A Sweet Soft Alpha and a Psycho-Beauty Go Viral Online - Chapter 31

Qiao Sanghe felt a soft warmth brush against her lips, and for a moment, she froze.

Her body instinctively leaned closer to Yu Wanyin. There was something about her—an inexplicable pull, a kind of quiet magic that made the eerie atmosphere of the escape room seem distant. As long as she stayed by Yu Wanyin’s side, she felt safe.

She shifted her gaze back to the puzzle.

Yu Wanyin had already solved more than half of it, and impressively, it hadn’t taken her long. A slowly trickling hourglass by the door served as a grim reminder of time passing. Only five minutes had gone by, but the oppressive air made it feel like hours.

The dim lighting of the old mansion room didn’t help. An antique candle lamp flickered on the table, and an unexplained cold draft whispered through the room. From every shadowed corner came the creaking of something unknown, as if at any moment someone—or something—might crawl out from the darkness. It was chilling.

The few minutes that passed felt like agony.

But thankfully, Yu Wanyin completed the puzzle not long after. The door lock clicked open—at the exact moment a sound echoed behind them. Both of their expressions shifted instantly. A sense of dread hit them hard as the sand in the hourglass ran out completely.

From under the antique, elaborately carved bed behind them, a grotesque humanoid monster with a decaying face suddenly crawled out, approaching in a spine-twisting posture.

Yu Wanyin and Qiao Sanghe turned their heads just long enough to catch a glimpse—and immediately broke out in goosebumps. The thing looked like it came straight out of a horror game. The production team had clearly spared no effort in designing terrifying NPCs. Anyone encountering this scene in such a vast and eerie room would’ve been frightened out of their mind.

Luckily, they had already unlocked the door. Yu Wanyin quickly pulled Qiao Sanghe into the next room and slammed the door shut behind them. The eerie sounds chasing them abruptly stopped. But they knew it was only temporary.

The next room presented a new puzzle, again with only five minutes to solve it. They didn’t even have time to catch their breath before getting to work.

This challenge was a color-matching puzzle. Dozens of crisscrossing lines in different colors needed to be connected—matching each color without error. The difficulty wasn’t high, but it was a test of nerves. Only by staying calm could they avoid costly mistakes.

Yu Wanyin picked up the stylus and began connecting the lines on the screen. In this puzzle, one mistake meant a twenty-second freeze before they could try again. The jigsaw puzzle earlier had followed the same rule. Every connection had to be carefully thought out to avoid wasting precious time.

Her mental composure wasn’t exactly great—at least not when she was around Qiao Sanghe—but when it came to solving problems, she could stay focused. Perhaps it was luck, or maybe sheer concentration, but she connected over a dozen lines without a single error.

Qiao Sanghe silently rooted for her. Unlike before, she didn’t speak or distract her, afraid even the slightest interference might disrupt Yu Wanyin’s focus. This was different from how they used to behave in escape rooms together, but there was no time to dwell on why.

By the time Yu Wanyin connected the final line, sweat had soaked her back. Though her nerves were taut, she had succeeded. About four minutes had passed—leaving just enough buffer within the time limit.

Without hesitation, they moved into the next room.

The layout remained similar—old and dusty—but with slight variations. Some rooms looked like bedrooms, others like cluttered storage spaces or parlors. But all of them shared the same unsettling atmosphere.

Cobwebs draped from the walls, the floor bore blood-like stains, and there was even a strange, foul odor lingering in the air.

They had no time to investigate. The only priority was clearing the current room.

Contestants would be rewarded with a spin at the prize wheel after every five rooms. The abilities won could be saved for a crucial moment later on.

Qiao Sanghe could feel the sweat pooling in Yu Wanyin’s palm as she held her hand tightly, sensing how tense she was. Quietly, she pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped Yu Wanyin’s palm, trying to ease some of that tension.

Yu Wanyin caught the scent of Qiao Sanghe’s pheromones on the cloth, and her nerves began to calm. Though their last temporary mark had long since faded, that scent seemed etched into her DNA—capable of quieting even her most restless emotions.

The third puzzle involved finding matching items in a group of images—spotting all the pairs among the pictures. There were likely twenty to thirty pairs, which made the time constraint a serious challenge. If someone got too flustered, mistakes were likely, and once the rhythm was lost, success became nearly impossible.

Yu Wanyin focused completely. Right hand on the pen, left hand still holding Qiao Sanghe. A voice in her mind reassured her: the task might be time-consuming, but it wasn’t difficult. As long as she stayed calm and methodical, she will get through it efficiently.

Qiao Sanghe could feel how draining the challenge was. The mental and physical effort required increased with every room. In such a high-pressure environment, fatigue could easily lead to errors.

By the time they entered the next room, Qiao Sanghe offered to take over the puzzle-solving. She insisted Yu Wanyin needed a break. Being in a constant state of high tension wasn’t good for the long haul, and they needed to pace themselves.

But Yu Wanyin couldn’t relax. Instead, she watched Qiao Sanghe intently, tracking her every move and keeping an eye on the ticking timer, silently bracing for what came next.

Only now did Qiao Sanghe truly understand how nerve-racking it was to solve the puzzles herself. With just five minutes to finish, there was no room for error. Every second mattered. The program was clearly designed so that solving the challenge in five minutes was just barely doable. There was no extra time—only speed, speed, and more speed.

The deeper they got, the more it felt like something horrific was always chasing them. The strange noises leaking from cracks in the walls further disrupted their concentration. To keep going, they had to be completely dialed in.

They barely completed the next puzzle in time—

Before a sudden gust of cold air swept through the room.

Creeeak—!

A horrifying wail rang out behind them. Something lunged toward them with a blood-curdling scream. Without looking back, Qiao Sanghe and Yu Wanyin bolted out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

Only then did they finally let out a breath of relief. Neither dared glance back. Even one more look might haunt their dreams for nights.

Yu Wanyin gently took Qiao Sanghe’s hand and said softly,

“Let me take care of the rest. I can’t bear to see you this exhausted. These puzzles are too draining, so from here on out, leave it to me.”

Qiao Sanghe nodded, knowing Yu Wanyin worked more efficiently. But she still warned her,

“If you ever get too tired, don’t force yourself. Let me take over anytime.”

Yu Wanyin gave a quiet “mm” of agreement and refocused immediately, continuing with the next puzzle. She didn’t want to waste even a second. So far, the challenges had been variations of matching images, connecting lines, solving puzzles, or spotting errors in images. The difficulty wasn’t extreme—but the short time limit was the real problem.

Finally, they made it to the point where they could spin the prize wheel.

Their reward: the ability to delay NPC pursuit for ten minutes.

This meant that if they failed to finish a puzzle in time, they could activate this power to prevent an NPC from bursting into the room right away.

A few extra minutes was all they needed—so this ability was incredibly useful.

Especially now. As the game went on, the maze-like escape room layout grew more convoluted and exhausting. Powers like this gave the contestants a rare window to catch their breath. Without that, the sheer intensity might’ve broken them completely.

Later, Yu Wanyin managed to unlock five more rooms in a row. Including the ones they had previously cleared, she and Qiao Sanghe had now solved ten rooms in total. Along the way, they also won a spin that granted them a one-time chance to rescue another contestant. At one point, they even came across traces left behind by Liu Chu’s team.

However, with a total of 48 rooms, and each room having 2 to 4 exits, there were more than a hundred possible paths in the upper level alone. No matter how fast they moved, it was impossible to unlock all the doors simultaneously.

By the time they reached the 13th room, both Yu Wanyin and Qiao Sanghe were noticeably exhausted. Judging by the area covered, they had traversed nearly a thousand square meters of rooms—chased, solving puzzles, and not getting a single moment of rest. The continuous mental strain was starting to wear on them, and they hadn’t even taken a sip of water.

Yu Wanyin suggested, “Let’s use the spin reward here and rest for ten minutes.”

Qiao Sanghe thought for a moment, then suddenly hugged her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek—a gentle, fragrant kiss that sent shivers down Yu Wanyin’s spine.

Her voice was low and sultry. “Let’s keep going for now. We’ll rest later. These chances to rest are rare—we should save them.”

The kiss had a surprising effect. Yu Wanyin, who had felt drained just moments ago, was suddenly recharged. She hugged Qiao Sanghe back and returned a gentle kiss of her own, smiling as she nodded. “Then let’s hang in there till the very end.”

【Hahaha, a kiss really can cure fatigue.】

【I thought she got some miracle potion—but a kiss and the exhaustion just vanished?】

【Yu Wanyin looks like she just got injected with adrenaline.】

Magical as it seemed, the kiss truly revived her spirit.

Yu Wanyin lived for rewards like this. No matter how many she got, she would never think it was too much.

In fact, she even thought to herself—if Qiao Sanghe kissed her after every room they cleared, she would never get tired.

Their final spin that day won them a powerful ability: to delay NPC pursuit by thirty minutes—even longer than the ten-minute delay they’d drawn earlier. But each team was limited to three spins per day, and they have to wait for the next in-show “day” before spinning again.

In-show time passed faster than real time—roughly three to four real-time hours would move the story to the next “day.”

After unlocking a total of 29 escape rooms, they finally decided to use their ten-minute delay ability to rest. They sat in the room’s chairs and chugged the bottled water provided on set.

Yu Wanyin’s white blouse was soaked with sweat. Qiao Sanghe, seeing this, gently wiped the sweat from her face and had her lie down with her head in her lap, hoping she could rest more comfortably this way.

Their break was short, but badly needed. Yu Wanyin had spent so much energy that even with more rooms ahead, she needed this moment of recovery to make it through.

Lying in Qiao Sanghe’s lap, Yu Wanyin could feel the warmth and softness beneath her, the skin-to-skin contact, the comforting scent that lingered on Qiao Sanghe’s body. It was so peaceful, she nearly dozed off.

She forced herself to stay awake, taking a deep breath to center her thoughts and enjoy what little time they had to rest.

Qiao Sanghe was so good to her. Letting her lie in her arms like this… there was probably no one in the world luckier than she was right now.

But beautiful moments always pass too quickly.

Yu Wanyin reluctantly sat up from Qiao Sanghe’s embrace. She was still tired, and the more exhausted she felt, the more she didn’t want to get up. She just wanted to stay wrapped around the soft, warm woman beside her, and sleep without end.

Qiao Sanghe cupped her cheek, brushed aside her damp bangs, and whispered by her ear,

“If we clear all the rooms today and get the highest score, then when we get home, you can lie down however you want—rest however long you want. I won’t say a word about time.”

Yu Wanyin’s eyes lit up.

Lie down however she wants? That reward felt like the greatest stimulant in the world—pure bliss waving at her from the finish line. In that moment, all her fatigue vanished. All she could think about was going home and curling up in bed, wrapped around her soft, sweet Qiao Sanghe.

With renewed energy, she sprang up and got back to solving the next room. Maybe it was the motivation, maybe the adrenaline, but her decoding speed increased drastically. Every puzzle was solved well within the time limit, and the chasing NPCs were nowhere to be seen.

Qiao Sanghe noticed the shift and couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t know what Yu Wanyin was thinking—but whatever it was, it clearly worked.

Yu Wanyin quickly cleared the upper-level puzzles, and by the time they reached over sixty exits, there was little left untouched. Liu Chu’s group had also made steady progress, gradually clearing the remaining doors. Only the outdoor area, attic, and basement remained.

In the blink of an eye, four hours had passed.

And in those four hours—

Yu Wanyin and Qiao Sanghe had rested only ten minutes.

They had pushed themselves the entire time. But humans have limits. Yu Wanyin started making small mistakes, even during simple puzzles. Her hands were trembling from exhaustion, and the resulting errors caused time delays.

Qiao Sanghe quickly reached out and held Yu Wanyin’s shaking right hand, steadying her. Their fingers entwined as they operated the controls together. The stabilizing touch helped, though their pace wasn’t what it had been. Several times, they were nearly caught by the NPCs chasing behind.

They still had a 30-minute delay they hadn’t used—but by this point, most of the room exits were cleared. If they rested now, Liu Chu’s team could overtake them in final score, and they would lose.

This was a battle of endurance.

Even though Liu Chu’s team had started with fewer points, they were catching up. Qiao Sanghe and Yu Wanyin were still ahead, but if they slacked now, they could easily lose their lead.

They had to go all out.

Gritting their teeth, the two pushed forward, racing to clear the remaining rooms. The basement, in particular, felt even more unsettling. As they started down the stairs—

Yu Wanyin’s legs suddenly gave out from exhaustion. Qiao Sanghe, barely holding on herself, also lost balance. Still holding hands, the two stumbled down the staircase and fell.

The fall jolted Yu Wanyin. Her first instinct wasn’t fear for herself, but for Qiao Sanghe.

If one of us has to get hurt, let it be me.

She wrapped herself around Qiao Sanghe, taking the brunt of the fall and protecting her from harm. A sharp pain shot up her back, so intense she almost blacked out.

And then—

Something wet dripped onto her face.

Qiao Sanghe’s tears.

They fell like pearls from a broken string, one by one onto Yu Wanyin’s cheek.

Yu Wanyin gritted through the pain and pushed herself upright, reaching for her.

“Don’t cry… I’m okay,” she said gently.

But Qiao Sanghe couldn’t hold it in anymore. The exhaustion, the stress, the overwhelming tension—it all spilled out in sobs she couldn’t control.

Seeing her cry only made Yu Wanyin more anxious. Flustered, she tried wiping her tears with trembling hands, but they kept coming, soaking through her clothes.

In the end, having no better way to comfort her—

Yu Wanyin kissed her.

Hard.

A deep, lingering kiss that captured her falling tears, muffled her sobs, and wrapped her trembling in warmth. Her words were mumbled between the kisses, but her voice was full of tender resolve:

“It’s okay. I’m not in pain. See? I’m still right here.”