Meeting Again

Several of them entered the corridor leading backstage through a small side door of the auditorium. Before they even arrived, they could hear numerous anxious calls urging people along, mostly confirming final personnel positions and prop details.

Many people in costumes passed in front of Eleven. The sequins on their clothes and their exaggerated headdresses immediately sparked the child's intense interest. She nearly forgot Lin Jiao's warning from moments ago, and after looking around, quickly picked out a makeup table. Just as she was about to charge toward it, someone grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her into the air.

"Let—let go of me—"

Eleven screamed at the top of her lungs. The next second, Hesta tucked her under one arm at the waist.

"Don't run around." Hesta looked mercilessly into Eleven's eyes. "If you run around, we're leaving right now."

"Then you won't get to watch either!"

"Then I won't—"

"Jane?"

Hesta heard a familiar voice. She turned around and, amid the noisy chaos, saw Ksenia standing four or five steps away, holding a mass of fiery red hair.

Ksenia wore the traditional dress of the Hesta people. Her originally apricot-brown hair was pinned with numerous clips, and a thick layer of hairspray had fixed it tightly against her scalp, giving her an unfamiliar air of excessive ornamentation.

"It really is you!" Ksenia's eyes widened slightly. "I thought I saw you by the side of the stage just now, but I figured I must have been mistaken!"

Hesta found herself briefly unable to speak. Her gaze fell on the red wig in Ksenia's hands.

"You... today, you're..."

Eleven took the chance to wriggle free from Hesta's grasp. But before she could run more than a few steps, Lin Jiao caught her by the shoulder, dragged