The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Xu Nian looked around and noticed the suit hidden in the closet.

He was a little confused, as he had never bought this outfit before.

Moreover, it looks like a brand new suit.

Xu Nian gently tore open the packaging, and an invoice fell out.

The purchase time and the store where it was purchased are clearly recorded on it.

......

"Brother, I don't care what's wrong with you today, you promised to take me out to eat, you can't go back on your word!"

"Okay, okay, when have I ever lied to you? I'll wait until after I get off work, it's not time yet."

"You're talking nonsense! You were just teasing me last time!"

"Hello, was this outfit sold at this store today?"

The male shop assistant quickly pushed away his sister who was pinching his arm and went to greet Xu Nian.

He took the clothes and looked at them.

"Yes, this British-style suit was sold in our store today. The buyer was a young girl who said it was her brother's birthday and she wanted to use the money she earned this month to buy it as a gift for him."

The male shop assistant looked Xu Xi up and down for a while, then asked with some envy.

"You must be that little girl's brother?"

Xu Nian looked at the suit and froze.

He never expected that Xu Xi would remember his birthday, let alone that she would prepare a gift for him.

"Yes, did she come back here after she bought clothes today? I can't find her..."

The male shop assistant shook his head: "No, I have a deep impression of her, and I will remember her if she comes back."

"Okay, thank you."

Xu Nian sighed, feeling that she had really asked the wrong question.

Why do I need to come back after buying clothes and putting them at home?

He turned around, preparing to look elsewhere.

"etc."

Just then, the male shop assistant's sister called out to Xu Nian.

"Is your sister about 1.5 meters tall, very thin, with fair skin, a round and pretty face, and wearing double braids?"

"Yes! Have you seen it?"

Xu Nian's face lit up with hope; her description was exactly the same as Xu Xi's!

The girl nodded.

"It must be her. I work at a cake shop, and just before we closed, a girl came in and bought a chocolate birthday cake, saying she was going to give it to her brother."

Which cake shop do you work at?

Xu Nian, as if grasping at a lifeline, asked excitedly.

The girl tilted her head and pointed to herself: "Yuncheng Street, Maixiangyuan Cake Shop."

"Thank you! Thank you!!"

Xu Nian hurriedly left the store and ran towards the location she had indicated.

When we arrived at the cake shop, all the surrounding shops were already closed.

The streets were deserted, with only a few cars passing by occasionally.

Xu Xi, where are you?

Xu Nian anxiously searched everywhere, trying to find any trace of Xu Xi.

However, it does not.

He stopped and forced himself to calm down.

After Xu Xi finished cooking, she covered the food to keep it warm and then went out.

This indicates that she went out only to buy a cake.

After buying the cake, Xu Xi would definitely head towards home.

There are two routes home from here. One is the main road, which requires a half-hour detour.

The other path is a small road, which only takes ten minutes to walk.

If you calculate the cake shop's closing time, even if he took the main road, Xu Xi should have been home by the time he came out to look for her.

There are surveillance cameras all along the main road, and there should still be many shops open on the street. Xu Xi should be unlikely to get into any trouble if she takes that road.

So all that's left is that little path.

Xu Nian took a deep breath and walked towards the path.

Xu Xi! Please don't let anything happen to you!!

Before reaching a small alley, Xu Nian's right eyelid twitched.

The alley was pitch black, with no streetlights or any other lighting. Even the moonlight seemed to be obscured by dark clouds, unable to penetrate.

He turned on his phone's flashlight and slowly groped inside.

Halfway there, a bad feeling rose in Xu Nian's heart.

There seems to be something on the road ahead.

He crouched down and shone a flashlight around.

In an instant, Xu Nian's face turned pale.

The dark floor tiles were smeared with brown chocolate sauce, and ants were nibbling at it all around.

Cake batter was scattered all over the floor, and messy footprints of different sizes were like stamps, leaving pale yellow and gray marks on the floor tiles.

It was exactly the same night as ten years ago.

There were a few dark stains on the side of the floor tiles.

Those are bloodstains.

"Xu Xi!!!"

Apart from the flickering streetlights at the end of the alley, there was no response...

......

The dimly lit room reeked of a foul stench.

Flies and cockroaches fluttered their wings, flying around under the flickering incandescent light.

Where am I?

Xu Xi opened her eyes and found that her hands and feet were bound.

Ouch... my head hurts so much!

A sharp pain shot through the back of my head, and drops of blood dripped down the ends of my braided hair.

A devilish whisper reached my ear.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Xu Xi's pupils constricted sharply.

"Little sister, do you remember me?"

Old Li revealed a chilling smile.

He had a shocking scar on his face, a mark left from the injury he sustained when Xu Nian injured him last time.

"Uncle Li... Uncle Li..."

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xu Xi's face. She trembled, and even her voice shook slightly.

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap rang out, and a red mark instantly appeared on Xu Xi's pretty face.

"You shameless bitch! It's your good fortune that I even considered you, and you still dare to run away?"

Old Li's chest heaved, and he gripped Xu Xi's neck tightly with one hand.

"I really want to take you... but someone is willing to offer a price that will tempt me to buy you."

"Otherwise, I would have chopped off your feet by now and made you my little wife forever."

After a long while, he put Xu Xi down, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"If you stay hiding in that run-down neighborhood and don't come out, I really can't do anything to you."

"That old bastard security guard, he was staring at me like a dog, what a damn nuisance."

He slowly raised the hand that had just gripped Xu Xi's neck, and gently stroked the slap marks on Xu Xi's face.

"However, I have plenty of time. After waiting for so many days, I've finally gotten to see you come out alone. Heh..."

Xu Xi almost suffocated. Her face was flushed, and she was panting heavily. She could clearly smell the nauseating odor emanating from Li Laogui.

"Do you despise me? Do you want to leave me? Hehehehe..."

"Don't worry, little one, tomorrow you will be sold to a place two thousand kilometers away, and you will never see me again."

Calm down, you need to calm down.

Terrified, Xu Xi forced herself to remain calm, but the cold sweat that kept seeping out betrayed her panic.

Finally... life is getting back on track.

I have a home, someone to rely on, and someone I care about.

I absolutely... I must find a way to escape!