Chapter 448 – Palpitations from That World – An Extra Serving of “Dog Food” (15)
Wei Wen and Wei Xing’s story was frightening enough to earn high scores from both judges. With a score of 8, they temporarily took first place.
As mentioned earlier, in this game, the best way to survive was not to be afraid—to avoid feeling fear altogether. Among all the players, Bai Tang’s slightly trembling body was the most noticeable. The puppet tilted its head to look at him, signaling for him to tell the next story.
Personal experiences were far more immersive than hearsay. With Wen Junnan’s gentle reassurance, Bai Tang steadied himself and slowly began to recount the story of the woman in red: widowed at a young age, her only daughter bullied and persecuted. Crushed by life and powerless to resist, she transformed from a kind-hearted person into a butcher, personally killing her enemies. After perishing together with them, her soul found no peace, wandering day after day in the old district that had imprisoned her for half her life…
The previous players’ stories could only make people feel fear or surprise, but Bai Tang’s horror story resonated emotionally. Alongside fear, there was also sympathy for the woman in red and her daughter. They had done nothing wrong, yet were subjected to injustice. Even her eventual revenge came only after selling her soul to the devil in exchange for a chance.
The judges were puppets and could not distinguish emotions, but they could sense that, beyond fear, there was a mixture of other feelings. That alone was enough for them to give Bai Tang a high score.
When the red “10” appeared, everyone was stunned. The way they looked at Bai Tang changed—admiration, envy, jealousy…
Li Tefeng sighed. “So nice. I’m not asking for a 10, I just don’t want to come last.” Whether he survived the game was secondary; finishing last would be too embarrassing—he’d lose the good image he had in Ning Sitong’s eyes.
Wei Wen and Wei Xing chimed in mockingly, their tone dripping with sarcasm:
“Some things just can’t be envied.”
“With real skill, you can tell a story and still act weak at the same time.”
“You won’t be able to learn it, nor enjoy the treatment he gets.”
The more Li Tefeng listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. Their words were sharp and insinuating—who exactly were they targeting?
“You’re right—you really can’t envy or resent my Tang Tang. He’s good-looking, kind-hearted, and strong. Even though he ran into some trouble and got hurt, if it were someone else, it wouldn’t just be injuries—they might not have survived at all…” Li Tefeng said proudly. Wen Junnan was his brother, and his brother’s partner was family too. If anyone wanted to bully his people, they’d better ask if he agreed first.
The two sisters were blocked by Li Tefeng’s retort, and their mood worsened. As if that weren’t enough, Wen Junnan added a vicious curse: “The more you talk, the faster you die.”
Bai Tang had long mastered the skill of filtering out malicious remarks. He didn’t care what Wei Wen and Wei Xing said—being insulted a few times wouldn’t make him lose a single pine nut.
A dark glint flashed across Wen Junnan’s eyes, unnoticed by anyone. A wisp of thin smoke drifted up from above Wei Wen and Wei Xing’s heads and quickly dissipated into the air. Only Bai Tang noticed it—his senses were sharper than most. Startled, he glanced at Wen Junnan, who simply smiled at him with narrowed eyes and reached out to tidy his slightly messy hair.
“Tang Tang, thirsty? Have some water.”
“Tang Tang, come here…”
Wen Junnan opened his arms, just like the countless times before, waiting for his little squirrel to leap into his embrace.
Bai Tang didn’t hesitate. He nestled into his arms again, even placing his feet on Wen Junnan’s lap. “My feet are cold~”
“I’ll warm them for you.”
As for what had happened to Wei Wen and Wei Xing, Bai Tang could only sigh inwardly—may they be better people in their next lives. Trouble really did come from careless words. They had insulted him, and A Nan had stood up for him, cutting off their good fortune. In the next round of the game, if they wanted to survive, they would have to rely solely on their own strength.
The game continued. Next was Li Pai, who had grown increasingly gloomy after losing his arm, followed by Ning Sitong and Wen Junnan. The three of them received scores of 6, 7, and 6 respectively, and the right to skip the next round fell to Bai Tang.
Bai Tang had heard the story Wen Junnan told before. The original version wasn’t like this—it was much more terrifying. Bai Tang remembered it clearly; there was no way Wen Junnan could have forgotten.
Their eyes met. Wen Junnan raised a long finger and pressed it lightly against the boy’s lips. “Shh, this is our secret.”
Tang Tang was already badly hurt—he couldn’t let him take part in Truth or Dare.
“Look at me. Watch the game. I’ll rely on you to help me find the bandaged man’s weakness,” Wen Junnan whispered softly by Bai Tang’s ear. From an outsider’s perspective, the two looked like they were whispering intimately; a faint blush even appeared on the boy’s pale face. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like they were saying something indecent.
At a time like this—when people could die—and these guys still had the mood to flirt.
Wei Wen and Wei Xing snorted coldly. Ning Sitong remained silent. Li Tefeng’s eyes sparkled with excitement, while Li Pai and Chen Wan lowered their gazes, lost in their own thoughts.
The second round of the game was about to begin. They once again formed a circle. The puppet took out a bottle—whoever the bottle pointed to would have to choose between Truth or Dare. To prevent everyone from choosing Truth, there was an additional rule: if a player in this round chose Truth, the next player had to choose Dare. Of course, if everyone chose Dare instead of Truth, that was also allowed—the main goal was to maximize the “gaming experience.”
“Who even wants this kind of game experience…” Li Tefeng muttered under his breath. Wouldn’t it be nicer to just sleep in the dorm? That so-called bandaged man was seriously messed up.
Ning Sitong elbowed him, signaling him to stop talking.
After working for the bandaged man for so long, Ning Sitong had developed a keen sense for his presence. She could feel that he was inside the house right now, possibly lurking in some dark corner, waiting for the right moment to strike. He was extremely vindictive—she was worried that if Li Tefeng kept talking, the bandaged man might become enraged and ignore the rules of the game, rushing out to tear him apart.
“I’m not going to collect your corpse,” Ning Sitong said.
“Classmate Ning, I knew you cared about me.”
“……”
The friendship between Ning Sitong and Li Tefeng had been built over a bowl of tomato braised noodles. If time could turn back, she would rather not have eaten that bowl of noodles than become friends with someone as thick-headed as Li Tefeng. It was utterly exhausting. Not only did she have to protect her own life, she also had to constantly watch out for him stepping on the bandaged man’s landmines. Why couldn’t he be a little quieter, like Bai Tang? Look at how well-behaved he was. Comparing people really was infuriating.
The first person selected was Li Tefeng. Almost instinctively, he chose the least dangerous option. “I pick Truth.”
The questioner would be the person sitting opposite the chosen player—so it was Wen Junnan.
Wanting to help Wen Junnan, this innocent “brother” who had been dragged into things, Bai Tang leaned over and whispered a few words into his ear. Wen Junnan raised an eyebrow, which made Li Tefeng’s heart pound like a drum. Since he and Wen Junnan were on the same team, he shouldn’t ask anything too deadly… right?
Wen Junnan said, “Li Tefeng, do you like Ning Sitong?”
As soon as the question was asked, everyone looked at Li Tefeng and Ning Sitong. If not for their current life-threatening situation, it would have seemed like a group of close friends gathered together, playing games.
“Well, um… EMMM…”
Back in the real world, Li Tefeng had been talking all day about confessing to Ning Sitong and making the first move. But now that the moment had arrived, he wanted to back out.
Confessing in front of everyone—if he got rejected, it would be utterly humiliating.
Li Tefeng fidgeted awkwardly, like a shy young bride from ancient times.
Everyone felt a chill. A grown man acting all pure and bashful—it was honestly hard to watch.
“You’re not allowed to lie~” Bai Tang reminded him at just the right moment. He did have his own selfish motives. Although the heroine of this world was currently helping the bandaged man, it was out of necessity for survival. In a peaceful environment, Ning Sitong might not necessarily do evil. If he could bring her and Li Tefeng together, she wouldn’t set her sights on A Nan anymore. And when they returned to the real world, she would have someone to take care of her—her life would be much better than being alone. Of course, if she didn’t like Li Tefeng, then there was nothing he could do.
Under the judges’ “urging,” Li Tefeng actually mustered the courage to confess:
“I’ve never liked anyone before, so I don’t know if this counts… but I really want to be with you. I want to see you all the time, every moment. I want to take care of you. I can cook—well, not very well—but I can learn.”
After blurting it all out, he immediately shrank back into his shy, awkward state.
Now it was Ning Sitong’s turn to feel flustered. She had never been liked by anyone before. Having a boy suddenly confess to her—it would be a lie to say she wasn’t secretly happy. But in their current situation…
She thought about how Li Tefeng had served her noodles, even scooping her soup, and only filled his own bowl after she said she had enough. Being taken care of like that—it really did feel wonderful.
“If we can get out of here… then we can give it a try,” Ning Sitong said softly.
Li Tefeng hadn’t held much hope to begin with. They had only met twice. He might have feelings for her, but she might not necessarily like him back—especially with someone like Wen Junnan around, which only made him seem even more inadequate in comparison.
After hearing Ning Sitong’s answer, Li Tefeng’s world instantly felt like spring had arrived. Even the two eerie puppet judges in front of him suddenly seemed much more pleasant to look at. Honestly, they just looked like people who had failed at doing their makeup—there wasn’t anything that scary about them.
“Definitely, definitely,” Li Tefeng said with a goofy grin. He stretched out his hand, wanting to hold Ning Sitong’s, but was afraid of being too abrupt. Yet pulling it back felt unwilling, so he ended up hesitating awkwardly.
In the end, Ning Sitong was the braver one. She took his hand, feeling the warmth of his palm. Her heart pounded rapidly, and she didn’t dare meet his gaze.
Pink bubbles seemed to float around the two of them. Bai Tang finally understood what it felt like to be force-fed “dog food”—it really did feel like something was stuck in his throat.
He looked up at Wen Junnan, who gazed back at him tenderly. Using his high nose, he gently tapped Bai Tang’s nose. “When we get back, we’ll get married.”
Li Tefeng knew Wen Junnan was ahead of others his age, but he hadn’t expected that while he himself had only just gotten a girlfriend, his brother had already secured a wife. That kind of speed was impossible to match.
What had started as a small horror game scene turned into a large-scale display of affection with two couples present. The other players felt like they had something stuck in their throats—well, who told them not to have partners?
Fortunately, the judges were still reliable. Seeing that the first player had completed the round, they forcibly broke the pink atmosphere. They placed the bottle on the ground and spun it. The clattering sound gradually slowed, and the bottle’s mouth pointed toward Wei Wen, who was sitting opposite the judges.