Xu Fengling lowered her head, staring intently at the Switch in her hands.
On the screen, her character stood on a grassy plain under a blue sky with white clouds.
In the distance, there were mountains and water…
‘Freedom. The character in the game was much freer than she was. At least it could go wherever it wanted and bask in the sunlight.’
But what about her?
She couldn’t even touch the main door of the castle.
No…
She didn’t even dare to think about touching the door.
Because Sister Ling Yue would be able to tell.
Feng Ling didn’t know how Ling Yue could tell, but in that reincarnation, every time she lied, she was discovered.
Ling Yue said her left eye twitched, but Feng Ling herself never felt it.
Yet Sister Ling Yue could catch it precisely.
So she was very worried.
If she was thinking ‘I want to escape this place’ right now, would Sister Ling Yue be able to tell?
Upon thinking this, Feng Ling shook her head vigorously, forcibly tossing the word “escape” out of her mind.
‘No, no! She couldn’t think about that! She had to think about something else!’
‘What should I think about? Hmm… Umm… Right! The game!’
‘So this game was really fun! Her favorite type to play right now was open-world games because the genre was just awesome! She didn’t have to be tied down by the main questline… Wait, wasn’t she still thinking about “freedom”?’
Then Feng Ling closed her eyes in despair.
‘It was hopeless. Her brain had been marinated in the word “freedom.” No matter what she thought of, it always circled back to that.’
“Xiao Fengling.”
“Wah!”
Feng Ling was so startled she jumped up from the sofa.
She saw that Ling Yue was already standing beside her, somehow without her noticing.
“Why such a big reaction? A guilty conscience? Hmm?”
“N-n-n-no, not at all!”
“Is that so?” Then Ling Yue handed her one of the drinks.
Feng Ling took it and saw it was hot cocoa…
The same kind as before.
Very sweet and warm, with an indescribable taste.
But at that moment, her fingers were trembling slightly.
‘In the last reincarnation… Ling Yue often gave her this too, especially when waking her up in the middle of the night.’
‘After drinking it, she would get very drowsy, fall asleep instantly, and wake up with two fang holes in her neck.’
‘So there was definitely some kind of drug added to this hot cocoa by Sister Ling Yue.’
“What’s wrong? Xiao Fengling doesn’t like it?”
Ling Yue asked.
“No, no! I like it! I really like it!”
Feng Ling quickly took a big gulp.
Too sweet…
It almost made her choke.
But she still gulped it all down.
“Is it good?”
“It’s good! Super good!”
“That’s good.”
Ling Yue smiled, then picked up her own cup and drank slowly.
Feng Ling was secretly watching her…
Sister Ling Yue’s profile was really beautiful…
Her eyelashes were long, her nose bridge high, her lips thin, and when she smiled, her eyes curved into crescent moons.
‘If only she weren’t the kind of madwoman who killed while smiling…’
At that thought, Feng Ling quickly extinguished it.
‘No! She couldn’t think that! Absolutely not!’
“Xiao Fengling, you’re really strange today~”
Ling Yue suddenly turned to look at her, asking with concern.
“A-am I?”
“You’ve been very nervous all day, as if you’re afraid of something.”
Ling Yue put down her cup and reached out to touch her face.
“Hey, did something happen? Tell your sister.”
This hand was ice cold…
And in an instant, Feng Ling recalled that this fair and delicate hand that was touching her face would, in the next moment, directly grab her neck… countless times nearly choking her to death…
This made Feng Ling’s hair stand on end.
“No, no! Nothing’s wrong!”
“Really?”
“Really, really, really!”
“Hmm… Alright. If Xiao Fengling says there is, then there is. If Xiao Fengling says there isn’t, then there isn’t. Sister will always believe you~”
Ling Yue smiled and withdrew her hand.
But Feng Ling noticed that Sister Ling Yue’s eyes changed the moment she pulled her hand back…
It was exactly the same look as when Ling Yue said in the last reincarnation, “Xiao Fengling, your left eye twitches when you lie.”
‘She could tell… She… Ling Yue must have figured something out!’
Feng Ling’s heart pounded wildly.
But she didn’t dare show it at all…
She could only continue pretending to be nonchalant, picking up the Switch and acting like she was earnestly playing the game.
At that moment, the character on the screen was running around.
She didn’t even know what she was doing…
There was only one thought in her mind…
‘She had to get out of here! However, before finding a foolproof method, she absolutely could not reveal any clues.’
‘She absolutely could not let Sister Ling Yue discover what she was thinking!’
‘Because once discovered…’
She touched the spot on her chest where Ling Yue’s delicate hand had pierced through.
‘She didn’t want to experience the feeling of death again.’
…
And in the days that followed, Feng Ling began her career as a “movie queen.”
Every morning when Ling Yue came to wake her up, she would flash a big smile and call out, “Good morning, Sister Ling Yue!”
Then she would obediently run to the bathroom to wash up.
During meals, she would praise every dish Ling Yue made.
“Wow, this is so delicious!”
“Sister Ling Yue, your cooking is getting better and better!”
“Hey, hey! This dish could get three Michelin stars!”
Even though she couldn’t taste anything…
Maybe her sense of taste was malfunctioning.
Ever since the reincarnation, she couldn’t really taste anything she ate…
It was as if the Flame of End had burned away part of her sense of taste, and even the reincarnation hadn’t cleared that effect.
And while playing games, she would deliberately shout in excitement.
“Yeah! Finally beat this boss!”
“Wow, this equipment is way too strong!”
“Awesome, awesome, awesome! Woohoo!”
Even though she wasn’t really focusing on the game… because all her attention was on Sister Ling Yue.
What was Ling Yue doing?
What expression did Ling Yue have?
Did Ling Yue’s eyes change?
Did Ling Yue’s tone change?
And were Ling Yue’s fingers moving?
She was like a surveillance camera running twenty-four hours a day without a break.
‘Because she knew there must be signs before Ling Yue’s Darkening… And as long as she could catch those signs, she could react in advance!’
But the problem was… she couldn’t find any pattern.
Because sometimes Ling Yue would suddenly hug her from behind, bury her face in Feng Ling’s neck, take a deep breath, and say, “Xiao Fengling smells so nice~”
The next second, her lips would press against Feng Ling’s neck, her two sharp, cold fangs resting against the skin.
This made all of Feng Ling’s muscles tense up.
The feeling of something hard pressing against her skin without actually piercing it was not pleasant.
But she didn’t dare dodge…
In the last reincarnation, she had dodged once, and Sister Ling Yue had gotten angry.
So she could only stand there like a mannequin, and only after Ling Yue had played enough would she actually sink her fangs into the blood vessels and slowly drink.
“Hey, Xiao Fengling is really obedient today~”
After drinking, Ling Yue licked the crimson from her lips, then kissed her forehead.
Feng Ling smiled and said, “Because Sister Ling Yue likes it~”
Then after Ling Yue left, she collapsed onto the sofa, trembling all over…
Why was she trembling?
Maybe because the two fang holes on her neck still ached, or maybe because Ling Yue’s pressure was too overwhelming.
At other times, Ling Yue would suddenly reach out while she was playing games and scratch a deep gash on her arm with her nails.
“Oops, sorry about that, Xiao Fengling!”
After saying that, she bent down and licked away the oozing blood.
“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Feng Ling said instead.
‘But it really hurt… The feeling of sharp nails cutting skin, the sensation of a tongue licking the wound… and the feeling of blood being sucked away.’
Every time it reminded her of that night… the night when Ling Yue pierced her chest with her nails…
But she didn’t dare show any discomfort.
Because she didn’t know if “showing discomfort” would trigger Ling Yue’s Darkening.
She didn’t dare gamble.
Sometimes Ling Yue would even suddenly grab her by the neck and ask with a smile, “Xiao Fengling, are you afraid of your sister?”
“No, I’m not afraid. Sister Ling Yue is so good to me, why would I be afraid?”
Even though being choked felt terrible, Feng Ling still smiled and said.
Then Ling Yue would let go, pat her head, and say, “So obedient~”
And after Ling Yue walked away, Feng Ling touched her neck and panted heavily…
In that moment just now, she really thought she would be choked to death again.
She remembered clearly the feeling of being clamped by iron pliers…
In that reincarnation, Ling Yue had squeezed until her vision went dark, to the edge of incontinence, until she thought she would really die…
She remembered it all.
So every time Ling Yue’s hand approached her neck, her body would tremble uncontrollably…
She had no control over it.
That was muscle memory… fear etched into her bones.
But she had to control it as much as possible, at least on the surface.
So she learned to keep smiling when Ling Yue grabbed her neck.
Smile… smile…
No matter how scared she was, she had to face it with a smile.
Because as long as she smiled, Sister Ling Yue would be happy, and as long as Ling Yue was happy, she wouldn’t die for now.
This was the survival rule she had summed up.
Though simple and crude, it was very effective.