Lin Xiafei saw a problem about electromagnetic fields and thought of how your attraction to him was like a magnetic force. Love Value +1.

While memorizing classical poetry, Lin Xiafei imagined the two of you riding westward together through ancient lands. Love Value +1.

Lin Xiafei composed a modern poem about you in his heart. Love Value +2.

While writing a chemistry equation, Lin Xiafei felt that you were his oxygen, the oxidizer that fueled his soul. Love Value +1.

Lin Xiafei encountered a difficult math problem. He firmly believed that you would definitely be able to solve it. Love Value +1.

Mo Bai: "..."

She felt somewhat sorry to disappoint Lin Xiafei's expectations. It had been more than five years since she graduated from high school, and she hadn't reviewed any college entrance exam material during that time. Solving difficult high school math problems again would be quite a challenge.

Mo Bai spent the entire day attending classes in the classroom.

Throughout the day, her wristband kept sending notifications, all of them reporting increases in Love Value because Lin Xiafei was thinking about her.

The increases weren't even significant, just little increments like +1 and +2.

Her Love Value wasn't rising very quickly, but she certainly felt as though she had endured a considerable amount of mental harassment.

Meanwhile, the transfer student behind her, Pang Mian, spent the entire day relentlessly pursuing Ye Yatong in an effort to increase his own Love Value.

Unfortunately for him, Ye Yatong barely noticed his existence.

She was completely focused on playing matchmaker for Mo Bai and Lin Xiafei. Every so often, she would pass Mo Bai a note containing cheesy poems and love confessions written by Lin Xiafei.

Mo Bai also discovered that there was something wrong with the flow of time in this classroom.

A class period would often pass in the blink of an eye.

This was different from the realistic passage of time she had experienced in places like the Heart-Mirror Room or the Dream Domain. Here, she would literally blink, and the class-ending bell would already be ringing.

Mo Bai once tried counting her heartbeat to estimate how much time had passed, but the results were completely inaccurate.

If Lin Xiafei passed her a note during a class, or if Pang Mian did something to pursue Ye Yatong, then that class period would seem slightly longer.

But if nothing related to romance occurred, an entire class would pass in a single blink.

A teacher was indeed lecturing at the front of the room. But whenever Mo Bai tried to listen carefully, she found that she couldn't understand a word the teacher was saying.

It felt as though the teacher was teaching high school subjects. She recognized every individual word, yet somehow the meaning eluded her completely.

Mo Bai had been an excellent student in high school. Even though she hadn't reviewed the material for five years and her proficiency had undoubtedly declined, hearing a teacher explain the lessons should have refreshed her memory.

She might not have been able to immediately solve difficult problems, but she should at least have understood the lecture.

There was no reason for it to sound like incomprehensible nonsense, and the writing on the blackboard was even stranger.

At times, Mo Bai could clearly recognize English words like "of," "in," and "before," yet she would still be overwhelmed by a powerful conviction: I don't know this.

People could lie, but knowledge couldn't. If you didn't know something, then you simply didn't know it.

Mo Bai believed this phenomenon existed because the creator of this room didn't actually understand the subjects being taught.

The classroom couldn't perfectly reproduce her memories. It had merely extracted a convenient setting for romance.

Mo Bai blinked a few times. Before she knew it, it was evening self-study period.

Lin Xiafei sat at his desk, sneaking glances at her whenever he thought she wasn't looking.

By now, the Love Value Mo Bai had accumulated in this room had already reached 40.

She had the feeling that if Lin Xiafei looked at her a few more times, she would clear the first stage.

However, Mo Bai didn't believe things would be that simple.

Sure enough, once her Love Value reached 40, the wristband displayed a notification.

[ Congratulations, visitor! Your Love Value has reached 40. You're only 10 points away from clearing the first stage!

Friendly reminder: love can't be sustained by one person's efforts alone. It's time for you to respond as well.

Lin Xiafei loves you very, very much. If you give him even the slightest response, he'll be able to provide you with an endless amount of Love Value! ]

The message might as well have been plastered directly across Mo Bai's face: Go respond to Lin Xiafei already!

But Mo Bai remained unmoved.

She believed she couldn't allow herself to be trapped within the logic of the Love Amusement Park.

So far, the park hadn't displayed any obvious danger. It seemed as though all she had to do was follow the prompts, increase her Love Value, and clear the stage.

But what happened after the first stage?

There was still a second stage. A third stage. And likely more after that.

Judging from the structure of the first stage, the subsequent stages would undoubtedly revolve around increasing Love Value as well.

Since this was an amusement park, the later stages would probably involve attractions such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels, pirate ships, couples' floats, and others

If she followed the park's rules and cleared those stages together with one or more romantic partners, what would happen?

The first thing that would happen was a distortion of her sense of time.

Mo Bai knew perfectly well that she had spent no more than thirty minutes inside this classroom.

And yet she genuinely felt as though an entire day had passed.

If she continued clearing the instance according to the park's logic, she would inevitably begin to feel as though months, years, perhaps even decades had gone by.

This instance could create the illusion of immense stretches of time passing within an extremely short period.

It blurred a person's perception of time, and time is important, especially when companions were waiting outside.

Once someone began to feel as though they had spent a very long time inside the instance, the mission itself would gradually cease to matter.

Blurring the mission. That was the instance's second step.

After making players forget the mission, the third step would be making them forget the companions waiting outside.

After all, if you already felt as though you'd spent ten or twenty years inside the instance, then staying for an entire lifetime might not seem so bad.

Who would still care about the people waiting outside?

If a person forgot time, purpose, companions, and even their place in the world, what would they have left?

Probably nothing except the love imposed upon them by the Love Amusement Park.

And once a visitor truly accepted that love, they would likely become a monster belonging to the instance itself, remaining here forever, never waking up again.

Other people might still have the option of surviving by becoming monsters, but Mo Bai was different.

Phantom Butterfly would definitely devour her soul.

For her, there was only death.

Beneath the instance's seemingly warm and gentle exterior lurked countless deadly traps.

Working out the instance's true purpose couldn't have taken Mo Bai more than three to five minutes. But after a few blinks, three days had somehow passed.

During a break between classes, Ye Yatong stood beside Mo Bai's desk and said sympathetically,

"Could you at least talk to Lin Xiafei? He looks terrible. Ever since you moved seats, he hasn't really eaten for three days."

The boy sitting in front of Mo Bai turned around.

"I share a dorm room with Lin Xiafei. He can't seem to sleep at night. He just keeps tossing and turning, thinking about you."

A girl appeared from somewhere and added,

"The monthly exam is the day after tomorrow. Anyone who scores poorly will be transferred to the regular class. With Lin Xiafei in this condition, he'll probably be moved out. Then we won't even be in the same class anymore!"

Before Mo Bai could respond, her homeroom teacher called her outside.

The instance didn't actually allow players to leave the classroom. Going outside simply meant standing by the classroom door with no other students around.

The homeroom teacher said, "If I remember correctly, you and Lin Xiafei are pretty close, right? He's not doing well lately, and I'm worried about his performance on this month's exam. Could you talk to him for me?"

Mo Bai let out a cold laugh.

"Teacher, aren't you supposed to stop students from dating?"

The homeroom teacher adjusted her glasses.

"In principle, high school relationships aren't allowed. At a crucial time like this, academics should naturally come first.

But the hazy feelings of youth are also something beautiful. Once they're gone, they're gone forever. You're a good student, Mo Bai. I trust you to balance those two things appropriately."

Just look at that. Was that really something a senior-year homeroom teacher would say?

The instance completely abandoned all shame in its determination to push the romance storyline forward.

Without saying a word, Mo Bai returned to the classroom.

Ye Yatong was still standing beside her desk. Pang Mian, the player, had been constantly trying to ingratiate himself with her. Ye Yatong shoved him lightly and said,

"Why don't you try talking to her too? Lin Xiafei treats her so well!"

When Pang Mian saw Mo Bai return, he couldn't help saying sourly,

"Your Love Value must be almost full by now, right? You're really lucky. You met someone hopelessly devoted to you. You don't even have to do anything to max out your Love Value."

Lucky?

Those were words Mo Bai, whose Luck Value was only 4, hated hearing more than anything.

She swept her gaze around the classroom. It felt as though the entire world was pressuring her to respond to Lin Xiafei.

As though because Lin Xiafei liked her and had confessed his feelings, she was obligated to like him back.

What a joke.

Mo Bai stood up and walked directly to Lin Xiafei, and his eyes immediately lit up.

It was as if stars had fallen into them as they sparkled brilliantly.

He had a handsome face, and those affectionate eyes of his seemed capable of looking at a dog with profound tenderness.

"Y-you came?" Lin Xiafei asked softly, his face flushed red.

He embodied the pure beauty of youthful first love perfectly.

Mo Bai said, "I have something to tell you."

Lin Xiafei lowered his head shyly.

"Here? Everyone's watching."

"You've been crushing on me so openly that even the chalk and blackboard know about it," Mo Bai said bluntly. "Who exactly are you trying to avoid?"

Lin Xiafei choked on his words, unable to respond.

Mo Bai raised her voice so the entire class could hear.

"I hope you'll stop bothering me from now on. I hate people whose minds are filled with nothing but romance. I especially hate people who don't study themselves and then interfere with my studying.

If you don't want to study, transfer yourself to the regular class. Don't drag down our class's average scores and university admission rate."

Her cold words struck like thunder, completely shattering Lin Xiafei's heart.

As whispers spread throughout the classroom, Mo Bai returned to her seat and sat down with her back perfectly straight.

Ye Yatong pushed her arm.

She looked so distressed that she was practically on the verge of tears.

"Even if you don't like him, you didn't have to be that cruel! At least you could've been more tactful. You could've told him that you don't want a relationship right now and that you could talk about it after getting into university!"

Looking at Ye Yatong's youthful face, Mo Bai couldn't help remembering her final moments.

Ye Yatong had held back tears while doing her makeup, and after finishing, she had taken a photo of Mo Bai. Then, she turned away and wept silently.

They had once lived in the same dormitory.

Gone to school together.

Raced each other to the cafeteria.

Encouraged one another during cross-country runs.

Shared secrets and private thoughts.

In Ye Yatong's eyes, no man in the world was worthy of Mo Bai.

And in Mo Bai's eyes, the same was true.

When Mo Bai had started dating, Ye Yatong had spent a long time criticizing her boyfriend.

No matter what, she simply didn't like him.

Her ex-boyfriend had once joked that his greatest romantic rival wasn't another man but Mo Bai's best friend, Ye Yatong.

The real Ye Yatong would never blame Mo Bai for rejecting Lin Xiafei.

She would have marched straight over to Lin Xiafei and told him to stop distracting Mo Bai from her studies.

This wasn't Ye Yatong. It was not her best friend.

Mo Bai shook her head.

"I don't want to hear those kinds of words from you again. Don't insult the bond between me and Yatong."

Ye Yatong looked wounded.

Pang Mian immediately rushed over to comfort her and seemed to gain a little Love Value from doing so.

Meanwhile, Mo Bai's wristband began vibrating nonstop.

A flood of notifications appeared.

[ It's raining inside Lin Xiafei's heart. Love Value -5. ]

[ Lin Xiafei's heart has shattered. Love Value -10. ]

[ Lin Xiafei has decided to lock away his heart and abandon love. Love Value -20. ]

...

[ Current Love Value: 10. If your Love Value drops to 0, you will be trapped inside the park until you find your true soulmate. Please immediately repair Lin Xiafei's broken young heart! ]

Mo Bai found the wristband unbearably annoying.

She took it off and tossed it aside.

Pang Mian hurriedly picked it up.

"Have you lost your mind?" he asked. "Do you not want to leave this instance?"

"Keeping it on is exactly what will stop me from leaving," Mo Bai replied.

Her gaze swept across Lin Xiafei, Ye Yatong, Pang Mian, and every other face in the classroom.

Every single one of them wore expressions of condemnation.

They were condemning her for not loving Lin Xiafei.

Condemning her for being cold-hearted and cruel.

Mo Bai said, "If you follow the rules exactly as instructed, you'll only be gradually contaminated by the park until you sincerely want to stay here and enjoy love forever.

Clearing the instance by accumulating Love Value is impossible. So the question is, how do you actually clear it?

There are traditionally three ways to clear an instance.

The first is surviving until the time limit expires, but this instance doesn't have a time limit, so that route is blocked.

The second is fulfilling the boss's wish. I have no idea what the original boss of the Love Amusement Park wanted, but I can roughly guess what the new boss wants, and I have no intention of granting that wish.

The third method is killing the instance boss, but first, you have to find the boss."

Pang Mian assumed she was speaking to him and answered, "What you're saying makes sense, but this is only the first stage. How could the boss already be here? No matter what, we have to clear these easy early stages before we'll ever reach the boss. Put your wristband back on already. Yatong is practically crying."

As soon as he finished speaking, his wristband vibrated twice.

Apparently, he'd gained more Love Value.

Encouraged, he redoubled his efforts to comfort Ye Yatong, but she pushed him away.

With a hurt expression, she said to Mo Bai, "I just thought you liked him. I'm sorry, I misunderstood your feelings. I'll help you get rid of him right now. I'll make sure he can never bother you again. I'll always be on your side!"

Her expression radiated loyalty and sincerity that most people would have felt guilty upon seeing it.

But Mo Bai was not like most people. Her heart was cold as ice, and she felt no guilt whatsoever.

Mo Bai grabbed Ye Yatong's wrist tightly, preventing her from walking over to Lin Xiafei.

Then she said, "I have a history with Phantom Butterfly. It's always wanted to devour my soul. So after entering this instance, I assumed it would find a way to stay close to me.

It would stay by my side and wait for the instance to contaminate me, for me to fall in love, become miserable, and sink into despair. That would be the most delicious meal imaginable for it.

At first, I thought Lin Xiafei was Phantom Butterfly. But after thinking it over carefully, I realized that from the moment I entered this instance, Lin Xiafei has only passed me notes and expressed his feelings through the wristband.

He has never once come directly to my desk, but you, on the other hand, have been constantly circling around me. And you even have a devoted admirer following you around, desperately trying to earn your affection.

Phantom Butterfly longs to obtain love. It doesn't matter whether it loves others. What matters is that others love it, and it would never be satisfied with the love of just one person.

The more, the better.

Did Pang Mian choose you as his target randomly? Or did you guide him toward that choice?

As long as I continue playing by the Love Amusement Park's rules, I'll inevitably become contaminated and fall in love with someone. If not Lin Xiafei, then someone else.

You assumed I'd be wary of Lin Xiafei, but let down my guard around my best friend from my memories.

So you became my best friend. My relationship advisor. The one helping me plan and navigate romance.

The one I'd never suspect.

With your help, I'd become hopelessly entangled in a relationship, and once I lost myself in love, you, my best friend, would steal away the person I loved most.

Wouldn't that make me suffer? And you can feed on that suffering too, can't you? Am I right...

Phantom Butterfly?"