novelhk Chapter 5 Have you ever kissed?
Chapter 5 Have you ever kissed?
Xingyi, whom Ding Xuehui mentioned, is Jiang Lin's childhood friend and has an extraordinary background.
Ji Xingyi is the eldest son of the Ji family, one of the most powerful families in China at this time. Xingyi is the same age as Jiang Lin and should have gone abroad for further studies, but he chose to stay in Hangzhou instead. Although he is also at the University of Commerce, he is not in the same department as Jiang Lin and did not participate in this trip.
Ding Xuehui blushed and nodded.
Jiang Lin's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile: "You know Mrs. Ji? You're his blind date?"
This time, Ding Xuehui was surprised: "How did you know?"
"Just guessing." Jiang Lin's eyes were dark and unfathomable, but her lips still held an angelic smile.
It's unlikely that Ji Xingyi would bring up Jiang Lin on her own initiative, and Ding Xuehui's words sound more like those of an elder. Since they are related to Xingyi, it's easy to guess that it refers to Madam Ji.
Arranged marriages are a common means for large families to consolidate their interests, so it's not surprising that they were arranged to grow their relationship at this age.
Jiang Lin: "You are very smart, beautiful, and highly educated. Your family must be quite well-off. I bet Mrs. Ji likes you very much."
Ding Xuehui said nervously, "We..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ding Xuehui felt a shadow approaching from beside her. Jiang Lin stepped closer and pressed her against a giant tree by the mountain road.
As they closed the distance, Ding Xuehui felt the heat emanating from the other person, and her heart pounded uncontrollably. Although everything was proceeding according to the girl's plan, the young man's close contact was something Ding Xuehui hadn't anticipated.
"Snow Gourd".
A gentle voice from above flowed into Ding Xuehui's heart like a babbling brook, and the girl's cheeks flushed red, making her look as delicate and lovely as a peach.
This time it wasn't an act; she genuinely blushed.
The young man's voice seemed to possess a strange magic, and Ding Xuehui actually wanted to take the initiative to approach him.
Jiang Lin chuckled and toyed with the girl's slender fingers: "Have you and Xingyi ever held hands?"
Before Ding Xuehui could answer, Jiang Lin touched the girl's lips and asked, "Have you two kissed?"
An ambiguous atmosphere gradually enveloped the two. Ding Xuehui lowered her head slightly flustered, not daring to meet Jiang Lin's burning gaze: "We're still getting to know each other, not yet..."
But at that moment, Jiang Lin covered her mouth and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "It's okay, I don't care!"
The young man's voice carried an aggressive tone that wasn't offensive. Ding Xuehui's eyes widened as she felt the warmth of Jiang Lin's palm on her lips. At the same time, she saw her own panicked yet subdued expression reflected in his bright eyes.
Jiang Lin chuckled, said no more, smoothed the girl's hair behind her ear, and turned around calmly: "The evacuation point is opposite the snake cave, at least ten meters away as the crow flies. We could try using ropes or similar tools, but we might be attacked by the snakes. Let's go, we need to find more clues before we can get out."
Ding Xuehui could clearly hear her own heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to explode. She was the one who wanted to seduce Jiang Lin, so why did she feel like she was the one being seduced instead?
Ding Xuehui couldn't help but pinch her thigh. No, she had to stay calm! Clearing the dungeon was the key! Jiang Lin was just a tool she was using!
The girl was unaware that the person who had disturbed her peace of mind had all the tenderness and affection on their face vanish the moment they turned away.
The young man's eyes subtly concealed his anger and murderous intent at having his possessions coveted.
Based on Jiang Lin's understanding of her childhood sweetheart, the blind date might be real, but her sweetheart would absolutely not accept Ji's mother's arrangement.
If there really was something, would Ji Xingyi have the guts to keep it from him?
The girl's use of such vague descriptions was simply an attempt to win him over in the death dungeon and gain more assistance.
"That's a really clumsy method," Jiang Lin thought to himself with a cold laugh.
Ding Xuehui didn't linger for long before quickly catching up: "Should we wait for Wang Zhe and Guo Yuan? They might come."
A warm smile returned to Jiang Lin's face, as if everything that had just happened had vanished without a trace.
"Guo Yuan isn't as simple as you think. He's not a newcomer; he participated in one more death game than any of us. He probably knows far more than he told us. Think back carefully to when Yang Bin had his accident? What was his position?"
"You mean, he knew Yang Bin would die if he provoked the NPC? He was already planning to run away?" Ding Xuehui's face turned very pale in an instant. She remembered that Guo Yuan was the furthest away from Yang Bin at that time.
Jiang Lin: "He might not have been able to guess that Yang Bin would violate the rules of death, but he could definitely sense the danger. He just probably didn't want to remind Yang Bin."
As for the reasons, Jiang Lin doesn't need to elaborate.
Jiang Lin led Ding Xuehui to explore the northwest region of the map. Along the way, they discovered a man-made cobblestone path. Continuing their exploration along the path, they finally discovered a mysterious village hidden deep in the mountains.
The moment they stepped into the thick fog, the two received system notifications.
[System Notification: Congratulations to player Jiang Lin (Ding Xuehui) for completing map exploration.]
Upon opening the game, a third place name appeared on the map—Snake Fairy Village.
Game time: 04:12.
Evacuation point countdown: 6 hours, 27 minutes, and 33 seconds.
At this point, all the previously dark areas on the game map were lit up.
"The old man said the villagers don't like outsiders. If we just go in like this, will we break the rules?" After what happened with Yang Bin, Ding Xuehui became much more cautious with her words.
Jiang Lin shook his head: "The entire map only has three place names marked with text: Snake Fairy Village, Snake Fairy Temple, and Snake Fairy Mountain. One is the spawn point, and the other is the evacuation point. There is definitely important information hidden here."
Of course, there would be no shortage of danger, but for now, Jiang Lin decided not to discourage the girl.
As soon as he finished speaking, the faint sunlight shone down, and the outline of the village appeared and disappeared in the white mist.
Ding Xuehui gazed at the barely brightening sky, her tense nerves relaxing, and murmured softly, "It's finally dawn..."
Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, gazing at the vibrant sunrise, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
Light always gives people the illusion of hope, no matter when.
From the outside, Snake Fairy Village doesn't cover a large area, with an estimated thirty or forty households. Most of the houses are old, single-story buildings filled with haystacks, looking like they were built in the last century. In short, it's a poor village at first glance.
"There are footprints, they belong to Wang Zhe and Guo Yuan." Jiang Lin found two clear sneaker footprints under the locust tree at the village entrance.
The footprints were side-by-side, indicating that the two people entered the village together. Judging from the tracks, they knocked on two doors but didn't go in until they entered a third house. However, there were no footprints of them coming out after they went in.
"Should we go in and take a look?" Ding Xuehui whispered, trying to keep her voice down, afraid of being discovered by the villagers.
Suddenly, a scream from afar shattered the silence of the entire village.
Then came the creaking sound of doors opening one after another. Jiang Lin knew something was wrong and immediately pulled Ding Xuehui back. But then they saw figures appearing on the way back. Without hesitation, Jiang Lin stepped on the pile of firewood by the wall and jumped onto the roof. Then he reached out to Ding Xuehui, and the two of them climbed onto the roof before the villagers appeared.