held; she just felt a little more at ease. Screams of girls echoed throughout the haunted house, but they were mixed with the screams of boys, making her heart tremble. Still, she said defiantly, “Who… who’s scared? I… I’m not scared.”
Hearing Nie Qiu’s answer, Li Kai couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t say anything, just held Nie Qiu’s hand and followed behind Huang Yan and Zhang Haiyang.
To be honest, Nie Qiu had been to a haunted house with Yang Zihao before. But back then, the haunted house was entirely controlled by machines, with various terrifying sound effects and ghosts that popped out suddenly. Even then, she was so scared that she hid in Yang Zihao’s arms. But Huang Yan said that the haunted houses now had real people inside. Nie Qiu knew that this place would definitely be more terrifying than before, otherwise, how could it be considered an upgrade? Thinking this, Nie Qiu felt as if she was scaring herself, and her heart grew more apprehensive.
The haunted house was generally like a tunnel, with branching paths at every point. Nie Qiu and Li Kai reached the first corner, where Huang Yan and Zhang Haiyang had already gone ahead and were waving at them.
Nie Qiu looked at the coffins on both sides, flickering in the dim light, and stepped lightly, stepped lightly…
