Drip……Drip……

  Continuous drops of water echoed in Xiu Mei’s ears. Her eyes felt heavier, and she felt cold. Her body felt like it was imprisoned in some ice cave, her limbs frozen preventing her to move about in her place.

  Where was she? Did the bad guys got to her and was kidnapped again?

  Panic slowly dawned on her as she started struggling but to no avail. She fought off until she finally opened her eyes yet it didn’t really seem like she had opened it. Her surroundings were pitch black, and she couldn’t make out anything in the dark.

  Blinking fast, she tried to see even just a shadow yet she utterly failed. She lowered her head to look at her body.

  Her eyes widened. Her breathing grew ragged as she felt her panic attack growing even more serious. Her thoughts whirled around as she thought that the oxygen in the place must be thinning out.

  Was she gonna die? Were they trying to kill her by lack of oxygen?

  Of all the ways to die, why did they have to choose the torturous route?

  She struggled in her place as the rope in her body weirdly tightened even more as she tried escaping from being bound.

  Slowly, she felt something creeping around her feet. It was something cold yet a bit slimy. Scared, she still did her best and looked down around her feet.

  HOLY CRAP.

  If she weren’t frozen and bound on her place, she would’ve instantly jumped and sped off to nowhere in fear after learning what it was on her feet.

  A snake.

  It was a fudging white snake beaming with red oval eyes. Xiu Mei weirdly felt that the snake was actually watching her, seemingly enjoying the spectacle in front of it.

  However, what the snake was thinking was the least of her worries. Gawd, she would either be eaten whole or bitten to death by its poisonous toxins!

  Fudge, did her kidnappers throw her in a den of snakes while at it?!

  She continued to struggle in her place but she halted once again when she was hit with cold air on the right side of her face.

  Now what?

  "Mei Mei……"

  "……"

  Someone behind her softly uttered her name. It sounded like half plea, half teasing. Yet for Xiu Mei, it felt like she was hit by a brick and slapped into a wall. Her chest felt like something was pressing down on it and that familiar feeling of helplessness and despair drowned her once again.

  No matter how many years had passed, Xiu Mei would never forget that voice.

  It was the voice that would cheerfully call out her name when she wants to go to the cafeteria, or when she wants to go watch a movie or stalk her ultimate idol.

  And it was also the voice that continuously called her name out and pleaded to her in despair that night before she completely lost her voice and turned into a lifeless corpse in front of her eyes.

  "Ying Yue!"

  Xiu Mei desperately called out as she tried her best to turn her head to look at the source of Ying Yue’s voice.

  She knew that it was clearly impossible, that she was probably hallucinating yet she still wanted to believe.

  That Ying Yue was still alive. That she really did not die in front of her.

  It would be understandable if Ying Yue would crawl out of her grave to find her and drag her down the earth with her. She would understand why she would bear a grudge to her.

  Because she herself despaired about it countless times after that incident.

  Why did she have to die and her alive? Why did she have to leave unscathed yet Ying Yue turned into a cold corpse? Why was she spared and was saved on time yet she was left to suffer under the hands of those dirty people?

  "I CURSE YOU!!"

  "I curse you! Why did you live? Why did I have to die? It was your fault! All of it was your fault!"

  "Xiu Mei, my daughter died because of you! If she hadn’t stuck with you, she would’ve been still alive and safe!"

  "Curse you, and I wish that you would live in despair in this lifetime just like how my daughter left this world."

  The voices of Ying Yue and Ying Yue’s parents echoed in her ears. She wanted to turn into a ball, to hide herself and cover her ears from listening to their hurtful words yet she could not.

  She was stuck. No matter how many years had passed, she was stuck at that night. She lost herself, and she lost her friend.

  What a slap of reality it was.

  "Xiu Mei, wake up." She heard another voice in the midst of those accusing voices.

  "Little sis, come back."

  One by one, all the previous painful words she was hearing were replaced with words pleading her to come back. Slowly, the pain she was feeling was soothed and the previous heavy feeling on her chest was slowly being lightening up.

  The previous pitch-black prison was slowly being penetrated by a ray of light. She instinctively covered her eyes with her hand. Her eyes widened as she realized that she wasn’t bound by the rope now.

  Moving her previous frozen limbs, she was now given freedom and control of her body.

  Following the source of those voices, she ran towards them trying to escape from this hell hole.

  "She woke up!"

  Xiu Mei’s eyes fluttered open ever so slowly, like a budding flower in the first day of spring.

  The sound of beeping machine was the first thing Xiu Mei heard as she slowly opened her eyes. White ceiling reflected in her orbs, and she felt the stinging needles stuck on her skin as she tried to move her arms.

  "Xiu Mei, you’re finally awake." Xiu Mei felt a warm hand enclosing hers. She shifted her sight towards the soothing voice, and she quickly recognized that it was Yu Shi Huang, her mother. It was evident that she had been crying with all the streaks of tears left on her cheeks and the slightly damp handkerchief she was holding.

  Xiu Mei stared back at her with empty eyes.