Jiang Xiaoli found out that she and Li Hongying were roommates. And, in a four-person dorm room, only them were living there. Jiang Xiaoli was shoved in yesterday, while the rest of her roommates… has submitted applications for a new dorm room.
'This school, no, this class, was targeting Li Hongying. Was it based on real-life school bullying?' Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but start observing Li Hongying.
But Li Hongying behaved normally, except for being unsociable and a loner, she was no different from a normal senior high school student. –mostly because she didn't want to be alone, yet no one wanted to be close to her.
Li Hongying. Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but write her name, with a cute little font.
It was evening, students were beginning to return to their dorms. Li Hongying was still writing her papers, and she was very serious. Jiang Xiaoli could only sit and wait, she didn't know where her own dorm room was, and her phone said nothing. She could only follow Li Hongying. The questions on the paper had been given back to the teacher the day the entrance exam ended, and now she could only scratch and bite her pencil if she had to do her homework, and Li Hongying hasn't go back yet. Jiang Xiaoli was pretending to do her homework here.
It was the sound of a moving chair.
Jiang Xiaoli couldn't help but look, and saw that Li Hongying was walking over with her backpack on her back and stopped in front of her.
"What's wrong?"
"Let's go." Li Hongying said, "Back to the dorm together."
"Yes!" Jiang Xiaoli's eyes lit up and she packed up her homework and followed Li Hongying. While she was packing up her things, Li Hongying carefully closed the classroom windows, and when she went out, Li Hongying turned off the lights and doors, then walked out to lead the way.
She didn't chat with Jiang Xiaoli. This made Jiang Xiaoli, who had experienced a high school 'best friend' experience, was somewhat at a loss. Yet she kept quiet and followed.
"This is your bed." Back at the dormitory, Jiang Xiaoli heard Li Hongying said, and she memorized the route and the room number. Jiang Xiaoli turned to look at Li Hongying, she saw that Li Hongying had turned on the small desk lamp and continued writing her paper.
'…So, had Li Hongying specially sent me back to our dorm room?'
Maybe she felt a little narcissistic. But Jiang Xiaoli closed the door and sat down in her seat, sneaking a glance at Li Hongying, who was seriously writing her paper, and suddenly she thought: 'Li Hongying… is a good person.' [1]
This dorm only had beds and tables, just like Jiang Xiaoli's dorm room when she was in college.
Li Hongying was a super quiet person, and Jiang Xiaoli could barely hear Li Hongying's movements as she lid on her bed at night. Also, Li Hongying didn't seem to play the phone much. Jiang Xiaoli thought she would see a screen glow on Li Hongying's bed, but Li Hongying actually was fast asleep?
Jiang Xiaoli couldn't sleep.
'What is this inexplicable world, I shouldn't have pushed that door open! Why is this so insane!' She stared at the ceiling, unable to see anything clearly in the pitch blackness. 'Escape Game…' Jiang Xiaoli closed her eyes with her hands and sobbed quietly, 'Why am I so unlucky!'
'I had no car, no house, no money, no lover, I'm just an ordinary person who couldn't be more ordinary. I don't have a fixed income. I didn't work very hard at school, but somehow I ended up in escape game and got into the senior year, and I got punished on the first day I was here, and I couldn't get out of the school. I don't know when I'm going to die….'
The more Jiang Xiaoli thought about it, the more sad she became, she felt that she was probably the unluckiest person in the world.
[A few hints are given to the player due to the high difficulty of the game.]
Jiang Xiaoli wiped her tears. But she lay there for half a day, not seeing the voice say anything more. 'Is the hint inside the phone?' Jiang Xiaoli cautiously opened the screen, and sure enough, below the number [7] on player information, there were more explanation.
Newbie protection period: 7 days
Newbie protection period: the maximum length of absolute safety a newbie can enjoy on their first game, up to 7 days. (Depending on the difficulty of the game.)
'This is the little hint?'
Jiang Xiaoli cried even louder.
The next second, a tissue ball hit her head. Jiang Xiaoli was shocked to find out and she was hit by many tissue balls… 'Ah! I forgot that Li Hongying was in the bedroom!' "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Can you go back to sleep? I promise I'll be quiet."
"Ok." Li Hongying turned her body over.
Jiang Xiaoli carefully unwrapped the tissue and wiped her snotty tears, cautiously looking at Li Hongying, but suddenly saw a big red shaking words on her head. The word "Hongyi" glowed red in the night.
'What the… Fuck?'
Red Dress-Hongyi Amusement Park – Hongyi
'So Li Hongying is the main character. Do these hints means… to make me aware and watch her? Is Li Hongying the kind of important NPC who can't be allowed to die? Or do I need to hug her thighs? Or… Is Li Hongying a dangerous killer?'
There were six days left, and tomorrow she'd check to see if there were any words on the other students' heads, in case someone else was wearing a different dress from the color of the rainbow. Jiang Xiaoli thought with ease. After all… if she was really in the same dorm room as the big boss, she thought this "escape game" might be a bit difficult.[2] Well, it seems like that voice also said something like the difficulty factor was too high.
Jiang Xiaoli was tossing and turning, and couldn't rest well. But Li Hongying was up early, and despite her gentle movements, Jiang Xiaoli was awake. To be more precise, it's the "possible consequences of being late for class" that woke her up.
She had obvious dark circles under her eyes, she simply washed up and changed into her school uniform, tidied up her homework and books, and followed Li Hongying to the cafeteria.
After a night of insomnia, Jiang Xiaoli had decided what to do next. This kind of mission couldn't have a sure-fire situation, after all, the whole class were rejecting Li Hongying and they were still alive and kicking. Jiang Xiaoli was going to try to hug Li Hongying's thighs and treated her as an important NPC, then she would see how the rest of the story would be.
"Li Hongying." Li Hongying's legs were a bit long, and there was a space between them just by walking. Jiang Xiaoli quickly hurried up and called out to the quiet roommate, lowering her voice as if she was a secret agent who was exchanging information: "Do your family… work at an an Amusement park?
Then, Jiang Xiaoli discovered that in reality, the expression "looking at a mentally retarded person" could really be seen by the eyes.
"They're working away from home, and I don't know what they do. But certainly not an amusement park." Li Hongying explained to Jiang Xiaoli, she intended to quickly leave, but Jiang Xiaoli was sticky and kept following her, "You'd better not follow me."
"Why?" Jiang Xiaoli somewhat awkwardly stopped in her tracks, she had obviously decided to hug Li Hongying's thighs!
"You'll be singled out." Li Hongya said very seriously, she looked at Jiang Xiaoli, there was no malice in her eyes, she was looking at Jiang Xiaoli who was in a daze. She said, "I like girls."
"But it's not like you're going to like me?" Jiang Xiaoli was a little confused, if she became a heterosexual girl, she knew that even heterosexual girl wouldn't like any guy she has met. She wasn't narcissistic, and didn't intend to seduce Li Hongying even if they both like girls, couldn't they be normal friends? Judging from yesterday's brief encounter, Jiang Xiaoli didn't think Li Hongying would be a psychopathic murderer. She's a bit withdrawn, but overall she was a nice girl.
Gay, withdrawn, and unsociable, plus… Poor? Above average wasn't a particularly excellent grade. Because the prejudice has risen and continued to expand, perhaps future students who didn't know much about Li Hongying, but after hearing a few rumors, the facts wouldn't matter to them. It may become the "right" thing to exclude, ignore, or despise her. If they didn't, then they were "out of touch".
These students… were grouping? Jiang Xiaoli stepped forward and hold Li Hongying's hand, it was clear that it was almost summer, but this hand was so cold that it was as if it had entered a piece of ice.
Jiang Xiaoli had a classmate at a junior high school who wasn't very good at speaking and expressing her emotion, because she had a fever that fried her brain when she was young. People were mocking her, saying that she was "brain dead" girl. Then, she was bullied by her class.
The boys in her class thought bullying was the right thing to do, forcibly snatching her hairbrush, or slamming her bag on the floor and stomping on it, kicking her everywhere, and then watching her crying and laughed. Then she went to the class teacher, who reprimanded and punished them, and then the class was over but the same thing would happen everyday. Most people have a bystander's attitude and were helping at first, but they become accustomed as it happened more often. Obviously… It wasn't something that should be taken for granted.
The most common description from her classmate that Jiang Xiaoli heard from everyone is that she was "silly", and she seems to be a true "fool", except when she was bullied! She acted "silly" and happy all day long. After graduation, Jiang Xiaoli didn't inquire about the news of this classmate, but after growing up… She felt a little guilty.
She was guilty of being out of the loop, not having sense of justice. She was also guilty for being that ordinary, cowardly self that was no different from everyone else.
'What if it happens again? Do I have the courage to stand up for the weak? –even if I'm a weakling myself.'
Jiang Xiaoli didn't know. But at the moment, she came to this game and saw the same student who had suffered from school bullying that looked no different from a normal student…right. Li Hongying was friendly, yet she wasn't good at talking, for the first time Jiang Xiaoli had an inexplicable courage.
Someone has to be brave for once, right? The cowardice her at junior high had been in her mind for so many years, so why now? She was in an escape game and had no idea what to do, no idea how long she would live. Although she didn't want to admit it, Jiang Xiaoli had a sinking feeling that she might be dead once the protection period was over.
–We were going to die at any moment of this game anyway. There's nothing to be afraid of except death.
Jiang Xiaoli thought to herself.
Li Hongying watched the struggle on Jiang Xiaoli's eyes with cold eyes, and she didn't bother to guess what the "toy" was thinking this time. She was the Final Boss of the game, Jiang Xiaoli wasn't the first "player" to ome. Usually a group of four or more players entered the game, but the group's protection period would valid only on the first day. The player would be protected from the ghosts, and from being killed by teammates.
After the protection period was over, this haunted school would be changed into Amusement Park for ghosts and monsters. Everything would be used to please her. Various supernatural events would happen. There were a few players who have mysteriously disappeared after spending time alone with a classmate who appeared to be an NPC to get information. No one could get out of this game alive.
Exactly, it is impossible for a male player to get out of this game. Unless he's so righteous and kind that Li Hongying agreed to let him go.
Why would the Escape World choose to send a newcomer to her game? Li Hongying looked down at Jiang Xiaoli holding her hand and her lips were raised in a slightly weird curve.
Maybe it's a new kind of game.
Footnotes:
[1] FL got a good guy card.
[2] So, the term of big boss is Dalao. It doesn't mean MC knew FL is the FINAL BOSS, but more like she thought FL is the main hero of the escape game, she was placed in the same room and MC thought the game difficulty is high since the game prompted her to be with the main hero.
Author: I changed the name from Harmony to Unlimited Hongyi Works. I feel like I can see a cool future for this book. This newbie game isn't horrible, and the MC opened her halo so it's not difficult. It is equivalent to being attacked by a stern spirit. _(:з」∠)
XWT: So you get it. The other classmates, teachers, etc. They weren't NPCs. They were ghosts/monsters, and FL is their big boss.
Ririka: WTF MC wanted to hug the EVIL BIG BOSS' thighs. I approve! MC is incredibly dense, the final boss is clearly wolf in sheep clothing… So the FL didn't have an Ah Xin to save her, MC wanted to save her instead… not knowing FL is the game's final boss haha. Also I missed the part where mc admit she's les. I have added it.