The few of them hurriedly covered themselves with the blanket.
The next second, the door creaked open.
They lay motionless in bed, pretending to be asleep.
The person outside slowly walked in and stood by the bed for a while, seemingly watching them, or perhaps doing something else.
Gu Zhan didn’t dare to open his eyes; he had a premonition that if he did, he would be discovered.
Little did he know, he had made the right choice.
Because that mother stood right in front of him, her face close enough that any slight movement of his would be seen.
She didn’t even breathe.
Quietly standing there for a while, she finally straightened up with regret and walked away.
The people on the bed quickly fell asleep.
As dawn broke, Gu Zhan suddenly woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the sun rising outside the white curtains, the morning glow spilling into the room.
He immediately sat up and patted the person next to him.
Xu Ke was sleeping soundly; even with the pat, he only turned over.
“Get up, hurry up and get up,” Gu Zhan called out anxiously to everyone beside him, raising his voice.
Finally, someone slowly opened their eyes. Gu Zhan looked at the clock on the wall and said, “We have to get up before the sun rises.”
“…” An Heyan, who had just woken up, rubbed his temples; he hadn’t seen the morning sun in years.
Since coming to this place governed by rules, he hadn’t gotten up early at all.
He forced himself to sit up, and the others followed suit one after another.
Just as they finished tidying up their clothes, a knock came from outside the door—it was their mother.
“Have you gotten up? I’ve made breakfast for you; hurry up and come eat.”
Since the people in the room hadn’t fully responded yet, when she called the first time, no one replied.
Suddenly, a strange feeling enveloped Gu Zhan. He immediately raised his head and called out to the door, “Mom, I’m getting dressed, just a moment.”
The strange feeling vanished.
The person outside laughed and said, “No rush, take your time. I’ll wait for you in the dining room.”
After she finished speaking, she left, and that strange feeling disappeared.
Sang Yue sat up in disbelief and said, “Was she standing outside just now to try to catch us all at once?”
“Maybe.” After a night, Gu Zhan had a slight understanding of this cycle; it was a mother who loved her daughter very much and had a strong desire for control.
Everything in the house had to be done according to her wishes, not a single thing could go against her.
Once there was defiance, her methods of dealing with it were far more extreme than a normal mother’s.
The group tidied up and hurried to the living room.
As soon as they stepped out of the bedroom, they were greeted by a rich aroma of food, instantly awakening their stomachs after a quiet night.
Upon entering the dining room, they were further astonished.
They saw the long table filled with a dazzling array of food. It was hard to call it just a simple breakfast; one could believe it was a full banquet.
Even with six people playing the role of daughters, this table of food was too lavish.
Their mother was still constantly bringing out dishes. Seeing this scene, Gu Zhan said, “Mom, isn’t there a bit too much for breakfast? You’re working too hard.”
Their mother placed the dishes on the table, and it was already full. She had to stack two plates together to squeeze in the last one on top.
She smiled and said, “It’s fine, even though I got up at three in the morning, seeing you all eat happily is worth it to me more than anything.”
“Sit down.” She walked to the table, pulled out a chair, but didn’t sit down, just quietly watching Gu Zhan and the others.
Xu Ke was about to sit down, but Gu Zhan said, “Mom should sit first.”
Xu Ke’s movement suddenly froze; he hadn’t considered that.
Once their mother sat down, they dared to take their seats.
“Eat, why aren’t you eating?” Their mother noticed they weren’t moving their chopsticks and asked, “Is it that the food doesn’t suit your taste?”
At this moment, everyone dared not defy her, quickly picking up their chopsticks and starting to eat.
The breakfast was indeed delicious, but the portions were enormous. Even after half a day of eating among the six of them, it hardly diminished.
Meanwhile, their mother frowned as she watched them, seemingly dissatisfied with their performance.
Halfway through the meal, Sang Yue felt like throwing down his chopsticks. Was this game trying to stuff them to death?
But then their mother suddenly spoke, “Alright, eating too much isn’t good for your health. You still have to ride your bike to school later, just eat this much.”
The group felt as if they had received a reprieve and hurriedly put down their chopsticks.
Their mother stood up to clean the table, and the six of them stood by, unsure whether to help.
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Zhan still didn’t move; he just stood aside and said, “Mom, you’ve worked hard. Thank you, Mom.”
“As long as you know that your mom has worked hard,” their mother said while clearing the dishes. She earnestly told them, “But that’s how family is; family members must love each other for a home to be healthy. Don’t think that I’m controlling you all the time; that’s not bad for you. It’s all a manifestation of my love for you. You should also be obedient; you should know in your heart that I’m your mother. No matter what, I won’t harm you.”
“…” The group fell silent.
Caring for family members may be love, but if family members don’t listen and one tears the other apart, that shouldn’t be called love.
At this moment, Gu Zhan asked, "So shouldn’t Mom also listen to me? Isn’t love supposed to be mutual?"
With his mother’s personality, asking such a question was like dancing on a minefield.
Everyone feared she would explode on the spot and hurriedly reached out to grab Gu Zhan.
However, their mother did not get angry. She merely looked up at Gu Zhan, her emotions shifting unpredictably in her eyes.
After a while, she smiled and said, "But a mother's love for her daughter is something a daughter cannot compare to. I have to take care of and protect you, which is why I give you orders. Can you take care of and protect me?"
Gu Zhan replied, "When I can take care of and protect you, will you then listen to me?"
"Well." The mother did not answer this question directly but said, "You can’t do that now. You’re still too young. When you have your own family in the future, you must love your husband and cherish your children..."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and murmured as she walked into the kitchen.
Seeing her leave, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sang Yue whispered, "How dare you ask her those questions?"
Gu Zhan replied, "We have to find a solution; we can’t let her lead us around by the nose all the time."
Yu Yezhou said, "He’s right. Even if we make no mistakes, our sanity level keeps dropping. If we don’t clear this soon, we’re doomed."
Gu Zhan added, "I’ve already noticed some clues. As long as we have a certain opportunity, we can turn the tables and make our mother listen to us."
Sang Yue said, "But she mentioned us starting a family... Hmm, does this loop relate to the previous one? Could this daughter actually be the mother from the last loop?"
She thought of something: "In the last loop, the mother had a resurrection array for the father, but it doesn’t seem like this world has any supernatural elements. The origins of this resurrection array are worth investigating."
"Yes, the answers should all be in this loop," Gu Zhan nodded.
Their conversation was brief, as the mother soon returned from the kitchen.
She looked at everyone in confusion and said, "Why aren’t you off to school yet?"
Everyone hurried back to their rooms to tidy up and headed out to "go to school."
In reality, this scenario didn’t have a school module; once they left the house, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already dusk.
It was time to go home from school.
Gu Zhan said, "Let’s hurry back; she must be waiting for us."
Just as they stepped out of the house, they pushed the door open again and went back inside.
As expected, the mother in the room had already changed into a different outfit.
She was still wearing an apron and had just come out of the kitchen, with the delicious smell of food wafting through the air.
Strangely enough, even though they had just eaten, the moment they caught a whiff of that aroma, they felt hungry again.
The mother warmly invited them to the dining table.
Through their interactions, they had gradually understood the mother’s temperament: as long as they obeyed, there was a high chance nothing would go wrong.
Everyone obediently entered the house, washed their hands, and sat down at the table.
The mother sat at the northern position and said to them, "Everything I do is for you. You must understand my hard work and be more obedient and sensible."
Gu Zhan said, "I understand, Mom. When I grow up, I’ll be able to share your burdens, right?"
The mother’s expression changed, but she did not get angry over this; instead, she replied in a strange tone, "No need for that. You’re still young. Just enjoy your mother’s love."
Tonight’s routine was similar to the previous night.
After dinner, everyone went to wash up and soon returned to their rooms.
As soon as they lay on the bed, drowsiness washed over them. But tonight, they couldn’t afford to sleep.
"We need to see what she’s doing in the living room at midnight. This is an important event for gathering information; we can’t sleep through it again."
They returned to their room earlier today, so they had more time to talk.
Yu Yezhou proposed this idea, and everyone agreed.
But how could they resist the game’s setup and avoid falling asleep once they lay down?
An Heyan suddenly said, "I have a little gadget here, not for the BOSS, but for players. It might come in handy."
He took out a milk tea cup filled with a brownish liquid, with some small round beads resembling tapioca pearls at the bottom.
"This thing is called ‘Staying Up Late Strong Brew Milk Tea.’" An Heyan shook it, then added, "But there’s only enough for one person. Who gets it?"
Gu Zhan reached out, saying, "Give it to me."
Yu Yezhou stepped forward as if to speak, but Gu Zhan pressed him down.
He said, "You all sleep. The fewer people there are at night, the better. If there are too many, we’ll be discovered."
"...Okay," Yu Yezhou nodded in agreement.
If they had to choose the most reliable person among them, who else could it be but Gu Zhan?
Gu Zhan took the milk tea, twisted off the cap, and drank it all in one go.
After drinking, he noticed that everyone was staring at him.
Gu Zhan pursed his lips and said, "It’s a bit sweet?"
Everyone: "..."
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