Morning After
Li Zhu woke up to the gentle glow of dawn.
"Hiss—"
The room was filled with a subtle, refreshing fragrance that calmed the senses.
As soon as he sat up, pain shot through his entire body.
His arms hurt, his legs hurt, his head throbbed, his waist ached—
His whole body felt like it had been beaten to pieces.
The soreness was unbearable, so he collapsed back onto the bed.
His first thought—
"Who the hell beat me up?!"
"Silly, you're awake!"
A cheerful voice rang out.
Before Li Zhu could react, Sakurai Yuko had already rushed over, grabbing his hand tightly with an excited expression.
Li Zhu's eyes widened in shock.
"Why is she here?!"
His instinct was to yank his hand away—
But his body was too weak.
Otherwise, he would've backflipped into a defensive stance by now.
"Y-you—you, what are you trying to do?!"
Li Zhu stammered, his guard up the moment he saw her smiling at him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Sakurai Yuko's smile faded, replaced by an apologetic and remorseful expression.
"I know you must really resent me right now, but I swear—"
"I'll never hurt you again."
"I'm really, truly sorry. Please… believe me."
…
Li Zhu didn't respond.
Sakurai Yuko lowered her head, her voice soft and sincere.
Her moist peach blossom eyes shimmered with emotion, her delicate features tinged with regret.
She looked so pitiful, so innocent—
Even God Himself would probably forgive her.
Just as Li Zhu started letting his guard down, she continued—
"Here, drink this medicine first."
"You still have some lingering aftereffects from inhaling the special sleep— um, I mean, calming incense from last night. So you need to take this to clear the side effects~"
She casually picked up a cup of murky gray liquid from the nearby table.
"Who… are you?"
Li Zhu narrowed his eyes.
"I'm Yuko, of course! Now, open up—it might taste bitter, but just bear with it, okay?"
Her tone was sweet and playful, almost like coaxing a child.
She even blew on the spoonful of medicine before bringing it up to his lips.
…
"You're Sakurai Yuko? Then who the hell was that last night?!"
Li Zhu was deeply confused.
The warm, caring girl in front of him felt completely different from the unstable, terrifying presence he had encountered the night before.
But just thinking about what had happened made his head throb.
"You okay? Does something hurt?"
Sakurai Yuko asked, concerned.
Li Zhu finally took in his surroundings.
The room was bright and clean, decorated in soft pastel tones.
It felt warm and peaceful—nothing like the dark, eerie atmosphere from last night.
Even Sakurai Yuko herself had changed.
She was dressed in a white-and-lavender long dress, looking elegant and refined.
The gentle sunlight made her seem like a glowing angel.
…
As if under some mysterious spell, Li Zhu opened his mouth and drank the medicine.
"Did I die?"
"Is this heaven?"
The bitterness of the medicine spread across his tongue, snapping him back to reality.
Li Zhu gradually regained his composure.
He still clearly remembered what had happened last night—
The dark room, the twisted smile, the strange scent…
Now, everything looked completely different.
Was this even the same place?!
"You're not dead, silly."
Sakurai Yuko giggled at his confused expression.
"This is my room. You fell asleep here last night. Don't you remember?"
She tilted her head.
"You're actually the first boy ever to step foot in my room—"
"And the first to sleep on my bed."
"I slept here?"
"Why don't I remember? Did I… lose my memories?!"
Li Zhu's mind raced.
Seeing him spacing out, Sakurai Yuko giggled again.
Her expression softened, and she gently cupped his face in her hands.
"Even when you're dazed, you're so cute."
A girl's hands were so different from a boy's.
Soft, warm, and delicate—
Like a cloud, gently brushing against his skin.
A light tickling sensation ran through him, making his heart flutter.
A mix of warmth, nervousness, and something else stirred in his chest.
His tension eased, and he even loosened his grip on the blanket.
But then—
A sudden wave of embarrassment hit him.
A faint blush crept up his ears.
He quickly turned away, refusing to meet her bright, mesmerizing eyes.
"W-what are you doing?"
Li Zhu muttered weakly.
"You are…"
"The most important person in my life."
Sakurai Yuko's eyes shimmered with deep emotion, her voice a soft whisper.
But Li Zhu didn't fully catch what she said.
The room was filled with an unspoken tension.
A strange sweetness lingered in the air, slowly fermenting into something… dangerous.
"Not good. This is not good at all."
"My heart's beating too fast—am I sick?!"
Li Zhu's mind spiraled into chaos.
Inside his head, his rationality was being strangled by some unknown force.
Countless memories flashed before him—
And then stopped at a single, horrifying image:
The CG of his villainous side character falling off a building and dying.
Suddenly—
His logical thinking kicked into overdrive.
"No. No, no, no—"
"I need to go home!"
"I was out all night—Mom is definitely worried!"
Li Zhu forced himself to stay calm and spoke in the most collected voice he could manage.
"I should go. Mom's probably worried sick."
Sakurai Yuko smiled sweetly.
"Want me to take you home?"
She picked up her phone casually.
"Your mom called a lot last night. But don't worry—"
"I answered for you."
Her tone was completely natural—as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
Li Zhu stared at her, suspicious.
"Why are you calling her 'Mom' so casually?!"
"...What did you say to her?"
"She asked where you were, so I told her—"
'Li Zhu is sleeping in my room. He can't answer the phone right now. If you need anything, you can just tell me instead~'
"STOP, STOP, STOP!"
Li Zhu's soul almost left his body.
"YOU TOLD HER I SLEPT IN YOUR ROOM?!"
This was disastrous.
How the hell was he supposed to explain this to his mom?
More importantly—
How was he supposed to explain this to the future protagonist?!
If the male lead ever found out about this…
No amount of denying would erase this level of "greening".
"Wait. There's only one way out of this—"
"I need to figure out exactly what happened last night!"
"If I can confirm that nothing happened, then I can clear up any misunderstandings!"
"And if things did happen… then I'm screwed."
Alright, that's the plan.
"I need to figure out what exactly happened last night."
Li Zhu took a deep breath and asked, "Tell me the truth. What exactly happened last night?"
Sakurai Yuko's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact.
"...Why are you suddenly asking me this?"
Seeing her reaction, Li Zhu's heart skipped a beat.
"Why does she look so guilty?!"
His gut feeling told him this was not good.
"Just be honest with me. I can handle it."
"No!"
The response came instantly, making even Sakurai Yuko herself freeze for a moment.
Realizing how suspicious she sounded, she hurriedly apologized, her face burning with embarrassment.
"Why not?"
Li Zhu pressed.
"I'm sorry, Li Zhu.
"I'm really, really sorry.
"This is something... very, very important to me."
"I will tell you everything—someday."
"When we're... closer than we are now."
"When I'm ready, and when you're ready—to hear my story."
"I promise, you'll be the first and only person to ever hear it."
Her voice was soft yet firm, flowing like a gentle stream.
Her peach blossom eyes, once hesitant, now shone with clarity.
For a moment, she looked like the same timid girl from before.
But at the same time, there was something new in her—
Something deeper.
Something... dangerous.
Li Zhu was speechless.
His thoughts were scattered, yet his mind felt oddly clear.
He hadn't pressed hard for an answer—
Because deep down, he had a strong feeling:
If I force her to talk now... something terrible will happen.
The game had save points.
If something went wrong, you could restart.
But this was real life now.
He was already deeply entangled in this world.
The story had changed again and again.
One wrong move could break something beyond repair.
"Fine. I'll let it go… for now."
"Alright. Can we at least keep this a secret?"
Li Zhu sighed.
Sakurai Yuko nodded eagerly.
"Of course! Just between us. No one else will ever know!"
Li Zhu rubbed his temples.
Sakurai Yuko, thinking he was still upset, timidly reached out her small, pale hand.
"...If you don't believe me, we can pinky promise?"
"...No need. I believe you."
He waved his hand dismissively and started to get up.
Sakurai Yuko's hand lowered, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes—
But at the same time, she felt a bit giddy.
"He said he trusts me… Is this what trust between lovers feels like?!"
She was so happy!
Fortunately, Li Zhu couldn't read minds.
Otherwise, he'd be dumbfounded.
'Lovers?! Since when?! Who the hell agreed to this?!'
The Hidden Danger
Li Zhu knew—
Every major character in this game had a yandere route.
Even the male protagonist.
"It's normal for heroines to have yandere paths… but the male lead too?! That's messed up!"
Sakurai Yuko, as the first heroine, was the easiest to romance.
But when she turned yandere—
She was just as terrifying as the others.
Li Zhu guessed…
That the trigger for her yandere state was likely the confession rejection.
In the original story, Li Zhu fell to his death.
At the same time, the protagonist arrived to rescue Sakurai Yuko.
Overcome with emotion, she confessed to the male lead on the spot.
Then, the game gave a choice:
If the protagonist accepted, the story continued normally.
If the protagonist rejected, Sakurai Yuko entered the yandere route—eventually leading to a save file wipe and a forced restart.
Her romance arc was practically rigged—forcing the player to take her into the harem.
"So that ghostly figure I saw last night… was probably her on the yandere route."
"But now… she's suddenly back to normal?"
Li Zhu had played tons of games over the years.
But this was the first time he had ever seen something like this.
"I was just a minor villain. A disposable side character."
"And yet… did I somehow prevent her yandere transformation?!"
"Did I just... clear Sakurai Yuko's route?!"
He still didn't know exactly what happened last night.
But one thing was clear—
Everything had ended surprisingly well.
Even without doing much, he had somehow triggered an unexpected reversal.
"I must've stopped her from going fully yandere…"
"I actually broke free from a doomed scenario?!"
"I took a path that was supposed to be impossible…"
Most importantly—
He didn't confirm any relationship with Sakurai Yuko.
He also didn't let the yandere route activate.
That was good enough for him.
"Alright. Crisis averted. Time to get the hell out of here."
"I'm leaving. No need to send me off."
Sakurai Yuko nodded softly.
"Okay."
She watched him go, her gaze filled with undisguised affection.
At the mansion's entrance, the security guards remained unmoving, their expressions stoic.
They had one job—protect the house.
As for whatever was happening inside—
That was none of their concern.
…