Whatever was being kept in that room, it was clearly alive — and it was definitely not cats or dogs.

Bai Youwei slowly backed away until she was standing in front of a window. Through the glass, she could see the garden below.

The two of them were still out there.

Du Lai was pulling out all the stops, coaxing laugh after laugh out of Fu Miaoxue, whose peals of amusement drifted up in waves. Bai Youwei wasn’t quite sure what to make of it —

Du Lai probably thought he’d successfully drawn out information from the arrogant and oblivious young miss, not realizing that with just a few words, the young miss had played him completely…

She looked once more toward the room at the far end of the second-floor corridor, then set aside her curiosity, turned, and walked away.

……

Fu Miaoxue’s evening lessons ran from three to five in the afternoon.

Bai Youwei didn’t know exactly what was being taught — only that when Fu Miaoxue emerged from the tutor’s room, she looked as though she’d been through a brutal fight, her expression utterly grim.

Afterward, Fu Miaoxue latched herself onto Du Lai for the rest of the evening.

By now, Du Lai was no longer playing the role of gardener. He had been “promoted” to the young miss’s personal attendant.

Qiao Na, the tutor, raised no objection. Apart from matters of poise and conduct, she didn’t interfere with any of Fu Miaoxue’s other behavior. Seen this way, Fu Miaoxue actually had considerable latitude within the estate.

After dinner, Du Lai taught Fu Miaoxue card games, and the two were nearly inseparable, barely paying any attention to Bai Youwei.

Perhaps in this dream, Bai Youwei was never supposed to have a role to begin with, which made her presence feel incidental — almost like an afterthought.

Bai Youwei didn’t mind. She wandered the estate on her own, poking around here and there, watching the “story” unfold while keeping track of the time, alert to when the loop might restart.

Chen Hui’s had lasted four hours. Du Lai’s, eight. Fu Miaoxue’s dream, however, was clearly running much longer.

Night fell — and still the dream had not ended.

The head steward arranged for Bai Youwei to stay in a guest room on the second floor.

Bai Youwei lay on the bed, completely unable to sleep. Even now, she couldn’t figure out what made this particular dream so unusual — what was it that could trap Fu Miaoxue here?

She sat up, reached for her canvas bag, and opened it.

Inside lay a severed hand.

There was no sign of her rabbit. Bai Youwei felt a small pang of disappointment. As for why the severed hand had managed to follow her into the dream… it was probably because it wasn’t a game prop, and it wasn’t a player either. Like a harmless little glitch, it had slipped past the system’s rules and come along for the ride.

“Go up to the third floor and keep watch. If anything happens with Du Lai, come back and tell me immediately.”

Bai Youwei gave it a few quiet instructions, gently opened the bedroom door, and set the severed hand down in the doorway.

It crawled away without a sound.

Bai Youwei closed the door and waited.

……

Time ticked by, second by second. The night was still and peaceful — not a sound from anywhere in the estate.

Bai Youwei sat on the edge of the bed, quietly thinking. Would tonight be one of the loop’s reset points? When morning came, would everything return to the beginning?

Around two in the morning, she heard three soft knocks at the door.

The sound came from low on the door — near the floor. She knew it was the severed hand returning. She crossed the room in a few steps and opened the door, lowering her voice. “Well? Has Du Lai made his move?”

The severed hand raised one finger and tapped it, then stretched four fingers up high.

“Four? …What does that mean?” Bai Youwei frowned. “Are you saying he has accomplices? Four of them?”

The hand tapped its finger again in confirmation.

“Which floor did they go to?” Bai Youwei asked.

The hand put one finger down, leaving three extended.

Bai Youwei’s eyes widened. “The third floor? …They didn’t go to the second?”

She was still puzzling over this when a sudden commotion broke out in the hallway outside — the sound of hurried, overlapping footsteps rushing up toward the third floor.

“We’ve caught the thieves! Quickly — they’re up there!” someone shouted.

Bai Youwei heard this and immediately grabbed the severed hand, stuffed it into her bag, and headed out the door to follow everyone upstairs.