Chapter 76-77

Sorry for the late update, I've had a very busy past week and will be busy too this week for the finals exam. Accountancy course/subjects really keeps me busy, I didn't even have time to read T-T

~~~

It should be considered a date

Lin Ye couldn't help but think.

"Miss Nanase, you're very beautiful," he said.

"Thanks."

"Many men have been charmed by you," Lin Ye added, pointing at the male passersby who were glancing their way. He smiled as he joked.

"No... that's not the case. No one is looking at me."

But the blush on her face betrayed her inner shyness.

"It's lunchtime, let's go eat!" Lin Ye said.

"Okay."

Nanase Ren nodded without objection. Today, she only needed to follow Lin Ye's plans.

Entering the mall, the exquisite interior decor stood out. Under the bright lights, the spacious shopping mall appeared clean and inviting. Groups of three or four customers wandered through the stores, and many couples strolled hand in hand.

Lin Ye and Nanase Ren also attracted attention.

They looked like a couple, but the fact they weren't holding hands made onlookers curious about their relationship.

Nanase Ren lowered her head slightly, following Lin Ye closely. She avoided looking around, as the gazes of passersby stimulated her sensitive sense of shame.

They took the elevator to the third floor.

At the restaurant entrance, waitstaff holding flyers greeted customers warmly.

"Miss Ren, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

Nanase Ren shook her head.

"You decide," she replied.

"How about Chinese food?"

"Okay, I like Chinese food," she agreed.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at a Chinese restaurant. Lin Ye was curious to try Chinese food as prepared in Japan.

"Welcome!"

Lin Ye ordered their meals. Nanase Ren chose mapo tofu, while Lin Ye choose spicy and sour shredded potatoes, braised pork, and pickled fish in golden soup.

The food was served surprisingly quickly—within fifteen minutes, all the dishes were on the table.

Lin Ye tried the mapo tofu first.

"How does it taste?" Nanase Ren asked.

"It's not bad! Sweet, not spicy enough, but okay," Lin Ye replied. The mapo tofu seemed to have been adjusted to local tastes.

Nanase Ren picked up a piece of braised pork. After eating one, she hesitated before reaching for a second. Lin Ye noticed and said, "Eat up! You're so thin; it's fine to have one more."

"I'm not losing weight. I need to keep losing weight," she murmured, her embarrassment growing under Lin Ye's scrutinizing gaze.

"It's not good to be too thin. You're perfect as you are—really, I mean it."

"Don't boys prefer slightly plump figures?"

"It depends on the person. I like your current figure."

Nanase Ren wasn't sure how to respond. This wasn't the first time Lin Ye had expressed his feelings so openly, but their rapid relationship progression caught her off guard.

Their shared life-and-death experience on Bus No. 18 had fostered trust and admiration for Lin Ye, but they had spent less than two days together in total. This made her feel both confused and hesitant about their connection.

For now, at least, they weren't officially dating.

"Mr. Lin must be experienced with women to say such things so casually," she said. To her, such remarks seemed inappropriate, yet Lin Ye spoke without embarrassment, as if it were normal.

"I've been single since my last life," Lin Ye said, laughing.

"Who would believe that?"

"It's true—truer than gold!"

"Even if you're single in this life, you couldn't have been in your past life. Back then, you must have been a playboy deceiving countless women."

In reality, Lin Ye had been just an ordinary man in his previous life, with little interaction with women.

Now, living life a second time, he had resolved to embrace the things he had only dared to imagine before. Compared to his previous life, he felt freer and less burdened.

If his directness caused discomfort, he was ready to end things—no hard feelings.

"Really, I haven't cheated in my past life or this one. I just hope to win a girl's favor soon!"

Lin Ye smiled, his gaze settling on Nanase Ren.

The girl sitting opposite him avoided his eyes, stirring her spoon nervously to mask her flustered state.

"Shall we watch a movie later?" Lin Ye asked.

"Yes, sure."

Nanase Ren agreed. Spending time with Lin Ye today was definitely starting to feel like a date.

After lunch, Lin Ye paid the bill and stepped out of the restaurant, reuniting with Nanase Ren, who had left earlier.

"Lin Jun, where are we going next?" she asked.

Lin Ye raised his hand to point. Following his gaze, Nanase Ren froze.

It was an acquaintance—Fujibayashi Ryou, whom she had met just two days earlier.

Fujibayashi Ryou noticed her too, nudged her sister Fujibayashi Kyou, and approached to greet her.

The two sisters were dressed identically: white T-shirts paired with black pleated skirts, black shoes, and white socks. Despite being out of high school for years, they could easily pass as students.

The four of them gathered.

"Are you two on a date?" Fujibayashi Ryou teased.

"No, no," Nanase Ren replied quickly. "Mr. Lin isn't familiar with Chiba, so I offered to show him around."

"Is that so?" Ryou sounded unconvinced, and her sister Kyou seemed even more skeptical.

Kyou didn't believe that the man who had boldly asked her just the other day, "Do you or your sister have feelings for anyone?" and even claimed he wanted to attract her attention, genuinely needed a guide.

More likely, he had concocted an excuse to ask Nanase Ren out and look for an opportunity to develop their relationship.

She had seen plenty of men like him.

Nanase Ren: "Ryou, are you guys out for a meal too?"

"I just finished eating. After spending all day yesterday cleaning our new house, I took my sister to Chiba's largest mall today. I didn't expect to run into you and Mr. Lin again!"

Meeting twice in such a short time—it felt like fate.

Kyou: "My sister and I are going to watch a movie next, so we won't keep you."

Only after Kyou's reminder did Ryou realize something odd. She noticed Nanase Ren's expression seemed a little off.

"Wait—are you two planning to see a movie as well?"

"Yes. What movie are you going to watch?"

As it turned out, both pairs were planning to see the same movie.

With that coincidence, the four of them decided to go to the cinema together.

In the waiting room, Lin Ye and his three companions found seats and waited for the movie to start.

"Fifteen minutes left," someone said.

"I heard this new horror movie is excellent—should we watch it?"

A young man was chatting with the girl beside him.

"No way! Horror movies are too scary; I don't want to watch them."

"What a pity. They say the reviews are amazing, and it's based on true events."

"There's no such thing as a horror movie based on real events!"

"I'd love to see it."

"Everyone knows why you like horror movies," the girl teased.

Her soft, shy voice left the young man looking embarrassed.

"No, no, I just really enjoy horror movies, I swear…"

"I didn't say you can't watch horror movies," she replied, giving him a side-eye.

"By the way, I saw someone mention in our group chat that there was a major traffic accident on Chiba Expressway—a series of rear-end collisions, and many people died."

"That's true. My friend messaged me; he was in the accident but luckily escaped unharmed."

"Good thing he's okay."

Chatter filled the waiting room.

Lin Ye overheard the conversation about the accident and searched his phone for more details. Lately, he'd been unusually sensitive to reports of accidents—they often turned out to be linked to the "strange game."

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Nanase Ren answered.

"Yes," she said. "I understand. Alright, I'll head back to the hospital now."

Nanase Ren looked conflicted but had agreed.

"What happened?" Lin Ye immediately asked, and the Fujibayashi sisters turned to her as well.

"There was a major accident on the highway," she explained, "and the hospital is short-staffed. They've asked me to go back and help."

Nanase Ren looked apologetically at Lin Ye.

"You should go," Lin Ye said without hesitation.

She was stunned.

"There will be plenty of chances for you to show me around Chiba in the future. For now, focus on your work and make sure to take care of yourself."

"Thank you," she said softly, nodding with emotion.

"Next time I'm off, I'll make sure to spend more time with you to make up for leaving early today."

"Make up for it? I'm looking forward to that," Lin Ye teased with a mischievous smile, which made Nanase Ren flustered.

"Don't say that in front of everyone!" she whispered in embarrassment.

"Let me take you to the hospital," Lin Ye offered.

"No, you've already bought the movie tickets. It'd be a waste if you didn't watch it," she insisted.

Lin Ye nodded, respecting her decision.

"Good luck," Ryou said, clenching her fist in encouragement.

"Thanks," Nanase Ren replied before hurrying off.

With Nanase Ren gone, only Lin Ye and the Fujibayashi sisters remained in the waiting room. The queue to enter the screening room had already begun. Kyou was on high alert, determined not to give Lin Ye any chance to get close to her sister.

The movie they were about to watch was a youth-themed drama, Remembrance of Our Youth, a story about the love and life of high schoolers. Its nostalgic appeal was particularly strong for the Fujibayashi sisters, who had already graduated and entered the working world.

As they entered the screening room, Fujibayashi An excused herself. "I need to go to the bathroom. You two go ahead. Save the middle seat for me," she said before hurrying away.

After waiting for several minutes without any sign of her return, Ryou suggested, "Lin-kun, let's head inside first."

"Alright."

In the theater, Lin Ye and Fujibayashi Ryu found their seats as the movie began. However, Lin Ye's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden notification from the system:

[Ding!]

[Detected traces of a strange aura. Conditions for task activation have been met]

[Task Name: Movie Night]

[Task Objective: Survive!]

Lin Ye was stunned. The task seemed directly linked to the movie playing on the screen. If he refused, he might avoid the danger, but what about Fujibayashi Ryou? If she got caught in the incident, she could lose her life.

Without hesitation, Lin Ye accepted the mission.

Siding closer to Ryou, he whispered, "If anything strange happens, don't panic. Stay calm and stick with me."

Though confused, she nodded obediently.

"As long as I'm here, you'll be fine," Lin Ye assured her.

He glanced around the theater, noting six people in total. Were any of them the source of the aura? Or were all of them except Ryou already involved in the strange game?

The movie began with an eerie, black-and-white sequence, devoid of background music. A chilling desolation seeped into the atmosphere.

For a supposed love story, the opening felt… wrong.

Meanwhile, Kyou returned to the theater after her trip to the bathroom, only to find her sister and Lin Ye missing. She asked several people but got no answers. Frustrated, she sent a message to her sister but received no reply.

Minutes passed. Still no response.

Frowning, Fujibayashi An stepped out and called her sister, only to hear: "The number you dialed is out of service area."

Her expression darkened.

"That bastard…" she muttered, anger flaring. 'How could I have left my sister alone with that guy?'

~~~

Back with Lin Ye and Ryou

The movie screen flickered.

The grayish-white tones and occasional freezing of the frames suggested interference of some kind.

Finally, the colors began to recover. A hint of yellow seeped into the gray, and soon, the screen became vibrant with various hues. However, the texture and tone of the footage looked as if it had been pulled from a time twenty years ago.

Whoosh…

The sound of the wind accompanied the image of a clear blue sky and fluffy white clouds. As the camera panned, a high school campus came into view from a bird's-eye perspective.

There it was, the I-shaped main teaching building, an atrium, a playground, a basketball court, and a tennis court.

Students in crisp uniforms strolled along tree-lined paths, their youthful voices floating in the air with laughter and chatter.

This was the essence of adolescence—fresh, hopeful, and fleeting.

The six audience members in the theater began to relax, a stark contrast to the tension that had built earlier.

"This is more like it," muttered a young man. "Guess they were just messing with us at the beginning."

The others chuckled knowingly, sharing his relief. The haunting start had left them on edge, but now it was clear this was the lighthearted nostalgia they'd signed up for.

The scene transitioned seamlessly to the teaching building.

Inside an empty classroom, the golden rays of a setting sun illuminated the room. A gentle breeze fluttered the soft curtains.

A girl with long black hair sat quietly by the window, engrossed in a book. Her long lashes fluttered slightly as she flipped the pages delicately with her slender fingers.

Undoubtedly, she was female lead.

But where was the male lead?

The girl eventually stood and left the classroom. As she reached the building's exit, she opened her shoe cabinet to get her shoes. Inside, a neatly folded envelope sat waiting for her.

The audience immediately recognized what it was: a love letter.

For many, the sight tugged at memories of their own youthful crushes and secret confessions.

Fujibayashi Ryou felt a twinge of nostalgia herself. She recalled receiving quite a few love letters back in high school. That phase ended once she entered nursing school, a place devoid of boys.

The girl opened the envelope and read its contents.

Still, there was no dialogue. The silence continued, save for the soft rustling of paper.

The scene changed again.

The same girl was back in the classroom, but this time her gaze was fixed on something—or someone—in the distance.

The camera shifted to reveal a male figure.

"Finally, the male lead," one of the viewers murmured.

But all they could see was his back.

The camera transitioned into the girl's first-person perspective, showing her beautiful, youthful features framed by her long black hair. Her lips moved as if speaking, but no sound accompanied the image.

The mood shifted as the girl's expression grew increasingly hostile.

Then came the first jarring sound: the deep, eerie howl of wind.

The screen shook violently.

In the next instant, the girl shoved the male figure, sending him stumbling backward.

The sudden tension gripped the audience.

"Were they arguing?" someone whispered.

Without warning, the scene lurched forward.

A piercing scream filled the theater, followed by a sickening thud.

The girl with long black hair crumpled to the ground.

Thud. Thud.

Blows rained down, each one heavier than the last. Blood splattered across the screen, painting a horrific scene.

The innocent girl lay motionless, her body drenched in blood.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Was this… murder?"

"The heroine can't die this early!"

The audience was in shock.

A faint static buzzed in the background, growing louder by the second.

And then, a male voice—hoarse and menacing—whispered:

"No one saw anything."

"No one will ever know."

The camera zoomed in sharply.

A pair of bloodshot, malevolent eyes stared out from the screen, locking onto the viewers.

"Did you see it?"

It felt as though those eyes were piercing through the barrier of the screen, staring straight into their souls.

"AHHH!"

A young woman shrieked and dove into her boyfriend's arms, trembling violently.

Beside Lin Ye, Ryou instinctively grabbed his arm, clutching it tightly. Her face was pale, and her heart pounded in terror.

"Lin-kun… you knew something like this would happen, didn't you?" she stammered.

Lin Ye remained calm, shrugging slightly.

"If it's just this much, we're lucky," he said under his breath.

The young man in the back row muttered angrily, "What the hell is this movie?"

"Did they mix up the movie with a horror theme?"

"This is grounds for a refund!"

Suddenly, the screen flickered and went dark.

The theater was plunged into complete darkness.

Panic erupted.

"Did the power just go out?"

"What's going on?"

"This place is cursed. I'm never coming back here!"

Lin Ye remained still, observing the chaos. He tried activating his time-stop ability but found it ineffective.

A moment later, a blinding flash of light filled the room.

When the light dimmed, Lin Ye opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar setting.

He stood inside a classroom.

Beside him, Ryou was shielding her eyes from the harsh light, her face still pale with fear.

The other audience—three men and one woman—looked equally disoriented.

"Where… are we?"

"This isn't the cinema…"

"Wait, this classroom looks familiar!"

Someone hesitantly pointed out, "Isn't this the classroom from the movie?"

Panic spread as they began to grasp their predicament.

Amid the confusion, someone noticed someone.

The long-haired girl from the movie sat quietly at a desk in the front row, her back facing the group.

"That… that's her…"

Hearing their whispers, the girl turned her head slowly.

"You… want to kill me?" she asked in a chilling voice.

The next moment, her bloodied, disfigured face came into full view.

"AHHH!"

The room erupted in screams.

"Ghost!"

The eerie silence was shattered, replaced by chaos as the trapped group scrambled to escape.