Back in her room, Ivy Shen was still fuming. With a loud bang, she kicked a stool clear across the floor.
"That damn iceberg is just too hateful!" Ivy shouted in frustration. The next second, she grabbed the teacup on the table and gulped it down, as if trying to douse her own fury.
"What the heck, even a beast dares to act all high and mighty with me? You wanna die, huh?!" Ivy muttered furiously to herself.
"Miss!" Lana called softly from outside the door.
"What is it?" Ivy snapped toward the door, clearly in a bad mood.
Lana glanced at Ivy’s still stormy face and whispered, "Um, well, they said they’re not leaving. And... and the servants all vetoed your decision…" She lowered her head, not daring to say more. After all, she’d vetoed it too—there was no way she could offend those men! Sure, Miss could be silly sometimes, but at least she wouldn’t kill anyone, unlike them!
Hearing that, Ivy got even angrier. "Out! All of you, get out!"
Lana scurried away in a hurry, tail between her legs.
"WTF, not leaving? They said they’re NOT leaving?" Ivy paced around the room, hands on her hips, muttering to herself.
"Fine, fine, just great! Not leaving, huh? Okay! Then I’ll leave!" To hell with this house—she’d planned to look for Elder Rowan anyway. If those poisonous snakes loved the estate so much, fine, she’d let them have it!
With that, Ivy flung her sleeve and strode toward the door—only to freeze at the threshold. She glanced down at her outfit, then promptly shut the door and marched back inside. "A wandering hero can’t go without a wallet!" she declared.
If she was going to leave, she had to stuff her wallet to the brim. Otherwise, how would she survive out there? She’d worry herself to death!
With that thought, she started cramming anything in her room that looked remotely valuable into her travel bundle. After a while, the tiny bundle had ballooned into a massive sack. Ivy stared at it awkwardly. Uh, did she maybe pack too much?
"Ugh... So heavy..." The gigantic bundle was a struggle for her petite frame, but even then, she had zero intention of leaving anything behind.
"Nope." After thinking it through, Ivy finally set the bundle down. "I can’t leave yet—it’s not even dark. If those poisonous snakes catch on, they’ll definitely follow me. Better wait for nightfall—it’s safer that way." With that, Ivy realized she was extra tired today, so she climbed into bed for a nap, planning to recharge and sneak out later that night.
Midnight.
After a while, the person on the bed stirred. Ivy cracked her eyes open and glanced at the window—moonlight was spilling perfectly into her room.
"Wow, what perfect timing for a nap," Ivy said, sitting up and stretching. "Alright, time to get to work!" With that, she threw off her quilt and prepared to get out of bed.
"Ah... ahhh..." Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream erupted from Ivy’s mouth, shaking the heavens and earth. Instantly, every light in the Shen family estate blazed on as people rushed over in a panic. With Ivy’s ear-splitting shriek as their guide, everyone was worried—had something happened to the young miss?!
But when everyone arrived, panting and out of breath, they were all left stunned by the scene before them: Ivy was trembling all over, her head shaking, neck twitching, face ashen, lips quivering as she shrieked, "Who... who... who touched my leg?! Ahhh!!!"