Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

She looked up and saw the short-haired little boy who had spoken to her earlier chasing and playing with several other children not far away. Under the big tree, several middle-aged women sat chatting, their fingers flying as they did needlework, a picture of peaceful tranquility.

Shen Jingshu walked over quietly with light and slow steps.

The people in these illusions still ignored her, chatting idly about neighborhood gossip and family matters, repeating the same old mundane words.

Shen Jingshu stood quietly by the side, her gaze carefully sweeping over every detail around her, secretly comparing the formations and trying to find flaws in the illusion.

Just as she was observing intently, a light, floating sound suddenly came from behind her. There were no footsteps of strangers, but it carried a chilling coldness.

Shen Jingshu's eyes sharpened, and she turned around abruptly.

The little boy who had been playing with his friends just moments before suddenly appeared behind her, silently and with a speed so strange it was unlike any other child.

The moment their eyes met, the little boy suddenly grinned, revealing an exceptionally innocent yet utterly cold smile. His dark eyes were fixed on Shen Jingshu: "Sister, don't stand here! Come and play with us! Play with Xiaobao for a while, okay?"

Shen Jingshu remained calm, quietly watching him without responding or moving.

Seeing that she didn't answer, the boy wasn't discouraged. He took a step forward, raised his small hand, and accurately grabbed Shen Jingshu's wrist. The cool touch pressed against her skin as he pulled her forcefully, intending to drag her towards the group of children playing not far away.

"Sister, come quick! Everyone's waiting for you!"

Shen Jingshu's eyes remained calm, offering no resistance as the little boy gripped her wrist and led her to a group of children.

As the two approached, the children who had been chasing and playing instantly stopped and turned to look at them, their dark, empty eyes all fixed on Shen Jingshu.

The little boy, Xiaobao, tilted his head back and excitedly introduced the girl to his friends: "This is the older sister I found!"

After saying that, he turned to Shen Jingshu and asked obediently, "Sister, what's your name?"

"You can just call me Sister Shen."

"Sister Shen!" Xiao Bao's eyes crinkled into a smile. He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, feigning maturity, then his eyes lit up. "Let's play house! Sister, you can be our mom, okay?"

The surrounding children echoed, their soft, sweet voices blending together, sounding innocent and carefree, yet revealing an inexplicable eeriness and rigidity.

Shen Jingshu nodded slightly: "Okay."

"Yay! Xiao Bao has a mommy now!" Xiao Bao cheered, but then frowned and touched his empty stomach. He said in a matter-of-fact and stubborn tone, "Xiao Bao is hungry. Mommy is going to cook for Xiao Bao."

What would you like to eat?

"I want something sweet!" Xiao Bao's eyes lit up, her tone confident. "Xiao Bao loves sweets, I don't know if other flavors are good! Sister, can you make them?"

Shen Jingshu shook her head frankly: "I can't cook, so I'm afraid I can't make the desserts you like."

The moment those words were spoken, Xiao Bao, who had just been beaming with joy, suddenly turned pale.

He puffed out his round face, put his little hands firmly on his hips, glared at Shen Jingshu, and his childish voice suddenly turned fierce: "How can you not know how? Since you're Xiaobao's mother, how can you not know how to cook? If you can't cook, how will you take care of Xiaobao?"

"You're a terrible mom! The worst mom ever! Little Bao is angry!"

The moment Xiao Bao suddenly erupted in anger, all the children around him fell silent instantly, retreating in panic and huddling together. Several were even trembling slightly, their faces filled with fear. It was clear that they were already accustomed to Xiao Bao's extreme terror.

Shen Jingshu could see it very clearly: as Xiao Bao became angry, his tender body began to exude a dense, dark, malevolent aura.

That once well-behaved, cute, chubby little face was also quietly changing. Its eyebrows and eyes gradually became distorted, losing all its childlike innocence and revealing a sinister and ruthless look that was completely inconsistent with its childhood age. Where was there any trace of its innocent appearance?

Shen Jingshu's gaze darkened slightly as she stood quietly in place, intending to observe the situation and see what kind of array mystery was hidden behind the child's illusory figure.

Just then, Lin Yueru's anxious cry suddenly came from afar: "Junior Uncle!"

Shen Jingshu turned her head at the sound and saw Lin Yueru and Xuanfeng hurrying towards her.

But in the blink of an eye, when she turned her head back, the angry little Bao in front of her, along with all the children who had been standing around, had vanished without a trace.

The empty tree was quiet, as if the scene of innocent playfulness and fierce anger that had just occurred had never happened.

Shen Jingshu remained calm and stepped forward to greet the two people who had arrived.

"You're back."

Lin Yueru walked quickly closer, a hint of doubt in her eyes: "Yes, Junior Uncle, we came back to gather on time. We just saw you standing alone under the tree, lost in thought. I called out to you, didn't you hear me? Is there... someone else here?"

"It's alright. Tell me, have you found any other people who are trapped?"

Xuanfeng shook his head slightly, his expression solemn: "No. In our eyes, all the people here look almost identical, and we can't see anything unusual. After checking along the way, we haven't found any trace of outsiders. We just feel that everything is strange, and the villagers on the road seem to be completely unable to see us."

"That's not right," Xuanfeng suddenly said. "When we first entered this illusion, we clearly met a little boy who even spoke to us."

Lin Yueru immediately recalled and nodded repeatedly: "That's right! It's that child. He's the one who pointed out the direction of the paddy fields where Fellow Daoist Lin and Fellow Daoist Ye were. Let's look for him."

As she spoke, she looked around, saying, "They were just playing with a group of friends around here a moment ago, how come they all disappeared? Did they all go home?"

Just as the two were searching for Xiao Bao's whereabouts, Lin Feng and Ye Shuang, who had gone to investigate clues on the other side, also returned. Both slumped their shoulders, their faces full of frustration, and shook their heads; their search had also yielded nothing.

Seeing Xuanfeng and Lin Yueru constantly looking around as if searching for something, Ye Shuang couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking for?"

"Find a little boy, about this tall, with short hair, a round face, and a cute smile. He was just playing around here a moment ago, and then he disappeared in the blink of an eye."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng and Ye Shuang exchanged a glance, both looking completely bewildered.

"What little boy? We've been in this illusion for so long, and we haven't seen a single child like you."

"Impossible! We clearly saw it with our own eyes. Junior Uncle even gave that child candy. It happened not long ago. We can't be mistaken." Lin Yueru frowned, still refusing to believe it.