Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The women’s category began after a 40-minute break. Particularly nervous, Xu Zixian gripped Shi Guang’s hand tightly. “Shi Guang, do you think that I might fail to get even in the top five later on?”

Shi Guang consoled her, “No, don’t worry about it! Have confidence in yourself!”

Xu Zixian took in a deep breath before smiling at Shi Guang. Suddenly, she frowned and asked curiously, “Shi Guang, what’s wrong with your ear? Why is there a red mark there?”

Ear? Red mark? The moment Shi Guang heard that, the scene from last night floated into her mind. Her cheeks started to blush uncontrollably as her heartbeat got somewhat erratic. Pursing her lips, she pretended to be calm and replied, “Nothing… I tripped by accident.”

No matter how she had tripped, there was no way she could have hit her ear. Xu Zixian smirked out knowingly and leaned in toward her before whispering by her ear softly, “Were you and your boyfriend… too rough last night? But the competition’s today, and yet, last night you had still…”

“No!” Shi Guang denied it fervently. However, Xu Zixian’s knowing smirk had her feeling uneasy all over still.

She did not want to explain—neither did the explanations seem like they would work—as she found an excuse, “I’ll head to the washroom.”

Xu Zixian smirked once more, “Go, go! Hurry and come back! It’ll be time to change soon!”

For normal practices, they would be wearing normal swimsuits. But for proper competitions, they had specialized swimsuits made for competitive purposes.

These swimsuits were different from normal swimsuits and were harder to wear. At their fastest, they would need a couple dozens of minutes before they could wear them. The slower ones would even require at least an hour or so. At times, one person might not even be able to handle it alone, and might require the help of someone else.

Because Shi Guang was on the slimmer side, it was easier for her to fit in, and she could do it in 20 minutes. Therefore, she wasn’t worried at all as she made a trip to the washroom first.

There was a temporarily out of use sign placed on the washroom on the 1st floor.

Shi Guang knew that there was another washroom up on the 2nd floor that was located at the same position as the one on the 1st floor. Looking at how there was barely any time left, she headed to the one on the 2nd floor.

Entering the washroom, she headed into a cubicle. She could hear someone entering but she did not pay much heed to it. After all, this was a public washroom, and there would naturally be people coming back and forth.

It was only until when she needed to come out that she found out that her door was… locked.

At first, she was just a little surprised. She tried pulling again, but she couldn’t get her door to open.

What was going on! How in the world did the door become locked like this? Unless someone had blocked it from the outside! Did that mean that the person who had entered after her had not entered to use the washroom, but to lock her within!

She wanted to use her phone to call for help. But when she took it out, she saw that there was no signal!

How could this be? There was clearly still a signal just moments earlier!

Shi Guang’s face turned slightly pale as her heart felt a sense of suffocating anxiousness. She yelled out right away, “Is there anyone out there? Open the door!”

“Someone! Please come and help me!”

She screamed at the top of her lungs. However, no matter how she screamed, there was no response.

What could she do? If she were to be locked her the entire time without anyone to open the door, she was going to miss her competition!

Shi Guang gripped the door handle with all her strength such that her arms were even trembling.

Who could it be to think of blocking her within this cubicle to stop her from going for the competition? How could they be so underhanded!

Shi Guang’s flustered petite face was filled with a lost look and frustration.

She closed her eyes and suppressed her flustered emotions—now was not the time to sink in her feelings. She had to think of a plan to get out!

‘That’s right! Zixian knew that I had gone to the washroom! If the coach can’t find me, he would definitely ask Zixian!’

‘Don’t worry! Things will be fine! Things will definitely be fine…! Someone will definitely come and find me!’

However, time passed by the seconds and minutes, and yet no one had come looking for her at all. Shi Guang’s uneasy heart felt as though it was sinking into the depths of an abyss…