After eating and drinking her fill, Liu Woxing stared at the empty bowl in front of her, feeling a little dazed.
She was sitting outside a convenience store by the street, watching the traffic stream past and listening to the city's bustle.
It was hard to imagine that half an hour ago, she had still been sitting in that oppressive room, easing the suffocation in her chest only by watching previously recorded clips of the show.
Beside her, Xie Mi and Lai Bingxuan were talking.
"So why did you kidnap Liu Woxing?"
"Because she blocked me."
"Just because of that?"
"Yep."
"No, seriously... Xie Mi, you know you're really kind of ridiculous sometimes?"
"You're too kind."
"..."
Liu Woxing's gaze settled on Xie Mi, a jumble of emotions swirling inside her.
Teacher Xie had bought her this brief escape from reality.
But could she really keep running away forever?
The breeze rustled the leaves of the roadside trees, blowing a wildflower onto the table in front of Liu Woxing.
"..."
She suddenly picked up the wildflower and began plucking off its petals, one by one.
At the same time, she silently chanted like a child: Leave, stay, leave, stay...
When she plucked the last petal, however, the answer was leave.
The odd number of petals seemed to foreshadow something.
Her fingers froze, and an immense sadness suddenly welled up inside her.
She knew perfectly well that this was a meaningless gesture, yet the answer she hadn't wanted still left her feeling hurt.
She only wanted a little comfort. Why couldn't she have even something as insubstantial as that?
Suddenly.
Xie Mi reached over and tore the last petal in half.
Her voice was utterly calm.
"If you can't get the answer you want, create it yourself."
Liu Woxing froze, staring