They were five people, and the theme He Lin had booked this time required four to six people. They had enough numbers, but Sheng Kuang joining wouldn't affect anything.
Lin Jing was fine with it, but this session wasn't organized by her, so she had to ask for others' opinions.
While Lin Jing hesitated, Sheng Kuang spoke again, "Didn't you say we'd have a chance to play together sometime?"
Lin Jing looked up at Sheng Kuang.
Meeting her gaze, Sheng Kuang continued, "Why not seize the day? Let's do it today."
Lin Jing: "..."
She didn't know if he was doing it on purpose, or if it was a bit noisy here, but she felt Sheng Kuang's voice was particularly gentle.
...So gentle that she almost couldn't resist, and readily agreed on the spot.
Sheng Kuang stared at her for two seconds, then lowered his head slightly, his voice even softer and gentler, "Okay, Xiao Jing-chan?"
Lin Jing: "Okay."
Lin Jing: "..."
Realizing she had impulsively agreed to Sheng Kuang's request, Lin Jing fell silent for three seconds. She really couldn't bring herself to refuse Sheng Kuang, so she finally pursed her lips and said, "I need to ask my classmates."
Sheng Kuang nodded, "Alright."
Lin Jing didn't say anything else and turned to walk towards He Lin and Wang Qingqing.
Seeing her approach, Wang Qingqing immediately asked curiously, "Lin Jing, is that your friend? Even with a mask on, he gives off a really handsome vibe."
Lin Jing thought to herself, it's not just a vibe, he's genuinely handsome.
He Lin, however, was more perceptive than Wang Qingqing and noticed something was up. "Lin Jing, is something wrong?"
Lin Jing felt extremely apologetic for her impulsive decision, but she couldn't resist Sheng Kuang's charm. She quietly formulated her words in her mind and said tactfully, "That's a friend of mine. He and his friends had planned to play an escape room, but his friends stood him up, so now he's alone..."
The more Lin Jing spoke, the more embarrassed she felt. She thought that instead of having her classmates play with Sheng Kuang, whom they didn't know, potentially spoiling their fun, she'd rather apologize to her classmates and team up with Sheng Kuang and others. "Our theme only needs four people, right? How about this, you four play, and I'll team up with my friend and some other people. I'm worried you guys won't know him, and it might spoil your fun."
"Huh? You're not playing with us?" Wang Qingqing was reluctant to let Lin Jing go. "Our theme can accommodate six people. Why don't you have your friend play with us? You're teaming up with strangers anyway, so you might as well team up with us."
He Lin chimed in, "Yeah, let's all play together."
The other two male classmates were indifferent.
After Lin Jing confirmed multiple times that everyone was genuinely okay with it, she thanked them profusely and apologized again before turning and jogging back to Sheng Kuang to tell him it was settled.
He Lin had only paid for five people. Now that Sheng Kuang was added, he went to pay for one more person.
The host for their chosen theme created a group chat and sent the background story to everyone.
After everyone had read it, the escape room real-life game officially began.
Inside the escape room scenario, the only source of light for everyone was their flashlights.
The group worked together quite well, searching for clues and analyzing and deducing.
Everyone was quite immersed in the game, and the atmosphere was tense and exciting.
Sheng Kuang, however, was an exception.
He didn't seem like he was playing a game; he looked more like he was out for a stroll, trailing behind Lin Jing and not saying much the entire time.
Lin Jing was the first to discover a clue. "Class monitor, there's a soft ruler here, and this book has the character 'Dong' on it. The length the soft ruler opens to is three. Look at the 'Dong san chi' section, is there a clue?"
"Dong san chi?" He Lin estimated the length of three chi according to Lin Jing's instructions and found a very inconspicuous button in the eastern corner of the wall.
Wang Qingqing: "Wow, Lin Jing, you're amazing! You could even connect that."
Lin Jing chuckled and said nothing.
Conversely, Sheng Kuang, who had been silent since the game began, suddenly asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Is that your class monitor?"
Lin Jing, engrossed in the game, let out a "Huh?" before realizing what Sheng Kuang had asked. She nodded, still thinking about the newly discovered clue, and hummed in response.
Sheng Kuang didn't say anything further, but his gaze drifted towards He Lin several times.
The theme He Lin had chosen was classified as slightly horror, but on the scarier end of that spectrum. The deduction difficulty was also quite high, and overall it was still fun, except for the final segment which was a bit too terrifying.
It was less terrifying and more sudden.
With the addition of sound effects and environmental cues, the NPC that suddenly appeared genuinely startled everyone.
What's more, this NPC's acting was superb. Their gaze was sinister, and combined with their makeup, it was truly chilling.
Even Lin Jing, who considered herself quite brave, flinched. Amidst Wang Qingqing's terrified screams and the curses from He Lin or one of his roommates, she reflexively reached out blindly beside her.
She felt a hand.
Wang Qingqing, being timid, had been sticking close to her. Thinking it was Wang Qingqing's hand, Lin Jing grabbed it tightly without a second thought.
ps: Awoo~ Goodnight~~~