How to Keep Him from Falling

Chapter 9: The Countdown Begins

“—Emily’s child. The specimen.”

Still, there was no reaction.

Eric’s expression did not change at all, as if he had not heard her.

He seemed completely indifferent to whether Emily’s child lived or died.

“The manager committed a serious crime just for a little profit. Do you really think someone like him would let Emily go? Would he let any of us go?”

Eric remained unmoved.

Boli did not give up.

She pressed her lips together and raised the stakes.

“If my guess is right… Emily’s brother is probably a ‘freak hunter.’ A middleman who specializes in selling people like us.”

The word “freak” finally caused the slightest change in Eric’s eyes.

“The manager turned Emily’s unborn child into a specimen. Maybe he enjoyed the profit and decided that Emily herself would be even more valuable as an exhibit.”

“Have you ever thought about what would happen if he discovered that Emily’s specimen was worth more than Emily herself?”

Boli took a deep breath.

Then she lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes without hesitation.

“—You and I… we would both become specimens. Exhibits displayed inside a museum.”

For a brief moment, his gaze became so cold that it felt as if it could tear through her skin.

She was about to convince him.

This was a dangerous gamble.

Luckily, she had more than one card left to play.

Boli heard her own breathing grow faster. Blood rushed to her face, and a buzzing sound filled her ears.

She could not tell whether it was fear…

Or the thrill of staking everything on one final move.

Before she could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly fell over her.

Eric leaned down.

The eyes behind the mask were no longer empty and emotionless.

They burned with terrifying rage.

Inside the white mask, his breathing became heavy and harsh, like the hiss of a threatened snake.

His hand closed around her throat, forcing her to stop.

Boli’s heartbeat accelerated.

A powerful sense of danger crashed over her.

Her vision darkened, and cold sweat ran down her back.

Before she could finish her sentence, the pressure around her neck suddenly increased.

She could almost hear the unbearable strain of her own throat.

Eric’s breathing grew heavier and heavier, like a violent storm beating against the surface of his white mask.

“I know you don’t want to see that happen…”

Oxygen slowly became harder to draw in. Boli forced herself to breathe, forcing her voice to remain steady.

“I don’t want to see it either. You are the most talented person I have ever met…”

“I have never been jealous of anyone’s talent before.”

“You are the first person who made me feel that way…”

“I don’t want to see you become a specimen. I want people to hear your talent. I want them to know what you are capable of…”

But Eric still did not release her.

He stared at her coldly, clearly refusing to believe her words.

Even though she already knew he was not someone who could be easily deceived, his gaze still sent chills through her entire body.

Boli had no doubt—

If she continued describing the scene of him being displayed in a museum, he would break her neck without hesitation.

Fortunately, she still had two more cards to play.

“Actually… I’m the same as you.”

She endured the dizziness and continued speaking, gasping slightly.

“My mother hated me because I wasn’t a boy. She almost stabbed my eye with a fountain pen…”

That was something she had fabricated based on what the manager had said.

—“Boli’s mother was insane. She almost stabbed his eye with a fountain pen.”

“She wouldn’t let me wear dresses. She wouldn’t let me live like a girl.”

“She shaved my hair completely off, like she was shaving a dog…”

“Sometimes I wonder…”

“If I had been you…”

“If I had been a talented boy…”

“Would she have loved me more?”

The grip around her throat suddenly disappeared.

She had won the gamble.

A massive amount of air rushed into her lungs.

Boli coughed violently, like someone who had just been pulled out of drowning.

But it was not enough.

She needed him on her side.

Not just to stop him from killing her.

“Work with me…”

“Let’s leave this place and create another circus together.”

She raised her hand and wiped away the sweat and tears on her face.

“You are so talented. You have everything you need…”

“Why stay here and let them humiliate you?”

Still, there was no answer.

Eric stood motionless.

It was as if he had returned to his previous state—cold, empty, and detached from everything around him.

Fortunately…

She still had one final card.

Boli stepped forward.

Struggling, she rose onto her toes.

Under Eric’s confused, defensive, and frightened gaze—

She kissed his mask.

For several seconds, he lost all aggression.

Like a dog that had just been struck and no longer understood what was happening, his eyes were filled with pure confusion.

And in that moment, Boli suddenly realized something.

Eric was not a shadow.

Not a monster.

Not a threat.

Not a dagger waiting to be drawn.

He was a living person.

Just like her.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But when she looked up—

Eric had already disappeared without a trace.

Eric ran so fast that it was as if he had vanished on the spot.

Bai Li replayed the look in his eyes from their final exchange and felt that she had probably convinced him to cooperate.

With the heavy stone in her heart finally lifted, her appetite returned. Even the smell of the meat pudding no longer made her feel as nauseous as before.

Calling it a meat pudding was actually a bit misleading. It was more like a steamed bun cooked until soft and mushy. When the dough was cut open, the filling revealed chunks of cooked rabbit meat and lamb kidneys. The entire thing had been brushed with a thick layer of butter sauce, making the greasy, gamey smell almost overwhelming.

If she had some vinegar, soy sauce, and chili peppers to dip it in, it might actually taste decent.

Unfortunately, the only thing on the table was a lump of butter that looked like it had been dug into by countless people.

They held the word on the tips of their tongues, rolling it around with filthy laughter.

Emily sat motionless in her wheelchair, her face as pale as wax. She didn’t say a single word.

The manager continued drinking until he finally realized things had gone too far. Only then did he casually shout a half-hearted reprimand.

Bai Li watched the entire scene unfold, unable to describe the feeling in her heart.

Ever since she had crossed into this world, she had been disguised as a boy. Her hair was cut short, and her chest was tightly bound with cloth. No one had ever looked at her with that kind of gaze—the way one looked at an object rather than a person.

But at the party, she had seen it clearly.

Many men looked at women exactly as if they were examining merchandise.

Right now, this body was still young and undernourished, so she could barely hide her identity from those around her.

But what about later?

A girl’s body changed every single day.

Perhaps tomorrow, she would already look completely different.

And when that happened, how would the people around her look at her?

Bai Li shivered and immediately forced herself to stop thinking about it.

Even in the modern world, there were still many men who did not truly respect women from the bottom of their hearts.

What chance did women have more than a hundred years ago?

Originally, she thought she still had plenty of time. She could slowly plan her escape.

But now, that was impossible.

A cold breeze swept past.

Bai Li suddenly shuddered, her skin prickling as an extremely important thought flashed through her mind.

Her period.

She had no idea how the original owner dealt with menstruation. Perhaps due to poor nutrition, she had never gotten it before.

But the human hormonal system was incredibly complicated.

What if, after she arrived, the body’s hormone levels had subtly changed?

What if it suddenly came?

The more Bai Li thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her heart pounded violently, almost like a drum beating beside her ears.

She had to leave this place immediately.

There was no time to waste.