Chapter 5 - Novice Copy (5)

Hongyi Amusement Park

Chapter 5 — Second Game (5)

Ring ring ring.

“It’s time for class.” Li Hongying’s figure appeared at the door of the toilet. Jiang Xiali couldn’t see her clearly but she could see the obvious trace of panic on the front desk student’s face. The front desk student suddenly fell back two steps and nearly fell down, then stumbled out of the toilet.

Jiang Xiali touched her own neck, she could hardly believe the front desk student really strangled her just moments ago.

She might have got it wrong from the beginning. Hongyi. If this copy……wasn’t like a scientific copy, what was the simplest representation of Hongyi? Red-clothed ferocious ghost.

She looked at the blank face of Li Hongying, that two words, ‘hong yi’, on her head were like a ferocious ghost baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, smiling playfully at her.

Acting? It’s not possible to clear this game……those NPCs knew what kind of existence they were? Amusement park……

Whose amusement park was it? Who are the visitors? Who is the project manager 1 ? Who was watching whose performance?

What are the rules? Those NPCs seem to be unable to harm her at the moment. Why is that so? Because of Li Hongying? Because she didn’t say anything bad about Li Hongying? After all, because that ghost that vanished just recently, scolded Li Hongying……Li Hongying killed people?

This school……Was there anyone alive?

“It’s time for class.”

Jiang Xiaoli bit her lower lip and didn’t know if not going and getting out of class on time would violate the ‘rules’, thereby triggering a death condition. Li Hongying extended a hand over but her body didn’t move and waited for her to come forth. Jiang Xiaoli hesitated. The words of her ghost classmates who probably already died wherefrom she could learn of Li Hongying was not as simple as she looked on the surface. This plane, this campus was strange, she didn’t know the definite reason for it but Jiang Xiaoli felt nervous facing Li Hongying right now.

“You too……hate me?” Li Hongying drooped her head and there was a sense of loss in her tone. Jiang Xiaoli’s heart softened all of a sudden. Li Hongying has never done anything excessive. Her protection period has already ended today and everyone behaved very strangely but Li Hongying did not. She stepped forth to hold Li Hongying’s sagging hand and grasped it tightly.

“I’m sorry.” Jiang Xiaoli apologised in a low voice with both her hands gripping Li Hongying’s hand. Li Hongying’s body temperature was as cold as before, she felt it was so due to her constitution in the past but she couldn’t help but link Li Hongying to the ‘red-clothed ferocious ghost’ when she saw that ‘transformation’ moments ago. Yet, Li Hongying lowered her brows and looked obediently at her. She was well-behaved and harmless, she didn’t match the above-mentioned ferocious ghost at all.

“I’m the one who should apologise.” Li Hongying looked down at her with an appearance, full of remorse in her brows and eyes, “If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t mess with you.”

“Her?”

“Huang Qing ah.”

Huang Qing was the name of the front desk student. “I followed Huang Qing alone?”

“Isn’t it?” Li Hongying tilted her head at a loss. She looked at Jiang Xiaoli, pulled her hand, walking towards the classroom, “Let’s go back quickly or you’ll be made to stand as a punishment.”

No, of course not. Jiang Xiaoli tried to make out anything from Li Hongying’s expression but could not make out anything at all. Is this person lying to her? Or to say just now……no, that absolutely wasn’t a hallucination.

Jiang Xiaoli was in a state of chaos again.

Who should she believe? What those students said ought to be correct, the words above Li Hongying’s head would never deceive her. This escape game……may be a supernatural kind.

Li Hongying’s grades fell, she got 12 marks for her English. Jiang Xiaoli looked at her test paper in disbelief. She doubted that even if she got stuck on answering a question and left a rough idea, her marks wouldn’t be limited to 12 marks. Li Hongying was at the back as before but the first person from the back had been changed to Jiang Xiaoli. She was ridiculed by the angry teacher in charge, then moved her table dejectedly, becoming deskmates with Li Hongying.

——Before today, this matter for Jiang Xiaoli, should still make her a little happy.

But now, Jiang Xiaoli started to be afraid.

“You’re avoiding me.” When school was over, Jiang Xiaoli quickly packed her school bag and was about to stand up but was grabbed by the wrist by Li Hongying.

Those black-and-white contrasted eyes silently stared at Jiang Xiaoli. Jiang Xiaoli could see the anxiety in her own eyes reflected in Li Hongying’s eyes.

From the notice in her phone, Jiang Xiaoli knew she was absolutely safe during the novice protection period but once the novice protection period passed, if she had triggered a ‘death’ before, then she would undoubtedly die after the protection period. If she didn’t, then she must clear the game at once. Otherwise, the restriction of the copy on the ghosts would be lesser and lesser as time passes……Even if death is not triggered, she will still die.

This was a good explanation for why that front desk ghost wanted to strangle her to death but could not move to choke her no matter what.

“How much longer are you going to pretend?”

“What are you saying?” Li Hongying’s face was completely blank, she looked at Jiang Xiaoli who stood up and slightly raised her head.

This condescending posture made Jiang Xiaoli feel that Li Hongying was more vulnerable. She couldn’t help but to lower her voice and said softly, “What are you trying to do?” As a majestic redd-clothed ferocious ghost, to use this appearance to face her……

Li Hongying was stunned for a while but still appeared well-behaved on the surface, “I like you so much.” Not a lie. But Li Hongying had already begun to think about what she should do next. Those disobedient imps exposed matters that should not be exposed and she surprisingly did not hate Jiang Xiaoli. This benevolence allowed the escape door to open once Jiang Xiaoli lived for another five days. That way, Jiang Xiaoli will clear the game.

However, Li Hongying did not want to let this delicious sustenance go at all and was not willing to let this sustenance fall into the mouths of the ghosts in other copies.

Perhaps, there’s another way.

“I wish for you to stay with me.”

Silence.

Jiang Xiaoli didn’t know how to reply and also didn’t dare to reply. She looked at Li Hongying in silence until Li Hongying seemed to droop her head down in low spirits and packed her things in silence.

She stood beside her until Li Hongying first stepped out of the door, did she move slowly, following Li Hongying back to the dorm room.

Li Hongying should be the victim. Why was she the red-clothed ferocious ghost? Jiang Xiaoli looked at the two glaring words on Li Hongying’s head and felt that it was hard to comprehend. She thought, if Li Hongying had the courage to resist them, she wouldn’t be singled out. Walking step by step, the shadows under the setting sun lengthened.

“In fact, I can’t tell what is benevolence and what is a joke.” Li Hongying spoke all of a sudden. As soon as she spoke, the surrounding scenario seemed to quieten down. She didn’t turn her head but she knew Jiang Xiaoli was definitely listening. “Pretending appears to be making fun of a joke, no matter what you respond, what you get in return will be a joke. Apparently, I became quite an unusual one so everyone would look at me, pay attention to me, wanting to see how I am different——but I am really not different at all.”

“I’m also just an ordinary student.”

“When I get close to the same sex, someone will say terrible things. The opposite sex……It’s nothing great. 2 ”

“It’s actually quite boring. I thought maybe it would be alright once I went to university. I worked hard to get into the best school to start anew there.”

“But when it was nearly time for the university entrance exam, they started to make fun of me again.”

Li Hongying stopped so Jiang Xiaoli also stopped. She looked at Li Hongying’s back, the surrounding scenario dimmed down in an instant and the sky got dark at once. Countless wisps of blood spread out, she could vaguely hear numerous ghosts weeping and howling in fear. That sound got closer but they were all isolated

“I shouldn’t have had any delusions about them. Apologise? They won’t feel that they’re wrong.” Li Hongying’s voice lowered, “I was really scared. At that moment, I was doing a lot of thinking. Everyone, everyone was looking at me like a joke; they were waiting for me to make a fool of myself. I thought of leaving, I thought of leaving home but no one cared about me. Parents? Teachers? No. Ever since it spread like wildfire in the school that I was lesbian, my father and mother wished I would die immediately.”

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“What happened?” Jiang Xiaoli stepped forward by two steps. She stretched her hand out, wanting to hold Li Hongying but Li Hongying took a step backward.

The moment she raised her head, her blood-red pupils stared straight at Jiang Xiaoli and the wisps of blood surrounding them dispersed as if wanting to wrap up Jiang Xiaoli but was obstructed by something.

“It’s only a, little, joke.” Li Hongying gnashed her teeth, pausing at each word. Tears of blood rolled from her cheeks, her entire body started to bleed and her clothes got soaked in blood as droplets of blood dripped down. She stepped on the floor and a bloodstain appeared. Li Hongying stepped forward by a step and another step. She raised her hand and her hand covered in blood lightly placed on Jiang Xiaoli’s shoulder. She laughed softly, “I jumped off a building. Really hurts, hurts to death.”

Jiang Xiaoli seemed to be unable to move her whole body. She looked at Li Hongying who looked like she was fished out from bloody water. “What……happened?”

“One of the ways to clear this game is to kill me.” Li Hongying hugged Jiang XIaoli and whispered into her ear without answering her question. The blood stained Jiang Xiaoli’s uniform red. She buried herself into Jiang Xiaoli’s neck, sniffing the scent of her flesh greedily. Biting was no good but Li Hongying left a hickey on Jiang Xiaoli’s neck, the tip of her tongue slid across her skin. There was no response from the rules of the escape game.

“What’s that joke? What did they do to you? So you, you became a feracious ghost like this?” Jiang Xiaoli wanted to struggle out of her embrace but Li Hongying hugged her tightly. She did not wish to hurt her but the atmosphere became strangely ambiguous.

“It’s nothing. They only wanted to see the reaction of a lesbian under aphrodisiac.” Li Hongying whispered as she sucked Jiang Xiaoli’s earlobe, her scarlet pupils flashed with a strange light. Wisps of blood carefully coiled around Jiang Xiaoli’s clothes but bypassed her skin and did not touch her.

“……” Jiang Xiaoli was speechless or at least could not imagine this happening at all. She raised her hand, wanting to hug Li Hongying but what she couldn’t see was that the wisps of blood in the vicinity of her hands embraced Li Hongying quickly receded.

Li Hongying hugged her, her voice low and weak, “Stay with me, all right?”

As if bewitched by something, Jiang Xiaoli instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to respond but she ruthlessly bit the tip of her tongue and bore with it stiffly. No matter how pitiful, Li Hongying was still a ghost and if she answered, Jiang Xiaoli feared that she would become cold today. “This is a false world? So everyone is fake and are all ghosts.”

Li Hongying’s expression gradually cooled down but her tone was still as well-behaved as before and said softly, “It’s real. This is also considered as a real world.” For example, that ghost disappeared and truly ‘died’.

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Footnotes

The author wrote it as 谁是项目 (shéi shì xiàng mù) , the literal meaning is who is the project which is weird, ‘项目’ is actually short for the project manager (项目管理). 没什么玩得好的 méi shén me wán dé hǎo de: ‘玩得好的’ means good time so what FL is saying is that it’s no good with them either.