Sometimes Wuli genuinely suspected that someone had deliberately arranged for her to be transported into this otome game.
Just like right now.
Her original intention had been to sneak around backstage and take a peek at what was happening out front. Who would have thought that a man dressed in black would suddenly crash into her?
Getting bumped into would have been one thing, but he had also “accidentally” dropped a sheet of paper.
Dropping a sheet of paper would have been one thing, but Wuli had ended up seeing what was written on it.
Seeing what was written on it would have been one thing, but the moment her eyes focused on the contents, she was completely stunned.
Because what was written on it was a page from the setting collection of the otome game 《A Maiden’s Western Fantasy World》!!!
Everything was far too coincidental, almost like a conspiracy.
But the moment she saw that page, Wuli felt a warmth as familiar as home. She had no way to reject any clue that might lead her back.
The instant she saw it, the white-haired girl bent down, snatched up the paper, and ran after the person who had bumped into her.
“Stop right there!!”
The other party ran fast. Wuli was still wearing a large formal gown, and her shoes had heels. There was no way she could keep up.
The harder something was to find, the more likely it was to be the real thing.
Wuli believed that. Because of that, she became increasingly convinced that there was something suspicious about him, and she chased after him with growing urgency.
The stairwell behind the stage connected the auditorium to the ballroom on the third floor. Since it was part of the backstage area, it was narrow and rarely used.
When Wuli was chasing someone, she forgot everything else.
She followed him into the stairwell, clutching the single page tightly in her hand. As she watched, the figure ahead drew closer and closer.
“Who are you?”
Wuli shouted loudly and reached forward to grab him.
Clack.
The white-haired girl grasped nothing but air.
At the same time, the ground vanished beneath her feet.
The world spun around her. She crashed down so hard that stars burst before her eyes. Darkness flooded her vision uncontrollably, and by the time her sight returned to normal, the person she had been trying to catch had long since disappeared.
The empty stairwell contained no one but herself.
The flights of stairs above and below were deserted. There wasn’t even the sound of another person.
Only silence remained.
“……”
What happened?
As she carefully retraced everything that had just occurred, a chill crept down her spine layer by layer. Her entire body turned cold, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe.
Her fingers tightened.
The single page she still held had been crumpled by her grip, leaving uneven creases across the paper.
Everything felt unreal, like an illusion or a dream.
Yet the texture of the page in her hand told her otherwise.
If all of this was real, then why had that person left behind a setting page for her? Why had he lured her into becoming trapped in this stairwell? Could there really be someone else who knew she was a transmigrator?
The more Wuli thought about it, the colder she felt.
She desperately wanted to leave this place. As she tried to move her leg, however, a sharp pain shot through her ankle.
Her ankle was injured too.
“……”
“Is anyone there?” she called out.
The echoes rebounded layer upon layer through the narrow space.
They sounded like the cries of ghosts, or perhaps a curse drifting from somewhere far away.
When the echoes finally faded, the empty stairwell returned to its deathly silence.
Goosebumps rose all over Wuli’s body.
She no longer dared to speak.
She was terrified of places like this.
The winding flights of stairs blocked her view above. She could not see what lay below either. It felt as though there were paths in both directions, yet for the person trapped in the middle, everything ahead and behind was unknown.
She could not see what was waiting above.
She could not see what might emerge from below.
The silent, deserted stairwell felt capable of driving a person mad.
She had no idea who had done this.
But whoever it was, they had won.
The fear in Wuli’s heart gained the upper hand, causing her to make the wrong decision.
She forced herself to stand.
The second wave of pain from her ankle was even more intense than the first.
The best choice would have been to remain seated on the landing and rest for a while.
Being trapped made her afraid.
The white-haired girl gradually drew herself into a smaller and smaller ball.
She emptied her mind.
She did not think about the stage play.
She did not think about the game.
She did not think about the stairwell.
She did not think about the passing of time.
Tap. Tap.
The echo of footsteps suddenly rang through the empty stairwell.
Wuli’s entire body turned cold.
She had no idea who was approaching, and the fear in her heart deepened.
Tap. Tap.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
Tap. Tap.
Wuli forced herself to look down.
Their gazes met.
Backlit by the light, they looked straight at one another.
The girl sat alone on the stairway, her face obscured. Darkness enveloped her, as though she had fallen into a loneliness tangled with shadows.
The moment Wuli saw who it was, shock robbed her of her words.
The young man was likewise standing against the light. His white hair was veiled in shadow, making it appear slightly gray, yet his deep blue eyes were astonishingly bright.
Bright enough to pierce through the darkness.
Something wasn’t right.
Shuen took the stairs two steps at a time, completely lacking his usual composure.
Wuli’s muffled voice reached his ears.
“Brother, I twisted my ankle.”
Shuen immediately crouched down to examine her foot.
It was already bruised purple and blue.
Wuli watched his profile, her fingers tightening around the setting page.
Countless questions filled Shuen’s mind. He turned his head toward the white-haired girl, and the distance between them instantly shortened.
Their eyes locked onto each other.
The pale blue of Wuli’s eyes flickered softly.
The deep blue of Shuen’s eyes was profound and still, like a silent ocean.
“You fell?” Shuen asked.
His low voice brushed against Wuli’s ear.
“Brother, could you take me back upstairs first? There probably isn’t much time left before I have to go on stage.” Wuli pressed her lips together.
Shuen raised no objection to her request.
He turned his back toward her.
Wuli smiled obediently and climbed onto his back of her own accord. Without the slightest wobble, Shuen lifted her up.
The white-haired girl’s arms looped around the white-haired young man’s neck. Strands of his hair brushed against her hand, leaving behind a faint ticklish sensation.
Shuen decisively stepped forward.
The Wuli on his back quickly realized that he was heading downstairs.
The young man was not taking her to the waiting area.
The hand around Shuen’s neck tightened.
“No!!”
The white-haired girl’s arm pressed against him. The touch against his neck caused a flicker to pass through the white-haired young man’s eyes. His arms tightened as he adjusted her higher on his back.
“We’re about to go on stage!! I have to get back there!” Wuli protested.
“And perform what, exactly, in your current condition?” the white-haired young man replied unhurriedly as he descended the stairs. The soles of his dress shoes struck the steps with crisp sounds.
“No, no!!”
Seeing that Shuen had no intention of listening, the white-haired girl immediately began pounding on his shoulder.
“I can perform! Let me perform!”
“I can walk! I only fell and sat there for a while to recover. If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve walked back on my own!!”
Wuli was beginning to regret asking for his help and climbing onto his back.
In fact, she had been the one who voluntarily climbed up there in the first place.
The white-haired young man let out a soft snort and continued carrying her downstairs without slowing.
Wuli struggled continuously, and her body gradually began sliding downward.
“Stop moving around.”
Frowning, the white-haired young man lifted her back into place.
“Shuen!!!” Wuli shouted from behind him.
The white-haired young man pretended not to hear.
Wuli was furious.
Hitting him was useless.
Punching him was useless.
Yelling at him was useless.
Staring at the exposed stretch of the white-haired young man’s neck, her mind short-circuited, and she bit down hard.
It worked.
Silence fell around them.
Wuli could hear her own thunderous heartbeat.
The white-haired young man stopped.
His neck was filled with the warmth of someone’s breath.
…
The next second, Wuli hastily let go.
A row of teeth marks had already been left on the white-haired young man’s neck.
They weren’t deep enough to be serious, yet they weren’t so faint that they would disappear immediately.
The reddish marks stood out clearly against his skin.
…
It looked strangely intimate.
The last rational thread in Wuli’s mind snapped.
She immediately began stammering out excuses for herself.
Beauty truly clouded judgment.
“You bit me?” the white-haired young man asked in return.
Wuli’s hands tightened. She wrapped her arms even more firmly around him.
Her pale blue eyes were clear, stubborn, and defiant.
“I have to go back. Everyone else is waiting for me.”
No one knew what conclusion the white-haired young man came to.
But the result was that he actually listened to her.
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and started heading back upstairs.
“As you wish.”
“Don’t bite me again.”
Wuli: “…”
…
“We’re about to start?! Where’s the female lead?!”
Diane’s voice echoed through the backstage area, loud enough for everyone to hear.
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
No one knew where Wuli had gone. In fact, most of them had no idea anything was wrong until Diane said those words and they realized the female lead was missing.
Glenn was the first to react.
Wuli had been attending rehearsals perfectly well these past few days. There was no reason for her to suddenly disappear at a time like this.
His dark red gaze swept across the room, and a bad feeling rose within him.
“How many minutes are left?”
Glenn asked Diane calmly.
Diane answered without hesitation.
“Three minutes.”
The black-haired young man immediately decided to go look for her.
“Wait!!”
It was the voice of their female lead.
It came from beyond the stairwell.
Everyone turned around and saw the white-haired girl being carried on the back of a white-haired young man.
What happened?
Every single person was bewildered.
Wuli smiled awkwardly and asked Shuen to put her down.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Wuli sucked in a sharp breath and hissed through her teeth.
The sound was faint.
Only the white-haired young man beside her noticed it.
His expression remained indifferent, showing little emotion.
But Glenn frowned.
“Where did you go?”
Before Wuli could answer, he noticed the injury on her ankle.
“How did this happen?”
“I’m fine.”
The white-haired girl took a few steps in front of everyone, demonstrating that she was alright.
“Isn’t there barely any time left? Let’s go.”
Time was running out.
Seeing that no one else spoke, Wuli didn’t hesitate. She immediately headed toward the waiting area.
Her pace wasn’t fast, but it was steady and composed, making the injury appear less serious than it was.
The previous performance had already ended. The hosts were about to take the stage.
There could be no more delays.
After making a quick assessment of the situation, Diane glanced at Shuen.
Shuen said nothing.
Diane decisively turned to the others and called out,
“Don’t be nervous when you go on stage. Just perform the way you’ve been practicing. The actors for the first act, get ready at the waiting area.”
The black-haired young man didn’t move.
His gaze fixed on the white-haired young man’s neck.
The bite mark wasn’t obvious.
But in the black-haired young man’s eyes, it was impossible to miss.
“What is it?”
Seeing him standing still, Diane urged him.
Diane: “?”
“Nothing.”
A trace of anger settled over the black-haired young man’s face as he turned and walked toward the backstage area.