Chapter 10: Trial Kiss

She did hit the ground, but why didn’t it hurt at all?

Wang Jiexiang opened one eye.

“Wah!” Her vision was filled with a round black shape covered in long white fur.

She waved her arms and backed away, spotting familiar double eyelids and yellow eyeshadow… Bunny Xian was leaning on his chin, gazing at her in contemplation.

Back to Little Rabbit Island again.

It was already the second time, but Wang Jiexiang still hadn’t gotten used to the abrupt scene transitions.

“Why are you standing so close and staring at me? You know you scared me half to death.”

“I know,” he said shamelessly. “I could tell.”

“The apartment disappeared, so does that mean your ‘Instance Dungeon’ was cleared?” The term sounded awkward in his mouth, but he used it correctly. Seemed like he’d been mulling over her words a lot after she left.

“Yeah.” Wang Jiexiang showed him the key in her hand.

They stared at each other.

“Uh,” Yin Xian broke the silence. “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened in the house?”

“Oh!” Wang Jiexiang counted on her fingers. “First, I met your parents.”

“Were they satisfied with you?”

“What the heck. Not that kind of meet! I saw them.”

So this was the first time Wang Jiexiang had met Yin Xian’s family.

She had imagined countless times how she’d act demure, obedient, and considerate when meeting his family for the first time. She never expected that her first meeting with his dad would end with her yelling at the man.

With a sigh, she recounted everything she had experienced in the house.

“Just like last time, what you described happened in the past. But back then, I hadn’t met you.”

Yin Xian sounded detached, like an outsider.

And he truly was—he hadn’t been part of the past she had interacted with.

“I still can’t see the connection between this island, the house on it, and the me who’s trapped here.”

Wang Jiexiang pushed up imaginary glasses and put on a wise expression.

Since Yin Xian couldn’t see it, it was time for Detective Jiexiang to shine.

“I went to two houses, one from your early childhood and one from later childhood. The common thread was that I saw unhappy versions of you in both. Honestly, Yin Xian, seeing them gave me a deeper understanding of you.”

“When we were together, I never understood how someone like you could even exist. You’re annoying, can’t speak properly; when someone makes a mistake, you never give them a chance to make up for it—you just completely write them off; your ego is huge, you hate losing, you’re ungracious, emotionless, always sarcastic…”

Wang Jiexiang got more and more into it, until Yin Xian cut in, “Aren’t you going a little long on the flaws section?”

“Fine, I’ll skip ahead. Back to the connection.”

“Still using the gaming metaphor: the main quest on Little Rabbit Island is rescuing you. When I enter the Instance Dungeon, you’re offline the whole time—no progress, no upgrades. But when I clear the Instance Dungeon and the house disappears, if anyone gains experience and rewards, it has to be me.”

Yin Xian’s rabbit brow furrowed. “But you said I’m the host.”

“Who knows,” Wang Jiexiang pouted. “Maybe you’re just the tool that opens the Instance Dungeon .”

“Be honest, did you just make all this up?” he accused.

“Yep, totally made up,” she admitted.

Yin Xian already knew she was unreliable, but still listened patiently to her conclusion.

“So based on your analysis, what’s the experience and reward you got?”

Wise Jiexiang stayed deadpan. “After getting to know you better, my feelings evolve from nothing to something, a total transformation—I become your true love. Once all the houses are cleared, I give you a true love’s kiss, you’re freed, evolve from rabbit to human, and return to the real world at full health.”

Bunny Xian stared at her intently, his double eyelids flattening into singles.

“So we weren’t true love before?”

Wang Jiexiang scoffed. “Of course not.”

The rabbit took a step back, then sprinted.

Her lips twitched as she tried to hold her dramatic expression, watching him leap toward her—

And land squarely on her lips.

Wang Jiexiang even got poked by his whiskers.

In that instant, her first thought was, “How ridiculous, Yin Xian needs a running start to kiss someone,” followed by, “This despicable guy—he has to get my consent first!”

Only then did it hit her that, despite the ridiculous timing and setting, this did count as a kiss.

An unromantic, rushed kiss.

A completed kiss done without enthusiasm or consent.

The biggest failure? Yin Xian didn’t turn back into a human.

After the kiss, his paws flailed in the air, trying to grab something to stop his fall.

He grabbed her hair.

“Whew, almost fell.” The chubby bunny landed safely, still shaken.

He looked up—only to meet the glare of a furious ghost-girl with hair draping over her face.

“Yin Xian, go to hell.”

She grabbed his ears and roared, “I knew it! You never loved me enough, you garbage!”

The bunny flailed his legs midair.

“Maybe you just didn’t love me enough either,” he argued. “You said it yourself—‘from nothing to something.’”

“Maybe it’s not a true love’s kiss that clears the stage.”

“Maybe we need to cultivate true love, like you said.”

They spoke in unison, both looking for a way to save face.

“Hmph.” Wang Jiexiang let go and spared him.

Eventually, both looked down at the key in her hand.

The houses—still needed clearing.

“Think there’s a shortcut? Like, can we pay to level up? Use a strategy guide or something?”

There were five houses total on the island, with three left. Judging by what they’d seen, all the houses contained unhappy memories for Yin Xian, and going through those would definitely be emotionally draining.

Wang Jiexiang and Yin Xian exchanged a look.

Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she clapped her head.

“I can’t help but praise myself—super ultra genius me!”

Seeing her that excited, Yin Xian stretched his ears out. “What’d you come up with?”

“Just finish the main quest directly! You getting off the island is all that matters.”

Wang Jiexiang beamed proudly. “Don’t I have the paper crane pick-up? Next time it comes, I’ll take you with me. Then you’re out!”

He shot that down instantly. “I already tried that. Doesn’t work.”

“You tried… wait, when did you…”

She stared, slowly realizing: “Wait—you followed me home last time when I went to sleep?”

Yin Xian didn’t deny it.

“Wow, you are so sneaky. Didn’t we just have a fight? Weren’t you all cold and ignoring me?”

He changed the subject and walked ahead.

“Let’s go find the next house before you get sleepy again.”

Thanks to Wang Jiexiang, most of Little Rabbit Island was already cleared. The three remaining houses were: the home of Yin Xian’s grandpa where he lived in middle school; the boarding-style cram school from high school; and the employee dorms from his auto repair job.

Following the usual rules, the key she held should open the grandpa’s house.

“Nope, doesn’t fit.”

She held up the key for him to see. “The shape doesn’t match the keyhole.”

“Are you sure it’s the right key?”

“Yep. If it weren’t, the world wouldn’t have collapsed when I got it.”

So they tried another.

The high school dorm—also didn’t work.

Only the employee dorms were left.

From afar, they saw the little building, its lights off. Wang Jiexiang asked, “How old were you then?”

“Just out of college. Around 22.”

She smiled, inexplicably happy. “Then you were about to meet me.”

Yin Xian hadn’t asked much about her, mostly because whenever she brought up their past relationship, she got really fierce.

“How old were you when we met?”

“You were 24.”

“And you?”

“Eighteen.”

He was surprised. “You’re that much younger than me?”

Wang Jiexiang scooped up a ball of white rabbit fluff from the floor, stuffed him into her pocket, and winked. “That’s right, little bunny.”

The key slid right into the lock.

“It fits.”

She breathed a sigh of relief—at least they weren’t stuck.

“Anything memorable happen while you lived here?”

Yin Xian was quiet for a moment.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go in.”

“There it is again.” Wang Jiexiang thumped her bicep with her fist. “I’ve already cleared two houses. I’ve got the skills.”

He didn’t try to dissuade her further and recalled his time at the auto repair shop to give her some final intel.

“In college, I followed my dad’s plan and studied mechanical engineering. After graduation, I went to work at the repair shop he arranged—light workload, 9 to 5.”

Wang Jiexiang had a bad feeling—this house was going to be harder.

“What kind of repair shop? What did you do exactly?”

“It was a large-scale shop servicing corporate fleets, construction vehicles, and private cars. I diagnosed problems and guided the repairs.”

“Sounds like a good job.” She asked, “Were you interested in it?”

The rabbit didn’t answer directly.

“The job was stable and easy, a total iron rice bowl. But I wanted to make more money. From the work, I saw business opportunities. With the rise of private car ownership, demand for auto products was exploding. But tech services couldn’t keep up—the models kept evolving, repairs got harder, and workers couldn’t keep pace. Rework and compensation rates were rising. But if I switched to selling car products, it was basically a guaranteed win.”

Just listening to his voice, he sounded like an ambitious entrepreneur giving a business pitch.

But in reality, he was still a chubby white rabbit, sitting obediently in her pocket.

Wang Jiexiang tried to parse what he meant.

“Tech services don’t pay as well as sales, so you wanted to switch?”

The rabbit hummed in agreement.

“But my family didn’t support the idea. So I broke with them and struck out on my own.”

That made sense—Wang Jiexiang remembered when she first met Yin Xian, he was struggling alone in a big city, dirt poor.

“What am I even supposed to help with this time?”

She anxiously opened the door, stepping into the dark with the rabbit.

Wang Jiexiang muttered to herself: Is it too late to run?