Chapter 441 – Palpitations from That World – A Newcomer Joins (08)
Wen Junnan gave a quiet “mm” and didn’t say much more. With a mind full of worries, he went to wash up. He had come back—but Tangtang was still there, trapped in that strange and dangerous house.
When he fell asleep tonight… he should be able to go back and see Tang Tang again, right?
Parallel timeline.
Morning came. All the players in the room vanished into nothingness on the soft mattresses. Bai Tang turned over and reached out, but found nothing. He opened his eyes. The sky outside the window was dim and gray, and he was the only one left in the room.
“Good morning, Tang Tang.” Qiu’er sounded exhausted, his voice weak and drained. He yawned and flipped through the plot book. “The male lead has only temporarily returned to his own timeline. When night falls, the female lead will pull them back again.”
Bai Tang let out a soft “mm,” sounding almost identical—about eighty percent alike—to how Wen Junnan had responded to his roommate in the present timeline.
Qiu’er wanted to say more, but Xiao A covered his mouth. “Let the host have a moment of peace,” he said. He had guided many hosts before and was used to scenes of separation. He used to not understand why those hosts would act as if they couldn’t live without the other person—but after having Qiu’er, he understood. Honestly, it really did hurt.
Qiu’er nodded, signaling for Xiao A to let go.
“Go get some sleep, Qiu’er. I’m fine.” In the blink of an eye, Bai Tang was once again that energetic little squirrel. He clenched his fists and looked out at the gray, hazy sky with firm determination. “I’ll definitely defeat the bandage monster and be with A Nan.”
Seeing that Bai Tang had pulled himself together, Qiu’er finally relaxed. After being bothered by Xiao A all night, he was utterly drained—he could fall asleep even while standing.
Bai Tang waved his hand and, through his thoughts, told Xiao A to take good care of Qiu’er.
He quietly twisted the doorknob and stepped out. In the entire house, there were only two living presences—himself, and Ning Sitong in the room at the end of the hallway.
Ning Sitong paid no attention to the players temporarily leaving this timeline. Right now, the most important thing for her was to rest and recover her energy. Only then would she have the strength to pull the players back tonight. With Jin Fenfei missing, she would need to bring in one extra person to fill the vacant slot.
Bai Tang returned to the bandage monster’s quarters. The creature was converting the fear it had absorbed into its own power. After a long while, it opened its eyes and looked toward the boy who was taking chestnuts out of his pocket and eating them.
“Squirrel, come here.”
The bandage monster couldn’t be bothered to give Bai Tang a name, so it simply kept calling him by his species.
Bai Tang paused for a moment, then removed his protective barrier. A suffocating stench immediately flooded his nose. In just the few steps it took to walk over, his rosy complexion turned bluish-purple—no need to question it, he was practically holding his breath from the smell.
“What’s the relationship between Ning Sitong and Li Pai? Why didn’t he die?” Two portions of fear had been within easy reach, yet in the end, it had only tasted one. The bandage monster was not pleased.
But it had asked the wrong person. Ning Sitong wasn’t trying to get involved with Li Pai—she wanted to get involved with Wen Junnan instead.
Bai Tang lowered his head, his body trembling slightly as if intimidated by the bandage monster’s presence. “I don’t know. I heard Ning Sitong remind the players that they’re not allowed to run away during the game.”
Better for others to die than himself—although the female lead hadn’t done anything harmful to him yet, Bai Tang couldn’t let the bandage monster turn its attention toward Wen Junnan.
Two gaps split open in the bandages covering the monster’s face. It clenched its fist and slammed it hard onto the table. “I knew Ning Sitong was a traitor!”
Bai Tang said nothing, perfectly playing the role of a humanoid pet obediently following its master’s orders.
The bandage monster didn’t make things difficult for him. It tossed a clump of leftover black mist to Bai Tang before dismissing him.
After leaving the house, Bai Tang threw the black mist onto the ground in disgust. It was Jin Fenfei’s fear—something extremely negative and incompatible with his abilities.
“Host, the buildings in this timeline are the same as those in the male lead’s current timeline. Why not walk around and get familiar with the environment? It’ll make things easier when you go there later,” Xiao A suggested when he saw Bai Tang sitting alone by the river, lost in thought. Seeing him so quiet made Xiao A feel uneasy.
“Sure~” Bai Tang readily agreed to the suggestion.
Night fell, and the streets were shrouded in mist. In this alternate timeline, no one went outside after dark.
Wen Junnan opened his eyes and found himself back in the room he had left earlier. The boy sat with his back to him on a chair, seemingly busy with something, making soft rustling noises. Paired with the dim candlelight, the atmosphere was indescribably eerie.
“Tang Tang?” Wen Junnan called out tentatively.
The boy turned around, his face lighting up with delight. “A Nan, you’re back~”
He held up a bowl of peeled corn and presented it like a treasure in front of Wen Junnan. “Freshly cooked corn—it’s really sweet! I already peeled it for you, so eat~”
Wen Junnan took Bai Tang’s hand. His fingertips were red—whether from peeling the corn or from the heat, it was hard to tell. He gently rubbed them, his voice soft. “Does it hurt?”
“Not at all. I’m really good at peeling corn,” Bai Tang said, pulling his hand back and handing him a spoon.
This was something Tang Tang had prepared with care for him—he couldn’t waste it.
Wen Junnan finished the bowl of corn. He felt as if a stream of energy was moving through his body.
He looked at Bai Tang in surprise. The latter smiled, his eyes curving. “I specially prepared it for you, A Nan. It can increase a person’s mental strength~”
Bai Tang didn’t mention that he had exchanged it from the system shop using points. Turning into a human, entering parallel timelines—those things were already astonishing enough. He wanted to strengthen Wen Junnan, but not excessively. Everything needed moderation. If he revealed too many fantastical elements, it might prematurely break the seal on Wen Junnan.
As for what that seal was, neither Qiu’er nor Xiao A could figure it out—so for now, it was best to leave it alone.
Wen Junnan ruffled Bai Tang’s hair and smiled. “Next time, Tang Tang, keep it for yourself.”
If Tang Tang ate it, it would improve his physical condition—and when facing the bandage monster, his chances of survival would increase too.
Dong, dong, dong—
Right on the hour, the clock chimed. It was time for them to go downstairs and draw the game cards.
Except for Jin Fenfei, all the players from last night had gathered downstairs. There was also one unfamiliar figure among them.
A stranger to the others—but not to Wen Junnan.
“Junnan, you’re here too! I finally ran into someone I know!” Li Tefeng rushed toward him like he’d just seen his own mother.
Wen Junnan had one arm around Bai Tang, so there was no way he would let Li Tefeng crash into him.
As Li Tefeng got within two steps, Wen Junnan stretched out his hand and pressed it against his face, stopping him in place.
“Are you really Junnan? You’ve never treated me like this before,” Li Tefeng said suspiciously, clearly doubtful of his unusual behavior.
Something was off about this world. He had only gotten up in the middle of the night after drinking too much, intending to use the bathroom. The dorm was still the same dorm—but it carried a faint, eerie atmosphere. The buildings outside looked the same too, yet everything felt strange. The streets were completely empty, devoid of any signs of life. Worst of all, there were puppet-like figures shaped like humans, resembling paper effigies—he had almost been scared into wetting himself. After finally finding a place with living people, he saw a familiar face—but the personality was completely different.
Something wasn’t right. The entire world felt wrong.
Wen Junnan didn’t want to scare his roommate of half a year, so he said helplessly, “I haven’t changed. You almost knocked into Tang Tang.”
Bai Tang smiled and greeted him, “Hello, I’m Tang Tang.”
The boy was delicate and adorable—most people’s first impression of him would be that of a little angel. Li Tefeng was no exception. As someone who judged heavily by appearances, he was instantly captivated by Bai Tang’s looks.
So cute… even his smile is adorable~
“If you still want to keep your jaw, wipe that drool off your face,” Wen Junnan said coldly. He didn’t like others staring at Bai Tang—even if it was just his looks-obsessed roommate.
“H-hello, my name is Li Tefeng. Nice to meet you.” Li Tefeng wiped at the corner of his mouth, even though no drool had actually fallen yet. Completely ignoring Wen Junnan’s warning, he waggled his eyebrows at Bai Tang and struck what he thought was a handsome pose. “Junnan and I are in the same dorm—we’re good buddies. If you run into any trouble, you can come to me. I’d be more than happy to help~”
A’Nan’s close friend… someone very important to him…
The smile in Bai Tang’s eyes deepened. He reached out his hand. “Alright, I’ll remember that.”
Just as Li Tefeng was about to take that soft, delicate hand, another hand beat him to it.
“Hey—Junnan…” Li Tefeng protested in dissatisfaction.
“What, you’ve got a problem with that?” Wen Junnan shot him a dangerous look. Li Tefeng immediately shrank back. “N-no, not at all.” It had been a long time since Junnan had given off such an intimidating aura.
The three of them chatted for a while before Li Pai, from the other side, spoke up impatiently, “Are you done chatting? If you are, come over and draw your game cards.”
Having already gone through a life-and-death situation, Li Pai had grown even more fearful of the game’s rules. All he wanted now was to quickly draw the game cards, complete the game safely, and return to the real world.
He had clearly gone back to reality that morning, but thinking about Jin Fenfei’s death in the dream, he went to look for her—only to learn that she had died after sleepwalking and jumping off a building.
Dead. The dream had come true. People really could die.
Li Pai spent the entire day on edge. He had finally managed to get through the day safely, but after falling asleep, he was dragged back into this terrifying house once again.
He no longer dared to act recklessly. Even when Ning Sitong notified him to come downstairs for the game, he didn’t dare to object and obediently followed.
This time, Roger drew the game card. Tonight’s game was “The Thirteenth Stair.” There was no limit on the number of participants—in other words, every player had to take part.
Chen Chenchen, who had crammed a lot of urban horror stories after returning to the real world, widened his eyes. The Thirteenth Stair—according to the legend, if you climb a staircase that is supposed to have only twelve steps, and you somehow count thirteen steps while going up, you will be taken to a terrifying place. Once there, you will never return—neither alive nor dead, leaving no trace behind.
The game instructions on the card were almost identical to what Chen Chenchen knew. Li Tefeng counted the stairs Wen Junnan had just come down—they were exactly twelve steps. Well, that settled it. The setting was already prepared; there was no need to look for a suitable location.
The players, now more fearful of the game, all fell silent. Only Li Tefeng—new to the game and still unaware of its dangers—looked around curiously. After a dozen seconds, noticing how quiet everyone was, he finally sensed something was wrong. He leaned toward Wen Junnan and whispered, “It’s just a campus ghost story. Is it really that serious?”
Bai Tang replied softly, “People can die. A girl named Jin Fenfei died last night.”
Li Tefeng’s eyes widened. Jin Fenfei—the girl from the neighboring school who had sleepwalked and jumped to her death that very morning.