Chapter 52: The First Date
Taking a few deep breaths, Chen Ge splashed cold water on his face. It took a while before he finally calmed down.
"Time to go."
He pulled out the backpack he had used last time and stuffed Zhang Ya's love letter, a power bank, and a tool hammer inside. Learning from his previous mistake, he slipped a fruit knife directly into his pants pocket and tucked the cloth doll his parents had left him into the inner pocket of his shirt.
It might look a bit bulky and unsightly, but at least it gave him some peace of mind.
Once everything was packed, Chen Ge locked the haunted house gate and hurried out of the amusement park.
It was 12:15 a.m. There were few cars on the road. After waiting another ten minutes, he finally flagged down a taxi at an intersection.
"Near West City Private School. I'm in a hurry, please step on it."
"Sure, hop in." The driver was a straightforward middle-aged man, and the car was playing some DJ music that had been popular a few years back.
The car started moving. Chen Ge sat in the back, quickly pulling out his phone to search for information related to this mission.
As soon as he opened the favorability mission, the first thing that appeared was Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale *The Red Shoes*. He found the original version online and skimmed through it, finding the story rather unsettling.
The tale was about a girl who received a beautiful pair of red shoes. She often wore them to church, and perhaps because she had desecrated the sacred place, she could never take the shoes off again. She was forced to dance endlessly—terrified, helpless, and exhausted. In the end, she begged a woodcutter to chop off her legs. Then came the most chilling part of the entire fairy tale: the severed legs, still wearing the red shoes, hopped away on their own...
"Is this really a fairy tale?" Chen Ge dared not picture that scene in his mind. Tonight's mission was to find Zhang Ya's red shoes.
"When I drew the cursed love letter, the black phone had a description of Zhang Ya: she was wearing a bloodstained school uniform and a pair of red shoes. That was how she looked when she died. Could the fairy tale of *The Red Shoes* be real? Once you put them on, you can never take them off?"
Chen Ge's heart began to race. This mission was different from the others. He was up against a red-clad vengeful spirit with her own dedicated page—a privilege reserved only for the most resentful and ferocious ghosts.
"It seems the red shoes are the key tonight." Chen Ge read the fairy tale a few more times. Its main message was a warning against vanity and a reminder to stay humble and reverent. "The black phone brought up this fairy tale at the start of the mission. What deeper meaning could it have?"
He couldn't figure it out for now, so he exited the page and started searching for information about West City Private School.
The school had only been open for two and a half years before it was shut down, and it had been abandoned for a long time.
As for the reason for its closure, there were all sorts of rumors online. Some said it was due to unreasonable fees, while others claimed it was because of incomplete paperwork.
Chen Ge patiently read through all the information, but the name "Zhang Ya" never appeared once. It was as if she had nothing to do with the school at all.
"Something's off! The truth is definitely not what people are guessing online. There has to be something deeper." Chen Ge stared out the window at the receding streetlights, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of experience could turn a woman into a red-clad vengeful spirit? Where did all that resentment come from? And what does it have to do with the red shoes?"
As Chen Ge was lost in thought, the DJ music in the car suddenly grew louder. Startled, he looked toward the driver's seat and saw the middle-aged man studying him through the rearview mirror.
"Something bothering you? Why the long face at your age?" The driver was the chatty type. He had tried to strike up a conversation when Chen Ge first got in, but Chen Ge had been too busy searching for information to respond much.
"I've run into a lot of things I've never dealt with before lately, so I'm a bit overwhelmed." Chen Ge gave a polite smile and put his phone away.
"Rome wasn't built in a day. Everything will work out. When you're feeling down or stressed, just crank up some upbeat tunes and let loose." The driver tapped his leg to the beat of the music, clearly in a good mood, managing to turn a late-night taxi shift into a midnight joyride. "By the way, what are you doing heading to West City Private School this late? That place is desolate, and there aren't any residential areas around."
Chen Ge hesitated for a moment before finally answering, "Going on a date."
"A date? Going out at this hour for a date?" The driver glanced back at Chen Ge.
"Really. I don't know how to explain it to you. The girl has a bit of a temper and a quirky personality..." Chen Ge tried to make it sound as normal as possible. For a man who had never been on a date before, being invited out by a beautiful woman should be something to be proud of.
"Well, that's great news! What's there to worry about? Afraid she won't like you? But then again, who goes on a date dressed like that? Let me tell you, guys need to put some effort into their appearance too. Look at that backpack—it doesn't match your vibe at all."
The driver rambled on, leaving Chen Ge feeling quite exasperated. Most people went on dates full of joy and anticipation, but his date was a bit more delicate. It wasn't so much a date as it was a life-saving自救 mission under semi-coercion.
"When a guy goes on a date, he can't be stingy. Be a gentleman. Don't ask for her WeChat right away. Listen to what she has to say. In their eyes, the most incurable disease in the world is being a clueless straight guy. First impressions matter..."
Listening to the driver's earnest advice, Chen Ge felt like switching the DJ music in the taxi to "Wedding Dress" just to cool everyone down.
The car sped along, and the surrounding vehicles and buildings grew fewer and fewer. The road narrowed, and the streetlights gradually disappeared.
The scenery outside the window became increasingly desolate, with sparse signs of human life. Patches of forest began to appear on both sides of the road.
"Do we need to go further? There's nothing around here except that school. Are you sure you didn't get the wrong address?" The driver checked his navigation and finally changed the subject.
"No, just drop me off near the school. How much?"
"Nineteen. Pay by phone, if you don't mind. I just started my night shift, so I don't have any change."
"Alright."
Chen Ge reached for his phone, accidentally pulling out the fruit knife from his pocket as well. The folded knife landed on the seat cushion, catching the driver's eye in the rearview mirror.
The DJ music gradually faded. The driver pretended to adjust his grip, but as he picked up his water bottle, his finger subtly tapped a button on his phone.
Chen Ge noticed all these small movements. He gave a wry smile, realizing the driver probably thought he was a carjacker.
"Payment successful." Chen Ge held up his phone and glanced at the driver. "Uncle, are you recording this? Planning to call the police?"
The driver, who had been drinking water, nearly choked. He coughed violently and waved his hands repeatedly.
"I can understand why you'd think that, but..." Chen Ge looked out the window at the eerie silhouette of the school. "I really am here for a date."
Thanks to the reader 20180618173502279 for the generous support!