"Brother Ace, Sister Joanna, it's been a long time since I watched a movie. Let's go see one!" Jane chirped energetically, and held their hands as they walked towards the cinema.
"Umm…" Joanna stole a glance at Ace. She figured that watching a movie would be a boring activity for Ace given his status and position, surely he would refuse Jane's request.
However, he said indifferently, "I haven't watched a movie in a long time too. The new animation called Soul Travel should be nice."
"You know about Soul Travel?" Joanna asked immediately, her eyes lighting up. "I've been wanting to watch that movie! I heard it's good, but not many wanted to watch it, so they don't play it much. If we don't watch it now, it'll soon be out of theaters."
Ace nodded. "True. It's about saving one's soul. My Grandma Coco, which is produced by the same company, is pretty good too."
"Yeah, I liked that one. I watched it when it was first released, and cried like a baby in the cinema…"
Before they realized it, they were chatting with each other like old friends. They found that they were both film enthusiasts, and had watched almost the same movies as the other. Their comments and understanding of the movies were oddly similar too. Both of them felt that they had finally found someone else with the same taste, and they regretted not finding out sooner.
In the end, Joanna chuckled and said, "Ace, I always thought that you were just an emotionless capitalist who only cares about money, but it turns out that you've got a soul too!"
Ace raised his brows and scoffed, "Likewise. I always thought that you were just a dumb and gullible pretty girl."
The movie was about to start. They held their tickets and went to line up to enter the hall. The line was long, and Ace stood behind Joanna in the line. They were both quite eager to watch the movie.
As they were lining up, Joanna suddenly felt like something was amiss. "Ace, do you feel like something's missing?"
He tilted his head slightly and inquired. "What's missing?"
Joanna's eyes widened and she gasped, "Jane! She's gone!"
Ace looked around, his eyebrows raised in surprise. They looked at each other anxiously, realising how serious the situation was.
"Jane! Jane!" Joanna panicked and shouted Jane's name. She was so nervous that her voice was shaky.
Jane was Sophia and Anthony's beloved daughter, and even Joanna loved her like she was her own child. Jane was missing due to their own carelessness. What if she had been kidnapped by a human trafficker? It was too horrible to even contemplate, and Joanna prayed it wasn't the case.
"Jane, where are you? Come back now! Don't scare me, Jane!" Joanna scurried around the crowded cinema, panicked and desperate. Her eyes soon became red and watery as she held back tears.
Seeing her like that made Ace's heart ache, and he rested his large palms on her shoulders reassuringly. Ace's voice was calm and steady as he told her, "Don't worry, she's probably still in the mall. I'll ask people to block all the exits here. We'll find her!"
Joanna was at a loss for words. She nibbled her lip unsurely, her eyes full of tears as she looked up at him. Even though she hated Ace, she felt like as long as he was here, the issue would be solved. Even if things got out of hand, he would definitely figure a way out.
They looked at each other intently, emotions whirling in their eyes.
Suddenly, they heard a chilling scream from nearby.
"Ah! He's going to kill her! Run!"
Joanna knitted her brows tightly and grabbed a woman who was running away. "What's going on?"
"A–A crazy man kidnapped a girl in the hall on the first floor. He's a suicide bomber!"
"A girl?" Joanna felt sick to her stomach, and quickly asked the lady, "Is that girl around five to six years old and wearing a yellow dress?"
The lady looked bewildered, but nodded slowly."I think so! You both should leave… Everyone in this mall will die if that bomb goes off!"
After that, she hurried away, along with many others from the first floor.
Joanna immediately wanted to go downstairs, but Ace stopped her. "What are you doing?"
Joanna looked at him desperately. "Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to save her! A madman kidnapped Jane. If I don't save her, she'll die!"
Ace pointed at the emergency exit that everyone was rushing to, then said urgently, "It's too dangerous here. Go to the emergency exit with the others and leave this place."
After that, he pushed past the panicked people, running towards the scene without turning around.
Joanna watched his tall and resolute frame move through the crowd, slightly stunned. She hated that scumbag so much, but right now, his selflessness was oddly moving.
Almost all the civilians had evacuated the first floor, leaving only the armed police officers.
A middle–aged man was standing in the center of the mall with a large knife in his hand. He held it against Jane's neck and barked at the negotiator, "Don't try to persuade me. I've made up my mind! I
don't want to live, and I want all of you to die with me!"
He wore a series of string bombs around his waist. If he even yanked at the string slightly, the explosion would be enough to destroy the entire mall. It was a critical situation, and everyone there was scared.
The negotiator tried to reason with him. "Sir, please calm down. You can't resolve anything this way. Just tell us if you're facing any problems, and we'll help you."
"No, you can't help me. All of you are crooks!" The man yelled, then added piteously, "My house was forcefully snatched away to build a mall. Both my wife and child were reluctant to leave, so they were buried in the ruins. I couldn't even find their bodies…"
The man's eyes turned wild with rage. "You all love this mall very much, don't you? Blood for blood!"
The middle–aged man nearly cut Jane's skin with his knife because he was so worked up.
Jane was terrified, and she sobbed helplessly, "Sir, please don't hurt me. Just let me go, okay? Please…"
The man looked down at Jane, sadness clouding his gaze. "This world is so unfair… My daughter was around your age when she died. She had a difficult life from a young age, but you're very different from her. You have an easy life, and your parents are honorable and rich. You grew up in a nice environment…"
His eyes turned steely as he sneered, "I saw you and your parents just now. I truly understood how pitiful my family was when I saw your family so happy together… My poor daughter was buried alive, so you can go join her soon. You can serve her and let her enjoy a good life."
Suddenly, Ace approached the man and said coldly, "You pretend to be righteous, but you actually just want money, don't you? Such a thing can be easily resolved."
"Money?" The man was infuriated by Ace's words, and scoffed, "Back then, I did want money to give my family a better life but there's no point now. They're all dead, so there's no need for money. I just want all of you to suffer the same fate as them!"
"You can kill us…" Joanna's soft voice came from another corner as she slowly walked towards the man and Jane.
Seeing her, Ace knitted his brows tightly and uttered icily, "I asked you to go. Didn't you hear me?"
However, she ignored Ace and said to the man seriously. "But do you know what kind of consequences you'll face if you hurt that girl?"