Sunday.
Early morning, the classroom still held a faint chill in the air; even a light breath could form a wisp of white mist.
High school schedules were truly annoying.
“Morning.”
Ran Feng rubbed his dark-circled eyes and yawned as he greeted Qi Ye, whom he happened to run into.
“Morning, Feng-ge.”
Qi Ye looked as energetic as ever, flashing a goofy grin.
Come to think of it, this guy was ridiculously lucky— Ran Feng tried hard but couldn’t even recall him ever being entangled in anything strange.
Xunian and Shen Mosi had arrived as well. The atmosphere between them was still strange; they didn’t seem as close as they were when they first entered the game.
Xunian returned to her seat, waiting for class to start.
Shen Mosi, holding a watering can meant for watering flowers, walked to the window.
She looked down with a hint of surprise and covered her mouth, saying,
“Ah, you guys, look.”
The others quickly gathered at the window and peered down.
From the windowsill, they could just make out a fresh female corpse lying below, her chest soaked in blood.
It was Qi Dong—dead.
Not surprising at all.
Except for Xunian, the other two players nervously stepped back a little from Shen Mosi.
Xunian kept staring at the corpse.
A bloodstained key hung from the body. Although a bit far, its style vaguely resembled the Key to Pass.
Where the blood flowed from the chest, someone had stuffed colorful pieces of paper.
“There’s a Key to Pass on the corpse.”
“No way?!” Ran Feng squinted, taking a closer look. Sure enough, something was hanging around the corpse’s neck.
“Let’s pull the body up.”
“Qi Dong said before that Shen Mosi…” He glanced at Shen Mosi to see if she reacted, but she didn’t.
So he continued, “That she was bullied by her and then jumped off the building. Now she’s like this herself.”
In the end, no one really knew what happened between Qi Dong and Shen Mosi…
The group tied a rope around the corpse and worked together to haul Qi Dong’s body up.
Xunian took down the key and compared it carefully. The engravings closely matched the Key to Pass—it must be the real one.
The bronze key’s top was shaped like a book, corresponding to Shen Mosi, the core of this world.
Now they were only one step away from clearing the game—a door to the exit.
As for the colorful papers stuffed in the corpse’s chest wound, they were photo fragments, apparently pieces of the photo used to threaten Shen Mosi.
“There are words on the blackboard!”
The blackboard displayed the first five rules, then in the area where eraser marks remained, the Sixth Rule appeared.
【Rule Six】: Do not bully your classmates, or bear the consequences.
This was clearly aimed at those three, Qi Dong included…
“There’s only the dormitory corridor and the classroom. Where is the Exit Door?”
“There’s one location that keeps popping up in the information.”
“What location?”
“The Roof.”
The Roof where the top student Shen Mosi had been called to—it might very well be the place where Shen Mosi jumped.
They went to the corridor, and sure enough, a new staircase appeared, leading upward.
They climbed several floors until finally reaching a door.
“This must be the door to the Roof?”
Ran Feng was about to open it when suddenly he felt his pocket vibrate.
“Ding-ling-ling—ding-ling-ling—”
The phone rang out abruptly.
Ran Feng fumbled to unlock it, glanced at the caller ID, then looked up at them.
“It’s Shen Mosi’s mom calling.”
“Give it here.” Shen Mosi snatched the phone out of his hand without ceremony.
She pressed the answer button.
A middle-aged woman’s trembling voice called her name, “Si… Sisi?”
A gentle breeze stirred, teasing the strands of her hair before settling again.
Shen Mosi’s voice changed abruptly, adopting the tone of the top student, “Mom, I love you.”
Her words barely fell when a faint “Thank you” whispered in her ear.
It seemed as if a voice of gratitude floated through the air before dissolving with the wind.
The call was filled with muffled sobs.
Xunian stood with Shen Mosi for a long while, until the other two no longer wanted to disturb them and left.
She walked over.
“Let’s go… we should go now.”
“‘We’?”
Shen Mosi gave a bitter smile.
There was no “we” here—Xunian would abandon her again, no doubt.
……
“Where are you guys going?” Xunian peeked between the stair gaps, watching the two men already heading downstairs.
Ran Feng answered naturally, “To find the Exit Door.”
“…If I’m not mistaken, using this key to open the Roof door will bring us back to the real world.” Xunian shook the key in her hand.
“Damn, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Ran Feng returned.
Qi Ye followed behind him as they came back up.
Xunian inserted the key into the Roof door, and strange colors exploded from it.
Ran Feng couldn’t wait and stepped inside. With a flash of light, his figure immediately vanished.
Before Qi Ye stepped forward, he curiously asked Xunian, “You guys aren’t coming?”
“Mm.”
She still had things to do.
Shen Mosi’s eyes lit up at her answer, a smile unconsciously curling at the corners of her lips. She looked very happy.
Was Xunian not leaving?
Even if she left, Shen Mosi would find a way to catch up with her.
Whenever Xunian took a step away, she’d follow behind—this was how she wanted to be tangled with her for all eternity.
Though it took a very long time each time—crossing worlds required too much energy, and capturing Xunian’s energy signature needed even more.
It always took hundreds of years to gather enough, but it was worth it.
The moment she saw Xunian, everything was worth it.
As Qi Ye stepped into the passage, Xunian immediately pulled out the key.
Shen Mosi was even happier—she nearly spun circles around Xunian, her gaze stretched and glued to her.
She wanted to hug her, to be close, to kiss, to…
Xunian grabbed Shen Mosi’s wrist and glanced at the Ladies’ Wristwatch she wore; it was 7:55.
She wasn’t in a hurry—there was still a whole day ahead.
“Time to settle the score with you.” Xunian cast her a sidelong glance.
Shen Mosi felt something was off. Seeing Xunian’s serious expression, her smile faded a little.
Why did her heart suddenly feel uneasy…
“This is your key, right?” Xunian waved the key at her.
Shen Mosi nodded.
It was indeed her key… but when did it end up in Xunian’s hands?
She tugged on Xunian’s wrist, leading her downstairs.
At this moment, it felt like a world with just the two of them.
Looking down at Xunian holding her hand, warmth seeped through the clothes.
A flicker of sweetness bloomed in Shen Mosi’s heart as she wished time could stop here.
Xunian led her to the stairwell and wrapped her arms around her.
No way… Shen Mosi’s heart pounded wildly in her chest. Xunian’s soft hair fell over her collarbone, like a feather tickling her palm—her heart was already melting.
Before she could savor the moment, Xunian let go.
?
A question mark slowly appeared above Shen Mosi’s head.
Was that all the hugging she was going to get?
She reached out again, wanting to hold her, only to hear the clinking of chains against her wrist.
That was when she finally noticed the heavy weight on her wrist.
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