Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 91 - Ninety - BE6 - Deep Sleep

Chapter 91: Chapter Ninety - BE6 - Deep Sleep

Looking at the distinct line of text on the message interface, Su Ming’an took a light breath.

He put the diary into his bag and then managed a forced smile at Shen Xue, "I wasn’t looking at anything."

Shen Xue tilted her head, a hint of cold light flashed through her eyes, but it quickly returned to calm.

"Aren’t you eating lunch?" she asked, pulling out a sealed loaf of bread from her pocket, "I brought you your favorite red bean bread."

"...No, let’s skip the bread."

"Hmm... okay." Shen Xue slowly withdrew her gaze and then, as if nothing had happened, she took the bread and left.

Su Ming’an leaned on the desk, his eyes drifting aimlessly, and after snapping back to reality, a difficult to express sense of suffocation gradually faded from his chest.

...If he guessed right.

During the physics class that afternoon, he had fallen asleep and experienced a death that even he hadn’t noticed.

Then, time rewound, and he returned to the moment just before he fell asleep.

...Although it was indeed easy for him to be killed, to be killed without alarming anyone, to make him unaware and asleep until his death, was truly astonishing.

What exactly prevented him from waking up midway? Was it a sleeping drug, or something else?

If it was a sleeping drug, logically speaking, someone should have noticed him, a large man, unconscious here...

At least Wang Xingkong from his class, who always rushed to the classroom door after school, and Lv Shu, should have noticed something.

...It wasn’t enough for him to die silently.

He sat thinking at the desk, but his thoughts began to slow inexplicably, as if the gears in his mind were gradually stopping. He suddenly felt the source of his drowsiness was wrong, tried to quickly stand up, but his body seemed to be shackled and immobile.

His vision began to solidify, and at the moment the afternoon bell rang for class, the instant the physics teacher walked in, he truly felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness that nearly swallowed him.

...No good, it seemed that at this point in time, he had already been affected, even if death rewound, he was still in a compromised state.

He had long discovered the limitations of his passive saving, even if he could rewind, he might end up at a point in time where the outcome couldn’t be changed... like now.

Su Ming’an repeatedly thought about the people he had interacted with, including the suspicious Shen Xue; the only thing he could recall was the scent of roses, but that fragrance was too common, noticeable in many places...

...Wait, hold on.

His train of thought felt blocked, as if the clearly flowing reasoning had rusted, gradually becoming hard to continue.

With his head hanging low, about to faint, he hesitantly turned his neck, turning his head.

— He saw from the schoolgirl beside him, on that pristine face slowly rising, bit by bit, flames like forming a whole, almost a tearfully happy, extremely twisted smile.

The surroundings became dim.

There seemed to be faint whispering in his ears.

[...You will eventually, belong to me...]

In this darkness that nearly suffocated him, he gradually and irresistibly lost consciousness.

...

Su Ming’an opened his eyes.

Another death rewound.

But this feeling of being swallowed, this plunge, felt stronger than the last fainting episode.

"Bang!"

His first instinct was to suddenly stand up, then place both hands on the desk, leaning forward, gasping for air as if he were drowning.

His movements were so large that he nearly knocked over the desk and chairs, his hands forcefully hitting the desk, creating a crisp echoing sound. As he wiped the sweat from his forehead, his somewhat stiff gaze turned towards the clock in front of him.

—The hour hand pointed straight up, twelve o’clock noon.

...

The surroundings were utterly quiet, the brilliant afternoon sunlight streaming through the wide-open windows, lighting up the entire classroom, the minute dust particles dancing in the gleaming light, resembling fireflies of the day, peacefully beautiful.

As if his previous breaths were halted, Su Ming’an greedily breathed in the fresh air of the daytime, his hands unconsciously bent, clutching the cold desk surface.

Suddenly, he smelled a waft of rose scent coming from behind him.

"...What are you doing?"

The slight murmur of the girl came from behind.

Su Ming’an spun around sharply to see her holding a sealed loaf of bread in her hands.

"I brought your favorite red bean bread," Shen Xue said with a smile, "Won’t you try some?"

As if she hadn’t seen Su Ming’an’s resistant expression, she autonomously opened the plastic bag and pinched a piece of bread to bring it in front of him, cooing softly, "Come on, open wide, ah—"

With a "snap,"

the sealed bread fell to the floor. Shen Xue’s eyes widened slightly, a mix of incredulity... and a hint of a hidden chill.

Su Ming’an withdrew the hand that had swatted the bread away, and the next moment, he immediately rushed towards the door, his steps somewhat hurried.

As he turned the corner, trying desperately to escape the girl behind him, he saw a middle-aged man’s gloomy eyes, watching him with a cold smile.

His tall figure completely overshadowed the doorway’s sunlight, leaving only a deep shadow.

"Su Jian, classmate." The Chinese teacher, Mr. Shen, smiled, his crow’s feet tangled, his broad-knuckled hands slowly reaching out, "...Didn’t you go to the cafeteria for lunch? Did you specifically save the time to have a heart-to-heart with your teacher? Now’s the perfect time; let’s go to the office on the second floor, have a chat, and revise your essay, shall we?"

"Whoosh!" The Sword of Yarman appeared in his hand, and with a fierce swing, Su Ming’an split Mr. Shen’s body in two, sending blood arcing in a clear line, and the next moment, he stepped over the body and dashed out—

"Bang!"

He didn’t hear the system’s kill confirmation; instead, he felt something grab his ankle from behind.

A chill shot up instantly.

The next moment, his field of vision shifted up and down.

—He was grabbed by the ankle by Mr. Shen, who had been bisected at the waist, and thrown back down from above.

His body smashed heavily onto the ground; he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The next instant, the upper half of Mr. Shen’s body, whose arm seemed to have suddenly elongated, revealed a long, sharp bone, pale as a blade, stabbing swiftly towards him!

"Daddy! Don’t—!"

Shen Xue screamed from the side, and the next moment, the bone tip pierced through!

Blood sprayed in an instant.

Su Ming’an forcefully grabbed onto the skeletal structure, but all his strength dissipated the moment his chest was pierced.

As if suddenly immersed in a pool of hot water, intense pain surged up instantly, his hands scratching mindlessly at the ground, finding a warm, viscous pool of blood.

In his progressively blurring vision, the sunlight was particularly glaring.

At the center of his gradually crimson view, he saw a piece of the brilliant golden afternoon sunlight.

It was like a splendid tapestry.

At the doorway, Mr. Shen’s hands gradually returned to normal as he pulled his lower half to himself, stitching it together as if sewing, automatically fusing, and then he gradually stood up, as if he had never been split into two, his figure instantly eclipsing the shining light.

"Dad, you said you wouldn’t kill him, you said you wouldn’t..." Shen Xue’s cry was heart-wrenchingly mournful.

Su Ming’an lay with his eyes open, the voices around him gradually fading away.

"Xue, he has seen through us... If we don’t kill him, it might..."

The voices grew increasingly indistinct.

Before sinking into a familiar darkness, with his eyes open, he saw a girl crying desperately on top of him, her face streaked with tears, her body stained with his blood, the teardrops gliding down her cheeks like luminous pearls.

"But... I’ve toiled in this cursed place for twelve years, all for him, just for him... just..."

Shen Xue’s sobbing was clear in his ears, she nestled close to him, her intoxicating rose scent slowly drifting over.

[Su Ming’an...]

He heard Shen Xue, who should have been an npc, calling out his real name.

[...don’t go, at least... know who I am, then open your eyes and look at me... please...]

That strand of radiant golden light evenly spread across his field of vision, and in the moment when gold and red intertwined, a myriad of chaotic colors surged, momentarily illuminating her visage.

Her expression, frozen within glass beads, rigid and stiff, was exceptionally clear and purely beautiful for a moment.

It was as if condensed emotions suddenly exploded, turning all words into a vivid pool of light in her eyes.

[Su Ming’an, Su Ming’an! I’m Shen Xue, I’m Shen Xue, do you remember me? Before the game started, I liked you so much... at least, at least let me have the right to keep you by my side...]

The fragrance of roses gradually faded.

Su Ming’an, in the depths of the deep darkness, closed his eyes.

...

The classroom clock pointed to twelve o’clock.

Su Ming’an opened his eyes.

This death had revealed much; he knew now that Shen Xue, like Shen Yue, had also been a player before.

Moreover, she had said she liked him before the game started.

...An old acquaintance.

He had his suspicions, but a question gradually arose.

She mentioned a term, "twelve years".

Shen Xue said she had been here for twelve years... yet the world game had clearly just started a month ago.

Was it a difference in the flow of time between the two worlds, or was there some other reason?

He stood up, somewhat unsteadily at that moment, and as he walked toward the door, bathed in the golden afternoon sunlight, he saw a girl slowly approaching with a loaf of bread in her arms.

The afternoon light shone on her sleek black hair, casting a soft golden halo around it, and at the moment she looked up to meet his gaze, an indescribable emotion surged in Su Ming’an’s heart.

"Su Jian?" Shen Xue slowly raised her head, her face lit with a smile, "...Why are you out? I thought you didn’t want to go to the cafeteria, so I brought you your favorite red bean bread... Won’t you try it?"

She handed over the plastic-sealed bag, the bread inside appeared soft and fluffy under the light.

Su Ming’an reached out, his hand raised high.

A hint of hesitation flashed in Shen Xue’s eyes, but she stood still, looking at him somewhat innocently.

Su Ming’an’s hand finally gently fell... right on top of Shen Xue’s head.

The barrage of comments exploded instantly:

[Head Pat Kill! I thought he was about to slap this gloomy npc?]’

[Has Ming’an had a change of heart? Wasn’t he indifferent toward her before?]

[Of course, even Ming’an can’t resist the attack of an innocent schoolgirl!]

[Hey hey, the topic is getting weird now.]

[Yuanyuan bursts into tears, discussing the women around Ming’an.]’

[Emma, his gaze is really tender, I’ve never seen Ming’an look this warm!]’

[I’m pretending he’s looking at me, wuuu...]

[...]

A flicker of surprise passed through Shen Xue’s eyes, then, as if startled, she made a questioning sound from her throat.

"Hmm...?"

"Shen Xue," Su Ming’an sighed lightly, "...It seems like not long ago, I heard this name."

Shen Xue’s eyes widened slightly.

"Really?" Her voice was filled with obvious delight, the plastic bag crinkling in her hand, her fingers involuntarily tightening.

"Although some time has passed, it feels as though it was just yesterday..." Su Ming’an said earnestly, looking at her, "Some things are unforgettable, including old acquaintances..."

"Then, then, how does she compare to me?" Shen Xue’s voice was almost urgent, she didn’t care about the bluntness of her question, even her toes involuntarily tiptoed.

"You and her, both are equally adorable," Su Ming’an said gently, "But you, standing before me now, appear more vivid and real."

Shen Xue froze, then an uncontrollable joy erupted from her eyes.

That clear, shimmering light, bright in the afternoon sun, gleamed brilliantly.

Su Ming’an withdrew his hand and passed by her.

...This time, he did not smell the overpowering, decaying scent of roses on her.

Just a light, faint rose fragrance.

"Ah..."

He heard a faint voice behind him, sounding both contemplative and like a sigh.

He didn’t linger; his stride was steady as he walked downstairs, then braced himself against a wall, steadying his form.

The soft warmth he had shown Shen Xue in that moment had already vanished completely, returning to a stark, calm neutrality.

...He already knew what kind of person this "Shen Xue" directed at him had been.

She was someone he knew in reality, but now she had become an npc in the game, waiting for him with a purpose.

If her coming was due to the love in her heart, saying such words should stabilize her... at least for now, to get through the present crisis.

He basked in the sunlight for a while, not feeling the weakness spreading around his body.

...Good.

It seemed he had temporarily escaped the infinite loop of death threats.

He masked the cold light in his eyes and turned back, following the flow of students returning to class, heading back to the classroom to sit beside a blushing Shen Xue, and they began the afternoon lessons.