March 23rd, 6:30 PM — Women's Holding Block, Gu Tianhao's Compound
Jiang Roulan POV
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The sky outside dimmed, though inside our cell block, it was always the same—humid, cracked walls, stale air, and the stink of fear.
But tonight, the air was different.
Something was coming.
I didn't know how. But I felt it.
"Now," I whispered.
Tang Wei gave a small nod and rose from her mattress. She moved like a shadow, her body still aching from the work yesterday, but her eyes sharp. Liang Mei and Zhou Xue followed, their silence tense. We'd practised this. Again and again in whispers and gestures until the timing felt second nature.
Liang Qiu lingered near the back, nervous. But she didn't speak.
I adjusted the dirty cloth shirt they gave me—it still clung too tight to my hips—and walked toward the barred door.
