Chapter 1: Earl of Rose 1

"My boyfriend seems to have... cheated on me."

In the café, the sentimental melody of "My Heart Will Go On" played softly, and the low laughter of a couple on a date nearby added to the romantic atmosphere. Xia Qi's words, however, were like a third wheel crashing into a couple's moment, completely ruining the ambiance.

"Are you sure?" The barista, who was decorating a cup of mocha, stumbled and turned the heart-shaped foam into a blob resembling feces. He sighed in frustration and hesitated before saying, "He just hasn't been coming home much, how does that mean he's cheating?"

"It's been two months since he last came to see me." Standing at the counter, conversing with the barista, was a young man named Xia Qi.

He was around twenty years old, tall, and slender, wearing a well-tailored waiter's uniform that made him look as elegant as if he were dressed in a tuxedo, drawing frequent glances from girls ordering drinks.

However, he seemed entirely uninterested in the girls looking his way. His almond-shaped eyes, tinged with a hint of melancholy, were slightly downcast, and his thick, curled lashes cast butterfly-wing-like shadows on his pale face. His thin lips formed a straight line.

The barista glanced at the dejected Xia Qi and continued to console him, "But that doesn't prove he's cheating, does it?"

"There's more," Xia Qi said, his throat tightening. He unlocked his phone and scrolled to a WeChat article.

"Top Ten Signs Your Man Is Cheating! Not Sharing Isn't Chinese!"

"..."

The outrageous title made the barista's pupils dilate, but out of respect for his colleague, he continued reading aloud—

"Sign one: Does he act like a thug when you touch his phone?"

"Yes."

"Sign two: Recently started grooming himself and dressing up in suits?"

"He used to be a slob."

"Sign three: Used to call you Mrs. Niu, now calls you Honey?"

"He's called me by ten different names recently, each one different."

"Wow, impressive."

Feeling as if green light was emanating from Xia Qi's forehead, the barista pushed the feces-like mocha forward. "Triple sugar, this will bring back the sweetness of love."

"Thanks."

Xia Qi drank the mocha in one gulp, feeling only bitterness in his mouth. As he turned to leave with the ceramic cup, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure through the glass door.

The man wore a signature red-and-gray plaid Kensington coat, and the shoulder pads accentuated his neck and shoulders, giving him an urban modern flair. At that moment, a noble-looking black-gold ring sparkled on his right hand, visible beneath the rolled-up sleeve of his coat.

"Cha Gong?" Xia Qi squinted, momentarily blinded by the ring's brilliance, and called out.

The barista peeked out the door and exclaimed, "Never thought old coder Cha could clean up so nicely."

As the green light on the pedestrian walkway outside turned, Cha Gong, carrying a business leather bag, crossed the street. Xia Qi left the cup on the counter, saying, "Taking the day off," and rushed out after him.

The barista smiled bitterly; Xia Qi, their star employee, taking the day off to catch someone cheating would surely lead to a drop in sales tomorrow.

Xia Qi made it across the street just as the green light was about to change.

Cha Gong walked briskly, unlike his usual sluggish pace when climbing stairs.

He entered a five-star hotel and headed straight for the elevator.

Xia Qi hurried to catch up. The elevator attendant, impressed by Xia Qi's model-like appearance in his uniform, paused and then brightened up.

"To which floor did the gentleman go?"

"Eighteenth floor." The attendant looked at him with admiration and swiped his card, "The manager is waiting for your interview on the third floor..."

Xia Qi loosened his tie, not bothering to explain the misunderstanding, thanked the attendant, and quickly stepped into the elevator, pressing "eighteenth floor."

As the elevator doors opened, Xia Qi rushed out and saw a glimpse of Cha Gong's coat turning a corner.

His heart raced, and he chased after him. Cha Gong had just swiped open a room door, and a soft voice inside called out, "Brother Cha, you finally came."

From the voice, Xia Qi detected joy, dependence, and a hint of ambiguity. It felt like ice shards coursing through his veins, freezing his heart.

Cha Gong stepped into the room, unaware of someone rushing towards him. Just as he was about to close the door, Xia Qi reached the entrance!

A loud thud echoed as Xia Qi's hands hit the door, and he pushed it open forcefully.

"Who are you?!" Cha Gong stumbled forward a few steps, irritated.

He turned around and, upon seeing Xia Qi, his expression changed dramatically.

"Xia Qi? What are you doing here!" Cha Gong's face paled.

"Who is he?" Xia Qi's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze piercing past Cha Gong to the young man behind him.

This young man bore a striking resemblance to Xia Qi, except for his pristine appearance and aura of untouched nobility, much like the Xia Qi of long ago before entering society.

The young man held what looked like a check or voucher, seemingly about to hand it to Cha Gong.

It was clear that Cha Gong's high-end attire came from this source.

"Xia Qi, I'll explain later." Seeing Xia Qi enter the room, Cha Gong frantically tried to block him, his panic evident.

Xia Qi closed his eyes, then opened them again, appearing calm. "Cha Gong, let's break up."

"No—!" Cha Gong didn't expect Xia Qi to be so decisive. His face flushed red, and his voice pleaded, "Xia Qi, please listen to me!"

Their heights were nearly identical. Just as Xia Qi was about to turn away, the second hand of the clock hanging on the opposite wall slid to align with the minute hand, all pointing to 12:00.

"Jing, jing, jing—"

Three crisp chimes rang out.

Xia Qi had never heard such beautiful, ethereal chimes before. Even more strangely, the lingering resonance refused to dissipate, as if echoing within his mind.

He looked at the two men opposite him with confusion, suddenly feeling dizzy and experiencing a sharp pain in his head like needles piercing through it.

It was clear that Cha Gong and the young master had also heard the enchanting sound.

However, their expressions were far from those of someone hearing celestial music; instead, they wore looks of sheer terror, as if they had just attended a funeral symphony.

The young master burst into tears, clinging to Cha Gong's arm and shouting, "They're here! Game time has come!"

"What are you doing?!" Xia Qi staggered forward two steps, wondering why he felt dizzy. "Explain this to me."

"Stay away from Brother Cha—!"

The young master didn't expect Xia Qi to approach and instinctively swung his hand to push him away. However, as his right hand neared Xia Qi, he accidentally flung a ticket towards him.

Seeing the ticket flying towards his face, Xia Qi raised his hand to swat it away. Unexpectedly, the ticket hit his palm without any sensation.

Flipping his hand over, he saw a shadow of the ticket on his palm. Then, the ticket slowly shrank and vanished from his palm!

"What is this..."

Before Xia Qi could question the shocked young master, a black vortex suddenly appeared behind Cha Gong and the young master, swiftly sucking them in.

This paranormal event visibly frightened Xia Qi, causing him to take a few steps back. He glanced down at his clean palm, filled with confusion.

Why did the ticket disappear in his hand?

Why would a five-star hotel have a black hole that devours people?

Before he could ponder further, the black vortex expanded, pulling his hand uncontrollably towards it.

A massive force pressed down on him, and Xia Qi watched helplessly as the black vortex swallowed him whole.

Then, everything went dark.

After an unknown amount of time, Xia Qi gradually regained consciousness.

In the darkness, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

"Survivor possesses an S-grade lottery ticket. Would you like to draw?"

"Yes/No"

Xia Qi was taken aback: What is this?

He blinked, but the text remained. Turning his head, he found the words followed him, as if imprinted in his mind.

Could this be a prank by Cha Gong and the young master?

"Choose 'Yes.'" He wanted to see what would happen if he chose "Yes."

After making his choice, the white text quickly disappeared, replaced by a large, colorful supermarket-style lucky wheel. The prizes on the wheel were unfamiliar, things Xia Qi had never seen before, making his head spin as it spun.

The wheel eventually stopped at a pink heart-shaped magic wand.

It was a very girlish pink magic wand, with a small heart at the top adorned with wings and a halo. Xia Qi recognized this wand; a friend's daughter used to dance with it, often shouting, "Magic power, transform me into a fairy!"

Before Xia Qi could study the wand further, it flew towards him, landing coolly in his right hand.

"Prop Name: True Love's Melody Magic Wand (Bound)."

"Effect: Consume true love energy and recite your love spell. The higher the true love value, the stronger the magic effect."

"Level: LV1."

"Additional Notes: The game brings you together; cherish this connection. Let us witness a passionate true love!"

Xia Qi: "..."

Baffling props, mysterious and eerie dark worlds, sarcastic text...

Was all of this really a prank?

As he pondered, countless letters and numbers flashed in the darkness, forming elegant lines of code. Before Xia Qi could fully comprehend them, the codes rapidly flew past, creating layer upon layer of translucent walls before him.

After a few seconds, the walls stacked up to nearly ten thousand layers, the dense code causing dizziness with just a glance.

Just as he reached out to touch the wall of code, it suddenly pressed down heavily on him!

In the darkness, the system's lively electronic voice chimed, "Dear survivor Xia Qi, welcome to the Sinful Game."

0. If you find this disagreeable, it simply shows that our wavelengths don't match. Please bear with it, and I wish you a pleasant life. Thank you for your understanding!