Chapter 2
I had to admit, the opening cinematic was scary.
But that was only the opening move. What really bothered me was the meaning behind the title.
Fourteen Nights?
Did I have to spend fourteen nights in the game?
Surely a game that put people into comas couldn’t be that simple. With no further clues, though, I put the question aside.
Pei Yu’s affection seemed genuine. After I climbed out of the coffin, he even took my pulse. Once he was certain I really had come back to life, he reached beneath his veil with a silk handkerchief and spent a long time wiping away tears.
Since I wasn’t dead, the young men didn’t need to be buried with me.
He waved a hand, and they scattered like startled birds.
Outside the windows, the view darkened as the sun sank.
Pei Yu escorted me all the way to my bedchamber. Before leaving, he thoughtfully warned me, “The wind is strong at night. Remember to keep the doors and windows shut, my lady.”
It sounded as though he had my interests at heart.
After he left, I went inside. An enormous folding screen stood by the entrance, beside two intricately carved wooden chairs. To the northwest was the young lady’s dressing table, covered in rouge, powder, and assorted jewelry. Farther in stood an elaborate canopy bed with its own raised platform, draped on either side with matching gauze curtains.
Nothing wrong with the layout. But every piece of furniture was bright red. Walking in felt like falling into a vat of dye.
There was even a full-length mirror inset into the bed, reflecting every tiny detail. The “me” in it had hairpins all over her coiffure and wore a thin summer dress.
Why did she have a red silk scarf tied around her neck in summer?
I was about to remove it when someone knocked.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Xiaozhuzi, miss.”
He sounded like a servant.
I had been about to explore the lady’s private chamber by night. Irritated, I said, “I’ve gone to bed. What do you want?”
“Which consort will you summon tonight?”
“Consort?”
“Yes! You said yourself—at least one every night!”
“…”
Apparently my character was a spoiled, extravagant libertine.
As soon as the servant finished speaking, a translucent panel appeared: [Invite any consort to spend a delightful night with you: 0/1]
Yikes. A red-text quest?
After weighing my options, I called through the door, “Bring whoever I usually like best!”
“Right away!”
Xiaozhuzi’s footsteps pattered off into the distance.
Relieved, I opened the window a crack. An ashen moon hung at the edge of the low sky, so impossibly huge that I could make out its faint dark spots with my naked eye.
The night looked even more ominous than the day. After one glance, I shut the window tight.
Soon, a confusion of footsteps sounded outside again.
A delicate, frail voice spoke through the door. “Miss, Ah Chi is here.”
I answered.
When I opened the door, I discovered not one man but twins. They looked soft and delicate, hardly dangerous.
Once they removed their cloaks, all they wore underneath were flimsy, translucent gauze robes that concealed nothing.
…The lady certainly knew how to have fun.
I didn’t have the energy for two NPCs, so I tried to dismiss one. “I’m tired today. I only need one attendant. Which of you is staying?”
They exchanged looks.
Ah Chi clung to his brother. “We can’t be separated, my lady. Please…”
“It’s only one night. What’s the big deal?”
As I spoke, I happened to notice the red cloth tucked at his waist. It looked familiar. I pointed. “What’s that?”
At my question, he timidly untied the cloth and handed it over, trembling.
A dialogue box immediately appeared over the item:
[Ah Chi and Ah Bi’s gauze scarves. A pair, just like their owners.]
A pair?
I quickly untied the scarf around my own neck and compared them. Exactly the same!
My heart lurched. I spun toward the mirror in the bed. In the brilliant moonlight, a livid bruise cut deep into my pale neck, as though it had nearly been strangled clean through!
Holy shit!
Behind me, the twins clung tightly together, licking each other’s tears and cowering as they begged. “My lady, may we have our things back?”
Before I could react, a pale palm reached me.
The problem was, its owner was still standing by the wall. His arm stretched across the entire room, several meters long. How did that make any sense?
Shaking, I placed one cloth in his hand. The twins weren’t satisfied. Their voices only grew shriller.
“We’re a pair! You can’t leave one out!”
I was about to throw over the other one, but they began screaming wildly in their inseparable embrace. Their bodies started twisting and turning!
“We can’t be separated, my lady! Please—”
“Pleeease—aaah—”
It was a sight no native of a material world could have imagined.
Their limbs grew longer and longer, piling up wetly on either side of their bodies. Two heads swung about on thin, limp necks. Their mouths opened wider and wider, splitting almost to their chests!
I said nothing.
My feet, however, developed minds of their own and carried me toward the window.
Before the enormous humanoid squid could react, I balled up the remaining cloth and hurled it at that melting face.
“Catch!”
Then I flung open the window and jumped!