Deeply Affectionate Male Supporting Character Topped the Protagonist 42

Chapter 42: Happy Apartments

The next day was the official recording of the second episode of “Unlimited Escape Room.”

In matters of the heart, the most awkward ones were often the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Like Zhu Minglang.

Two hours before their departure time, Xi Leng’s doorbell rang. Zhu Minglang’s cheerful, round face appeared at the door, his expression slightly complicated as he hesitantly asked if Xi Leng wanted to have lunch together.

“No need, you guys go ahead.” Xi Leng politely declined. “I still need to pack…”

However, just as his attention was completely focused on Zhu Minglang, a tall figure emerged from behind the wall, appearing behind Zhu Minglang, half a head taller.

It was Min Zhi.

He appeared as if it was the most natural thing to do, even considerately continuing Xi Leng’s words: “Then let’s not go down, order room service and eat in your room.”

Xi Leng: “…”

Half an hour later, the three of them had lunch together in Xi Leng’s apartment.

Zhu Minglang didn’t know Xi Leng as well as Min Zhi. Their previous encounters were all outside, with Xi Leng dressed formally, so the accessories around his neck weren’t unusual. But today, early in the morning, still in his pajamas, why was Xi Leng wearing a scarf?

A wide, off-white scarf, loosely tied, the knot slightly crooked, lazy and casual.

Actually, it looked quite good.

Zhu Minglang, straightforward as always, asked as soon as he thought of it: “Hey, why are you wearing a scarf even at home?”

Xi Leng’s movements froze.

It was Min Zhi who spoke, his voice cold as he retorted: “Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t.”

“Oh… oh~ okay.” Zhu Minglang gave a knowing look, smiling meaningfully. “Heehee, eat more.”

Xi Leng: “…”

Zhu Minglang must have misunderstood something.

But he couldn’t explain.

Zhu Minglang, cheerful and talkative, kept the conversation flowing during lunch, even talking about the international school his daughter would be attending.

“From elementary school all the way to high school, I don’t have to worry, and it’s easier for the child. Excellent teachers, bilingual education, all sorts of extracurricular activities and debate competitions, so she won’t have trouble adapting to society later.” Zhu Minglang sighed. “Except for the tuition fees that are exorbitant, it’s perfect.”

Min Zhi knew very well that this rambling was meant to hint at a bonus.

He clearly understood, raising an eyebrow slightly, then ignoring it.

Zhu Minglang, frustrated, mentally bit his handkerchief and shifted his target to Xi Leng.

And Xi Leng, usually quiet and reserved, unexpectedly showed interest in this everyday topic: “Zhu-ge, your daughter is already in elementary school?”

“Yes, surprising, isn’t it?” Zhu Minglang chuckled proudly. “Unlike our boss, sigh…”

The unspoken implication was clear!

This time, Min Zhi didn’t explode. He couldn’t multitask, his attention solely focused on Xi Leng, noticing his unusual behavior and asking: “What’s wrong? Are you interested in that school?”

Zhu Minglang, sensing an opportunity for a bonus, hurriedly followed up: “Yeah, do you also have a child of the right age for school?”

Xi Leng: “Mm-hmm… I have a younger brother, he has his own ideas, doesn’t really like studying. I want to transfer him to a school with good teachers but less academic pressure. He’ll be in his third year of junior high next semester, preferably a school that goes from junior high to high school.”

Of course, what he needed most was a safe school environment, to prevent Rong Haigao from harassing Rong Xingyi at school. But there was no need to mention this. With Min Zhi and his manager’s social status, the schools they knew could definitely ensure the child’s safety and privacy.

“Haining International School is quite good, it meets your requirements, my wife carefully chose it.” Zhu Minglang said with a smile. “I heard there are several celebrity children in the junior and senior high departments, who also plan to enter the entertainment industry. I see them balancing work and school, it doesn’t seem to affect their studies much.”

Xi Leng’s interest was piqued, his eyes flickering slightly.

“With the boss’s support, the tuition fees shouldn’t be a problem.” Zhu Minglang, cheerful, made the decision for him. “Then let’s talk later, discuss it in detail? School is starting soon, you have to hurry if you want to transfer him.”

Xi Leng nodded: “Okay.”

Zhu Minglang, beaming under Min Zhi’s approving gaze, happily left.

Then the two went to meet up with the program team. This time, they also had to take a bus to the filming location.

As the bus drove along a smooth road, Sheng Jiao suddenly stood up, facing the five guests, and said, holding onto the back of a seat: “Now I’ll explain the rules for the second episode of ‘Unlimited Escape Room’…”

“Today, you will be going to an abandoned apartment complex for an adventure. During the process, please showcase your charm, intelligence, or any other exceptional qualities, try to win over the NPCs, and obtain clues through searching and communication to uncover the truth of the complex.”

The five were surprised.

Last time, there was only a vague examination session, giving them a rough understanding of the hospital. This time, the director directly told them the destination and the mission to win over NPCs.

The program team naturally wouldn’t suddenly have a change of heart, so there was only one reason—the difficulty of this escape room was higher, and they couldn’t let them blindly rush in.

“The recording time is from 2 pm to 7 pm, you need to escape from the complex within five hours, those who fail to escape will fail the adventure.” Sheng Jiao said slowly. “Also, there are three possible endings: bad ending, happy ending, and perfect ending.”

He paused, and Luo Jiayan raised his hand to ask: “Are these endings individual?”

“That’s right.” Sheng Jiao’s smile was innocent. “Today, you’ll be competing individually.”

“Lastly, the reward—” Sheng Jiao offered the bait. “We will donate ten thousand yuan to a charity in the name of the guest who achieves the perfect ending. If no one achieves it, the reward will be forfeited.”

“…”

Although the reward seemed generous, they would work so hard, and the best outcome would be donating to charity in their own name?

Min Zhi and Jiang Songnan weren’t short of money, even Xi Leng wasn’t interested in this reward.

“Should we still try to cooperate? Solve the puzzles together and escape together?” Luo Jiayan suggested. “There’s no competition between us, whether the donation is made in one person’s name or several, the result is the same.”

However, Sheng Jiao then said: “After calculating the scores, we’ll choose an MVP (Most Valuable Player) among you and award them a cash prize of one hundred thousand yuan.”

Xi Leng had checked on his way here, the annual tuition fee for the junior high department of Haining International School was over one hundred thousand yuan, and a one-hundred-thousand-yuan prize had just appeared before him.

He needed this money.

But besides Min Zhi, who wasn’t short of money, no one would refuse this sudden windfall.

Qiaoqiao muttered: “Wow, one hundred thousand? Really?”

“Yes, one hundred thousand.” Sheng Jiao nodded seriously. “Alright, now please put on your eye masks.”

The bus kept circling within the film and television city; he didn’t know what kind of “apartment complex” could be here.

The bus pulled over. The five guests, still blindfolded, were led by staff members into today’s escape room.

In the darkness, Sheng Jiao’s voice came: “Please remain quiet, don’t speak, remove your eye masks after you hear the alarm…”

Sheng Jiao’s voice disappeared, and the other staff members also quietly left. Beneath the eye masks was a deep, dark, and long silence, like the bottom of a lake.

Ring! Ring, ring, ring!

The alarm rang.

The five hurriedly removed their eye masks, immediately looking around.

However, they were still surrounded by thick darkness, unable to see anything.

“I-is anyone there?” Qiaoqiao’s trembling voice was the first to break the silence.

“I’m here!” Luo Jiayan said.

The others also responded one after another.

The five of them were unexpectedly in the same space this time.

But this space was unusually small.

“Where are we…”

The person in the corner could touch the metal walls on both sides just by turning around or shifting slightly.

Xi Leng happened to be in the corner. He touched the metal wall, finding the buttons for the floors, and immediately understood.

It was an elevator.

Even in the darkness, he instinctively lowered his head, hiding his changing expression.

Min Zhi’s slightly uncertain voice came from his left: “Is this an elevator?”

Qiaoqiao replied hesitantly: “I think so…”

A moment of silence, then Xi Leng suddenly felt the smooth, slightly elastic touch of a string against his pinky finger.

He froze, instinctively trying to pull his hand away out of self-preservation.

Min Zhi, having confirmed his target, withdrew the probing hair tie, quickly grabbing Xi Leng’s wrist, saying impersonally: “There’s no power, the door won’t open.”

…Min Zhi actually brought his hair tie to the recording.

Xi Leng hadn’t expected him to use the hair tie to find him in this unexpected darkness.

Having debuted for seven years, didn’t he know that cameras had night vision now?

He curled his fingers upwards, wanting to check if Min Zhi was wearing the hair tie on his wrist, he was truly afraid of the brewing scandal.

Min Zhi, however, intertwined their fingers, holding his hand tightly.

Xi Leng: “…”

Qiaoqiao’s trembling voice came from the other side, experiencing a completely different scenario.

“What should we do? I’m a bit scared of the dark…”

The four metal walls of the elevator were smooth and seamless, with no visible mechanisms. In the darkness, the only thing they could see were the faintly glowing red buttons behind Xi Leng.

“I’ll try pressing this button.” Xi Leng, being the closest to the buttons, found a reason to break free from Min Zhi’s grip.

One, two, three… holding it down for three seconds.

A soft click, and the power was restored.

The fluorescent light above flickered to life. The others, having adapted to the darkness, squinted, then, after adjusting to the bright light, looked at their familiar companions close by, all breathing a sigh of relief.

Only Xi Leng kept his head lowered, confirming that both of Min Zhi’s wrists were bare, not adorned with his hair tie.

And the culprit who had been acting recklessly in the darkness was now calmly searching for clues as if nothing had happened.

Advertisement posters hung on both sides of the elevator, while on Min Zhi’s side was a vertical green sign.

Min Zhi read the words on it: “Happy Apartments Safety Notice.”

Luo Jiayan repeated softly: “Happy Apartments?”

“Based on the Ren’ai Mental Hospital experience…” Qiaoqiao said indignantly, hitting the nail on the head, “This apartment complex definitely has nothing to do with ‘happy’!”

“Elevator Safety Precautions: 1. Please use elevators with a valid ‘Elevator Use Permit’ and within the ‘Next Inspection Date’…” Min Zhi read the content of the safety notice.

The elevator inspection and maintenance dates were right next to Xi Leng, and he continued: “The last inspection date was 2014, ten years ago. This paper also looks very old.”

Even without the dates, just by looking at the dilapidated state of the elevator, the flickering ceiling light, one could tell it was very old.

Luo Jiayan added: “The advertisements on the walls are also from 2014.”

“And also, the correct procedures for elevator power outages or malfunctions. First, please remain calm, the elevator is not completely sealed, there’s no risk of suffocation.” Min Zhi continued reading the precautions. “Second, please contact rescue personnel through the emergency call button inside the elevator…”

The red emergency call button was right next to Xi Leng. He gently pressed it, and with a click, the light above went out again.

Before they could panic, the elevator started descending, causing a chorus of screams.

In the darkness, Xi Leng felt a strong hand grab his arm, but it didn’t pull or tug.

At the same time, another hand reached over.

Covering his eyes, warm with body heat.

Not this again.

Xi Leng felt both helpless and exasperated, about to remove the hand covering his eyes, when he heard a low and soft voice—

“Don’t look.”

Before Xi Leng could react, the elevator stopped.

“Ah, the elevator door opened!” Qiaoqiao’s voice was filled with relief and surprise.

The elevator door… opened?

The hand covering Xi Leng’s eyes moved away, his vision returning.

No one was outside the elevator.

There was nothing outside the elevator that could threaten him, no one standing there menacingly, with absolute power and positional advantage. And he, weak and trapped inside the elevator, had nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide.

He hadn’t fallen into his own fabricated illusions yet, the dark clouds of nightmares just starting to form, when a hand waved them away, instantly dissipating them.

And the owner of that hand was now looking at him with a slight smile, as if nothing had happened.

Xi Leng looked away, pursed his lips slightly.

The elevator returned to normal, the floor indicator also appearing, they were on the first floor, the ground level outside.

However, a metal gate with a sturdy silver padlock separated the elevator from the outside.

Sensing everyone’s gaze, Xi Leng admitted: “I can’t pick this kind of lock.”

He figured the program team wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.

“Aren’t there three endings?” Qiaoqiao said. “The ending should be related to how much of the story we uncover. But I don’t know if there are multiple exits? If not, then we need to open this lock and escape from the first floor.”

They could see the outside through the gate. There was a covered walkway on the side, and several doors lining the inside.

Qiaoqiao gripped the bars, looking out, suddenly letting out a surprised “ah!”

Jiang Songnan went over to look, unfazed: “It’s a film set.”

Luo Jiayan peeked out from behind them. The scenery outside was clearly visible—a light blue backdrop.

This apartment complex was like an isolated island, separated from the concrete jungle of the city.

But all the details were incredibly realistic. The dust, the signs of age, the everyday advertisement posters… traces of human life everywhere.

No one spoke for a while, the silence making their hair stand on end.

Until the elevator doors, untouched, automatically closed.

Luo Jiayan suggested: “Should we go upstairs and take a look?”

However, when he pressed the button for another floor, it lit up for a second then went dark, the elevator remaining motionless.

Xi Leng frowned and stepped forward: “Wait.”

“Let’s try calling, the safety notice told us to call in case of emergencies.”

Xi Leng pressed the emergency call button. After a burst of static, an unfamiliar male voice echoed in the elevator: “Hello? Is something the matter?”

Xi Leng said: “This is Happy Apartments, the elevator is malfunctioning.”

“Sigh, this elevator is acting up again…” Unlike the woman earlier, the man was patient, but also quite troubled. “See if you can get out yourselves? Try pressing the button for the second floor, press it a few more times if it doesn’t work. I’m a bit busy here.”

Qiaoqiao hurriedly asked: “Um, are you a staff member of Happy Apartments?”

“Yes, I’m from Ping’an Property Management.” The man said. “But we manage not just Happy Apartments, but also the entire area. We’re very busy, really busy. And we only earn that little bit of property management fee…”

Xi Leng interrupted his rambling: “Wait, I have another question.”

The man’s attitude was still quite good: “Okay, hurry up, I’m busy.”

“What’s today’s date? Year, month, and day?”

“Huh?” The man seemed to find this question strange, but he still answered, his tone matter-of-fact. “It’s March 25, 2014, of course!”