Chapter 17: Frog at the Bottom of the Well

The deathly silence was shattered by the children's even more fanatical shouting; this cheer was louder and more genuine than any before, carrying a bloodthirsty excitement.

The wave of sound slammed against her eardrums, and everything before her eyes began to spin and distort.

Fake, it's all fake...

But the warm blood beneath her palm, the heavy metallic scent of rust in the air... how could all of this be so real?

"The princess successfully assassinated the prince; she fled the castle without a shred of attachment and returned to the king's embrace."

"From then on, the princess learned to protect herself. She could kill fierce wolf packs and guard against sudden assassins. People said she was the bravest princess in the world."

The stage curtain slowly fell amidst the deafening cheers of the children.

Su Mian exhaled sharply, her legs turning to jelly. She saw the DM calmly pull out the dagger and toss it to the ground.

Recalling the scene just now, Su Mian trembled uncontrollably, her blood running cold; she didn't even dare to look directly at her own palm.

"Why?"

Su Mian heard herself ask, her voice trembling. She knew very well that the invisible force was most likely the DM before her.

If the knife she had plunged in hadn't been him, but any ordinary person with a life, Su Mian might never have been able to forget this scene for the rest of her life.

"Scared?"

The DM stepped forward, wanting to wipe the blood from the girl's palm, but saw the person before him take a step back, her eyes filled with vigilance and caution.

"Tell me the reason you did this."

"To make the stage play look more realistic, isn't that good?"

The DM tilted his head, placed a handkerchief in Su Mian's palm, his tone somewhat helpless.

"I don't really use it much myself anyway. Every time it's to wipe blood off you, so I might as well give it to you."

Saying this, he faded back into the darkness and disappeared.

Leaving Su Mian standing there alone, stunned.

––

The party continued as usual, showing no signs of abnormality. Su Mian had changed into a pleated skirt, and Liu Liu was waiting for her by the corridor.

Seeing Su Mian come out of the restroom, Liu Liu went up to meet her.

"What did Mi Guo want me to help you do?"

Su Mian wiped her hands with the handkerchief, confirming there was no scent left, before looking toward the place where the party had just been held.

Candy wrappers and ribbons were scattered throughout the hall; the party was nearing its end.

The children, who had been full of life just moments ago, now looked slightly exhausted, slumped listlessly on the stools, while the logistics imps began cleaning the scene with brooms.

Wang Zhe stretched, his peripheral vision catching Zhou Yichen getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"Restroom."

The words were dropped nonchalantly, yet carried a hint of deliberate, evasive pretense.

Yu Maomao's heart sank; she guessed his purpose almost immediately, her face filled with unwillingness and resentment.

Meanwhile, Wen Zirui kept his head down, his eyelids drooping as if he were asleep.

The four of them were each harboring their own ulterior motives; the air was filled with an indescribable oppression.

Zhou Yichen hummed a light tune as he stepped out of the hall, his voice sounding particularly jarring in the empty corridor.

He was indeed going to find Su Mian, and this time, he intended to stop hiding.

After Su Mian left during the day, he had already persuaded several people based on that photo. Except for Wang Zhe, who remained vigilant, the other two were being led by the nose.

As long as they cast their votes for Su Mian in the end, she would die.

A smile of certainty curled the corners of Zhou Yichen's mouth.

If Su Mian whispered a plea to him in her desperation, he would waver, and he would have Yu Maomao follow his lead to change her vote, pushing the target onto Wen Zirui.

Anyway, that guy didn't like to talk; if he died, he died.

But the price he wanted was never just a verbal "please" from her.

He traced the scene from just now in his mind.

She stood in the center of the stage, the light making her look so radiant it was almost unreal.

Her skirt swayed gently, her waist was visible, and her collarbone was like a trap inviting someone to touch it.

His heart burned as he watched, even fantasizing that the radiance belonged to him alone.

Zhou Yichen licked his lips, the thoughts in his heart dark and direct:

As long as she was willing to lie beneath him, he could save her life.

He wanted Su Mian to understand that the only hand she could grasp was the one he extended.

Even if that hand was filled with desire and malice.

He thought excitedly, then suddenly everything went black before his eyes, and he fainted. At the last moment before closing his eyes, he saw a pair of children's hands reaching toward him.

––

When he regained consciousness, a foul, fishy stench and the smell of burning entered his nose.

Zhou Yichen struggled to open his eyes, finding himself in pitch darkness. He moved his body, only to discover the space was incredibly cramped.

His heartbeat spiked instantly. He looked up, his pupils shrinking.

At the mouth of the well, Liu Liu and Su Mian were looking down at him.

"Why am I here? Pull me up, quickly!"

Zhou Yichen shouted in panic. He stood up, wanting to touch the mouth of the well, but found it as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The withered branches and rotten leaves beneath his feet crunched as he stepped on them, but he saw that the two had no desire to reach out a hand.

Only then did he understand something. Zhou Yichen immediately glared, shouting up at the well mouth.

"Mi Guo! Do you want to die, damn it! You..."

"Shh..."

Su Mian made a silencing gesture, pointing to the bottom of the well.

"Help me see if there's anything down there."

"Why the hell should I—"

"If you don't want to come up, just pretend I didn't ask."

Su Mian interrupted him. The evening breeze blew the girl's skirt, her voice crisp and cold, a faint, elusive smile playing on her lips that made Zhou Yichen's heart tremble.

As if bewitched, he actually turned and began to rummage around. The bottom of the well was full of sand, fallen leaves, and withered grass.

The pungent odor grew stronger, and Zhou Yichen actually began to retch.

"This... what is this deathly smell."

"Of course there's a smell, Lin Xiaofan. Your hands are covered in Yu Tong's ashes right now~"

As Liu Liu finished speaking, she nodded with satisfaction at Zhou Yichen's terrified expression.

Hmph, making her take her blood, villain!

Zhou Yichen shook his hands in a breakdown, his center of gravity unstable, and he fell down wretchedly, his fingers clenching tightly. Once he got up, he would definitely make Su Mian wish she were dead!

"What exactly do you want me to find?"

"You haven't even dug, how would I know if there's anything."

Su Mian crossed her arms over her chest, urging him.

Zhou Yichen cursed under his breath and continued to rummage in the "sand." Suddenly, he found a blueprint and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can you let me up now?"

Seeing Su Mian nod, Liu Liu flew down and pulled him up. As soon as Zhou Yichen was up, he rushed to a patch of grass and began to vomit.

Su Mian took two steps back and opened the blueprint.

It was a child's sketch of the orphanage's interior. Although drawn crudely, the different areas could be roughly distinguished.

For example, the dormitory was drawn with many rectangles of the same size; the cafeteria was drawn with milk and bread, and a stick figure wearing an apron, likely the old woman.

However, what Su Mian found strange was that different colors were used for different locations: green, black, gray, pink, and blue.

What did these colors represent... ===== CHAPTER 18 =====