Elina, weary to the bone, was on the verge of embracing the solace of her room when the unexpected sound of the door being locked from the inside froze her in her tracks.
The muffled noises that leaked through the threshold—moans of distress and harsh whispers—sent a shiver down her spine.
"Mmnghh~"
"Ahn~"
"L-Leave alone, I am tired already!"
"Shut up!"
"Ugh!"
The familiarity of the voices tangled in an inexplicable scenario was unmistakable to Elina, and the realization that they emanated from within her sanctuary turned her blood cold.
Gudong...
Her throat moved with a silent gulp, heart hamring against her chest as a cocktail of confusion and apprehension coursed through her veins.
"Elina! Have you seen Wang Xiao or mom!?" The sudden intrusion of Josephine's voice, laced with a mixture of curiosity and concern, snapped Elina back to the present.
Josephine, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil unfolding just beyond the door, was on her own quest for answers, her gaze scanning for any sign of the mysteriously vanished Wang Xiao.
"No! Don't co here," Elina blurted out, desperation edging her voice as she instinctively turned to block Josephine's path.
The last thing she wanted was for Josephine to stumble upon the chaos that lay behind the door.
Josephine paused, a faint smile playing on her lips, "What happened, Elina? Are you hiding a man or what?... Is Wang Xiao inside?" The joke soured as the gravity of the situation dawned on her.
Elina, caught in the eye of the storm, faced a barrage of emotions. The possibility of what Josephine suggested—though not entirely unfounded given past events—struck her as absurd, yet the seed of doubt had been planted.
As Josephine drew nearer with each step, her voice softened, an attempt at reassurance laced with curiosity. "C'mon, tell if he is inside, I won't really get angry at you," she coaxed gently.
"P-princess, stay away!" Elina's voice cracked, her heart racing with panic. 'No, she can't find out her mother is entangled in an affair!' Elina's mind scread, the thought alone enough to send her into a frenzy of desperation.
With her heart pounding against her ribs like a frantic drumbeat, Elina made a split-second decision.
Biting down on her lip, she reached for Josephine, her hands trembling as she clasped the princess's wrist, pulling her away with a sudden urgency that left no room for protest.
"Huh?" Josephine's voice was laced with confusion and concern as she allowed herself to be led away. "Elina? Are you alright?"
Once they were a safe distance away, Elina, with her breath coming in ragged gasps, finally halted. She glanced around nervously before leaning in to whisper into Josephine's ear, her voice barely a breath.
"You?!" The shock in Josephine's eyes was palpable as they widened in disbelief. However, it quickly gave way to a wry smile, a mixture of amusent and resignation.
"Make sure not to get caught, or I won't save you!" With those parting words, filled with a blend of jest and warning, Josephine turned on her heel and disappeared down the corridor.
Elina let out a heavy sigh of relief, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red. In her mont of panic, she had concocted a story about sneaking her boyfriend into the palace—a tale far from the truth but plausible enough to deflect Josephine's suspicions.
Despite the oddity of the excuse, considering Elina's married status, Josephine didn't press further. After all, it wasn't her place to judge others' morals, and such occurrences weren't unheard of within the palace walls.
Now left alone, Elina's relief quickly morphed into a grim determination. She faced the daunting task of ensuring that no one else ventured near that part of the palace, her mind racing with strategies to keep the secret buried.
_____
"Alia?"
The na echoed softly in the air, a question mark in the dimly lit expanse of the laboratory.
In Xianthera, life had resud its usual pace in the wake of Wang Xiao's disappearance.
It served as a reminder of how swiftly the world moves on, how quickly absence is woven into the fabric of the everyday, prompting a reflection on the fleeting nature of existence.
Bing Xueli, on a mission fueled by whispers and concerns shared by Victoria, found herself stepping into the shadowy confines of i Leiyan's sanctuary.
The laboratory, a place of innovation and discovery, now felt more like a tomb, heavy with the absence of its master.
i Leiyan, once a vibrant presence within the community, had beco a ghost, her existence narrowed to the confines of her research space.
The discrepancy in ti's flow between Xianthera and the outside world only added to the sense of disconnection. While only half a year might have passed elsewhere, Xianthera had felt the weight of two and a half years without Wang Xiao.
It was a separation that had left its mark on the community, but on none more so than i Leiyan.
Bing Xueli had initially interpreted i Leiyan's withdrawal as a coping chanism, a scientist's retreat into work to manage grief.
Yet, the truth, as unveiled by her conversation with Victoria, hinted at layers of complexity and devotion far beyond what anyone had anticipated.
The sight that greeted Bing Xueli as she ventured deeper into what now seed less like a laboratory and more like a personal shrine to solitude and dedication was startling.
i Leiyan, clad in the stark simplicity of a hospital gown, was found not among her beakers and vials, but on the cold floor, in a state of slumber.
This image, a stark departure from the i Leiyan everyone thought they knew, left Bing Xueli frozen, a mix of concern, confusion, and curiosity churning within her.
"Alia?" The concern in her voice was evident as Bing Xueli cautiously approached, her fingers finding the switches that bathed the laboratory in harsh, revealing light.
!!
The sudden illumination caused Alia's eyelids to flutter in protest.
Shielding her eyes, accustod only to the dim glow of her equipnt, she squinted against the brightness that invaded her shadowed domain.
"E... Eleanor?" she murmured, confusion lacing her voice as her vision adjusted, revealing the hesitant figure of Bing Xueli standing before her.
"What... are you doing here?" Alia's voice erged hoarse, as if unused to conversation, her form slowly rising to confront the unexpected visitor.
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