Chapter 45: August 17th

Huo Xin first entered that villa on August 5th of that year.

But she first stepped into that pitch-dark basement on August 17th.

Gu Wanting had locked him in the basement for twelve days.

Twelve days, twelve cycles of sun and moon, a total of 288 hours, 17,280 minutes, 1,036,800 seconds.

Twelve days—what could they accomplish?

A few afternoon teas, one cruise banquet, two or three beautiful, well-fitted dresses.

So brief, like fireworks that flare and vanish in an instant.

Yet it was already enough to destroy a person completely.

The basement on August 17th.

A harsh, blinding light suddenly turned on, glaring down on the boy curled up in the corner.

The moment the light struck, his body instinctively shrank, hugging his knees. His eyes were dull and vacant, trembling as he tried to shield himself from the beams.

His black long-sleeved shirt was shredded into filthy rags. His arms bore jagged whip scars. Two thin silver chains bound his ankles, equally bruised and purple, his feet stepping on rotten, filthy scraps of food strewn across the floor.

Gu Wanting held a flashlight, its white beam scanning him inch by inch, leaving nowhere to hide.

“Effective,” Su Zhi, standing in the shadows, commented.

“It’s just that the hair is too short. Can we add extensions later? Silver-white would be even better,” Ming Yue said, eager.

Huo Xin stood beside them, her princess-cut hair swaying lightly at her temples. Her tone was deceptively calm. “Sister Wanting might need to apply a bit more force.”

A faint, indifferent chuckle echoed from the darkness.

Huo Xin’s smile froze.

“Xin Xin makes a good point.” Gu Wanting glanced at her sideways, her expression obscured by shadows and light.

“Zhuzhu, did you hear that?”

Gu Wanting crouched beside the boy, the intense light pressing against his face, inescapable. “Xin Xin says this isn’t enough yet.”

“What should we do?”

Countless flickering points of light filled his vision. Yu Zhu stared blankly at her, murmuring unconsciously, “Se…Senior…”

Gu Wanting’s eyes darkened. She moved the flashlight away from his face. “Still not quite there.”

“Men’s voices… so ugly,” Ming Yue murmured from the darkness.

Yuan Suhua did not respond. She stood, letting the beam illuminate a black crossbody bag at Ming Yue’s feet.

Yu Zhu’s schoolbag.

“Zhuzhu, don’t worry. Today we won’t do anything.”

“Your parents are worried about you. They’ve nearly found this place these past days, still unwilling to give up.”

“So you need to write them a letter, tell them you’ve gone far away, and will never come back.”

“Understand, Zhuzhu?”

She wanted him to write his own ‘farewell letter’.

A fabricated truth, completely erasing any potential complications.

Ming Yue retrieved paper and pen from his bag. Her hand brushed against the exercise book Yu Zhu had prepared that day. She sneered and handed the paper and pen to Gu Wanting.

Gu Wanting took them and whispered to Yu Zhu, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure they find this in Zhou’an, never tracing it back here.”

“Yu Zhu dies in the sea at Zhou’an, but Zhuzhu remains here.”

She placed the pen into Yu Zhu’s palm. “Everyone’s happy in the end.”

“No…”

Yu Zhu’s whole body shook violently, his back against the wall, still retreating.

He did not want to, could not write a farewell letter.

He could not imagine the anguish his parents would feel reading it.

He did not want them to blame themselves.

Clearly…

Clearly, none of them had done anything wrong.

“Zhuzhu doesn’t want to write? Why?” Gu Wanting’s feigned puzzlement appeared coldly sinister. “Don’t know how? I’ll teach you.”

“Start with: Dear Mom and Dad, hello. When you read this letter, perhaps I have already—”

“No…” The voice approached. The wounds on his body kept tearing. Yu Zhu shook his head mechanically.

“Don’t like it this way? Then…” Gu Wanting glanced meaningfully at Huo Xin, controlling Yu Zhu’s line of sight. “Then…”

“Never mind, Xin Xin will teach you instead.”

Huo Xin stepped in front of Yu Zhu, avoiding his eyes. Her gaze wandered over his hair, her voice cold. “Since Sister Wanting asked me to teach you, perhaps only pain will make you remember longer.”

“Hiss—”

Without warning, a silver flash appeared. A dagger, half a finger wide, pierced Yu Zhu’s left hand.

His face went pale instantly, the pain nearly suffocating him. The agony in his palm raced up his arm, his brain flooded before he could even cry out. Cold sweat covered his forehead.

So painful, so painful, so painful…

Blood drained from his hand, numb to the touch. Within moments, tears streamed down his face, his body crumpled and wretched.

The dagger’s blade protruded blood-red, dripping uncontrollably. Under the light, the blood was glaringly bright.

Huo Xin had a few drops spatter on her dress. She slowly stood, asking, “Can you write now?”

Gu Wanting covered her mouth, laughing softly. “Alright, Xin Xin, stop asking Zhuzhu. I told you before—he looks best when he cries. I don’t want to force him right now.”

She looked at Yu Zhu. “But Zhuzhu, guess what? If you don’t write, I have other ways to make sure the trail ends on that bus.”

“After all, accidents are everywhere. Don’t you agree?”

Yu Zhu’s pain-clouded consciousness suddenly cleared.

Gu Wanting held his trembling shoulders, placing the pen back into his palm. “Of course, Zhuzhu, if you behave, perhaps there won’t be any accidents later.”

Yu Zhu could not support himself. His left hand bled profusely, nerves throbbing, unable to grasp the pen.

Huo Xin stood next to Ming Yue. Darkness enveloped her. Her gaze instinctively avoided the dagger still embedded in Yu Zhu’s hand, body trembling slightly.

“Xin Xin, are you cold?” Ming Yue asked, concerned.

Hearing this, Gu Wanting also glanced at her.

“Nothing, just… I think he might still not remember this way.”

“Really? But I think it’s enough already. Even I was scared of you,” Huo Xin forced a smile.

Nearby, Gu Wanting folded the few words Yu Zhu had written in his short farewell letter.

“From now on, Yu Zhu no longer exists in this world.”

She pulled the dagger from his palm, ignoring the sudden gush of blood. Looking at the unconscious boy, she dipped her fingertip into the blade’s blood and placed it in her mouth.

“Zhuzhu’s tears and blood… truly addictive.”

She rolled the blood in her mouth, swallowing it, then looked at Huo Xin. “Xin Xin, I didn’t expect you’d understand me best. Then this dagger, I’ll give it to you.”

The blade’s blood glistened red, warm against her hand.

Huo Xin met the gazes of the three, avoiding the pool of blood where the boy, in pain and unconscious, still trembled uncontrollably.

It’s fine, it’s fine…

All she needed…

Was to enter this circle.

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