After Losing My Memory, I Became Sweet - Chapter 14
Qin Huaichu was naturally not afraid of escape room games.
Well, “not afraid” isn’t entirely accurate—he had never actually been to one of these interactive puzzle rooms.
For completely unfamiliar things, he never experienced fear.
Moreover, Qin Huaichu considered that since his birth, he had never truly been scared.
But he could tell that Zhu Yun felt very uneasy in the hospital, so he needed to show a vulnerable side of himself, giving Zhu Yun a sense of psychological balance.
In that sense, the escape room was the closest and easiest excuse to create that scenario.
There were a few well-known escape rooms in Ming City, and one of them, a popular spot, was called E Gate.
Qin Huaichu glanced at a review app and booked tickets for 2 PM at E Gate.
Before that, he could take Zhu Yun to a nearby restaurant for lunch and a short rest.
E Gate was reputedly the largest escape room in the area. Its map went beyond a few simple rooms and even included caves and high-altitude rope courses.
Additionally, E Gate had introduced some heavy machinery—certain rooms were mechanically modified to create unique visual effects.
Qin Huaichu specifically booked a room with heavy machinery.
He hadn’t forgotten that Zhu Yun liked robots and was very interested in high-tech things.
After lunch, they strolled to the bustling commercial street where E Gate was located, joining a group of young men and women dressed as university students, and took the elevator up to the escape room entrance.
Zhu Yun stood in front of a massive advertisement, eyes sparkling. Qin Huaichu thought he was pointing at the mechanical room he had booked, but Zhu Yun was actually pointing to a horror-themed escape room—the Red Bride.
Zhu Yun asked, “I want to play this one, is that okay?”
Although his words mirrored what Qin Huaichu expected, his choice went completely against it.
Qin Huaichu suspected that Zhu Yun’s excitement came from the fact that the room’s horror theme hit Qin Huaichu’s fear points.
The heavy machinery room Qin Huaichu had booked was mildly scary, while the Red Bride room Zhu Yun wanted was extremely frightening.
Looking at the queue in front of the horror room, very few people had chosen it. The level of fear was evident.
Seeing Qin Huaichu hesitate, Zhu Yun tugged his sleeve and whispered, “Brother, you said we were married, but I don’t remember at all. This room’s theme is a wedding. Maybe it can help me recall some memories.”
Qin Huaichu expressionlessly looked at the poster: a red-dressed bride with a bloodied mouth, and a tiny black shadow of the groom cowering in the corner.
You call this a wedding?
“Let’s play this one,” Qin Huaichu said lightly.
Fine, his purpose here was only to make Zhu Yun happy.
He canceled the heavy machinery room booking and reserved the Red Bride room instead.
Because it was a last-minute change, they could only take a session an hour later.
At this point, the escape room staff saw the two tall figures at the entrance and announced, “This room won’t start with fewer than six people, so you might have to wait a bit.”
Zhu Yun still looked expectantly at him, softly saying, “Such a fun room, surely someone will come, right?”
Qin Huaichu thought that if no one came, he would probably negotiate with the manager to reserve the room just for the two of them—but that was only a thought. Less than half an hour later, two couples arrived, and the Red Bride session was ready to start.
The staff scanned the young couples and said, “Looks like today is couples’ day.” They paused, then looked at Qin Huaichu and Zhu Yun, “Are you two a couple as well?”
Qin Huaichu replied coldly with a hum.
He looked at Zhu Yun and noticed that he didn’t answer, just looked up at him.
Before entering the room, everyone was blindfolded, asked to form a line, and hold the shoulders of the person in front.
Due to his height, Qin Huaichu was placed at the back. Zhu Yun, standing in front of him, was about to place his hands on the shoulders of the person ahead when Qin Huaichu pulled him back.
He positioned Zhu Yun where he originally stood and then stepped forward, placing his right hand on the shoulder of the person in front.
Zhu Yun: “?”
Qin Huaichu leaned over and whispered, “I’d be scared standing at the back.”
Zhu Yun: “……”
They followed the staff into a corridor.
One of the girls was taken aside by the staff, told to lean against the wall, and wait until an NPC’s lines ended before removing their blindfolds.
The NPC recited a chilling monologue in a mournful tone, with eerie drafts sweeping past their hair.
The two girls—one inside, one outside—screamed first.
Finally, when the lines ended, they removed their blindfolds and found themselves in a dark room, only faintly lit by red candles on a nearby candelabra.
The girls continued screaming, and one boyfriend muttered to himself, sounding odd in that setting.
The scene was chaotic, but Zhu Yun calmly observed the room in the dark.
The escape rule was to leave the current room. Between their room and the other girl’s room was a wooden door with a lock above it.
While everyone else panicked and cried, Zhu Yun noticed two framed pictures on the wall next to the candelabra.
Just as he reached to touch a gap behind the frames, another hand met his.
Most people would scream, but Zhu Yun remained calm, looking at the other person’s face lit red by the candlelight.
Qin Huaichu calmly withdrew his hand, noticed Zhu Yun’s gaze, and touched his fingertips again.
“Too scary,” he said.
Zhu Yun: “……”
Though Qin Huaichu had never been to an escape room before, he had researched some strategies in advance. He guessed the key was behind the frame.
Since Zhu Yun had already found it, it didn’t matter who picked it up. He let Zhu Yun take it and unlock the door.
He followed behind Zhu Yun, deducing the locations of the keys several times in succession, pleased to see Zhu Yun reach for them almost simultaneously.
After a few rounds, Zhu Yun couldn’t help but call him out: “Brother, you already knew the key was here, didn’t you?”
Qin Huaichu maintained his facade: “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Even in front of grotesque, bl00d-stained NPCs, they chatted casually, which made the other panicking players uncomfortable.
“How can you not be scared at all? That ghost just grabbed your clothes!” one male player exclaimed in disbelief.
Qin Huaichu didn’t answer. To him, the horror room wasn’t scary, and the NPC’s acting was somewhat unconvincing.
However, the screams from the other four players interfered with his deductions.
Zhu Yun asked, “Brother, I think you’re not afraid. Didn’t you say you were scared of this?”
Qin Huaichu expressionlessly replied, “I am scared, you just can’t tell.”
Zhu Yun: “……”
Seeing Zhu Yun and Qin Huaichu so fearless, the other two couples gradually stopped being scared and even eagerly participated in finding keys and codes.
The NPCs became less frightening, and staff outside hurriedly adjusted the storyline.
The story progressed: the Red Bride was killed by a faithless man, became a vengeful spirit, and disrupted his wedding, seeking revenge through generations.
By the eighth small room, the timeline reached the present, NPCs wore modern clothing, and the room gradually brightened.
“Are we almost done? I think we can see the ending soon,” the four other players cheered.
Zhu Yun, however, didn’t look up and studied the paintings on the wall.
“These look like props from ancient times,” he said. “They should be related to the clues. Let’s check the details.”
As soon as he said that, everyone sprang into action.
One male player spotted numbers hidden in the first painting and shouted, “Numbers! If we find the numbers, that must be the code! We can open the lock and leave!”
In no time, the two couples gathered the five numbers hidden across the four paintings.
“Why five numbers? Which one shouldn’t we use?” they puzzled.
“Let’s try four first,” one male player said, leading the others to the door to input numbers.
Zhu Yun didn’t move.
He studied the four paintings, feeling that the last room’s clues wouldn’t be easily discovered by them.
He analyzed the landscape paintings, then looked at Qin Huaichu.
Qin Huaichu didn’t rush to use the numbers either; he stood beside Zhu Yun, eyes fixed on the paintings.
Noticing Zhu Yun looking at him, Qin Huaichu thought for two seconds and said uncertainly, “Too hard, I can’t figure it out.”
Zhu Yun: “……”
Who is he fooling? He had been in sync with me before, now he suddenly can’t find the answer.
Not wanting to waste more time, Zhu Yun pointed at the landscape: “It’s based on the shapes in the painting—the mountain peaks, the clouds above, the reflection in the lake below—”
“I got it,” Qin Huaichu continued with the answer.
Zhu Yun said nothing more, a small smile appearing at the corner of his lips, quietly watching Qin Huaichu.
Qin Huaichu’s heart stirred—Zhu Yun seemed like the person from his memories: confident, smart, and unafraid to shine.
After they found all four numbers hidden in the landscapes, they went to the other four struggling players and helped them open the lock.
As the players cheered and rushed toward the exit, a few black-suited NPCs wearing sunglasses suddenly appeared, and the eerie broadcast voice returned.
It asked, “One last time, are you all couples?”
The players hesitated, unsure how to answer.
Then the voice laughed ominously, “I’ll choose one couple among you and see what kind of wedding you have!”
With that, a red wedding veil dropped onto Qin Huaichu and Zhu Yun’s heads.
They were then led away by the black-suited NPCs.