episode_0008

Su Qingya suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.

She quickly placed her hand over Xu Nian’s.

“Nian, Nian-Nian, calm down, calm down.”

Xu Nian froze, her previously raised tail drooping back down and swaying gently.

……It seemed her exaggerated performance had worked.

That’s right—everything just now had been an act. Xu Nian knew exactly what she was doing.

But who would’ve thought that so-called “tomorrow’s banquet” wasn’t a homecoming dinner?

Instead, it was a reward for saving someone’s life.

An unexpected turn of events.

What exactly had happened?

Xu Nian’s heart itched with curiosity.

But then again, this was the protagonist. Now that the story’s beginning was approaching, crises just kept coming one after another.

Of course, Xu Nian wasn’t actually angry.

She still trusted Su Qingya deeply.

Plus, Su Qingya had inexplicably turned into a yandere.

One of a yandere’s defining traits was their obsessive devotion and possessiveness toward the one they loved.

So that “invitation to dinner” might’ve genuinely just meant ordering him a dish before leaving.

Xu Nian’s voice returned to its usual playful tone.

“Qingya, what happened? You have to explain it to me. What do you mean, ‘saved your life’? How could you even think of hiding something this important from me? No matter what, I am your other half, aren’t I? When it comes to matters of life and death, I have every right to know.”

“No. If you learn about it, then it will also learn about you. It’ll appear in your life, dragging you deeper and deeper into the abyss. I can’t let you get caught up in danger. It’s enough that I’m the one tangled up in this mess.”

Xu Nian stiffened.

If you know it, it knows you?

She suddenly recalled the most unusual element from the third simulation.

“Emotion Beast.”

“How do you know about that?!”

Su Qingya’s expression twisted with something like agitation.

Xu Nian froze again.

So, she’d guessed right.

If you know it, it knows you?

And then it appears in the life of whoever becomes aware of it.

Xu Nian’s thoughts ground to a halt.

Then why… during the third simulation… had the news actively reported on it?

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

This was a conspiracy.

“I… overheard people talking about it on my way home.”

“This…”

“Qingya.” Xu Nian suddenly feigned seriousness, burying all traces of her usual playfulness.

“Do you really think that just because I don’t know, I won’t get dragged into it? If it already exists, then danger is inevitable. It’s better to prepare early. So hurry up and tell me what’s going on.”

“But… Nian-Nian, I’ll protect you.”

“Qingya, the best way to protect someone is to make them just as strong as you are. Only by having the power to defend yourself can you survive when danger comes. And besides… I already know about it, don’t I?”

“……You’re right.” After a long hesitation, Su Qingya sighed in resignation.

“It’s… yesterday, when I went to the supermarket, I ran into a ‘ghost wall’ on the way.”

“Ghost wall?”

As she listened, Xu Nian walked to the table and filled the bowl she’d prepared for Su Qingya with dishes rewarded by the system.

“Yeah. I was walking down the street, and the streetlights kept flickering. It was a path I knew like the back of my hand, but it felt like it would never end. I kept walking, trembling the whole time, but the people around me kept disappearing… until I was the only one left.”

“I started running, but no matter which way I went, the scenery stayed exactly the same. I could hear this eerie, scratching laughter, like a cat’s claws. Then I felt something grab my throat—but when I turned around, there was nothing there.”

“My footsteps grew heavier, my vision blurrier. My own shadow started replacing me. My heart was pounding. The sky grew darker… and darker… closing in on me, swallowing my sight, until it was about to engulf me completely.”

Xu Nian’s heart clenched as she listened.

Seizing the opportunity, she fed bites of food to Su Qingya, who seemed lost in the memory.

“And then… I saw you.”

“You saw me?”

Xu Nian had been at home all last night. She hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Yes, you. I was overjoyed at first, but when I got closer… you stabbed me. And you were smiling… so strangely.”

“But at the last moment, he appeared. He pulled me out of that space, and that’s how I survived.”

“After I asked, I learned it was a monster that feeds on fear. The ‘you’ I saw was just its disguise. Once it targets someone, it creates an atmosphere of terror, feeding on their fear. When that fear reaches a certain point… the prey gets devoured.”

“A monster that feeds on fear?”

“Yes. It’s a type of Emotion Beast called a Dread Beast. Maybe because I was still terrified afterward, I barely remember how I got home. I went to bed early. When I woke up, I wanted to call you for comfort, but then… you played that awful joke on me.”

Su Qingya spoke haltingly, as if she didn’t want to relive it. Her words came out rushed.

Xu Nian could tell her emotions were fluctuating wildly—she was on the verge of breaking down.

Her last sentence carried a bitter edge.

“Nian-Nian… that ‘breakup’ was just a joke, right?”

“Of course. No matter how many times I say it, it’s always just a joke. How could I ever bear to leave you?”

Xu Nian hurried to reassure her.

So this was the problem.

Su Qingya’s mind had definitely been affected by that so-called Dread Beast.

It must’ve planted seeds of fear in her heart long ago.

That’s why her emotions had changed so drastically.

No… no, this wasn’t right. Something was very wrong.

Xu Nian’s thoughts raced.

If things had gone according to the original plot—if she hadn’t come to this world, hadn’t become Su Qingya’s lover—didn’t that mean Su Qingya would’ve inevitably faced this crisis last night and been saved by the so-called male lead?

Then it would’ve been a classic “hero rescues the beauty” scenario: Su Qingya falling for the male lead at first sight, her fears dispelled by him.

The next day, she’d return home, be mocked by the fake heiress, then attend the banquet to bond with the male lead. Later, she’d use his influence to retaliate against the fake heiress.

That route was healthy. Her personality wouldn’t have been affected.

The chopsticks in Xu Nian’s hand snapped without her realizing it. Her brow furrowed tightly before relaxing again.

But because Su Qingya’s heart was already full of her…

She couldn’t accept the male lead’s concern. She’d sought comfort from Xu Nian instead—only to be met with that kind of joke.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea something like this happened to you. It was awful of me to make that joke.”

Even if there were reasons, guilt still welled up inside her.

Xu Nian moved to Su Qingya’s side, set the bowl of food on the table, and pulled her into an embrace, tucking her head against her chest to offer comfort.

But Su Qingya suddenly moved—pinning Xu Nian to the couch instead.

“If you know it was awful, Nian-Nian, then you’d better apologize properly. And apologies… require sincerity, you know~”