Before entering the hall, Cynthia took out her delicate black lace mask, and Gabriel gently helped her put it on. Then Cynthia took Gabriel's arm, and they walked into the hall together.

Inside the hall, music was already playing, with a light and elegant style. They greeted a few classmates whom they could barely recognize, even with masks on, but familiar faces were still distinguishable, like Ethan's.

He stood out too much, dressed in a navy blue suit, as if it were a deliberate arrangement by fate. Ethan lounged casually on a couch, his gaze sweeping lightly across the hall. Cynthia was afraid their eyes would meet, so she quickly turned away, feeling that she shouldn't reject him.

As everyone took a few sips of wine and the hall filled up, Professor Aaron took the microphone.

"Ahem, can you hear me?" Aaron adjusted the microphone to ensure it was working properly. "Good evening, everyone. I'm the host of this dance tonight, although I'm wearing a mask, I think many of you know me, and it's quite strange for me, a boring old teacher, to host this dance. I just want to say, don't underestimate us old folks, we're not that much older anyway. Even if you want to mock... No, mocking is absolutely not allowed. You know that many teachers have been invited to this dance, handsome, single, high-quality young teachers, they're all keeping an eye out, so be careful what you say, I can't stand any badmouthing."

Everyone laughed.

"Now that the atmosphere is warming up, let's quickly start our first opening dance. Let's have a few of our teachers set an example and show the kids your wonderful dance moves. The rest of you, find your dance partners, warm up if you need to, it's almost time for you to shine. Without further ado, let's begin!"

The crowd began to move, and many teachers stood up one after another, dancing to the music.

Cynthia watched the opening dance, feeling like she had been closed off for too long. Was it possible that she saw the extremely boring and serious math teacher and the witty and humorous psychology teacher dancing!

As the opening dance music was about to end, Cynthia began to feel nervous because she had no idea how to dance socially. She had only learned briefly a few days before the dance. Although she was quite coordinated, it didn't mean she could dance perfectly in such a short time.

"Thank you to the teachers for their dance, it was truly perfect. Now it's your turn, don't be shy just because the teachers are here, who hasn't been young before, we all understand. Bring your dance partners up!"

Gabriel made a gentlemanly gesture to Cynthia, who hadn't experienced this cultural difference before. In China, there were hardly any dances at all, and if there were, it certainly wasn't at an orphanage. In this atmosphere, with the grand hall, the sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, everyone dressed formally, and a man extending his hand to you like a gentleman, it easily evoked a woman's palpitations, reminiscent of childhood fantasies of being a princess.

They entered the dance floor together, and Cynthia tried hard to remember the dance steps she had learned, making sure she wouldn't embarrass herself.

At first, she could barely keep up, until she saw Ethan.

Ethan gently swirled his wine glass, nodding as he raised it in Cynthia's direction.

At that moment, Cynthia panicked, her steps becoming unsteady. In her confused state, she accidentally stepped on Gabriel's shoe, tripping him up and almost causing him to fall. Cynthia felt guilty, realizing she had indeed been distracted.

But Gabriel seemed unexpectedly furious, shouting as if he had transformed into a different person, "Can't you be more careful?"

Cynthia was startled, standing still in shock, not knowing what to do. But it was only a moment, and Gabriel quickly regained his composure, as if nothing had happened, becoming very gentlemanly again. "I'm sorry to have scared you."

Cynthia felt like this person had been split in two, as if two different individuals were residing in one body.

"I'm sorry, I accidentally stepped on you. I'm not very good at social dancing. How about we go grab some food or have a drink on the side?" Aaron sat next to Ethan on the couch, watching Cynthia and Gabriel on the dance floor. "You actually failed, bro, it's unbelievable. Did you not invite her?"

Ethan sighed heavily. "No, I did invite her, just a step too late."

"So the result of you being late is that you have to watch your girl dance with another guy, huh? I must say, she's really beautiful." Aaron smirked mischievously.

At that moment, a girl approached and sat down. "Hello, Professor Aaron and Professor Ethan." She raised her glass and clinked it with theirs. "My name is Evelyn." Her gaze landed on Ethan. "Professor Ethan is the golden bachelor in our students' eyes."

Aaron turned his head away, pretending not to listen to their conversation. "Is that so? It's truly an honor." Evelyn placed her glass on the table and extended her hand. "Do I have the honor of dancing with Professor Ethan?"

Ethan gently took Evelyn's hand and said, "I'm afraid not." Evelyn's smile faltered slightly.

"It should be me inviting you to dance, madam." Evelyn chuckled as she and Ethan entered the dance floor.

Cynthia felt like she was losing control. Her tolerance for alcohol wasn't great, and Gabriel and his friends had been urging her to drink. She already felt the alcohol rushing to her head, although her mind was clear, her movements were always a beat too slow.

"You and your friends are very hospitable, but I think I may have had enough. My tolerance isn't very good." Gabriel and his friends exchanged glances and chuckled. "Well, let's finish this last drink and then go get some fresh air outside." Gabriel's friend handed her a new glass. Cynthia wanted to refuse, but her brain reacted before her body could move. They sandwiched Cynthia between them, offering the glass to her lips. Before she could react, she took a small sip. She instinctively felt something was wrong and began to struggle, pushing away the glass before more could be poured.

The sound of the glass shattering echoed in the room, but few noticed, as the music was too loud.

Although Cynthia was sorry for breaking the glass, she also sensed something was wrong. When she tried to ask for help, she found her voice too weak, drowned out by the music.

They were standing near the edge, and Cynthia took two steps outward before being pulled back. Soon, she felt her consciousness growing heavier, and before she knew it, she was being escorted to the door.

A classmate approached, looking at Cynthia being escorted. "What's wrong with her?"

Gabriel and his companion didn't pause, only saying, "We're taking her to rest," before hurrying away.

After finishing a dance, Ethan returned to his seat. Aaron was still sitting there, nursing his drink.

"What? Not planning to have a passionate night with your date?" "Maybe some other time, but not tonight." Ethan downed the drink in his glass. "Why? Want to maintain a good image in front of your secret girl? Just saw her leaving with her guy friend, though." Ethan scanned the crowd but didn't spot Cynthia. "Stop worrying about me. You should find a girl to dance with and enjoy this wonderful night. As for me, I feel like I need to go to the restroom and sort out my personal issues."

Ethan left the ballroom, the elegant music fading further away. Meanwhile, Cynthia felt time elongating as she was pulled farther and farther from the crowd, gradually reaching the edge of the woods. In daylight, these trees were beautiful, with sunlight streaming through the leaves, warming the ground. But now, Cynthia only felt a bone-chilling coldness in the air.

Gabriel's friend asked, "Do you think this is okay? Could there be trouble?"

"Relax, I've checked it out. She's an orphan. Who knows how she gets her money? I'm her dance partner. Isn't it normal for us to step out for some 'love' when she's drunk? It's consensual, isn't it? Even if she calls the cops, would they believe her?" Gabriel looked at his friend with a wild grin. "And our parents can easily bail us out, right?" They both laughed and began to remove their suit jackets.

"This presumptuous jerk. We've met so many times, yet he still doesn't remember my name. Let's make sure she remembers me this time." Suddenly, Gabriel's friend had an idea and smirked lewdly. "Or we could leave some photos behind, you know? Threats and such work easily on Chinese girls."

Cynthia leaned against a tree, trying to regain her strength. She had only taken a small sip, but she couldn't believe she was already feeling weak. Cynthia's efforts weren't in vain. The autumn wind was still a bit chilly, but it helped clear her mind a little.

As the two approached to pull at Cynthia's clothes, she raised a handful of sand and threw it in Gabriel's face. Then, she hit his friend's head with a heavy stone. Although Cynthia didn't have much strength left, she didn't have to worry about knocking them unconscious even if she exerted all her strength.

Cynthia tried to stand up to escape, but her beautiful fishtail skirt restricted her movements. On her first step, she nearly stumbled. With a forceful effort, she lifted the skirt entirely, disregarding any semblance of elegance. There was a tearing sound from somewhere on the skirt, and several beautiful rhinestones fell to the ground. Though they weren't real diamonds, Cynthia still felt a pang of regret seeing her beautiful skirt ruined.

The dizziness persisted, but Cynthia forced herself to overcome it with all her strength. Then, she forced her legs to move, unsure whether to hide or run back to the ballroom. If she hid, where should she go? If she ran back to the school, which direction should she choose? Normally, Cynthia would be able to discern the right direction clearly, but now, she could only choose a direction at random and sprint.

The music from the ballroom still occasionally pierced Cynthia's ears, but it no longer sounded elegant. It had transformed into a frantic rock beat. 'Is this transition too abrupt?' Cynthia thought, then immediately chastised herself for thinking about it at such a critical moment.

Cynthia couldn't resist glancing behind her to see if she had run far enough, but before she could confirm whether anyone was behind her, she stepped into a pit and fell.