A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

Su Nian opened her eyes.

The ceiling was white and very clean, with a small crack running from the corner to the light fixture. This was her room.

She lay in bed, her mind blank.

wrong.

She sat up and looked around. Pink curtains, a few textbooks on the desk, a wardrobe door ajar, and school uniforms hanging inside. Everything seemed normal.

But she couldn't remember why she was lying there.

What was she doing a second ago? What happened yesterday?

Blank.

Su Nian pressed her temples, trying hard to remember. She remembered that her name was Su Nian, she was nineteen years old, and she was a sophomore at Lin Yang University. She had a stepmother and a stepsister.

That's all...

She got out of bed, her feet sinking into the cool floor. She went to her desk, looking for her phone, but couldn't find it. Instead, she saw a note on the desk, written in her stepmother's handwriting—

"Nian, you've been unconscious for three days. The doctor said you're fine and can rest. Breakfast is in the kitchen."

three days?

Su Nian frowned. She had absolutely no recollection of why she had been unconscious for three days.

She pushed open the door, and the hallway was dimly lit. She took a step, then stopped.

There are more things on the wall.

On a white wall, there was a red piece of paper, like an old-fashioned notice board. It read in black letters—

[Home Stay Rules]

1. You must be back in your room before 22:00 every day.

2. When you hear a knock on the door, count to three before opening it. If the knocking stops before you count to three, do not open the door.

3. If the person in the mirror smiles at you, immediately close your eyes and count to ten silently.

Fourth, do not make eye contact with strangers in your home for more than five seconds.

Fifth, those who violate the rules will be punished.

Su Nian stared at the paper for ten seconds.

Her first reaction was—who put this up? What is her stepmother up to?

My second thought was—the paper isn't made of the right material. It's not ordinary paper; it feels cold to the touch, like some kind of leather.

"You're awake?"

A sound came from the bottom of the stairs. Stepmother Wang Li stood there, dressed in pajamas, her hair tied up, looking at her.

"Mom, this on the wall..." Su Nian pointed to the red paper.

Wang Li's expression changed for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal: "Never mind that, it's just a notice posted by the property management. Things aren't peaceful outside right now, everyone's doing these kinds of things."

"Was that posted by the property management?" Su Nian felt something was off. "Would the property management post something like 'Close your eyes if the person in the mirror smiles at you'?"

"You just woke up, your mind isn't clear yet." Wang Li walked over, took her arm, and led her downstairs. "Have breakfast first."

Su Nian was pulled downstairs by her. In the living room, her stepsister Su Yao was sitting on the sofa playing on her phone. When she saw Su Nian come down, she looked up at her, then looked down again.

"Sister, you're finally awake." Su Yao didn't even look up. "You've been asleep for three days. I thought you were dead."

"Yao!" Wang Li scolded.

Su Yao shrank back and didn't say anything more.

Su Nian sat down at the dining table, where porridge and pickled vegetables were laid out in front of her. She picked up her chopsticks, but her mind was still on the matter of the red paper.

The property management posted it? Nobody would believe that.

She ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, then suddenly noticed another identical red paper in the corner of the living room. It contained another rule—

[Supplementary Rules for the Living Room]

6. Do not sit on the far right side of the sofa after 6 p.m.

Su Nian put down her chopsticks: "Mom, what's going on? Why are these things plastered all over the house?"

Wang Li didn't answer, and was busy in the kitchen with her back to her.

"I'm serious," Su Nian raised her voice, "I had amnesia for three days, and when I woke up, the whole room was full of strange rules. Can't you explain that to me?"

Wang Li turned around, a strange expression on her face. Not worried, but...nervous?

"Nian, listen to me." Wang Li walked over and sat down opposite her, lowering her voice, "You must abide by these rules. No matter how absurd you think they are, you must do them."

Why?

"Because if you don't follow the rules, something bad will happen," Wang Li said. "Three days ago, Old Zhang next door didn't follow the rules, and the next day... he was gone."

Su Nian looked into her stepmother's eyes. She didn't seem to be joking.

"What exactly happened?" Su Nian asked. "What happened outside while I was asleep for three days?"

Wang Li opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the doorbell rang.

The third tone. Very regular.

Wang Li's face turned pale.

Su Nian glanced at the clock—10:00 AM. The rules said "knocking on the door," so the doorbell should be fine, right?

She stood up to open the door.

"Don't move!" Wang Li grabbed her.

The doorbell rang three more times.

Then a man's voice came from outside the door: "Aunt Li, it's me, Chen Yue. I've come to pick up the child."

Su Nian was stunned. Chen Yue? She had no recollection of that name at all.

Wang Li's expression became even more complex. It was a mixture of tension and embarrassment, and within that embarrassment lay a certain calculating intent.

"It's Yue." Wang Li released her grip, her voice suddenly becoming warm. "Quick, Nian, go open the door."

"Who is it?" Su Nian didn't move.

"Your fiancé."

Su Nian thought she had misheard: "What?"

"Your fiancé, Chen Yue," Wang Li urged her, "Go open the door quickly, don't keep him waiting."

Su Nian was completely dumbfounded. She had been suffering from amnesia for three days, and when she woke up, she had a fiancé?

"I don't remember having a fiancé," she said.

"Of course you don't remember, you've lost your memory," Su Yao interjected from the sofa, her tone strange. "You two are so close, always together."

Su Nian glanced at Su Yao. Su Yao lowered her head, her lips slightly pursed, with a hint of schadenfreude.

Something's wrong. Nothing feels right.

She took a deep breath, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

A man stood outside the door. He was tall and thin, wearing a black coat, and had a fair complexion. There was nothing obviously wrong with him.

Su Nian hesitated for a moment, then remembered the rules: "Count to three before opening the door."

She counted to three silently.

The people outside the door did not disappear.

She opened the door.

The man smiled at her: "Nian, are you feeling better? I've come to pick you up. We made plans to go to an exhibition today."

Su Nian looked at him. He spoke naturally, with an intimate tone, as if they had known each other for a long time. But she had absolutely no recollection of him.

"I...I don't remember," Su Nian said. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." The man's smile remained unchanged. "The doctor said you might experience temporary amnesia. Come on, go out for a walk, maybe you'll remember."

He stretched out his hand.

Su Nian didn't answer. She took a half step back, her back against the door frame.

She couldn't pinpoint why, but an instinctive sense of repulsion rose from her stomach. This man made her uncomfortable. Not because he behaved badly; quite the opposite, he behaved too well. Too perfectly.

"I'm not feeling well today, let's do it another day," Su Nian said.

The man's smile froze for a moment.

It only lasted for a moment.

Then he smiled and said, "Okay, then you can rest now."

He turned and walked away. His footsteps faded into the distance down the corridor.

Su Nian closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind her, Wang Li's voice came: "Niannian, why aren't you going with him? Chen Yue is such a good catch, he came all this way to pick you up—"