Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The traveling circus tent was enormous. Aside from the performance area in the center, which was enclosed by wire mesh, and the scattered aisles, the rest was filled with seating—fully exposing the primary goal of raking in money.

When it was full, the spaces between seats were filled with legs of all lengths, and the lighting was insufficient. No matter what one tried to do, it was inconvenient, and there was a constant risk of being tripped. Qiao Wan and Yuan Tianci had arrived quite early; by the time Qiao Mo entered, they had long since taken their seats, though it was unclear where exactly they were sitting.

Qiao Mo looked around but didn’t see Qiao Wan’s figure, so she stopped dwelling on it. She settled into her seat to wait for her brother to buy drinks. Coincidentally, the three “plastic sisters” who had entered earlier were actually sitting right next to them. Especially Qi Jun—when she saw Qiao Mo’s brother, small sparks of joy practically exploded in her eyes. She was just short of wagging a tail and saying directly, “Sit here! Yes, right here! Sit down!”

“I don’t think this is going to work for you,” An Xiaolei said.

“I think it’s fine,” Qi Jun retorted without even turning her head. “He’s truly my ideal type! Just think about it, a handsome boy who is only gentle to you.”

“He’s only gentle to his sister,” An Xiaolei sneered. “When the time comes, you’ll be eating jealous vinegar over his sister. You’d be better off liking Yuan Tianci like Hanyin does the sunny, handsome type, like a ‘central air conditioner’ who makes everyone feel warm. I saw him just now; he brought Qiao Wan over to watch the circus. If they get caught by the school’s journalism club, I’m afraid it’ll be big news again.”

At the mention of the name Yuan Tianci, Xia Hanyin’s entire demeanor changed. “Where?!”

“Heh, superficial,” An Xiaolei said.

“You don’t even have a man you like; you’re the superficial one,” Xia Hanyin expressed her disdain back at her. “Seriously, sometimes I really suspect you like women, or are simply asexual. Your conditions are so good, and the ‘little brothers’ chasing you come in bundles like wheat, a new crop every season yet I’ve never seen you with anyone?”

Xiaolei’s heart skipped a beat, and she actually thought of someone—only, that person really was a girl.

Could that dummy Xia Hanyin be right? Do I actually like women?

She shook her head vigorously to shake off such an absurd thought and stuffed a snack into Xia Hanyin’s mouth: “Eat your snacks and watch the circus. Why so much nonsense?”

Through the dense iron bars, everyone could see three lions and two tigers enclosed in cages in the backstage area. One of the tigers looked very irritable, pacing back and forth in its narrow cage and occasionally letting out a terrifying low growl from beneath its snow-white teeth. Even from such a distance, one could feel a predatory aura, which made them wonder: if they were closer to the tiger, wouldn’t the sound be like thunder?

An Xiaolei sat with her usual “disdainful of all living things” posture, legs crossed, leaning back against the chair with her chin pointed toward the performance area, as if she still had dozens of followers waiting to serve her. After a while, she found this very boring and couldn’t help turning to tease the dummy Xia Hanyin: “Don’t you want to ask why Qiao Wan is watching the circus with Yuan Tianci?”

Xia Hanyin cooperated perfectly and asked, “Why?”

But that dazed expression immediately killed An Xiaolei’s desire to answer: “Forget it, never mind. Let’s watch the circus.”

“Tell me, the circus hasn’t even started yet,” Qi Jun said, also sitting motionless in her seat—having the luck of a lifetime to sit so close to her ideal type to watch a circus was truly a blessing across three lives.

But An Xiaolei, having successfully piqued their curiosity, sat back expressionlessly: “Tell you what? That’s other people’s business; I don’t know either.” But then, remembering her own semi-real/semi-fake engagement with Ao Manshan, An Xiaolei felt she might already know why Qiao Wan was here with Yuan Tianci.

Compared to two girls like her and Ao Manshan, the “engagement” between the Qiao family and the Yuan family was likely much more serious. Moreover, in terms of both family background and appearance, the two were a perfect match.

Most importantly, they were the same age.

When those two stood together, they were the best definition of the idiom “Golden Boy and Jade Maiden.” An Xiaolei unconsciously tapped the floor with her foot. Whether it was a coincidence or something else, both Qiao Mo and Qiao Wan were wearing white dresses today; the colors and styles were very similar, only the lengths were different, and the decorative belts at their waists were almost identical.

Truly the two sisters of the Qiao family it was like they shared a telepathic connection.

By now, the circus had begun. Between the thunderous music and the awkward commentary, An Xiaolei just wanted to lower her head and play on her phone—until she heard a burst of commotion, followed by raucous laughter and people jeering: “Girl, you’re certainly bold, pouncing right onto the boy like that! You should be glad he’s a handsome and upright boy; what if he were a pervert?”

“Look at his girlfriend! Her face has turned green! Hahahaha.”

Qiao Wan’s face had originally been normal, but after hearing this, it really did turn green. Not long ago, she had just told Xia Hanyin that she had zero interest in Yuan Tianci; in the blink of an eye, she was seen watching a circus with the other girl’s crush. What would Xia Hanyin think? That she was a liar?

She had never hated other people’s banter so much Do you even know what their relationship is? Just because you see a boy and girl out together, you say they’re boyfriend and girlfriend? How boring can you get?

She hadn’t wanted to come out with Yuan Tianci in the first place, and Yuan Tianci felt the same. Everyone would have preferred to stay home, watch dramas, or play games, but the elders of the Yuan family naturally wouldn’t allow it. During the National Day long holiday, Qiao Wan’s uncle’s family had gone traveling, and the school wouldn’t let them stay in the dorms because the holiday was too long and safety couldn’t be guaranteed. Thus, Qiao Wan could only be entrusted to the Yuan family’s care.

The Yuan family felt this was a great opportunity!

Aside from being a tiny bit short, Qiao Wan’s figure, appearance, and background were perfectly suited for Yuan Tianci. How could they let these two spend seven days in peace without any progress? So, with much persuasion and pressure, they drove the two of them out together, telling them not to return until ten o’clock at night.

Such a long stretch of time was surely enough for two youngsters to have a good time?

Maybe through play, the so-called feelings could be produced.

Only, they didn’t expect that the way these two “played” was by going to the circus to play on their phones. Playing on your phone in a romantic place—very classic. When the incident happened, Qiao Wan was holding her phone, saying calmly to Yuan Tianci, “My phone is almost dead.”

Yuan Tianci: “Oh. Then watch the circus.”

“What time is it now? When can we go back?” There were many people here after all, and there might even be people from their school. She didn’t know them, but they knew her. To maintain her image, Qiao Wan remained very dignified. When she saw a stout girl trying to pass by, she kindly tucked in her “1.8-meter long legs” that had nowhere to go though this was useless, as the seats here were so small that unless you were a “paper person,” you shouldn’t expect to pass through smoothly.

Qiao Wan watched the stout girl squeeze through with difficulty and once again lamented in her heart—if only she had a figure like Qiao Mo’s. That time Qiao Mo helped her buy takoyaki, didn’t she pass through a massive crowd without a single leaf touching her? Not only did she come and go freely, but the paper box containing the takoyaki wasn’t even slightly deformed. It was simply a superpower.

Qiao Wan acknowledged she didn’t have such magical skills.

“It’s only a bit past seven; we have three hours before we can go back.” To be honest, Yuan Tianci was also getting impatient. “I told them long ago that we have zero interest in each other, yet they keep doing this and that. As elders, they’re more anxious than I am. The emperor isn’t worried, but the eunuchs are?”

As he spoke, the person in front was a step too late in retracting their leg. Consequently, that girl tripped and fell down like a small mountain, landing squarely on Yuan Tianci.

Identifying the person by the dim light of the roof, both sides fell into a moment of subtle embarrassment until Xia Hanyin proactively spoke: “……Wow, you guys are here too. What a coincidence.”

Yuan Tianci: “……” That “Wow” was, one could say, very forced. “Did you fall anywhere? Like a scraped knee or something?”

Xia Hanyin shook her head blankly. That fall just now had sent her right onto Yuan Tianci; how could she have fallen anywhere else?

“Then get up.”

Yuan Tianci calmly released his hand that was supporting her. The unprepared Xia Hanyin suddenly lost her support point and made an even more thorough, intimate contact with Yuan Tianci’s thigh. Yuan Tianci: “……” Student, I hope you can have a direct and clear realization of your own weight. You aren’t some delicate ‘little bird’ you’re a ‘Great Roc spreading its wings,’ you know?

Every time he saw Xia Hanyin, Yuan Tianci would feel that, given the same height, Qiao Wan truly deserved to be the “School Beauty.” Looking at Xia Hanyin and then at Qiao Wan, one would understand why someone like her is called a school beauty, an elf, a goddess…

Same gender, different worlds.

“Get up.” Speaking to Xia Hanyin, especially in a place like this and while being crushed by her, Yuan Tianci was already using his maximum respect and patience. “I sometimes really wonder if I owed you money in a past life. Why is it that every time I meet you in this life, I end up being crushed? Like when we all climbed the wall at the start of school, or danced during military training, and now even watching a circus, I can’t escape this fate?”

Xia Hanyin also felt very embarrassed, so she stood up with a red face. Since there were vacant seats next to them, she just sat down there, completely forgetting what she had originally intended to do.

She also forgot to wonder why Qiao Wan was here and sitting with Yuan Tianci.

The two of them shouldn’t be together. Previously, if they just got a bit close, she would feel alarm bells ringing in her heart, but now, why did she feel incredibly calm even though she had caught evidence of the two on a “date”?

Or perhaps she had simply come to terms with it. After all, even if she was unhappy or felt something, others wouldn’t feel the same; ultimately, she would be the only one suffering, and that simply wasn’t worth it.

The circus performances were on a loop; as long as you entered, you could see the acts. Regardless, the show was always the same few things, and they wouldn’t make any new changes in ten thousand years. Therefore, it didn’t matter when they entered to those who had seen it since they were small.

The audience was mostly there for the various animals they didn’t usually see. Consequently, they were completely uninterested in things like the trapeze acts being performed now. Most people were looking down at their phones or talking to those beside them. The few who were seriously watching the circus were all underage children.

Midway through, once the acts had cycled once, the host, who hadn’t shown his face, said: “Ten-minute break. Those who have finished watching everything on the program can leave; those who haven’t can stay to finish.”

But no one knew whether you had actually finished or not. Thus, theoretically, one could stay there and watch forever, but in reality, many people weren’t that bored. Once they had seen what they wanted, they would grow tired of the noisy atmosphere. Therefore, quite a few people were leaving.

It was only then that Yuan Tianci seemed to have found his thoughts. He leisurely turned his head and asked, “What exactly were you coming over here for just now?”

Xia Hanyin was a bit confused herself. She scratched her head and said, “I forgot. That fall just now made me go completely blank. Don’t ask me what I wanted to do.”

Yuan Tianci arched an eyebrow and glanced toward where she had been heading the tent’s exit, covered by a heavy plastic curtain, with various miscellaneous items piled around it. The exit was there, the place selling drinks and snacks was there, as were the toilets and other things. In any case, looking at Xia Hanyin’s direction, one couldn’t tell what she had been planning to do.

Qiao Wan seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, “Did you come here alone, or are there companions nearby?”

“I have An Xiaolei and Qi Jun here, but Qiao Mo and Qiao Rui are also with us. Is something wrong?” Xia Hanyin raised her eyes and asked dizzily.

“Nothing.” Hearing that Qiao Mo was also there, Qiao Wan’s heart almost leapt out of her chest. She knew she hadn’t seen anything wrong earlier; Qiao Mo had come, and with her brother. Only, that brief glimpse earlier hadn’t been very clear, and by the time she wanted to see clearly, she and Yuan Tianci had been required to enter.

“You stay here; I’m going to find them. My phone is dead, and I want to borrow a power bank or something.”

Xia Hanyin expressed her understanding and nodded. After all, when a phone is dead, one feels particularly empty inside, with a vague, constant feeling that someone might be looking for you.

Then she saw Qiao Wan head in the direction she indicated as if she were afraid Xia Hanyin would change her mind. Xia Hanyin didn’t even get a chance to say, “It seems they didn’t bring power banks either.”

“……” Fine, as long as the ‘Big Bosses’ are happy. At least now, she could sit with her beloved “Male God,” couldn’t she? Speaking of which, at least in this regard, she had to admit Qiao Wan was a particularly good “wingman.”

She always managed to find various opportunities for her to be alone with Yuan Tianci—Xia Hanyin felt that if she really could be with Yuan Tianci in the future, Qiao Wan might be qualified to appear as the matchmaker at the wedding.

Turning her head slightly, she saw Qiao Wan slip behind Qiao Mo and cover Qiao Mo’s eyes with her hands. The two were laughing and talking about something. Xia Hanyin felt inexplicably envious of them. How was their laughing and talking not better than the serious atmosphere she currently had with Yuan Tianci which felt like “dancing on the Yuan family’s graves”?

If only Yuan Tianci would play little interesting tricks like the Qiao “sisters” did.

…

Qiao Wan surely didn’t know; with her hands being so small, there was no reason Qiao Mo wouldn’t recognize her. She was just playing along.

“Watch the performance properly. Looking left and right, are you here to see the circus or the people?”

After Qiao Wan left, Yuan Tianci’s expression cooled by several degrees. It felt as if everything he looked at was through a layer of cold-toned glass. Xia Hanyin took one look at him and felt the hair on her arms stand up despite it being midsummer.

If being with Qiao Wan made Yuan Tianci feel impatient with a touch of awkwardness, then being with Xia Hanyin was pure impatience. Yuan Tianci felt this probably had to do with the “Face Value” of the two who don’t like good-looking people?

Xia Hanyin was bewildered: “But there’s clearly nothing happening right now.” It was indeed the break, and there were no acts, though staff were already setting the scene. Looking at the props, the next performance should be contortion.

“I wonder if that little girl who does the contortion is still here.” Xia Hanyin smacked her lips and said, “She was performing before. I come to watch every year, and I feel like I’m developing an ‘Auntie’s’ mindset. I feel like by the time I graduate university, I’ll definitely be able to stand in front of her and say, ‘Wow, I watched you grow up.'”

Yuan Tianci: “……”

Girl, you’re quite cheeky, aren’t you?

“Hurry up and sit down. Everyone in the venue is watching you ‘wreak havoc in heaven’ who do you think you are? Did you come here to perform a monkey show for others?”

With those words, Xia Hanyin sat down upright with a “plop.” The chairs were in rows; Yuan Tianci only felt the chair beneath him sink abruptly with Xia Hanyin’s movement, followed by a groan of being over-burdened.

Self-preservation made Yuan Tianci swallow the words that had slipped to the tip of his tongue like “Whether it’s weight or anything else, you’re a heavyweight” and “You really should lose weight,” as well as “On behalf of the people of the whole country, I beg you, hurry up and lose weight.” He replaced them with a big roll of his eyes.

However, before he could say, “You’re both girls, why can’t you have a weight like Qiao Wan’s?”, Xia Hanyin beat him to the punch: “You’re both classmates, why can’t you be gentle like Qiao Mo? Seeing her makes one feel so at ease, and it feels like she can do anything if I were a boy, I’d definitely consider pursuing her as a girlfriend.”

Yuan Tianci arched his eyebrows, but quickly realized his eyebrows were moving non-stop today like they had an electric motor attached. So, he forcibly suppressed his restless brows: “As a boy, I can tell you quite clearly that I don’t like Qiao Mo’s type. First, she doesn’t have a beautiful face; second, she’s too all-powerful and I can’t handle her.”

This kind of girl is probably only suited for ‘yuri’ (lesbian relationships)?

“Well, she might not necessarily fancy you either.” When it came to Qiao Mo, Xia Hanyin was now essentially unwilling to yield an inch. The ten days of lunch breaks spent in Qiao Mo’s dorm leeching off the fan during military training had allowed Xia Hanyin to fully witness Qiao Mo’s excellence. No wonder Qiao Wan was always with her; this was just too freaking thoughtful!

It was the feeling of being taken care of with meticulous care. Furthermore, Qiao Mo seemed like she would never get angry; her temper was truly explosively good. Sometimes, looking at her, Xia Hanyin would feel she herself was being excessive.

All the conditions were excellent.

Xia Hanyin often thought: if only Yuan Tianci also had such a good personality. Regrettably, Yuan Tianci was very refined and elegant in front of others, but in front of her, Xia Hanyin, he was like he had drunk fake alcohol full of cold sarcasm all day.

If Xia Hanyin threatened to reveal what happened on the first day of school, he would huff and puff, and after a long while squeeze out a sentence: “Then I’ll tell others that your underwear that day was pink with lace trim.”

When Xia Hanyin told her “plastic sisters” about Yuan Tianci’s shameless behavior, those few people almost died laughing: “Oh my goodness, don’t you think this makes him look even worse? Peeping at a girl’s intimate wearing a pervert? Okay though we all know you’re actually an ‘ahjumma’ in a girl’s shell.”

End of friendship!

Qiao Mo would never be like that. If she ever said a harsh word to Qiao Wan, Xia Hanyin would feel she had been possessed.

…

After Qiao Wan had her fun, she finally released her hands from Qiao Mo’s eyes. Like a gecko, she leaned her torso over the back of Qiao Mo’s chair, smoothing the long hair she had mussed with one hand while squinting and smiling: “Surprised? Unexpected?”

The internal structure of the circus tent was a bit like a Roman Colosseum, getting higher from the center outward. To see Qiao Wan, Qiao Mo had to crane her neck. “Yes, yes, both unexpected and a surprise. Hurry up and sit down properly. Luckily it’s the break and there are no acts, or you would have been beaten by now.”

“No one dares to beat me.” Qiao Wan tossed her slightly wavy long hair. “Think about my family background.” Only, when she spoke of her family background, the complex expression on her face was actually deeper than anything else.

This made Qiao Mo feel surprised. She asked gently, “Did you encounter something unhappy?” Qiao Rui also cast a surprised glance, but not at Qiao Wan—rather at Qiao Mo. What’s going on? Surprise what, stimulus what? Didn’t my sister just see Qiao Wan enter with her own eyes?

And with a man.

A very handsome man.

Even if the expressions on both their faces weren’t great, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a couple on a date, didn’t it?

Qiao Rui nodded with a smile and turned his face away.

Qiao Wan looked around and saw that no one’s gaze was lingering on them. So, she emboldened herself to lift her skirt and step over the crossbar between the chairs, sitting in the spot next to Qiao Mo that had originally belonged to Xia Hanyin. Her light-colored eyes stared fixedly at the mineral water in Qiao Mo’s hand, looking pitiful.

Qiao Mo: “……”

Out of a desire for survival, she unscrewed the unopened mineral water in her hand and handed it to Qiao Wan.

After Qiao Wan took it, she gulped down several large mouthfuls. That drinking posture made Qiao Mo’s eyebrows twitch: “Slow down, you’ll choke. It’s not like you haven’t had water all day.”

“I haven’t had water all day! I’m a freaking little fairy, how can I drink water?” Qiao Wan said. “So Yuan Tianci never asked if I wanted a drink when he bought water today.”

Additionally, Qiao Wan herself was quite thin-skinned. When she was alone, she could do as she pleased, but now with Yuan Tianci, she felt limited everywhere. Raising her hand slightly to see the mineral water she had already drunk more than half of, Qiao Wan was a bit dazed: “It seems like since I met you, I haven’t unscrewed a bottle cap once.”

Every time, Qiao Mo unscrewed it and handed it to Qiao Wan.

“Your hands are smaller than mine; it’s only right that I take care of you,” Qiao Mo said, then asked her, “Do you want to keep drinking?”

Qiao Wan shook her head, but still held onto the bottle of water carefully: “I’ve already drunk from this!”

“I know,” Qiao Mo said. ” I’m just looking after it for you temporarily; you don’t have pockets on you that can hold a water bottle.”

At this point, Qiao Rui finally found his sense of presence and said loudly, “I do! Sister, give it to me. Mineral water is quite heavy, you know?”

“No need, it’s not that heavy. Besides, she’s sitting on my side; if she wants to drink, she can just ask me directly.” The implication was to refuse her brother’s kindness. Qiao Rui wore a wounded expression.

The program on stage was very boring. After watching for a while, Qiao Wan felt her eyelids fighting she usually had a habit of taking a nap. If she didn’t sleep at noon, she would feel very uncomfortable in the afternoon; even if she didn’t have a headache, she would be very sleepy. But this morning she had been driven out by the Yuan family for a “date,” and they had been walking until now without stopping to rest. Aside from thirst, it was mostly fatigue.

Beside Qiao Mo, smelling the faint scent of her shower gel, Qiao Wan unknowingly fell asleep.

It was as if a ship on a long voyage had finally found its harbor.

She had found it; now she could anchor. From her body to her soul, she was immersed in an indescribable gentleness.

Qiao Mo had been chatting with her sporadically. Feeling a weight on her shoulder, and then the complete silence from the other person, she turned her head slightly to see that she had already fallen asleep.

Her mouth opened, but ultimately she chose to say nothing more. She lowered her lashes, her gaze falling on the performance area not far away. The music was thunderous, yet this person could still fall asleep one had to admit this was truly a talent.

Qiao Rui saw his sister sitting upright, not daring to move for a long time. At first, he thought it was his sister’s “top student” attributes acting up, but soon he glanced toward Qiao Wan and understood: “Oh my god, this girl can fall asleep in a place like this?”

Amazement utter amazement.

What a quiet-looking little girl. Not only could she gulp down half a bottle of water in one go, but she could also fall asleep calmly amidst the music. What was even more unbearable was that she was using his sister as a pillow.

Biological, not picked up.

“Shh.” Qiao Mo made a gesture for silence toward him and continued to look straight at the show on stage.

Qiao Rui: “……”

What are you ‘shh-ing’ for? It’s so noisy here, does he really make that much of a difference?

But since his sister requested it, as a brother, he would naturally try to satisfy her. So, even though he was so envious of the girl who could lean on his sister to sleep, he couldn’t show it at all. He gave a cold snort and turned his head in another direction. With that glance, he saw the handsome boy he had seen earlier also having his shoulder used as a pillow by a girl.

Only, his expression couldn’t be described as good.

Qiao Rui watched for a while, but still felt his sister was the gentlest. He resolutely shifted his gaze back, just as he was about to silently lament in his heart about his excellent upbringing, when he suddenly discovered they had reached the main event, the tigers and lions jumping through fire hoops.

Normally, in this act, the tigers and lions came out in a certain order. Under the guidance of the trainer, they would be locked back up after jumping through the fire hoops. Generally, not many fierce beasts would be let out at once. After all, such wire mesh could stop people but might not stop fierce beasts; if there were too many, it would be as if there were no mesh at all.

As per tradition, the assistant lit the fire hoops and then released a lioness nearly as tall as a person. Once released, the lioness began to jog around the area as if gaining momentum. But for some reason, Qiao Rui always felt the atmosphere was a bit off; a faint, bad premonition lingered in his heart.

He couldn’t say exactly what was wrong, but there was that sense of crisis.

It was as if someone were approaching the back of his head with a brick. This was a strange sense of crisis he had developed through long-term fighting as a delinquent, and such bad feelings were often accurate.

He looked strangely behind him. Aside from the high-energy children, most office workers were tired from working during the day and were either already asleep or hovering on the edge of sleep with squinted eyes no one had the energy to pick up a brick and hit him.

“Brother?”

As if sensing Qiao Rui’s restless and anxious mood, Qiao Mo turned her head slightly and called to him.

Qiao Rui pursed his lips and said, “I have a bad feeling. Let’s go.”

Qiao Mo nodded without asking why. But it was already too late. The lioness, who had been jumping through a fire hoop obediently just now, suddenly attacked, knocking down the nearest trainer and then knocking over three fire hoops placed at the edge of the area. Given that human lives were at stake, the remaining assistants naturally rushed to help the trainer up, but the trainer’s subsequent words made everyone’s hearts, livers, lungs, and stomachs turn cold:

“Don’t let it go there! There was a big hole in the wire mesh over there that hasn’t been patched yet!”

“It can’t get there! It’s on fire!” the assistants shouted.

Amidst the screams, they had to be very loud to make themselves heard.

That area had originally been for props. Since the previous act was card magic, there were many paper products placed there, followed by the curtains and such used by the trapeze artists. So when the fire hoops fell, these flammable items began to burn. The “good” news was that the fire blocked the hole in the wire mesh, and the temperature there was such that the lion wouldn’t dare to crawl through, let alone come out.

The bad news was that everything was flammable and explosive; once ignited, everything caught fire. The temperature in the air rose sharply, causing the other animals to become restless and anxious. What was even more worrying was that the fire was spreading rapidly it felt like it was only a matter of time before it burned through the tent.

From the moment the fire hoops fell, people began to scramble in a frenzy.

A place like this was already very cramped. Now that chaos had erupted, some people didn’t even know where the only exit was and were running everywhere, causing great difficulty for the evacuation.

At this point, the fire burned through the main power line. The overhead lights flickered twice and finally went out. The entire tent had no light source other than the fire, which naturally caused a burst of frantic screaming from the public.

The unease in his heart was confirmed at this moment. Qiao Rui was incredibly regretful at this moment why had he brought his sister to this place? How great would it have been if he had just taken her to the internet café? At least there wouldn’t be a damn lion knocking over fire hoops. He tightly gripped his sister’s wrist, lowered his body, and said to her, “Follow me closely, your brother will take you out.”

Qiao Mo didn’t look particularly panicked. She used the remaining half bottle of mineral water to dampen a handkerchief and the decorative ribbons that could be detached from her skirt, covering the noses and mouths of the three of them. At the same time, she lowered the body of the half-awake/half-asleep Qiao Wan and nodded.

By now, the fire was spreading along the curtains. The entire tent was filled with scorching firelight and spreading black smoke. The loudspeakers had long been unusable. The staff were working hard to evacuate the crowd, but they only had one exit, and the number of people who could leave at once was very limited. Furthermore, there were many elderly people, children, and timid girls who could only scream when encountering such a situation, their legs so weak they couldn’t walk.

Qiao Rui took advantage of his height and long legs, always blocking the “two sisters” behind him to clear a path. They were finally able to gradually move toward the exit.

Qiao Wan asked dizzily, “What happened?”

It felt as if the world had changed upon waking up.

Qiao Mo pressed her head down again and said in a low voice, “Follow Brother closely; we’ll talk after we’re out.” In a fire, lowering one’s body is the easiest way to survive, but ordinary people aren’t used to such a posture after all.

At this point, the tent already showed signs of being teetering.

Perhaps because Qiao Mo was so calm, Qiao Wan gradually calmed down as well. She nodded and followed behind Qiao Rui without a word, though her grip on Qiao Mo’s hand tightening again and again still betrayed her thoughts.

“Don’t be afraid.” Qiao Mo squinted her eyes and touched her hair. Even though there was something blocking Qiao Mo’s face, Qiao Wan knew she must be smiling. “We won’t leave you behind.”

“I know.” This time, it took a good while before Qiao Wan slightly loosened her hand, seeing that a red mark had been squeezed onto Qiao Mo’s wrist by her excessive grip. “But I’m afraid of getting lost.”

Only you are the sole harbor.