Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 32

[I knew it!! Yi Qian wasn’t scared at all! This girl’s been pretending the whole time, and she’s so convincing!]

[Ahhhhh, that giant ghost head that suddenly popped out from the ceiling beam scared me to death, I dropped my phone and cracked the screen! Production team, you owe me a new phone T.T]

[Wow, thanks to those two adorable ghosts who just appeared, my favorite couple got to cuddle~]

Inside the abandoned hospital, the blood-red ghost face drifted away while repeating its eerie words.

In the darkness, Yi Qian curled her lips slightly and gently patted the back of the person in her arms.

The warm breaths against her neck were slightly hurried, tickling her skin. Yi Qian swallowed hard, then reached up to pull Ye Shuyi’s hands away from her ears. Leaning close, she whispered, “It’s gone now.”

Ye Shuyi slowly lifted her head, scanning the surroundings to confirm the absence of any unsettling sounds before turning around, pretending nothing had happened. Mustering her courage, she took a step forward only for the person behind her to grab her wrist.

“Agent Ye, don’t leave me behind,” Yi Qian said, pressing close to her again.

Ye Shuyi nodded. “Then hold on tight.”

[She’s still pretending!!!]

[How can Sister Ye not tell Yi Qian is faking it? Did the fear completely wipe out her judgment? LOL.]

The two walked down the dimly lit hallway to the right of the lobby, where eerie green flames flickered. Aside from the assortment of horror props lining the path, the corridor remained relatively peaceful for now.

As they moved forward, Yi Qian casually sifted through the scattered debris but found nothing of interest.

Glancing at Ye Shuyi, who was nervously looking around, Yi Qian spoke up to distract her. “Agent Ye, where do you think the clue might be?”

Ye Shuyi flinched at the sudden voice, whipping her head toward Yi Qian. Realizing it was just her speaking, she exhaled slowly and flipped open a nearby cardboard box that was slightly ajar.

Just as she was about to answer, a piercing scream cut through the air.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Ye Shuyi jolted at the sound, immediately dropping the cardboard. She turned to Yi Qian behind her. “There’s nothing in here, right?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why did you scream?”

“?”

At that moment, Yi Qian was standing a short distance away to her right, rummaging through a pile of small boxes. Ye Shuyi noticed the gap between them but hadn’t yet processed that Yi Qian wasn’t beside her and wasn’t looking at the same box.

Seeing Yi Qian’s confused expression under the eerie green glow, she belatedly realized, “When did you go over there? Did you find anything?”

“Nothing here,” Yi Qian chuckled. “That wasn’t me screaming.”

“?”

Now it was Ye Shuyi’s turn to be confused. Though she had been terrified of opening the box and seeing something horrifying, there had been nothing inside and she was certain she hadn’t screamed. “It wasn’t me either.”

Yi Qian walked over and casually took hold of her arm again. “I know it wasn’t you. It was—”

“AHHHHHH! Don’t touch me! Bros, sisters, uncles, aunties, grandpas, grandmas, please spare me! Don’t jump out and scare me! Waaah, I’m so scared!”

Yi Qian pointed toward the neighboring room. “Probably that rapper next door improvising lyrics.”

Ye Shuyi: “……”

However, she recognized Cai Yunyou’s voice.

“Ahhh!!! Huang Xin, save me! Someone’s grabbing at me! Aaaaah, help, I’m gonna die, I’ll never see the sunlight again!”

The piercing three-part high notes came through the wall once more, startling Ye Shuyi so badly that she instinctively retracted her lifted foot.

Cai Yunyou’s wailing continued, rising and falling dramatically, each cry more shrill than the last, all without pausing for breath.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Shuyi remarked, “Do all singers have such great lung capacity?”

“Probably… slightly better than average?” Yi Qian leisurely crossed her arms, a faint smirk playing on her lips. “In my opinion, Manager Ye’s lung capacity must be quite impressive too.”

Ye Shuyi: “…”

Others might have taken Yi Qian’s words as mere speculation, but Ye Shuyi immediately grasped the underlying meaning. She vividly remembered the flirtatious remark Yi Qian had whispered in her ear after their first kiss: “Your lung capacity is amazing, baby. You let me kiss you for so long.”

Yi Qian nonchalantly reached for Ye Shuyi’s hand again, this time not grabbing her arm but clasping her wrist instead.

Ye Shuyi stiffened and glanced toward the cameraman, who was positioned far enough away. They stood in a dimly lit area, and from this angle, the camera likely couldn’t capture them.

Understanding the situation, Ye Shuyi raised her hand and decisively pinched Yi Qian’s arm hard, leaning in slightly to murmur in her ear, “We’re live. Don’t say unnecessary things.”

Yi Qian nearly yelped in surprise but quickly covered her mouth with her hand, leaving only her wide eyes staring ahead as she nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick.

Satisfied, Ye Shuyi gave a slight nod and patted Yi Qian’s back in a comforting gesture, saying, “Don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.”

From the audience’s perspective, Yi Qian’s reaction genuinely seemed like she had been startled by something ahead. Ye Shuyi’s actions effectively addressed the barrage of comments questioning why Yi Qian had suddenly acted that way. However, some viewers remained unconvinced, adamant that the two were secretly flirting and certain that Yi Qian wasn’t actually afraid of ghosts or supernatural elements.

Outside the haunted house, Director Lu watched the live stream comments and inexplicably shared this sentiment. Earlier, he had abruptly asked the frightened guests to vote by raising their hands if they wanted to opt out of this segment, suspecting that Yi Qian, who claimed to be scared, wasn’t actually afraid, while the truly terrified Ye Shuyi might have been too embarrassed to raise her hand.

As it turned out, he was right.

Inside the haunted house, the two cautiously made their way toward the nearest room.

Before entering, Ye Shuyi glanced up at the sign above the door, illuminated by an eerie green “ghost light.” The faint glow revealed the words: Storage Room.

Ye Shuyi stepped inside and surveyed the surroundings. A green light near the entrance cast a dim glow, just enough to make out the general layout. Storage cabinets lined the walls on either side, and in the center stood a glass case filled with skulls and dismembered limbs coated in black liquid.

The compartments in the wall-mounted cabinets were too small to hide a living person, likely containing only small, creepy props.

After analyzing the situation and mentally preparing herself, Ye Shuyi began searching for clues.

“Agent Ye, where do you think the clue is hidden?” Yi Qian repeated the question that had gone unanswered earlier.

While Ye Shuyi was analyzing the situation, Yi Qian had already gone ahead to search through several cabinets but found nothing. The storage room had numerous wardrobe compartments, and opening each one would undoubtedly waste a lot of time. Since this was her first time on a variety show and she had never watched one before, she was completely clueless. Ye Shuyi might have a better idea.

Hearing this, Ye Shuyi stopped her search and thought for a moment before answering, “Based on the usual tropes of reality shows, the clue is most likely placed where the cameras are.”

Yi Qian looked up and scanned the storage room, spotting a faint red glow from a camera in the far corner. She walked over to stand beneath it and peered into the corner the camera was pointing at, but it was pitch black, and she couldn’t see anything.

Undeterred, she crouched down and felt around in the dark corner, eventually pulling out a weathered wooden box with peeling paint. A satisfied smile curled her lips as she turned to Ye Shuyi and announced, “Found it.”

She walked back and stood in front of Ye Shuyi, only to find the other woman’s expression wasn’t one of joy but rather… something strange. Her gaze was fixed intently on Yi Qian, making her uneasy.

“What’s wrong?” Yi Qian asked, a little guilty.

Had she said something inappropriate? Or done something wrong?

Ye Shuyi crossed her arms, her tone icy as she countered, “What do you think is wrong?”

Yi Qian tightened her grip on the wooden box and obediently replied, “Agent Ye, you seem really annoyed with me right now, but I don’t know why. If you’d be so kind as to grace me with an explanation, please just tell me directly.”

Ye Shuyi: “……”

When the other woman remained silent, Yi Qian didn’t dare say anything else and simply waited quietly, like a well-behaved student awaiting a scolding.

“You’re not actually scared, are you?”

Though phrased as a question, Ye Shuyi’s tone was declarative, as if she had already confirmed the fact. What Yi Qian didn’t know was that while she had been searching for the clue, Ye Shuyi had been observing her closely.

Based on Yi Qian’s behavior, anyone with eyes could tell she wasn’t the least bit afraid.

Ye Shuyi thought back to Yi Qian’s reactions since entering the haunted house, there had been none. She had been as calm as if she were strolling around her own home. Had Ye Shuyi paid more attention, she would have noticed sooner. But she had been genuinely terrified, constantly scanning the surroundings, afraid something might jump out at her.

Out of all the production crew and live audience, she was probably the only one who had been fooled.

She hadn’t intended to confront Yi Qian about this now, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She wasn’t sure whether she was mad at herself for being gullible or at Yi Qian for deceiving her.

Maybe both.

Yi Qian blinked rapidly and nodded guiltily. Since Ye Shuyi was so certain, she couldn’t keep pretending otherwise, things might escalate beyond her control.

Seeing her admit it, the anger in Ye Shuyi’s chest flared even hotter. Reason told her not to dwell on this, but emotion won out in the end. Her voice was cold, laced with accusation, as she asked, “Did you have fun making a fool out of me?”

Seeing Yi Qian’s awkward predicament, the live stream audience was overjoyed, with comments flying across the screen.

[“Yi Qian, you played yourself this time! Let’s see how you talk your way out of this one!!”]

[“Time to go home and kneel on durians!!”]

[“Keyboard, durian, washboard, you’ll be cycling through them all at home!!”]

Inside the storage room, Yi Qian immediately shook his head in denial, speaking earnestly: “No, not at all… Wait, I mean I wasn’t lying to you. I was genuinely scared before coming in, but I didn’t expect it to be like this. It’s different from what I imagined.”

In the darkness, Ye Shuyi narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone lazy: “Had nightmares from watching horror movies as a kid?”

Yi Qian nodded repeatedly: “That part is absolutely true.”

Ye Shuyi took a deep breath, her usually indifferent voice now carrying a serious edge: “Yi Qian!”

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