Chapter 90, Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Fantasy Building
The billowing smoke was still vivid in my mind's eye, and amidst the raging fire, Gong Baidie's smile remained clear in my mind's eye, both infatuated and blissful.
Wen Ting lay on the ground coughing, her body still burning with the pain of the flames.
After a moment, as the lingering smell of smoke dissipated, a sudden gust of wind made her stumble half a step when she stood up. The wind blew her name tag off her chest, hitting her face, the corner almost piercing her eyes. Wen Ting grabbed the name tag and tried to remove it from her neck.
It was still excruciatingly painful.
He can't even maintain his own abilities, yet he still expends energy to create the pain of having his employee badge removed. I really don't know what he's trying to achieve.
However, this also means that the employee ID card is still valid.
Another floor has been completed; floor 11 is much worse than floor 12.
Following the pattern of these two floors, each floor is a fantasy instance.
Gong Baidie erased her memories of the illusion and left her no employee ID card in the illusion either; the ID card was now useless.
No, not entirely.
Wen Ting pondered. Her memory had clearly improved in this instance, and she had experienced déjà vu several times. This proved that Gong Baidie's power was weakening and her control over her was getting worse.
As the tides rise and fall, the longer she holds on, the stronger she becomes than him.
After gathering her thoughts, Wen Ting looked straight ahead.
Just like when we exited the 12th floor of the illusion, the reinforced concrete floors were filled with huge heart-shaped gift boxes.
The wind kept blowing in through the window, creating the same scene as the floor above. Wen Ting looked at it and felt a little out of place.
She discovered that the ribbon on the gift box was missing.
There was no rope for her to hold onto while climbing, but the gift box was also smaller.
Previously, the largest gift box was nearly two meters tall, but now, at a glance, the largest is only as tall as Wen Ting.
His strength had run out, and he could no longer even reshape a pile of boxes.
Wen Ting pulled out the unopened dagger and stepped onto the first box.
My ankle, which I sprained last time, hasn't healed yet, but it's not in unbearable pain.
This time the boxes were smaller and easier to climb, so she tried to choose the easier routes.
On the way, she encountered two boxes that she couldn't turn over. Wen Ting raised her dagger and stabbed it into the wall of the box, sticking it into the wall and struggling to hang herself up.
This operation was too extreme. Wen Ting was prepared for failure, but as she climbed up with the dagger, her muscles were a little fuzzy with memory.
She was momentarily dazed, her mind filled with the hoarse chirping of cicadas and the sweltering heat of the earth after being baked by the sun.
Those sounds and smells pulled her back to her childhood, when she ran wildly in the village.
Wen Ting doesn't miss those times; she prefers the present.
I flipped the box over, and in the darkness, blood-red text bubbles appeared:
[Stop]
Don't go there.
Wen Ting ignored it and stepped over another box.
Listen to some advice.
[Have you forgotten how you cried?]
Wen Ting chuckled: "All I remember is how I pushed you into the water tank."
The bubbles stopped.
After a while, he seemed to sigh, "[If you had listened to me and stayed on the 12th floor, you wouldn't be suffering like this.]"
Wen Ting sighed as well: "If you can listen to me and work with me to find a way to leave, then we won't need the illusion. The 12th floor will be our daily life."
[^ ^]
[My lady, do you really think Bai Die is a fool?]
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do," Wen Ting said regretfully.
How about we make a bet?
[If you bet that 'Gong Baidie' would come out of the game and live with you, what would you do?]
[hehe……]
I bet you'll be itching to get rid of me.
They were very close to the elevator when Wen Ting grabbed two gift boxes in one go: "What's in it for me?"
[Stop][Stop]
Tiny, short bubbles rose from the corner, each one displaying the word "[Stop]".
They emerged and exploded, like a pot of boiling, restless red broth.
A new bubble appeared in the center of the field of vision:
If you win the bet, you'll suffer less.
"You mean, if I can live peacefully with you knowing 'Gong Baidie's' identity, I'll avoid going down several floors?"
[Stop]
[You can't do it, Mistress][Stop]
Wen Ting climbed off the last heart-shaped gift box and loosened her reddened palms from the exertion.
“You keep your word,” she pressed the elevator button and stepped inside. “I’ll bet you.”
[Aren't you going to ask about the consequences of losing the bet?][Stop][Stop]
[Stop][Stop][Get out][Stop][Come back]
“I have nothing left to lose.” Wen Ting looked at the pile of hearts and said, “Remember our premise—make sure I know you are ‘Gong Baidie’.”
[Stop][Stop][Stop][Stop]
[We didn't specify which period the 'Miyashiro Butterfly' was from, right?]
[Stop][Stop]
Wen Ting nodded. "Okay, don't forget your promise, Xiao Bai."
[Why does my wife insist on using a prostitute's name to disgust me?]
Wen Ting reached out and pressed the button for "1" floor as usual.
"So what would you like me to call you?" She smiled at the blood-red bubble. "It can't be 'bitch,' can it?"
There was no response, only bubbles that kept popping up from the edges and corners, indicating that the message had stopped.
The alloy door slowly closed and descended.
Wen Ting was surprised.
No matter how awful "Xiaobai" sounds, he couldn't possibly actually like "bitch" more. The conversation was probably abruptly cut off by the elevator.
bite--
The elevator doors opened, and the panel displayed 2:47 PM.
Wen Ting took a deep breath.
Before stepping onto the 10th floor, the ending of the 11th floor suddenly flashed through her mind.
He laughed heartily when she gave him the middle finger and called him a bitch.
Neuropathy.
The familiar dizziness followed, and in her last moments of consciousness, Wen Ting clutched her employee badge tightly.
"Sir, Lord Wen."
Wen Ting opened her eyes groggily, and what she saw was a carved screen made of yellow pear wood.
A beautiful landscape painting is embedded in an intricate wood carving.
The screen serves as a boundary, with a moon gate draped with beaded curtains to the inside and a wooden lattice door leading to the outer courtyard to the outside.
She was sitting in the small hall between the screen and the outdoor door, with symmetrical plum blossom paintings hanging on both sides.
Has he...time traveled?
Hearing the repeated calls of "Lord Wen," Wen Ting snapped out of her reverie and looked toward the source of the voices.
A woman dressed in a gray cloth top was calling to her. When she saw her looking over, she said cautiously, "The Taoist priest that the master invited has arrived and is talking with the master."
Wen Ting rubbed her head, which was throbbing a bit after transmigrating. "Taoist Master?"
Seeing her headache, the woman assumed she was upset. "I know you don't like these things, but ever since our master entered the household, strange things have been happening one after another. No wonder he's worried, and even we servants are filled with anxiety. Please do this to put his mind at ease."
"Heh, strange." Wen Ting subtly probed for information, "Tell me, what strange things have happened?"
"this……"
"explain."
The woman hesitated, "The rest may be unfounded rumors, but in the three months since the master entered the household, seven or eight people in the mansion have fallen ill, and that cannot be denied."
"My lord enters the door"—what kind of phrase is that?
Does "进门" here mean "to arrive" or "to marry into"?
Wen Ting pondered inwardly, but outwardly remained unconcerned: "The illness spreads from one person to another, from one to another, from one to another. What's so strange about that?"
"A swarm of red butterflies flew into the courtyard and actually sucked several crabapple trees to death. This is unheard of."
“This crabapple is truly a curse.” Wen Ting chuckled. “A withered crabapple coming back to life is a terrible omen of family decline; a living crabapple dying is also a terrible omen. If it keeps living and never dies—I think you’ll all say it’s possessed by a demon.”
"This..." The woman was stunned by what she said. "There's no smoke without fire. So many people say they see ghosts at night, there must be a reason."
Wen Ting seized the opportunity to press further: "The reason is with you, my lord?"
The woman lowered her head, not daring to speak, but her expression showed complete agreement.
Wen Ting roughly understood the current situation.
During the three months that "Master" stayed at her house, various supernatural events occurred.
The master of the mansion believed that "Master" was an ominous sign, so he hired a Taoist priest to perform a ritual. The original owner of this body who had transmigrated here did not approve of this practice.
The only remaining questions are: Who is the lord, and who is she?
"Alright, stop talking." Wen Ting waved her hand. "If there's nothing else, just leave me alone."
She needed to quickly gather clues around her to further assess her situation.
Seeing her impatience, the woman reluctantly withdrew.
Wen Ting immediately went behind the screen.
Through the carved openwork, she saw a shelf of books early in the morning, presumably containing a lot of information she needed.
However, after going around the screen, Wen Ting saw a familiar figure.
A man dressed in blue brocade with a white background stood behind a landscape screen, his long hair tied up with a hairpin, looking elegant and refined.
Seeing her approach, he raised his phoenix eyes.
"My lady," he called to her softly.
Wen Ting was stunned, incredulous: "...Gong Baidie?"
The man lowered his eyes, concealing his sadness and humiliation. "I heard everything. You don't need to protect me like this."
He showed no surprise at the name, but Wen Ting quickly confirmed it again: "Bai Die... don't say Bai Die like that."
He still did not refute the name, and said in a low voice, "What people outside are saying is not without reason. The Gong family has been noble for four generations, but they ended up like that after I was born. Perhaps it is really because of me. Now that there is no peace in the family, it is only natural for you to divorce me."
After hearing this, Wen Ting was certain that she had transmigrated into the Gong Baidie unit of the game "Desktop Lovers".
Gong Baidie's story ends shortly after he marries the female lead, which seems to be the timeline after the finale.
She also wrote two post-wedding side stories, but neither included the ghost story in the heroine's house. What's the current development...?
"What does the Gong family's business have to do with you? Stop talking about yourself like that." Wen Ting tried to touch his sleeve, and it really felt like fabric.
It's unbelievably real.
Gong Baidie gave a soft "hmm" and gave her a bitter, pale smile.
Wen Ting looked at it and suddenly wanted to laugh.
This expression is much more pleasing to the eye.
This inexplicable thought welled up in her mind, and she frowned, wondering why she was being so harsh.
What's even stranger is that she accepted being transported into the game without any difficulty and wasn't in a hurry to go back at all.
That's normal. Although life in ancient times wasn't so convenient, as a member of the privileged class, Wen Ting received more than a hundred times the respect she would receive in the real world.
She had never had such an easy job before. She had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to attend court. With the female lead's position, she only needed to take a stroll around the government office and she could go home in the morning.
The main work each day consisted of socializing at home or on the street. In ancient times, the alcohol content of wine was not high, making it much more relaxed than business dinners.
She was the new emperor's right-hand woman and childhood friend; her status was arguably second only to the emperor.
Enjoyable at work, and treated like royalty at home.
The female lead is an only child, the sole heir of the direct line. Her mother passed away, and her father doted on her. The male lead she married, Gong Baidie, is also a virtuous and well-mannered person. Wen Ting has been here for half a month, and she hasn't even put her hands on any clothes once.
It wasn't Gong Baidie who helped her get dressed, but her personal attendant.
In a prominent family like the Wen family, husband and wife each had their own rooms, and they only slept together when they wanted to have children.
The newlyweds had just gotten married, and it was normal for them to sleep together, but Master Wen wouldn't allow it. He believed that Gong Baidie had attracted something unclean and wouldn't allow his daughter to share a room with him.
Although the female lead and the new emperor exonerated the Gong family, the Gong family was ultimately gone, and Gong Baidie was just an orphan with no one to rely on. Master Wen, full of confidence, bluntly told him to move out.
Wen Ting happened to witness this scene when she returned home from get off work.
Master Wen sat in the hall, leaning on his cane, while Gong Baidie stood in the hall listening to his reprimand.
"You've seen the situation at home; perhaps something has gone wrong."
“You are all alone, but we will not drive you away. We will just let you stay in another courtyard temporarily, and we will bring you back when the evil aura has subsided.”
“I’ve already arranged everything. You can go there without worry. I’ll explain things to Ting’er myself.”
Gong Baidie lowered her head and replied without hesitation, "Yes."
Master Wen was pleased with his submissiveness. "Good boy, I'll see you out."
Where to?
Wen Ting intervened in the conversation.
Upon seeing her, both of them looked somewhat awkward.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Master Wen said, "I was thinking that something at home was incompatible with Bai Die, so I asked him to stay temporarily at the other courtyard. He agreed and is now packing his luggage."
Wen Ting looked at Gong Baidie, who lowered his eyelids and obediently replied, "Yes, Father was just about to see me off."
“There have indeed been some strange things happening at home lately, and Father’s concerns are well-founded.” Wen Ting said this, and the old man’s expression softened considerably.
She then added, "But the villa is too far away, making it inconvenient for me to go to and from court."
Both of them were stunned.
Master Wen gave Gong Baidie a look, signaling him to speak up: "There's no need for my wife to trouble herself. Baidie can just bring a few servants with her."
Gong Baidie spoke softly and meekly, but when she heard him call her "wife" and refer to himself as "Baidi," Wen Ting had a strong, inexplicable intuition—
He was very unhappy.
He was furious.
“We’re newlyweds.” Wen Ting was surprised, grabbed Gong Baidie’s hand, and looked pitiful. “Baby, I can’t live without you.”
"Ahem!" The word "baby" caused an uproar throughout the entire Wen family mansion.
Gong Baidie's hand, which was being held by Wen Ting, trembled violently, and she looked on in shock as if she had seen a ghost.
Does he and the female lead have a bad relationship? Why does he even have this expression?
"Ting'er." The old man tapped his cane on the ground, interrupting her tender sentiments. "More and more people in the manor are getting sick. Even one of my servants has fallen ill, and the imperial physician has not been able to cure him. I know you have just married and are reluctant to part with Bai Die, but there are priorities. You are a young woman and should be reasonable."
“Father is right,” Wen Ting said. “I will go find a house immediately and move out with Bai Die within the month.”
"You!" Master Wen's eyes widened. "Are you trying to spite me?"
Wen Ting pulled Gong Baidie behind her. "Father, Baidie has already entered the family. If he is really some kind of demon or monster who wants to harm us, let alone moving out, even if he dies, he will still haunt us."
Mr. Wen remained silent.
Wen Ting raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that some expert told you about some kind of suppression method that destroys the body and locks the soul?"
"Nonsense!" The old man glared at her, his brows furrowed with displeasure at being exposed.
That's vicious; she actually wanted to kill Gong Baidie to suppress the soul... But if it were anyone else, she probably would have done the same.
Wen Ting stopped talking to Master Wen and turned to the other servants: "Listen carefully, Gong Baidie is my husband, the head of the Wen family, and I will only have this one husband in my life."
She gestured to the side, asking, "Who's in charge now?"
The butler was taken aback, glanced at the dark-faced Master Wen, and answered with a forced smile, "It's my uncles who are in charge."
Wen Ting turned to Gong Baidie and said, "You've been here for a while now. It's the master's job to be a steward. I'll take you to visit your uncles and aunts later so they can hand over the reins to you."
Her nonchalant speech infuriated Master Wen.
He left with a cold face, glaring at Gong Baidie with gritted teeth, as if he wanted to tear a piece of flesh from her.
Wen Ting accompanied her personally, and the steward's account books were delivered to Gong Baidie that same day.
Back in her room, Gong Baidie put the account book aside, looking worried: "What you're doing will anger Father and the elders."
"He also made you angry." Wen Ting didn't seem to care much about the NPC.
“Actually, Father is right,” Gong Baidie said dejectedly. “Strange things have indeed happened since I married into this family. It might not be a bad thing for me to leave temporarily. You shouldn’t have disobeyed Father, and you shouldn’t have let me get involved in household affairs at this time.”
“But that’s what I want.” Wen Ting pulled him to sit on the chair, then stood in front of him. “Bai Die, you know my feelings. I don’t want to marry anyone else but you, and I would never let another man interfere in my family affairs.”
Gong Baidie frowned; he didn't understand.
Gong Baidie was just an orphan, and her overall circumstances were far inferior to Gong Feibai's.
In the game, Wen Ting has already reached the pinnacle of power and doesn't need any more wealth or power; but in the real world, Wen Ting is struggling in the capital and desperately needs Gong Feibai's help.
Why was she so eager to marry Gong Baidie, helping him solidify his position as her husband the moment they met? Yet, after Gong Feibai had flattered her for over three months, she became displeased and her favorability towards him plummeted the moment he mentioned marriage.
The same applies to the 12th floor dungeon and the 11th floor dungeon.
When Wen Ting first saw him insane in her dream, she chose Ajia Ke to die in his place without hesitation. Even though killing Ajia Ke was for her own benefit, she later pulled him to sit on her kang (a heated brick bed), tied his hair, wiped his face, and even joked with him with a smile.
On the 11th floor, Wen Ting, who had no memory of Gong Baidie, avoided him like the plague. She wouldn't even wipe him clean, and when she touched him, she would only use her fingertips, afraid of touching him even a little more.
The anomalies were already evident from the very beginning of the ghost stories.
She was wary and cautious of the new director, but the moment Gong Baidie appeared, she immediately shared all her analysis and insights; even knowing that he was the monster who created the strange tales, she still greeted him with a smile...
No, that was just flattery; she was only afraid of being killed by him.
Is that so...?
She was unwilling to say more than a few words to Gong Feibai, who was also human, but she could take the initiative to kiss a monster.
If you're so afraid of death, why would you burn yourself alive?
Why did she do this?
This obvious differential treatment made it seem as if... as if she liked him.
Ha, what is he being so delusional about again?
Doesn't he understand her? This woman doesn't have much affection for anyone.
She merely sighed when betrayed by her two most valued team members; she showed no sadness after their deaths.
If one feels this way towards fellow human beings with whom one spends every day, how could one possibly have any feelings for a game character or a monster from a ghost story?
He knew Wen Ting better than anyone what kind of woman she was.
If she truly loved Gong Baidie, why would they have met here?
That's how it should be; she should be the most cold-blooded and selfish woman. But Gong Baidie just happened to think of that roller coaster in the steel and concrete.
In front of the dazzling, shimmering light strips, the halo of light as dreamy as the aurora borealis, she said to him:
"I want to tell you, I want to tell you, that you are the only person I willingly want to marry in this life."
She spoke so earnestly, so sincerely it was almost repulsive; in order to deceive him, she didn't even call him "Little White"—
Gong Baidie was stunned.
There is no "newbie".
No one else's name appeared in that sentence.
At that moment, Gong Baidie's emotions sensed the matter before her consciousness did, and she smiled.
Wen Ting...
What gave her the confidence to make a bet with him?
What makes her so sure that she would be willing to live with Gong Baidie even after losing her memory?
What right does she have to feign such deep affection for him, making him hate her and feel nauseous?
-----------------------
Author's note: Gong Baidie: She seems to have some special bond with Gong Baidie, but I have absolutely no clue.
12 floors modern, 11 floors recent history, 10 floors ancient
The next level of primitive tribe (not)
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