I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 27.1

Inside the haunted house at Mount Linming, Fu Erqiu and Su Chunyin walked one behind the other up the long staircase.

Su Chunyin was panting from exhaustion. “What the hell kind of haunted house is this? Why are we still climbing stairs after all this time?”

Fu Erqiu also came to a halt, carefully observing their surroundings. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Su Chunyin reached out to steady herself against the wall, only to touch something sticky. When she withdrew her hand and looked, it was covered in glowing green moss that shimmered faintly in the dark.

A chill crept up her spine. “Hey… are we really still inside the haunted house?”

“The staff said each group only needs a fifteen-minute interval to enter. That means the whole walkthrough shouldn’t take too long,” Fu Erqiu said as she scanned the area, trying to piece together the oddities they’d encountered. “Maybe we took the wrong path at that fork earlier.”

Su Chunyin let out a surprised “Ah!”

Twenty minutes earlier—

Trailing behind Fu Erqiu, Su Chunyin aimlessly kicked at the carpet, wondering why no “ghosts” had jumped out yet.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, jets of blue-green smoke suddenly hissed out from both sides. In the dim, flickering light, the ghost puppets hanging upside down on the walls sprang upright.

Su Chunyin assumed this was one of the haunted house’s basic scare tactics—sudden jumps designed to startle guests. But she had a strong constitution. Rather than scream, she mentally criticized the cheap craftsmanship and lazy makeup on the puppets. Only then did she recall Song Rao’s advice. So, she let out two half-hearted screams, feigned a stumble, and dove into Fu Erqiu’s arms as if she were truly terrified.

Fu Erqiu had been focused on the path ahead and didn’t expect the sudden collision. She staggered back two steps before regaining her balance.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, glancing down at Su Chunyin in her arms. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled—whether from fear or excitement, Fu Erqiu couldn’t tell.

Leaning into Fu Erqiu, Su Chunyin had planned to continue her act, maybe let out a soft whimper and pretend to be trembling. But as she lifted her head, her chin brushed against something unexpectedly soft.

All thoughts of acting vanished.

Frozen in Fu Erqiu’s arms, her face began to burn red.

Fu Erqiu didn’t press her for a reply. Once they were both steady, she gently let go and took a step forward. “There seems to be a passage here.”

Su Chunyin followed her gaze. Ahead was a gently sloping platform, draped with a curtain made from vines and leaves. Beside it stood a blackened sign pointing left.

She squinted at the sign but couldn’t make out the writing, so she turned on her phone’s flashlight:

“Straight ahead to continue haunted house route. Do not enter the path to the right.”

Fu Erqiu was just about to lift the curtain and head left when Su Chunyin stopped her. “Wait, wait, wait.” She shone her light toward the right. “Let’s check over there first.”

Compared to the well-trodden path ahead, the right-hand side looked far more rugged—natural mountain walls draped in black cloth, a patch of overgrown weeds, and an iron door standing eerily among them.

Su Chunyin’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go this way.”

Fu Erqiu frowned disapprovingly. “The sign clearly says the haunted house is to the left.”

But Su Chunyin had already started walking toward the iron door. “Come on! Linming Mountain’s haunted house is famous for a reason—it’s bound to be different from the usual ones. This might be their secret scare route. Left is probably the basic tour; right might be the real nightmare. Since we’re already here, don’t you want the full experience?”

Fu Erqiu tried to reason with her. “That path shows almost no signs of construction—it might just be a sealed-off mountain trail.”

Su Chunyin had already reached the door. “If it’s sealed off, then it’ll be locked, right? If we can’t open it, we’ll just turn around and take the left path. But if we can open it, that means it’s safe enough to explore.

Deal?”

Before Fu Erqiu could reply, Su Chunyin pushed the door hard—and it opened.

Not bothering to wait, she stepped in excitedly, driven by the thrill of discovering a hidden path.

Fu Erqiu had no choice but to follow.

The scene behind the door was completely different. If the previous path had dim lighting, this one was almost pitch black. Only a faint natural glow from unknown sources gave them just enough visibility to watch their steps.

At first, Su Chunyin was brimming with excitement. But after over twenty minutes of climbing, she was soaked with sweat and begrudgingly admitted, “Okay… maybe we did take a wrong turn. What kind of haunted house tires you out before the ghosts even show up?”

She plopped down onto the ground. “Let me rest a bit, then we’ll turn back.”

Fu Erqiu frowned at the idea of sitting directly on the ground and pulled tissues from her jacket. “The floor’s dirty. Use these.”

Su Chunyin waved her off. “It’s fine. I’ll just wash my pants later.”

Once they’d rested, they retraced their steps. But when they reached the spot where they remembered the iron door being—it was now locked from the inside.

Even Su Chunyin, usually good at staying calm, couldn’t help muttering a few curses.

Fu Erqiu pulled out her phone to call for help, only to find there was no signal in the haunted house.

Su Chunyin tried hers too, but it was useless—no reception at all.

Both girls stared at their phones, unsure of what to do. Su Chunyin tried to stay optimistic. “There should be surveillance in the haunted house. If we disappear, the staff will definitely notice.”

Fu Erqiu wasn’t so sure. “I didn’t see any cameras along the way. Maybe they’re inside the main haunted house, but the stairs leading here might not be monitored. If they were, someone would’ve stopped us from going through that door.”

Su Chunyin brightened. “Then what about the others? Song Rao and the rest—if they see we haven’t come out for so long, they’ll know something’s wrong, right?”

Fu Erqiu thought for a moment and said, “If they realize something’s wrong, they’ll probably go looking for the staff. If there’s no surveillance on the stairs and they can’t tell where we disappeared, it’s very likely they’ll search the fenced-off mountain area behind the haunted house. By the time they spend hours searching with no results, they might finally realize we’re still near the stairs.”

Su Chunyin was stunned. “So, what should we do now? Wait? Or leave?”

Fu Erqiu hesitated for a while before finally making up her mind. “Let’s go. We’ll keep walking along this path.”

Su Chunyin followed behind her and turned back onto the path they had come from.

As they walked, Fu Erqiu explained, “Since this haunted house occupies a section of undeveloped mountain land, and this path keeps going uphill, it’s likely an old mountain trail. The haunted house hasn’t been here long, so its footprint shouldn’t be too big. The exit of this path shouldn’t be far from the scenic area. If we can get out, we might be able to see where the scenic area is from there.”

She took out her phone again. “Once we get out, there might be signal, and that’ll make things much easier.”

Su Chunyin nodded. She had no way of knowing what the situation outside was like, so all she could do was trust Fu Erqiu’s judgment.

The two walked up the stairs for a long time. The staircase seemed endless, winding up and up. Exhausted, Su Chunyin slipped and twisted her ankle, pain shooting through her like a knife.

“Ah!” She tried to reach down and rub it, but the moment her fingers brushed her ankle, she gasped in pain. It was unbearable.

Fu Erqiu noticed something was wrong and came over with her phone flashlight.

Before, Su Chunyan inly felt pain, but now under the flashlight, she saw her ankle was badly swollen—and it looked like it was only getting worse.

Fu Erqiu examined her closely and determined that she couldn’t walk. She squatted down with her back to Su Chunyin “Come on, I’ll carry you.”

Su Chunyin protested, “We don’t even know how far we have to go. I’m heavy—how are you going to carry me that whole way?”

Fu Erqiu thought for a moment and gave her two choices. “I’m in decent shape. Carrying you up the mountain won’t be a problem. But if you really don’t want me to, then stay here. I’ll go out, find help, and come back for you. But are you really okay waiting here alone?”

Su Chunyin wanted to say yes, but when she looked around at the pitch-dark surroundings, the moss-covered rocks, and her nearly dead phone battery, the word just wouldn’t come out.

“T-then I’ll come with you,” she muttered, awkward and ashamed of the trouble she was causing.

Fu Erqiu didn’t say more. She lifted Su Chunyin onto her back and resumed walking.

Though her ankle throbbed, Su Chunyin tried her best not to burden Fu Erqiu. Even while being carried, she engaged her legs to lighten the load.

The two were drenched in sweat. The staircase was stuffy and poorly ventilated, and the heat felt oppressive. But as they went further, a breeze began to blow toward them. Their spirits lifted immediately—wind meant an opening.

Sure enough, after a while, they saw a faint light up ahead.

An exit!

Without a word, they hurried forward.

The light had seemed close, but it took some distance to actually reach. The cave opening was narrow—barely wide enough for two or three people—and overgrown with wild grass.

Fu Erqiu stepped through the opening with Su Chunyin on her back. Light burst into view—they were out!

Su Chunyin couldn’t contain her joy. The sudden change in light made her eyes tear up, but she kept them open, eager to take in their surroundings. Several maple trees stood around the cave, a large rock shaped like a gravestone nearby, the ground thick with waist-high weeds. Looking ahead, the slope dropped off steeply into the distance.

Fu Erqiu gently set her down on a clear patch of ground. “Rest here a bit. I’ll check ahead.”

Su Chunyin didn’t want her to leave. Her fingers clung reluctantly to Fu Erqiu’s hair, but she knew they needed to scout the area. So, she gave a small nod.

Fu Erqiu returned quickly, bringing a small, palm-sized fruit with her. “I looked around carefully. If I’m right, we’re somewhere on the mountainside.”

Only the lower part of Mount Linming was open to tourists. Everything above was an undeveloped zone off-limits to visitors.

Su Chunyin took the fruit and held it anxiously. “Do you think there could be wild animals?”

Fu Erqiu shook her head. “If this place was cleared for tourism, there shouldn’t be any carnivorous animals. But it’s late summer and we’re in the mountains—we’ll need to watch out for snakes.”

“Snakes?” Su Chunyin bit into the fruit and shivered at the sour taste. “You really think we might run into snakes?”

“It’s possible.” Fu Erqiu checked her phone, then looked up at the sky. “It’s 7:30. We’ve already missed the designated meetup time. It’s been two hours since we entered the haunted house. They’re definitely looking for us.”

Su Chunyin brightened. “Should we make some kind of signal? Build a fire? A marker?”

Fu Erqiu shook her head. “The mountain’s too big. Without knowing our exact location, it won’t help much. Since we’re not far from the scenic area, we’ll wait until nightfall, then go down.”

Su Chunyin recalled the talk about snakes and shrank back. “Why wait? Why not go down now?”

Fu Erqiu replied, “Right now, it’s not quite dark—not light enough to see clearly, but not dark enough for stars either. Flashlights aren’t much help in these conditions, and with no cell signal, we can’t use GPS.

Once it’s completely dark, we can navigate using the stars.”

Su Chunyin’s mouth dropped open, then slowly closed. “You can use stars to find your way?”

Fu Erqiu nodded and sat beside her. “I grew up with my grandparents in the countryside. Learned a few survival tricks.”

“You’re amazing,” Su Chunyin said sincerely. “I read about that stuff in books when I was little, but never figured out how to actually do it.”

After resting for a while, and as the stars slowly began to appear, Fu Erqiu checked the time. “Let’s go.”

While resting, Su Chunyin had found a sturdy branch to use as a crutch. She and Fu Erqiu agreed to alternate between walking and being carried to lighten the load.

Fu Erqiu offered her hand, and Su Chunyin used the support to stand. The branch was solid, and she limped behind Fu Erqiu.

The night was pitch black. To avoid getting separated, Fu Erqiu held Su Chunyin’s hand tightly the entire time.

Her hand wasn’t soft—calloused from years of hard work—but warm, steady. Su Chunyin’s palm grew sweaty in hers, but she felt a rare sense of calm and security. Even the thought of snakes or wild animals stopped bothering her.

Fu Erqiu walked south. “I’ve never been to this mountain before, but I know the park lake nearby really well. It’s south of here. As long as we head south, we’ll find a path out.”

Su Chunyin was getting tired again. Fu Erqiu knelt down and lifted her onto her back once more. “With that ankle, you shouldn’t be walking too much. I’ll carry you.”

Her shoulders weren’t broad, but to Su Chunyin, they felt like the safest place in the world. Weary from the long trek, she let herself relax against Fu Erqiu, burying her face in the crook of her neck. There, she caught a light scent—like fresh daisies.

What was that smell? Perfume? Detergent?

Su Chunyin couldn’t figure it out—she just thought it smelled really nice.

The mountain forest at night was incredibly quiet. Aside from the occasional chirp of insects, there was hardly any sound. The eerie silence unsettled Su Chunyin, so she forced herself to keep talking to Fu Erqiu.

“You know the Big Dipper… do you recognize any other stars?”

“Tian Nu, Orion… I know some of the basic constellations.”

“Have you ever seen a meteor?”

“I have.”

“Wow! Did you ever make a wish on one?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m past the age of believing in fairy tales.”

After rambling for a while, Su Chunyin started to feel drowsy. She leaned on Fu Erqiu’s shoulder, her eyelids fluttering. “Qiuqiu, do you think I talk too much?”

It took a long moment before the person in front of her finally replied, “No.”

Though she was already drifting off, Su Chunyin still keenly caught that “no” and smiled. “I knew it. Qiuqiu-jie… you’re lonely too, aren’t you? On a night like this, having someone noisy like me around isn’t so bad… right…”

She fell into a deep sleep, her mind sinking into a syrupy black dream. Who knew how much time passed before someone suddenly shouted beside her, “We’re out!”

Su Chunyin jerked awake and lifted her head.

They had just passed two maple trees, and a wide-open view unfolded before them. The distant sounds of people’s voices rose and fell in lively waves. The intense red hues of maple trees gradually faded, giving way to a clearing.

About two or three hundred meters ahead, rows of colorful lanterns were strung up, casting strange silhouettes of various tents below them. In the center stood a small building with a brightly lit roof and a glaring sign that read: Maple Glow Camping Grounds.

“Looks like we came out at the back entrance of the park.” Su Chunyin hadn’t seen this campsite before, but it was clearly marked on the map their teacher had handed out. It was located right at the rear gate of the park.

Even someone as composed as Fu Erqiu couldn’t fully suppress the hint of joy in her eyes as she looked at the lights in the distance.

By the time they reached the entrance of the camping grounds, both of them looked utterly disheveled. The kind-hearted shop owner immediately came forward and asked if they needed help.

Fu Erqiu pointed to Su Chunyin behind her. “We accidentally got lost in the mountains. My friend twisted her ankle. Is there a hospital nearby?”

There wasn’t a hospital near Mount Linming—just a small clinic at the foot of the mountain. The shop owner kindly drove them down in a pickup truck and refused Su Chunyin’s offer to repay the favor, simply waving her hand before heading back to her store.

Su Chunyin’s ankle was badly swollen. The clinic doctor gave her a massage and then prescribed medicine and an IV drip. The two of them sat in the clinic, charging their phones while finally getting signal to contact their friends.