Chapter 37: Even Rabbits Can Get Their Crotches Stuck

Lu Xi rummaged through her pockets in a frantic rush. The next second, a clean, fair hand holding a tissue gently wiped the bloodstain from her face.

"I..." She blushed, just about to offer an explanation.

"I know," Ji Chenling said, struggling to suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward. "The weather is dry. My sister has been a bit inflamed lately."

Lu Xi’s internal state at that moment was one of collapse: "..."

The excuse she had been preparing to spout as nonsense sounded entirely different once Ji Chenling said it himself.

"Do we really have to go?" Lu Xi decided to change the subject.

Ji Chenling raised an eyebrow. "Let's go."

"With me here, you won't be in any danger, sister."

He said this with absolute certainty.

Lu Xi asked, "What rank is your name on the leaderboard?"

Ji Chenling paused for a moment. "My name isn't on the leaderboard."

He wasn't lying. His name was Ji Chenling, not "Full Stop." Furthermore, Lu Xi’s name wasn't on the player leaderboard either. Her original self had been far too incompetent, and the current Lu Xi wasn't much better—one might even say she was even worse.

Lu Xi sighed. Two people who couldn't even make it onto the player leaderboard were actually planning to challenge a hidden quest. Was this even scientific?

Other players either had no intention of challenging it at all, or were eager to try but, after weighing their own strength, were too afraid of death to make a move.

Ji Xuan was preparing to go, but before he could take two steps, Jiang Yanyan grabbed him.

"What’s wrong?" He frowned.

Jiang Yanyan shook her head at him and whispered, "It’s a trap. It’s very dangerous."

The "Eye of Truth" she had purchased with points had quickly come in handy. In the depths of her intuition, she could sense that the group of seemingly harmless children actually possessed an SSS-level danger rating. Since entering the instance world, this was the first time she had encountered a ghost of this caliber. She wasn't a fool; in this situation, the only way to win would be to have the expert "Full Stop" from the leaderboard step in.

The two of them followed the group of children, chatting casually along the way. Seeming to notice her nervousness, Ji Chenling kept looking for topics to discuss.

"What is my sister like in the real world? What do you like to do? Do you have any wishes?"

"Wishes?"

She did have those.

"Expectations for the future, I suppose." Lu Xi's memories were pulled back many years. "When I was little, my ideal job was to wear nice clothes and shoes, and wear pretty makeup."

"Then, the hours would be flexible, the work would be simple, and I wouldn't have to deal with backstabbing colleagues. I’d have time to eat breakfast, drink afternoon tea after a nap, the pay and benefits would be great, and the boss would treat me like a treasure."

Ji Chenling looked at her profile, his gaze earnest. "And then? Did it come true?"

The young girl shook her head. "Of course not. Because after I entered society, I discovered that such a profession is actually called a 'mistress'."

Ji Chenling immediately laughed until he was trembling.

Lu Xi sighed, her face full of helplessness. "When I was a kid, I thought making money was easy. Only when I grew up did I realize I was too young back then; any little difficulty could defeat me."

"If there’s a difficulty, just step over it and make the word 'difficulty' disappear from your life's dictionary forever," Ji Chenling said, laughing while trying to guide her.

The girl shrugged and spread her hands. "You don't understand."

"There is no such word as 'difficulty' in my dictionary, because I don't even have a dictionary. I just muddle through life, so later on, my wish changed."

Ji Chenling found he inexplicably loved hearing her talk, his dark eyes shining with expectant light, waiting for her to continue.

"What wish? Not wanting to be a mistress, but wanting to be a 'fourth'?"

Lu Xi said with complete seriousness, "No. Later on, I hoped I could meet one of those... rich young masters who would pay me a hundred bucks for every kowtow I performed."

If she met someone like that, she would work overtime to kowtow. She guaranteed that no one in the world could be more of a workaholic than her. As long as life gave Lu Xi a little bit of trouble, she would collapse. She admitted she didn't need much love, but she did need a lot of money.

Her train of thought was always peculiar. For example, she had once thought about having a child in the future. Unfortunately, Lu Xi was terrified of pain, so becoming a stepmother became her first choice—no substitutions accepted.

Ji Chenling laughed until his stomach ached. He had wanted to play along with her abstract humor, but his efforts were no match for her natural talent. Finally, he simply leaned over her, his lips grazing the girl's earlobe.

"Get off, I can't carry you," Lu Xi said, looking at him with disgust.

"Keep talking, I want to hear more." Ji Chenling rested his chin on her neck, rubbing against her affectionately.

Lu Xi replied, "That act of acting cute doesn't work on me."

Though she said that, she still dragged him along as she continued forward.

Two small rabbits hiding in the bushes looked at each other. Miss Rabbit twitched her split lip. "Once they leave this girl, I bet nobody else will treat the Great Demon King like a child to be pampered, right?"

"What do you think their relationship is? The Great Demon King gave the word last night: anyone who dares to hurt Lu Xi again, even just a little bit..." Mr. Rabbit didn't finish his sentence, tugging at his overalls.

"What's wrong?" Miss Rabbit looked down at her companion's new clothes.

Mr. Rabbit's long ears trembled, as if recalling some unpleasant memories. "You don't know—last night, I tried to scare that Lu Xi, but I was caught red-handed by the Great Demon King halfway through."

"And you got beaten up?" Miss Rabbit exclaimed.

Mr. Rabbit had teary eyes. "Beaten? I was almost cooked alive! If he hadn't been in a decent mood, I’d be spicy rabbit head by now." He raised a furry paw to wipe the tears from his eyes. "My old clothes were torn to shreds by him last night. These overalls don't fit well; they’re riding up."

For a rabbit, wearing clothes that ride up is nothing short of torture.

The bushes shifted. Lu Xi looked back. "Did you hear a sound just now? Something seems to be moving over there in the bushes."

Ji Chenling followed her gaze, his eyes flashing briefly, his tone calm. "Probably just the wind."

Lu Xi didn't pay it any mind and continued forward.

Following the group of children, Lu Xi arrived at a classroom. Before she even entered, she heard the crisp, synchronized sound of children's songs from inside. It must have been music class.

The moment Lu Xi stepped into the classroom, the previously quiet room turned eerily strange. Every student, including the teacher at the podium, looked up and turned their heads in unison, staring at her expressionlessly.

Her hair stood on end, and Lu Xi swallowed hard. She hadn't forgotten that this was still a horror game world, no matter how cozy it appeared on the surface.

Suddenly, everyone in the classroom shouted in unison: "Welcome, new classmate! Welcome to the world of happiness!"

Lu Xi stood at the door, stunned for a moment. The sunlight today was dazzling. The curtains in the classroom were all drawn back, and the sun shone through the large windows, illuminating the entire room and making it look bright and warm.

In truth, if she hadn't known beforehand that this was a horror game, Lu Xi might have actually thought this was just an ordinary classroom—perhaps even one filled with warmth and enthusiasm.