10:Ogre’s Kitchen

Sen Leian was certain that the person who spilled the spicy hot pot on Chuan Ling was definitely connected to Li Min.

The proposer of the "50th Anniversary Summer Event: Escape Room," Sen Leian, was absent from the after-school meeting. Likewise, Ying Chuan Ling, who proposed the "Ogre's Kitchen" theme, didn't show up either.

The class waited for an hour and a half, and eventually left and went home.

That night, Sen Leian returned home still jealous and upset. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. It was already 10:30 PM, but he still called Chuan Ling.

"Are you asleep?" Sen Leian asked gently.

"I was just lying down, about to sleep," I answered, feeling drowsy.

"Uh… uh… have you thought of the escape room theme details?"

I suddenly jolted awake—Oh no! I completely forgot about the after-school meeting!

"Ah! I forgot to stay after school! You didn't stay either!"

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Sen Leian accused.

"What should we do! What should we do?" My mind went blank.

"I think the ogre theme is great. It fits the current trend," Sen Leian said calmly.

And so… Chuan Ling spent the entire night on the phone with Sen Leian, discussing the details of the "Ogre's Kitchen: Escape Room" game.

The two of them chatted like they did when they were kids, with no topic off limits.

**

The next day…

At 8:30 AM, class officially started. Just then, there was a knock on the classroom door…

"Teacher, these are your class's late students. The discipline officer asked me to bring them back."

Standing at the door were inspector leader Chen Hao'an, Ying Chuan Ling, and Sen Leian. The two had stayed on the phone until the middle of the night. Chuan Ling had grown tired mid-conversation, her voice growing softer and softer until she fell asleep.

Sen Leian never hung up, worried the disconnection tone might wake her.

Chuan Ling clutched her phone and fell into a peaceful sleep…

**

She only realized they were late after waking up! They rushed to school, but by 8:00 AM, even sprinting 100 meters wouldn't help.

Suddenly, someone ran past her even faster…

"Stop right there!" someone shouted ahead.

"Sen Leian, sophomore class 15, late!"

I looked ahead—it was Chen Hao'an! Awesome! I thought maybe he'd let me go since he helped me yesterday.

I walked up nervously, catching Sen Leian's glance…

"Ying Chuan Ling, sophomore class 15, late!" Chen Hao'an barked.

Rubbing my hands together, I pleaded, "Please~ It's only 15 minutes late, come on, give me a break."

"I'm sorry, students Ying Chuan Ling and Sen Leian, come with me," Chen Hao'an said expressionlessly.

We were lectured by the discipline officer. Chen Hao'an then led us back to class, and the whole way, Sen Leian and I wouldn't stop bickering.

"So pitiful, our poor Chuan Chuan got bullied so early in the day," Sen Leian said mockingly and patted my head.

"Ugh, what rotten luck," I mumbled.

"Well, whose fault is it that we stayed up so late?" Sen Leian raised his voice on purpose.

The two inspectors walking ahead turned to look at us. Chen Hao'an kept walking silently.

Then Sen Leian said, "Chuan Chuan, come to my place after school. We can go over everything properly."

"You're the worst, Chuan your head!" I swatted his hand.

Suddenly… Chen Hao'an chuckled.

"Shut up, you dog-faced milkboy," Sen Leian retorted.

Chen Hao'an glanced back at him but said nothing.

When we got to class, we got another lecture from the homeroom teacher. Li Min saw me standing behind Chen Hao'an and immediately greeted me. I looked at her, then at Chen Hao'an, and rolled my eyes.

Back at my seat, the teacher announced that since many students had skipped yesterday's meeting, we had to stay after school again today. No one complained—we really were way behind the other classes.

**

After-school Class Meeting

This time, the teacher asked Sen Leian, who proposed the escape room idea, to act as the lead planner. He walked to the front confidently, put on square black-rimmed glasses, and wrote six large characters on the board:

"Ogre's Kitchen"

"Any suggestions on how to prepare?" Sen Leian asked loudly.

"Me! Me! Let's have lots of zombie nurses!"

"Let's hang skeleton heads from the ceiling!"

"I think we need people to act as ogres!"

"Let's get a real coffin!!"

Everyone turned to look at the student who said that…

It was our class's clever clown—Wu Kaixi.

He loved horror films, detective novels, and criminal investigations. This ogre theme hit all the right spots for him.

Finally, based on votes and volunteer signups, we divided the work into teams:

Lead Planner: Sen Leian

Deputy Planner: Ying Chuan Ling

Game Rules: Qian Xiaoxun, Sen Leian, Ying Chuan Ling, Lin Weiwei

Props Team: Lin Weiwei, Wu Kaixi, Chen Li Min, You Tian

Costume Team: Wu Kaixi, Xie Junhe, Xin Minli

Lighting Team: Zhao Lin, Li Lin, Pan Meimei, Xu Shanshan

All 48 students had roles, and everyone was buzzing with excitement as they brainstormed ideas.

"These people act like they've murdered before—so experienced," Li Min whispered, frowning.

I shook my head. "It's kind of creepy…"

Sen Leian suddenly appeared behind me, jumped on a desk, and shouted, "Do we have confidence, brothers?!"

"Yes!!!" the boys shouted.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! DO WE HAVE CONFIDENCE?!"

"Yes we do!!" the whole class roared.

He repeated this three times—it sounded like we were prepping for war.

"Class 15, sophomore year—we're winning the escape room this year!" Sen Leian roared like a mountain gorilla.

His passion made me laugh. Everyone was so excited to submit the proposal.

After the meeting, I walked out of the classroom and looked up—across the hallway stood Chen Hao'an, hands on his hips, smiling at me. I excitedly waved at him, and he gestured to meet at the school gate. I nodded with an "OK" sign.

We both hurried downstairs and met at the staircase.

"Doing an escape room?" Chen Hao'an asked.

"Yeah! How did you know our plan?" I asked curiously.

"You guys were so loud. Our classes are right across from each other. There's barely anyone at school right now—you were practically shouting."

"Hahaha! Was it that loud? Sen Leian sounded like a gorilla."

"Haha, you guys seem confident."

"Of course! We're in it to win it!"

"Be careful then—we're doing an escape room too this year."

"What! What's your theme?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not telling. It's a battle between enemies now," Chen Hao'an said proudly.

"Bring it on! Class 15 will win for sure!" I said confidently.

Chen Hao'an laughed, almost mockingly.

"You just wait, Chen Hao'an!" I called out.

We walked to the bus stop laughing and chatting. Li Min stayed behind to discuss props with the team.

While waiting for the bus to our neighborhood, we chatted about the other fun summer activities. Then we saw Li Min come out the school gate. I stood up and waved wildly, "Li Min! Over here! Here!!"

My shout echoed in the empty schoolyard and startled her. I ran to her, grabbed her hand, and introduced her to Chen Hao'an.

"This is my world's best BFF, Chen Li Min."

"Li Min, this is Chen Hao'an," I said, pretending they'd never met.

"H-Hello, Chen Hao'an senpai…" Li Min said shyly.

"From now on, you have to treat her well at school!" I told Chen Hao'an.

He nodded with a goofy smile.

Li Min looked really happy too—finally getting to talk to Chen Hao'an. After a while, the bus came, and the three of us got on together.

Chen Hao'an walked ahead. Li Min sped up and sat next to him. My brain froze for a second.

"Uh… I'll sit in the back," I said awkwardly.

Li Min nodded.

I sat at the very back and watched them laughing up front. I was genuinely happy for her—she finally got close to her crush. But strangely, I felt a little lonely. I missed having my best friend next to me.

We got off at our neighborhood stop. As I looked back at the bus, I saw Li Min glaring at me with a fierce expression. I shivered—I'd never seen her like that before. To me, she'd always been warm, especially to me.

"What's wrong?" Chen Hao'an patted my shoulder.

I snapped out of it. "Oh… nothing," I said slowly.

**

By Monday, we had spent a whole week planning and submitted everything confidently. Monday was the big reveal of each class's event! The real battle had begun!

"The announcement of events for the 50th Anniversary Summer Festival starts now," the principal said.

The students below the stage clapped and cheered so loudly—it was clear how excited everyone was.

Grade 7 Class 1: Handmade lemonade booth

Grade 7 Class 2: Hide-and-seek on the basketball court

"They're crazy—who picks hide-and-seek?"

"Apparently, they have several gymnastics and hurdle champs in that class. You know Liu Yan, that super hot guy? He's a hurdle champ too."

"OMG! That's so unfair! Hot and talented? I want to be pursued too!" students whispered below the stage.

Grade 11 Class 14: Javelin throwing

"What javelin throwing?" a student from our class asked the Class 14 students nearby.

"Darts—but with javelins," the other student replied.

"WTF! That's intense!" our boys gasped.

"Come challenge us," the other boy raised his brow provocatively.

"The last 20 classes haven't been announced yet, because their events are all…"

"Escape room! Escape room! Escape room!"

"Now… I'm going to announce… the only class selected!!" The principal held the list high above his head.

"Who do you think won the special privilege this time?" he asked the crowd.

"Class 8, Grade 1!"

"Class 1, senior 3!"

"Class 6, senior 3!"

"Class 15, senior 2!"

"Class 7, senior 3!"

Supporters from each class shouted passionately.

"I hereby announce—"

"For this year's 50th Anniversary Summer Festival—"

"The escape room will be hosted by…"

"By…"

"By...…"

"Hurry up, Principal!" students shouted from below the stage.

"The Escape Room will be hosted by—Class 15, Senior 2!!"

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Our class screamed with joy!

I jumped up and threw my arms around Sen Lei'an in excitement.

He immediately lifted me up into the air!

"Class 15! Class 15! Class 15!" we all shouted together.

Even our homeroom teacher stood at the side, clapping with all his strength.

Meanwhile,

Patrolling the event, Chen Hao'an, head of the disciplinary team, looked toward the celebration.

He watched Chuan Ling throw herself into Sen Lei'an's arms and let out a small laugh.

Seeing how excited and happy she was, he knew—Chuan Ling must have worked hard for this.

"Wow!" the principal exclaimed on stage.

Everyone looked up.

"Who came up with this idea?" the principal glanced at the list, intrigued.

"Do you all want to know the escape room theme?" he asked with a dramatic tone, waving the list.

"Yes! What's the theme?!" Students from every class shouted eagerly.

"The theme this time is quite something!" the principal laughed.

"Class 15's theme is—'The Ogre's Kitchen!'"

"Whoa!!!" the crowd gasped, shocked and excited.

"I heard it was a girl from Class 15 named Ying Chuan Ling who came up with it. Didn't expect such a small girl to be so intense," said Deputy Inspector Haoran, standing beside Hao'an.

"Really?" Chen Hao'an chuckled.

"What are you grinning at? That smile looks kinda suspicious," Haoran nudged him.

"It's nothing. Now get back to crowd control, the event's ending," Hao'an ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Haoran saluted playfully and retreated.

[Bonus Scene]

Later, while waiting at the bus stop, Chuan Ling turned to Chen Hao'an and said,

"I have a bestie who really wants to meet you. Could you be friends with her?"

Chen Hao'an looked curious. "Who is it?"

After Chuan Ling went on and on praising her friend like she was a goddess,

Hao'an suddenly recalled that there was always a tanned girl beside Chuan Ling.

"Must be her," he thought.

Under Chuan Ling's persistent pleading, Chen Hao'an finally agreed—

On one condition.

She had to accompany him to a banquet.

It was the annual charity banquet hosted by his father's hospital,

A grand event held every year to raise funds for building schools and hospitals in poor mountainous regions.

Upon hearing the cause, Chuan Ling was interested and wanted to attend.

But then—Chen Hao'an added,

"You have to go as my official date."

"Why should I be your date?" I asked, confused.

"As the eldest son of the Chen family, I need to bring a proper date to formal events."

"What do you mean by 'proper date'? Like… like… a girlfriend?!"

"Hahaha! Dream on! You think I'd want you as my girlfriend?"

"How dare you look down on me!"

"I said date! Like a banquet partner!"

"Ohhh—so you're into one-night stands?" I gasped, covering my mouth.

"What the heck is going on in that head of yours?!" Chen Hao'an was in disbelief.

We both burst into laughter.

"If you don't come, my date's gonna be my sister again this year… it's sooo boring," he said pitifully.

"Fine, fine! I'll go. But just for the banquet, okay?!" I warned him again and again.

"Pinky promise?" he grinned.

"Wow, a grown man still doing pinky promises…" I reluctantly hooked fingers with him.