RPDH Chapter 7

The brunet teen’s nose twitched in the damp smelling air. He blearily opened his eyes.

There was nothing but darkness.

“Why can’t I see anything…is this a dream?” His mind felt like it was coated in molasses, as if someone had strangled him until he fell unconscious.

He tried moving his arms and legs. There was no pain, but a metallic scent persisted in the air.

Just when he suspected he was the only one in the room, an unfamiliar voice came from the darkness.

The voice was perfectly neutral, “If that’s what makes you happy. Sure, you’re in a dream alright.”

What did being happy have to do with whether he was dreaming or not? It was a yes or no question, Yi Ming thought as he stared dumbly into the darkness.

“Who are you?!” He sat up in an instant. However, this windowless room was just too dark with the door tightly shut. He couldn’t make out who the speaker was.

The young man paused, “So you dragged me along without even knowing who I am.”

“Li, just call me Li.” The young man seemed to find the situation amusing. He told Yi Ming his name before even being asked.

With that, Yi Ming’s memories slowly returned.

He recalled confidently proclaiming to another piece of merchandise like Tang that he would get them out of this place.

“I’m Yi Ming.” The brunet teen couldn’t help but purse his lips in frustration in the dark. “So we didn’t manage to escape after all.”

“Yes, we’re still here.” The young man confirmed without pretence.

The straightforward delivery only made the truth hit Yi Ming even harder.

He couldn’t even pretend he didn’t hear with how silent their surroundings were.

Yi Ming’s ears gradually flushed. He bowed his head and sincerely stated, “I’m sorry! I thought I could take you out of here! I’m really sorry for ruining your plan and getting you captured as well!”

Even though the other person probably couldn’t see his expression.

“You can’t escape even if you lose your cool, Little Corgi.” The young man said at a measured pace. His voice rang clear in the cramped room. “And apologizing now? What happened to all your confidence from before? Did it evaporate after you got caught?”

Yi Ming quickly covered his face as his ears turned crimson. “…My bad.”

Little Corgi’s self-confidence took a critical hit!

He couldn’t help but pour over his actions earlier…

In the end, he scrubbed at his baby fat-lined face even more vigorously.

It was a while before he heard the young man speak again, “I was just teasing you.”

Yi Ming: “……”

Huh?! What do you mean ‘teasing’ him! He was genuinely feeling crushed by guilt!

Even so…

Yi Ming’s nose twitched slightly as he detected that hard-to-ignore scent in the air again. He turned in the direction it was coming from, looking at the young man in the darkness.

“Is there punishment for trying to escape?” He suddenly asked.

“Well…” The young man paused for a long beat, “Not really.”

“Qing Yuchen was already back at that point, so there was no way we could’ve escaped. It’s not your fault.” The measured way the young man spoke gave off a reasonable, convincing impression.

But Yi Ming wasn’t fooled. He rolled out of bed and strode through the darkness, coming to a stop before the speaker.

He could vaguely make out the other person this close up. The young man seemed to be puzzled over why he suddenly came over.

He reached out to try and help the young man up, only for his wrist to be grasped with pinpoint accuracy.

There was a sticky sensation left at the point of contact. The hand holding onto his wrist seemed to be little more than skin and bones. As the sickly sweet scent assaulted him in full force, the expression of the young man in the darkness cooled.

Yi Ming identified this scent in an instant. It was blood.

Why would there be blood here? Who was bleeding?

Yi Ming himself was uninjured, which left only the young man.

The first thing that struck him after the fleeting glimpse he took last night was how thin the young man seemed to be. Even now, Yi Ming could feel how little force was behind the hand trying to stop him.

In the silent darkness, every sound seemed to be magnified tenfold.

He could only hear the other party’s trembling breaths.

Just what happened while he was unconscious? Was he unharmed because someone had taken his place?

Why conceal it then?

“You are hurt. It’s because you were caught trying to escape, right?” Yi Ming’s voice grew hoarse, “There’s no need to comfort me. I know this is all my fault.”

Trying to redirect Yi Ming’s attention with jokes from the moment he woke up, keeping his own injuries a secret…

Yi Ming hadn’t felt taken care of like this since his adoptive father disappeared.

Despite having a sharp tongue, the young man never dug into Yi Ming where it really hurt.

“I’m sorry.” Yi Ming looked down like a bedraggled dog in the rain.

His adoptive father had always been like this too, hiding everything about himself from Yi Ming so he could grow up unburdened.

Yi Ming sniffled as he slowly lowered his hand.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said I wasn’t injured.” There was a pause before the young man let go, giving up on the ruse. “What do you want then?”

“I’ll make it up to you!” He looked up with determined eyes.

Even if no one could see his expression in the darkness, he would definitely uphold this promise.

After all, his conscience wouldn’t let him ignore his own mistakes.

The young man paused again before seeking confirmation for the final time, “Are you being serious?”

“Yes!” Yi Ming’s voice was firm.

Under the cover of impenetrable darkness, the ‘injured’ young man’s lips slowly curved up into a smile.

Li · completely uninjured · this was someone else’s blood · Li: “Is that so…”

How should she put this…her conscience wasn’t the nagging type.

……

[Update target reached.]

[Establishing channel…]

[Welcome back to reality.]

……

Li Li returned promptly from the manhua world at midnight.

She wasn’t expecting the sudden extrication. She thought she would need to stay a full day each time.

“Didn’t you say time in the manhua world was the same as real life?” She asked the system directly for clarification.

[You may need to transmigrate once everyday, but not everyday.]

[After satisfying the update quota, you may leave ahead of time.]

“Then what if one update features a time skip of months or years?” Li Li asked, “Maybe Yi Ming trains for three months in the mountains or falls off a cliff he can only climb out of in three years.”

In that case, the three days between each update was nowhere near enough time to cover everything without time dilation being involved.

[Then there will be a hiatus.]

The system immediately replied.

Li Li: “……”

Do you take vacation days too?

However, such a rule actually suited Li Li just fine. Who wouldn’t want two more days off? Even she needed time to gather herself and prepare.

“In that case, is the countdown of the purchased items based on the 2D world’s time or the real world’s?” Li Li was more concerned with keeping up the pretence of pretending to be a bigshot.

[The real world’s time.]

Well that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

She tried negotiating with the system to change the standard to the manhua’s time. After all, she wouldn’t need to visit the manhua world for the next two days according to the system, and it’s not like she could use the items in real life. That meant two days of mall access would go to waste.

Yet the system could not be swayed. It refused to budge an inch.

Alas, Li Li had no choice but to give up.

……

Over the next two days, Li Li handled her academic obligations. She also managed to check off plenty of extracurricular activites off her list like parkour and martial arts.

She had 182 popularity after the last transmigration. After deducting the amount needed for survival points, only 82 remained. Li Li noticed that her popularity rose the fastest right after the update went live. Then, if there were no discussions in the forums, the growth would level off.

It managed to barely reach 101 after her practical on the first day back, meaning she would live to see 6am the following day.

Transmigrations took place at midnight while survival points were deducted at 6am. If she ever ran out of points, she would probably die of overwork at the latter time.

Time passed quickly as she lived her life to the fullest. It was soon the night of the update once more.

[Current popularity value: 92. The transaction will end if this value remains below 100 at 6am.]

Li Li wasn’t feeling that nervous. Her appearance in this update was all but guaranteed.

She drew her bedcurtains, recited a few lines in bed, and then finally checked the update.

The colourful cover page immediately caught her eye. She froze with a single glance at it.

Almost all the characters in the Desolate Dragon arc were shown.

Yi Ming, in a yellow hoodie and jeans, was in the very front. He had a tight grasp on the waif-like Tang. Behind and to either side of him were two figures. The boss smiled at him to his left while Qing Yuchen stood to the right at the same distance in his spring green robes. The meaning behind this placement was unknown.

Li Li also saw herself.

Before Qing Yuchen and behind Tang.

The dark-haired young man stood with his back to everyone else. The mid-calf black trenchcoat was slightly lifted, outlining a slender waist. ‘His’ head was turned, revealing a single eye that passively stared past Tang to the protagonist in front.

The space above their heads distorted like a broken mirror. Within the jagged glass shards, a smiling young man wearing sunglasses could be seen.

His amused smile dripped with malice.

‘He’ watched everyone like nothing could escape ‘his’ gaze.

But Li Li just slowly tilted her head at that smiling face.

Wasn’t that outfit similar to the one she wore during her first debut?

Li Li thought she would only have one identity, which was why she continued to drop hints about being ‘a bigshot in hiding’ while pretending to be weak in front of Yi Ming. She used words and items to mislead him into thinking she was injured but refused to outright state anything.

Her plan went off without a hitch, but did both of her identities making it onto the cover mean she could make separate plans for them?

Inspiration struck Li Li like lightning.

Did this mean she could earn popularity from two sources?