Chapter 38

Shi Jian was thoughtful: So this trap of a game instance actually had bugs?

Then was that person in uniform who appeared just now a programmer from the livestreaming app?

Other streamers were already gradually moving toward Shi Jian’s location. They naturally grouped up around her, forming a small circle.

They didn’t really know why they did this—maybe it was instinct, maybe it was because Shi Jian was the most dazzling, or maybe because she had performed exceptionally well in this instance.

Everyone still looked terrified, their emotions not fully recovered from the “Big Fish Little Fish All in the Family” luxury ambush game.

The curly-haired girl was fine too. She moved next to Shi Jian, panting heavily, patting her chest with her hand.

“That scared me to death.”

“I really thought we were going to be wiped out. So that fish monster was a bug? I thought it was weird—how could a fish monster just appear silently like that, and even swallowed the prince?”

“Who saved us just now? I suddenly felt super dizzy, couldn’t even open my eyes… What are you doing?”

The curly-haired girl said a whole bunch, then noticed that Shi Jian’s beautiful eyes had been fixed on her phone screen the whole time, tapping away at it.

Shi Jian spoke, “Filing a complaint.”

Curly-haired girl, “Huh?”

Without looking up, Shi Jian sneered, “I’m checking whether the app has a complaint feature. Why do they allow bugs like that? And even if it happened, isn’t their response way too slow? Look how many people died—if they’d been any later, we’d all be dead too. What, is that just our bad luck?”

Shi Jian was both angry and annoyed.

If there’s a bug, couldn’t they send someone earlier? What the hell are they doing? It’s way too late! By the time they show up, the show’s already over!

What really got on her nerves was the person in uniform who’d appeared just now. And along with the annoyance, there was a bit of envy.

That entrance—so flashy. What, you think you stole the scene? So you’ve got a cheat code, huh.

[“No one can look at anyone else” cheat?]

Shi Jian had now encountered two cheat types—one for the prince and one for the software engineer. She wanted one too.

[“Everyone can only look at her” cheat.]

In the end, Shi Jian didn’t find a complaint option.

She now fully agreed with Zhang Dong’s words—

This livestreaming app is a total scam.

...

“Should we talk about what to do next?”

The deck was a mess, full of post-battle chaos, but with the fish monster gone and the phones reminding them to “enjoy the livestream,” it was clear they were supposed to continue the mission.

Find Cinderella.

Everything was back to square one.

Shi Jian continued her role as recorder off to the side. “Cinderella should still be on this ship.”

It was an easy deduction to make—Shi Jian knew that. But she just wanted more lines.What’s wrong?

One of the streamers scratched her hair irritably. “But the prince is gone.”

Cinderella’s prince—he’s gone! Everyone knew he had been eaten by the suddenly appearing fish monster. That was a huge deal!

Shi Jian, the curly-haired girl, and another female streamer said in unison, “Who says there has to be a prince?”

The others: ???

Is it even possible not to have a prince?

Apparently, yes. The final objective always centered around Cinderella, so the prince wasn’t strictly necessary.

Everyone had unconsciously fallen into a fixed way of thinking—since it was Cinderella, then there had to be a prince; they thought the prince would lead them to Cinderella, and that she had to dance with him.

But in this horror game instance, the prince was already unlike the one from the fairy tale. In the fairy tale, there was no prince with seductive powers who tried to trick people into wearing crystal shoes.

So everyone decisively tossed the prince out of their minds and focused fully on finding Cinderella. Anyway, after the bug incident, there weren’t many people left on the ship.

They began checking one by one.

Shi Jian felt everyone was going off the rails again. Specifically, they were no longer just grabbing people like when they first entered the instance and asking if they were Cinderella. Now their thinking had really gone wild.

Shi Jian saw one streamer interrogating a gray toy poodle with deadly seriousness: “Say it—you’re actually Cinderella, aren’t you?”

The poodle wagged its tail. “Woof!”

Shi Jian: ??? Leave that dog alone. It’s just an innocent dog!

The poodle couldn’t even speak. At least Senior Huang could open his mouth and speak decent Mandarin.

Shi Jian turned her gaze to Xiao Jia. They’d returned again to the previous guest room. Though the prince was gone, Xiao Jia was still serving her.

...

Even though Xiao Jia had switched sides during the crisis and didn’t dare face the fish monster, now that things were calm again, she was still a loyal fan of the prince.

Specifically, she was still muttering under her breath, “The prince is the most handsome,” “The prince is omnipotent.”

Shi Jian casually said, “If your prince is so omnipotent, why did he get eaten by the fish monster?”

Xiao Jia was choked speechless. “…” She looked at Shi Jian with blazing anger, like she was seeing an online hater or a professional troll.

“You don’t understand anything at all!”

She threw down those words and ran out the door, clearly not wanting to talk to Shi Jian anymore. Shi Jian suddenly called out behind her, “Cinderella.”

Xiao Jia didn’t even slow down—in fact, she sped up.

Her back was to Shi Jian, so Shi Jian didn’t see the slight upward curve of her lips.

Xiao Jia: Did they think she was stupid? In these situations, stopping would only make you look guilty. That’s how so many main characters get exposed.

Now, voices shouting “Cinderella” could constantly be heard on the ship. The streamers were testing various suspects.

Just when she was feeling very clever, the sprinting Xiao Jia fell flat on her butt.

She had stepped in a puddle and slipped straight to the ground.She fell hard—so hard that the pain made Xiao Jia grimace on the spot. Shi Jian had already caught up from behind and asked in surprise, “Are you okay?”

“I actually wanted to remind you just now that there’s a puddle in the hallway, but I didn’t expect you to run so fast…”

Xiao Jia: “……” She was about to be driven crazy by Shi Jian. When did Shi Jian ever warn her? She clearly yelled “Cinderella.”

Of course, Xiao Jia still said aloud, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

She awkwardly got up from the floor.

Shi Jian looked at Xiao Jia, her voice curious, “Why were you running so fast?”

Xiao Jia responded quickly, “I was mad at you just now. And the way you stepped on the fish earlier actually scared me.” To make it more believable, she even shrank her neck a little.

Shi Jian nodded. “I see. Don’t be scared, I don’t eat people.”

Xiao Jia: “……”

Shi Jian didn’t question her any further, but soon turned and walked out of the cabin to the deck, holding a single crystal shoe in her hand, deep in thought.

The curly-haired girl and a few other streamers had been searching for Cinderella without success, and now saw this scene. They weren’t quite sure what Shi Jian was doing.

“That crystal shoe belongs to the prince, right?” the curly-haired girl pointed at the shoe.

“Yes,” Shi Jian confirmed. “I picked up the pair in front of the basement door.”

One of them had been used as bait for the fish monster; Shi Jian had kept the other one.

She had been feeling a bit stuck, unsure what to do next. But now that everyone was here, she cheerfully asked for help. “Does anyone know how to change the color or style of this shoe?”

Shi Jian’s first thought was to paint it—if any streamer had some paint, that would work. But things went smoother than she expected.

A streamer with an oval face volunteered herself. “I think I can give it a try.”

“I have a prop that can transform objects…”

Shi Jian’s eyes lit up at that. The item sounded powerful.

The oval-faced streamer could tell what Shi Jian was thinking and quickly added, “There are limitations. It only works on inanimate objects, and the change is purely cosmetic. Also, it has to be the same category. Like, I can change a shoe into a different-looking shoe, but not into a refrigerator.”

Shi Jian understood. “Makes sense if it has restrictions. That’s enough. How long will the change last?”

“Half an hour,” the oval-faced streamer replied.

“Then please help me turn this crystal shoe into the style of Xiao Jia’s shoe,” Shi Jian said.

All the streamers present understood—Shi Jian suspected that Xiao Jia was Cinderella.

...

Most of the streamers gathered in Shi Jian’s room, under the pretense of having afternoon tea. When Xiao Jia picked up a cup and tried to leave, Shi Jian struck again.

“Cinderella.”

She called out to Xiao Jia.

Because of her previous slip, Xiao Jia instinctively looked down at the floor.

No puddles. She let out a sigh of relief.But Shi Jian’s voice rang out again, her tone firm. “Xiao Jia, you’re actually Cinderella, aren’t you?”

“When I called out ‘Cinderella,’ your heart started beating really fast.”

Xiao Jia turned around. Shi Jian was sitting elegantly in a chair, holding a heart rate monitor. She blinked at Xiao Jia and gestured, “I attached the other end to you earlier—I wanted to see how effective it would be.”

The heart rate monitor was a prop Shi Jian had borrowed from the other streamers.

Xiao Jia had no idea something had been stuck to her. Her face darkened as she ripped it off, but she still looked calm.

She put on a puzzled expression.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not Cinderella.”

“My heart rate has always been fast—surely you can’t decide I’m Cinderella just because of that?”

Shi Jian nodded in agreement. “That alone doesn’t prove anything. But what about the shoe?”

Shi Jian pointed at Xiao Jia’s feet. “One of your shoes is a crystal slipper. If you’re not Cinderella, why can you wear it?”

Xiao Jia quickly looked down in a panic—just as the transformation spell wore off. On her foot was clearly a crystal slipper, a perfect fit.

Shi Jian helpfully added, “Don’t worry, I disinfected and sun-dried that shoe. You won’t get athlete’s foot from it.”

Xiao Jia: “……” Should she be thanking Shi Jian for that?

Shi Jian: No need to thank me—just help us clear the game.

All the streamers stared at that shoe, visibly thrilled. It finally felt like they were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel—so Xiao Jia really was Cinderella.

At this point, Xiao Jia didn’t bother denying it. Her entire demeanor shifted. She pulled up a chair and sat down directly, curling her lips at the others.

“That’s right. I’m the Cinderella you’ve all been looking for.”

“All that time wasted chasing after some plain, overlooked girl you thought might be Cinderella? Ridiculous.”

“What era do you think this is? Cinderella has to be pitiful and down-and-out? I’m all about the ‘pure and seductive’ aesthetic now.”

Xiao Jia’s lips were glossed with a sparkling lip tint. Her makeup was the kind of ‘no-makeup’ look, and her clothes revealed just enough to draw attention.

It was definitely the ‘pure but sexy’ style.

The streamers who’d been called out: “……”

Xiao Jia played with her fingers, her tone laced with bitterness. “You’ve all read the story of Cinderella, right? The beginning is just like you know it—Cinderella thought she’d found her destined prince and lived happily ever after with him…”

She let out a cold laugh.

“All lies. All of it!”

“The prince wasn’t the king’s only son. He married Cinderella just to win over the support of commoners. When people saw him give up noble ladies to choose a simple, ordinary girl, they all liked him. His goal was achieved—he became the new king.”

“But Cinderella and the prince came from completely different worlds. They had nothing in common. How could they possibly live happily together? It only looked like they did. Cinderella sensed something was wrong. She racked her brain trying to keep their relationship together—but her model husband had beautiful lovers everywhere.”

“Pitiful, really.”

Xiao Jia clicked her tongue twice. Tears of blood seemed to flow from her words. She stopped playing with her nails and began sobbing bitterly.“To him, Cinderella had already lost her value. Now that he was king, the prince no longer needed to maintain ties with the commoners. What he needed was a noble, graceful queen. So he coaxed Cinderella into boarding the royal cruise, saying it was to revisit old places and reminisce about their love. But in reality, the prince wanted to kill Cinderella.”

Which meant her.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

This version was worlds apart from the fairy tale they had grown up reading—yet, the more they thought about it, the more it felt like reality.

That so-called love at first sight, defying class and status to be together—it was all just the prince’s calculation.

Just moments ago, sunlight had been shining through the windows. Now, dark clouds had engulfed the sky. Lightning clawed across it with a deafening rumble. Rain lashed violently against the windows. The ship rose and fell on the turbulent sea, as if it might capsize at any moment.

【Fairy tales are lies. I’ll never believe in love again!】

【I’ve got goosebumps. There’s no scary imagery, yet this feels utterly hopeless—Cinderella still loved the prince, but he wanted to kill her in the very place they fell in love, just to make way for a new queen.】

【What is Shi Jian doing?】

Shi Jian: “Mm-hmm.”

Xiao Jia—Cinderella—poured out her story, raw with emotion. All the streamers were drawn in: some angry, some helpless... Cinderella felt a sense of satisfaction, like a storyteller commanding her audience.

Except for one person.

Shi Jian looked like she was listening intently, but all she did was respond with “Mm-hmm.”

Cinderella said, “The prince had someone drug me and toss me into the sea. He faked it to look like I accidentally fell in. I sank into the freezing depths full of despair and hatred—and I went berserk!”

Shi Jian nodded seriously. “Mm-hmm.”

Cinderella continued, “...After I went berserk, I killed the prince in return.”

Shi Jian: “Mm-hmm.”

Cinderella: …You’re the kind of person who replies “mm” to a bunch of voice messages without even listening to them, aren’t you?!

Shi Jian didn’t care much for love stories and wasn’t sure how to respond. Usually, when people told her things like this, it was just so she could act as a prop. Nodding along was enough.

But Shi Jian hadn’t completely tuned out—she caught one key detail: berserk.

Shi Jian gripped the sofa armrest and looked cautiously at Cinderella. “Do you go berserk randomly? What do you look like when you're in that state?” She wanted a heads-up to prepare herself—it wouldn’t do to look embarrassing.

Shi Jian tried to reason with her. “Let’s not go berserk too easily, okay?”

“And… is the ship going to capsize? Are those giant waves your doing? I’m seriously starting to lose my balance here…”

Cinderella: …So annoying, I really want to go berserk right now!

But she didn’t—at least not yet. And when Shi Jian pointed out how rough the waves were, Cinderella did calm the weather down a bit.

Because she had a more pressing question—she looked at Shi Jian and asked, “Tell me—how did you figure me out?”

Cinderella didn’t think she had left any obvious clues. She even forced herself to praise the prince, despite how she really felt. How could that have been seen through?

The other streamers were curious too. All eyes turned to Shi Jian.

Shi Jian: Time to shine!

She quickly sat up straight, her dainty face lit with a confident smile. “You once said, ‘The prince would never fall in love with me.’”At the time, it sounded like jealousy, but thinking back on it—wasn’t it a kind of clue?

The prince didn’t love anyone; he only loved himself. For Xiao Jia to be so certain of that meant she knew what kind of person the prince truly was.

After all, who wouldn’t love Shi Jian?

Cinderella mused, “So that’s the line you picked up on…” Then being exposed didn’t feel so unfair.

Shi Jian shook her head and shifted the topic. “Actually, that wasn’t the key.”

“What really made me suspect you… was that you had a name.”

Shi Jian pointed it out clearly, “Even the prince didn’t have a name—so why do you?”