“She wanted to eat. She’d been picking up rotten vegetable leaves and fruit from the floor. We were just feeding her,” another little girl responded to the man’s question.
It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. As soon as she did, goosebumps broke out all over the man's body, and countless terrifying conjectures flashed through his mind.
He looked down and saw a cake in a cardboard box on the ceramic-tiled floor. The dense cream, sprinkled with frosting, had a bite taken out of it.
“It’s not a good habit for children to lie,” the man said with a forced smile.
The two little girls tilted their heads together, their bright, sparkling eyes wide. Their tiny, delicate lips and pure black hair fell to their ears, cut in a straight line across the top, looking like watermelon rinds. They were very cute, making it seem impossible for them to lie.
“We’re not lying, uncle, there really is someone inside.”
“Uh-huh, it’s an older sister. Momo and I both saw her. She’s about... about as tall as me and half of Momo put together!”
The little girl said, spreading her arms exaggeratedly.
“And her hair is white, as white as snow!”
That’s not very tall, only about 1.7 meters, the man internally grumbled. Then he reconsidered, Wait, why am I letting these two kids get to me?
“Uncle, can you go check on that older sister? She’s so dirty, and she’s gobbling down food. She must have been hungry for a long time,” one little girl said, swaying her body with her hands behind her back.
“Uh-huh, go check on the older sister. She looks so pitiful.”
Faced with the two little girls’ innocent gazes and their sparkling eyes, the man couldn't bring himself to refuse. Just as he hesitated, a bang suddenly echoed from the kitchen, like something had hit a cabinet.
The man, alert, quickly entered the kitchen and immediately shone his flashlight into every corner, making a full sweep. But even after searching the entire kitchen, he found no trace of the so-called ‘older sister’.
The earlier noise was a cabinet door being blown open by the wind, the stainless steel door striking the floor, and the faint sound was from a loosely turned faucet. Other than that, there was nothing unusual.
Even to be safe, he opened and searched every cabinet. Forget people; he didn’t even see a shadow of a mouse or a cockroach.
The man finally let out a sigh of relief, clapped his hands, and walked out.
Why am I being so serious with two children? Who knows if they’ve watched too much animation and imagined something from a rustle?
“Alright, as you can see, I’ve searched every corner and there’s no one here. The children’s games end now.
Go home quickly. This isn’t a place for you,” the man said sternly, clearing his throat.
“We really weren’t lying!” the older girl insisted, staring intently at the ceiling and stomping her foot.
“Whether you’re lying or not, what you need to do now is go straight back to your adults.”
Without giving the two little girls a chance to argue, the man unceremoniously pushed them outside.
“Mean old uncle!”
Of course, the two little girls couldn't resist the man. They ultimately turned back, made a face, and pattered away, leaving the man standing there with a helpless expression.
Kids these days, really.
After a few complaints, the man, his face weary, continued walking forward with his flashlight.
Unbeknownst to him, from a place he hadn't noticed, a blood-red, sharp-toothed tentacle slowly extended, suddenly snatched the cake from the floor into the darkness, followed by chilling sounds of chewing and swallowing.
Eight PM, in a certain cabin.
Xu Xiaoyou lay supine on the plush bed, a brightly lit ceiling above her, dark red rose petals beside her face. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window stretched the endless sea; the Heart's Desire cruise ship was currently sailing in the deep sea, forty nautical miles from the Star of Art. A pale moon hung in the sky, the waves rose and fell steadily, and amidst the faint sound of the tide, the girl's thoughts seemed to immerse themselves in the deep, dark surface of the ocean.
Some things had been bothering her.
Anya’s character card had been flashing since morning. What exactly did this mean?
What exactly was the miracle that the Withered-Flower family guarded on the island?
What connection did Lin Xing’s words before parting, the company, the puppeteer, the Hundred-Bone Whip, this series of events, Diamond 9, and she herself have?
Numerous thoughts were like invisible threads interwoven and tangled, impossible to cut or untangle.
Finally, Xu Xiaoyou shook her head and stood up, draping the suit jacket from the chair back over her shoulders.
The gala was about to begin, and a prominent figure was waiting for her. Before that, she needed to make some preparations.
Under the banquet lights, the protagonists of the gala, dressed in elegant evening gowns, gradually made their appearance.
On the surface, the family galas appeared peaceful, with people mingling, laughing, and conversing politely and humbly.
In reality, undercurrents surged, like a large hunting ground.
Seizing the initiative in social interactions was something every family scion needed to learn. They would first raise a glass of absinthe, observing every potential prey from the corners of the banquet hall, searching their minds for any past honors the person might have had.
Or glorious deeds.
When you're relegated to a corner at a gala, and someone suddenly smiles and raises a glass to greet you, have no doubt: they've taken you as a stepping stone in their social climb, as capital to show off to others, or perhaps....:....a trophy.
Of course, there was another scenario.
“Miss Xu, would you be interested in a drink with me?” said a calm, composed young man, raising his glass.
“Miss Xu, the ball begins in ten minutes. Have you found a dance partner?” a confident young man with smiling eyes said with a smile.
“Miss Xu, I hear Dream-Chaser Media has trained a few new artists. When do you plan to have them debut?” a free-spirited young master, whose attire was less than immaculate, said with a flushed face.
When a rising star is prominent enough to be noticed and welcomed by everyone, these family scions, at an age where hormones surge, naturally gravitate towards her, just as bees are inherently drawn to nectar.
Xu Xiaoyou’s ears ached from the buzzing chatter. After reluctantly dealing with a few people, she found an excuse to extricate herself from the crowd, her gaze searching among the luxurious tables and chairs. Finally, she spotted her target on the second-floor skywalk of the gala.
The third possibility: when a person’s status at a gala is enough to create an unbridgeable chasm between them and everyone else, then socializing with them becomes a meaningless act. The family scions who attend these galas are shrewd, and no one would be so presumptuous.
On the second-floor skywalk, a girl in a backless red dress rested her cheek on her hand, leaning against a slender mahogany railing. Earrings sparkled amidst her short, choppy hair, her gaze calmly fixed downwards. From a distance, her long, straight legs, pale back, slender waist, and nearly perfect figure made her seem like a flamboyant dark red rose blooming at the gala.
Ordinarily, such a vibrant rose would surely attract countless family scions, but strangely, the girl was completely alone, and hardly anyone even glanced in her direction.
“Miss Chihong, may I have a word?”
Suddenly, a gentle voice beside her caught the girl’s attention. The short-haired girl turned, and when she saw that the person addressing her was a young woman, a flicker of interest appeared in her eyes.
The young woman’s golden hair was dazzling, instantly recognizable in the crowd; it was Xu Xiaoyou.
“Of course. In fact, I welcome the interruption; I’m bored to death,” Chihong smiled.
Rate on N.U.
