Surviving a Horror Game by Romancing the Boss - Chapter 3

Just then, a violent wind rose outside.

It swept through the entrance, making the lobby lights sway and flicker.

In the flashing light, I thought I saw the eyes of Chen Shi’s photograph move.

One moment he was looking into the camera.

The next, he was looking at me.

His pitch-black eyes were like an abyss—hollow and indifferent.

Goose bumps rose all over my body.

With one last electric sputter, the lights went out.

[It’s over. The Boss noticed this player the second he arrived. He’s dead for sure.]

[No matter how many times I watch this part, it’s still terrifying.]

[No! Run, wifey!]

Zhou Shuyue screamed.

The instant the lights died, my legs gave out and I dropped to the floor.

They had gone as limp as noodles. I couldn’t make them hold me up.

This game wasn’t made for human beings!

The wind howled outside. Inside, every one of us feared for our life.

A sudden chill crept up behind me, and frigid air pressed against my back.

It felt as though an icy hand slipped under the hem of my shirt and climbed slowly up my waist. A shudder ran through me as it brushed over my chest.

At last, it stopped at my throat.

An invisible force coiled around my neck and began to tighten.

If I didn’t do something, I was probably going to die on the spot.

I trembled all over in terror—then turned and, against every instinct I had, threw myself into the male ghost’s arms.

“I’m scared of the dark…”

[???]

[Wait, what? He just went straight in for a hug?]

The pressure around my neck eased.

A soft scoff sounded beside my ear.

“You’re afraid of the dark, but not of me?”

It was working.

Emboldened, I looped my arms around his neck and nestled against him as if I never wanted to let go.

In truth, I just didn’t want him to see how white my face had gone.

I kept lying through my teeth.

“I’m not.”

He said nothing more. Cold air slid up and down my throat, like an invisible hand stroking my neck.

Like I was a puppy.

A moment later, the lights abruptly came back on, and the chill around me vanished.

[What just happened? That was enough to save him?]

[I’ve never seen anyone play like this. What kind of alternative strategy is that?]

[305, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?]

Only when the lights returned did the rest of us seem to come back to life.

Zhou Shuyue had been frightened nearly senseless. She sat on the floor hugging her knees, muttering over and over that there was a ghost.

I was hopeless around crying women because I never knew how to comfort anyone. All I could do was hover anxiously before finally patting her shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid, Zhou Shuyue. You’ll make it out of here.”

She caught on to those words at once. Her head snapped up, and she clasped both hands around mine.

“Really?” she asked, gazing at me with desperate hope. “I can really escape?”

A sudden sense of responsibility filled me. I nodded firmly.

“Yes. You definitely will.”

As long as I successfully romanced my target, all of us would get out.

No one dared return to their rooms, even after exhaustion set in. We decided to rest in the lobby and take turns keeping watch.

Sometime after midnight, the cold woke me.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed in Room 305.

More precisely, I was lying in Room 305 as it had been three years ago.

A faint, clean scent of soap lingered on the sheets, as though someone had been lying there only a moment before.

I was conscious, but my limbs were as unresponsive as a corpse’s.

An almost tangible current of cold wound around my ankle and crept upward, inch by inch, pressed close to my skin.

The bone-deep chill kept rising.

[Pant, pant.]

[Damn, 305. You move fast.]

[You only picked out your wifey today, and you’ve already tied him to your bed tonight.]

Goose bumps prickled over me as I suddenly remembered the missing man in the newspaper.

With all the resolve of someone marching to his execution, I tested the darkness.

“Chen Shi? Is that you?”

Someone answered from the dark. “You know me?”

I had guessed right!

That subtle scent of soap seemed to draw closer.

I was so frightened that tears gathered in my eyes.

To clear the game, I summoned every scrap of acting ability I possessed. My voice came out clear, but trembling.

“Senior, I finally found you.”

I stared into a point in the darkness, eyes brimming with tears. “My name is Ji Yao. I’m a student at A University too. I like you. If it’s you, I don’t mind even if you kill me.”

The tears spilled over, making my performance look all the more sincere.

If I had to offer myself up, it was better to do it willingly than be forced. The effect would be much more convincing.

The cold around my body receded.

“You like me?”

The cool, clear voice came from very close by, almost as if he were speaking directly into my ear.

[I thought this would be forced, but wifey delivered himself right to the door. Noncon just turned into pure romance. Hahaha!]

[Oh! So this is the alternative strategy? Take down the final Boss, and you get yourself a protective charm. Brilliant move, wifey! He’s playing 305 like a fiddle.]

Control of my body returned in an instant.

A bedside lamp came on.

Chen Shi sat beside me with a placid expression. His nature seemed like white jade—cold even after being tempered by flame.

He lowered his gaze to me. He didn’t look like a ghost so much as an immortal banished from heaven.

It was difficult to imagine how someone like him could have died so young.

I stared, momentarily spellbound and at a loss for how to respond.

“And then?” he asked.

I froze, not understanding what he meant.

Chen Shi watched me. “If you like me, are you going to do nothing about it?”

I blinked at him in bewilderment.

Do what?

“Come here,” Chen Shi said calmly.

I pushed myself upright and shuffled over to his side.

His face remained expressionless as he lowered his eyes to me with perfect composure.

“Kiss me.”

Apparently, he wanted proof that I truly liked him.

There was nothing for it but to steel myself and obey.

I rested my hands cautiously on his shoulders and kissed those cool, thin lips with the grim courage of someone offering his neck to the blade.

He didn’t open his mouth, and I didn’t dare do much. I could only peck and tentatively lick at his lips.

[That’s hot.]

[Ahhh, wifey is so cute! Like a little bunny.]

[305 is staring hard enough to burn a hole through him.]

Even when the kiss ended, Chen Shi showed no reaction at all, as if it had left him completely unmoved.

He was going to be difficult to romance.

I felt a little wronged but didn’t dare show it.

I looked up at him, blinking earnestly. “Senior, I really do like you.”

Chen Shi inclined his head and replied softly, “Mm.”

Then the two of us lay down together to sleep.

I was the one who suggested it. Chen Shi didn’t refuse.

It was his bed, after all.

Carefully, I snuggled into his arms as if I couldn’t get enough of him.

Chen Shi remained unresponsive, apparently impervious to my charms.

I guessed he probably didn’t like me.

[So you’re just going to lie there and enjoy wifey cuddling up to you? Lucky bastard.]

[What a poser!]

[He’s such a closet flirt!]