“This is my cousin’s home. How is it? Pretty clean, right?”
The door lock opened with a fingerprint scan. The whole-home smart system instantly lit up. Feng Xueping proudly introduced it to Gong Ze. “The down payment on this place was paid by my cousin himself. The design was also done by my brother himself.” He was even prouder than the owner, Lu Youling.
Gong Ze stood at the entryway and looked around, nodding in agreement. “Indeed not bad.”
Although there had been no prior notice that guests were coming, Lu Youling’s home was very tidy. There was no clutter on the sofa, and the surfaces and windows were clean.
It was clear that Lu Youling’s home was normally this tidy too.
Gong Ze remembered that in the previous world, Lu Youling had been very diligent, quick and efficient when tidying things.
“People who study medicine always seem to have a bit of cleanliness obsession.”
Feng Xueping whispered to him. “Anyway, in my own home I could never be like my cousin.”
Gong Ze smiled.
“Talking bad about me over there?”
Suddenly a voice sounded. The two looked up and saw Lu Youling, who had taken off his outer coat, arms crossed, watching them. His smile, no matter how you looked at it, was a little dangerous.
“How could we? We’re praising you for being clean, Cousin.” Feng Xueping said with a grin.
Lu Youling could not be bothered to lecture his little brother. He said to the two of them: “Aren’t you ordering takeout later? I turned on the projector. Choose whatever you want to watch. I’m going to take a shower. Call me when it’s time to eat. I still have two sets of pajamas here that I prepared for you last time. If you and your friend want to wear them, go get them from the wardrobe in the second bedroom.”
“Got it!”
Feng Xueping gave a proper salute.
Lu Youling turned and went to shower.
Gong Ze watched him leave, then was pulled by Feng Xueping to change shoes and go to the living room. Feng Xueping handed the remote to Gong Ze and let Gong Ze choose a movie, while he started ordering takeout.
“What kind of movies does your cousin like?” Gong Ze browsed the movie channels.
“My cousin likes documentaries, or listening to white noise. His taste is too high-class. The two of us can’t comprehend it. Hehe, but when friends are together, what do you watch? Horror, of course.”
Feng Xueping gave a bad smile.
Gong Ze raised an eyebrow. “You dare watch?”
Feng Xueping hooked his shoulder, brows flying. “What’s there to be afraid of? Your brother here is going to be a people’s police officer in the future, a firm materialist. This kind of childish stuff, I fear it not at all.”
Hearing him brag, Gong Ze only wanted to heh. “Materialism and being afraid of horror movies don’t conflict. Think it through. Don’t watch it and then get so scared you insist on sleeping in the same blanket as me. I don’t have a hobby of hugging a grown man to sleep.”
“Tsk tsk. Feng Yuan and Sang You aren’t grown men? I see you hugging them quite happily.”
“Get lost.”
“Hahaha!”
To cure Feng Xueping’s arrogance, plus Gong Ze’s mischievous taste surfacing, Gong Ze directly found him a Thai horror movie.
When it came to horror movies, Chinese people all understood. The old versions were awesome, but the later domestic horror films always ended up being either the protagonist’s hallucinations or living people causing trouble.
European and American ones were a bit lacking. Korean and Japanese ones had some scary ones, but Gong Ze felt Thai horror movies were absolutely the most suitable for Chinese babies’ constitution.
Yin and sinister.
Viciously poking at all your fear points.
A bad smile flashed through Gong Ze’s eyes. He chose a horror movie called Coming Soon, paused it at the beginning, and waited until Feng Xueping’s takeout arrived and Lu Youling came out after showering and changing into pajamas, sitting down at the dining table.
Lu Youling glanced casually at the projection screen. “What are you watching?”
Feng Xueping was opening the takeout bags of barbecue, fried rice, and milk tea, and said without looking up: “Oh, I wanted to watch a horror movie, so I let Gong Ze pick one randomly.”
Hearing this, Lu Youling let out a “tsk” laugh.
Clearly Lu Youling, as a doctor, and one who had studied abroad, had seen too much blood from patients. He was also a firm materialist and already immune to bloody foreign horror movies mostly full of murderers.
He even disdained them.
Just from the angle of intestines spilling and the scene of blood spurting, Lu Youling could pick out seven or eight unreasonable points.
As for domestic horror movies?
Lu Youling had watched one once and fell asleep halfway through in the cinema.
“Only you kids like this kind of movie.”
The refined, cool Doctor Lu commented.
He lifted his chin, revealing a proud jawline.
“I’m not afraid either. Just watching for fun!”
Not wanting to be looked down on as a kid by his cousin, Feng Xueping stuck a straw into his milk tea and shrugged easily.
“Since neither of you is afraid, then I’ll play it.” Gong Ze looked at the two of them acting like they were the biggest under heaven and earth, and narrowed his black-bellied fox eyes.
Feng Xueping: “Play it, play it—”
Lu Youling: “Childish. Better to watch Human and Nature.”
But Gong Ze did not argue. He went and turned off the living room lights, then pressed the remote’s play button with one hand while picking up a skewer with the other, eating lightly and calmly.
The movie had just started.
Lu Youling calmly and elegantly ate barbecue.
And Feng Xueping ate a lamb skewer per bite, commenting vaguely with his mouth full: “Heh, is that all.”
Twenty minutes into the movie.
Lu Youling suspiciously put down the skewer in his hand.
Feng Xueping: Not good…
Thirty minutes into the movie.
Lu Youling shrank his neck, eyes wide and unblinking as he stared at the screen, unconsciously leaning a bit toward Gong Ze.
Feng Xueping gulped: N-not scared…
Later in the movie, when “Auntie Fusang” suddenly appeared, Lu Youling could not help letting out an “Awo!” scream. Feng Xueping nearly crushed the milk tea in his hand.
The two of them looked paler than each other. Every time the eerie music and sounds in the horror movie rang out, they both jumped from their chairs.
Gong Ze lowered his head to hide his nearly uncontrollable laughter. When the movie ended, the two of them uniformly slumped their shoulders and let out a “haa~” of relief, staring at the skewers on the table with green little faces, foreheads covered in cold sweat, neither speaking.
Gong Ze pulled a tissue, wiped his mouth, and said lightly: “Finished watching. Mm, it was pretty boring.”
Lu Youling: “…”
Feng Xueping: “…”
After a while the two of them laughed dryly. “Heh, heh heh heh, y-yeah, nothing interesting…” “Right right right, not scary at all…”
“Oh.” Gong Ze narrowed his eyes and curved his lips, glancing at them. “Then which of you will go turn on the light? I turned it off just now. Now you two go turn it on.”
Lu Youling: “…”
Feng Xueping: “…”
In the dark living room, with only the faint light cast by the projection screen, the cousins each clearly saw the other’s awful complexion, and then coincidentally looked toward the living room light switch ten meters away.
Earlier Feng Xueping had praised Lu Youling’s home for being big. Now, aside from the flickering light in the living room, the room and small corridor were pitch black.
Because they had just finished watching a horror movie, the two stared at furniture faintly visible in the darkness. Because of the dark, things that looked normal in the daytime now vaguely revealed frightening outlines. Even the companion’s expression took on a ghostly quality.
The two fell into silence.
After a moment, Lu Youling pointed at Feng Xueping: “You go.”
Feng Xueping shook his head desperately. “I-I haven’t finished eating yet. I’m not going!” Holy shit, who knows what’s in places without lights!
“This is my home. I kindly lent you the place to stay. I ask you to turn on a light and you dawdle?”
“I’m your little brother. You’re the older brother. Shouldn’t an older brother take care of his little brother?”
“You go.”
“I won’t!”
Seeing he could not order his stinky little brother around, Lu Youling pretended to be calm and used a goading tactic. “What, are you scared?”
Who would have thought Feng Xueping was thick-skinned and directly admitted it: “Yes, I’m scared. So if Cousin you’re not scared, can you go turn on the light? Or is Cousin, as an adult, not going to be scared like us kids?”
Lu Youling: “…”
Gong Ze smiled and watched as Lu Youling not only failed with the goading tactic but got goaded back, awkwardly stuck up high with no way down, his little face pale.
And Lu Youling, catching Gong Ze’s half-smile from the corner of his eye, immediately glared at him angrily. ‘It’s all your fault!’
Gong Ze smiled and mouthed: ‘Want my help or not.’
Lu Youling’s eyes lit up and he immediately signaled to him.
His large, black-and-white monolid deer eyes mixed with a spoiled meaning: ‘Yes! Hurry and go turn on the light. Scared to death!’
Gong Ze seized the chance to rob him: ‘If you want it, then tell me. Did you secretly take a photo of me or not.’
Lu Youling: …
By now, how could he not understand? He had fallen into Gong Ze’s trap.
Bad guy!
Lu Youling laughed in anger and shot Gong Ze a flying eye-dagger. ‘Fine, fine, fine. I didn’t take one, okay?’
Gong Ze could not hold it in and was amused by his angry pouting look.
He knew Lu Youling had been bluffing him. However, between the two of them, whenever they played mind games, Lu Youling always ended up at a disadvantage with Gong Ze. Even in another world, he did not learn his lesson.
And Lu Youling could not wait anymore. He directly opened his mouth and ordered Gong Ze: “You go turn on the light.”
Gong Ze said with a smile: “Sure.”
Without waiting for the two to react, he directly spoke: “Xiao Ai.”
The whole-home smart system instantly responded adorably: “I’m here~”
Lu Youling: “…”
Feng Xueping: “…”
Gong Ze smiled: “Turn on the lights.”
“Okay~”
Click. All the lights in the entire house lit up, brightly illuminated, making the two people scared silly by the horror movie look like two little idiots.
Lu Youling: “…”
Feng Xueping: “…”
Fuck, they had actually forgotten the smart system! They did not need to go turn it on themselves at all ahhh!
Feng Xueping’s mouth twitched slightly: “Cousin, I forgot because you’re the owner, how could you forget too?”
Lu Youling’s face burned red with shame. He covered his face and low-roared: “I forgot… And at the beginning when Gong Ze went to turn off the light, I subconsciously felt turning it on also needed a person—wait!”
He suddenly looked at Gong Ze.
In disbelief: “You were setting me up from here already!?”
Gong Ze propped his chin and curved his lips: “You flatter me.”
“…” Damn.
Lu Youling was so angry his teeth itched.
And Feng Xueping only thought Gong Ze was pranking the two of them. He completely did not get the photo matter. He gave an exaggerated shout and pounced over to get revenge for himself.
Gong Ze was pulled around by him, laughing heartily. This counted as the happiest time since he transmigrated back.
The three of them roughhoused and cleaned up the remaining skewers.
After this episode, Feng Xueping wished he could drag Gong Ze along even to shower. Gong Ze was speechless. He had no interest in his brother’s bare body.
Feng Xueping could not persuade him, so he had Gong Ze stand guard outside. After Feng Xueping finished, Gong Ze would switch.
“Don’t run off, okay? If I call you, you have to answer me. I shower fast, ten minutes and done.”
Before going in, Feng Xueping still clung to the doorframe, reminding him uneasily.
“Okay, hurry up. I won’t run. I don’t need you to stand guard while I shower. Look at your little guts.”
Gong Ze found it funny.
“If not for you scaring me…”
Feng Xueping clicked his tongue and hugged his pajamas as he slipped into the bathroom.
Leaving Gong Ze leaning against the wall, bored, taking out his phone to scroll videos and chat with his parents. Before long, footsteps came from ahead. Gong Ze raised an eyebrow. When he looked up, he saw Lu Youling.
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