She saw that the "ghost's" hand was wrinkled skin covered with sticky stuff. Although fake, it truly looked disgusting and terrifying.
"Do you dare to challenge its true identity?" Lin Yifan asked.
"No, I fear it would leave a deep impression on me." Zhou Jiajia answered, her face filled with panic.
"How about this? I will move it up bit by bit, and if it gets to where you can't handle it, you just close your eyes, and we will leave immediately, okay?" Lin Yifan asked.
Helping the timid to overcome psychological fears isn't achieved in one fell swoop; instead, they must be allowed to gradually accept and adapt to the things they are afraid of, ultimately reaching the goal of conquering their fear.
The proposal was not bad, and Zhou Jiajia also wanted to try and see if she could accept the appearance of the fake ghost, so she replied, "Okay, but you must not move too quickly."
"No problem, I'll listen to you," Lin Yifan gently said, and then slowly moved his hands upward.
An Qi watched this scene and suddenly felt a bit of admiration; if it were her method, she would have made Zhou Jiajia directly confront her fears, which most likely would not have been successful and could have even affected their relationship; thus, Lin Yifan's method of letting those who are afraid slowly accept their fears was really great.
Now, she saw another warm side of Lin Yifan, which made her like him more and more, to the point where she could not help herself.
"A huge sense of security, the warm protection, the gentle care, it's just a pity that the damn marriage agreement means I can only watch you from a distance." At that moment, An Qi's feelings were very complicated.
She realized that she truly had fallen for Lin Yifan; she also finally understood why she was extremely against Lin Yifan getting close to other women; it was because she was jealous, intensely jealous, deep in jealousy.
On the other side, as Lin Yifan's hands slowly moved up, Zhou Jiajia gradually saw the "ghost's" chin, then the teeth and the mouth, followed by the nose.
The part of the face below the eyes, she could still accept; although she was somewhat afraid, she managed to overcome it. However, as it almost reached the eyes, she suddenly called a stop.
"Wait! Let me adjust my breathing, calm my emotions."
Clearly, she was very afraid of the ghost's eyes; because the eyes are the windows to the soul, and when making eye contact with a ghost, she could feel the fear erupting from the ghost's heart.
Lin Yifan stopped moving, waiting for Zhou Jiajia to calm her emotions.
After taking a few deep breaths, Zhou Jiajia touched her chest with her hand to dispel the fear in her heart.
A minute later, Zhou Jiajia's tense and fearful mood had gradually calmed down; then, she spoke, "I'm okay now, continue moving it up."
One hand tightly grasped An Qi's hand, while the other was clenched into a fist, clearly struggling to endure the fear inside.
An Qi distinctly felt Zhou Jiajia's fear and placed her other hand on top of Zhou Jiajia's right hand, offering a bit of encouragement.
As Lin Yifan's hands moved up, Zhou Jiajia gradually saw the "ghost's" eye bags, and then the eyes.
At that moment, her breathing accelerated, her body shook, and her heart was filled with panic; after enduring for five seconds, she suddenly shouted, "Ah!!! I can't do it! I can't do it!"
Lin Yifan quickly covered the "ghost's" eyes to prevent Zhou Jiajia from seeing it. At that moment, he really wanted to rush over and hold Zhou Jiajia in his arms to comfort her frightened soul.
But he knew that An Qi would definitely push him away if he did so, so he forcibly restrained himself, after all, their relationship could not yet be made public.
On the other hand, An Qi fulfilled Lin Yifan's wish by taking Zhou Jiajia into her arms and continuously comforting her, "Jiajia, don't be afraid! We're here for you. No demons or goblins will dare to come close."
However, Zhou Jiajia was still trembling all over, extremely afraid, and the fear in her heart had not lessened at all.
Seeing this, Lin Yifan took off his jacket, then walked over and draped it over Zhou Jiajia's shoulders; next, he hugged both An Qi and Zhou Jiajia in his arms; afterwards, he said to Zhou Jiajia, "Don't be afraid! I'm here, everything's going to be alright."
The reason he also hugged An Qi was that he had no other choice; he wanted to comfort Zhou Jiajia and provide warmth, and he had to do it this way.
Lin Yifan's broad arms and chest brought immense warmth and a sense of security to Zhou Jiajia and An Qi.
Once again embraced by Lin Yifan, An Qi was overjoyed inside, feeling very sweet, "It's still the familiar scent, the original smell."
On the other hand, with this great warmth, Zhou Jiajia's tense and frightened emotions gradually stabilized. The warmth was comforting, warming her cold and fearful inner world in an instant. If An Qi weren't there, she would definitely throw herself without hesitation into Lin Yifan's arms to enjoy that meticulous consolation.
After ten minutes, Zhou Jiajia's emotions finally stabilized; then she spoke up, "Alright, I'm fine now, let's continue on our way."
"No, Jiajia, let's just get out of here," An Qi suggested.
Although Zhou Jiajia said she was fine, in her heart she was actually very scared; so with Zhou Jiajia so frightened, how could An Qi dare to take her further inside; because the Haunted House would become scarier the deeper one went.
"I'm really not scared anymore," Zhou Jiajia replied.
In fact, she did not want to dampen the spirits of An Qi and Lin Yifan, which is why she said that.
"Really? Jiajia, don't force yourself; I don't need to see the ghosts inside," An Qi said.
"Yeah! Don't force yourself," Lin Yifan also joined in to persuade her.
"It's okay, I've seen what the ghost looks like already, what else is there to be afraid of? Let's go, we shouldn't waste time," Zhou Jiajia urged.
She wanted to end this journey quickly and escape.
"Alright then! Let's start moving. Jiajia, I'll let you know in advance, it will get scarier inside the haunted house, just remember to keep your eyes closed," An Qi reminded her.
Hearing An Qi say this, Zhou Jiajia, who had just stabilized her heart, became nervous and frightened again. How much scarier could the scarier things be?
But having spoken, she couldn't take her words back; and with Lin Yifan there, she also felt much more reassured, so she said, "OK! I'll be careful."
Lin Yifan knew that Zhou Jiajia was just pretending to be calm, so he stood behind her, encouraging her, "I'll be behind you all the way to protect you, don't be afraid and walk boldly forward."
"Mhm! Got it, thank you, Mr. Lin," Zhou Jiajia expressed her gratitude.