Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 293 - 217 Little Surprise_1

Chapter 293: Chapter 217 Little Surprise_1

Feng Chi had been rather loose with his spending lately and was feeling a bit strapped for cash.

The inheritance from the old man hadn’t come through yet, and to maintain appearances—achieving neither fame nor success—he had been essentially living off his parents.

Spotting Hao Zi’s gift box reminded Feng Chi of the watch he had bought for Feng Yi.

Some time ago, he had been incensed by online chatter about Feng Yi’s down-and-out situation and impulsively ordered an exorbitantly expensive watch to bolster Feng Yi’s image—a watch more costly than many luxury cars.

The watch was custom-made, and some of its processes were still unfinished, so he had not yet gotten his hands on it.

Lately, he had been preoccupied with his brilliant idea, and the matter of the watch had slipped his mind until the sight of the gift jogged his memory.

It also reminded him of his dwindling finances.

He used to lend money out quite freely, but there was little hope of it coming back.

He had thought that if Hao Zi was in urgent need of cash, he would have to lend a hand no matter what. Phew, thankfully it was just a false alarm.

Before they could chat more, another guest arrived.

Within half an hour, all of Feng Chi’s invitees had arrived.

When it came to eating, drinking, and having fun, these guys were always punctual.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Where’s the grill? Let’s get the barbecue started! I’m starving. I got dragged by my dad to help out and haven’t had a bite since this afternoon, only a cup of tea in between—some wellness tea of my dad’s."

The young man speaking walked into the house, grabbed a biscuit from the box on the table, popped it in his mouth, and then rummaged through the fridge for a bottle of sparkling water.

These guys were the kind of close friends who shared everything; they got along well, were familiar with each other, and didn’t stand on ceremony, treating the place as if it were their own. After all, there were only acquaintances in the house right now, so they felt at ease.

Feng Chi laughed at the comment: "Starting on wellness trends in your early twenties?"

The others joined in the teasing:

"Let’s have loquat cocktails with fritillaria, chrysanthemum, goji berries, and barbecue, go!"

"Stay up all night! Hit the clubs!"

"Punk wellness! Supreme in every way!"

The air was filled with a foolish vitality.

But soon, someone shifted focus to the real reason for today’s gathering.

"A’chi, you called us over in such a hurry, it’s not just for a meal, right? What else have you planned? Spit it out!"

"You also made a point of saying no minors, so what are you showing us? Do you have some treasures hidden away?"

Feng Chi didn’t answer directly and instead said, "I’ve prepared a little surprise for you all!"

"What surprise? Where is it? How small is it?"

The person who had just seated himself stood up and began looking around.

Feng Chi, with a mysterious smile, wagged his finger, "I can’t say, I can’t say, you have to find out for yourselves. Let’s go to the backyard to barbecue!"

The group, too familiar with each other, felt a mix of curiosity and caution when Feng Chi mentioned a "surprise."

They suspected he was up to another of his tricks.

But glancing around, they saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Didn’t you say the house had been renovated? The changes inside don’t seem that big. It looked like this when I came last time," one person noted.

"Only minor adjustments were made inside; the main changes weren’t significant. The real renovation was in the backyard—the garden had been overhauled because it had grown too wild from being unattended for so long," said Feng Chi, his tone seemingly nonchalant but tinged with pride.

"I noticed when I arrived—your plants and bushes seem normal, but the trees are crazy wild. I hadn’t paid attention before, but there are a few types of plants that look really domineering. I’ve never seen them before."

"Of course, it wasn’t easy to get them!" Feng Chi said.

They were the hard-to-come-by faux prehistoric plants he had gathered! All for the sake of the scenery, to create the atmosphere!

"What species? I’ll buy some for my grandparents; they like that sort of thing."

"...I don’t know, I forgot. Hey, why talk about this now? Come on, the meat’s ready, who said they were hungry? Eat, eat, eat!" Feng Chi urged everyone to dig in.

Being full from eating tends to lower your guard, and discovering something inadvertently would have an even better effect.

"This house isn’t bad; it’s not huge inside, but the yard is spacious. This property was a gift from the old man when you came of age, wasn’t it?" someone asked.

When they arrived, they saw some had turned their yards into children’s playgrounds or built large swimming pools. Feng Chi’s place had a backyard garden style, only with fewer flowers and more trees.

Some were preoccupied with the promised surprise, others just focused on eating, and some coveted the residences in this neighborhood.

Hao Zi didn’t stick with them. After a while at the barbecue, he got up and went off with his girlfriend to walk around the garden.

The weather in Yang City had been quite pleasant recently, with comfortable temperatures, and it didn’t feel chilly even at night.

The breeze came and went but was not strong.

"Isn’t this garden a bit over-planted? The sunlight would be blocked by the tree branches during the day, wouldn’t it? There are too many trees and leaves obstructing the view."

"Is it bad to obstruct the view~" Hao Zi’s voice echoed playfully.

"I’m being serious! Don’t you think this garden is... a bit eerie?"

"It’s alright, pretty stylish. Don’t you feel it has a special primitive and retro vibe?"

"Does it?"

The young couple playfully bantered as they walked at a leisurely pace.

"Wait! Did you hear that?" The girlfriend suddenly stopped.

"Hear what?" Hao Zi hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings.

"It sounded like something crawling... that kind of noise, and a hissing sound! It’s getting closer!"

"Seems like it, maybe the wind? The plants here are too dense, and the leaves are making..."

A rustling sound came from above—the scraping of branches and leaves.

They looked up, following the sound.

Next to them, a large snake’s head peeked out from behind a wide leaf.

The garden lights, fragmented by the leaves, were cast dispersedly into the woods.

The details were unclear, but they could make out the foreboding silhouette of the "creature" and the dim pattern in the faint light.

With a chilling hiss, the beast in front of him opened its gaping maw...

"Ahhhh—"

A woman’s scream, filled with endless terror, sounded exceptionally mournful in the quiet night.

Haor’s girlfriend lifted her foot to run; the two had been holding hands, leaving Haor standing still, completely unresponsive. With that tug, he toppled straight to the ground.

At the sight of the "beast," Haor was utterly petrified, his feet rooted to the spot, unable to run or cry out, having lost his voice completely. He felt numb, as if his soul had left this world.

The pull and fall didn’t snap him back to reality.

Instead, he stopped struggling.

The hissing and crawling sounds followed like a shadow, seemingly chasing right behind him, coming closer and closer, sounding like they were right next to his ear.

In a daze, it felt as if even the wind carried a cold breath.

Haor fell and didn’t react; his girlfriend, unable to drag him, became even more panicked, throwing her phone at the serpent’s head with a scream.

Bang!

...

Huh?

Her footsteps, ready to run for help, halted.

That sound... It didn’t seem right.

Reason slowly returning, she mustered her courage and quickly turned back.

The "beast" remained where it had been.

Looking again.

The "beast"’s gaping maw slowly closed.

Then, slowly, it opened again.

And closed once more.

"..."

Over there, the group having a barbecue heard the scream and hurried over to see what had happened.

Feng Chi trailed at the end, wanting to see everyone’s reactions to the "little surprise."

The ones who arrived and saw Haor lying on the ground rushed over.

"Haor! Haor, what happened to you?"

Seeing Haor’s dazed expression, they turned to his girlfriend.

Haor’s girlfriend had just picked up her phone, expressionless; she pointed at a spot above.

The others looked up.

"Holy shit! I swear..."

Being accustomed to extreme sports and prank games, and seeing Haor’s girlfriend standing there calmly, they quickly realized the "beast" was fake.

But they were still startled at first sight.

"Feng Chi!! Is this your ’little surprise’?!!"

As they were speaking, the doorbell rang.

One of them said, "I’ll go open the door."

And take the opportunity to use the toilet; drank too much water, and almost pissed myself from the scare just now.

Outside the front door, the nearby residents, alarmed by the scream, arrived looking worried.

They came together to see what was happening, some with their phones in hand, numbers dialed and ready to call the police,

ringing the doorbell and knocking for quite some time before someone answered.

The young man who opened the door appeared dazed with lingering fright, as well as some contradictory and strange complex emotions.

The leading resident asked, "What’s going on here? I just heard a girl screaming!"

The young man shook his head: "It’s nothing, a misunderstanding! We were just playing a game."

No sooner had he spoken, than another shout rang out from the garden, this time a young man’s voice, so loud it seemed he might split in half.

The residents’ skeptical gazes swept over in unison.

"Would it be alright for us to have a look inside?"

The request was polite, but the action was quite forceful.

They pushed past the young man at the door and moved toward the source of the noise.

In the same neighborhood, their own children had just been running at the doorstep; with a series of shocking incidents recently reported online, they were concerned about their living environment and their families’ safety.

Of course, a misunderstanding would be best, and they were willing to apologize afterward.

A few homeowners arrived in the backyard, only to see—

Haor, having regained his composure, was grabbing Feng Chi by the neck, yelling, "You actually pulled this stunt! You could scare someone to death!!"

Their friends came forward to calm him down, "Don’t be agitated! Calm down, Haor!"

Haor angrily said, "What if I really got scared stiff, where will you find Ganoderma to save me!!"

Feng Chi retorted slyly, "It’s not that exaggerated! You haven’t collapsed from fear during extreme sports!"

Listening to his heart pounding like a drum, Haor retorted, "How is that the same! I’m deathly afraid of snakes! I’m terrified of them!"

"You used to brag about catching pythons to brew in wine at our gatherings!"

"Can’t I boast a little!"

"Then why didn’t you run just now?"

"I wanted to, but my legs wouldn’t move! Besides, at that distance, if it had been alive, what good would running do? I would have been a goner!"