Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Ning Xi narrated the events calmly and slowly.

Finally, she suddenly let out a small laugh.

“No, perhaps you aren’t the real Duke and Duchess either.

“After all, if soul-swapping can happen once, it won’t happen only once.”

[Holy crap, so that’s the plot of the Duke’s Castle?]

[Is my brain different from hers? I’ve been following Ning Xi’s perspective the whole time, so how did I not guess any of this?]

[Ning Xi is the absolute tank of my dreams. I can’t imagine how much fun it would be to go to an escape room with her.]

[You coward, I can imagine it.]

The Duchess looked at Ning Xi and arched an eyebrow.

“Clever girl, but unfortunately-”

The heavy tolling of a bell echoed through the castle, followed by a strain of melodious music.

“There are three minutes left until midnight. If you cannot escape this castle, the fire will break out at twelve sharp. So-good luck to you.”

The expressions on the Duchess and the Duke’s faces turned eerie.

In an instant, white mist billowed up from the stage.

All the servants standing by the Duchess surged toward Ning Xi and the others.

“Run!”

Ning Xi barked out the command.

However, once they stepped out the door, they found that the corridor they had come from was already blocked by obstacles.

The side they hadn’t explored was also filled with thick white mist.

“I’ll check it out first!”

Without hesitation, Ning Xi ran toward the mist.

She soon discovered that the floor here was uneven, rising and falling in undulating layers.

“Everyone, run carefully! Don’t trip!”

The moment the words left Ning Xi’s mouth, she noticed Xie Lanchen’s movements seemed to falter slightly.

She remembered the image of Xie Lanchen saying he was afraid of escape rooms…

Ning Xi reached out and grabbed Xie Lanchen’s hand.

“Follow me!”

The warmth of their palms pressed together.

Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi, who didn’t look back, and an uncontrollable smile spread across his lips.

[Ahhh, that smile, that hand-holding, I’m dead.]

[A flight for love!]

[My CP is holding hands again!!!!]

The seven of them ran toward the main hall downstairs together.

As they passed each floor, the NPCs from that level would join the pursuit, trying to surround and intercept them.

Similarly, the lighting on each floor grew dimmer and dimmer, increasing the difficulty of their escape.

Finally, Ning Xi reached the entrance to the living room and saw the tightly closed doors.

She gave Xie Lanchen a look, and the two of them pulled the doors open together-

Bright, almost searing sunlight washed over them with a “whoosh.”

The NPCs who had been hot on their heels stopped instantly, returning to normal.

“That’s strange, why am I here?”

“What was I running for just now?”

“It feels like I had a very long dream where I turned into a monster. It’s so good to be awake now!”

“…”

At the same time, the heavy toll of the midnight bell rang out.

It was the sound of victory.

[Youai Butler: Congratulations to the seven players for successfully exploring the Duke’s Castle! You discovered the plot of the Duke and Duchess and successfully saved the two hundred and fifty-one guests and twenty-five castle servants who were meant to be buried in the fire. They will be forever grateful to you!]

After reading the message, Ning Xi smiled at Xie Lanchen.

“We won!”

“Yeah, we won.”

Xie Lanchen smiled, standing in the backlight, looking at Ning Xi with absolute sincerity.

His gaze held a soft, tender curve.

[In this moment, the light shines only on them.]

[The world is collapsing, but we are in love.]
[Xi-Lan Flower is the peak of vibes!]

However, Ning Xi’s next sentence caused all that atmosphere to vanish in an instant.

“Wait, is my livestream viewership rank number one?”

Ning Xi looked at the cameraman beside her.

She was working so hard; if she didn’t get first place and missed out on the Program Team’s exclusive perks, she would really feel like grabbing all the NPCs in the castle and burning the whole production down.

[Good, good, good, that’s our girl for you.]

[Oh my god, Ning Xi actually still remembers this? I thought she’d forgotten ages ago.]

[Everyone else could forget, but Ning Xi never would. Puppy Ning’s competitive streak isn’t something ordinary people can match, hahaha!]

[I just love her energy. Who gets it? Every time I see Ning Xi, my corpse wants to crawl out of its coffin and work for a bit.]

Soon, the Program Team announced the viewership rankings for today’s outdoor recording:

Ning Xi was, without a doubt, a landslide first.

Second place was actually Xie Lanchen, who hadn’t been there for very long.

Because the Xi-Lan Flower ship had trended on the hot search, many people had come specifically to see them, adding a lot of heat to Xie Lanchen’s livestream.

The remaining rankings were, in order: Ning Mingyue, Fu Zhi, Jiang Sheshe, Shen Yibai, and Wei Xuan.

“Youai Butler: Congratulations to guests Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen for ranking in the top two for online viewership! You will unlock exclusive perks from the Program Team shortly!”

Ning Mingyue stared fixedly at her third-place ranking on her phone screen, only blinking when her eyes grew dry.

She had previously overheard her father saying he would have the Program Team use Ning Xi’s popularity to pave the way for her. Was this how they were paving it?

It was too slow…

At the same time, the Program Team sent another message.

“Youai Butler: The Program Team has prepared two seven-seater vehicles to take everyone back to the villa. You may choose which car to take.”

Ning Xi glanced at it, stuffed her phone into her bag, and then randomly picked the back seat of one of the cars.

Sit down, close eyes, sleep-it was one fluid motion!

However, in the next second, she caught a faint, woody scent beside her.

Ning Xi opened her eyes. As expected, it was Xie Lanchen.

Her desire to sleep vanished instantly.

“Weren’t the escape rooms pretty fun? Do you want to play again next time?”

“If it’s with you, then of course.”

“Well, then I’ll have to give it some serious thought.”

Ning Xi teased him, intentionally acting a bit difficult.

Xie Lanchen merely smiled with good-natured patience. “Anyway, as long as you need me, I’ll go.”

Ning Xi hadn’t expected Xie Lanchen to answer so seriously.

She scratched her head. “I was just joking. As long as you’re not scared, if you ever want to play, you can call me anytime.”

“Even after the variety show ends?”

“Of course. We’re friends.”

Only after saying it did Ning Xi realize that they currently only had the contact information provided by the Program Team; they hadn’t added each other on private WeChat yet.

Xie Lanchen slowly repeated the word “friends.”

Friends.

They were finally friends.

“I’ll add you on WeChat once the recording is over.”

The Program Team currently still forbade the guests from using private WeChat to chat.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

Fu Zhi pushed open the car door just in time to hear Ning Xi proactively offering to add Xie Lanchen on WeChat.

His expression soured immediately.

He walked to the back row, and without even glancing at the empty seat next to Xie Lanchen, he spoke directly to Ning Xi:

“Move over. I want to sit on the far side.”

Ning Xi: “? Aren’t there empty seats in front?”

The front passenger seat and the second row were both empty.

“I’ll treat you to Black Swan Cake. Are you moving or not?”