As soon as Xia Mengxi said this, Lin Xue’er first paused in her steps, but soon after, she smiled and approached once more.
“Stop it, Xiao Xi, let’s go Home. Okay?”
“I’m not leaving yet!”
To show her determination, Xia Mengxi purposely took a large step backward. Just one more small step and she would be standing right at the edge of the Cliff.
“If you don’t want to see a Body frozen in the Cold Spring, get down here!”
“Alright, I’ll stop. I won’t move. Xiao Xi, you walk two steps back, don’t go any further.”
Even though she stopped, Lin Xue’er’s expression didn’t change at all, as if she was completely convinced Xia Mengxi would never really jump.
As for Xia Mengxi, she truly wasn’t willing to jump. After all, whether dying would trigger her ability to return was still an Unknown Variable. In her mind, falling off the Cliff now would mean truly dying.
“Then you take four steps back, or I won’t walk back!”
“Fine! I’ll move.”
Lin Xue’er—who knows if she was pretending or if she really didn’t want Xia Mengxi to die as she claimed—but Xia Mengxi didn’t care. She never thought threatening Lin Xue’er with death would make her let go completely.
What she was doing now was merely to cover up her real intention.
“Lin Xue’er, I… I have one more request! You show me the way down the mountain, and then, you can’t lay a finger on me. Just let me leave like this.”
“Pfft… Leave? Xiao Xi, where do you want to go?”
“I want to go Home!”
Lin Xue’er was momentarily stunned, then broke into a broad, sweet smile.
“Fine, then let’s go Home together.”
Seeing Lin Xue’er misunderstood her, Xia Mengxi was both frightened and a little angry.
“The place you locked me up in is not what I meant by Home! I mean the real Home where my parents are!”
“Ah… That won’t do, Xiao Xi. Your family now is me, so the Home you should return to is ours.”
Lin Xue’er put on a righteous, aggrieved look, leaving Xia Mengxi at a loss for words. But it was almost time to put her plan into action.
“It’s not! That place… isn’t my Home! I… I can’t communicate with you at all! Right now, immediately, take me to the way down the mountain! Or else…”
As she spoke, Xia Mengxi took two steps further back, threatening Lin Xue’er with her own life.
“Alright, I’ll take you. Don’t do anything foolish.”
Lin Xue’er obediently agreed and started walking in that direction.
But before moving, Xia Mengxi suddenly remembered something, so she called out to Lin Xue’er.
“Wait! Lin Xue’er, take off all those things you’re carrying before we go.”
“As you wish.”
Lin Xue’er agreed cheerfully, but then started approaching, making Xia Mengxi really worry Lin Xue’er would pull some trick.
“You… you stay right there! Don’t come any closer!”
“Huh? I’m just taking things off, what’s wrong, Xiao Xi?”
Lin Xue’er threw things like the Electric Shock Device and the Metal Tube down the mountain, then looked at Xia Mengxi calmly.
“I’m done, let’s keep walking. But you’re not allowed to come any closer!”
“Alright, alright!”
Although it was a pity Lin Xue’er tossed all those self-defense tools down the Cliff, the fact that Lin Xue’er even had those things only made her more cautious and worried about her safety.
The last step of her plan depended on Lin Xue’er not silencing her outright—if she was silenced before she could say anything, then she’d truly be done for.
“Xiao Xi, it’ll be dark soon. What do you want to eat tonight?”
“I want to eat—uh—why do you care what I eat!”
“Don’t be like this, Xiao Xi. I’m just asking so I can make whatever you want for dinner.”
Seeing Lin Xue’er looking over with some grievance, Xia Mengxi truly admired how the other girl, after all that had happened, could act like nothing was wrong.
But she understood very well that Lin Xue’er was a rational person, so all of this was just an act to confuse her.
Still, at this point, she had to go along with it.
“I told you, I want to go back to my real Home. I would never go back to that Cage full of Cold Springs!”
“But… Xiao Xi, do you really think I’ll let you go back?”
Changing her attitude so quickly, huh.
“You… what do you mean by that?”
“What do I mean? Xiao Xi, shouldn’t you know very well?”
As she spoke, Lin Xue’er quickly closed in. To make it seem real, Xia Mengxi immediately turned and tried to run.
But with Lin Xue’er’s speed, she was caught in no time.
“Ha, caught you, Mu, Xiao, Xi~”
“Let—let me go!”
Pushed down to the ground, Xia Mengxi’s hands were pinned by Lin Xue’er, and even her entire body was pressed beneath the other girl.
She couldn’t move at all, looking completely powerless to resist.
“Tell me, Xiao Xi, how many mistakes have you made these days? Do you remember them all?”
“That’s none of your business! Let—let me go!”
“Let go? Heh, Xiao Xi, from the moment you entered my world, you were already destined to be mine. No matter what you do, I could never let you go.”
Lin Xue’er leaned in with an almost twisted gaze, her face close to Xia Mengxi’s. The sight made Xia Mengxi break out in a cold sweat.
Luckily, she still managed to keep her composure.
“Destined to be yours? Lin Xue’er, aren’t you overestimating yourself? Someone as popular as me, do you really think Li Siqi is the only one who’ll come to help me?”
Lin Xue’er narrowed her eyes, her face expressionless as she stared into Xia Mengxi’s eyes, then spoke with a trace of mockery: “Are you talking about that Student Council President Jiang Wannin, Xiao Xi? Heh, she’s long been turned into a puppet by my Layout! You can’t possibly still hope a puppet will come to save you, can you? Oh, naive Xiao Xi, you’re just too adorable.”
What? Jiang Wannin too?
This was the first time Xia Mengxi heard this news, so her eyes involuntarily showed shock. But it lasted only a moment, and soon she was smiling smugly at the girl before her.
“Who’s really naive, we’ll see about that, Lin Xue’er. Do you really think you have me completely in your grasp? If that’s true, then why did Li Siqi manage to help me escape, and you didn’t even know?”
As soon as Xia Mengxi said this, Lin Xue’er’s expression finally changed.
Not letting the chance slip, Xia Mengxi pressed her advantage, her aim being to make Lin Xue’er realize she could never take away her Freedom.
“Don’t be afraid to hear this—in fact, on the side you know nothing about, I’ve even gotten in touch with two people you don’t know at all. If I could succeed once, I can do it a second time, even a third or fourth! Lin Xue’er, you’ll never be able to own me!”