The dead were gone

Xiao Qian pointed at the man in the python-patterned robe and looked smugly at everyone. "A Kai is my lover!"

"My lover kicked through the dimensional barrier to take me home!"

A Kai stood in the distance, his deep voice filled with reluctance. "Xiao Qian, I have to leave..."

The smile vanished from Xiao Qian's lips in an instant. She asked uneasily, "A Kai, where are you going? Are you going to abandon me too?"

A Kai's eyes were red, his voice apologetic and urgent. "Time's up. I have to return to the world I belong to. Xiao Qian, you have to stay here. You have to keep living..."

"No!" Xiao Qian screamed. "A Kai, you're all I have! You're the only one who protects me... If you leave, where will I find you? Where will I find any trace that you ever existed?!"

A Kai looked at Xiao Qian, reluctant to part. "Xiao Qian, my princess consort, your love is proof that I exist..."

Xiao Qian stared at A Kai with reddened eyes, afraid he would vanish the next second, and said plaintively, "But I don't want this... A Kai, the phone screen is too cold. I want to hold your hand."

"As the snowflakes come and go, when will I finally get to see a thirteenth month that belongs to us alone?"

A Kai's shoulders trembled. He raised his hand and waved it gently, and the transparent barrier separating them instantly fractured with countless cracks and shattered into a heap of rubble.

A Kai could not wait to gather Xiao Qian's frail body into his arms. His warm lips pressed gently against her forehead. "I'm sorry, Xiao Qian. I'm sorry. It's all my fault for coming too late..."

"Promise me, all right? We'll wait together for the first snow, for the spring that isn't far away. Keep living. Every gust of wind is telling you for me that I miss you so much, that I'm always by your side."

Feeling the warmth she had missed for so long in her arms, Xiao Qian sobbed too hard to speak clearly. "Waaah... A Kai, I promise... I promise you..."

"I promise you, every part of the world I see will bear traces of your existence."

Xiao Qian dazedly felt the warmth in her arms gradually turn cold, as though a chill were creeping up along her arms.

Her eyes revealed profound sorrow. At some point, A Kai had quietly dissolved into countless tiny digital fragments, slowly leaving her embrace like dust scattered by the wind.

Xiao Qian murmured shakily, "A Kai, I'm sorry. I lied to you..."

"I know none of it is real..."

Lu Xingchen had remained silent the whole time, afraid to disturb the two of them. Suddenly, his eyes flew wide as he noticed Xiao Qian's eyes brimming with tears and her body slowly leaning forward, limp.

The next second, a gentle smile appeared on Xiao Qian's pale face. As though all her strength had drained away, she let her body enjoy its freedom, and the breeze in the sky lightly lifted the hem of her white dress.

"No!"

Lu Xingchen reacted fastest, charging toward Xiao Qian as swiftly as a cheetah, but he was too far away. His fingertips could only brush a tiny bit of her skirt.

Lu Xingchen anxiously leaned out over the rooftop to look down. A tremendous force suddenly pulled him back by the waist, and the air carried a rich, crisp scent of pine after snow.

Huo Chuyun frowned and demanded angrily, "Lu Xingchen, do you have a death wish?"

Lu Xingchen had thought Xiao Qian would listen to A Kai's advice and stay to live her life. Who could have imagined that A Kai would take her last shred of hope away with him?

"Brother Chu, what do we do? Xiao Qian jumped."

At the sight of Lu Xingchen's helpless expression, Huo Chuyun's anger immediately vanished. Knowing he had become too immersed in the story, he leaned close to his ear and soothed him softly.

"Baby, don't be afraid. Xiao Qian will be fine. We're filming a variety show, remember? The director won't let anything happen to her."

Huo Chuyun pointed downstairs. "Look, baby. The production team put a rescue cushion down there."

Lu Xingchen looked down in the direction Huo Chuyun pointed, but Xiao Qian was nowhere on the rescue cushion.

What had Xiao Qian meant by her last words?

None of it was real?

Lu Xingchen looked toward the school gates. The scene that had just been a bloody mess, along with the students howling in agony, had all disappeared.

Lu Xingchen whipped his head around. The three girls from Room 414 and the shadow had disappeared too.

Everything looked calm and peaceful, as though life were tranquil and beautiful.

"Ring, ring, ring!" A phone rang shrilly.

Mission three failed. Twenty hunters have been released and will begin the pursuit on campus.

Lu Xingchen sat back against the wall and rested his head on Huo Chuyun's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Brother Chu. I was too impulsive."

Huo Chuyun fell silent for a while before saying slowly, "Baby, other people might think you're nasty and arrogant, but I know you've always been kind and brave at heart."

"Even after seeing so much filth and ugliness, you still have a gentle heart. I really like that about you, but I don't want you disregarding your own safety."

"Have you forgotten? We're lovers now. I'm always worrying about you."

Lu Xingchen knew Huo Chuyun was angry, but with the cameras nearby, he could only gently rub his head against Huo Chuyun's shoulder.

With less than three minutes left before the game ended, countless heavy footsteps sounded outside the rooftop door. At least ten hunters charged onto the roof.

Jiang Jingyi used the Amnesty Card, but it could only make the hunter closest to her turn around and leave. The other hunters swept the rooftop.

Everyone gave up struggling. Only Huo Chuyun immediately pulled Lu Xingchen into his arms, shielding him.

But with so many hunters, Lu Xingchen could not escape capture either.

Jiang Jingyi swore angrily, "This Amnesty Card is practically useless! It only makes one hunter turn around and leave. Are they messing with me?"

Su Tianle consoled her. "Jingyi, calm down. There's nothing we can do. We failed mission three."

Song Anran's eyes were still red. She sighed. "I wonder how Xiao Qian is doing."

At the mention of Xiao Qian, Jiang Jingyi grew a little sad. "People are vicious. A rope always snaps at its thinnest point, and misfortune always seeks out those with hard lives. Xiao Qian clearly did nothing wrong and only wanted to live her life, yet people still couldn't stand her."

Lu Xingchen shared his analysis with Huo Chuyun, his voice somewhat subdued.

"A Kai was Xiao Qian's virtual lover. Taking Xiao Qian's last words into account, the campus haunting was all in her imagination. The revenge ending never existed at all. The villains were still alive, while the dead were gone."

Huo Chuyun knew Lu Xingchen had a strong capacity for empathy. Otherwise, he could not have read the book, learned how Huo Chuyun's story ended, and felt so terribly sorry for him.

Huo Chuyun comforted him. "Once the game ends, let's go find Director Song. There might be a different ending."

Lu Xingchen nodded, immediately seeing things in a new light. He happily hugged Huo Chuyun's arm and kept swinging it. "Brother Chu, you're so good to me. Are you not angry anymore?"

Huo Chuyun laughed at his lively little expressions, then put on a stern face the next second. "I'm not that easy to appease."