Is there something seriously wrong with trying to find a boyfriend in a horror game?
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Xia Miao, a modern woman accustomed to a life of comfort and privilege, finds herself abruptly transported into a terrifying survival game after a mysterious mechanical voice assigns her a mission: find the most dazzling man in this world and conquer him. She awakens in the uniform of a student at Red Moon Academy, an elite institution that transforms into a slaughterhouse every night. The rules are brutal—survivors must evade executioners, monstrous entities responsible for hunting and killing participants. If they survive five rounds, they may escape; failure means death. Her first night introduces her to the most feared executioner: the Slit-Mouthed Fiend, a tall, bandaged boy who kills by slicing victims' throats after asking if he looks handsome. When the middle-aged survivor Lin Gaoshan pushes Xia Miao into the monster's path to save himself, she does not flee in terror. Instead, she stares at the bandaged boy with an intensity that surprises even him. Declaring that he is the man who caught her eye at first sight, she demands that he work to make her fall in love with him, reversing the predator-prey dynamic entirely.

Lu Yan, the bandaged boy, is initially bewildered and enraged by Xia Miao's audacity. He intends to kill her but finds himself unable to follow through, confused by her lack of fear and her bizarre confidence. While other survivors tremble in terror, Xia Miao treats the lethal game as a romantic pursuit. She kicks Lin Gaoshan for his betrayal, establishes a point system to track Lu Yan's affection, and begins navigating the academy with a mix of arrogance and strategic cunning. During the day, she attends classes and maintains her cover as a student, joining the journalism club with her friend Fang Ke'ai. At night, she survives by hiding and observing, learning that stealth and idling until dawn are key to clearing each round. Lu Yan, meanwhile, struggles with his conflicting instincts. He is a monster by nature, yet he finds himself drawn to Xia Miao's vibrant energy and unyielding spirit. He begins to leave gifts for her, crafting bouquets from bone fragments, and secretly protects her from other dangers, such as swarms of rats, while pretending indifference.

As their interactions deepen, the power dynamic between them shifts. Xia Miao continues to deduct points for minor infractions, such as Lu Yan using his tongue during a kiss or making boastful remarks, yet she also awards points for heroic gestures. Lu Yan, desperate to reach the hundred-point threshold that would allow him to "eat" her, becomes increasingly devoted to winning her affection. He reveals his real name, Lu Yan, and begins to show vulnerability beneath his menacing exterior. The other executioners, including the Headless Woman, the Old Gardener, and the Conjoined Twins, observe the strange courtship with amusement and pity, recognizing that Lu Yan is falling for a human in a way he never intended. Xia Miao, however, remains focused on her ultimate goal: surviving the game and understanding the rules that govern this twisted world. She discovers that the academy is a liminal space where the dead and the monstrous coexist, and that her presence there is tied to a larger, unknown purpose.

The story progresses as Xia Miao and Lu Yan navigate the complexities of their relationship within the confines of the game. She challenges him to be better, to control his violent impulses, and to prove his devotion through actions rather than threats. Lu Yan, in turn, learns to temper his sadism and protect Xia Miao from the dangers that lurk in the shadows of Red Moon Academy. Their bond strengthens as they face increasingly difficult rounds, with Xia Miao relying on her wit and Lu Yan's power to survive. However, the game is far from over, and new threats emerge as the executioners' roles evolve. The Headless Woman, plagued by workplace grievances, and the Old Gardener, with his cryptic wisdom, offer glimpses into the deeper lore of the academy. Xia Miao's journey is not just about romance but about uncovering the truth behind the game and finding a way to break free from its cycle of violence. As she grows more confident in her abilities, she begins to question whether she can truly change Lu Yan's nature or if she is merely delaying the inevitable. The story sets the stage for a confrontation with the higher powers behind the academy, as Xia Miao and Lu Yan prepare to face the ultimate test of their relationship and survival.

Novel Items

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Item
Small slices used in a face mask that accidentally stuck to Bai Yichen's chest after Anxin fell asleep with the mask on. They symbolize the awkward yet harmonious morning situation between the couple.
Cosmetic
Skincare product Shen Simo applies after showering before sitting down at her computer for her evening livestream.
Item
A container used by Anxin to pack rock sugar and white fungus soup for Bai Yichen's lunch. It shows her care and preparation for his day.
Food
A soup prepared by Anxin and packed in a thermal lunchbox for Bai Yichen. It is part of her breakfast routine and demonstrates her attentiveness.
Food
A breakfast dish made by Anxin for herself, indicating her simple meal preparation while preoccupied with her thoughts.
Food
Breakfast items prepared by Anxin for Bai Yichen, showing her effort to provide a nutritious meal despite her distraction.
Latest Release
DateGroupRelease
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c20
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c19
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c18
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c17
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c16
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c15
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c14
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c13
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c12
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c11
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c10
2026-08-11shanghai fantasy c9

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The atmospheric writing in this text is genuinely impressive, especially when it shifts between settings. Let me start with the Shanghai night scene around Wen Nian and Yu Xiaoyan. The description of Yu Xiaoyan's bedroom—"the moon hung high, and the night was quiet and calm"—then zooming in on the parasol tree at the alley entrance, its leaves swaying, the sound of bicycles, the idle chatter in Shanghainese drifting from the street. This is cinematic. You can literally see this. The ticking clock, the fountain pen scratching on paper, the way Wen Nian is highlighting textbooks while mentally planning her future business. The domestic normalcy of it all is so sharply contrasted with whatever trauma brought her there that it aches. Then there's the village morning with Anxin. Village Chief Hu Zhigang sitting at his doorstep with a pipe, the dilapidated An family house, the sense of a place that's stuck in time. Anxin walking into his yard with purpose—that's a whole mood. The rural China setting feels lived-in, not decorative. And then Xia Miao's transmigration scene is pure horror atmosphere. "The towering academic building cast cold, rigid lines that, paired with the swaying shadows of the trees, made it look like a beast ready to devour any innocent soul at the moment's notice." This is textbook horror worldbuilding—dark campus, no lights, strange movements in the distance. The middle-aged man's description of the Slit-Mouthed Fiend is genuinely unsettling: "He has bandages wrapped around his face...he'll use the knife in his hand to slice open your throat!" The survival game mechanics feel like they're borrowing from Korean horror folklore (the slit-mouthed woman legend, obviously), which gives it a specific cultural texture. Three distinct worlds, three distinct atmospheres. The author knows how to paint a scene.
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What I love about this text is that the stakes are never just 'will they survive the game.' It's layered. On the surface, yes, there are corpse-eating rats, a headless woman hunting for her head, and a Truth or Dare game that everyone dreads because the 'Dare' portion apparently means death. But the real conflict—the one that keeps me up at night—is internal. Lu Yan's entire existence is a conflict. He's this monster who craves connection but expresses it through aggression and jealousy. When he snaps 'I just think he's annoying! Deduct my points if you want!' he's not really talking about Leng Yeting. He's saying 'I feel threatened and I don't know how to say that without sounding weak.' And the fact that Xia Miao sees right through it and rewards him with points instead of punishing him? That's the core emotional stake here. She's offering him something no one else in this nightmare world has: acceptance. Meanwhile, Ruan Zhizhi's conflict is quietly devastating. She's trapped in a situation where Leng Yeting saves her repeatedly, she can't help but feel something, but she's also acutely aware she 'absolutely had to keep her distance.' Her heart fluttering when he stands up for her, her cheeks flushing—this is someone who knows this is dangerous and feels it anyway. That's real stakes. Not 'will she die' but 'will she lose herself.' And the conjoined twins offering to kill Xia Miao while Lu Yan responds by impaling them through the body? That's the external conflict colliding with the internal one in the most violent way possible. He's not just protecting her from rats and games—he's protecting her from the very nature of this world. The stakes keep escalating and the author never lets you forget what's actually being risked.
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Okay so I need to talk about Lu Yan because this guy is an absolute treasure. The scene where he gets jealous over Xia Miao talking to Leng Yeting? I was dying. Here's this bandaged horror boy who looks like he could murder everyone in the room, and he's hiding in a corner like a kicked puppy, gripping his hood and muttering 'Is he good-looking?' And when Xia Miao calls him out on being jealous, he literally explodes: 'I am not!' Classic. The worst part is he's totally transparent. But what really got me was the contrast between his feral exterior and this ridiculously soft interior. He devours food like a wild animal, has these dead fish eyes that look terrifying, yet he's the one who stealthily holds Xia Miao's hand under the table and gets all flustered when she interlocks her fingers with his. The moment he pulled that phone out of his own torso to show off Xia Miao's texts to the other monsters? Chef's kiss. He was literally bragging about being loved while pretending to complain. 'Nobody likes you, unlike me who's relentlessly adored by a girl utterly obsessed with me.' I was wheezing. And then when the conjoined twins offered to kill her? The shift was instantaneous. That dull ashen gray in his eyes, the bandages burning with dark energy, the voice dropping to a rasping growl: 'Don't you dare lay a finger on her.' One second he's a tsundere mess, the next he's full-on protective demon mode. This character has layers, people.
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Let me just say—Xia Miao is the most fascinating character in this entire story. She's not some damsel in distress waiting to be saved. She's out here literally commanding a murder ghost, docking his points like he's a misbehaving puppy, and she's not even afraid of him. Remember this line: "You're allowed to kiss me, but I'm not allowed to kiss you? That's not fair." She's setting rules, establishing boundaries, and making him work for it. That's not someone who's selling herself for survival—that's someone who's genuinely in control. And Lu Yan? Oh my god, the way he transforms from this terrifying bandaged figure into this complete simp is incredible. He's a murderer, a ghost, something scary—and yet he's blushing, stuttering, getting flustered over the simplest gestures. When Xia Miao invites him into her room and he immediately says yes like a lovesick teenager? Perfect. The contrast between his external appearance (bandaged, creepy, powerful) and his internal state (soft, embarrassed, devoted) is chef's kiss. But here's what really gets me—their dynamic. They're both playing games with each other. Xia Miao pretends she's just being kind, that she's not into him. Lu Yan pretends he's just following the rules of the point system. But they both know exactly what's happening. The scene where they're lying in the dark and he's secretly touching her pinky finger while asking about his score? That's the moment I knew they were genuinely falling for each other. He's counting points, but she's counting kisses.
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I went in expecting a slow chapter and ended up completely swept up. Let me break down why this works so well. The opening drops you right into the middle of existing drama—Leng Yeting and Ruan Zhizhi's whole dynamic is already established, the jealousy is simmering, and then Xia Miao arrives and the whole energy shifts. The author doesn't waste time explaining anything. You just feel it. The crowd's attention moving from Ruan Zhizhi to Xia Miao 'in the blink of an eye' is such a quick, efficient beat that tells us everything about Xia Miao's presence without a single exposition dump. Then the rat attack hits and suddenly we're in full action mode, and the transition to Lu Yan's breakdown in the corner is seamless—same scene, just a shift in focus. We go from chaotic panic to intimate horror in one beat. That's skilled pacing. Chapter 9 opens with dusk, which is already a great atmospheric marker, and immediately pivots to the cafeteria scene. The dinner sequence is where the chapter really breathes. After all that tension, we get this long, unhurried scene of two characters just existing together, eating, bickering, holding hands. It's a deliberate slowdown that makes the emotional beats land harder. And then—BOOM—the chapter ends with the headless woman, the conjoined twins, the old gardener all getting their moments, and Lu Yan pulling out a phone from his own torso to show off. The final image before the chapter ends is him threatening the twins with a blade through their bodies. From romantic comedy to horror in the span of a paragraph. The author knows exactly when to punch you and when to cuddle you, and switching between the two keeps you completely hooked.
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I need to talk about Wei Ying because this woman is absolutely phenomenal and the author is criminally underutilizing her. Let me back up. Wei Ying is introduced through Wen Nian's eyes, and the contrast Wen Nian draws between herself and Wei Ying's daughter Xiaoyan is brutal. Wei Ying wants a sweet, soft daughter who wraps her arms around her and acts coy. Instead she got Xiaoyan—a tomboy with chopsticks-twirling energy and brute strength who failed the military medical check and now desperately wants to go to a foreign language university despite having English scores that are, frankly, a tragedy. But here's what made me sit up: Wei Ying doesn't seem resentful about this. She's warm, kind, genuinely generous. She offers Wen Nian a place to stay, feeds her three meals a day plus midnight snacks, and then immediately proposes a tutoring arrangement without even asking about Wen Nian's grades. That's not just trust—that's a woman who operates on instinctive generosity. And then there's Fu Yansheng. He just appears one morning sitting on the sofa like he owns the place, and the text makes it clear his support for Wei Ying is "more than obvious." I'm already writing fanfiction in my head about this man. Meanwhile, Anxin and Bai Yichen have this domestic sweetness that's almost annoying how good it is. The cucumber slice scene? I laughed out loud. He's this serious, handsome man with vegetables stuck to his chest and he's still flirting. And Anxin's motivation—going back to her home village not for nostalgia but to lift it up economically—is genuinely admirable. She's not just surviving her transmigration; she's building. Xia Miao is a different beast entirely. Calm, analytical, assessing people like game pieces. When the middle-aged man is hyperventilating about the slasher, she's already scanning for her target. That's a character who's either incredibly brave or completely unhinged. Probably both.
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