Meng Jingwei didn't understand why Xiao Cheng, knowing that Han Junyan was coming today, would specifically take her to the attic.
She felt that Xiao Cheng must have discovered something, which was why he'd brought her to the attic to indirectly inform her that the castle was heavily guarded, deterring her from harboring any misplaced thoughts.
Could it be that he knew about her sneaking into the study last night?
She couldn't be sure.
The group entered the living room together. As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Antina sitting in the living room.
Hearing the sound, Antina looked over. Upon seeing Han Junyan walk in, a smile bloomed on her cold and beautiful face. She got up and ran over to Han Junyan, raising her hands to wrap around his neck. "Brother Yan, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you for so long."
As she spoke, she kissed Han Junyan on the side of his face.
Antina was Xiao Cheng's girlfriend, and such intimacy with Han Junyan was likely just a C-country custom.
However, it was evident that Antina and Han Junyan had a good relationship.
Although Meng Jingwei's face remained calm, her heart was already in turmoil.
With Antina being so close to Han Junyan, he must have known Xiao Cheng was alive long ago but had concealed it.
He had kept it deeply hidden.
"My little princess is even more beautiful."
Han Junyan reached out and ruffled Antina's hair, smiling dotingly.
"Of course, this lady has always been beautiful," Antina replied with a degree of confidence and ease. Her uninhibited personality was truly likable.
Then, the group sat together and exchanged pleasantries. Meng Jingwei sat on a nearby sofa, ignored as if she were a transparent person.
She wanted to say something, but she had no standing.
She wanted to leave, but it was impossible.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sitting on pins and needles, Xiao Cheng spoke up, "Since we're in good spirits today, let's play mahjong together. Antina loves mahjong the most."
"Okay, Shrek understands me best," Antina said, hugging Xiao Cheng beside her and raising her arm to wrap around his neck, sharing an intimate kiss.
"Let's go," Antina stood up and beckoned Meng Jingwei.
Meng Jingwei, like a puppet on strings, followed them out.
She didn't know where they were going to play mahjong, only that this 'mahjong' would surely be more than just a pastime.
Without any say or freedom of action, the feeling of being passive made Meng Jingwei feel utterly terrible.
The three walked ahead, with Xiao Cheng and Han Junyan on either side of Antina. Antina draped her arms around both their shoulders, the three of them intimately close, chatting and laughing.
The sun beat down fiercely, and even the air was thick with heat waves. As they washed over her, Meng Jingwei felt increasingly restless.
She, who was usually spirited, was unusually quiet for the first time.
Even when she was usually imposing and dealt with everything calmly and composedly, she felt inexplicably constrained and nervous at this moment.
They were heading towards the basement.
They indeed went down to the basement, still on the second basement level, in the same spot as yesterday.
There, a mahjong machine was set up, along with desserts and drinks. The interrogation room with glass walls next to it had its black curtains drawn, obscuring everything inside.
Meng Jingwei's apprehension grew.
"Hi, what are you thinking about?" Antina suddenly slapped Meng Jingwei on the shoulder.
Meng Jingwei's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm and unruffled. "I was just wondering what kind of mahjong you play here? It seems so boring."
Her English was excellent, her pronunciation perfect, and her speech fluent, unlike a girl from the countryside.
Antina looked at Han Junyan and Xiao Cheng. The three exchanged glances, and then their gazes converged on Meng Jingwei. Suddenly, they curved their lips into smiles.
Their sinister smiles sent chills down Meng Jingwei's spine.
"No, no, no, of course, it's most interesting here."
Antina said with a smile.
She gestured towards the mahjong table. "Meng Jingwei, you sit there."
As the host had spoken, Meng Jingwei naturally followed suit.
She sat in the position directly above the mahjong table, facing the interrogation room.
Xiao Cheng and Han Junyan sat to Meng Jingwei's left and right, respectively, while Antina sat directly opposite Meng Jingwei, with her back to the interrogation room.
"Come, come, let's start. I can't wait," Antina said, rubbing her hands together, appearing very excited.
After a long silence, Meng Jingwei finally asked, "No chips, just playing casually, right?"
"It's no fun without chips. But don't rush, let's play first," Xiao Cheng said, his cold eyes fixing on Meng Jingwei. He pointed to the center of the mahjong table. "Let's roll the dice. Whoever gets the highest starts."
The four of them rolled their dice. Antina rolled a 17, the highest score. The other three had the lowest scores, so naturally, Antina went first.
After arranging their tiles, Meng Jingwei asked, "What are the rules?"
"The simplest: move to win, idiot's hand. If you break a segment, you're listening," Xiao Cheng explained the rules.
This type of game was indeed the simplest form of mahjong in the country.
"One of the ones," Antina played a tile.
"The small bamboo, I'll pong that." She ponged the tile and then threw out a nine of circles.
...
Antina won the first round.
Before Meng Jingwei could inquire about the chips, she saw Antina snap her fingers at a nearby bodyguard.
The bodyguard nodded slightly and brought over something that resembled a lottery box. She reached inside, but then glanced at Meng Jingwei. "I heard Meng Jingwei has good luck. Why don't you draw one for me first?"
It was a transparent lottery box filled with colorful balls of the same color.
Although she was asking Meng Jingwei for her opinion, Meng Jingwei saw all three of them looking at her, knowing there was no room for refusal.
"Okay."
She readily agreed, wanting to figure out the game's rules.
The bodyguard walked up to her, and Meng Jingwei casually picked up a ball.
Another bodyguard came forward, took the ball, opened it, and said, "Nine." Then, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said into it, "Nine."
Nine?
"What does 'nine' mean?" Meng Jingwei asked.
However, before they could provide an answer, Meng Jingwei heard a scream of agony from the interrogation room with the drawn curtains.
Thud!
Her heart tightened, and her fingers, resting on her lap, clenched tightly. She couldn't help but swallow.
What mahjong?
This was clearly a trap.
Even the astute Meng Jingwei understood that the numbers on the balls in the box either represented the number of punishments or different types of punishments.
But the voice sounded somewhat familiar, yet it wasn't Qing Muye's.
She feigned composure and asked, "Who is inside?"
Antina put on an innocent act, shrugged, and shook her head. "I don't know. Just some petty thieves who snuck into the castle last night. You know, they're too daring, daring to sneak into my territory. They really don't know their limits."
As she spoke, she continued to roll the dice. "Oh dear, a seven-point hand, seven pairs. That's exactly the mahjong in front of you."
Antina seemed completely nonchalant. She leaned forward slightly, counted seven stacks of tiles in front of Meng Jingwei, and took four tiles. Then, Xiao Cheng also took four tiles.
When it was Meng Jingwei's turn to draw tiles, she was lost in thought.