Chapter 5: Escape

And so, I continued living with Xie Chu at the estate.

I never asked about that so-called “proposal,” but I could pretty much guess what had happened. The whole thing had been a trap he set for the system. At the time, both the system and I thought the mission was about to be completed. Who would’ve thought we were the ones getting played?

Xie Chu rarely went out. Every day, someone would bring things to the estate and leave immediately afterward. From morning until night, the entire house held only the two of us.

He handled his work on his laptop. Whenever he got a phone call, he would go to another room to take it.

My phone had been confiscated long ago, and I wasn’t allowed to use any other electronic devices either. Luckily, I knew how to draw. As long as I had paper, pencils, and colored pencils, I could sit there all day without getting bored.

At night, we slept in the same bed.

He always turned his back to me and never said a word.

But honestly… that alone was enough for me.

It no longer mattered how much time passed. The only person I cared about in this world… was beside me every single day.

Until one day.

Xie Chu was cooking dinner while I sat nearby, drawing. Suddenly, gunshots rang out from outside.

Bang!

Then several more followed.

In that instant, I understood.

The first side map… had finally opened.

【2:00 a.m. East Gate.】

I clenched the slip of paper in my hand, then quietly stuffed it into the trash. After that, I calmly tied the bag shut.

“Let me cook tonight.” I looked up at Xie Chu. “What do you want to eat?”

As indifferent as ever, he replied, “Anything.”

I made three dishes and a soup.

Xie Chu ate in silence.

But compared to before, the house had become a little livelier. Maybe because I kept hearing gunshots outside, Xie Chu had even installed a TV for me so I could watch the news.

He was too lazy to explain what was happening outside, so he figured I might as well watch it myself.

On the TV, the news anchor smiled professionally.

“Tonight, the city will see its first snowfall of the season… Everyone, remember to bundle up if you’re heading outside…”

The weather forecast was playing.

Xie Chu merely glanced at the screen before continuing his dinner, looking every bit like he was saying, Let it snow. I’m only interested in my dinner.

“Do you want some dessert? I could—”

“No.”

He set down his chopsticks and went straight upstairs.

I remained alone in the enormous living room, so quiet I could practically hear loneliness taking a leisurely stroll through the place.

In the end, I wandered into the kitchen and baked a small batch of pastries. While I was at it, I organized the drawings I’d made over the past few days.

That slip of paper, of course, had been sent by the system.

A few days ago, it had finally managed to establish contact with me again, saying it had found a chance to get me out of here.

Two in the morning.

Xie Chu hugged me every night like I was some precious treasure he’d lost and finally gotten back. Getting out of bed without waking him was already difficult, let alone sneaking outside.

But tonight, he didn’t come back to the bedroom.

I had too much on my mind to sleep anyway.

The house was strangely quiet.

There was no sound of a door opening. No footsteps.

At exactly two o’clock, I quietly slipped out of bed.

Only a single dim yellow light remained on in the villa, just like when I had closed my bedroom door earlier.

I went downstairs.

Xie Chu was nowhere to be found.

Outside, the wind howled in violent gusts.

I pulled on a thick coat and headed toward the East Gate.

That was the entrance where Xie Chu had first “invited” me here.

Standing before the massive gate, I stared at the heavy wooden doors in front of me.

Honestly, I had never once tried to open them since the day I arrived.

I stepped forward and pulled the latch.

Bang—

A blast of icy wind immediately swept in, pelting my face with snow.

【Qianqian! I finally managed to reconnect with you!】

【After Xie Chu locked you up, Wei Yi practically turned the entire world upside down looking for you. In the end, she went straight to Xie Chu and demanded that he hand you over, but he refused no matter what. Things between them are basically at a breaking point now!】

【Qianqian, the first side map has opened! That means your mission is officially complete!】

I sat down beneath the covered outdoor corridor.

The estate lights cast long shadows over the bare branches, making them look like a swarm of claws writhing around in a horror movie.

【I’ve got a plan! While you’re escaping, Liu Feng’s people will shoot you. That way, Xie Chu will completely turn against the male and female leads! Then the storyline should finally fall back into place!】

“Mm.”

I lowered my head and nudged a pebble with the toe of my shoe.

【Qianqian… or maybe…】

The system suddenly hesitated.

【This time, you don’t have to “die” anymore. You can leave directly and let Wei Qing return to being an ordinary NPC.】

I fell silent.

【This time is different from before… You’ve already been here for three months.】

Three months…

Had it really been that long?

I pulled my coat tighter around myself.

It carried Xie Chu’s scent, probably because he’d kept it crammed into the same closet as his clothes all this time.

Actually, this really was the perfect time to leave.

Over the past three months, I had soothed him in every possible way. His anger should have faded quite a bit by now. He was smart enough to figure out how to block the system, so he had probably already realized that I came from another world.

This time, I could leave him a goodbye letter.

There was no need for the heartbreak of last time, and I wouldn’t push him into another fit of madness that made him want to destroy the world.

【Qianqian, you can think about it a little longer. You don’t have to decide until before dawn. There’s no rush.】

I suddenly asked, “How did you know I’d be able to get out tonight?”

【Because it snowed today…】

The system abruptly fell silent.

Right then, a gust of wind swept past.

The first snow of the season began drifting down from the sky.

Something inside my mind seemed to go click.

A memory suddenly flashed to life.

I sprang to my feet and turned, running straight back inside.