After the other three went inside, the three younger ones standing outside didn’t even hear them screaming inside. The haunted house was so quiet it was awkward.
Ling Yi scratched his head in confusion, “Is it not scary at all? Did they go into a different haunted house than us?”
He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Jiang Miao came out much faster than them. The three of them ran out, one of them holding two dolls, still a bit out of breath.
Pei Tingsong immediately pulled Ling Yi over to look, “Aren’t they also out of breath? It’s still a bit scary, right?”
Lu Yuan waved his arms, “No, we were just dancing inside.”
“Are you guys crazy?” Ling Yi looked utterly disbelieving.
“Hmph.” Pei Tingsong looked disdainful, still holding a grudge about raising his hand before entering, “Then why did you all raise your hands when I asked if anyone was afraid of ghosts?”
Having remained silent all along, Fang Juxia couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this, mimicking what he had said earlier in the haunted house, “None of us have ever been inside before, so how would we know if we’re afraid or not? We only found out we weren’t afraid after going inside.”
“Hahaha, that’s right.”
Ling Yi was still proud, “Only I am an honest child, and I have a very accurate understanding of myself. Ling Yi, Ling Yi, consistent inside and out.”
Pei Tingsong didn’t dwell on the hand-raising issue anymore, but his attention shifted entirely to Fang Juexia, staring at his face as he struggled to hold back his laughter.
This guy is actually starting to joke around with him now?
He reached out and cupped Fang Juexia’s face with both hands, rubbing and pinching it roughly. “Your mouth has gotten sharper, Fang Juexia.”
Pei Tingsong often teased him and touched him in the past, so Fang Juexia should have gotten used to it by now. But for some reason, whenever Pei Tingsong touched him now, Fang Juexia felt something was off. His heart was racing, and his fingertips were tingling.
“Let go of me.” He pushed Pei Tingsong away as if he had been electrocuted and took half a step back.
Fang Juexia’s skin was too thin, and it turned red and hot when rubbed. Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong also froze for a second. He suddenly realized that the senses also had the right to choose for themselves, and that not every sensation faded away at the same time. Just like the smooth, soft sensation of his fingers rubbing against the other person’s skin, which lingered long after.
His senses lingered for Fang Juexia.
He clenched his already drooping hand, coughed a few times, took a bottle of water from the staff, and forcefully twisted open the tightly sealed cap, rubbing his palm raw. But the sensation of that touch on his cheek stubbornly refused to fade.
His tongue still hurt when it touched the water, and he still occasionally recalled that inappropriate kiss after drinking.
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt like making a joke, wanting to tease Fang Juexia. Perhaps he had lost face in the haunted house and was eager to make up for it in some way. So Pei Tingsong walked over holding the mineral water bottle and called out his name. Fang Juexia lifted his head, the redness on his cheeks fading by half, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong either.” “ Pei Tingsong acted quite convincingly, his face full of confusion. ”My tongue has been hurting for the past two days. I thought it was just a cold, but now that my cold is better, the tip of my tongue hurts even more.”
Fang Juexia didn’t show much emotion, but he was someone who couldn’t hide his feelings. Upon hearing Pei Tingsong’s words, his expression changed.
“Can you take a look? Is it torn? It hurts even when I drink water.” He placed the mineral water bottle on the ground, opened his mouth, and slightly extended his tongue. Fang Juexia stared at the tip of his tongue, which indeed had a noticeable wound. Pei Tingsong saw him instinctively pull back and reached out to grab him, “Can you see it from so far away? Are your eyes that good?”
Fang Juexia quickly blinked his eyes and licked his dry lips, “It seems… there is a small wound, an ulcer. It will probably take a few days to heal.”
“Ulcerated?” Pei Tingsong deliberately emphasized those words, intensifying someone’s sense of guilt, and furrowed his brows. “What should I do? It hurts so much I can’t even eat. How did I end up biting my own tongue?”
Fang Juexia glanced away, his guilt written all over his face. “Drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables. It’ll be fine soon; it’s not that serious.”
“Really?” Pei Tingsong stared at him, unable to imagine how he could have been so ruthless as to bite and hit him. He was particularly curious about Fang Juexia’s expression and mood at that time. “Don’t you have a first aid kit? Is there any medicine for ulcers in it?”
“Yes.” Fang Juexia finally spoke up. “I’ll spray some on it for you when we get back. It will relieve the pain.”
Pei Tingsong smiled innocently, “Thanks, bro.”
Fang Juexia softly said it’s okay, then quickly picked up the water bottle from the ground, unscrewed it, and took a sip.
“That’s my bottle.”
He almost spit it out, but managed to hold it back, his cheeks puffing out.
“Go ahead and drink it; it’s fine.” Pei Tingsong felt like he’d found the most amusing thing in the world—teasing Fang Juexia. Watching him awkwardly swallow the water, he added,
“You’re still bothered by this with me?”
The haunted house special was fully recorded, and the director’s team announced the results, “The older group…”
He Ziyan and Lu Yuan spoke in unison, “What older group?”
Jiang Miao smiled, “Only I’m older.”
The other two weren’t convinced, “Director, we’re still young, right?”
“Alright, alright, not the older group, not the older group.” The director immediately changed his words, “The senior group took 18 minutes and 23 seconds, and they even sang a song inside.”
Ling Yi laughed, “Hahaha, senior group!”
“What’s so funny? You lost, okay?” Pei Tingsong pressed down on his head, which was shaking with laughter. He turned his head and saw Fang Juexia also laughing, his head half bowed, the corners of his mouth turned up.
He looked very handsome when he smiled, but he didn’t smile often.
“So now is it time to punish the young group?”
“Yeah, we’re waiting.”
An off-screen crew member said, “How about a lucky wheel next time? Let Xiao Pei spin it all by himself.” Everyone else laughed along. Pei Tingsong had always been unlucky, so this time he didn’t even bother to reach out. He just nodded toward Ling Yi Yang, “You, go draw.”
“Why should I?” Ling Yi Yang flicked his sleeves. “What if I draw the bad one? You’ll just blame me. I’m not doing that.”
In the end, only Fang Juexia from the younger group was willing to take the blame. He held the paper box, shaking it silently but with great earnestness. The gesture looked a bit silly, and Pei Tingsong couldn’t help but tease him, “What are you doing? It’s like you’re drawing lots.”
Fang Juexia glanced at him, his light brown pupils shining brightly in the sunlight. After just one glance, he turned his head back, shaking the paper box, and calmly imitated Pei Tingsong’s famous scene in the haunted house, “Great atheists of history, please bless me with a good draw.”
Everyone present laughed along, and the director added fuel to the fire, “Remember to add a subtitle in post-production. This line will be called the haunted house paradox from now on.”
“Hahahaha.”
Unfortunately, Fang Juexia, who was too busy teasing others, didn’t realize that he had once again dug himself into a hole. As soon as he unfolded the paper, he was completely lost.
Could he really have been infected by Pei Tingsong’s bad luck?
“Juexia, read out the punishment,” the director reminded him.
Fang Juexia’s voice trembled slightly, “Bungee jumping…”
He Ziyan let out a meaningful “Wow,” “The game of the brave.”
Lu Yuan was also excited, “Hurry up, I want to see your leap of faith!”
25 meters isn’t high… Fang Juexia mentally converted the specific number into actual height, and just thinking about it made his legs go weak. He had always been a bit afraid of heights, though not to the point of severe acrophobia, but he had never touched high-altitude activities. He never thought he’d end up here, and it was bungee jumping, the ultimate death challenge.
Noticing that Fang Juexia had gone silent again, Pei Tingsong nudged his shoulder. “Are you scared?”
He had thought Fang Juexia would struggle a bit. But to his surprise, Fang Juexia lifted his head and nodded seriously twice, surprisingly honest.
Pei Tingsong was amused by his expression. “You were laughing so happily just now. I thought you weren’t afraid of anything in this life.“ Teasing aside, he could tell Fang Juexia was nervous, so he adopted a comforting tone, ”It’s okay, it’s much faster than a haunted house. You go up, then jump down in a flash, and it’s over quickly. Look, even Ling Yi isn’t afraid.”
“What do you mean I’m not afraid?” Ling Yi glared at him, then rubbed his hands together excitedly, “I love high-altitude activities the most.” The group moved from the haunted house to the bungee jumping area. There were more visitors in the park, and many people started filming. To save time and spread out the crowd, the production team split into two groups: the three winners filmed their content, while the others followed the three bungee jumpers.
They took the elevator straight to the top. As soon as the door opened, the strong wind blew his jacket out. Fang Juexia zipped up his jacket and glanced around, feeling the intense thrill from the height. It was so high that the entire amusement park landscape was visible, and the bungee jumping platform was made of fully tempered glass, clean and transparent, leaving nothing hidden. Every step felt nerve-wracking.
Ling Yi rushed out excitedly to chat with the instructor, while Fang Juexia dared only to take small steps toward the exit.
Seeing his hesitant footsteps, Pei Tingsong finally realized how afraid he was, so he disregarded everything and wrapped his arms around Fang Juexia’s shoulders, leaning against him.
Fang Juexia didn’t push him away; at such a height, he dared not move at all. Besides, Pei Tingsong’s actions were effective. Being close to him at such a height calmed Fang Juexia’s heart a little, at least he felt he had someone to lean on.
“You’re really not afraid at all,” he said, lowering his eyes.
Pei Tingsong nodded, “I’ve done bungee jumping from a hundred meters or so, compared to that, this is child’s play. I also do extreme skiing, speed descending, low-altitude skydiving, and surfing—I love all these extreme sports,“ he listed them off like they were old friends, then smiled again. ”Oh, and I can fly a plane too—I have a license for it.”
“That’s impressive.”
How could someone like him be afraid of ghosts? It was truly surprising. Fang Juexia’s attention shifted slightly, but seeing the empty space below still made his heart race.
“Don’t look down,” Pei Tingsong pinched his cheek, making him look at her. “You know you’re afraid, yet you still look.”
Fang Juexia nervously swallowed, “You’re the same in the haunted house… You’re afraid, yet you keep doing the task.”
Pei Tingsong couldn’t help but laugh. How dare he say that? Doesn’t he think about who he’s doing it for?
He realized that over time, people really do change, and they influence each other. The guy in front of him was a prime example of this—he had picked up all the bad habits and temperament from him, and while he didn’t say much else, he had become increasingly skilled at arguing and confronting people. ” After saying that, he turned around and let the staff help him secure his belt and ropes.
“You know everything,” Fang Juexia said, but his tone wasn’t questioning. It was light and calm, lighter than the wind on the high platform, but somehow it drifted into Pei Tingsong’s ears.
Pei Tingsong, who was about to leap off the edge, suddenly turned around and smiled at him, “Yes, I do know. Because you’re Fang Juexia.”
This sentence somehow struck a chord in his heart, leaving him with a bittersweet feeling, as if he were a little happy. But he didn’t want to dwell on its meaning. He realized he was spending too much time and energy analyzing every word Pei Tingsong said to him. It was strange and didn’t align with his straightforward way of thinking.
Maybe it had nothing to do with him at all, just the neurotransmitters triggered by the height playing tricks on him.
The staff put a helmet with a GoPro camera on Pei Tingsong’s head and started filming. Fang Juexia didn’t dare to watch him jump, finding it too scary, so he could only grab the pole and turn his head halfway, listening to Ling Yi and the other staff counting down in unison.
His heart pounded three times, and he heard Ling Yi’s cheers.
His shoulders gradually relaxed, and Fang Juexia took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, but the tension hadn’t eased at all. Soon it was Ling Yi’s turn. He rushed over and hugged Fang Juexia tightly before standing at the edge of the diving platform. “Juexia, look at me! I’m about to jump!”
Fang Juexia’s face turned slightly pale, but he still turned around and gave Ling Yi a faint smile, “Good luck.”
Ling Yi happily blew him a kiss, then counted down aloud, “Three! Two! One!“ As he jumped, he shouted, ”The youngest group is the coolest! Long live Kaleido and Domino!”
He was now alone on the high platform. Fang Juexia could barely feel his legs. He wanted to crouch down, but the floor below was transparent. He felt numb all over, and his palms were drenched in cold sweat.
“Juexia, are you okay? Want to give it a try?” The staff member held his arm and comforted him, “It’s not like you have to be punished. You’ve already jumped twice anyway.”
Another staff member nodded in agreement, “Yeah, acrophobia is really tough.”
To be honest, he had already come this far. Fang Juexia wanted to give it a try. He felt that if he tried bungee jumping, his threshold might be raised a little higher.
“I’ll give it a try,” he said, taking off his hat and handing it to the staff member, then calling over the coach. “Please help me put on the safety gear, thank you.”
“You’re a brave young man,” the coach, a straightforward middle-aged man, said. “Don’t worry, our safety measures are top-notch. Just take a deep breath, close your eyes, and lean back—it’s over in an instant, very simple.”
Fang Juexia couldn’t hear a word, being dragged to the edge of the platform. His legs were so weak he could barely stand, clinging to the coach’s arm. He couldn’t even look down; his eyes were tightly shut, and he dared not open them.
The coach tugged at his belt, confirmed it was secure, and patted Fang Juexia’s shoulder twice. “Come on, handsome guy. Jump once and become famous, jump twice and become rich.”
Just one jump, and it would be over soon.
He even imagined the feeling of weightlessness in his mind beforehand, just to make himself feel better later.
He wasn’t afraid, not at all.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…
“Get ready, I’m about to start the countdown. Three—”
The countdown suddenly stopped. “Huh? Why did it come back?”
Come back? What come back?
He heard the coach laugh and pat his arm. “See, I was right. Someone actually wanted to come back for a second jump.”
The strong wind messed up Fang Juexia’s soft hair, making him look like a disheveled little animal. He hesitated, furrowing his brow as he slowly opened his eyes. In his swaying vision, Pei Tingsong stepped onto the transparent glass platform, the spring sunlight casting a lazy glow on his smile.
“You’re really going to jump.” He looked at Fang Juexia, already fully geared up, his eyes filled with amusement.
Fang Juexia couldn’t speak, nodding slightly, looking even more pitiful. He didn’t know what Pei Tingsong was doing up there—witnessing his first bungee jumping experience? Or simply thinking it would be more entertaining to watch from above? His mind raced, his pupils darting around.
The more Pei Tingsong looked at him, the more adorable he found him. He noticed Fang Juexia quietly gripping the instructor’s arm and couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.
“He’s afraid of heights.” Pei Tingsong walked over and told the instructor and staff, “I’ll go with him. We’ll do a tandem jump.”
This statement came out of nowhere, catching everyone off guard. Fang Juexia stared at him blankly, saying nothing. Pei Tingsong reached out and pulled him back, joking, “Why are you looking at me like that? Are you moved? If you’re moved, cry a little so I can see.”
“Why did you come back?” Fang Juexia spoke in his usual cold tone, but his hand had already shifted from the coach’s arm to Pei Tingsong’s wrist, gripping it tightly, subconsciously seeking the familiarity and comfort of a more familiar sense of security.
“I had a great time jumping, and I want to do it again.” The coach helped them put on the dual safety gear. Pei Tingsong raised his hand to brush away the wind-tousled hair on Fang Juexia’s forehead, his tone much softer. “I’ll help you through your ordeal too.”
“Get through this ordeal.” Fang Juexia repeated the two words softly, surprised that this kid who grew up abroad had learned such strange knowledge. However, the term was quite apt. This really seemed to be one of the biggest ordeal in his twenty-plus years of life, with a danger level that easily ranked in the top three.
Thinking this, he glanced at Pei Tingsong again.
This guy’s danger level was also very high. He was truly desperate, relying on one danger to solve another.
The staff was about to put helmets on them, but they discovered that the last GoPro was broken and couldn’t record video. “Why don’t we wait a moment? Wait until they bring up the previous one.”
“Jue Xia had finally prepared himself mentally, but now he wasn’t sure if he dared to do it. Maybe we shouldn’t record his perspective.” Another staff member used the walkie-talkie to contact the camera position below, only capturing the perspective of jumping down from above and the仰拍 perspective from below.
The coach secured the ropes and confirmed everything was in order. “Alright, everything’s ready. You two handsome guys can jump together now. Do you need me to count down for you?” The wind on the platform grew stronger, swirling around them in mid-air. The cold air enveloped them, and the clear blue sky seemed within reach. In the howling wind, Fang Juexia heard Pei Tingsong’s voice. He said to close his eyes, so he did.
He had never done anything too crazy in his life. Even pursuing his dreams followed the rules and steps he had set for himself, advancing steadily step by step. Stability gave him a sense of security. Derailment, wild parties, and loss of control were all risks Fang Juexia had gone to great lengths to avoid over the past two decades.
“Let me tell you a story.”
“A story?” Fang Juexia listened to his voice and raised his head.
“Yes.” “ Pei Tingsong stood on the platform, turned his back to the looming abyss, faced Fang Juexia with his eyes closed, and reached out his arms to pull him into his embrace. ”Do you know? It’s said that bungee jumping originated in a country called Vanuatu in the South Pacific Islands. The people there believe that only those who have endured the test of heights can truly be considered grown-up. So hundreds of years ago, the men of the tribe would tie their legs with vines and jump off a wooden tower over thirty meters high, stopping just a few centimeters above the ground with a whoosh.”
As he spoke, he gently pulled Fang Juexia closer to himself. Perhaps out of genuine fear, he could feel Fang Juexia pressing closer.
“Then what?” Fang Juexia asked with his eyes tightly closed.
“Then…” Pei Tingsong looked down to confirm that he was already standing on the edge, with half of his foot hanging in the air. He continued, “The villagers would hold a grand bonfire party to celebrate his determination and courage. They regarded this high-altitude fall as a great coming-of-age ceremony.”
At the end of the story, he spread his arms and embraced Fang Juexia, falling backward. Without the tension built up by a countdown, everything happened quickly, without warning. Fang Juexia’s heart nearly stopped as he was embraced and plunged into a storm, a vortex of weightlessness.
This was what a real fall felt like. Every crevice of his body was pierced by the rushing wind, and his soul crashed into the empty sky. Fear, hesitation, and timidity were all swept away by the wind, and the one-sided embrace turned into a tight embrace under the urging of instinct. Body heat was hot, heartbeats collided, crashing into each other’s chests. These senses all told Fang Juexia that he was not alone.
He was falling in an embrace, safe and free.
“Do you want to open your eyes and take a look?”
The howling wind sounded like a prolonged alarm, but it couldn’t drown out his voice. Fang Juexia tried to open his eyes. The inverted view was too marvelous. He saw the entire world spinning upward into the sky, and he saw Pei Tingsong, who was just inches away. Their gazes met in the storm. Pei Tingsong’s eyes were smiling, his dark pupils reflecting the clear sky and his own face. Indeed, it happened quickly, just as the story said. They fell with courage and determination, suspended mid-air.
When the alarm ceased, he leaned close to Fang Juexia’s ear.
“You’re an adult now, brother.”
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