Di Mingjue turned off his flashlight. He glanced at Ye Ziyu and walked towards the coffee table. Reaching out to touch the cup, he could still feel its warmth.
"The water is still warm," Di Mingjue said, turning back to Ye Ziyu.
Both their gazes shifted to the second floor.
Finding the stairs leading to the second floor, Ye Ziyu followed behind Di Mingjue, their footsteps ascending the stairs one after another.
The staircase was in the center, with several bedrooms on either side.
Ye Ziyu released Di Mingjue's hand. "Let's split up and search."
"No," Di Mingjue refused. "In an unknown situation, danger lurks everywhere. You must stay by my side at all times."
"Mingjue, we're on the same floor. If there's danger, I'll call out to you loudly, and I trust you'll come to my rescue immediately," Ye Ziyu insisted.
Splitting up would allow them to survey the entire villa in the shortest amount of time, reducing their stay and potentially discovering the other party's whereabouts. If they were quick enough, they might even catch Jiang Feifei.
The distance on both sides was only a few hundred meters. Di Mingjue reluctantly agreed. "Call me immediately if there's any danger!"
"Okay."
They separated, heading in opposite directions. With each room Ye Ziyu entered, she prepared herself thoroughly at the doorway beforehand. She reached the end without noticing anything out of the ordinary.
The rooms were all filled with dust, like the overgrown weeds in the courtyard, emphasizing the desolation of the place.
Ye Ziyu pushed open the door to the last bedroom. Unlike the others, this one was spotless, meticulously tidied. The bedding on the bed looked like it had been slept in.
As Ye Ziyu moved further inside, the door behind her suddenly closed, and the light she had turned on was extinguished in an instant.
"Jiang Feifei?" Ye Ziyu called out in the darkness. "I know it's you."
Her only response was the wind blowing in from the unlatched window.
"If you have the guts, come out openly. Don't you think your sneaky little moves are cowardly?" Ye Ziyu continued speaking to the air.
A sound came from the direction of the closet, and a gust of wind blew. Ye Ziyu instinctively grabbed a soft arm in the darkness.
"We meet again," Jiang Feifei said to Ye Ziyu.
She never imagined she would be found so quickly. The moment she sensed the headlights, Jiang Feifei's first thought was that Ye Ziting had arrived. But upon hearing Ye Ziyu's voice, it was already too late to escape.
If she couldn't leave, she would drag them both to hell!
Ye Ziyu yanked Jiang Feifei's arm, her voice filled with agitated determination rather than anger. "Where is Si Bao?"
"Si Bao?" Jiang Feifei chuckled. "I can't believe you believed the nonsense I spoke."
She then tilted her chin upwards, letting out a shrill laugh.
Fake?
Then why had the doctor from that year said Si Bao was in Sijiucheng? Who between them was lying?
"Do you think I'll believe what you're saying?" Ye Ziyu attempted to provoke Jiang Feifei.
Unfortunately, Jiang Feifei was not falling for it.
"The last child you gave birth to did not die. However, the baby was abandoned. Without anyone to care for it, the child didn't last long. You're so smart, you should know what happens when a complete corpse is retrieved by the hospital again," Jiang Feifei whispered conspiratorially into Ye Ziyu's ear with a half-smile.
Hearing this, Ye Ziyu seemed to go mad. She violently tugged at Jiang Feifei's arm, desperately refuting, "No, my Si Bao is still here. Don't think you can deceive me into giving up the search with just a few words. Do you think I'll fall for your tricks again?"
In her childhood, she had been foolish enough to treat them like family, giving them the opportunity to hurt her.
Thinking of Di Mingjue on the other side, Ye Ziyu shouted, "Mingjue!"