After having breakfast, the two tidied up the dishes. In the living room, by the sunny window, 7 placed two lounge chairs and a small wooden table, and then brought out a set of exquisite teacups. He said to Lu Chu, “Come here and have some tea.”
Lu Chu walked over and stood by the window, looking outside. What he saw was a small courtyard with a tree he couldn’t name and low shrubs at the corners of the yard. It was early autumn outside, with a few half-yellow leaves fluttering down in the chilly breeze.
Following Lu Chu’s gaze outside, 7 continued to brew tea gracefully and slowly, without stopping. “Do you like it? Sorry, I still can’t take you out of this house.”
Lu Chu shook his head lightly upon hearing this. He naturally understood that as a “kidnapper,” 7 allowing him to freely move around the villa was already pushing the boundaries of the “rules.”
If 7 really allowed him to freely move around the yard, the “rules” would inevitably notice their anomaly and take corresponding elimination actions.
While Lu Chu was pondering this, 7 had already finished brewing the tea.
Lu Chu accepted the tea that 7 handed him, looking at the glaze of the teacup for a moment, then took a sip and smiled at 7, “The last time I felt this relaxed was probably a century ago.”
“Such opportunities are indeed rare,” 7 said, folding his hands in front of him as he leaned back in the lounge chair, his long, thick eyelashes casting a thin shadow under his eyes. “The identity I enter the ‘game’ with is not entirely up to me.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Chu looked at him and asked, “How do you enter the ‘game’ and take over someone’s identity?”
7 didn’t hide it: “The ‘rule’ I belong to initially only followed orders, but after countless elimination tasks, it developed its own consciousness over time.” Sitting up, he continued, “But no matter how much self-awareness it develops, it is still bound to the players. Once all selected players die, the ‘rule’ self-destructs.”
“In other words,” Lu Chu continued his speculation, “in a sense, the players and the ‘rule’ are in a symbiotic relationship.”
Especially after the “rule” gained consciousness, this symbiotic relationship became more evident—the ‘rule’ didn’t want to disappear, and the players didn’t want to die.
“Yes, so far, we’re at a balance point. As long as I don’t do anything that severely violates the ‘rule’s’ bottom line, it will side with me.”
7 had only done one thing that violated the ‘rule’s’ bottom line: saving Lu Chu.
On the third day of captivity, 7 brought back many potted plants, including succulents, large bonsais, and ornamental flowers.
Together, Lu Chu and 7 moved the potted plants to the balcony on the second floor, arranging them nicely. 7 also moved the lounge chairs and the wooden table from the previous day there. After tidying up, the entire balcony looked like a small garden. From the balcony, they could still see the tree from yesterday. The early autumn wind was very comfortable. Lu Chu and 7 placed the lounge chairs in the shade, lay down, and looked at the blue sky, feeling drowsy.
In the evening, after dinner, they watered the plants and chatted on the balcony. After digesting their food, Lu Chu sighed and lay back on the lounge chair again.
7 naturally accompanied him.
The weather was very good that day. The night sky was deep blue and clear, with bright stars and light clouds.
“Tomorrow will be good weather,” Lu Chu said, his eyes gentle and bright.
7 didn’t look at the sky but turned his head to look at Lu Chu’s profile, smiling. “Yes, it will be good weather.”
The weather in the following days was indeed good, with clear skies and bright sunshine every day.
Lu Chu went to bed early and got up early every day, cooking, eating, chatting, and tending to the plants on the balcony with 7.
They occasionally chatted but never mentioned the “game” and the “rules” again, living each day plainly and peacefully. Such a relaxed life diminished day by day, and what they would face next was unknown.
On the eighth day of captivity, Lu Chu stood on the balcony, watering the potted plants thoughtfully. He felt as if he had returned to a time before it all began, repeating a simple yet stable life. Sometimes, the rabbit was playful and cute, but most of the time, it was a considerate companion, and although he couldn’t see, he enjoyed every moment.
“What’s wrong?” 7 walked up and saw Lu Chu in a daze, so he asked.
Lu Chu came back to his senses, put down the watering can, stretched his body slightly, and smiled. “I just suddenly remembered something from the past. Maybe the days have been too comfortable.”
7 walked up and stood beside him, “It will rain tomorrow afternoon.”
“Really?” Lu Chu was surprised and turned to look at him. “Will it rain for a long time?”
“Four days.”
That meant it would rain until the twelfth day.
The twelfth day…
On the ninth day of captivity, it rained as expected.
The storm came fiercely, with leaves swirling in the wind, and the sky was dark and gloomy.
Fortunately, Lu Chu and 7 had already moved the plants on the balcony indoors in the morning.
The two sat by the window in the living room, listening to the thunderstorm outside and the howling wind. Lu Chu, wrapped in an oversized coat, handed the freshly made hot pear syrup to 7. He picked up another cup himself, took a sip, and sighed contentedly, “This is my ideal old-age life.”
But Lu Chu knew that he probably wouldn’t have an “old age.”
The next few days were indeed rainy, sometimes pouring, sometimes drizzling, never stopping.
On the twelfth day of captivity, the rain stopped.
Lu Chu took out the clothes he had washed and hung them on the balcony, and moved the plants back to the second-floor balcony.
After the rain, the autumn feeling was more pronounced. The leaves on the tree had turned half-yellow, and they swayed in the wind, ready to fall.
Lu Chu found thicker clothes in the wardrobe and placed them in a noticeable spot. He said to 7, “It’s getting cold. You should wear thicker clothes to avoid catching a cold.”
7 nodded, “Okay.”
Even though tomorrow would end it all, they talked as if they would live like this for a long time, preparing for the coming cold autumn.
That night, they smiled and said goodnight to each other.
On the thirteenth day of captivity, Lu Chu woke up feeling heavy-headed and dizzy. He struggled a few times before barely opening his eyes.
He quickly realized he didn’t even have the strength to move his fingers, as if he had been drugged.
Blinking, his vision slowly became clear, and Lu Chu found his hands and feet bound to an operating table, with a bright surgical lamp above.
7, wearing a white coat, lowered his head and elegantly tightened his cuffs.
Seeing that Lu Chu was awake, 7 walked to the operating table.
Still not fully awake, Lu Chu instinctively smiled warmly at 7. 7 paused, then reached out to rub Lu Chu’s brow. “I’m sorry, is this uncomfortable?”
Lu Chu shook his head, knowing this was a necessary process to end this round—the player selected for surgery must counterattack the kidnapper.
Lu Chu couldn’t manage the “counterattack” part, but 7 had said he had his own way.
“Lu Chu,” 7 slowly picked up a scalpel from the table beside him, “you must live.”
Lu Chu nodded.
“Don’t easily trust others.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t be soft-hearted.”
“Okay.”
Finally, 7 looked directly into Lu Chu’s eyes, “Trust me.”
Lu Chu smiled and nodded, “Okay.”
7 tilted up one corner of his mouth, then turned the sharp scalpel around, pointing the blade at himself and placing the handle in Lu Chu’s hand. His movements were gentle, wrapping his hand around Lu Chu’s and guiding the tip of the scalpel to his own heart.
Realizing what was happening, the somewhat groggy Lu Chu widened his eyes, frowning and shaking his head, trying to pull his hand back. But 7’s movements, though gentle, were irresistible. With little strength left, Lu Chu could only watch as 7 guided his hand, pushing the scalpel into 7’s own heart.
The blade cut through the skin, passed through flesh, and sliced bone, with the sound and feel making one’s scalp tingle. Hot, sticky blood unknowingly covered Lu Chu’s hand.
The smell of blood spread, and the entire process was unsettlingly gentle.
Lu Chu’s hand trembled, shaking his head constantly.
“Lu Chu,” 7 leaned down close to Lu Chu, the knife pushing deeper into his flesh, but he didn’t mind. Instead, he smiled and kissed Lu Chu’s forehead, “I won’t harm you.”
If in this endless game, your hands are destined to be stained with blood sooner or later, let me be the first soul under your knife.
Outside the “game”…
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