Chapter 18: Pink Cake Skirt

Su Mian was deep in thought when Zhou Yichen suddenly grabbed her hand from behind. She shook him off violently, only to see Zhou Yichen's face dark, a smile hanging on his lips.

"I really didn't expect you to be so vicious, Mi Guo. I really misjudged you."

Su Mian frowned and didn't respond. Zhou Yichen didn't care; he spoke to himself, "But what a pity, you're going to die soon, do you know that?"

"Do you know how many votes you have now? Three votes, hahahahaha."

He laughed almost maniacally, "Just three more votes, and you'll be in hell... how pitiful."

His fingers tried to touch the girl's earlobe but were dodged. Zhou Yichen didn't care at all, his eyes filled with undisguised malice and desire.

"Why don't you beg me? Maybe if you please me enough, I'll change my vote and help you find a scapegoat..."

Before he could finish, he felt something pierce his chest.

Zhou Yichen opened his eyes in disbelief, slowly looking down.

A dagger was plunged into him, blood gushing out.

"You..."

Su Mian lowered her eyelids, her lips pale, but her delicate face showed undisguised disgust.

Just as Zhou Yichen was about to stop breathing, she pulled the dagger out violently.

The man knelt on the ground wretchedly, blood dripping onto the grass, his eyes still filled with incredulity.

"How could you..."

"I thought we were even after that slap, but you still had to come and provoke me."

Zhou Yichen's voice was already broken, a hoarse, airy sound coming from his chest. He wanted to reach out and grab the hem of Su Mian's skirt, but only grasped at air.

Su Mian slowly squatted down and wiped the blood from the dagger onto the man's face.

Her gaze was gentle, yet hidden with endless coldness.

"A scapegoat?" She smiled faintly, her voice devoid of any pity, "Don't worry, you're enough on your own."

Zhou Yichen collapsed onto the ground, his fingers twitching a few times before he quickly stopped breathing.

Su Mian let go of the dagger with weak hands and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

From the moment Zhou Yichen spoke, she suddenly realized.

Yes, if Yu Maomao and Wen Zirui didn't change their votes, she would die.

She had miscalculated, thinking that as long as she tried her best to pursue the truth, they could quickly return to reality.

Zhou Yichen, Yu Maomao—none of it had anything to do with her anymore. But she had underestimated Zhou Yichen, underestimated the viciousness of the human heart.

Only when Liu Liu's dagger was delivered to her did Su Mian understand what that DM was doing.

He knew she would kill Zhou Yichen, but he was afraid she wouldn't dare, afraid she would hesitate, so he used this almost horrifying method to rehearse it for her in advance, so that when she truly faced the choice, she could strike decisively.

She didn't know how much time had passed before Su Mian slowly opened her eyes.

The last remnants of fear and pity had completely dissipated; her gaze was cold and clear.

Something was quietly changing, but Su Mian liked this feeling.

This feeling of... having her fate in her own hands.

She lifted her head slightly, watching the figure in the distant window.

At this moment, he had taken off his mask, but his true appearance was still unclear in the dark night.

The man swirled his wine glass, raised it to her, and drank it in one gulp.

Su Mian lowered her head, stroking the handkerchief, her thoughts in turmoil.

As for you, why did you do all this?

––

"Why hasn't he come back all night?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since the party ended last night."

When Su Mian passed by the adjacent dormitory, Yu Maomao was standing by Zhou Yichen's bed, her face full of anxiety.

Wang Zhe looked like he hadn't woken up, scratching his head as he stepped out. Seeing Su Mian at the door, he immediately sobered up.

"Mi Guo... are you going to look for clues?"

Su Mian nodded, "To be precise, I've already found them."

She had never figured out what that drawing meant, until she finished collecting the last emotion this morning.

Anger.

The "anger" mist was blue, and it corresponded perfectly with the colors on the drawing.

The five colors represented five emotions. The front yard and activity room were both pink; she had played there, proving Yu Tong liked these places.

But the well mouth was painted with several thick layers of gray and blue, representing disgust and anger.

The orphanage windows were black; perhaps Yu Tong, after her death, often saw children being taken away from the window and felt very sad.

But there were two places Su Mian didn't quite understand.

Why were green crayons used for the cafeteria's back kitchen and the laundry room?

Green represented regret.

What was she regretting?

Su Mian couldn't figure it out, so she planned to go to these two places to see. Wang Zhe's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to follow, a scream came from behind.

"What are you doing?! You scared me!"

Wang Zhe turned around speechlessly, finding Yu Maomao pointing at Zhou Yichen's bed with trembling fingertips.

A script had appeared on the bed at some point.

The three large characters "Lin Xiaofan" were written on the script.

Realizing something, Wang Zhe took two steps back in disbelief, muttering to himself.

"He... he's dead?"

Players in the process of the game cannot see other people's scripts unless that person has already died.

Su Mian watched the script quietly for a while, then turned and left after a few minutes, leaving the two in shock.

The back kitchen in the morning was already preparing lunch, and steam was "poofing" out through the window.

The old woman was sitting on a small stool, pumpkin peels scattered all over the floor. She noticed some movement and lifted her head slightly.

"Mi Guo? Good girl... you'll trip if you step here, go out quickly."

The old woman put down the peeler and shooed Su Mian out.

"Why are you the only one here?"

"It's only been me for so many years."

The old woman's tone was somewhat proud. Su Mian still wanted to go in and take a look, but was pushed out by her, saying she was afraid the oil would splash on her or the smoke would choke her. Su Mian had no choice but to give up.

She took the map and planned to go to the laundry room. Passing the front yard water pool, a group of imps were lying dead inside. Su Mian felt this scene was truly eerie, so she couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you lying in the water pool?"

Liu Liu kicked her feet and swam in front of her, "Some friends were burned to death the last two days, staying in the water prevents us from being burned."

Su Mian's eyelid twitched.

Whose terrible idea was that?

She wanted to say something but stopped, remembering that these children were ghosts, so why would they be afraid of the cold? So she shook her head and continued on her way.

There was no one in the laundry room, only a few washing machines thumping away. In the distance, several dirty laundry baskets were placed, and a scent of soap and foam rushed toward her.

Su Mian opened each washing machine to look inside; they were almost all children's clothes, and she deliberately looked for bloodstains, but everything was normal.

Where exactly was the problem? Why the regret? And why in these two places?

Su Mian pondered, pacing in the laundry room. Her peripheral vision caught a dirty laundry basket to the side, and in a daze, her eyes widened slightly.

In a pile of inconspicuous dirty laundry baskets in the distance, the corner of a pink cake tulle skirt was exposed in the innermost basket.

A very familiar piece of clothing, familiar to the point of being impossible to be more familiar. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====