Chapter 555 — Am I Going to Die? "No — I think Yao Yao's the best!" Shen Yushu waved her fist. "Don't worry, Yao Yao, I'm going to help you win back Arrow Brand Bro's heart!"

"We're about to die — what is there to win back?" Gu Mengyao laughed. "Xiao Shu, do you regret not having something happen with Wei Zhao? We're going to die now, and it's too late."

"No, of course not. 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, and caught the false note at once. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Heh heh. Well... before I came, I sent Arrow Brand Bro a text telling him we were going to Twin Swallow Mountain. If he finds out we've gone missing, he's sure to come and save us!" Since Gu Mengyao had seen through her, Shen Yushu saw no point in hiding it any longer; she stuck out her tongue and laid down her life-saving trump card.

"Ah! You rotten Xiao Shu, why didn't you say so earlier? You had me worried sick! You scared me half to death!" Gu Mengyao leapt up in a fury and went for Shen Yushu's throat. "I'll strangle you! You knew perfectly well we could get out, and yet you put on that dying act and poured all that out to me — what exactly do you mean by it?"

"If I hadn't said all that, Yao Yao, you'd never have told me you like Arrow Brand Bro!" Shen Yushu gave a sly grin.

"As if I'd ever like him! Not in a million years!" Gu Mengyao fumed. "I was only making things up to trick you. The truth is, I knew all along that Wei Zhao would come for us! I said it so that you'd admit you like Wei Zhao!"

"Oho, Yao Yao's angry because she got caught!" Shen Yushu waved both hands and fled, using the darkness to make herself impossible to find. "Come on, come and catch me! Can't catch me, can't catch me!"

"I'll tear that mouth of yours to shreds!" Blind as she was, Gu Mengyao could follow the sound of her, and the two of them played hide-and-seek in the dark.

After a while, both were worn out, and Shen Yushu surrendered. "Yao Yao, let's stop. I give up. I like Arrow Brand Bro, all right? Spare me..."

"Hmph, so you admit it?" Gu Mengyao said smugly. "Just you wait — the moment we get out, I'm telling Wei Zhao every word you said."

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

"..." Gu Mengyao really had no comeback. True enough — Shen Yushu had already confessed to Wei Zhao, and anything she said now was useless.

They had been scuffling for ages, and on top of that they had skipped dinner; nearly five hours now without a bite. Shen Yushu's stomach began to rumble. "Yao Yao, I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I want something to eat..."

"Bear it a little. Didn't you text Wei Zhao? When he gets it, he should come and save us," Gu Mengyao said.

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

"That's what you get for being so wild!" Gu Mengyao was hungry and thirsty too, but she could only endure it. If she said the same, the two of them would simply starve to death facing each other!

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

"Maybe. But it could just as well be poison Zhong Yongliang left behind. We eat it, and it's the same as taking poison with our own hands!" Gu Mengyao had considered that the bundle might be food, but she could not work out why Zhong Yongliang would leave them something to eat after locking them up.

If he meant for her and Shen Yushu to survive, that did not add up either — food alone, with no water! Everyone knew a person could go without food; without water, death came far sooner. So Gu Mengyao guessed it might well be poison, deliberately left by Zhong Yongliang in the hope that they would take it and end themselves.

This was one of Zhong Yongliang's miscalculations. He had thought it all too simple, never reckoned with the matter of water, and assumed that with food, Gu Mengyao and the other girl would survive.

"Oh, then I won't eat it..." Shen Yushu was startled and quickly put the idea out of her head. "But I still want water. I want something to eat..."

"All right, Xiao Shu, let's sleep a while. Once we're asleep we won't be hungry or thirsty..." Though she too was famished and parched, Gu Mengyao had to play the elder sister and comfort her. "Didn't you say it yourself? Wei Zhao is sure to come and save us..."

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

Gu Mengyao sighed softly as well. It must be night now; not a sliver of light came through the peephole in the security door. She remembered it clearly: the door faced the mouth of the cave, so if it were day outside, they would surely be able to make something out.

Time passed minute by minute; the two girls leaned close against each other, and gradually Gu Mengyao heard Shen Yushu's breathing even out, and knew she had fallen asleep. Gu Mengyao was tired too, and she slept as well.

When they woke again, a thread of light was showing through the peephole: outside the cave, day had broken. They had not, of course, been woken by that thin light, but by a parching thirst.

It had been more than ten hours without a drop of water, and both were desperately thirsty. Shen Yushu no longer felt hungry, only thirsty, desperate for a drink.

"Yao Yao, I'm thirsty. I want water so badly..." Shen Yushu said hoarsely, with great effort.

"Be good, Xiao Shu. Just hold on a little longer." Gu Mengyao patted her back, firm. "Wei Zhao is sure to come and save us."

"Oh... are you sure?" At this, Shen Yushu lost her confidence instead. She had thought Wei Zhao would come quickly, but a whole night had plainly passed and he still had not come. She had no idea what hour it was now, but it must already be the second day's daylight.

"Yes. If he doesn't come, I'll fire him!" Gu Mengyao said, to comfort her.

Shen Yushu wanted to say, if he isn't coming at all, how could you fire him? Yet in her heart she too was praying Wei Zhao would come. It was the last straw she had to clutch at, and she did not want her hope to shatter.

"Yao Yao, am I going to die? Why do I feel as if there isn't an ounce of strength left in my whole body? I've just woken up, and already I want to sleep again." Shen Yushu struggled feebly to take Gu Mengyao's hand.

"You won't. You're only too hungry — that's why you have no strength." Gu Mengyao shook her head.

"Oh, then I'll sleep a while longer..." Shen Yushu closed her eyes, but though she was drowsy and exhausted, sleep would not come; her stomach rumbled and her throat felt as though it were on fire.

Gu Mengyao was suffering too, but she knew that Xiao Shu had lost the confidence she had held before, and that at a moment like this she above all must not despair. If both of them gave up hope, then it truly was over.

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