The Runaway Bride Game [Game]

My new novel, The Attendant's Bride, an ancient-style suspense story, is now underway. Please add it to your reading list!

Zhou Miaomiao is twenty-five, and her mother keeps pressuring her to go on blind dates. One night, while playing a game, a message pops up on her phone: Want to experience the thrill of running away from your wedding when you're being pressured to marry?

Oh, sounds interesting.

Zhou Miaomiao hurriedly tapped it.

She entered the game page for a game called Runaway Bride. The rules said:

1. Every stage of this game is about escaping a wedding. For every stage the protagonist plays, successfully escaping earns a reward of ten thousand yuan in their real-life game account.

2. In the game, if the player in the role of "you" dies in a stage or fails to escape the wedding, that stage will start over the next time they enter.

Zhou Miaomiao could hardly wait to try it.

She tapped to enter the game and instantly arrived at a seaside villa. A man who looked like Daniel Wu called her his wife and held out a sparkling blue diamond necklace.

Zhou Miaomiao: And I'm supposed to run away from this wedding?

Game System: Sorry, I made a mistake. Let's start over.

Zhou Miaomiao:…

Everything went black. When she woke up again, Zhou Miaomiao was lying on a kang. The walls around her were cracked, and a woman beside her was crying and reminding her not to cry when she was married to the River God later.

Zhou Miaomiao: The River God?

Later, she understood. As the village's chosen saint, she was to be drowned in the river as a bride for the River God.

Zhou Miaomiao:…

This isn't a runaway bride game. It's clearly a survival game.

Content notes:

1. The game and real life alternate, with the game as the main focus. Everything serves the plot, so try not to skip chapters.

2. The game rules are explained in detail in the main text.

3. Contains original worldbuilding and is set in a fictional world. Please don't overanalyze the details.

Theme: Courage