Game characters have become real.

The first sensations that crept into her vague consciousness were coldness and hardness, like crawling into a chilly bed in winter, or sleeping on an icy floor.

…Had she rolled onto the ground?

Pei Nana was still muddled, groping blindly with her eyes closed, but found nothing. Unwilling to get up, she gave up and curled into herself, trying to preserve whatever warmth she could, coaxing herself to fall back asleep.

But the longer she lay there, the colder she felt, until sleep became impossible.

At last, she couldn’t take it anymore and sat up abruptly.

The moment she opened her eyes, she was stunned.

She was inside a cave formed by a crevice in the rocks. Looking up, she saw nothing but the uneven, grayish-white ceiling, and through the gaps, a dazzling star-studded sky.

This was clearly a makeshift shelter—the floor was overgrown with weeds, and the corners were littered with stones big and small. The slab beneath her was smoother, rising about a meter from the ground, its surface carved with rough patterns, like the relics of some ancient totemic age.

At present, she was lying in a nest of branches and weeds, but at least there was a light brown cloak beneath her, sparing her the discomfort of lying directly on the prickly tangle.

She glanced about and caught the flickering of firelight dancing on the stone wall by the cave entrance. Straining to listen, she could just make out faint voices in conversation and the crackle of burning wood.

That must be the owner of the cloak.

But who was that person?

A savior—or a kidnapper?

Before she fell asleep, she was still at her aunt’s house!

A wave of panic rose in Pei Nana, but she managed to keep her composure.

After all, this wasn’t the first time she’d been kidnapped.

Her family wasn’t exactly wealthy, but she was pretty, mild-tempered, with a sweet, gentle voice—a girl who seemed easy to bully. Since high school, she’d often encountered “I know you’re just pretending!” or “You’re just shy!” types—ordinary guys with delusions of grandeur who eventually turned into lawless troublemakers.

She was terrified that one of those familiar faces had gotten out and come for revenge.

The only thing that gave her a sliver of comfort was the presence of the cloak beneath her—if these people were villains, at least they weren’t planning to kill her right away.

As long as she could hold out, maybe someone would come to her rescue soon.

She wanted to climb out of her “bird’s nest” and see who was outside. But the branches and weeds beneath her were so soft and unstable that every slight movement set them swaying. She could barely get up. Not to mention the fact that the stone bed was over a meter high, with jagged rocks scattered below—one careless slip and she’d crack her head open.

She looked left and right, taking a good ten seconds before, using all four limbs, she managed to clamber down from the stone bed with great difficulty.

(At least…I didn’t fall.)

She breathed a sigh of relief, patted the grass off her clothes, turned around, looked up—and froze.

Standing at the mouth of the cave was a figure straight out of a fairy tale—a cosplayer as beautiful as the Little Prince. Yes, beautiful.

He was under one-seventy in height, clothed in an outfit no normal person would wear, his snow-white arms and slender waist exposed, his makeup so flawless it had to have taken at least an hour.

(Could the kidnapper be a cosplayer? That fashionable?)

But as she looked closer, her suspicion deepened—this stunning cosplayer… didn’t seem to be wearing any makeup.

This was just how he looked.

Pei Nana: ???

The blond hair was one thing, but yellow eyes—could a human really have those? And that flawless, delicate skin—he didn’t look like a criminal at all. And why was someone floating in midair?

Pei Nana felt her mind spin, unable to stop herself from staring. The more she looked, the stronger the sense of déjà vu grew.

The pair at the entrance stood silent, letting her scrutinize them.

After a long moment, she ventured a tentative, soft question, “…Traveler?”

The boy at the entrance raised an eyebrow, mild surprise flickering in his eyes. The little girl floating beside him squealed with excitement, “Traveler, traveler! She knows you! Hey! Tell us, who are you? Why did you appear in Mondstadt?!”

No way—was this really the Traveler? Impossible! Wasn’t that a game character?!

Pei Nana was shaken to her core.

The boy before her was breathtakingly beautiful.

You couldn’t call him strikingly handsome, for his beauty lacked any stern masculinity; he was more like a carefully carved doll in a shop window, embodying every dream of little girls.

He still had a bit of baby fat, and his round, golden-amber eyes glowed with a honeyed warmth that only deepened his youthful, innocent charm.

Any normal woman, seeing him for the first time—even struck by his ethereal beauty—would simply clutch her chest and gush, “So cute, so cute!” rather than harbor any inappropriate thoughts.

So, “delicate” and “beautiful” were the only words to describe him, not “handsome.”

He was a rare, red-lipped, fair-skinned beauty of a boy.

But she recognized him.

She’d just seen him before falling asleep.

She’d gone with her family to visit her aunt. As the older cousin, she was expected to help take care of the kids while the adults chatted. She wasn’t outgoing, nor familiar with her younger cousin, and had no idea what to say to children. When she saw the little girl playing a game, she tried to strike up a conversation, asking what she was playing.

Her little cousin’s eyes lit up; though she’d been ignoring her moments before, she suddenly turned enthusiastic, dragging her into a passionate pitch for her favorite game.

Smile, smile, smile…

Mm-hm, mm-hm… Is that so? Amazing. I see… Wow! So that’s how it is! No wonder…

Her cousin’s excitement only seemed to grow, while Pei Nana, bombarded by game plots and character relationships, felt her head spin. Even if it all went in one ear and out the other, she was still overwhelmed with despair and suffocation.

Who am I, where am I, why did I even open my mouth to talk to her??

After two hours, she could take no more and did the adult thing everyone hates. She suddenly interrupted her cousin’s endless monologue and asked sincerely, “—Did you finish your homework?”

Her little cousin: …

It was as if a bucket of cold water doused her fiery enthusiasm.

Her cousin shot her a furious glare, snatched the phone from her hand, dragged her out the door, and, glaring through the crack, huffed, “You’re so annoying!”

With that, she slammed the door.

The adults in the living room all turned to look. Pei Nana felt awkward, forcing a smile and muttering, “I just asked if she’d done her homework.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Her aunt consoled her, “Don’t mind her. She’s just a kid; she’ll be fine in a minute.”

Then the adults returned to their lively conversation.

Pei Nana stood at the door for half a minute, then went off to play with her phone.

But not long after, her cousin suddenly flung the door open and stormed out, stomping up to her, hands on her hips and face set in childish fury. “No! The more I think about it, the angrier I get! You said that on purpose because you don’t like the game, didn’t you?!”

Uh-oh, busted.

She tried to protest, “No, it’s just I’ve never played it before… I don’t really understand what you were saying.”

Her cousin glared daggers at her, then shoved the phone back into her hands, grinding out each word, “Then play it now! I won’t allow anyone to badmouth it! No one! It’s! Amazing!!!”

With tears in her eyes, her cousin glared at her one last time, then stormed off.

Pei Nana was left sitting there, staring at the golden-haired character in the game.

Uh… was this a forced recommendation? Should she be touched that her cousin actually shared her phone for the sake of the game? That’s true love, right?

As she thought this, she tentatively began to control the character.