I, An Juncheng, am a boring person.

Correction—I’m an ordinary person.

…Alright, fine. I admit it. I’m both ordinary and boring.

I don’t have social anxiety or communication disorders. Quite the opposite—I actually enjoy talking to people. But because I’m a little… blunt, and my topics tend to be dull, most people avoid me after one conversation. They probably think I’m cold.

I guess that’s what they call having bad luck with people.

Yet I never initiate chats. It’s just my nature—an incurably passive personality. I never pursue anything actively, so I’m often ignored like thin air, ending up alone.

And honestly? I don’t even mind… Having friends would be nice, but their absence doesn’t affect me… Call it resilience, but I’m the type who can survive alone.

Yes, I still believe being alone is fine…

So please! Just leave me alone!

“Master Cheng~ Where are you~? Why hide from me?”

A voice from afar made my whole body tremble.

Playful and childlike, it deliberately twisted my name backward.

Its owner was my classmate, Jilianbing.

Until a few days ago, we’d never even spoken. Though we sat in the same classroom—her right behind me—I’d always kept to myself, never reaching out. We weren’t even acquaintances.

Of course, I knew all my classmates’ names. But to someone as unremarkable as me, she belonged to another world. We shouldn’t have crossed paths…

*Shouldn’t have.*

“Master Cheng~ Come out~ I won’t do anything~”

Like hell I’d believe that!

I was hiding in the second-to-last stall of the boys’ restroom on the fourth floor of the science building, barely breathing.

Jilianbing’s calls echoed outside. It was 11 PM—nearly two hours after night study ended. The school gates were locked. Only two people remained in this building.

Yes, I was hiding from her.

Jilianbing wasn’t unattractive. Quite the opposite—she was a genuine beauty.

A top-tier high school girl. A campus idol. The kind who gets confessed to weekly.

Sadly, her rejection count equaled her confession count. No one had ever gotten close… She seemed effortlessly friendly, yet impossible to move beyond friendship.

A girl like *that* chasing *me*? I should’ve been overjoyed… If I were my old self…

But I couldn’t accept her. Never could.

No, it’s not that I fear women or prefer men. It’s because… Jilianbing isn’t normal.

You heard right. She’s *not normal*.

“Master Cheng~ Are you in here? I can smell your ‘scent’~”

Her voice made me shudder.

It was getting closer. I clamped one hand over my mouth, the other over my heart, suppressing my breath and heartbeat. *Don’t find me…*

*BAM!* The first stall door slammed open. My heart lurched.

*Don’t get caught… Please, don’t get caught!*

“Found… you.”

Her voice was right outside the door!

“…!!!”

*Clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!*

The lock shattered. What kind of strength did a high school girl have?! If I got caught, she’d kill me! We weren’t even on the same level—a snake versus a mouse.

*Creak…*

The door opened. I pressed myself against the wall behind it, shrinking into invisibility. *I’m a mouse… a trembling, insignificant mouse…*

“Oh? Not here…”

*Go away! Please just go!*

One second. Two. Three… Ten. Footsteps finally faded. She… left?

I still didn’t dare breathe deeply.

Minutes passed in silence. *Safe now.*

But caution was key. If she lingered, my footsteps would bring her running back.

*Tip-toe… like a cat…*

I’d just reached the restroom door when—

*WHOOSH!*

“Wah!”

She’d hidden in the first stall! Those footsteps were a trap!

“Silly Master Cheng~ Did you think I left? Hehe~ I knew you were in stall three all along. I just wanted to surprise you~”

This wasn’t a surprise—it was pure terror!

“Um… my name is *An Juncheng*. Could you stop reversing it?”

“Oh? That’s exactly why I love you~ So calm even when you know what’s coming… Hehe~ I adore you more and more, Master Cheng~”

*Yeah, I’m faking it. Sorry about that.*

I wasn’t acting calm—I was terrified. But my nature kept me still. My upbringing taught me to see death lightly. Everyone says “we all die someday,” but few truly accept it. I’m one of them.

Worst case? Death. I’m not afraid. Not at all.

*Huh? Why am I panicking then?*

Because… this is worse than death!

“Ah, Master Cheng… This is my lifelong wish…”

Jilianbing clasped her hands over her chest like a praying saint—pure and radiant.

Moonlight illuminated her porcelain face. Her delicate features and silky hair glowed in the dim light. Straddling my waist, her youthful energy was intoxicating. Any man might lose control…

But I felt only terror, freezing my body.

I wanted to shut my eyes and call this a dream. But I feared never opening them again. So I stared—

Not at her beautiful face or slender body.

At the words floating above her head.

Purple text only I could see.

【Necrophiliac Killer】

【Jilianbing】

Her name… and title.

I called this ability “True Name Manifestation”—like a game displaying player tags. I didn’t know why I had it. It appeared recently. Was I hallucinating?

Jilianbing—the beloved beauty—was secretly a corpse-obsessed killer. No one would believe it.

I didn’t believe it either at first.

But now? I had no choice.

Because… she’d chosen *me* as her target.

“Please! Just die for me!”

Straddling me, Jilianbing grabbed my throat. I seized her wrists, shoving upward with all my strength. Her palms lifted slightly from my neck.

Holding a pretty girl’s hands should be nice. Not when she’s trying to kill you.

*So… tired… Why’s a girl this strong?!*

I was above average in strength for a high schooler… Did obsession grant her superhuman power?

“Why… Master Cheng? Why… resist me?”

“…Cough… Well… anyone would fight back when being strangled…”

*Ugh, this position’s awful. My arms are cramping… and her hips pressing against my stomach? Worse.*

Tears welled in her eyes. “Because I love you! I adore you! Why… don’t you understand?”

“You just love my *corpse*!”

Yes—you’ve guessed it. Jilianbing really was a necrophiliac killer.

She didn’t use a knife to preserve my body’s beauty. Choking was her “gentle” method.

She’d tried poisoning me first. I caught her. Now this…

“Master Cheng… I’ll cherish you. I’ll hold you every night. I’ll make love to you until only bones remain… So please! Be with me forever!”

Flushed, she leaned close, her sweet breath dizzying.

“…If… this didn’t involve… death… I’d gladly accept…”

Her grip tightened. My fingers felt ready to snap. My wrists bent past ninety degrees. Teeth gritted—I was losing.

*No way… I won’t die like this!*

Suddenly, her resistance vanished. I jerked upright—then she yanked me closer, trapping my head between her legs.

Her right leg hooked behind her left knee.

*A triangle choke?!*

“GAAAAHHH!”

Pressure crushed my skull.

*Can’t… breathe… eyes rolling back…*

*Dying…*

Memories flashed like a slideshow…

Why did someone boring like me get dragged into this?

I’d pretended not to know…

A passive person like me shouldn’t face this… Or did my passivity make it worse?

Ah… my ordinary life… When did it go off the rails?