Jing Minghe could faintly hear the voices of the children outside.
"How long do you guess she'll last?"
That voice belonged to the girl with the ponytail.
"Half a day," the boy who snatched the picture book said. "If she cries, you win, and I'll give you all my Legos. If she doesn't cry, we'll do something even more intense."
"Yes, yes," the other children chimed in. "Let's quickly think about where to stuff her next time!"
The girl with the ponytail said haughtily, "What's there to think about? She'll definitely be scared to tears. Let's go play somewhere else first."
The voices gradually faded away. Without the distractions, Jing Minghe almost felt the little girl's fear as if it were his own.
The dark environment, the confined space, the damp and cold air, all senses were amplified infinitely, piercing every cell of his body with abnormal clarity.
The little girl, naturally, wouldn't foolishly hide and do nothing.
After waiting for a while, she tried to push the panel open and run out, but the panel was stuck by something and wouldn't budge.
The little girl pounded on the panel and shouted loudly, hoping someone passing by would hear her cries for help.
No matter how much time passed, the little girl grew tired of shouting and crying, but still, no one came to help her open the panel.
"Hurry, let's go see."
Finally, the little girl heard the voices of the girl with the ponytail and the others. A surge of joy welled up in her heart. She didn't like playing with these rich young masters and ladies at all, and her father had told her to stay away from them. But now, she wished she could see them quickly so she could get out of here.
Hearing the approaching voices and footsteps, the little girl began to bang on the panel again, trying to signal them to let her out quickly. However, she was too tired and too hungry, lacking any strength.
She beat against it desperately, begging them to hurry, to hurry faster.
"What are you all doing here?" a grown-up's voice boomed. "The banquet is about to begin. Go back to your parents."
"Okay, we'll go back right away."
"Go back now. Someone was already looking for you."
No, don't go.
With all her might, the little girl pounded on the panel.
Don't go, let me out.
No one heard her plea. The children left to find their parents. The adult also left, never suspecting that a poor child was sealed beneath the main stage.
The grand theater fell completely silent.
In the little girl's heart, only fear and despair remained. This was the only emotion Jing Minghe could feel at the moment, but he was merely an observer, utterly powerless to do anything about the little girl's plight.
Time trickled by, and hunger and cold gradually drained the little girl's vitality.
Jing Minghe's heart was filled with anxiety, yet he could do nothing. Influenced by the little girl's inner turmoil, Jing Minghe also felt a sense of suffocation.
Suddenly, arguing voices erupted from outside.
"Please, let me in! I'm looking for my daughter."
"You can't just enter here. Don't you know that?"
"My daughter is missing! Please, let me in to look. Please."
"This is the grand theater. You think you can just walk in? Go look elsewhere. Don't cause trouble here. Guests will be arriving soon."
"But..."
"Go, go, go! Hurry up and leave! You're just a kitchen helper. The captain already did you a great favor by allowing you to bring your daughter aboard. I told you long ago to keep an eye on your daughter and not let her wander off. If she's lost, go look elsewhere. This is where the guests will be."
...
The man searching for his daughter was driven away. Jing Minghe knew that the little girl had once again lost all hope of survival.
Those noble children had completely forgotten the little girl trapped beneath the main stage.
Jing Minghe didn't know how much time had passed. His senses, too, began to fade along with the little girl's dwindling life force.
Finally, before his senses completely disappeared, Jing Minghe thought he heard a heart-wrenching howl.
"They all deserve to die!"
·
Chi Hao held Jing Minghe, who had inexplicably lost consciousness, tightly in his arms, calling out his name anxiously.
"Minghe? Jing Minghe, wake up!"
He tried to pry open the red dress that Jing Minghe clutched so tightly, but he couldn't. He was also worried that forcibly removing it might cause Jing Minghe further harm.
Chi Hao's brow furrowed. He shouldn't have let Jing Minghe crawl under the main stage alone, or even allowed him to enter in the first place. He could have gone in Jing Minghe's stead.
Chi Hao's arms tightened, as if trying to meld Jing Minghe into his own body.
"Chi Hao? What happened to Minghe?" Youmi's voice came from not far away.
The hide-and-seek game had long since ended. Youmi and Wan Zuo and Shen Rong returned to the second-floor banquet hall only to find Jia Dong slumped on the floor. After waiting for a while and seeing no one else, they had no choice but to come out to search.
The first place they thought of was, naturally, the most dangerous fifth floor.
As the three entered the grand theater, they saw Chi Hao sitting on the floor, holding Jing Minghe.
Youmi hurried over to ask, crouching down and reaching out to check on Jing Minghe's condition, when she heard Chi Hao's icy voice.
"Don't touch him."
"No," Youmi said, concerned. "Let me check Minghe's condition."
Chi Hao glanced indifferently at Youmi. "Minghe is not injured, nor is he sick. You can't help him."
Wan Zuo and Shen Rong also walked over.
Shen Rong's lips curved slightly. She naturally hoped that Jing Minghe, this troublesome guy, would die quickly, but she couldn't show it in front of Chi Hao.
Wan Zuo looked at Jing Minghe with concern, but he hadn't figured out the situation yet and didn't know how he could help Jing Minghe.
Chi Hao held Jing Minghe tightly, forbidding anyone to touch him, and whispered continuously into Jing Minghe's ear.
Youmi watched them with a tense expression, unsure of what to do.
Youmi considered whether to ask Wan Zuo for help to forcibly hold down Chi Hao so she could examine Jing Minghe. This thought was immediately dismissed. While Wan Zuo seemed strong, against Chi Hao, he would be like a tiny shrimp facing a giant lobster, not on the same level at all.
But Jing Minghe remained unconscious, his body trembling slightly. It was unclear what was happening.
And what about Tong Zheng and Ke Wuwen? What had happened to them? Were they also in danger?
Youmi counted in her mind. Besides them, one person was still missing: the one named Qiu Zhian.
Youmi felt like crying without tears. Why were so many people missing this time? The others were one thing, but even Jing Minghe was on the verge of death.
Just as Youmi's despair was rising, she saw Jing Minghe suddenly sit up from Chi Hao's embrace, then gasp for air.