Why it never ends

Chapter 1216 Leaving
As Hesta approached, a burst of applause inexplicably erupted from the crowd. Hesta gestured for everyone to stop, and they all lowered their hands again. The clamor of the crowd subsided like dust suddenly extinguished by rain, and silence returned.

This fleeting change caught Lü Qizhen's eye, causing her smile to freeze once more. After her brief conversation with Hershta last night, she thought she had recovered, but now, everything seemed to have returned to that afternoon when they were about to head to the theater.

Recalling the way Jiaheduo had looked at Boheng earlier, Lü Qizhen immediately lowered her gaze guiltily and turned to look at the back row, as if to confirm who was still absent.

She felt extremely uneasy and afraid that her sudden feelings would be noticed by others, so she unconsciously looked around and glanced at Gahodorei and Chloe's reactions out of the corner of her eye—the two of them had been staring at her intently ever since Herstal appeared, their gazes serious and serious, carrying a certain unyielding hostility.

"...Did you get bitten by an insect?" Gahodore was finally drawn to Lü Qizhen's squirming and twisting.

"No, I...I'm looking for someone."

"Who?"

“Hmm,” Lü Qizhen’s throat moved slightly, “Turan.”

"Is it that person?" Gahodore pointed to where Victoria was sitting, where all the mercury needles were sitting.

Lü Qizhen let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, as if confirming something important: "So she's here, haha, haha, it's good that she's here."

Gabrielle glanced at her friend with some surprise—the group of Mercury Needles were all dressed in uniforms today, and they were all tall and muscular, lined up in a row. It would be strange if she couldn't find them.

Lü Qizhen was also aware of this, but she couldn't explain it.

A few more voices began to murmur around them. Lü Qizhen's gaze swept lightly over Hester, who was whispering with Lai Lin on the podium. The AHgAs's uniform was fluttering in the wind, and Lü Qizhen noticed for the first time that the black cloak had a bright red lining. The way it swayed in the wind was like—

Lü Qizhen suddenly stood up, gripping the handrail. She realized she couldn't stay there any longer. The intense attraction from Hershtar should have led her to some kind of pleasure, but now she was uncontrollably staring at this pleasure, like a doctor forced to perform surgery herself. However, her skills were lacking; all the chaotic feelings combined only filled her with dread.

"...Where are you going?" Chloe and Gahodore looked up at the same time.

“I’m not feeling well,” Lü Qizhen answered honestly. “I need to go back and lie down for a while…”

“I’ll go with you,” Chloe and Gabrielle said in unison.

“No way… then I’ll miss the gathering this afternoon,” Lü Qizhen said, feeling a bit of a headache. She just wanted to be alone for a while and wished she had said she was going to the bathroom earlier. “You guys stay here. I’ll go back and lie down for a bit and be right back.”

“No,” Gahodore said. “How can I let you go back alone? I’ll go with you, and let Chloe—”

"You dare leave me here alone!" Chloe's voice was almost squeezed out of her throat; her intense dissatisfaction and desperate attempt to suppress her voice made her sound like a screaming mouse.

Lu Qizhen also made a "stop" gesture. "You two sit down," Lu Qizhen said. "I'm going to find Officer Si Lei. You two listen carefully to the content of the meeting. If I don't come back later, you two tell me together tonight. It's settled then."

After saying that, she looked at Chloe deeply, then squeezed the back of her hand: "...If you're not feeling well either, you can come back to me."

Chloe glared at her again and pulled her hand away: "I'm fine!"

Lü Qizhen clenched her fist again and waved to Chloe: "Brave Chloe."

While everyone was watching Lü Qizhen suddenly leave her seat, Boheng noticed a carriage slowly stopping on a ridge not far away.

Two people were sitting in the back seat of the car, but the shadows inside appeared particularly gloomy under the dazzling sunlight. Boheng couldn't see their faces clearly, and the two showed no intention of getting out of the car.

He glanced again at the seats in front of the Mercury Needle—five empty chairs, like all the seats in the audience area, all woven wooden chairs. Boheng guessed that the person in the car was probably the guest in these empty chairs, so he kept an eye on the area out of the corner of his eye.

More and more people are gathering in the open space in front of the old house.

Besides the adults and children who had moved to the palace with Hershta, many farm laborers and shack dwellers also came out of curiosity. At first, they watched from a distance, but when no one stopped them, they got closer and closer.

There weren't many men among the visitors. It was already close to dusk at four o'clock in the afternoon. Considering that the murder case had not yet been solved, the men generally went back to their houses by hand before three o'clock in the afternoon and stayed until the sun came out the next day.

Hesta stood on the podium, her gaze sweeping across the crowd. Suddenly, she spotted Helieta's face in the distance. Their eyes met, and Hesta quickly gave the little girl a smile—she hadn't had a chance to visit the farm since returning, and thus hadn't seen the child in a long time.

Santa's daughters also came. Although they didn't have invitations, the three of them sat around Santa's feet. More girls who came to watch the excitement quickly found familiar adults or peers in the crowd, and the audience, which originally had only about a hundred people, quickly expanded outwards.

A few minutes later, Sangonde led a few people over carrying a stack of small stools. They unfolded the stools and placed them next to the original row of chairs, allowing the women who had been watching from afar to come closer and sit down.

When Hershta turned on the microphone and began greeting everyone, Boheng finally caught the movement of the person in the car—the man by the window couldn't resist leaning out to try to make a face-to-face with Hershta from a distance, and Boheng immediately recognized him as Kvischk.

Boheng let out a low scoff and withdrew his gaze. At that moment, he suddenly remembered another face, so he searched the crowd for the young man who was also from District 14—this man had not appeared at all, so he probably wasn't an important figure.

“The weather is great today,” Hester said, looking down at the crowd from the podium. “Much better than the last time we all stood here together.”

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, and everyone remembered the two photos taken in the heavy rain—it was just a pity that Hershta himself wasn't in one of the photos.

“Some time ago, some of you asked me through someone what we were going to do at today’s gathering. Actually, the invitation already clearly stated what we were going to do—to introduce ourselves, then to rename our farm together, to discuss the internal rules, and to hear other people’s thoughts and opinions.”

“However, things can change quickly. Today I have three things to announce first,” Hesta said, his hands gripping the edge of the lectern. “First, it concerns your identities.”