Chapter 165: People Like Yan Yue

"Na na na~ na na na na na na na na na na~"

"Na na na~ na na na na na na na na na na~"

...

Linglan turned sharply to look at Tong Yin, only to find her wearing a distinctly smug expression.

So what if she couldn’t sing the actual lyrics? The melody of this particular folk song was familiar enough that most people who’d heard it before could easily guess exactly which song it was.

I was foolish not to have thought of this earlier, Linglan realized.

"Are you out of your mind? Aren’t you afraid of ending up back in that dungeon?!" Linglan finally caught on to what was happening.

Tong Yin’s singing didn’t last long before cutting off entirely. "Doesn’t matter. So what if they lock me up again?"

"How many times have I already been dragged down to that dungeon over the past two years? I don’t need you saving me from it. I never asked for your help."

Linglan felt a flash of genuine anger. She truly couldn’t understand what was going through Tong Yin’s head. She’d done everything in her power to protect her — so why did Tong Yin insist on tearing herself down like this?

"You—!"

"Enough, Lan Ruoling. I’ve told you already — stop acting like you’re the only one who’s ever sacrificed anything. Who exactly are you trying to impress with that act?"

"We stopped being friends the moment you became someone else’s dog. I don’t have a friend like that."

Tong Yin let out a cold snort, tearing the old wound open without hesitation.

"If you want to spend your life as somebody’s obedient little dog, go right ahead — just don’t drag me down with you."

Linglan slammed her hand hard against the table. "You’re being completely unreasonable!"

By then, their carriage had already reached the ground. Unwilling to continue the argument any further, Linglan pushed the door open and walked out without another word.

Moments later, the man in the black vest stepped in, seized Tong Yin, and led her away.

Back in the shelter, Lin Yun paused the instant she heard the folk song drifting through the air again. Why did that tune sound so much like "Grandma’s Bridge"?

Had she misheard it? Or...?

She quickly fired off messages to both Song Xizheng and Song Zhenzhen, hoping to confirm what she’d just heard.

Song Xizheng: "...Sister Lin, if I heard correctly too, then you’re right — that was definitely the tune of ’Grandma’s Bridge.’"

Song Zhenzhen: "It’s absolutely Grandma’s Bridge! Only a few lines, sure, but it’s unmistakable."

Song Zhenzhen: "Honestly, I’m floored. So who exactly is singing this thing? Could it be someone like Yan Yue?"

The mention of Yan Yue’s name made Lin Yun hiss quietly. "That’s exactly what I was thinking."

If Yan Yue herself had once been trapped inside the Red Sleeve Building, did that mean some of the earlier survivors who’d come through this amusement park were still alive somewhere within it — simply undiscovered until now?

The one singing that folk song...

Choosing to sing a tune from "Grandma’s Bridge" at a moment like this seemed like an enormous risk. Wasn’t she afraid of the amusement park’s own people catching on?

Of course she’d be caught eventually.

Sure enough, the man in the black vest dragged Tong Yin straight down into the dungeon.

Down there, Tong Yin lay sprawled across the floor, barely clinging to consciousness. If she hadn’t still been useful to them, she would have been beaten to death long ago — as it was, she’d escaped with nothing worse than a pair of shattered legs.

"If you’re so capable, then just kill me already! What’s even the point of keeping me alive?" Tong Yin lifted her head to glare at the man in black robes standing before her, her eyes burning with open defiance.

The woman in black said nothing, quietly weighing whether Tong Yin was still worth keeping around at all.

Her voice remained useful, certainly — but her rebellious streak kept causing endless trouble.

"Tong Yin, I have no intention of letting you die. But I recall you were once quite the talented singer and dancer. Your legs are already broken now — surely you don’t want to lose your voice as well, do you?"

Tong Yin froze for a moment, then lowered her head, humiliation washing over her.

The man in black let out a cold snort and waved a hand dismissively. Before long, the black-vested attendant stepped forward again and dragged Tong Yin off.

6:30.

Dear visitors, the rain that has lasted so many days has finally stopped, and we’re thrilled to reopen the park!

Dear visitors, please stop by the visitor service center to claim your gift!

Also, the puppet theater has added several brand-new shows — all visitors are warmly invited to attend!

Lin Yun yawned, rose from the sofa, and headed out to the backyard to pick a small bundle of lily of the valley flowers.

It’s rained for so long, and I still haven’t managed to raise Lily of the Valley’s affection level. Might as well go track her down today and try to make some progress there first.

As for the puppet theater — that could wait. Something about the way the announcement had gone out of its way to promote it felt distinctly suspicious.

Once outside, Lin Yun made her way straight toward the pirate ship.

After meeting up with Song Xizheng, the two of them headed off together toward the visitor center.

The place was packed by the time they arrived, everyone crowding in to collect their gifts.

"That’s a lot of people."

Even before getting close, they could already spot the dense crowd gathered right at the entrance.

"Let’s just come back later — I nearly forgot anyway." Lin Yun had, once again, entirely forgotten about the gift.

"Want to knock out a task first, then?" Song Xizheng glanced around, searching for something quick and simple. "Carousel, maybe? Or back to whack-a-mole?"

"Let’s do the carousel. It’s been a while — let’s see if that little girl’s still up to her old tricks."

The two of them changed direction and headed straight for the carousel.

The little girl perched on the rocking horse suddenly let out a sneeze. Had she caught a cold? Wait, no — she wasn’t even human. How could she possibly catch a cold?

She scratched her head, then shrugged it off. "Whatever. Let this horse fly!"

The moment she spotted the two approaching, she fell completely silent for a couple of seconds.

Without a second thought, she leapt off the horse and bolted, never once looking back.

Whoever wanted to ride the thing could have it — she certainly wasn’t sticking around.

Lin Yun and Song Xizheng: "?"

"Sister Lin, what exactly did you do to her last time? Why’s she so terrified of you?"

"No idea... I didn’t do anything, really. I just happened to point a crossbow at her head."

Lin Yun’s tone remained entirely innocent throughout.

Song Xizheng’s mouth twitched. Something told him that crossbow incident hadn’t been quite as harmless as she made it sound. Otherwise, why would the girl have fled like that?

With the troublesome little girl out of the picture, the carousel ran perfectly smoothly, without a hint of chaos.

Lin Yun and Song Xizheng were satisfied enough, but the other tourists nearby were far less pleased, storming off to find someone in a green vest to demand answers.

The green vest found himself bombarded with questions — why wasn’t the carousel fun anymore all of a sudden? Hadn’t they said it would be properly maintained while the park was closed? So why did it turn out like this after all that supposed maintenance?

It was, apparently, no fun at all now.

The young man in the green vest broke into a nervous sweat under the barrage of complaints.

He’d caught a glimpse of the little girl fleeing earlier and had tried to stop her, but she’d been moving far too fast to catch in time.

He genuinely had no idea why she’d suddenly bolted like that — the whole thing struck him as bizarre.

Once Lin Yun and Song Xizheng had moved on, the little girl reappeared from around a corner and climbed back onto the carousel.

If you can’t afford to cross her, the least you can do is steer clear of her entirely.

"Fly, little horse, fly!"

Seeing her return, the green vest let out a relieved breath. Perhaps she’d simply had some urgent business that pulled her away for a moment.

By the time the two of them made their way back to the visitor center, the crowd had thinned out considerably.

They stepped inside without any trouble this time.

Lily of the Valley spotted them almost immediately. "Well, it’s been a while, you two."

"Sister Linglan, it really has! You look even lovelier than before!"

"Here — I brought these lilies of the valley for you."

Lin Yun smiled and held out the small bundle of flowers in her hands.

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