IGSB – Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Entering the New World (Part 7)
The eyes outside the door greedily peered into the room through the small hole, searching for Xia Zhiyi.
While looking, it used Jing Ruyu's voice to lure Xia Zhiyi.
“Zhiyi…
“Zhiyi, open the door, I don't have my key.
“I'm scared, Zhiyi, hurry and open the door…”
Xia Zhiyi crouched by the wall, pressing tightly against the real Jing Ruyu, not daring to make a sound.
Thinking back, she had just been bewitched, which was why she had walked toward the door without any defense.
What the hell was that thing? It even knew to pretend to be her ex-girlfriend!
Xia Zhiyi found it utterly absurd.
“Zhiyi, open the door—”
The thing outside was still calling, interspersed with urgent knocking.
In the silent night, every call, every knock was like a heavy drumbeat on one's heart, shaking one's spirit with alarm and fear.
Xia Zhiyi covered her mouth, unconsciously sinking lower.
Jing Ruyu held her in her arms, silently comforting her, giving her as much security as possible and helping her stay calm.
Xia Zhiyi obediently buried her head in the crook of Jing Ruyu's neck, not daring to make a sound.
In the face of the unknown, fear was unstoppable.
Jing Ruyu had already calculated their options.
There was nowhere to hide in the room. If they hid here and the thing really broke in, they could seize that split-second opportunity to rush out while it was unprepared.
Although they didn't know what was outside, taking a gamble was better than sitting and waiting for death.
The sounds outside didn't stop.
After her ears had been tormented for a while, Xia Zhiyi finally couldn't help but whisper in a voice only they could hear, “Ruyu, do you think it can't get in?”
The way the thing outside was shouting could wake up the entire neighborhood, yet it showed no sign of actually coming in.
If it could get in, it surely wouldn't have been shouting outside for so long, right?
Jing Ruyu looked at the door, which was being pounded on relentlessly. She habitually pulled Xia Zhiyi closer into her arms to prevent her from getting hit.
“It seems so.”
Just as Jing Ruyu finished speaking, the thing outside, perhaps because its intentions were seen through or because it was enraged that no one answered the door, began to pound on the door with extreme violence.
While pounding, it kept shouting Xia Zhiyi's name, its voice gradually distorting, as if being stretched and torn, becoming incredibly terrifying.
“Xia Zhiyi, are you trying to kill me? Are you trying to kill me—
“Open the door, you open the door for me!
“Open the door!!!”
Xia Zhiyi was even more certain that it couldn't get in.
Although she didn't know why, at least they no longer had to be on edge, worrying that this thing would suddenly burst in.
She crouched, looking up, and whispered to Jing Ruyu.
“It's not going to knock all night, is it?”
“I don't know if it has that kind of determination.”
“Sigh, I hope it doesn't have that kind of determination…”
Jing Ruyu raised her hand and gently patted her head, a gesture of comfort.
Before the monster left, the two of them didn't dare to make any rash moves. Their posture gradually became one of boredom, from crouching vigilantly at the beginning to eventually just sitting against the wall, waiting for the noise outside to stop.
Half an hour later, the sounds outside gradually subsided.
After cursing viciously a couple of times, the thing outside left in a rage.
Jing Ruyu rose slightly, watching its dark shadow flit past the window, confirming that it was really gone.
The courtyard returned to silence. The disturbing noise was gone, so quiet it was as if nothing had happened.
“It's really gone,” Jing Ruyu said. “Let's go back to bed. Xiao Qiao told the players to rest well, so we should just sleep until dawn.”
Considering Xiao Qiao's mention of being “quick with one's hands and feet,” “rest well and don't run around at night” must also be an important safety tip.
Jing Ruyu decided to follow her words and get a good night's sleep first.
“By the way,” Jing Ruyu remembered something important and asked, “why did you suddenly get out of bed to open the door?
“Didn't you see me on the bed?”
Xia Zhiyi also found it strange. “You were on the bed? I went to open the door precisely because I saw you weren't there…”
As soon as she said this, their brainwaves connected—a hallucination.
They couldn't think of a more reasonable explanation.
Xia Zhiyi asked, “You seem fine. If I was the only one hallucinating, could it be related to the plate of fruit Miss Gu gave us?”
Jing Ruyu couldn't say for sure, though she was more inclined to agree with Xia Zhiyi's guess.
The two fell silent again.
A moment later, Jing Ruyu looked up and said, “Let's sleep. Rest is important.”
Xia Zhiyi nodded. “Okay.”
Jing Ruyu: “I'll sleep with you.”
Xia Zhiyi: “Huh???”
As a couple that had already broken up, Xia Zhiyi suddenly felt a bit awkward.
Why on earth would Jing Ruyu suddenly want to sleep with her???
“Is that a good idea?” Xia Zhiyi said, covering her lips. “What if you already have a girlfriend? If she finds out—”
“I'm single.”
Jing Ruyu interrupted her and began to size her up.
“Could it be that you already have a girlfriend?
“Didn't you tell Xiao Qiao this evening that you weren't ready for a new relationship? Was that a lie, just to mess with her?”
“That was true,” Xia Zhiyi suddenly realized something and raised an eyebrow. “Well, well, President Jing still remembers what I said back then?”
Jing Ruyu: “…”
She smiled calmly. “It was very memorable. I'm afraid everyone present remembers it.”
After speaking, she very consciously moved her pillow and quilt to Xia Zhiyi's bed.
Xia Zhiyi stood still.
To be honest, when she heard Jing Ruyu say she was single, she felt a little bit happy.
If Jing Ruyu had quickly found a new girlfriend right after their breakup, she would definitely have been upset—upset that she had once naively believed they could last forever, only to find out she meant nothing in Jing Ruyu's eyes.
But she didn't show her emotions.
No matter what, she and Jing Ruyu had already broken up, and there were no signs of getting back together. Showing too much emotion would only make it seem like she couldn't let go, which was unnecessary.
“What are you thinking about?” Jing Ruyu's voice brought her wandering thoughts back. “Come and sleep, or you'll have no energy tomorrow. You sleep on the inside.”
“Oh.”
Xia Zhiyi obediently climbed into bed and lay down against the wall.
A wise person adapts to the circumstances. She didn't want a repeat of what just happened.
She was suddenly very glad that the bed was against a wall, not paper that could be poked through.
Jing Ruyu lay down beside her.
It had been a long time since they had shared a bed.
They were under the same quilt, and on top of that quilt was another quilt.
“…”
Xia Zhiyi: “What is this? Nesting dolls?”
Jing Ruyu said calmly, “It's cold here. An extra layer will keep you from catching a cold.”
“Oh.”
Xia Zhiyi didn't push the quilt away.
She suddenly remembered the time before she and Jing Ruyu broke up.
Jing Ruyu was more sensitive to temperature than she was, disliking both extreme cold and heat.
When winter came, regardless of whether the floor heating was on, whenever they were together, Jing Ruyu liked to hug her, as if for warmth or as a form of affection.
In the summer, Jing Ruyu wasn't as clingy. At that time, she didn't like to cling to Jing Ruyu either; it was too hot to be hugging in the middle of summer.
But occasionally, she would want to hug Jing Ruyu, even if the weather was hot.
Jing Ruyu, as someone very sensitive to temperature, had never once refused her.
If Jing Ruyu didn't want to hug, she wouldn't. If Xia Zhiyi wanted to hug, Jing Ruyu would let her. She was completely at her beck and call.
She also remembered that besides being sensitive to temperature, Jing Ruyu was also quite strong.
Sometimes, if they got too hot from hugging, Jing Ruyu would effortlessly pick her up, and they would take a comfortable, cool shower together. Afterward, they would inevitably spend some sweet, intimate time like any other couple.
The sweetness of that time was real, the later breakup was also real, and now, this unexpected reunion and the New World were also real.
Her thoughts returned to the present. Xia Zhiyi was not sleepy at all.
She really didn't know how she had ended up here, nor what the future would hold.
But now, as soon as she closed her eyes, she felt as if she could still hear someone outside the door calling her, telling her to open it, leaving her with lingering fear.
And Jing Ruyu beside her was very quiet, as if she were asleep.
She couldn't help but envy such sleep and quietly turned over.
Sigh, she wanted to sleep too…
Just then, she heard a voice from behind her: “Can't sleep?”
Xia Zhiyi was stunned for a moment, then turned back to look at her, slightly surprised. “You're not asleep? I thought you were, you were so quiet.”
Jing Ruyu hadn't been asleep at all.
It was because she had been awake the whole time that she was able to notice Xia Zhiyi and stop her from opening the door in time.
“What are you thinking about that's keeping you awake?” Jing Ruyu asked.
Xia Zhiyi didn't hide it. “About what just happened.
“If I had opened the door, the consequences would have been unimaginable. It would have harmed me, and it would have harmed you, and I was just about to open it…”
Recalling the details, she had once again brushed past death, and she couldn't help but feel suffocated.
Just as she finished speaking, there was a rustling sound beside her, and in the blink of an eye, she was pulled into Jing Ruyu's arms.
Just like when they were hiding by the door earlier, this embrace was gentle and full of security.
“None of that will happen.”
Jing Ruyu soothingly stroked her hair, her tone calm.
“Because I'm here.”
The familiar embrace and the gentle yet firm tone instantly calmed Xia Zhiyi's heart.
Suddenly, she was no longer afraid.
“Mm… thank you.”
An unusually formal and distant remark.
A few seconds later, her head was patted very lightly twice.
“You're welcome.”
Immediately after, they realized how inappropriate their current posture was.
Jing Ruyu was holding Xia Zhiyi, and Xia Zhiyi's hands had unconsciously wrapped around her waist, just like in the old days.
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were still together.
“…”
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward again.
“Don't get the wrong idea, I didn't mean it like that. I was just scared,” Xia Zhiyi said.
“You don't get the wrong idea either, I didn't mean it like that,” Jing Ruyu said.
“…”
Jing Ruyu: “Rest is important. Let's sleep. Good night.”
Xia Zhiyi: “…Good night.”
For the first time, Xia Zhiyi discovered that she could be quite stubborn with her words.
The night passed peacefully.
When Xia Zhiyi woke up the next day, the first thing she did was check if she was missing any arms or legs. Then she let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that Xiao Qiao really hadn't lied to them.
As long as they slept well, they could get through the night.
Of course, that was on the premise that one could fall asleep.
When she woke up, Jing Ruyu was no longer beside her.
By the time she got out of bed, Jing Ruyu had just returned from outside, holding a new set of clothes.
It was a set of long-sleeved shirt and pants worn by ancient people. The style was simple, but it looked better than the servants' clothes.
“The temperature here is unpredictable. You'll catch a cold sleeping in a short-sleeved pajama,” Jing Ruyu placed the clothes beside her. “I just got them from Xiao Qiao. The material is quite good, it won't be uncomfortable to wear.
“You can change. I'll go out first. If you don't like it… just leave it there.”
Xia Zhiyi picked up the clothes, blinked, and watched her leave the room without looking back.
The door closed.
“What's with that,” Xia Zhiyi scratched her face and couldn't help muttering, “Why be so considerate? Didn't you say you don't like me anymore…”
Muttering to herself, she obediently changed her clothes.
After changing and going outside, the other players were also awake.
Because she had changed into new clothes, others couldn't help but give her a few extra glances.
Her long, glossy black hair was tied into a ponytail, and the light gray long-sleeved shirt and pants suited her perfectly, making her legs look long and straight.
Her almond-shaped eyes were bright, her features delicate and beautiful, kind and harmless, with an added touch of approachability. When she smiled, she was as warm as the sun.
It was just that after changing into these clothes, she looked even more like someone from the Gu Residence…
Sensing everyone's gazes, Xia Zhiyi greeted them openly, “Hi.”
Everyone quickly looked away and stopped staring at her.
Gao Hui said to Jing Ruyu, “Did you go out last night?”
Jing Ruyu looked at him, her tone calm. “That wasn't me.”
As soon as she said this, the atmosphere in the courtyard dropped to a freezing point.
The person shouting outside the door wasn't Jing Ruyu. They could all guess what it was.
Xiao Qiao arrived on time with breakfast, interrupting their conversation and mercilessly starting to assign the morning's tasks.
This time, Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu's task location was the garden.
Xia Zhiyi was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
After the storeroom and the icehouse, the garden sounded very much like a place for the living—and she loved places for the living!
After distributing the tasks, Xiao Qiao assigned a few more servants to take them to their task locations after they finished their meal.
“These are the tasks for the morning. Do our honored guests have any other questions?” Xiao Qiao went through the motions as usual.
But this time, it was Xia Zhiyi who raised her hand again.
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“I'd like to work under the company of the great Butler Qiao today as well.”
“…”
Xiao Qiao walked away without looking back.
Xia Zhiyi chased after her, leaned against the courtyard gate, and suddenly shouted affectionately at her retreating back, “Qiao-zi, how can we live without you, Qiao-zi—!”
Xiao Qiao raised her hands and simply covered her ears.
—She had never seen such an outrageous newcomer!
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