Now that she understood Lin Xue’er’s tactics, Xia Mengxi was no longer afraid of the dark environment she was in.
At the same time, she came up with a brilliant plan to turn the tables-pretending to have truly fallen for the trap and feigning fear to win Lin Xue’er’s trust.
The fact that she could think of such a counter-scheme proved just how clever she was!
Lin Xue’er wanted her to be a good girl, didn’t she?
Fine, then she’d play the part-just the act of one.
The corners of Xia Mengxi’s lips curled up, her earlier gloom completely dispelled.
But she didn’t let excitement cloud her judgment.
If she wanted to convincingly pretend to have been “reformed,” she couldn’t afford even the slightest slip-up.
As Lin Xue’er herself had said, the other girl wasn’t a fool.
With her clumsy acting, she probably wouldn’t even make it past the first step.
So, during the remaining days in the metal cell, she used every spare moment to practice her performance-simulating the increasingly fragile mental state caused by prolonged darkness.
This was to ensure she wouldn’t give herself away when facing Lin Xue’er.
At the same time, she formulated a plan to gain Lin Xue’er’s trust.
The first step was to show fear of the dark.
Only then would Lin Xue’er be convinced that her psychological torment was effective and continue it relentlessly.
Next, she would feign signs of mental breakdown while still displaying traces of resistance.
This would pave the way for the final step- complete “submission” to Lin Xue’er.
Once she reached the stage of “pretending” to obey, she would have a chance to escape.
Finally, when she felt ready, Xia Mengxi took a deep breath and silently encouraged herself-failure was not an option.
“X-Xue’er! You… you’re here…”
The moment she saw Lin Xue’er, Xia Mengxi deliberately let her voice tremble with excitement before quickly steadying it, as if unwilling to admit her unease.
This uncharacteristic behavior immediately caught Lin Xue’er’s attention.
“Yes, I’m here. What’s wrong, Xiao Xi?”
“I…”
Xia Mengxi hesitated, falling silent for a moment before shaking her head to indicate she was fine.
Lin Xue’er didn’t press further, but the faint amusement in her gaze was unmistakable.
Perfect! She took the bait!
Stay calm, stay calm—this was just the beginning. Lin Xue’er wasn’t stupid enough to be fooled so easily.
“Today’s… today’s food is really delicious, Xue’er. Did you switch restaurants?”
“Restaurants? No, I cooked everything myself.”
Though she had only been “forcing” the conversation, Lin Xue’er’s answer surprised her. She hadn’t expected Lin Xue’er to be such a skilled cook.
“No wonder it’s so good today-it’s because you made it yourself.”
“Not just today. Every meal since you were put in confinement was prepared by me.”
“Ah…”
Now, Xia Mengxi was genuinely embarrassed.
All the meals she had eaten during her imprisonment had been cooked by Lin Xue’er, yet she had assumed they were takeout from a restaurant or the school cafeteria.
What a pity. If Lin Xue’er were a normal person, she would probably have quite the appetite.
If she managed to escape this confinement successfully this time, she would definitely gather as much information as she could about Lin Xue’er-not just to complete the mission, but also for the sake of her own taste buds, which were on the verge of being conquered.
“Xiao Xi, what’s wrong with you today? I can try to fulfill any request of yours-except letting you out.”
If possible, she really would like Lin Xue’er to release her.
But she could only grumble about it in her heart, not daring to say it out loud.
As for Lin Xue’er’s deliberately leading question, she hesitated for a moment before slowly replying, “Xue’er… what exactly is this place?”
“You’ve been out once before, haven’t you? You should have some idea by now.”
Xia Mengxi opened her mouth, hesitated, and glanced around.
“Then… then was someone imprisoned here before, right…?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. Maybe there really was.”
If Xia Mengxi hadn’t noticed Lin Xue’er’s manipulative tactics, she might have actually been intimidated by those words.
But to gain Lin Xue’er’s trust, even though she wasn’t afraid at all, she had to force herself to imagine something terrifying.
Only then could she make her expression appear frightened by Lin Xue’er’s words.
“Ha! If you’re not sure, then it probably didn’t happen. So I must be overthinking it, yeah, definitely…”
“Xiao Xi, can you tell me what happened?”
Xia Mengxi shook her head vigorously, acting extremely resistant-yet her next words “accidentally” gave herself away.
“N-nothing! It’s just… this place feels a bit weird. There are strange noises every now and then.”
“Strange noises?”
Hearing this, Lin Xue’er wore a puzzled expression and looked around.
Then, after some unseen gesture, the metal cell was bathed in light for the first time in a long while.
“There’s nothing else here, Xiao Xi. And after I leave, you’ll be the only one here. There couldn’t possibly be a third person appearing out of nowhere to scare you, right?”
Keep pretending.
There really wasn’t a third person scaring her—but there was a second one, and that was Lin Xue’er herself!
Xia Mengxi stuck out her tongue at Lin Xue’er’s back, cursing her silently with a look of disdain.
“A… a third person? H-how could that be! Haha, Xue’er, don’t scare me like that.”
“I’m not scaring you, Xiao Xi. I’m just helping you analyze the situation. If you don’t like it, then forget I said anything.”
With that, Lin Xue’er dejectedly turned off the lights in the metal cell and, under Xia Mengxi’s watchful gaze, began ascending the stairs.
Seeing this, Xia Mengxi “panicked” and called out, “Wait, Xue’er! I-I didn’t mean it like that! Xue’er! Please, don’t go yet!”
No matter how loudly she shouted or how desperate her tone sounded, Lin Xue’er kept walking up as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Even after the heavy sound of the door closing echoed through the cell, Xia Mengxi continued yelling.
“Xue’er! Come back! I-I still have something to ask you!”
Only after shouting for several minutes straight did she finally stop.
Then, in the pitch-black darkness, she glanced around nervously before quickly retreating to the bed along the chains.
After completing all this, Xia Mengxi, sitting on the bed, finally let out a sigh of relief.
She didn’t know if Lin Xue’er might be nearby at this moment, so even after the door closed, she had kept up the act.
As for the first step of her plan today, her current cheerful mood showed that it had gone smoothly.
Just as she had intended, she had revealed a fearful face toward the darkness to Lin Xue’er. If she could keep this up a few more times, she would soon be able to get out.