This thing is all about fate.

"Haha, you rascal."

Ji Bo said, looking at Meng Wenzhou and the others: "Brother Meng, Brother Pang, Brother Ming, what do you three think?"

Liu Bo nodded with a smile: "I'm fine with it, but I think we should ask the girls on our side first. What if they don't want to go?"

"If they don't go, then we can just invite some new friends instead," Chu Qiunan laughed.

"That could work too."

"But wouldn't it be a bit rude to go have fun and leave them behind in the ancient town?" Zhang Ziming said.

"That's exactly why we ask for their opinion first. If they also want to go, then we all go together. If they want to stay and play in the ancient town in the evening, then let them do their own thing there."

"I'm fine either way. Who's going to ask?" Meng Wenzhou took a sip of coffee and looked at the others.

Ji Bo raised his hand: "I'll ask."

He said, opening WeChat, ready to @ the four girls. But then he remembered the newcomer, Zhong Qing, wasn't in the group chat yet, so he turned to Su Yang.

"Brother Yang, do you want to add that Xiao Qing to our group? So I can @ everyone at once."

Su Yang nodded: "Sure, she's decided to travel with us for the next part anyway."

"Perfect, then add her to the group."

"Okay." Su Yang agreed, took out his phone, and added Zhong Qing to their road trip group chat.

After seeing Zhong Qing join the group, Ji Bo then @'ed the five girls.

Ji Bo: @Five girls, Hellooo, beauties, check your phones.

A minute later, Meng Qianyu was the first to reply: Little Ji Bo, why are you @-ing us?

Ji Bo: We guys just discussed it. After dinner, we're not going drinking. Drinking's boring. We're planning to go to a large escape room place nearby tonight. Now we're asking you beauties if you'd like to come.

After sending the message, Ji Bo looked at the guys: "Sent it, let's wait for their reply~"

"Mhm~"

They waited about two minutes before Meng Qianyu replied: Is this escape room you mentioned scary?

Ji Bo picked up his phone to type a reply: They say it's very scary.

Meng Qianyu: Scary?

Ji Bo: Yeah, I asked a local. He said the place is out in some remote wilderness, can be a bit frightening. But that's exactly what makes it more thrilling.

Meng Qianyu: Remote wilderness?? What the heck... Okay, wait a sec, let me ask the others.

Ji Bo: Ok.

After waiting a while longer, another WeChat message came through.

Pan Ning: @Ji Bo, are you talking about the kind made from an abandoned, run-down factory?

Ji Bo: Exactly, that kind.

Tang Ziyun: Wouldn't that kind be unsafe?

Zhang Ziming: Definitely not! It's been open for years, business has always been good. Safety is guaranteed.

Ji Bo: Yeah, the guy I asked has been there before.

Su Qingci: What genre is it?

Ji Bo: Horror. The kind with NPCs playing ghosts to scare people.

Su Qingci: Ah? I wouldn't dare go to that kind!

Meng Qianyu: Me neither, it sounds terrifying just hearing about it. And it's in a remote wilderness? No way, not going. You guys go by yourselves, we'll play in the ancient town~

Meng Wenzhou: None of you are going?

Pan Ning: Not going.

Seeing this message, the six guys looked up and exchanged glances.

Then the phone vibrated again.

They looked again.

Zhong Qing: I'd actually like to go play~

Ji Bo: Oh? Xiao Qing, you dare to go?

Zhong Qing: I'm not too brave either, but I've never tried it before. I want to experience this kind of thrilling escape room.

Zhang Ziming: Then come with us~

After Zhang Ziming sent this message, Zhong Qing didn't reply.

Two minutes later, she replied again: Forget it, I better not go.

Zhang Ziming: Huh? Why not go now?

Meng Qianyu: Tonight, you boys do your thing, we girls have our own plans. Not a single one of us is missing.

Liu Bo: Oh? Where are you planning to go? Tell us?

Meng Qianyu: We met two new friends at the shop. They invited us to play an ancient-style murder mystery game together tonight.

Zhang Ziming: Murder mystery game? Isn't that pretty much the same idea as our escape room? Might as well come with us to the escape room.

Meng Qianyu: It's not the same. Yours is an escape room, ours is an ancient detective murder mystery. Completely different, okay? And ours is right inside the ancient town. It's fun and not scary. We're not going with you to play some wilderness ghost-hunting game~

Zhang Ziming: Alrighty then~

Su Yang: You're sure none of you are going?

Meng Qianyu: Not going~

Su Qingci: Mhm, we're playing the murder mystery in the ancient town~

Meng Wenzhou: Even Pan Pan isn't going?

Pan Ning: Too scary. Not going.

Seeing this, the guys smiled at each other.

......

After chatting a bit more in the group, everyone put their phones away.

Liu Bo took a sip of coffee and said, "A bit unexpected. None of them are going, even telling us to go by ourselves~"

Chu Qiunan: "Then we'll just go by ourselves."

Meng Wenzhou nodded: "Mhm, that's that then. They play theirs, we play ours. We're not kids. I figure they probably want to do their own thing too."

"I guess so~" Liu Bo laughed.

Then Ji Bo looked at everyone and said, "In that case, shall we get moving?"

"Moving on what?" Zhang Ziming turned and asked.

"Hey, didn't we just say? Each of us finds a girl to go with us. The waiter also told me you need at least ten people to play, up to sixteen people max."

"Oh right! If the girls from our side aren't going, then we don't have enough people. So Brother Yang has to join the recruitment mission too." Liu Bo looked at Su Yang and winked with a smile.

"Right, right. Earlier, we counted the girls from our side, so we didn't make Brother Yang find someone. Now that they're not going, you have to join us in finding people." Ji Bo also looked at Su Yang and said.

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, "Is it because we don't have enough people? I seem to remember you said earlier you wanted a female friend to go play with, to increase the chances..."

Ji Bo was taken aback and laughed: "Uh... of course that's also a reason. Plus, if we don't have enough people, then we have to find more, right?"

Su Yang smiled: "Alright then. But does it have to be girls?"

"Must be girls. Look, we have six guys here. Find six more girls, each forming a two-person team. Twelve people is just right."

"Right. Men and women working together, the work is less tiresome~ Hehe." Chu Qiunan gave a sly smile.

Zhang Ziming then turned and looked left and right at the bustling street: "Then let's get moving~ They'll be done with their hair soon and going for dinner."

"Alrighty! Should we make a game out of it?" Chu Qiunan looked at the others.

Su Yang smiled: "You don't want to play another game like 'see who finds a teammate first, and the last one pays the bill tonight,' do you?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, you got me. That's the idea."

"Fine, let's do it~" Su Yang said nonchalantly.

Liu Bo then looked at everyone and said, "What if, just saying what if, someone can't find a teammate?"

"What else? They pay the bill."

"Paying is the small issue. The main thing is if we don't have enough people, we can't play."

"Don't worry, escape room places are always crowded. If we have to, we can just go in the evening and join up with another group."

"Alright then."

"Let's hurry up and find some teammates." Zhang Ziming finished the last of his coffee, stood up, and led the way onto the street.

Seeing this, Ji Bo and Chu Qiunan quickly got up and rushed into the crowd.

The remaining three—Su Yang, Meng Wenzhou, and Liu Bo—were in no hurry. They leisurely took out cigarettes and lit them.

"What's the rush? These things depend on fate. Let's have a smoke first."