When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 20.1

If time could be rewound, Su Yang would definitely slap herself twice across the face.

Once, an opportunity to press the call button had been right in front of her, but she hadn’t cherished it. And then—

“Ah!”

With a scream, Tang Yeran felt darkness envelop her vision as something delicate and cool covered her eyes.

“D-Don’t, don’t look, there’s—”

“There’s what?”

Though Tang Yeran couldn’t see at the moment, she could tell from Su Yang’s voice that she must have seen something terrifying.

“There’s a zom hiss.”

Before the words could fully leave her mouth, Tang Yeran suddenly felt something brush past her back.

The next second, her body plummeted violently, landing on something warm and soft.

Thanks to the human cushion beneath her, Tang Yeran didn’t feel much pain from the fall though the sudden drop into pitch-black darkness was certainly a test for her heart.

By now, Su Yang’s hand, which had been covering her eyes, had moved away. Tang Yeran took advantage of the faint light to see the person beneath her clearly.

Her jade-like face was now deathly pale, her usually cool eyes tightly shut, glistening with moisture.

Tang Yeran rarely saw Su Yang cry.

Even though she was terrified herself, she had still thought to protect someone else.

A flicker of tenderness brushed Tang Yeran’s heart, followed by a pang of guilt.

Had she known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have teased her earlier she should have just pressed the call button right away.

Tang Yeran knelt on one knee and reached out to cradle Su Yang’s head. “Did you hit your head?”

Su Yang’s head was, after all, an extremely valuable asset.

Su Yang shook her head with her eyes still closed, her soft hair brushing against Tang Yeran’s palm.

Tang Yeran’s other hand felt the cushion beneath them, and she finally relaxed a little. Good, she didn’t land on her head.

Kneeling and bending over like this wasn’t comfortable either, so Tang Yeran switched to holding both of Su Yang’s hands, trying to pull her up from the ground.

“Boss Su, let’s get up first.”

But Su Yang seemed frozen stiff, lying motionless on the ground. The only movement was her eyes slowly opening.

Tang Yeran tugged harder. “Boss Su, Su Yang?”

But without cooperation, she didn’t have the strength to lift her alone. She had no choice but to lean down again to coax her.

They were so close now, it almost looked like they were whispering secrets.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

Su Yang shook her head.

“Then, is it because you’re scared?”

Su Yang paused for a second before shaking her head again. Then she pressed her lips together, as if hesitating to speak.

Tang Yeran understood she must have been scared stiff, too embarrassed to admit it.

She looked up and saw that the nearby coffin’s lid had somehow been pushed open. A mechanical zombie was now popping out of it repeatedly, its face aimed directly at the path Su Yang had just taken.

From Tang Yeran’s current angle, it didn’t look too scary, but if someone walked past and suddenly saw it springing at them, it would definitely be terrifying.

Considering that she was partly responsible for Su Yang’s current state, Tang Yeran found rare patience and softened her tone.

“That thing that scared you just now? It’s just a robot. It’s still there, doing the same jumping motion over and over.

“If you look at it from a distance, it’s really not scary at all. Seriously, why don’t you get up and see for yourself?”

Su Yang silently glanced at her, then pushed herself up slightly with her hands and scooted further away from the zombie coffin.

Scared to this extent, she wasn’t even pretending anymore.

Tang Yeran was both exasperated and amused as she leaned in close to the other person’s ear and threatened, “If you don’t get up now, I’ll leave you here alone.”

With that, she made a show of trying to stand up.

The next second, her arm was grabbed tightly, and the two of them were pressed together again, this time even more snugly than before.

Their positioning this time was even more precarious just one inch closer, and they would have accidentally kissed.

If Tang Yeran hadn’t turned her face away at the last 0.1 second, they would have perfectly recreated a scene straight out of a third-rate romantic drama.

But even now, the situation wasn’t much better.

Her cheek brushed against something soft, and warm breaths tickled her ear.

Tang Yeran hadn’t felt the slightest bit hot earlier, even after being scared by the ghost, but now an inexplicable warmth rose within her.

She could have easily pushed herself up from the ground, but fearing another mishap, she whispered a compromise to Su Yang first.

“Let me get up first, then I’ll help you up. Stop pulling on me, okay? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind.”

The response was several seconds of silence before a faint “Mm” finally came.

Taking that as agreement, Tang Yeran was about to stand when a flashlight beam suddenly shone on them from nearby.

Someone was coming?

The two of them lying tangled together like this wasn’t exactly a dignified sight.

Tang Yeran pushed off the ground and sprang up like a coiled spring, just in time to come face-to-face with the approaching figure.

“Tangtang?”

“Senior Gu?”

Running into an old acquaintance in an unexpected place left both Tang Yeran and Gu Qingci stunned. Meanwhile, Su Yang had already silently gotten up from the ground on her own.

Tang Yeran turned to see Su Yang standing there perfectly unharmed: “…”

So what was with the whole stiff-as-a-board act earlier?

Now that Su Yang was fine, Tang Yeran redirected her attention back to Gu Qingci. “What a coincidence! I never expected to run into you here, Senior.”

Gu Qingci raised her phone flashlight slightly higher and smiled. “I just finished meeting with a client nearby and had some time before my late flight, so I thought I’d drop by for some fun. What about you two?”

“We—” Tang Yeran had barely started speaking when a pumpkin-headed figure suddenly popped up from the ground with a creepy, cackling laugh.

This time, Su Yang didn’t look terrified but the hand gripping Tang Yeran’s was clenched so tightly it might as well have been glued with 502 adhesive.

Gu Qingci swung the flashlight toward the figure, grabbed the pumpkin-head by the collar, and unceremoniously tossed it back into a coffin. “Let’s continue this outside. The exit’s right over there.”

Tang Yeran followed the beam and wow the exit sign was just ten meters away. Why hadn’t she thought to turn on her phone flashlight earlier?

Then again, with one hand feeling the way forward and the other holding Su Yang’s, when would she have had a free hand to grab her phone?

The three of them found a nearby drink shop and sat down to catch up.

Well, more accurately, Tang Yeran and Gu Qingci were the ones chatting animatedly.

“Senior Gu, you seemed so calm and skilled back there in the haunted house. Do you come to places like this often?”

Gu Qingci smiled gently. “I’ve always liked thrilling environments since I was little. This time, I just happened to be passing by and thought I’d check it out. I’d hoped this viral park’s haunted house would have something special, but unfortunately, it’s still too tame lacks real excitement.”

Remembering how effortlessly Gu Qingci had tossed the pumpkin-head aside, Tang Yeran believed her wholeheartedly and was deeply impressed.

“This is tame and lacks excitement? Just now, someone was—”

Tang Yeran trailed off as she caught sight of the icy expression on said “someone’s” face and decided not to continue.

“Forget it, let’s save her some face.”

Gu Qingci understood implicitly, her smile composed.

“If it’s your first time in a haunted house, it’s natural to get scared. But Tangtang, you seemed quite brave just now surely it wasn’t your first time?”

In truth, this was Tang Yeran’s first visit, but to spare Su Yang’s feelings, she gave a soft “Mm-hmm.”

Hearing this, Gu Qingci’s smile widened. “I didn’t expect Tangtang to be a fellow enthusiast. Next time, we should visit a haunted house together.”

Addressing only one of the two would be impolite, so Gu Qingci turned to Su Yang with a polite smile. “Would you both like to join?”

Before Su Yang could respond, Tang Yeran, recalling how terrified she had been earlier, declined on her behalf.

“She’ll pass. One experience today is probably enough for her.”

This response excluded Su Yang but not herself.

Tang Yeran thought she had helped Su Yang out of an awkward situation, but when she glanced over, she was met with a gaze as cold as shards of ice.

Tang Yeran: ?

In stark contrast to Su Yang’s frostiness, Gu Qingci remained warm and enthusiastic.

“That’s fine. We can go together next time. I know plenty of other fun places too.”

“What a shame, I have to return to City C tonight. If I’d known I’d run into you here, Tangtang, I could’ve delayed my trip by half a day.”

Tang Yeran reassured her, “It’s alright, Senior. Stick to your original plan. I’ll be back in City C soon anyway, we’ll have plenty of chances to meet up later.”

“Sounds perfect.”

The three sat in the café for over half an hour before Gu Qingci had to leave for her flight.

After saying goodbye, Tang Yeran turned to the silent Su Yang. “Still scared? You haven’t said a word since we left.”

Su Yang’s face was icy. She initially refused to speak but relented after a few seconds. “It’s not because I’m scared.”

You were like that earlier, and you’re still saying you weren’t scared? Tch, tsundere.

Tang Yeran scoffed inwardly but didn’t call her out. “Well, if you’re fine now, shall we go somewhere else?”

“You go ahead. I’ll just rest here.”

Su Yang picked up her cup to drink, only to find it empty. Resigned, she sat back, resembling an ice sculpture.

Even Tang Yeran, dense as she could be, sensed Su Yang’s foul mood.

Since there was no urgent matter at hand, she decided to play therapist. “Director Su, what’s bothering you? Share it so I can laugh a little.”

Su Yang shot her a sidelong glance. “Hmph.”

Calling someone else ‘Senior’ but addressing me as ‘Director Su.’

Though cheerful by nature, Tang Yeran wasn’t one to force warmth where it wasn’t wanted. Seeing Su Yang’s disinterest, she clapped her hands and stood up. “Alright then, Director Su, rest well here. I’ll go explore on my own.”

She pretended to turn away, counting silently in her head and sure enough, the tsundere spoke again.

“That person earlier was too friendly. It felt insincere.”

Tang Yeran: Huh?

“That person” means Senior Gu? Since when is being friendly a crime? I’m friendly too are you holding a grudge against me?

She turned back, studying Su Yang with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Director Su, just because you embarrassed yourself in the haunted house and got caught doesn’t mean you should hold a grudge.”

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