While the survivors might get dragged off to the slaughterhouse at night, they still had to play dress-up and sit in classrooms like ordinary students during the day. Most of them were completely drained, nodding off and barely keeping their eyes open.
Xia Miao, however, was full of energy. Of course, she wasn’t exactly a model student paying attention to the lecture; instead, she kept pulling out a small pocket mirror, soothing herself with her own peerless beauty to get through the tedious, boring class hours.
Once the bell rang, her deskmate pulled her aside and said, “Miao-miao, we need to head to our club activities now.”
Xia Miao blinked, momentarily blanking out. “Club activities?”
“Yeah! Didn’t we join the journalism club together?”
Her deskmate was a cute girl with a round face named Fang Ke’ai. Judging by her words and actions, Xia Miao’s character setting in this world was presumably her good friend, and the two of them had joined some sort of journalism club.
After a brief, sluggish delay in processing, Xia Miao stood up alongside Fang Ke’ai. “Oh, right, I remember now. We do have club stuff today.”
Among the students were both survivors and NPCs. Many of the survivors would suddenly find themselves saddled with specific background settings imposed by the NPCs. Word had it that a survivor had once gone against their assigned character profile, and their body had literally popped like a balloon right on the spot. Ever since then, all the survivors learned that they had to strictly maintain their assigned personas.
This, too, was a crucial gameplay mechanic within the role-playing setup.
Lin Gaoshan had been keeping a close eye on Xia Miao’s movements. He had heard that a few nights ago, Xia Miao had once again entered the game ruled by the headless female entity. A lot of people had died that night, yet she had somehow walked away completely unscathed and alive!
It just didn’t make any sense!
Lin Gaoshan firmly believed Xia Miao must be hiding some kind of special, life-saving item; otherwise, there was no way a petite woman like her could possibly survive these trials.
After all, it wasn’t like the monsters were going to spare her just because they fell for her beauty!
Seeing Xia Miao walk out of the classroom, Lin Gaoshan immediately jumped up to follow, but another male student stepped over to block his path.
“Lin Gaoshan, it’s our turn to clean the restrooms together today. Where do you think you’re going?”
Hearing that, Lin Gaoshan’s face turned pitch black.
“The school anniversary is coming up soon, so we need to put together a video presentation to properly showcase our campus. I’ll handle the copywriting, but you’re in charge of taking the photos and shooting the video footage.”
Following Fang Ke’ai to the multi-purpose building’s activity room, Xia Miao took the camera handed over by her friend. She nodded and asked, “So, which spots should I focus on filming?”
Fang Ke’ai thought about it for a moment before replying, “Just film some of the most distinctive places around our school—areas that leave a lasting impression and really represent what we’re about would be best.”
Xia Miao wasn’t the least bit familiar with this school; how on earth was she supposed to know what to film?
However, Fang Ke’ai had her own tasks to busy herself with and didn’t offer any extra hints. She was playing her role as a quest-dispensing NPC to perfection.
Deciding to start looking nearby, Xia Miao wandered around the multi-purpose building. When she reached the very end of the fourth floor, she heard strange noises echoing from behind a nearby door.
She stopped in her tracks and looked over with a curious gaze.
The door shook even more violently. Suddenly, it was burst open by something from within, and a dark tide of rats came surging out, creating a truly terrifying spectacle.
Xia Miao instinctively stepped backward. Just as her back was about to hit the wall, an arm swung out behind her to catch her momentum, scooping her straight into the boy’s embrace.
At the same time, the boy lifted his lifeless, dreary eyes and snapped, “Get lost!”
The dense, sea-like swarm of black rats didn’t dare come anywhere near where the boy stood. As sudden as their arrival had been, they abruptly scrambled up the walls, leaped out the windows, and vanished just as quickly.
Before Xia Miao could snap out of her daze and process what had happened, Lu Yan patted her cheek. “Are you scared out of your wits?”
He still hadn’t figured out how to control his strength, so Xia Miao heard two sharp slaps. A stinging pain bloomed on her cheek, prompting her to throw a punch straight at his face without a second thought. However, Lu Yan caught her fist with lightning speed.
He looked immensely pleased with himself. “I’ve already let you hit me twice—do you really think I’m stupid enough to let you hit me a third time?”
Xia Miao smiled and lifted her foot. Instantly, Lu Yan brought his feet together, clutching an unspeakable area as he winced in pain, his face contorting.
“Xia Miao, have you lost your mind?!”
Xia Miao replied, > “Minus two points.”
They were only at eight points to begin with, and just like that, two points were docked!
He pressed his lips tightly together, not daring to utter another word.
Xia Miao crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and let out a huffy, > “Hmph. But seeing as you showed up just in time to play the hero saving the damsel in distress, I’ll add ten points.”
The person who had looked utterly gloomy just a second ago suddenly lit up with radiance. > “I have sixteen points now!”
Xia Miao gave a reserved, > “Mmm.”
He was beside himself with joy when a brilliant idea for gaining even more points crossed his mind. The pupils in his eyes darted around mischievously—one look was all it took to know he was up to no good.
Xia Miao pointed straight at him. > “If you dare deliberately put me in danger just to play the hero and save me again, and I catch you… that’s a minus one hundred points!”
The swagger that had just started to build up in him instantly vanished. He cast her a guilty, sideways glance and muttered, > “I’m not that bored.”
Ignoring him, Xia Miao picked up the camera and headed toward the rooftop.
Lu Yan trailed closely behind her, hands shoved deep into his pockets, putting on that haughty, “I don’t care about anyone” swagger. Yet, his eyes kept stubbornly drifting toward Xia Miao’s lips. Whenever she sensed it and looked back, he would instantly yank his gaze away. But the moment she turned to face forward again, his eyes would glue themselves right back onto her.
Finally pushed past her breaking point, Xia Miao stopped on the staircase, spun around, and glared at him. > “What on earth do you want?”
Lu Yan looked like he had just been caught red-handed. His entire body went rigid, and his blustering, all-bark-no-bite facade crumbled once more. > “What do I want? You don’t actually think I want you to kiss me again, do you? Surely not, right? Ha, absolutely laughable! How can a woman like you be so full of herself?!”
Xia Miao remained completely expressionless, watching his performance in silence.
As if catching on a beat too late, a sense of awkwardness finally washed over him. His proud, chest-out posture slowly deflated into a slouch. His hands grabbed frantically at the drawstring of his hoodie, trembling as he pulled it tight, letting the hood conceal his bandage-wrapped face entirely.
It was a rather comical sight.
Xia Miao cleared her throat. > “Come here.”
He peered out through the gap in the hood, his eyes devoid of any highlight, gazing at her as if from the shadows.
Xia Miao pressed her lips together and stamped her foot in frustration. > “Idiot, don’t make me say it a second time. I’m feeling pretty awkward here, too!”
Realization dawning on him, his eyes lit up. He hurried up two steps until he stood right in front of her.
Xia Miao reached out, loosening the tightly drawn hood to set his face free. When her fingers brushed against the bandages on his cheek, the soft texture of the gauze seemed to lend her a bit of courage.
Lu Yan cooperatively bent down, his eager, puppy-dog expression practically begging Xia Miao to take liberties with him. Suddenly, without warning, Xia Miao swiftly yanked open the gap in the bandages, and the very second his lips were exposed to the open air, she stood on her tiptoes and lunged forward.
And I mean a literal “lunging” crash.
After all, neither of them had any experience; every action was driven purely by a hormonal impulse.
She bumped right into his jagged teeth and frowned. > “Ow, that hurts! I’m not kissing you anymore!”
The boy panicked, quickly reaching out to place a hand on the back of her head. Right as she tried to pull away, he applied a firm pressure and pressed her right back in.
Their lips met, their chaotic breaths blending together. Neither of them knew to close their eyes, locking wide-eyed stares with one another until they both flushed red, hearts hammering away, feeling as though their entire bodies were about to go up in flames.
A moment later, a startled girl’s voice echoed through the stairwell: > “You used your tongue! Minus ten points!”