Madam Lu watched him and An Zhe didn’t know what she would do with him. He heard Madam Lu ask, “Is he your friend? Were you looking for him in the stairwell?”

Lily and An Zhe glanced at each other and Lily’s sly eyes turned to Madam Lu. “He doesn’t want to go back. Can I invite him for a visit?”

She added, “We can have dinner with An Zhe. It is delicious.”

An Zhe knew that the little girl was trying to help him hide from the people searching below but he didn’t think Madam Lu would agree. After all, his sudden appearance here was too strange.

To his surprise, Madam Lu nodded. “Okay.”

Lily let out a ‘wow’ and said, “Madam, today you’re very good.”

Madam Lu lowered her head and touched Lily’s hair. “I have always loved you.”

Lily affectionately rubbed against the lady’s hand. “I like you too.”

An Zhe was taken to the 22nd floor of the Garden of Eden. The atmosphere was peaceful. Soft music played in the corridor and the white walls were full of images of flowers, butterflies, bees and clouds. It was like another world compared to the outside.

In the spacious corridor, An Zhe also met other women. They all wore long white dresses, had dark or chestnut brown hair and had quiet faces. Whenever they saw Madam Lu, they gave her a friendly greeting.

In a cubicle of the public canteen, An Zhe had dinner. It was sugared milk, half a roast chicken and a bowl of vegetable corn soup.

After dinner, Madam Lu said, “It is time to send your friend away.”

Lily acted coquettishly. “Let him stay a bit longer.”

The lady indulged her request. “Then come with me to water the flowers.”

Thus, Lily took An Zhe’s hand and they walked through the white corridor and came to another round room. An Zhe saw the lush red and green colours in the room. The centre of this room had a flowerbed that was several square metres in size and lush red roses were growing in them.

“My lover used to bring me some seeds from the wild.” Madam Lu told An Zhe. “Later, Lu Feng would do the same. I remember you stayed with him that day.”

An Zhe nodded.

“He rarely wants to be close to anyone else.” Madam Lu picked up the silver watering can placed on the flower rack. Just then, something flashed in An Zhe’s vision, He subconsciously turned his hand and saw the TV screen in the room. No one had pressed the remote control. It had turned on automatically.

“This is a message from the emergency response department.” The broadcaster spoke much faster than usual. At the same time, a photo of An Zhe was shown on the screen. “This suspect urgently needs to be captured. If there is a witness who can provide his whereabouts then immediately contact us.”