Dusk was a time of widespread panic, because once darkness fell, no one knew if they would be dragged into the next brutal game.
Today was an exception, however, because everyone was busy dodging terrifying black rats. Rumor had it that all sorts of chilly, dark corners around the campus were infested with these corpse-eating rodents, and a single bite from one would infect a person with a horrific plague.
Yet the rats that usually lurked in the shadows had suddenly come bolting out into the open, and nobody knew why.
Consequently, the cafeteria at dinnertime was completely deserted, save for two figures sitting alone in a corner.
“Here, I’ve already added myself to your contacts. If you want to find me later, just tap here to reach me,” Xia Miao said, sliding a Banana-brand phone into his hand and showing him how it worked. “Conditions here aren’t great, so I had to buy you a second-hand one for now. Once we get out of here, I’ll buy you a much better phone.”
Holding the cold “iron block” in both hands, Lu Yan stared blankly at the contact on the screen. The profile picture was a photo of the exact bundle of claw-flowers he had given her. Then, he looked at the contact’s display name; even though he didn’t know many characters, he still sensed something was wrong.
“These two characters aren’t your name.”
Xia Miao was completely unfazed. “Since I’m the one you’re trying to court, wouldn’t it feel way too distant if your nickname for me was just my regular name? So, being thoughtful, I went ahead and changed the remarks for you.”
Lu Yan stared fixedly at one of the two characters he actually recognized. “Zu [Ancestor]?”
“It’s Zuzong [Great-Ancestor].”
Lu Yan froze for a second, then instantly bristled like an angry cat. “Hey, have you got a death wish?!”
Without blinking, Xia Miao shoved a piece of meat into her mouth and calmly stated, “Profanity. Minus one point.”
Lu Yan glared furiously with both eyes. A moment later, realizing he couldn’t beat her and couldn’t scold her either—and that he was only torturing himself—he let out a heavy “Hmph,” grabbed his dinner tray and chopsticks, and a bloody, cavernous maw opened up right through the gaps in his bandages. With a loud shua la, he shoveled all the food into his mouth in a matter of seconds.
Xia Miao stared at him in a daze.
When she ate, her movements were graceful and poised. Her posture was straight, her grip on the chopsticks dainty, and once the food was in her mouth, she would keep her lips tightly closed, chewing in tiny, delicate bites before finally swallowing.
Compared to her, the way he devoured his food looked like an uncivilized wild beast.
A belated wave of bizarre embarrassment washed over Lu Yan.
Lowering his head, he glanced down at the chopsticks gripped awkwardly in his five fingers, feeling as though he were holding a hot potato. He set the chopsticks down, rested both hands on his knees, and hung his head even lower, using only the corner of his eye to steal glances in her direction.
Suddenly, meat and green vegetables were placed into his empty tray.
“I can’t finish all this. Help me eat some of it.”
Lu Yan raised his eyes, staring unblinkingly.
Xia Miao moved a bit closer to him, practically pressing against his side. Lifting her chin, she looked up at him with smiling, curved eyes and a radiant grin. “You eat a lot, and I eat a little. Looked at that way, when it comes to food, the two of us complement each other pretty well. Plus ten points!”
Lu Yan tilted his head. “Why are you giving me points?”
“Because heaven is hinting that we might be a match made in heaven! To celebrate, plus ten points!”
A glint of light flickered across his deadpan fish-eyes. “We’re a match made in heaven?”
Xia Miao corrected him, “It’s only a possibility. You’re still a long way off from a hundred points, and you haven’t successfully courted me yet.”
Stabbing a piece of meat with his chopstick and shoving it into his mouth, he muttered indistinctly, “I’m definitely going to court you successfully.”
The youth’s competitive spirit blazed fiercely, burning like a raging fire as though he were treating her like his ultimate arch-nemesis. Beneath the table, however, his hand stealthily brushed against her fingers. Discovering that she showed no sign of rejection, he inched his way up along her finger bit by bit until he finally gripped her hand completely.
The warm touch sent his heart fluttering wildly out of control once again.
It felt almost like self-torture.
Yet the very next instant, the girl’s fingers slid in between his, interlocking with his hand.
Once more, black smoke began to seep from his bandages.
A piece of meat skewered on his chopstick dropped onto the table. Disdaining the uncooperative chopsticks entirely, he simply used his bare hand to snatch the meat off the table and was about to shove it into his mouth when Xia Miao slapped his hand away.
“Anything that falls out of the bowl is dirty. You are not allowed to eat it!”
Lu Yan had a strange obsession with food. Staring at the meat that had fallen on the ground, he glared angrily at Xia Miao. “Do you think I wouldn’t dare to hi—”
His hand was caught by the girl. Pulling a tissue from her pocket, she began wiping away the grease smudged on his hand. Her movements were feather-light, sending a ticklish sensation that made his scalp tingle and his entire body squirm with discomfort.
A spark of light flickered in the youth’s eyes. Lowering his head, his gaze glued itself to her face, utterly failing to understand why he was suddenly acting as shy and awkward as a newlywed bride.
Suddenly lifting her chin, Xia Miao asked, “What was that you were saying about what you didn’t think you’d dare to do?”
Swallowing instinctively for no good reason, Lu Yan shrank his neck back a fraction and stammered, “Y-You… don’t you think I wouldn’t dare kiss you.”
As if suddenly finding an excuse, he abruptly lowered his head to kiss her, only to be blocked by her hand. The next instant, she shoved his face away without a shred of politeness.
“Get away from me!”
Lu Yan’s eyes widened. “You won’t let me kiss you?!”
“You just finished eating! You’re filthy, absolutely no kissing!”
Beneath his bandages, his face puffed up in rebellious protest.
Night was about to fall, and a new round of games was about to begin.
The headless woman was still searching everywhere in the dirt, hunting for her own head.
The conjoined twin brothers each cradled a large bag of red fruit juice to replenish their energy for tonight’s activities.
The old gardener had been busy all day and finally found some time to sit back in the lounge chair beneath the tree, sipping herbal tea in absolute contentment.
The conjoined older brother suddenly remarked, “Where has Lu Yan gone off to mess around this time?”
The conjoined younger brother chimed in, “Right? Haven’t laid eyes on him the entire day.”
Conjoined older brother: “Don’t tell me that idiot went off to play some romance game again?”
Conjoined younger brother: “No way. You mean he still hasn’t killed that woman?”
The old gardener spoke up, “He’s back.”
The bandaged boy skipped along with a light step, humming a tune with no particular melody. Seeing a flower by the roadside, he even gave it a few kicks in high spirits.
As he passed the headless woman’s spot, he suddenly let out an “Oh!” Patting his pocket, he fished out a piece of chocolate. “The candy Miaomiao gave me almost fell out!”
The headless woman, rummaging for her head, straightened up and stood there blankly facing the boy’s direction.
Walking a few more steps to where the conjoined twin brothers were, Lu Yan acted as if he had grown tired of walking. He halted, raised his hand, and deliberately waved it back and forth right in front of the pair.
“Miaomiao specially wiped my hand until it was sparkling clean. She really knows how to put me on a pedestal!”
The conjoined brothers exchanged a blank look.
Finally, reaching the tree where the old gardener was enjoying the breeze, Lu Yan jammed a hand straight into his own torso and rummaged around until he pulled out a mobile phone. Raising it in an exaggerated display, he crowed, “Ugh, we literally just parted ways a moment ago, yet that woman is already using the phone she gave me to text me how much she misses me. So annoying!”
The old gardener chuckled a raspy, “Heh heh heh.”
Stuffing the phone—which wasn’t even lit up—back into his body, Lu Yan cast a sidelong glance at his coworkers. Wearing an arrogant expression that bore a seven-to-eight-part resemblance to Xia Miao’s haughty demeanor, he beamed with smug triumph while spouting utter hypocrisy:
“I really envy you guys. Nobody likes you, unlike me, who’s relentlessly adored by a girl utterly obsessed with me. She comes buzzing around to pester me every other day, complaining that she gets uncomfortable if she doesn’t hold my hand or kiss me. My break time is completely gone. Such a headache.”
The conjoined brothers bared their beast-like claws. “Then how about we go kill her for you?”
A blade came flashing through the air, piercing straight through the bodies of the conjoined twins and pinning them flat against the trunk of the tree.
The youth’s deadpan fish-eyes flared with a dull, ashen gray, radiating a suffocating aura of death. His bandages burned with dark energy, his silhouette shimmering and blurring, while his voice dropped into a low, rasping growl:
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on her.”