Chapter 16: Like a Kitten

Yu Maomao gasped, and when she turned her head, she found Zhou Yichen's gaze was obscure and unfathomable. His pupils reflected the girl's figure. Did he want to get back together with her?

Yu Maomao swallowed, suppressing a trace of resentment.

Why? Why was he looking at someone he considered a "murderer" like that?

Had he forgotten how he lost his finger?

Clearly, she had been very obedient, caring for him, trusting him, and helping him vote against Su Mian from the very beginning, yet his gaze always fell on Su Mian.

He had even held her waist and told her that Su Mian would definitely beg him not to vote for her.

Yu Maomao wiped away her tears and gave a light laugh.

She finally understood. All the antagonism, all the trouble—it was just a hope that Su Mian would pay more attention to him.

Perhaps at any moment, if she regretted it and turned back to him, he would immediately cast her aside and take Su Mian into his arms.

The sudden sound of music interrupted Yu Maomao's thoughts, and the stage play officially began.

The "Evil Wolf" pounced onto the stage—it was just a few ghost children with crooked heads making ridiculous movements. The background was painted in a childish and bizarre way, with tree branches sharp like claws.

A few little ghosts wearing rough wolf masks pounced on Su Mian on all fours. Su Mian took a step back, covered her mouth, and spoke.

"Heavens, could it be that today, I am going to die here?"

The princess lowered her eyes and sniffled lightly.

Su Mian's acting was so clumsy that some children actually got drawn in; they stopped eating their snacks and jumped up in their seats to curse.

"Stinky wolf! Stinky wolf!"

"Is there anyone, is there anyone who can save me?"

The music suddenly changed from tense piano notes to impassioned percussion. The "Prince" suddenly appeared.

He was dressed in a black formal suit. The hem of his long coat lifted slightly with his steps, and the dark patterns on the lining were faintly visible, as if scales of a snake lurking in the night.

His collar was slightly open, revealing the arc of his cold, pale collarbones—neither lacking in propriety nor missing a touch of casual, flamboyant flair.

The DM put his arm around the princess's waist and waved the dagger a few times, and those little ghosts went off-stage, squealing and yelling.

Su Mian's eyelid twitched. Even the zombies from *Plants vs. Zombies* would have acted better than this.

She silently complained, turned around in the DM's arms, and tried her best to squeeze out two tears.

"Thank you for saving me, handsome Prince."

"But unfortunately, I am lost. Can you take me back to my home?"

The two were extremely close at this moment. The DM lowered his head to gaze at the girl's crown. The girl was currently tilting her head up, revealing the delicate arc of her neck, her eye sockets moist.

The heat of her skin transferred through the fabric, along with that faint scent of green apple.

Fragile, innocent, like a kitten...

Truly beautiful.

Su Mian didn't know why the person in front of her hadn't reacted yet. It was only after several seconds that she saw him nod and pull Su Mian behind the curtain.

Next was the solo performance of the wolf pack and the poor King waiting for his daughter to return home; the two of them only needed to wait in the wings.

Su Mian let go of their joined hands. Sensing the movement, the DM lowered his head slightly to look at her.

"You don't seem to be afraid of me anymore."

"Do I?"

Su Mian blinked and gazed up at him.

The DM nodded, leaning down, speaking half-jokingly and half-assertively, his tone carrying a hint of a smile.

"Yes. Before, when you saw me, you would tremble, frown, and unconsciously show a pitiful expression..."

That slender, pale face froze for a moment before she glared at the man in a fit of shame and anger. "I do not show a pitiful expression. Stop guessing my thoughts."

"Look."

The man leaned down, speaking with a half-joking, half-certain tone, his voice carrying a hint of laughter. "You even dare to be disrespectful to the Dean now. There aren't many people here who dare to speak to me like that."

Su Mian opened her mouth, but the children wearing wolf masks scurried back from the stage.

"Mi Guo, Dean, it's your turn!"

That large hand reached out toward Su Mian. Su Mian's fingertips moved slightly, and she placed her hand into his. A low, hoarse whisper reached her ears.

"That's right..."

"How could a princess be afraid of her prince?"

It was a pity he wasn't a prince.

As soon as the two stepped onto the stage, the children in the audience began to cheer.

"So beautiful! Mi Guo is so beautiful!"

Su Mian sat down in front of a bed. The stage lighting mimicked sunlight, gathering into a beam through the cardboard window, creating a lonely and cold atmosphere.

"I thought I was saved. I was so foolish, truly."

"Little did I know that the prince of the neighboring country was black-hearted, actually imprisoning me in this small plot of land."

"Oh, beautiful princess, look at your beautiful face, how haggard it has become."

The child wore a pair of white wings and leaned against the window.

"Do you want to escape?"

Su Mian nodded, and the child handed her a dagger.

"Use this to kill the prince, and you can leave."

She took the dagger, but suddenly froze.

It was a real knife.

The blade flashed with a blinding reflection under the stage "sunlight"; it definitely didn't have the dullness of a prop.

But she had picked up a retractable knife before going on stage.

"Mi Guo, your lines!"

The angel child reminded her in a low voice. Su Mian snapped back to reality.

"But, wouldn't that be too cruel?"

"This is your only chance, Princess."

"The angel" slowly faded away, and the spotlight hit the "Prince" standing to the side.

He walked over slowly, his posture elegant yet casual, playing the prince with a relaxed yet masterful air.

"My Princess, how was your day?"

Su Mian forced herself to steady her voice.

It didn't matter; she would just use the knife with a sleight of hand. Perhaps she had picked up the wrong one by mistake.

"Are you still refusing to let me leave?"

The "Prince" leaned down and stroked Su Mian's head. A dangerous, low, and hoarse voice reached her ears.

"I will not let you leave, my dear Princess. You are mine forever."

His palm brought a tingling sensation—cold yet intense. That "inhuman" feeling she had felt on the first day surged violently. The eyes behind the mask were observing her every move with some imperceptible posture.

"I thought you were unable to leave me. So... it was all an act?"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

The children below shouted excitedly. Even though everything was fake, this scene was bizarrely like something truly happening.

Su Mian felt a moment of dizziness from the shouting. The "Prince" waved his hand, and the children fell silent.

"Do it, my child."

He whispered in her ear. Su Mian took a deep breath and stabbed toward the DM's side.

But the moment the blade fell, an invisible force gripped her wrist, driving it straight into the Prince's chest.

Su Mian watched as her own hand, beyond her control, twisted inward.

In an instant, blood sprayed out, staining his uniform red and splashing onto the girl's white dress.

The crimson color spread rapidly, like blooming crabapple flowers.

Wang Zhe shuddered, leaning forward, unable to tell for a moment if it was a prop or something else.

The children below shouted in unison, their faces flushed with excitement, as if watching a real execution.

Su Mian's mind went blank. She suddenly let go of the dagger, her body pinned in place by that invisible force, unable to move.