Chapter 3: Escape

Chapter 3: Escape

Lin Shenshi’s fingers went cold. He struggled, "This is for acting class..."

Lu Yuan’s voice was chillingly cold: "As your counselor, I have the right to inspect any of your assignments."

Beneath the lenses, those deep-set eyes bore into him mercilessly, like an icy nail from hell, piercing flesh and draining warmth, leaving only a frigid silence.

"What? Didn’t memorize it, or..."

"You’re lying."

The calm tone carried a bone-deep chill, murderous intent gathering in his eyes.

His heart hammered violently in his chest, threatening to leap from his throat.

Lin Shenshi forced a dry laugh, feigning composure: "How could that be, Teacher Lu? You must be joking. I’m just afraid my recitation won’t be good enough, and I’ll make a fool of myself."

"Recite."

Lu Yuan’s tone was cold and unyielding. His slender fingers rested on the pristine pages of the script, yet his gaze, from above the book, bore down on Lin Shenshi.

Like a hawk fixated on its prey, sinister and ruthless.

Waiting for the opportune moment to strike and utterly destroy its quarry.

A sense of impending doom enveloped him like a dark cloud. Lin Shenshi nervously swallowed. Due to Lu Yuan’s grip on the book, he could only glimpse the next chapter on the opposite page, completely unaware of the actual section to be tested.

He took a deep breath, deciding to try his luck against all odds.

In the original novel, the day after the roommate incident, there was indeed a pop quiz in acting class.

However, the protagonist shou had just endured a night of torment and, rushing to class, hadn’t had time to compose himself. He spent the entire lesson restless, distracted by his body’s reactions and the lingering question of "who it was last night."

He barely registered the key points or his classmates’ recitations, catching only scattered phrases during moments of humiliation and frustration.

Now, those fragmented words were Lin Shenshi’s sole lifeline.

He struggled to piece together the short phrases from memory, gathered his emotions, and slowly began to speak.

"That distant, sorrowful horn, filled with the battlefield’s mournful cry... echoing under the clear night sky..."

"The dream has bled dry, the sky churns with raging flames, the black steed’s roar tears through the heavens..."¹

Lin Shenshi recited in a low voice, his amber eyes gradually clouding with sorrow as the lines flowed. He seemed to forget his perilous situation, transported alongside the protagonist to that blood-soaked battlefield.

"...I choose to die in your arms, my lips growing cold, as cold as this sudden blizzard..."

"...All words freeze in my trembling throat... my lips grow colder, my heart grows colder..."

"...Yet you will forever be the hero in my heart!"¹

Finally, Lin Shenshi concluded the passage with a passionate, resolute tone. His cheeks flushed with emotion, and a hint of tears welled in his eyes.

Lu Yuan watched him, his gaze deep and unreadable.

A full five or six seconds passed before Lin Shenshi snapped back to reality from the recitation. He pressed his lips together nervously, silently awaiting judgment.

If he had recited the wrong passage, all his previous explanations would be nullified. Whether he had done it or not, he would be accused of assaulting the protagonist shou, earning Lu Yuan’s hatred, and facing a violent death at the hands of hired thugs.

But if he had recited correctly... he could escape the doomed fate of the original cannon-fodder character.

His fingers twitched almost imperceptibly at his side, his palms already damp with sweat.

After a moment, Lu Yuan finally spoke.

"Seven points."

Lin Shenshi’s anxious heart finally settled, and a flicker of joy ignited within him: So, he had recited correctly! And... he actually got seven points!

"—Out of a hundred."

His joy was short-lived, mercilessly crushed by Lu Yuan.

He casually tossed the script textbook back to Lin Shenshi: "Your recitation was a complete mess, riddled with errors. The emotions were all over the place, completely mismatched. I only gave you seven points out of consideration for your all-night studying."

Lu Yuan’s words were scathing, his tongue sharp, yet Lin Shenshi keenly sensed a shift in his attitude.

The sinister ruthlessness had receded from Lu Yuan’s eyes—he now believed that Lin Shenshi hadn’t touched the protagonist shou!

Lin Shenshi let out a silent sigh of relief, but before he could fully relax, Lu Yuan spoke again: "Open to Chapter 7, second paragraph. Recite it."

Confused, Lin Shenshi had no choice but to comply, flipping through the textbook to the passage Lu Yuan indicated.

Unlike the previous tragic, righteous romance, this was an excerpt from a famous palace intrigue drama.

"...The two were lost in carnal embrace, oblivious to the world... a red mandarin duck undergarment still hung from the scoundrel’s waist..."²

Lin Shenshi slowly raised his eyes.

Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, Lu Yuan gazed at him intently, his expression unreadable: "Continue."

Lin Shenshi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he lowered his head and continued reading. The next lines were the man’s: "You wretch... kill him, dismember him with five horses..."

The excerpt ended there. Lin Shenshi stared at the black ink on the pristine white paper, feeling the warmth that had just returned to his fingers fading once again.

He gripped the textbook tightly, his fingertips turning a sickly pale from the excessive pressure.

Lu Yuan’s voice sounded above him.

"It’s getting cold. Wear more clothes."

Though the words sounded caring, they felt like a bitter autumn wind, chilling him to the bone.

The dorm room door opened and closed. Only when the footsteps in the hallway faded completely did Lin Shenshi look up, his face ashen.

The script textbook slipped from his fingers, its pages wrinkled and marked with three or five damp fingerprints.

The dormitory lights shone blindingly white. Lin Shenshi leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.

He took several deep breaths before gradually calming down. On the opposite bed, Yu Lanzhao was sleeping soundly.

His stunning, androgynous beauty was captivating, yet it was like a poppy at the bottom of an abyss—once the thought of touching it arose, there was no turning back.

*

When Yu Lanzhao woke up, the dorm room was empty.

Rubbing his aching head from the hangover, he muttered to himself in confusion, "Where’s Xiao Shi?"

The digital watch showed 7:45. Yu Lanzhao gasped in surprise, quickly slung his backpack over his shoulder, and rushed to the teaching building for his 8 a.m. class.

The lecture hall was packed. Yu Lanzhao stopped the class monitor who was handing out assignments.

"Have you seen Xiao Shi?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Lin Shenshi..." The monitor pulled two assignment sheets from the stack in his arms and handed them over. "Haven't seen him. You can hand these to him."

With that, the monitor hurried off to distribute the rest of the assignments.

Yu Lanzhao scanned the room but still didn’t spot Lin Shenshi. Just as he was wondering where he could be, the class bell rang.

The elderly, white-haired professor walked in, and the chattering students immediately fell silent.

As the professor reached the podium, he noticed someone still standing in the aisle and gave a questioning look. Yu Lanzhao quickly found a seat.

"Alright, let’s begin class."

The professor lowered his head and opened the textbook. Just then, a tall, slender figure slipped in through the back door and darted to the nearest empty seat in the back row with lightning speed.

The student next to him noticed him. "Yu Lanzhao was looking for you earlier..."

"Shh!" Lin Shenshi quickly signaled for him to be quiet. "I know."

The classmate looked confused. Lin Shenshi mumbled, "Never mind."

The classmate shrugged indifferently.

Lin Shenshi slouched down cautiously, peering forward, and immediately spotted Yu Lanzhao sitting in the second row.

The youth’s figure stood out among the older students. Combined with the fact that Yu Lanzhao was skinnier than his peers, he looked even more fragile.

His slender back was straight, but his bright, doe-like eyes weren’t fixed on the professor lecturing at the podium as usual. Instead, his thick lashes were lowered, faint shadows under them.

Tsk, did this guy not sleep well last night?

How does he look even worse than I do after being up all night?

Lin Shenshi was frustrated. Although he’d managed to evade the obsessive gong’s interrogation last night, Lu Yuan’s last words left him increasingly uneasy the more he thought about them.

What did he mean, "It’s getting cold, wear more clothes"? To Lin Shenshi, it sounded like a coded way of saying "It’s getting cold, the cannon-fodder roommate can go die"!

And making him read that passage about adulterers being torn apart mid-act—wasn’t that a clear warning that if he dared lay a finger on Yu Lanzhao, he’d meet a horrible death?

Fine, fine...

He’d survived the initial confrontation, but now there was another potential death tally +1.

If he couldn't fight, he could flee!

Worried that the obsessive, jealous gong would misunderstand again, Lin Shenshi had slipped out of the dorm before dawn, keeping his distance from Yu Lanzhao until the class bell rang, only then daring to show his face.

Right before coming to class, he’d already arranged for a moving company. He was just waiting for the class to end so he could rush back to the dorm, make his escape, and vanish completely from the protagonist shou’s world.

You all can play whatever kinky games you want—I'm out!

Just then, Lin Shenshi’s phone vibrated.

A WeChat message popped up.

[Ah Zhao]: Xiao Shi, where are you?

Without a second thought, Lin Shenshi clicked on the profile, his fingers flying through the steps.

[Delete contact?]

[Delete]

He put down his phone, feeling utterly relieved. What could be more satisfying than staying safe and alive?

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the slender figure in the front row typing on his phone, then visibly stiffening. His thick lashes trembled slightly, hurt and loneliness surfacing in his eyes.

The youth sniffed, his previously straight posture slumping as he hunched into a ball, like an innocent young animal abandoned by its pack, helplessly licking its wounds in isolation.

Fragile and pitiful.

"......"

Lin Shenshi pinched his thigh hard, suppressing the urge to hug Yu Lanzhao, and silently psyched himself up.

If his heart wasn’t hard, his life would be at risk! Last night, he’d almost messed up because of a moment of soft-heartedness!

He turned away, refusing to look at Yu Lanzhao any longer.

The elderly professor had begun discussing the previous assignment. Slightly irritated, Lin Shenshi opened his lines textbook.

Remembering that Lu Yuan had touched this book last night, Lin Shenshi felt it was unlucky. But away from the obsessive, jealous gong’s snake-like stare, he gradually began to notice some odd details.

Lu Yuan was an acting instructor—why was he so familiar with the script textbook? While Lin Shenshi was reciting the first passage, Lu Yuan hadn’t glanced at the book once. For the second passage, he’d even tossed the book aside and immediately cited the exact location, as if he knew the contents inside out.

In the original novel, compared to the later-appearing gong #2, a chaebol magnate, and gong #3, an A-list movie star, Lu Yuan’s background was merely that of a university lecturer.

Not even an associate professor.

Yet he could hire assassins, subject the protagonist shou to non-consensual acts, boldly plaster a whole wall with photos—crimes that should’ve put him away for good. But there was one time when the protagonist shou, driven to breaking point, mustered the courage to seek help, only to be turned down gently.

That person even said pointedly, "Son, don't fight a losing battle. Giving in early is best for everyone."

Just listen—is that something a human being should say?

Should words like that come from a public servant in our new socialist era?

But the world was just that surreal. In this harem erotica novel, it seemed aside from the other two main gongs, no one could stop Lu Yuan’s obsessive pursuits.

Every time, the protagonist shou was pushed beyond his limits, left sobbing and broken.

If this were the real world, the protagonist shou would have long since lost his life.

But in the original novel, not only did the protagonist shou survive, he even managed to keep up with the modern, high-stakes "harmony" in the later stages.

Even worse, it wasn’t just Lu Yuan—every main gong was like this! Inhuman stamina, frequently going all night, even capable of going several more rounds afterward!

"…………"

The more Lin Shenshi remembered, the more he scowled.

The life the protagonist shou led—he knew he couldn’t take it. But no matter how miserable the protagonist shou was, at least he was still alive. Unlike himself, a cannon-fodder extra, always on the brink of being sacrificed for the gongs and shou’s twisted romance.

He checked the time and, one minute before the bell, bolted out before the bell.

Yu Lanzhao had a full load of classes today, while he had an open period next—perfect chance to move out of the dorm.

Whoever wants to stay in this fucked-up world can stay, but he was determined to stay far away from the original plot.

Woo-hoo!

Just as he cheerfully greeted the movers downstairs and hurried back to his dorm room to pack his suitcase, someone followed closely behind and quietly pushed open the slightly ajar dorm room door.

Lin Shenshi was bent halfway over the bed, arranging the bedding, completely unaware that someone was approaching. Suddenly, a scorching touch pressed against his back, burning all the way down his spine.

Slender arms wrapped around his waist, the youthful scent of the boy flooding his nostrils, while fine, soft hair brushed against his ear, finally burying into his defenseless neck.

Amid the lively chatter of students in the dorm hallway, Yu Lanzhao's voice sounded aching and fragmented.

"Xiao Shi—"

"Could you... please not hate me?"