Yue Yiyue opened her eyes, stretched, and rubbed her cheek against the soft blanket beside her.
She then rubbed her head and sat up. She wasn't sure how she had fallen asleep last night; she figured she must have been too tired.
She pinched the blanket, which felt unusually soft, and instead of rushing to get up and put on her customary yellow work uniform, she lay back down.
She cleared her mind, emptying her thoughts.
Because she felt that the place she was in seemed a little off.
It was very off.
Where had this place taken her?
She bit her lip, carefully climbed out of bed, and cautiously surveyed her surroundings.
This was not the 600-yuan basement she rented—that place was damp, cramped, and had a persistent, strange smell of mildew.
This room, however, was spacious and bright, neat and tidy. On the side table, there was a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers emitting a fragrance. The card read: "Welcome back, baby! Let's continue to work hard together—From Gu Nanqiu."
In addition, the table was piled with tutoring materials, such as "Five Years of College Entrance Exam Practice, Three Years of Simulated Tests."
There was also a small box set up on a stand, covered with a glass dome, seemingly very precious.
Yue Yiyue didn't dare touch it; it was someone else's private property.
On the floor were some packed-up boxes containing unknown items, but as her gaze swept over the boxes, an answer immediately popped into her head: "These are to be sold."
Seeing this environment, which was completely out of step with where she had lived before, she felt a little scared.
This place was too unfamiliar. Was it a prank, she wondered?
Or some kind of hidden camera show.
In any case, it wasn't anything good.
The buzzing sound of a phone vibrating rang out, interrupting her train of thought.
She looked down at the new smartphone beside her, which was different from her old, broken-down one. It was a new model from two years ago, the one whose ads were everywhere. She had seen it.
She suddenly remembered that yesterday she had been delivering takeout. And then what?
The subsequent events seemed to be obscured by a fog, and her last memory was that someone had covered her eyes, and something else—soft and a little like jelly—had landed on her mouth.
She was panicking. Oh no, would she be mistaken for a burglar?
But when she saw the messages, Yue Yiyue felt that everything was not as simple as she thought.
"You're back, baby! Welcome back. I missed you so much. Seriously, you just left for so long without saying a word…"
"I saw how miserable you were over there, and I truly felt so sorry for you. But it's okay, I'm here. I'm here. I'm right here, baby."
"You look a little scared, baby. It's nothing; you're just not used to it. Everything will be fine once I come to find you."
"I'm sorry, I almost let them catch you and 'dispose' of you. Luckily, the #%*& is at %$&*. Stay here for a little while. Once things over there are settled, I'll take you back."
"You're so adorable! And carrying that kind of thing. It even burned me, but it's okay. It's the mark you left for me, baby. I'll accept all of it. ^_^"
"But I'll confiscate it for now, because that thing is tainted with a stench—a disgusting stench—and doesn't deserve to be near my fragrant baby."
The messages were as inexplicable and illogical as the ones she had received before. Yue Yiyue thought for a moment, then searched around again, confirming there were no cameras.
Where exactly was this place? And why did these annoying texts follow her here?
Dispose?
This made Yue Yiyue recall the terrifying fish head from before she passed out…
Was there some connection between them?
Because of the fish head, had she triggered something strange…?
Questions popped up one after another, with no obvious starting point.
She gave up trying to dwell on the issue; she couldn't stubbornly insist on solving this problem right now.
She unlocked the phone using the fingerprint and tapped into WeChat. Yue Yiyue quickly skimmed for useful information.
Seeing the active class group chat and a few red notification dots, Yue Yiyue frowned and quickly switched to the photo album.
Amidst hundreds of scenic photos, Yue Yiyue spotted the corner of a school name revealed in one of them and then opened the map application.
She also recalled the name on the flower bouquet.
A bold guess emerged in Yue Yiyue's mind: perhaps she had transmigrated into a book because of the fish head?
The book was the supernatural novel she hadn't finished, A Ghost's Unknown Place (Bù Zhī Guǐ Chù).
One of the red dots prominently displayed a message from Zhang Yang, the main cannon fodder in the school arc.
She looked at the message, which emphasized: "Yiyue, you must come at four o'clock. Everything for the murder mystery game is ready. This time, Gu Nanqiu also agreed. This is our last get-together before we go to university."
Following it was a string of lewd emojis.
Flipping through the previous chat history, Yue Yiyue first replied with an emoji commonly used by the phone's owner, according to her habits. She rubbed her head.
She had initially noticed the book because there was a small cannon fodder character with the same name as her. Furthermore, the book had a great reputation; it was said the author was mentally unstable and wrote things that were disgusting and bizarre.
She had only read half of it and already strongly agreed with others' reviews: the book was truly disgusting, featuring all sorts of horrific ways to die.
But the plot was well-written. The portrayal of the female lead, Gu Nanqiu, was like a ray of light in the apocalypse.
She was a genuine "Mary Sue"—strong, decisive, confident, and constantly evolving into a leader as the plot progressed, traveling through one bizarre region after another.
Such a character was immensely captivating. Yue Yiyue, who was struggling hard in a dark place, was irresistibly drawn to this kind of role and repeatedly wished she could also be "purified."
After all, the original book did happen to have a cannon fodder character with the same name as her, "Yue Yiyue."
She should have been able to read the subsequent plot after finishing that one delivery.
But… now…
It was too absurd.
She had actually arrived in such a world and become "Yue Yiyue."
She continued to examine the information on the phone. The passcode was the same as her old, worn-out phone. The wallet balance had several thousand yuan. Gu Nanqiu was the only contact pinned to the top.
Their chat history wasn't extensive; most of it involved money transfers.
She then looked through the files on the desk. They were neatly stacked, mostly documents. Right on top was an acceptance letter from C University, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature…
She had also been admitted to this university before but had given it up due to certain circumstances.
With the sudden opportunity to study again, Yue Yiyue felt a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
She picked up the acceptance letter, and a few dropped photos caught her attention. She picked them up curiously and saw the faces in the photos had been completely scratched up with a sharp tool. Beside them was red handwriting: "The notebook—"
The notebook was clipped nearby and wasn't hard to find. Yue Yiyue picked it up and flipped through it. The beginning contained ordinary records of a boring study life, but it changed starting on a certain day: "That Gu Nanqiu is so disgusting. How can there be a girl like her? I don't like her."
"So annoying. She just stands there and smiles. Why? Everyone is attracted to her. It's so disgusting."
Soon, it changed again: "Actually, Gu Nanqiu is quite nice to me. I was too impulsive before. Luckily, she's forgiving and let it go."
"We became good friends. I didn't realize she was actually a very lonely little girl. Thankfully, thankfully, I didn't miss out."
"I will try my best to protect her. She looks so weak. I will fulfill the responsibility of an older sister."
"Why are so many people surrounding her? But she said I'm different."
"Why doesn't she look at me? Why?"
The writing became increasingly strange toward the end, and the script became more erratic. It took a long time to clearly make out: "I must have her. I must, must, must have her."
Based on the context, this "her" was clearly Gu Nanqiu.
Coupling this with the original character's actions, Yue Yiyue wondered if it was a case of love turning to hate?
The more she flipped to the end, the more Yue Yiyue felt this was the likely possibility.
After reading these things, Yue Yiyue considered her current situation. After switching phones, she had encountered web novels. This might be just like the books she had read: she had to trigger something to go back.
Although she couldn't fully accept it immediately, since she was already here, the message she had just received instructed her to attend that event, where death could strike at any moment.
She organized her thoughts and began to consider what she could do now.
Should she follow the plot and attend the event?
Or…
She looked out the window at the busy road, and a daring idea surfaced in her mind.
She pursed her lips, looked at the calendar, and took several deep breaths to calm her thoughts.
The novel's setting was in the city she was currently in. Looking at the calendar, it was three years ago. She calmly analyzed the current situation and quickly made several plans for herself.
The rumbling of hunger brought Yue Yiyue's awareness back. She had no choice but to search for good food nearby. She thought that everything today had been too stimulating; she needed to eat something expensive to calm down.
After picking up her phone and carefully selecting and comparing options, Yue Yiyue ultimately chose a discounted $19.9 pasta and milk tea set with a group-buying coupon, which was nearby.
She had seen many people eat this before, and many said it was delicious. This time, she could indulge herself and eat heartily. Afterward, she would go back to cooking for herself.
If she could escape the activity that afternoon.
She should be able to escape, right?
Yue Yiyue pushed the door open and entered the pasta shop, completing the coupon verification with the help of the clerk.
Sitting down at a clean table and sipping the warm water poured by the clerk, she felt her limbs start to warm up.
She stared blankly out the window at the passing pedestrians. What if she just didn't go?
The message sender's words might not come true. What if she just happened to be busy and couldn't make it…
"Hello, here are your pasta and milk tea. This fried chicken is a complimentary snack for being our lucky customer. We wish you happiness every day from now on." The clerk smiled and placed the food in front of Yue Yiyue.
"Thank you." The sudden small bit of luck made Yue Yiyue's tense mood relax a little. She looked at the vibrant bouquet of flowers that arrived with the food: "And this?"
The shop's TV was reporting a serious traffic accident nearby as background noise, but Yue Yiyue was talking to the clerk and happened to miss the scene.
"This is to cheer you up because you seem a little unhappy, little sister. May you be happy every day in the future." The clerk then pushed the milk tea toward Yue Yiyue: "Enjoy your meal."
Watching the kind clerk leave, Yue Yiyue carefully remembered the name of the shop, intending to come back and support their business.
She sat at her seat, twirling her pasta, her mind full of whether she should cancel, whether she could cancel.
After a long period of internal struggle, Yue Yiyue decided to go anyway. What if she could just return home directly?
After experiencing all of this, maybe she could go back to her original world, and then continue to work hard to earn money for Aunt Zhang and everyone at the orphanage.
After all, that's what the novels she picked up had always written.
The phone buzzed. Yue Yiyue glanced at it, and a fear of being watched welled up instantly.
"Why did you accept the rose she gave you? Why? Didn't you see the way she looked at you? Disgusting, vulgar. There was nothing but lust in her eyes."
"Why did you smile at her? Why do you love her? Why? I was the one who came first! Why!!!"
"Ah, ah, ah, baby, you look so cute eating! I almost regret it, but no, seriously, why are you so wonderful? I love you so much. I forgive you for cheating."
"It looks like you're thinking about going home. Baby, don't worry too much. Someone will take care of the person who keeps distracting you. Now, you can only focus your attention on me, only on me. Otherwise, I'm not sure if I'll lose control."
Seeing the chilling message, Yue Yiyue cautiously looked around.
The entire shop only had herself and the clerk.
The clerk was busy in the back kitchen and didn't have a phone in hand—ruled out.
She then looked out at the busy street. Many people were rushing past with phones, but no one was stopping.
"Baby doesn't need to look for me. Thank you for being willing to look for me. I will be in a place you don't know, always… always… always watching you."
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. Don't worry, I will protect you. I won't let &#%% harm you there."
"Baby, listen. Be good here. Only then can you safely go back."
"You won't be hunted down and disposed of after you return."
The electronic screen flickered for a moment before finally going black.
After a long time, the clerk came over and tapped on the table: "Hello, the pasta will taste bad if you don't eat it soon."
Yue Yiyue came back to her senses, picked up the fork that had fallen onto the table, and thanked her in a low voice.
Her mind was completely occupied by the recent text messages, automatically filtering out the alarming information.
Only one instruction remained.
Be good here…
Only then can you go back…
She quickly finished the last few slices of onion, crunched the last bit of ice in her cup, and habitually cleaned up the table. After thanking the smiling waiter who stood beside her, she walked out a little stiffly.
As she stepped out of the shop, a large cloud happened to cover the hot sun. A slight breeze came, and the leaves of an unknown street tree rustled softly. The cicadas kept up their incessant, noisy chirping.
Yue Yiyue only then realized that it was summer here.
In an unknown corner, the clerk smiled as she carefully handled the plate, knife, and fork that Yue Yiyue had touched.
She kissed the knife and fork, which still held Yue Yiyue's warmth, and said with a hint of regret: "I'm so jealous that you got to be used. I'm very useful too, seriously."