As they spoke, the elevator doors opened, and the three of them stepped inside.
Outside the hotel, dusk had settled, and the street lamps inside the hotel were beginning to light up.
The elevator doors closed, and it started ascending floor by floor.
Just as they were approaching the fifth floor, the elevator suddenly gave a strong jolt and abruptly stopped. The three of them looked around and noticed that the floor display was still advancing, yet the elevator itself had come to a halt, as if an invisible hand had pressed down on the ascending elevator car.
In the real world, this might seem like a typical elevator malfunction.
But this was the game world, and none of them believed it was just a technical issue.
Wan Xingzhou instinctively gripped his red sword, glancing around the elevator tensely, fearing that at any moment, a death-seeking ghost would leap out at them.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the elevator wall.
The cold, metallic wall reflected like a mirror, showing the inside of the elevator clearly.
In that reflection, he saw a ghostly woman in a red dress appear above Gu Jiu’s head. The woman was hanging upside down from the top of the elevator, with her face obscured by her long, dark hair, making her features indiscernible. Blood dripped from her head, flowing downward.
The ghost extended a pale, ghastly hand, reaching toward Gu Jiu’s slender neck.
“Th-There’s a…”
He tried to warn Gu Jiu about the ghost behind her, but at that moment, his eyes locked with the ghost’s.
Even though her face was obscured by hair, and her features couldn’t be made out, he felt as if they were staring directly at each other in the metallic reflection. Her blood-red, hate-filled eyes bore into him, slowly curving into a malicious smile…
“Wake up!”
A familiar slap struck the back of his head, jolting Wan Xingzhou out of his trance. He looked again, realizing there was nothing on the metallic wall, just the reflections of the three of them inside the elevator.
Wan Xingzhou turned dumbfounded, stammering, “Did… did you see that?”
Lu Ji remained silent, and Gu Jiu neither confirmed nor denied it, instead asking him, “What did you see?”
“I saw a ghost—a woman in red, hanging upside down from the top of the elevator, reaching out to strangle you.” As he spoke, he drew in a sharp breath, feeling that this game world was particularly terrifying. He had encountered ghosts twice already since daytime.
Regardless of whether they were hallucinations, they were surely ghost-related.
Gu Jiu smiled slightly, “Too bad I didn’t see anything.”
Wan Xingzhou took this to mean that the ghost had deliberately hidden herself, so that the players couldn’t see her.
Just then, the elevator shook again, resuming its normal function, and the floor display started updating accurately.
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, where Wan Xingzhou’s room was, number 503.
Gu Jiu looked at Wan Xingzhou, who was about to leave, and said, “The ghosts here are very good at creating illusions. Be careful.” She paused, then added, “No matter what happens tonight, don’t open your door lightly.”
“I know, I’m not an idiot.”
Wan Xingzhou wondered if he’d given Miss Gu the impression that he was unreliable for her to remind him so specifically.
Gu Jiu continued, “You’re not an idiot, but you seem to always see the illusions the ghosts create. Be careful that you don’t end up scaring yourself before the ghost even makes a move.”
This comment highlighted Wan Xingzhou’s unfortunate luck; even though the three of them were together, he was the only one who kept seeing these ghostly illusions.
Wan Xingzhou had nothing to say.
When facing sudden, terrifying illusions, it’s indeed easy to lose control. He was genuinely a bit worried that if he encountered too many illusions, he might start mistaking them for reality. It was best to remain cautious.
The elevator continued upward, stopping on the sixth floor.
They arrived at Room 608, where Gu Jiu swiped her card and entered.
Lu Ji followed her, recalling the scene in the restaurant earlier when she’d held onto him to turn down Zhan Shaohong’s invitation. His ears were still slightly red at the memory, making it hard to keep his composure.
Back in the room, Gu Jiu sat out on the balcony to digest her meal, watching the sky outside the hotel grow darker bit by bit.
Lu Ji sat quietly beside her, accompanying her in silence.
This quiet understanding between them had been there since they entered the game world. In moments like these, he felt an unusual sense of calm within himself. Even when surrounded by darkness, there was a gentle warmth.
Finally, the hotel was engulfed in darkness.
The entire world became incredibly quiet.
Gu Jiu stood up, stretched, and said, “Ah Ji, I’m going to take a shower first.”
Lu Ji gave a small nod, watching as she entered the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of rushing water echoed from the bathroom. The sound was so clear, indicating that the hotel’s soundproofing wasn’t very effective.
Not only was the soundproofing weak, but the frosted glass door of the bathroom didn’t seem to provide much cover either. When Lu Ji quickly glanced over, he could make out her faint silhouette behind the frosted glass, hazy and indistinct…
Not daring to look further, he pulled out a piece of paper and absentmindedly started folding, thinking to himself that he’d definitely use paper figures to block the view when he showered, just in case she saw anything…
“Ah Ji, I’m done.”
With her voice came the sound of the bathroom door opening, and a cloud of steam wafted out.
Lu Ji stood up calmly, just about to enter the bathroom, when Gu Jiu’s voice stopped him, “Ah Ji, did you just fold all these paper figures?”
“Just folded them randomly,” he replied calmly before quickly stepping into the bathroom.
Gu Jiu, drying her hair with a towel, looked over at the paper figures Lu Ji had made.
This time, the figures were folded from red paper. After using white and blue paper previously, now there was red paper, suggesting that the color of paper Lu Ji used for his paper manipulation technique didn’t seem fixed.
The paper also didn’t appear to be anything special—just the most ordinary paper.
She picked up one of the paper creations—a heart with a pair of small wings.
As she held it, the wings fluttered, and it circled around her, looking adorably charming.
Gu Jiu couldn’t help but laugh.
She thought that paper creations must resemble their creators because Lu Ji was just as endearing to her, so it made sense that her paper figures were also this cute.
When Lu Ji came out from his shower, he froze slightly upon seeing the room filled with fluttering paper creations.
What made him even more self-conscious were the little red hearts flitting around Gu Jiu, flying in playful loops—a vivid display of his own feelings.
As if sensing his embarrassment, the paper creations settled down again, drifting gently to the bed and forming a spread of red paper shapes across the comforter.
Gu Jiu chuckled and said, “Ah Ji, you’re folding quite a variety of paper creations this time.”
Previously, she’d folded mainly paper frogs, cranes, planes, and little people. But now, there were winged hearts, tiny paper umbrellas, boats, pinwheels, and even a paper rabbit.
Each creation was lifelike, like a showcase of professional origami.
Lu Ji muttered, “I’ve been learning some origami techniques online recently.” He hesitated, then asked carefully, “Do you think it’s… silly for me to enjoy folding paper?”
Gu Jiu laughed, “Not at all! I think girls who know origami are super cute!”
She spoke with conviction, encouraging Lu Ji—who she assumed was a girl—to keep going. There was no need to feel insecure, though she didn’t really know why Lu Ji would feel that way. Maybe it had to do with “her” upbringing or fragile health.
Lu Ji wasn’t really insecure, but he didn’t know how to explain.
He ventured, “What about men who fold paper?”
Gu Jiu looked at him, and as he glanced over anxiously, she smiled. “Men who fold paper are just as cute—it shows skill and creativity.”
Lu Ji lowered his gaze, the tips of his ears uncontrollably tinged with pink.
She said men who fold paper are cute. It was practically a compliment, and it filled him with joy.
Buoyed by his happiness, Lu Ji—the undercover gentleman—stuffed all his recently folded creations into Gu Jiu’s hands.
Gu Jiu hesitated. If this were just ordinary origami, she would’ve happily accepted it as a thoughtful gesture. But these were actually items of power, and in the marketplace, they could fetch quite a bit of points. She couldn’t just accept them casually.
Lu Ji reassured her, “…I have more.”
For him, folding these paper creations was simple. If he weren’t worried about startling her, he could’ve handed her even more.
In the end, Gu Jiu only took a small paper umbrella, a paper boat, a pinwheel, and the paper rabbit. “These are enough; they’re delightful.”
“And this.” Lu Ji placed a heart in her hand.
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, “What’s this for?”
Lu Ji replied, “It can fly, though it’s probably not very useful.” But it represented his feelings.
Unknowingly, he had folded so many hearts, each a symbol of his emotions. He truly wanted to be in a relationship with her.
Gu Jiu chuckled, surprised by her response.
She picked up each paper creation, asking her about their uses one by one. She found that, while Lu Ji’s paper figures weren’t on par with rare items, they had a wide range of utility for both offense and defense. She was curious about their strength, but Lu Ji simply suggested she test them out herself.
Gu Jiu didn’t think too much of it; after all, the power of these creations stemmed from Lu Ji’s innate skill. Her ability would be reflected in the paper figures. Since Lu Ji was currently just a C-rank player, she assumed the power of her creations was likely modest, consistent with a C-rank level.
But they were indeed very practical. If such functional items were put on sale in the marketplace in Boundless City, they’d surely attract many buyers.
Time passed quickly as they chatted about the paper creations.
It was already ten o’clock, and with Gu Jiu’s internal clock, it was time to sleep.
Yawning, Gu Jiu collapsed onto the bed, mumbling, “Ah Ji, let’s go to sleep.”
Lu Ji murmured a reply, turning to find that she had already fallen asleep, sprawled across the bed almost instantly.
Her ability to sleep this soundly would surely make other players envious, as players entering game worlds rarely managed restful sleep. Even if they could sleep, they didn’t dare sleep deeply.
He gently adjusted her position and pulled the covers over her.
Then, he lay down beside her, reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, and closed his eyes.
×××
In the dead of night, Gu Jiu was awakened by a knocking at the door.
Half-asleep, she buried her face in the blanket and mumbled, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Ah Jiu. Could you open the door?”
Hearing Lu Ji’s voice coming from outside the door, Gu Jiu instinctively grumbled a bit, slowly starting to wake up.
“Ah Ji?”
“I’m right here.”
Knowing that she couldn’t see well without her glasses, Lu Ji reached out and gently took her hand to assure her he was right there beside her, not outside the door.
Something outside the door was mimicking his voice, calling her name!
In the dim light, his expression was cold and severe.
Still groggy, Gu Jiu was a bit dazed. But then she heard Lu Ji’s voice coming from outside the door again.
“Ah Jiu, could you please open the door? It’s so dark outside, and I’m scared.”
Gu Jiu: “…”
She reached for her glasses, put them on, and under the glow of the bedside lamp, she could see Lu Ji lying beside her.
Then who was the “Lu Ji” outside? If she weren’t lying right there, the voice alone would have convinced her that Lu Ji was knocking at her door in the middle of the night.
Seeing that she hadn’t responded for a while, the knocking gradually faded, and the voice outside stopped calling for her to open the door.
Just as Gu Jiu thought she could go back to sleep, the door rang with another urgent knock, this time in a different voice.
“Miss, please open the door! I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.”
It was Wan Xingzhou’s voice, paired with urgent knocking, as if something really serious had come up. If it hadn’t been for the earlier instance of Lu Ji’s voice outside, Gu Jiu might have responded.
Neither of them made a sound.
They stayed quiet, waiting for the knocking to stop.
Sure enough, after a while, when the knocking received no reply from inside, it eventually ceased.
Gu Jiu lay back down beside Lu Ji, muttering, “If this keeps happening every night, my nerves are going to fray. Next time, I might just snap and turn vicious… not good, not good.”
Murmuring to herself, she drifted back to sleep a few minutes later.
Lu Ji couldn’t help but laugh softly, finding her unbearably endearing.
At that moment, he finally understood her sentiment about girls who knew origami being cute. In his eyes, Gu Jiu, who could fall back asleep so calmly, was utterly adorable, as if no terrifying event could ever disturb her peace or restful sleep.
It was a comforting thought. In the future… perhaps she would never know fear, either?