The first thing Chen Wei noticed when he woke up was the smell. It wasn't the usual smell of his apartment, this was different. This smelled like roses.
The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't on his bed, and the next thing he noticed was the girl standing over him with a knife.
"Good morning, darling." She said, her voice was as sweet as poisoned honey. "Did you sleep well?"
Chen Wei did what any sane person would do in that situation. He screamed. The girl tilted her head, and her long black hair flowing over one shoulder like something out of a shampoo commercial but her smile didn't waver.
"There's no need to be so loud. I made sure we wouldn't be disturbed."
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Chen Wei scrambled backward, hitting the headboard.
"Oh my." She put her delicate hand over her lips, but her eyes dark eyes showed her amusement. "The fever must have been worse than I thought. Don't you remember? I'm Lihua. Your attending physician's daughter?" She gestured around the room with the knife. "You collapsed during orientation yesterday. I've been taking care of you all night."
For the first time, Chen Wei looked around the room properly. It was huge, easily three times the size of his apartment. But none of it was real.
Last night, he'd been up until 3 AM playing a game.
Eternal Academy: Five Paths to Forever.
It was a dating sim his coworker had recommended jokingly. He had downloaded it just for fun, to see how bad it was. But then one route led to another and…
Oh no.
Chen Wei looked at Lihua again. She had elegant features, and wore a traditional dress with modern touches. He knew her.
Route Two: The Apothecary's Daughter.
Lihua Zhang. Gentle healer by day, possessive psychopath by night.
He had played her route first because the guide said it was the easiest. But the guide was a liar.
She had poisoned the protagonist seventeen times in his playthrough. Those were just the ones he had counted before he rage-quit and started next route.
"I can see you're still confused." Lihua said, moving closer. The bed dipped under her weight as she sat on the edge. "Let me check your temperature."
She reached for his forehead. Chen Wei instinctively slapped her hand away. Lihua stared at her hand, as if it was a strange object.
"I… see." Her voice still remained sweet. "The fever has made you aggressive. Don't worry." She stood up, and smoothed her dress. "I have just the right thing for that."
She turned to leave, and Chen Wei saw a small table by the door he hadn't noticed before. There was a tray on it with several vials filled with liquids in different colors.
"Wait!" Chen Wei burst out.
She paused, looking back at him.
"Yes, darling?"
Chen Wei's mind raced. He had played this game. He knew the routes. He knew the bad endings. He knew that Lihua's route had forty three different ways to die in the first week alone.
Think, Chen Wei. Think like the protagonist. What would he do?
"I'm sorry." Chen Wei said, trying to sound weak. "You're right. The fever… I didn't mean to…" He fell back on the pillows, and put his one hand dramatically on his forehead. "I just feel so weak."
He watched her from between his fingers. Her expression had changed. She looked happy.
"Of course you do." She murmured, returning to the bed. "You poor thing. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything." She reached out again, and pressed her palm on his forehead.
"Hmm. Still quite warm." Her fingers trailed down the side of his face, along his jaw, to his neck. Then they lingered on his pulse point. "Your heart is beating fast."
Yeah, because you're terrifying.
"I'll prepare a special tonic." She said, standing up again. "It's a family recipe."
She walked towards the door, picked up one of the vials and paused with her hand on the doorknob.
"Oh, and Chen Wei?" She looked back at him, and for a moment, her mask slipped. Her smile was replaced by something raw and hungry. "Don't even think about leaving this room. The door is locked. The windows are weak. And I would be very disappointed if you tried to run away from me." She smiled again.
"I'll be back in ten minutes. Don't miss me too much." She left.
Chen Wei lay there for exactly three seconds before he jumped out of bed.
Okay. Think. I'm in a dating sim. I'm in the protagonist's body, Chen Wei, transfer student, with a tragic backstory, and who is clueless about females.
I had five yanderes who wanted to lock me in basements until Stockholm Syndrome kicked in.
No. Wait!
That was the bad ending summary from the walkthrough. I skimmed the good ending parts. It was something about true love and healing trauma…
It doesn't matter. What matters is surviving.
Chen Wei ran to the door. It was locked, as expected. He ran to the window and opened the curtains. He was at the third floor. Below him, there was a courtyard garden that had beautiful flowers, but most probably poisonous.
Chen Wei stepped away from the window.
This is insane. How come I'm here?
He thought about the game. He remembered the protagonist thought these girls were just misunderstood.
But Chen Wei knew exactly what Lihua was capable of. He had seen every bad ending in her route; including the poison endings, the medical procedure endings, the ending where she never let him leave the infirmary.
He walked back to the bed and sat down.
Okay. Okay. There has to be a way out of this. It's a game. Games have rules. Games have good endings. I just need to figure out…
A soft chime echoed in his head. Chen Wei froze. Then text appeared, floating in his vision like a popup ad.
WELCOME TO ETERNAL ACADEMY: FIVE PATHS TO FOREVER
TUTORIAL BEGINNING
PROTAGONIST IDENTITY CONFIRMED: CHEN WEI
CURRENT STATUS:
LOCATION: Academy Infirmary
DAY: 1
TIME: 8:47 AM
HEALTH: 82/100
ACTIVE ROUTES:
ROUTE 2: THE APOTHECARY'S DAUGHTER
CURRENT AFFECTION LEVELS:
Lihua Zhang: 34/100
TUTORIAL OBJECTIVE:
Survive your first conversation with Lihua Zhang.
Do not trigger immediate death flags.
SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 67%
Good luck, Protagonist!
The popup vanished. Chen Wei stared at the empty space where the text had been. It was an actual game system. It wasn't just a world that resembled the game. This was the game. This meant there were rules, mechanics; he could learn and exploit.
Chen Wei focused on the affection meter in his mind. It was still visible in the corner of his vision like a HUD element.
Lihua Zhang: 34/100
She is already at 34. What had the original Chen Wei done to get her attention so quickly?
He heard the sound of footsteps outside. She was coming back. Chen Wei looked around the room in panic.
There had to be something, anything I can use to…
His eyes landed on a desk and the books scattered on it. One of them was open. A piece of paper was tucked between its pages. He rushed over and pulled it out. It was a handwritten note.
Patient: Chen Wei
Condition: Spiritual exhaustion, mild fever
Treatment: Rest, hydration, close observation
Personalnotes: Subject shows promising responsiveness to treatment. Vital signs stable. No adverse reactions to preliminary medications. Recommend extended observation to ensure full recovery.
He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. I should make sure he gets enough rest. I'll take care of everything.
The last line made his blood boil. The footsteps stopped outside his door. He shoved the paper back into the book and dove back into bed, arranging himself to look like he'd been resting the whole time.
The door opened. Lihua entered, carrying a small cup filled with dark liquid. It was hot and had a medicinal and floral smell.
"I'm back." She said cheerfully. "I hope you weren't too lonely."
"I'm fine. Just resting like you said." He tried to smile.
"Good boy." She sat on the edge of the bed, cradling the cup in her hands. "Drink this. It will help with the fever."
Chen Wei looked at the cup.
"What is this?" He asked.
Lihua's smile widened.
"Just some herbs. It's safe." She moved the cup closer to him. "Don't you trust me?"
That was a trap question.
"I trust you." Chen Wei lied. "I'm just curious. I've never had traditional medicine before."
Her eyes lit up.
"Really? Oh, you're in for a treat then! This blend contains dried chrysanthemum for cooling properties, goji berries for vitality, licorice root, and a few special ingredients I'm not allowed to disclose."
Special ingredients? Poison?
Chen Wei couldn't refuse. He took the cup from her hands.
"Drink in one sip." Lihua instructed.
Chen Wei took a sip. It was terrible. As he drank it, he waited for the burning sensation, the signs of poison he'd read about in the game's bad endings. But nothing happened.
"That wasn't so bad, right?" Lihua said, taking the empty cup from him.
"It was okay." His tongue felt tingly.
"You'll feel better soon. In the meantime, you should rest more." She stood up and walked to the door, but before leaving, she turned back.
"Oh, and Chen Wei? I'll be checking on you every two hours, to monitor your progress." She smiled and left.
Chen Wei sat in the empty room with the strange tingling sensation in his mouth. The system popup appeared again.
TUTORIAL OBJECTIVE COMPLETE:
✓ Survived first conversation with Lihua Zhang.
✓ Did not trigger immediate death flags.
✓ Consumed medicine without excessive resistance.
AFFECTION LEVEL UPDATED:
Lihua Zhang: 34/100 → 38/100
NEW OBJECTIVE:
Survive the next 24 hours.
Learn academy layout and basic rules.
Avoid triggering high level affection events.
SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 67% → 58%
Warning: Medicine consumed contains mild sedative. Effect will last for 2-4 hours.
Next Tutorial Section will unlock in 1 hour and 47 minutes.