Joining A Dating Show With Five Exes - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: A Bad Dog That Betrayed Its Master

Cheng Shiyuan hadn’t anticipated that even Xia Ziran would indirectly get hold of the secret she had desperately tried to hide in the hospital that day.

On the phone, the short ten-second surveillance video looped repeatedly.

“If you like this piece of art, remember to give me a five-star review, okay?”

In her ear.

Xia Ziran’s malicious provocation was like the faint flick of a snake’s tongue.

Her scrutinizing gaze was like an art knife tracing Cheng Shiyuan’s skin.

But for the first time, Cheng Shiyuan wasn’t gripped by this icy chill.

She only focused on the phone. Why were those people there?

—Had the person behind them completely learned the secret about her body?

Her breathing couldn’t help but lighten. Her thoughts were suddenly pulled back to the day her marriage contract expired.

The pungent scent of Daphne flowers, so strong it filled the entire study, came to her nose.

Too intense, it held a hint of decay.

In the dimly lit study, she was bathed in the intense sunlight by the only bright window, with a mass of black shadow crouching at her feet.

After biting off a black glove and taking the pristine white document Cheng Shiyuan handed over—

A frown suddenly creased the long eyebrows on the expressionless face. The eyes widened, and the body leaned forward slightly.

Her body language expressed a textbook standard of confusion, but the eyes looking at her were empty.

Cheng Shiyuan was locked by that non-human, indifferent gaze.

Having been together for three years, she thought she had made this person’s emotions like those of a normal human.

But that day, she was reminded again that she was facing nothing but a beast wearing human skin, mingled in the crowd.

She had personally taught that beast how to disguise itself, how to thrive in the rules of human society, and now, it had silently crept back into Cheng Shiyuan’s life, and she hadn’t even noticed.

No!

For that person to operate the way they did and leave behind this easily copied surveillance footage.

It was already a declaration to her.

‘Since I cannot possess you by human rules, I will use the methods I excel at.’

Where is it? Is it already watching her, filming this show?

With so many cameras following them, behind which lens are you sitting, Shen Lingxi?

Cheng Shiyuan pressed her phone. She, who had always welcomed every gaze and loved being the camera’s darling, for the first time, began to vigilantly and cautiously scrutinize every long and short lens around her.

She was even startled by Xia Ziran’s sudden raised hand.

Displeased by her shift in attention, Xia Ziran subtly guessed the reason for her expression and snapped her fingers in front of her.

She wished she could pull out a cat teaser and wave it.

“Ignoring a great beauty right in front of you, are you having a sudden eye problem?”

Cheng Shiyuan scanned her up and down expressionlessly: “Great beauty?”

Xia Ziran tilted her head and scoffed, “Do you think there’s a problem with your taste or your standards for choosing a partner?”

Miss Cheng, who couldn’t possibly have a flaw from her hair to her toes, slapped the phone back into Xia Ziran’s palm, not in the mood to joke around, and turned to leave.

If Xia Ziran’s actions could be referenced by past experience, she was a barely manageable, eccentric little genius lunatic.

But Shen Lingxi was someone who simply couldn’t be reasoned with using human logic.

However, one thing was certain.

Xie Zhiqing probably still didn’t know the identity of her opponent and, driven by her overly strong ego, was surely planning to secretly find a way to get back at them.

If the opponent were any other heir in the circle, Cheng Shiyuan wouldn’t even bother to watch the drama, as it would just be minor squabbles bound by face and the rules of the game.

But Shen Lingxi was different.

When Xie Zhiqing was diligently following the path of an excellent, orthodox successor—actively winning awards, participating in competitions, and organizing large events in school to hone her leadership skills.

Shen Lingxi was merely one of the countless illegitimate children of the Shen family. To even start a small business, she had to risk her life to open up trade routes in war-torn regions.

A million-dollar deal had cost her a leg and given her a high fever for three days and three nights.

She was a monster that had brutally grown up under the law of the jungle. She didn’t even care about her own life, let alone others.

…

“The date ends here.”

Cheng Shiyuan announced with a practiced smile, her tone understated, while Xie Zhiqing looked at her in disbelief.

She even laid out the reason so bluntly: “After all, I seem to have given the wrong reward, right?”

Xie Zhiqing’s heart was instantly clutched by a hand.

Her pupils involuntarily constricted, and she couldn’t even maintain the composure she had used to dismiss the school leaders just moments ago.

—Cheng Shiyuan knew.

The terrible premonition she had when watching her walk toward Xia Ziran just now had come true.

But Xie Zhiqing couldn’t even find it in herself to confront her rival. She was solely focused on Cheng Shiyuan’s gaze, fixed to the spot.

It was actually a very calm gaze.

Calm, without any expectation, and thus without any disappointment.

“Shiyuan…” But Xie Zhiqing felt incredibly distressed. She promised her: “I will give you an explanation for this matter.”

“I don’t want one.”

Cheng Shiyuan refused outright.

She knew Xie Zhiqing too well, so she knew exactly how to shatter her ego and extinguish her fighting spirit, batting her away before she could crash into the unknown enemy like an ignorant young beast.

“Xie Zhiqing, I don’t trust you anymore.”

The words that spilled from her beautiful, peach-blossom lips were like a steel knife.

And the one inflicting the pain was still smiling: “This is, after all, my own business. I was mistaken before, and now I plan to handle it myself. You are not allowed to interfere again.”

The gem-like luster in her obsidian eyes gradually dimmed.

Xie Zhiqing endured the suffocating pain in her chest, accepting all of her accusations.

She didn’t even dare to replay the words “I don’t trust you anymore” in her mind.

But she still spoke again, insisting even as her voice trembled: “Shiyuan, this matter is not as simple as you think. Those people—”

“That doesn’t concern you anymore,” Cheng Shiyuan smiled, making her point clear: “After all, we don’t have any intimate relationship.”

“As a mere acquaintance, you don’t seem to have any standing or right to interfere in my affairs, do you?”

“Stop being so lacking in boundaries, Xie Zhiqing. You’re really annoying like this.”

When saying cruel words.

She wasn’t like Xie Zhiqing, who was desperately concerned with saving face, spoke carelessly, and often regretted the words the moment they were out of her mouth.

Cheng Shiyuan was more like a surgeon using words as a scalpel, knowing exactly where to cut to pierce that soft heart, churn up bloody scraps of flesh, and make the other person suffer agonizing pain.

As she turned away, she could even anticipate, by the deliberately held breath behind her:

She seemed to have made Xie Zhiqing cry again.

The image of transparent teardrops rolling down those dark eyes flashed in Cheng Shiyuan’s mind.

Xie Zhiqing had been a crybaby since kindergarten.

Cheng Shiyuan loved to rush over and watch her when she cried: “You’re crying? Crying again? Wow, you look so pretty when you cry!”

This often infuriated Xie Zhiqing, who was extremely concerned with saving face, and couldn’t stand being watched during her moment of embarrassment. She would get angry while crying, and when her anger was intense, she would start to hiccup uncontrollably.

Later, she became so strong-willed that she forcibly corrected this habit.

Cheng Shiyuan hadn’t seen her cry in years.

For a moment, she really wanted to turn back and see if Xie Zhiqing still cried the same way she used to.

Fists clenched, standing motionless, her head coldly bowed.

Tears would gather at the tip of her nose, fragile, on the verge of falling.

Cheng Shiyuan reflexively raised her hand, ready to catch that descending teardrop.

However, the only response she received was the vibration of her phone in her palm.

It was a notification from the production team.

“All six guests have gathered! To promote guest interaction, all guests are asked to gather at the East Island Pier at 18:00 tonight for a romantic cruise night tour. The production team will provide a sumptuous dinner.”

Just after reading it.

Another staff member’s profile picture sent a message:

“All six guests have gathered! To promote guest interaction, this season’s program has an exclusive creative change. All guests are asked to gather at the Escape Room in the city center at 17:00 tonight for a thrilling and wonderful night.”

Cheng Shiyuan raised an eyebrow.

She then remembered the dark corridor at the beginning of the show and couldn’t help but smile.

Was this season planning to run the suspension bridge effect to the ground?

Perfect. She was already thinking about how to probe Shen Lingxi’s intentions. Now, an escape room would be a good change of pace.

She narrowed her eyes, almost visualizing Chen Chuxing trying to keep her composure in the escape room, drenched in sweat, eyes red-rimmed, but still bravely shielding her and cooing in a trembling voice, “Don’t be scared.”

Or perhaps.

A child like Wang Shu, trying to act like an adult, hiding her tall body behind her, burying her head in her neck, and sweetly whining, “Cheng Cheng, I’m so scared,” would also be quite cute.

She needed a taste of these delicious little snacks to have the energy to deal with the monster that was about to emerge.

Cheng Shiyuan independently planned her script for the escape room, even unilaterally naming it.

It would be called Pretending to Be the Top, But the Sister Is Too Weak to Function.

And How to Put a Muzzle on a Green Tea Puppy.

But after casually hailing a taxi and arriving at the destination.

Meeting the meaningful gaze of Xia Ziran, who put down a boring magazine in the corner, Cheng Shiyuan felt something was off.

This feeling of being off reached its peak when regular players kept coming in, but no other acquaintances showed up.

The guide came over and asked them: “Are you two going in? This group is full. You might have to wait an hour for the next one.”

Xia Ziran grinned, looking purely innocent and obediently at Cheng Shiyuan: “I’ll follow her lead.”

Cheng Shiyuan opened her phone and clicked into the supposed staff member’s Moments, who had sent the second message, trying to find any clues.

She discovered that Xia Ziran had cleared her Moments in advance.

It was her own fault for being too lazy to deal with this person back then, deleting her contact notes after the breakup. This allowed Xia Ziran to use this trick and exploit the loophole in the production team—

No exclusive date? Then create one yourself, right?

Changing her profile picture and pretending to be a staff member, feigning a change in schedule, all just to trick her into playing this escape room together?

She thought about how Xia Ziran must have been sure that her relationship with Xie Zhiqing was strained when she executed the plan, so she wouldn’t check the schedule and would walk straight into this exclusive trap.

Cheng Shiyuan squeezed her fist and smiled as she reported to the camera: “Aren’t you going to do something about this?” A guest learning to exploit the show’s bugs? Unacceptable!

The cameraman remembered the tragic story of being repeatedly led on a merry chase by her and Xie Zhiqing between the school buildings.

Anger welled up in his heart, and he boldly spoke up:

“If you don’t care, how can we?”

Cheng Shiyuan: “?”

She pressed her tongue against her cheek, laughing in exasperation.

Then she thought, If Shen Lingxi is watching her now, she’d have to be cautious about interacting with anyone.

Only with Xia Ziran could she be reckless.

Since this was a date Xia Ziran had painstakingly sought out, why not give her some face and have a good time?

She could also test Shen Lingxi and see how far she could endure.

Cheng Shiyuan casually signed autographs for a fan who came over with her Polaroid photos, and under the fan’s utmost expectant gaze, she nonchalantly agreed: “Fine, let’s go in now.”

The fan covered her mouth and let out a small shriek, diligently assuring her:

“Don’t worry! Shiyuan, I’ll protect you! If those NPCs chase us with electric batons later, I’ll take the hit for you!”

Cheng Shiyuan paused: “…Electric batons?” Is this kind of escape room even legal?

“It’s okay! I heard some characters also use long whips to lash people. I’ll take that for you too!”

Cheng Shiyuan looked even more confused, “Whips?”

“Ah, apparently some characters also use rulers to hit people, but I heard that doesn’t hurt much. Should I take that for you too?”

Cheng Shiyuan wasn’t about to let her fan endure such torture. She couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head, telling her to just run for herself.

But the next second, she shot a chilly glare at Xia Ziran: ‘You have very special tastes, CEO Xia.’

A hardcore S/M enthusiast, is that it?

Xia Ziran heard this and casually flipped through the magazine again, recalling her three principles for choosing the escape room:

Horror, horror, severe horror.

It seemed to differ from her vision.

However, she watched as Cheng Shiyuan put on the game bracelet and accidentally triggered a mechanism.

A mild current sparked, making the beautiful woman gasp, and a red mark instantly bloomed on her skin.

She rushed to rub it, but it only seemed to make it worse, the red color spreading brazenly across her creamy-white skin.

Like rose petals spilled into fresh white milk.

In the dark room, Xia Ziran’s eyes reflected the patch of skin she was unconsciously scratching, so white it seemed to glow.

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly thinking of a very safe electrode pad design.

If they were attached to her softer, more sensitive areas and a remote control was activated, she would be able to enjoy the sight of her being tormented by itchiness and pain.

The beautiful white body would writhe helplessly on the red sheets.

Her pink, spasming fingers would try to claw them off, but they would keep slipping due to the glistening wetness oozing from where her fingertips touched.

The harder she pressed, the more it hurt, and the more it hurt, the wetter it became, making it impossible to remove.

She would ultimately have to clamp her legs together.

Wailing and sobbing helplessly, red-rimmed eyes looking to her for help.

Xia Ziran was greatly pleased by the imagined scene, but the next second, she was caught off guard by a loud “Smack!”

Cheng Shiyuan shook her hand, realizing she had hit too hard, but showed no guilt, even raising an eyebrow at her in defiance.

Her tone was cool and challenging:

“Little genius, after all these minutes, have you figured out the clue to escape from here?”

The background story of the escape room was about a group of girls who went on a trip to a remote village, only to run into a local special folk festival and be secretly kidnapped by the villagers to be sacrificed to the “Ghost Bride.”

As sacrifices to be offered, the villagers were said to have placed a special cursed mark on them. If they couldn’t break the curse and escape, they would be hunted down by the “Ghost Bride” and her little ghosts no matter where they ran.

Xia Ziran saw her action of hitting her own shoulder and for a second, suspected Cheng Shiyuan actually wanted to slap her face.

She let out a faint snort: “What is there to figure out?”

She spoke lazily:

“This kind of horror-focused escape room is not very logical. It’s heavily based on the designer’s personal ideas. The key is to search for clues, and experience the random jump scares from props and NPCs during the search.”

After she finished, she watched the expectation in Cheng Shiyuan’s eyes fade, reminding her of the time she used the excuse of asking for an Olympiad math problem to get close to her, only to be rejected.

Xia Ziran couldn’t help but smile: “Did you take me for Sherlock Holmes? Do you think I can figure out all the clues just by taking a look?”

Cheng Shiyuan glared at her, unsure where she got the confidence to make such a preposterous statement.

She could only walk towards a deliberate old cabinet covered in dust and cobwebs in the room, amidst the anticipation of the surrounding girls.

“Creak”

When the cabinet door slowly opened, a round object tumbled out and rolled into her arms.

Cheng Shiyuan looked down.

A human head.

The angle she was holding it at was directly facing the head’s wide-open eyes, bloodshot and weeping black-red tears that spilled from the sockets.

Drip, drip.

The bloody liquid dripped onto the floor at her feet.

A scream suddenly erupted in her ear.

Cheng Shiyuan, however, laughed and tossed the prop head in her palm.

Then, she actually saw a suspected clue at the junction of the head and spine.

Xia Ziran watched her pale hand instantly become stained with blood, but she merely lowered her eyes.

Her index and middle fingers were held together, slowly pinching a blood-soaked strip of cloth from the red and white ‘brain matter’.

The hazy red color, filtered by the eerie lighting, obscured half of her face.

In that instant, Xia Ziran thought, if the “Ghost Bride” looked like this, she wouldn’t bother running away.

The bridal chamber wouldn’t be bad.

The next second, her “Ghost Bride” glared at her with an expressionless face.

Xia Ziran chuckled softly, thinking that this bride princess was perfect in every way, except that her temper was as bad as ever and she liked to boss people around…

However, her body was very honest. She took out a packet of wet wipes and went over to clean the blood off her fingers, one by one.

The NPC in the shadows couldn’t stand the sight of the two of them acting as if they were alone, turning a horror escape room into a romantic bubble. The next second, eerie music and howling wind sounded.

The “villagers” surrounded the empty room where strange noises were heard in the middle of the night.

Cheng Shiyuan hadn’t even clearly read what was written on the clue before the door was kicked open.

The other players scattered like little chicks. She even spotted the fan who had been so sure and had sworn to take the beating for her earlier.

Crying and screaming, the fan ran ahead of everyone:

“Aaaah, Shiyuan, Shiyuan, save me, save me, save me—”

Cheng Shiyuan, who was left behind: “…”

She felt the gust of wind from the electric baton sweeping past, even curling the ends of her hair.

She felt like she was the one who needed saving more.

So, she looked at Xia Ziran with concern: “Can you run any faster?”

Xia Ziran was completely unashamed of her terrible athletic ability: “I know you’ll wait for me no matter how slow I am.”

Cheng Shiyuan gave her a genuine smile.

The next second, she pulled away the fingers that were desperately clutching her shirt, one by one, without hesitation.

Watching Xia Ziran get caught for being the slowest runner, the smile on her lips became a little more sincere.

She even had time to wave “bye-bye” to her while running, after all, the essence of escaping was simply to outrun the person in last place.

Then, she turned and ran to another area without hesitation.

But she heard a low chuckle from behind.

The sound was amplified by the empty corridor, carrying a strange sense of composure.

“Ah, can I report something?”

Cheng Shiyuan suddenly had a bad feeling.

“I want to report that my teammate showed disrespect to the ‘Ghost Matron’, doesn’t want to be a sacrifice, and the clue to escaping the village is on her.”

Hearing the sound of footsteps rapidly converging from all directions, Cheng Shiyuan’s scalp tingled. She instantly sped up, not forgetting to yell a curse:

“Xia Ziran, are you a dog?!”

A bad dog that betrayed its master!

However, the bad dog laughed incredibly happily, and even when she was surrounded and caught, she didn’t forget to interview her on her mental journey.

“Let me guess—”

“When you were complaining about me running slowly, were you thinking, I wish the person I came to the escape room with was Xie Zhiqing?”

Cheng Shiyuan saw that they were both locked in the same small dark room. It didn’t look like the game would end soon, nor would they make it to the cruise ship to meet the other guests. So, she decided to focus on annoying Xia Ziran.

So, she feigned a reply:

“How could I? How could I bear to bring her here to be scared? That would totally ruin her image, wouldn’t it?”

Xia Ziran’s face fell, as expected.

But she let out a scoffing laugh.

The next second, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly echoed in the room.

Cheng Shiyuan, with her keen eyes, saw a black object flick across the air as Xia Ziran flipped her wrist.

To confirm her terrible guess, the person sitting next to her suddenly raised her hand and lit the electronic candelabra in the room, allowing her to see the long black whip in her palm more clearly.

It was like a thick, long snake that could come alive and bite at any moment.

Xia Ziran even had the leisure to use the alcohol on the table to disinfect the whip.

“What should I do? Because I reported you, I have the privilege of personally punishing the deserter.”

“It’s up to me to decide whether the runaway sacrifice is remorseful.”

She tugged the whip with both hands, as if judging its sturdiness.

Then, she smiled calmly at Cheng Shiyuan and slowly delivered her verdict:

“Given that you have no remorse—”

Cheng Shiyuan stared at the almost meter-long whip, imagining Xia Ziran’s unusually vigorous demeanor in certain situations, and suddenly the two soft patches beneath her lower back began to ache.

“I am! Zhizhi, you know I love playing games with you the most.”

She had discovered Xia Ziran’s special hobby while they were in school.

Initially, she was constantly being bothered by her and became extremely annoyed. Later, she found that Xia Ziran had gotten a competition problem wrong, even though she had taught her the type.

Xia Ziran used the excuse of her effort being wasted and demanded compensation. She casually pulled out a ruler from her pencil case and hit her palm twice.

It was euphemistically called teaching her a lesson so she wouldn’t waste her time.

Cheng Shiyuan held the red marks on her palm, didn’t speak to her for an entire evening, didn’t ask any more questions, and stubbornly buried herself in the work.

So, after the evening study session, Xia Ziran handed the ruler back to her:

“Want to hit me back? Don’t be angry anymore.”

When Cheng Shiyuan actually struck her arm, Xia Ziran only looked at the raised red welts, and gently coaxed her without a care: “Okay, I won’t hit your hands next time. I’ll hit a place that doesn’t hurt. Is that better?”

“I have delicate skin and everything hurts!” The younger Cheng Shiyuan insisted on arguing.

“Really?” Xia Ziran didn’t believe her, applying her tireless academic curiosity to her:

“Does your butt hurt too? Want to try?”

The voice, young in her memory, had become mature and lazy after many years, but the sense of danger was even stronger than before.

“You like playing with me? Then go stand by the wall.”

Knowing that she hated the nickname “Zhizhi” the most, and still calling her that again and again, especially right after her date with Xie Zhiqing.

Xia Ziran had a reasonable suspicion that she wanted to be punished. After all, this bad student always said one thing and meant another.

Cheng Shiyuan didn’t really want to indulge her, but a faint scent of Daphne flowers wafted into her nose. She had smelled it earlier when being chased by the NPC down a corridor.

That fragrance was too unique. It was alluring when faint, but it turned into a sickly, repulsive smell of decay when strong.

She subconsciously looked at the camera in the room.

As if sensing her thoughts, the camera with the flashing red light was pointing directly at her.

—Shen Lingxi, is she here? Is she sitting behind this camera?

Cheng Shiyuan absolutely had to see her in person to judge her true intentions and purpose.

So, as if possessed, she followed Xia Ziran’s instruction and walked to the cold, rough brick wall.

The cold, alcohol-scented whip ran down her spine.

Xia Ziran saw her fingers curl slightly out of nervousness, but she stepped closer, pressing the tip of her shoe into the space between her legs, shifting it slightly.

“Spread.”

“Keep going, spread further.”

Watching her lean her waist too far forward, revealing a sliver of slender, snowy-white skin.

It formed a stark contrast with the pure black, braided terrifying long whip in her hand.

Xia Ziran suddenly placed the weight of the whip on her waist: “Stand steady.”

The two dimples on her lower back, which she had grasped in the dark corridor, now trembled delicately from bearing the weight.

Like shelled lychee fruit, poked by a finger, tumbling and swaying haphazardly.

Glistening, translucent.

She couldn’t help but lick her lips, wanting to bite into the fruit and taste the juice that would spill out.

So, she casually flicked the black long snake and pointed it at the area beneath her lower back: “Lift up.”

The next moment—

The long snake, like her extended fangs, bit into the soft flesh she wanted to taste, even through the fabric.

“Smack!”

The sound rang out.

Cheng Shiyuan couldn’t help but tremble, a sound like a cry escaping her throat, a muffled complaint: “It’s so heavy… Do you even know how to…”

The answer was Xia Ziran’s swift, clean sound of a hand raising and falling again.

Hearing that this time, Cheng Shiyuan couldn’t even manage a curse, only whimpering sounds, as if she was about to burst into uncontrolled tears.

Amidst her pleasing, soft crying, Xia Ziran raised an eyebrow.

Heavy where?

She was wearing such light-colored pants, and they were only faintly pink.

Xia Ziran knew her own strength. She had tested it on herself when Cheng Shiyuan was busy running away. How could it possibly hurt her?

Thinking that there weren’t even raised red marks on those two soft patches, only a blush of pink spreading.

She felt it was too light.

But after all, Miss Cheng was delicate. Her being this obedient was already a huge improvement. She had initially thought she would have to tie her up.

Xia Ziran stared at the whip in her hand, feeling that if it were shorter and thinner, it might match Cheng Shiyuan’s initial idea, with a lighter force.

However.

Using that kind of whip on the area beneath her lower back would be a bit of a waste.

It should be used to strike some softer, more delicate places.

If she hit her there, Cheng Shiyuan would probably cry louder, and more sweetly, right?

Thinking this, she curved her lips silently, softening her voice, as if good-naturedly accepting her suggestion:

“I can be gentler—”

“But, we’ll have to change the place you get hit. You choose.”

At the same time, the red light on the surveillance camera flickered twice, dangerously.