Fear was a funny thing.
While I improvised a rope, I had planned this moment. I imagined every step, every movement, every possibility. But now, standing before the real abyss, all that planning felt like child's play.
Because deep down, I knew this was madness.
If the rope snapped, I would die. If I slipped, I would die. If the knot came undone, I would die.
But if I stayed...
If I stayed, Bai Ning would return with her "special little gift." And I suspected that gift was exactly what the system had suggested: something that would permanently prevent me from escaping.
I remembered the fragmented thought I had read with the Mind's Eye: "reinforce surveillance."
No. I couldn't wait.
But before leaving...
My eyes turned to the corner of the ceiling, where the dark lens of the security camera gleamed like an accusing eye.
Someone was watching. Maybe Bai Yue, maybe Bai Ning when she returned. But certainly, Bai Xue was watching.
Because Bai Ning was torturing her with those images, and I knew Xue was watching every second.
I raised my head and smiled — a weak, tired, but genuine smile. My voice came out steady, despite the wind trying to disrupt my words.
"Don't be sad."
I paused, carefully choosing my next words. They needed to serve three purposes: calm Xue, appease Ning, and give me an excuse in case I was captured.
"I'm not going to abandon you... I just need a bit of fresh air. When I fully recover, I'll come back. I promise."
For Xue, it was reassurance that I wasn't leaving her. For Ning, it was a convenient lie — after all, she thought I didn't know Xue could hear me.
If she captured me, I could claim I was talking to her, saying I'd be back soon.
Maybe my words wouldn't work, maybe they would—who knows?
But at least I had created some kind of safety net.
"I'm leaving now. See you."
I looked away from the camera, then lowered my gaze to the rope, took a deep breath, and began to descend.
The descent was harder than I imagined.
The hospital wall was completely smooth, with no ledges where I could place my feet. All my weight was concentrated on my arms and the improvised rope.
The strips of fabric stretched dangerously, and I could hear the cloth creaking under the tension. Every inch was a battle, every movement required absolute precision.
Any sudden movement could cost me my life, but luckily I was light, and the rope held.
When I finally reached the height of the window on the floor below, I let go of the rope with one hand and extended my palm toward the latch.
"Attraction."
The Magnetic Hands ability responded to my command, and the metal latch vibrated. With a muffled click, it came loose.
Now the window.
Still with my hand extended, I murmured again:
"Attraction."
The window slid open slowly, like a gaping mouth. There was just one small problem... I had no support to push myself inside.
I looked at the rope, at the open window, and swallowed hard.
"This will work," I whispered. "It has to work."
I started to swing.
Forward and back. Forward and back. The rope stretched, the bed above creaked, and every fiber of my body screamed for mercy.
On the third swing, I had enough momentum.
On the fourth, I let go.
The world spun.
For a second, I hung in the air, with nothing but the wind holding me. Time seemed to slow, and I watched the window approach in slow motion.
Then, impact.
"Argghh!"
I hit the floor of the room with a dull thud, the air knocked out of my lungs. I lay there on my back, trembling from head to toe, my heart pounding against my ribs as if trying to escape.
My hands still tingled with adrenaline. My legs were weak.
"So this is adrenaline," I murmured, a shaky smile crossing my lips.
I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling. The same white ceiling as the room above. But I was one floor lower. One floor closer to freedom.
"I did it. I actually did it."
The laugh that escaped my lips was half relief, half hysteria.
I was alive.
I was whole.
I was...
...not alone.
My eyes widened when I noticed the presence on the bed.
I slowly got up, still trembling, and my gaze met hers.
She was...
"..."
"..."
There were no words to describe her beauty, but if I had to, I would say she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.
Her hair was white like freshly fallen snow, but not the sickly white of age or illness. It was a pure, radiant white that glowed under the faint sunlight.
Her skin was pale, almost translucent, like fine porcelain lit from within. Her facial features were delicate, almost fragile, with soft cheekbones and a small chin that gave her an angelic appearance.
She looked like a doll.
No. Dolls were cheap imitations. She was the masterpiece they tried to copy.
Everything about her screamed purity and innocence — but unlike Bai Yue, whose innocence was a mask over decay, hers seemed genuine.
It felt real. As if she had never known the world's cruelty.
She stared at me in silence, her large, bright violet eyes fixed on me with an expression that mixed surprise, shock, and... curiosity?
I stared back, equally shocked.
The silence stretched between us like a fragile bridge. Neither of us spoke. Neither of us moved.
She lay on the bed, the sheets pulled up to her chest, her long white hair spread over the pillow like a halo of light. There was an IV connected to her arm, and monitors beside the bed displayed stable but slow heartbeats.
Sick. She was sick.
And I had just invaded her room like a thief.
The situation couldn't be more absurd.
I opened my mouth to say something — anything — but the words didn't come. What do you say to the most beautiful woman in the world when you've just fallen from the ceiling in front of her?
"Sorry for the intrusion," I finally muttered, my voice hoarse. "I... that wasn't my intention..."
Wait.
What was I doing? Justifying myself? To a stranger?
But she didn't seem scared. There was no fear in her eyes. Only that silent curiosity, as if I were a puzzle she wanted to solve.
She tilted her head slightly, and her lips parted as if she were going to speak. But then she hesitated, closing her mouth again.
Who was this girl?
And why was she here, in a VIP room at Sheng-Li Hospital, alone right at breakfast time?
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence was so deep I could hear the distant dripping of a faucet and the soft hum of the medical monitors.
Then, she smiled.
It was a small, shy, almost imperceptible smile. But it lit up her face like the sun rising over a field of snow.
"You...," she began, her voice a soft whisper like silk, "...fell from the ceiling?"
The question was so innocent, so genuinely curious, that I couldn't help but laugh. A low, tired, but genuine laugh.
"Something like that."
She blinked, processing my answer. Then, slowly, she pointed to the still-open window, where my improvised rope swayed in the wind.
"Is that a bedsheet?"
"And a blanket. And pillowcases."
"Oh."
She seemed to consider that for a moment, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Then her eyes returned to me, and she asked the question I feared:
"Are you running away?"
I froze.
Lie? Tell the truth? What was the right move?
But looking into those pure, curious eyes, I realized it didn't matter. She wasn't going to scream. She wasn't going to call the guards.
She was... different.
"I am," I admitted. "I'm running away."
She nodded slowly, as if that made perfect sense.
"From who?"
My throat tightened.
"From my mother."
The silence returned. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that exists between two people who understand each other without words.
Then, she extended her hand to me. Her fingers were thin and pale, her nails perfectly cared for.
"I'm Mei," she said. "Mei Ling."
For a moment, I stood there, looking at her outstretched hand. Then, carefully, I took it. Her skin was cold, but surprisingly soft.
"Ryuu," I said. "Bai Ryuu."
She smiled again, that small, radiant smile.
"Nice to meet you, Ryuu," she said. "Do you need help?"
[Sorry to interrupt, host. But she is dangerous. Move away immediately!]
A red screen appeared before my eyes, then an audible crack echoed inside my mind.
"Ah?!"
A half-scream of pain and confusion escaped my lips. I let go of the girl's hand and staggered a step back.
"...What happened? Are you okay?"
Mei Ling's voice sounded as pleasant as before, but looking at her now, something was different.
No...
Looking closer, she hadn't changed at all. What had changed was the way I saw her.
[Host, don't just stand there staring at her, leave!]
A new red screen appeared in front of me, but I was too confused to think.
'System, what just happened?'
[Ever since I saw this girl I suspected it, but when you touched her I became sure.]
'Sure? Sure of what?'
[That this woman is a female protagonist.]
"What?" I asked.
"What's wrong, Ryuu?"
Oh shit, I said that out loud.
[I'll warn you, this woman is the protagonist of a tragic romance. Two men will fall in love with Mei Ling, but she will fall in love with only one of them. The man she loves will die, then she will die of grief, and the man who remains will commit suicide.]
A chill ran down my spine.
I had fallen into a trance just now—was I on the verge of falling in love with her?
"Ermm... I have to go now. You might get in trouble if my mother sees me here."
I said through my teeth, then walked toward the door. Every step was filled with reluctance, as always my body was betraying me.
"Leaving already? Okay, bye!"
Before leaving the room, I saw her smile. My heart skipped a beat.
"Goodbye!"
My legs gave out the moment the door closed behind me. My back hit the door, and I slowly slid down to the floor.
Leaving that room took more willpower than expected. Of the entire escape, leaving that room was definitely the hardest part.
If it weren't for the system's warning, I might have forgotten my original goal and spent hours talking to that girl.
"God! Is it really possible for someone to be that perfect?"
[Stop thinking about that girl. If you fall in love with her, you will die. If you stay sitting in front of her room, something worse might happen!]
Oh? Right.
Run!
I looked both ways, pulling myself together in an instant. Luckily, the hallway was empty. It seemed Bai Ning hadn't placed anyone to guard the lower floors.
Heh... No one imagined there could be a lunatic who would jump out of a window just to escape.