The woman on stage suddenly directed her gaze at them. Before Su Ziyi could snap back to reality, a spotlight shone directly upon them, and the intense white light made it nearly impossible to open his eyes.
“Run!” Su Ziyi blurted out without a second thought, hurriedly heading towards a corner that was etched in his memory. All he needed to do was shake them off and endure until this game of pursuit ended or the ball itself concluded.
Wu Yun also dashed off blindly in a random direction.
Lei Guang felt a bit flustered, but upon touching the identification tag representing NPCs in his pocket, he gained a flicker of courage and moved to the edge where the light couldn’t reach, staying close to Lin Ya.
As expected, the NPCs ignored the two of them.
Lin Ya watched the woman hidden in the shadows move swiftly. Lei Guang gasped in surprise, but he didn’t dare follow. He could only watch as Lin Ya’s figure vanished behind her.
“Phew…” Su Ziyi scrambled within the banquet hall, catching a glimpse of Lei Guang sitting on the sofa, unfazed. He was taken aback and shouted, “Lei Guang! I can trade items with you! Just tell me why they’re not chasing you!”
The NPCs on stage numbered in the dozens. Although the banquet hall was large, they couldn’t keep this up for long while being chased; their items would eventually run out.
At that moment, Wu Yun was also fleeing throughout the hall, too caught up to hear Su Ziyi’s shouts. If she hesitated for just a moment, the NPCs behind would close in and catch her.
When Lei Guang heard Su Ziyi’s words, he readily agreed. He wasn’t greedy for the items; he just thought it would be fitting to use them to curry favor with Lin Ya.
So he shouted, “Grab the NPC’s identification tags!”
Both Wu Yun and Su Ziyi heard him. But in the current situation, their only option was to grit their teeth and waste an item just to obtain the tag from an NPC’s pocket.
Breathless and covered in sweat, the two collapsed onto the sofa. Lei Guang extended his hand, and neither of them moved.
“Where are the items? Hurry and hand them over.”
Both were silent.
Seeing this, Lei Guang scoffed, “We had a prior agreement. What? Are you planning to back out?”
“That’s a crucial detail Lin Da said. The items naturally have to go to him. Since you two don’t intend to give them, just deal with it yourself; you’ll face the consequences,” he said, leaning back with a mocking expression.
Su Ziyi and Wu Yun exchanged glances, then reluctantly took out a support item each.
Lei Guang looked at them disdainfully upon receiving the items. It was one thing if they weren’t life-saving items, but to have support items that stingy—had he not said anything earlier, they definitely wouldn’t have only exchanged one life-saving item each.
But he didn’t want to say too much; anyway, Lin Ya hadn’t indicated that these two would help clear the game. He certainly wouldn’t inform them either. Let them stay for the full seven days; they would have to find a way to survive.
…
Lin Ya passed through the curtain beside the stage and followed the woman through a narrow concealed door into a room filled with paintings.
The woman’s figure disappeared from sight.
Lin Ya raised his gaze to the portraits surrounding him. The paintings depicted a blonde woman, with every painting featuring the same person.
He suddenly spoke, “Should I call you Bella, or—”
“Chira?”
“Hehe…” From the corner, the woman’s graceful figure suddenly appeared.
Her pitch-black eyes stared intently at Lin Ya before she smiled, “You’re quite clever…”
Lin Ya didn’t keep her guessing; he directly asked, “So, that fire, it was Chira who survived, not Bella, right?”
“Exactly.” Perhaps feeling like it wouldn’t matter whether he knew or not, she was still filled with resentment, and he would die here. Thus, the woman—no, Chira readily admitted.
“Would you like to hear our story?”
“If you’re willing to tell it.”
Bella and Chira were like the characters in ‘The Truth’ book; they were born into nobility and grew up in this manor.
When they both turned sixteen, Bella overheard her father discussing inheritance. Whomever had a lover first would marry and receive only one-tenth of the monetary assets, while the other would remain at the manor and could claim all other properties, including ownership of the manor itself.
The sisters had always been close since birth, but as they grew older and confronted the question of profit, Bella chose to hire a young man from the slums with money, the young man disguised as a noble, poised and charming.
They frequently crossed paths at balls.
Unbeknownst to her, Chira succumbed to the young man’s ardent pursuit, marrying him and receiving the one-tenth of the assets gifted by her father. It didn’t seem like much at first; for Chira, having a lover and being able to paint to pass the time was immensely fulfilling.
However, good times didn’t last long. The young man gradually started staying out all night, spending money on drinking and revelry. Over time, he began to reveal his vulgar nature in front of her.
Chira couldn’t believe it; she couldn’t fathom that her husband was that kind of person.
So one day, the manor hosted a ball, and Chira attended. Originally, she had planned to seek help from her sister Bella, but she unexpectedly caught sight of her sister conversing with her husband in a discreet corner. Bella handed a wad of money to him impatiently, warning that this was the last time.
Chira initially thought her husband was threatening Bella into giving him money, but she quickly realized the truth was different.
“Listen, you and Chira are already married. I’ve inherited the manor now; you’re of no use to me. This is the last time. If there’s a next, I’ll teach you a good lesson. I don’t care how you and Chira are living; don’t come looking for me again!”
Hearing those words, Chira was frozen in place.
“Hey, sweetheart, don’t be so cold. I’m the one who helped you acquire this manor and most of the assets; you ought to thank me. If it weren’t for me seducing Chira, how could you have your wish fulfilled?”
“So, this is what I’m entitled to.” The young man’s shameless words echoed in Chira’s mind.
Her mind buzzed; never had she imagined that her pure love could come from such a place, and her dearest sister had allowed such a man to deceive her for the sake of wealth.
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