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.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify