The next day.
The autumn mountain forest was covered with fallen leaves.
The dry leaves crunched crisply underfoot.
Chai Xiaomi stepped on the thick layer of leaves, her feet sinking and rising as if she were wading through fluffy, soft clouds.
After a few steps, she widened her stride and began to run. With fallen leaves everywhere, even if she tripped, it would feel like falling into a bed of clouds, a delightful thought.
She was still wearing that white cloak with a fox fur hood.
Earlier, Wu Li had clamored for her to return it as soon as they got back to their room, but this morning, he had silently brought it out and kindly let her wear it.
This time, he did not tie the strings haphazardly. Instead, he properly tied a neat bow at her collar.
Just when Chai Xiaomi thought he had suddenly changed his nature and become friendly.
To her surprise, after tying the cloak's strings, he suddenly lifted the front of the cloak, grabbed the lapels of her outer blouse underneath, twisted them tightly on both sides, and tied a harsh, ugly, and tight knot. It looked exactly as if a bulky, giant cloth flower had been pinned to her chest.
The blouse was originally meant to be worn over her ruqun dress in an open front style without any ties. Gathered up so roughly by him, it instantly bunched up in a wrinkled mess on her chest, completely devoid of any aesthetic appeal.
Chai Xiaomi found it difficult even to run, as the hard knot on her chest dug into her uncomfortably.
Taking advantage of the situation, she rolled into the fallen leaves and, while buried in them, quickly untied that giant chest flower.
Just as she stood up, she saw Wu Li standing silently behind her.
It startled her so much that her eyelids twitched.
She had been running while he was walking, so there had always been a distance between them.
Chai Xiaomi hurriedly pulled the cloak tighter around herself to prevent him from noticing that the giant chest flower was gone. Can you teleport? You were just under that tree a second ago.
She pointed to a distant ginkgo tree, which was at least a hundred meters away.
Wu Li ignored her muttering and instead scanned her from head to toe.
Her snow white cloak was stained with quite a few dry leaves, some golden, some red. There was even one dangling precariously in her bangs.
An autumn breeze swept by, and that leaf gently brushed past the tip of her nose, twirled in the air, and fell silently back into the thick pile of fallen leaves.
Was not she the one who loved being clean the most?
Yet now she was willing to roll around in this pile of dead leaves that smelled of damp earth.
He cast a sidelong glance at her, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding terrain. Let me give you a piece of advice. There might be hunters' animal traps buried in these mountains. With the leaves this thick, even wild beasts might not be able to avoid them. If you keep rolling around like this, watch out or your foot will be snapped off!
After he spoke, the boy's sleeve shifted slightly, and Hongjiao slithered out, flicking its tongue.
Rustling as it dove into the fallen leaves, it slithered forward, its serpentine body only faintly visible as it weaved through.
Wu Li followed at a leisurely pace. As he passed by Chai Xiaomi, he grabbed her wrist and, without leaving any room for argument, pulled her behind him, forcing her to follow in his wake.
Being dragged forward by him, Chai Xiaomi looked at the boy's lean and tall back and could not help but rub her nose in touched emotion. Lili, it turns out you care about me so much.
Who cares about you? I am just afraid you will dirty my cloak! He did not even turn his head, though his fingertips tightened their grip. Watch where you are going. If you roll on the ground again, you will wash this cloak three times when we get back.
The wind whistled through the gaps in the trees, and the fallen leaves rustled underfoot.
Wu Li walked in front, Hongjiao slithering stealthily among the leaves, and she was led behind him, as if they were silently clearing a path for her.
Today, they had come here to simulate a grand play,
Princess Pearl Baby
Chief Screenwriter, Chief Planner, Chief Director: Xiaomi.
Mother played by: Xiaomi.
Father played by: Lili.
Human Trafficker played by: Escort Leader Yan.
Plot Summary:
On a dark and windy night, a cute baby was born in an inn.
Before she could even open her eyes to see her beautiful mother, she was secretly snatched away by a wicked human trafficker.
The kind-hearted innkeeper discovered this and fought bravely with the trafficker, but was ultimately defeated, forced to watch helplessly as the child was taken.
The parents, having lost their child, washed their faces with tears every day, spending their days searching the mountains and wilderness for any trace of their baby.
Ultimately, through their unyielding perseverance, they finally found the baby.
The trafficker also received his rightful punishment.
From then on, the family lived happily ever after...
Core Theme:
Never abandon! Never give up!
Baby, even at the ends of the earth, your parents' hearts will always be with you.
Because we are a family, a family that loves each other dearly! Only through fate can we gather together, only with heart will we cherish it; why let the clouds covering the sky blind our eyes!
...
Song Yueyao and Jiang Zhiyu huddled together earnestly, carefully reading the two-page script written by Xiaomi.
"What is a Chief Screenwriter? What is a Chief Planner? What is a Chief Director?" Jiang Zhiyu fired off three consecutive questions.
Song Yueyao: "Oh, why do you care so much? Just read the script exactly as it's written!"
Although she didn't know what a "script" was either, she just followed Xiaomi in calling it that.
Just as they reached the exciting part, suddenly, with a patter, two pea-sized drops of water fell onto the paper.
It smudged the ink into a dark, spreading stain.
The two raised their heads simultaneously, only to see Yan Xingxiao wiping his eyes, his face covered in snot and tears: "Boohoo... It's too touching! I miss my parents..."
Song Yueyao frowned: "Escort Leader Yan, why are you back?"
She quickly turned to the second page of the script in her hand, her fingertip tapping on a specific line:
Act Eight — The trafficker buries the child in a pile of fallen leaves (please make sure to leave the nose and mouth exposed for breathing; although it is a ghost, it must be led to believe it is human). Then, the trafficker looks up to the sky and laughs heartily: "Hahahahaha! Little thing, even if you scream your throat hoarse today, your parents can't save you!"
Song Yueyao looked up, her tone anxious: "Have you finished acting out Act Eight?"
"Not yet," Yan Xingxiao scratched his head awkwardly, his face flushing bright red. "I had just buried the ghost infant when nature suddenly called, so I went to find a spot to relieve myself. Who knew that when I came back and walked around a few times, I just couldn't find where I buried it. I had no choice but to head back along the original path to double-check."
Jiang Zhiyu raised his fingers and did a quick calculation. "Based on the time, Xiaomi and Wu Li should have reached Act Seven by now. Escort Leader Yan, you need to hurry over. They are about to arrive at the agreed-upon burial site, and Act Nine is about to begin."
Act Nine — The life-and-death struggle between the parents and the trafficker.
This act focuses on highlighting the couple's determination to save their child at all costs.
If the trafficker is absent, the play simply cannot continue.
Jiang Zhiyu drew out a yellow talisman, tracing a spell in the air. The talisman paper immediately emitted a faint glow, gently hovering in mid-air.
"This is a guiding talisman. Follow it, and you will not lose your way."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right now!" Yan Xingxiao nodded repeatedly, hurriedly following the floating talisman light as he disappeared back into the depths of the autumn forest.
Actually, when Miss Chai first handpicked him to play the role of the human trafficker, he had rejected the idea in his heart. Her reasoning was simply: Out of all of us, Escort Leader Yan looks the most ferocious and burly. You are practically the chosen one for a human trafficker!
No matter how he thought about it, those words did not sound like a compliment.
It even stung a little.
But as he played the part, he surprisingly found himself getting hooked.
Truth be told, it was actually quite fun.
Yan Xingxiao followed the glowing speck of talisman light hovering in midair, his pace unconsciously quickening.
However, as he ran, the talisman seemed to suddenly collide with something invisible. With a soft smack, it dropped to the ground, and its light extinguished.
