Chapter 555 — Are We Going to Die?

"We're about to die — what heart is there left to win back?" Gu Mengyao laughed. "Xiao Shu, do you regret it terribly? That you never let anything happen between you and Wei Zhao? And now we're going to die, and it's too late?"

"Not at all — there'll be chances later anyway... uh..." Shen Yushu suddenly realized she had let something slip and clamped her mouth shut.

"Xiao Shu, what are you saying?" Gu Mengyao was sharp as a tack; she caught the odd note in Shen Yushu's voice at once. "Is there something you're keeping from me?"

"Heh heh, well... before we came, I sent Arrow-Brand Bro a text telling him we'd gone to Twin Swallow Mountain. If he finds out we've gone missing, he'll definitely come rescue us!" Now that Gu Mengyao had seen through her, Shen Yushu saw no point in hiding it any longer. She stuck out her tongue and revealed her life-saving ace.

"Ah! You rotten little Xiao Shu, why didn't you say so earlier? Making me worry like that! You scared me to death!" Gu Mengyao leapt up in a fury and made a grab for Shen Yushu's neck. "I'll strangle you! You knew perfectly well we could get out, and still you put on that dying act and went on and on to me — what exactly was that supposed to mean?"

"If I hadn't said all that, would Yao Yao have told me you're in love with Arrow-Brand Bro?" Shen Yushu grinned slyly.

"As if anyone would love him!" Gu Mengyao was indignant. "I was only making things up to trick you just now. The truth is, I knew all along Wei Zhao would come for us! I said all that to trick you into admitting you like Wei Zhao!"

"Ooh, Yao Yao's angry and lashing out!" Shen Yushu waved both hands and fled, using the darkness to put Gu Mengyao off her trail. "Come on, come catch me! You can't, you can't!"

"I'll tear that mouth of yours to shreds!" Gu Mengyao could not see her, but she could follow the sound of her voice. The two of them played blind man's buff in the dark.

After a while, both were worn out, and Shen Yushu surrendered. "Yao Yao, enough, I give up. I like Arrow-Brand Bro, all right? Now let me off the hook..."

"Hmph hmph, so you admit it?" Gu Mengyao said smugly. "Just wait — the moment we're out of here, I'm telling Wei Zhao everything you said."

"So what? I've already confessed to him anyway — la la la..." Shen Yushu said, utterly unconcerned.

"..." Gu Mengyao truly had no answer to that. It was true: Shen Yushu had already confessed to Wei Zhao, and saying anything more would be pointless.

The two of them had romped about for ages, and on top of that they had eaten nothing that evening — nearly five hours now without a bite. Shen Yushu's stomach began to growl. "Yao Yao, I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I want to eat..."

"Just bear with it a little. Didn't you text Wei Zhao? Once he gets it, he should come rescue us," Gu Mengyao said.

"Oh." Shen Yushu nodded, a little aggrieved. "But I'm so thirsty and so hungry right now!"

"Who told you to go so wild?" Gu Mengyao was hungry too, and thirsty, but she had no choice but to endure it. If she said the same thing, the two of them would only sit there starving to death together.

"Oh, right — Yao Yao, what was that bundle we found earlier? Could it be something to eat?" Shen Yushu asked suddenly.

"Maybe. But it might just as well be poison Zhong Yongliang left behind, so that the moment we eat it, it's the same as taking our own lives!" Gu Mengyao had indeed considered that the bundle might be food, but then she could not make sense of it: Zhong Yongliang had already locked them up, so why leave food behind?

If the idea had been to keep her and Shen Yushu alive, that did not hold up either, because there was food but no water! Everyone knew a person could go without eating, but without drinking, death came all the faster. So Gu Mengyao guessed it might well be poison, left there deliberately by Zhong Yongliang in the hope that they would take it and end themselves.

This too was a blunder on Zhong Yongliang's part. He had thought too simply and never considered the matter of water, assuming that with food in hand, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu would be able to survive.

"Oh. Then I won't eat it..." Shen Yushu was startled and quickly dismissed the notion. "But I still want water. I want something to eat..."

"All right, Xiao Shu, let's sleep for a while. Once we're asleep we won't be hungry or thirsty..." Though Gu Mengyao was likewise beset by hunger and thirst, she had no choice but to play the elder sister and comfort Shen Yushu. "Didn't you say it yourself? Wei Zhao will definitely come to rescue us..."

"Oh... all right then." Shen Yushu closed her eyes.

Gu Mengyao sighed faintly too. It must be night now, because through the peephole of the security door there was not a glimmer of light. She remembered clearly that this door faced the mouth of the cave; if it were daylight outside, they would surely be able to make out the scene beyond.

Time crept by, minute by minute, second by second. The two girls clung to each other, and gradually Gu Mengyao heard Shen Yushu's breathing settle into an even rhythm — she had fallen asleep. Gu Mengyao was just as weary, and she drifted off too.

When the two of them woke once more, a sliver of light had already filtered through the cat's-eye opening — dawn had broken outside the cave. Of course, it was not that feeble thread of light that had roused them; it was the raw, burning thirst that clawed at their throats.

More than ten hours without a single drop of water, and both of them were parched beyond endurance. Shen Yushu had stopped even feeling hungry — all she craved was water.

"Yao Yao, I'm so thirsty... I really want some water..." Shen Yushu's voice was raw and hoarse; each word cost her immense effort.

"Xiao Shu, be good — just hold on a little longer." Gu Mengyao patted her on the back and said with steady conviction, "Wei Zhao will definitely come to save us."

"Oh... are you sure?" It was Shen Yushu who had lost her confidence this time. She had believed Wei Zhao would arrive quickly, but clearly a full night had passed and he still hadn't shown. She had no idea what hour it was now, but it had to be daytime — the second day already.

"Of course. If he doesn't come, I'll fire him!" Gu Mengyao said in a tone meant to reassure.

Shen Yushu wanted to retort — he didn't even show up, so how could you fire him? But deep in her heart, she too was praying that Wei Zhao would come. He was her last lifeline, and she refused to let that hope die.

"Yao Yao, am I going to die? I feel like there isn't a single scrap of strength left in me — I've only just woken up and I already want to sleep again..." Shen Yushu groped weakly for Gu Mengyao's hand, her grip barely there.

"You won't. You're simply too hungry — that's why you feel so weak." Gu Mengyao shook her head.

"All right... then I'll sleep a little while longer..." Shen Yushu closed her eyes, but wrung out and drowsy as she was, she could not get to sleep. Her stomach growled, and her throat felt as though it were smoldering.

Gu Mengyao was suffering just as badly, but she knew that Xiao Shu had already lost the confidence she once had. In this moment, more than ever, she could not let herself despair. If both of them gave up hope, then all would truly be lost.