"Who is it?"
After hearing the knock at the door, Lin Yu had no choice but to place the envelope back on the coffee table as he walked over and asked.
However, after he spoke—
There was no response at all.
At the same time his voice echoed, the knocking outside disappeared, as if it had only been an illusion.
Lin Yu walked up to the door and looked through the peephole.
Outside…
There was nothing.
Seeing this, Lin Yu frowned slightly.
Very quickly, he seemed to realize something. He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door.
"Brother Lin Yu!"
As the door opened, a slightly childish voice rang out beside his ear.
Turning his head, Lin Yu saw a little girl standing on the staircase leading to the upper floor.
She looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a pink dress and holding a colorful lollipop in her hand.
With her big eyes, jet-black long hair, and soft, round little face, she looked extremely adorable.
The moment she saw the door open, the little girl grinned and trotted down the stairs to Lin Yu's side.
"So, Brother Lin Yu—did I scare you?"
"I did," Lin Yu replied, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
"Brother Lin Yu, you're lying! If you got scared, how can you still be smiling?"
Seeing his smile, the little girl seemed to realize something and immediately put on an "I've been fooled" expression.
"No way. Your brother here was scared out of his mind."
As he spoke, Lin Yu even made an exaggerated frightened face.
The little girl burst into giggles, laughing nonstop at his expression.
"Come in," Lin Yu said, stepping aside. "Xiangxiang."
"Brother Lin Yu, here—have some candy…"
After entering the apartment, the little girl seemed to remember something. She stretched out her hand and offered him the lollipop she'd been holding.
"Xiangxiang, be honest—did you mess up again?"
Instead of taking the candy, Lin Yu put on a serious expression.
After all—
He knew this little girl extremely well.
This all dated back to shortly after he'd moved into this apartment.
One day, while he was lazing around in the living room, someone knocked on his door.
When he opened it, he saw this same little girl standing outside. Thinking she might have gotten lost, he quickly opened the door to ask what was wrong.
Unexpectedly, she shoved a lollipop into his hand and then ran downstairs at lightning speed, leaving him completely confused.
Just as Lin Yu stood there dumbfounded, the little girl ran back upstairs again, this time holding homework in her hands, saying that since he'd accepted her candy, he had to help her with her homework.
Lin Yu had been utterly stunned.
And before he could even react—
The little girl pulled out a photo of a very pretty young woman from her backpack.
She said the girl in the photo was her older sister, and if Lin Yu helped her with her homework, she would introduce her sister to him.
At first, Lin Yu wanted to refuse.
But seeing how cute the little girl was, he eventually agreed.
Of course, he only agreed because she was adorable—her beautiful sister had nothing to do with it.
At the time, Lin Yu thought she was just joking and that would be the end of it.
But the next day—
The little girl actually showed up with her stunning older sister in tow, saying she'd already brought her over and the rest was up to him.
The result was an unbearably awkward situation for both Lin Yu and the sister.
"Brother Lin Yu, how can you think of me like that?"
The little girl rolled her eyes at him, clearly displeased.
"Wow—Brother Lin Yu, can I drink that?"
Just as she was about to say more, her gaze landed on the cola Lin Yu had just opened, and her face immediately lit up.
"Please, Brother Lin Yu…"
"My sister and Grandpa never let me drink it…"
Before Lin Yu could respond, she hugged his leg, looked up at him with those big eyes, and pleaded.
"No."
"First tell me—what did you come here for today?"
Lin Yu shook his head expressionlessly, clearly teasing her.
"Grandpa asked me to come find you. He said you should come to our house tomorrow at noon—there's something very, very, very important he wants to tell you."
After saying that, she placed the lollipop on the coffee table, picked up the cola Lin Yu had just opened without hesitation, and started gulping it down.
"Ahhh—so good!"
After a few sips, her face lit up with happiness.
"Your grandpa is looking for me?"
Lin Yu froze slightly, confusion appearing on his face.
"Do you know why?"
"I don't know," the little girl said, sitting on the couch and holding the cola with both hands. "But Grandpa said it's very, very, very important."
She emphasized "very" three times.
Lin Yu didn't say anything, just shook his head slightly.
He knew her grandpa well—he'd even played chess with him before and sampled some of the old man's treasured tea.
"Brother Lin Yu, do you have any chips?"
The little girl suddenly looked at him with anticipation.
"No."
Lin Yu shook his head decisively.
"Ah…"
Her hopeful expression instantly vanished.
Seeing this, Lin Yu silently walked into the room, then came back with a bag of chips and placed it on the coffee table.
"Brother Lin Yu, you're so bad! You tricked my innocent little heart—this kind of thing needs at least two bags of chips to make up for it…"
Her eyes instantly lit up as she tore open the bag and stuffed chips into her mouth.
"Brother Lin Yu, you're really good to me. Grandpa and my sister are super strict—they never let me eat this stuff…"
While eating, she chatted happily.
"Why don't you wait until I grow up… and be my girlfriend?"
"That way I can eat all these tasty things every day!"
The moment those words left her mouth—
Lin Yu, who had just taken a sip of cola, almost sprayed it out.
This little brat was way too bold.
If her grandpa or sister heard this, they'd definitely think he had some weird intentions.
Worst case—
He'd be visiting iron bars soon.
"Brother Lin Yu, why are you making that face?"
The little girl stopped eating and looked at him curiously.
"Have your grandpa and sister… heard you say things like that before?"
To protect himself, Lin Yu asked carefully.
"They've heard it. Why?"
"…?"
Lin Yu's expression froze.
"But Grandpa and my sister said I'm too young right now and can't be your girlfriend. I have to wait until I'm an adult."
That sentence made the corner of Lin Yu's mouth twitch repeatedly.
This kid was outrageous enough—but why were her grandpa and sister just as outrageous?!
"Alright, Brother Lin Yu. I've delivered the message—I should head back now."
After finishing the last chip, the little girl raised the cola bottle and drank the last few drops.
She placed it back on the coffee table, hopped off the couch, and headed for the door.
"Okay," Lin Yu replied, patting her head with a smile.
"Hey! You touched my head again! What if I don't grow taller?!"
She complained, though she didn't stop him.
"Bye-bye, Brother Lin Yu. See you tomorrow! Don't miss me~"
After leaving the apartment, she waved and skipped down the stairs.
"See you tomorrow."
After sending her off, Lin Yu returned to the living room and looked at the lollipop she'd left behind, smiling unconsciously.
Wait.
Suddenly, something occurred to him.
His expression turned serious.
Normally speaking—
After hearing what she'd said earlier, shouldn't her grandpa have dragged him away immediately?
Why would he say to wait until adulthood?
Could it be…
That her grandpa was seriously ill and didn't have much time left?
Was tomorrow's invitation meant to explain something to him?
The more Lin Yu thought about it, the more this seemed like the only possibility.
Otherwise, he couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Ah… life is unpredictable."
Sighing, Lin Yu muttered softly.
At that age, the little girl was still innocent and carefree—
She probably had no idea that she might not see her grandpa again soon.
And Lin Yu himself had already been dragged into the Horror Game. Who knew how many dungeons he'd be able to clear?
...
Lin Yu returned to the couch.
Then—
He opened the envelope on the coffee table.
Inside was only one sentence.
[Are you free tomorrow? (*?ω?) I miss you!]
After reading it, Lin Yu put the letter away and walked into his bedroom.
"…What's going on?"
"Why can't I find any information about the Horror Game online?"
Sitting in front of his computer, Lin Yu wore a puzzled expression.
He had thought there would be tons of information online.
But after searching for a long time—
He found nothing.
It was as if the Horror Game didn't exist at all.
Yet Lin Yu was absolutely certain that what he'd experienced wasn't a dream.
After all, he could still log into the Horror Game whenever he wanted.
"Why can't I find anything?"
"I clearly remember unlocking the 'Thousand Viewers' achievement in the dungeon…"
After trying every keyword he could think of and still finding nothing, Lin Yu finally gave up.
He stared at the screen, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Could it be… because I just cleared the newbie dungeon?"
After thinking it over, this seemed like the only possible explanation.
"Looks like I'll have to wait until I clear the next dungeon to see what's really going on…"
With a helpless sigh, Lin Yu leaned back slightly.
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