Ye Chen looked at Lu Shixun again.
"No need to use the bathroom."
"Isn't there a pool outside? Let her wash there."
Lu Shixun paused.
"…At this hour?"
Ye Chen exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
"She's not useful anymore."
"…Understood." Lu Shixun nodded knowingly.
---
Cold night air.
The pool reflected faint light.
Mimi was thrown into the water.
She gasped, the cold biting into her body.
She tried to swim up.
But a stick pushed her down.
Again and again.
All her efforts were useless.
"Hahaha! She can swim."
"How long can she last?"
"Thirty seconds."
"I say a minute."
"More than that. If I win, I get another turn with the mother."
Laughter echoed above the water.
Mimi struggled to breathe.
As time passed, the water filled her nose. Then her mouth.
Her lungs burned.
Her arms moved weaker and weaker. As she started losing strength.
'Mama…'
'Daddy…'
'Someone… please…'
Her vision blurred.
The world around her grew dark.
Then—
Everything stopped.
***
