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“What’s this?” Mo Qi frowned, staring at his phone.
The icon of the Mysterious Domain Cards app had changed. When he first downloaded it, it was an expressionless white mask. Now, it had transformed into the smiling mask Mo Qi had drawn, with hollowed-out eye sockets. Through the mask, it seemed like someone behind it was gazing at him.
At the bottom of the icon were a few small words: “Game in progress.”
Mo Qi had never encountered software that couldn’t be uninstalled after a factory reset. This app gave him an eerie feeling. His finger hovered over the icon, hesitating whether to open the app and see what game was currently in progress.
He was concerned that once he opened the game, someone might remotely control his phone. Mo Qi didn’t have much money, but these days scammers could use his personal information for online loans, and he didn’t want to end up owing a huge sum for no reason.
Just as he hesitated, Liao Ruxue, the president of the student council, suddenly said behind him, “Stay in that pose, don’t move.”
Mo Qi paused, then heard the click of a camera shutter. Liao Ruxue said, “Alright.”
Turning around, Mo Qi saw Liao Ruxue looking at his phone. Mo Qi quietly approached and saw his own silhouette photo on the phone.
Unaware, Liao Ruxue remarked, “I casually noticed your silhouette just now, and it’s not worse than the person in the painting. I took a quick picture. The more I look at it, the better it seems. How about being a model for the Sculpture Department? They might even pay you.”
Mo Qi’s mouth went dry, a sense of unease creeping over him. He keenly sensed that someone else might be watching him. Following his intuition, he looked around, but there was no one in sight except for the painting hanging on the wall.
In the painting, the figure had hands casually tucked in pockets, shirt open, with the wind gently lifting the hem of the shirt. The head was slightly turned, as if about to glance towards the viewer.
Mo Qi: “…”
He distinctly remembered that just moments ago, the silhouette in the painting was facing the sunset, with the head completely turned away from the viewer. In such a short time, the posture of the person in the painting had changed.
Mo Qi took a step back, only to bump into someone behind him—it was Liao Ruxue.
Liao Ruxue reached out and grasped Mo Qi’s shoulder, pinching lightly. “You’re not short, but you seem a bit too thin. Let me treat you to dinner tonight.”
With the painting in front and Liao Ruxue behind, Mo Qi raised his hand and, as part of the motion, subtly shrugged off Liao Ruxue’s hand. Pointing at the painting, he asked, “President, did the figure in this painting just now look like this?”
“It seems like he turned his head?” Liao Ruxue walked over to the painting and examined it closely, creating distance between himself and Mo Qi.
Feeling the pressure lessen, Mo Qi gradually edged towards the entrance of the exhibition hall while Liao Ruxue was absorbed in looking at the painting.
“You think the person in the painting turned around? Maybe he heard me say you’re better looking than him and wanted to check?” Liao Ruxue’s tone was casual, sounding like a joke but carrying a hint of seriousness.
“President, don’t you find it odd that the person in the painting moved? Aren’t you curious about why?” Mo Qi, now near the door, asked pointedly.
“What’s so strange about it?” Liao Ruxue replied matter-of-factly. “This is a moiré painting. With changes in lighting, the image can subtly alter. Haven’t you seen those paintings that look one way under light and different under shadows?”
Mo Qi had seen them before, but precisely because he had, he was certain that the painting in front of him was definitely not a moiré painting.
“Um… President, I have a class this afternoon. I should go,” Mo Qi interjected hastily, not waiting for Liao Ruxue’s response, and dashed out of the exhibition hall as if escaping.
Liao Ruxue was a year ahead of Mo Qi in school, and ever since Mo Qi joined the student council, Liao had always taken good care of him. They had been close for two years, and Liao had never looked at him with that kind of gaze before—a gaze that seemed to want to devour him.
Mo Qi ran to the vicinity of the artificial lake on campus. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, a time when students were either in class or taking afternoon naps, so there were few people by the lake, allowing him some quiet to think.
The sudden overture from the girl in the front row, the meat from the cafeteria auntie, the noticeable changes in both Chang Rui and Liao Ruxue—Mo Qi wasn’t slow to realize that something was amiss.
This didn’t seem like something that could happen in normal society; it felt more like a plot from a novel or anime.
As if in an instant, he seemed to release countless pheromones, captivating those around him…
Enthralled, heartthrob…
Mo Qi opened his phone and stared at the icon for Mysterious Domain Cards. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and opened the app, greeted by a line of text.
[It seems the player has understood the situation. Let’s begin executing the game tasks.]
No, he hadn’t understood anything yet. He had merely downloaded a free game.
Despite being completely baffled, Mo Qi clicked on the continuously blinking mission marker.
[The human heart is truly unpredictable. Without skills and items, this mission might be a bit challenging~ Luckily, the player is very fortunate. Your heartthrob affinity and task compatibility are extremely high. Please quickly use this advantage to investigate the mission clues, but remember to be cautious of the negative effects of skills.]
At the end was a gruesome countdown timer, displaying 6 days, 20 hours, and 31 minutes.
“Is that it?” Mo Qi tapped every button on the app, finding all of them locked and no clear indication of what task he was supposed to complete.