Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 199

**Even the Night Couldn’t Silence Her Light**

**Gotcha**

“Backwards.”

“Huh?”

The staff member blinked, her mind racing to comprehend the little girl’s request. “Mommy said I have to know it forwards and backwards.”

With a quick glance at her phone, the staff member hesitated, then reversed the text on the screen. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she exclaimed, “Holy crap! You can actually recite it backwards?”

Was this child even human? Shouldn’t a two-year-old be busy sniffling and whining for candy, lost in a world of toys and giggles? Why was she so astonishingly advanced?

Ann, however, felt a wave of frustration wash over her. She didn’t want to engage in conversation any longer. The constant interruptions were grating on her nerves, and she simply didn’t feel like responding. But Mommy had always taught her that rudeness was unacceptable, so she settled for a small, noncommittal “mhm.”

The staff member stood there, utterly stunned, her mouth agape as she processed the sheer brilliance of the child before her. Time seemed to stretch as silence enveloped them, leaving the staff member momentarily speechless.

With a burst of energy, the little girl darted off toward the sandbox area, her tiny feet kicking up sand as she found an empty corner. She plopped down, her brow furrowed in concentration, and began reciting once more, though this time it wasn’t “Li Sao” that flowed from her lips.

She paused, taking a deep breath; little kids had such limited lung capacity. Just as she was about to continue, a soft voice emerged from a nearby play tunnel, completing her line with surprising ease.

Ann’s head snapped around, her wide eyes locking onto the tunnel. With a curious poke from her chubby finger, she prodded it, as if trying to coax out the source of the voice.

Determined, she tried again: “To be or not to be.”

A moment later, the voice inside responded, “That is the question.” The words were deliberate, slow, but perfectly articulated, as if they had been rehearsed countless times.

Ann’s eyes sparkled with delight. Her mind raced, and without missing a beat, she switched languages, reciting a particularly challenging, obscure line.

The voice in the tunnel paused for just a moment, then seamlessly picked up where she left off, mirroring her fluency.

A competitive spirit ignited within Ann, and for the first time, a genuine smile broke across her face. Tatiana would have been astonished; such pure joy was a rare sight for Ann.

She continued, quoting poetry, snippets of literature from both home and abroad, complex math problems, and even random bits of computer code, all in a playful call-and-response manner.

The unseen companion in the tunnel responded without fail, barely pausing, always answering perfectly and accurately.

As Ann kept going, she stealthily circled around to the back of the tunnel, finding the entrance, and decided to pose a math problem she hadn’t even solved herself yet.

“1/3,” she declared, her voice ringing with challenge.

Sure enough, the tunnel fell silent, the voice inside seemingly stumped.

Hubert was indeed on the verge of tears. His brow furrowed in concentration, he struggled to find the answer. His face flushed red with the effort, and he felt utterly defeated.

“Aha! Gotcha!”

A small hand shot into the tunnel and grabbed his sleeve, making him jump in surprise.

“You… you…” he stammered, flustered.

“My name is Ann,” she replied, her tone brightening.

With that, they were now acquainted.

Hubert couldn’t help but ask, “That problem earlier… what’s the answer?”

Ann spread her hands cheerfully, her eyes dancing with excitement. “I haven’t figured it out yet either. Let’s think about it together.”

Hubert nodded, a bit dazed. “Okay.”

The two little ones began discussing the math problem inside the tunnel, their voices low and conspiratorial, lost in the challenge as they forgot everything else around them.

Outside, chaos reigned as people frantically searched for them.

Two separate groups were in a frenzy.

The staff member was nearly in tears, her heart racing. She had only looked away for a brief moment, and now Ann was gone. This was Tatiana’s daughter! If she held a grudge and refused to write the songs, Harpie would have her head!

Meanwhile, the Jackson family bodyguards were in a state of panic. They had brought Hubert here to find his dad, but now he was missing too. If anything happened to him, they all knew they would be in serious trouble.

Inevitably, the news spread like wildfire.

When Tatiana heard that Ann was missing, she shot up from the sofa, panic etched across her face. “What did you say? Ann is missing?”