Chapter 33: The Meticulously Laid Trap

After hanging up the phone, Xia Xingyan leaned back into the soft seat, closing her eyes.

This seemingly accidental trip had been meticulously orchestrated by her from beginning to end.

Over sixty percent of Golden Island’s tourism industry shares were held under her family’s name.

As the heir to the Xia family, arranging for a small dessert shop to cooperate with an “anniversary lottery” was simpler than breathing.

All she had to do was, step by step, guide that little pink cat into the trap she had meticulously prepared.

****

The voyage finally reached its destination.

As the yacht docked, Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu were the first to rush off the deck.

“Wow, there are so many people!” Lin Xiaolu exclaimed, gazing at the bustling crowd on the pier, where tourists in beach shorts and bikinis were everywhere.

Hua Mu’ai, however, descended slowly, her brows furrowing more deeply with each passing moment as she observed the scene before her.

In the center of the pier plaza stood a colossal statue of Tian Lanxing, still in her classic pose from back then: a magic wand held aloft in her left hand, and her right hand planted on her hip.

A dense throng of tourists gathered around the statue, eager to take commemorative photos.

“Senior, look, look! Is that the famous Tian Lanxing Drop Tower from online? It’s so tall!”

Gu Qianqian’s excited shouts pulled Hua Mu’ai back from her displeased mood.

Following the direction of her daughter’s pointing finger, she saw a towering, cloud-piercing structure adorned with a massive, chibi-style avatar of Tian Lanxing, grinning foolishly.

A surge of anger abruptly flared within her.

“It’s so noisy, isn’t it just a broken metal frame?” she snapped, clearly annoyed. “From now on, neither of you are allowed to shout so casually!”

She couldn’t imagine how many other Tian Lanxing-themed attractions were on this island; if Gu Qianqian commented on every single one, Hua Mu’ai would be utterly driven mad.

Gu Qianqian stuck out her tongue. “Got it, Captain.”

“Um… Senior…”

Lin Xiaolu tugged at Hua Mu’ai’s sleeve, quietly pointing in a direction.

“They’re selling sugar paintings of your image over there, can I get one? I’ve been really looking forward to it ever since I saw people eating them online.”

Hua Mu’ai followed the sound with her gaze, seeing the vendor at the sugar painting stall deftly wielding his spoon, the golden syrup flowing and taking shape on the board.

What appeared were individual Tian Lanxing figures, striking all sorts of exaggerated poses.

‘…’

Hua Mu’ai’s face instantly darkened.

“If either of you dares to buy one of those things, this young lady will murder you!”

She spat the fierce warning, then strode purposefully towards the tourist center.

If she stayed any longer, she feared she might die of shame and indignation.

After the trio exchanged their travel vouchers for admission passes, a man in uniform approached them, his face wreathed in smiles.

“Hello, I’m Manager Ye. You three must be the lucky tourists who won our grand prize, correct? Welcome to Golden Island!”

The man’s enthusiasm was somewhat excessive.

“To celebrate the grand opening of our Golden Island Tourism Festival, we’ve decided to present you three with an additional super gift!”

As he spoke, he produced three exquisitely crafted black cards.

“These are VIP experience cards for our island’s ‘Starlight Hot Spring Resort’! With these cards, all three of you can enjoy every service at the resort completely free of charge!”

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu exchanged glances.

‘A free hot spring resort?!’

‘Their luck was simply too good!’

Hua Mu’ai, however, stood with her arms crossed, scrutinizing the manager with a look of deep suspicion.

‘Free travel, free hot springs—where in the world could such good fortune exist?’

“Hey, there’s definitely something fishy going on here,” she challenged.

“Captain…”

Gu Qianqian tugged at her sleeve, her small face brimming with anticipation.

Lin Xiaolu also looked at her with wide, pleading eyes, a pitiful expression on her face.

Hua Mu’ai ultimately gave up on pressing the issue.

After all, this trip was primarily to help them relax and clear their minds.

“Fine, this young lady understands. This time, I’ll indulge both of you.”

Hua Mu’ai snatched all three cards, handing one to Gu Qianqian, one to Lin Xiaolu, and keeping one for herself.

“Yay! Senior is the best!” The two girls immediately cheered with delight.

Once the trio had walked away, the smile on Manager Ye’s face instantly vanished.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Uncle Chen, the items have been delivered to the targets.

The trackers and audio receivers are embedded in the cards, completely foolproof.”

“Excellent, I will inform Miss.”

****

The trio rented an open-top buggy, and Gu Qianqian snatched the driver’s seat, pressing the accelerator so hard that she nearly flung Hua Mu’ai from the back seat.

“Drive slower! Are you trying to kill someone?!” Hua Mu’ai gripped the handrail tightly, her pink ponytail fluttering wildly in the wind.

“Captain, where should we go first?” Gu Qianqian asked, wearing sunglasses and turning the steering wheel, her voice brimming with uncontainable excitement.

“Anywhere,” Hua Mu’ai replied nonchalantly, chewing on a lollipop.

‘Anyway, it’s all stuff for kids, so it doesn’t matter where we go.’

“Then let’s go to the haunted house!” Gu Qianqian declared, slapping the steering wheel. “Golden Island’s haunted house is super famous; I hear it’s incredibly massive, with several routes, like walking through a labyrinth.”

“H-haunted house?” Lin Xiaolu’s voice trembled from the back seat.

Gu Qianqian glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then asked with a mischievous grin, “Xiaolu, are you scared? If you are, we can go somewhere else.”

“N-no, I’m not scared!” Lin Xiaolu straightened her small frame, forcefully trying to psyche herself up.

‘Although she wanted to jump out of the car right now, she absolutely couldn’t show weakness in front of Senior and Qianqian!’

‘Besides, she was Magical Girl Morning Dew; a mere haunted house was surely something she could overcome!’

Hua Mu’ai glanced at her, remaining silent.

‘Fine, suffer for the sake of appearances.’

****

Meanwhile, on the other side of Golden Island.

Inside the black sedan, Uncle Chen hung up the phone.

“Miss, their first stop is the haunted house, and our people have made the arrangements.”

In the back seat, Xia Xingyan was flipping through a book, not even bothering to lift her eyelids.

“Understood. Let’s go.”

“Yes, Miss.”

****

Half an hour later, the buggy pulled up in front of a dilapidated white building.

Large sections of plaster had peeled away from the walls, revealing dark red bricks beneath, while the windows were boarded up, leaving only a few narrow slits.

On the rusted sign above the entrance, three large characters were painted in blood-red paint:

Asylum.

Just standing outside, an eerie chill assaulted them.

Lin Xiaolu’s face instantly went pale; all she wanted to do was turn and flee.

Seeing her on the verge of collapsing, Hua Mu’ai asked irritably,

“Are you really okay?”

“No, I’m fine.” Lin Xiaolu shook her head frantically. “I’m just… a little excited, that’s all.”

‘She didn’t want Senior and Qianqian to look down on her.’

‘Her courage was much greater than before; she would definitely get through this!’

The trio joined the long queue of people.

Finally, it was their group’s turn.

A young woman cosplaying as a Silent Hill nurse listlessly read out the rules and warnings.

“Upon entering the Asylum, please proceed along the designated route.

Do not push, do not run… and most importantly, absolutely do not assault our ‘patients,’ or you will bear full responsibility for the consequences.”

After speaking, she chuckled ominously and pulled open a heavy iron door.

“We wish you a pleasant journey.”

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