“Hahaha! Su Jin! You forced me! It’s all you!!”
Chen Siye was completely deranged, still trying to pull out the folding knife to attack again.
But Su Jin had never seen such a scene before—she was frozen in shock.
Suddenly, a dark figure broke through the curtain of rain and strode in front of Su Jin.
It was Song Li.
She raised her elbow, coordinated with her knee, and struck with deadly precision at Chen Siye’s wrist holding the knife!
“Crack!” The sound of a bone breaking echoed.
“Ah—!” Chen Siye let out a miserable scream, and the folding knife fell to the ground.
Song Li didn’t pause for a second. She kicked the knife away, twisted his arm behind his back, and slammed her knee hard into his lower back.
Chen Siye was like a mangy dog with all its bones pulled out, instantly pinned to the ground, his cheek pressed tightly against the cold, slick surface, unable to move at all.
“Miss! Are you alright?” With Chen Siye restrained, Song Li immediately turned to Su Jin, her tone urgent.
But Su Jin seemed not to hear her. All her attention was fixed on Lin Lu’an, unconscious in her arms.
His face, under the lights, rapidly drained of all color, turning as pale as paper, and even his breathing grew faint.
“Lin Puppy! Lin Lu’an! Wake up!” Su Jin’s voice trembled. She slapped his cheeks desperately, but her hands only came away soaked in blood.
Staring at her blood-covered palms, the sight of that red stabbed her eyes with pain, and a terror she had never known before engulfed her.
She had never felt like this. All her life, she had always gotten what she wanted.
If she wanted something, she would have it, and once it was hers, unless she threw it away herself, no one could ever take it from her.
Now, that fear was slowly turning into dread—she was terrified of losing.
She was terrified of losing Lin Lu’an.
For the first time, she felt helpless, realizing that no matter how strong she was, she couldn’t snatch someone back from Death’s grasp.
“Song Li! Car! Call an ambulance, quick!!” Su Jin lifted her head and screamed at Song Li.
Always composed, now she was utterly disheveled, rain and Lin Lu’an’s blood soaking her hair and long dress, yet she was oblivious.
She only clung tightly to the man in her arms, the one who had taken a knife for her.
Song Li immediately pulled out her phone to contact security and emergency services, her foot planted firmly on Chen Siye.
Chen Siye was still cursing madly, but his mouth was quickly stuffed by the arriving company security, who dragged him away like a dead dog.
The wail of the ambulance siren cut through the peace of the rainy night, growing louder as it drew near.
“Where’s the injured?!”
A few people who looked like doctors rushed out from the ambulance, shouting at the crowd.
“Over here!” Several concerned bystanders pointed the way for the doctors.
The doctors rushed over to Lin Lu’an’s side, performed some quick bleeding control, then loaded him onto the ambulance.
Inside the ambulance, Su Jin gripped Lin Lu’an’s cold hand tightly. Staring at his lifeless face, her mind was in chaos, with only one thought burning.
He can’t die.
Absolutely, cannot die.
***
Eleven o’clock at night.
No one knew when the rain outside the window had stopped.
Lin Wan closed her completed exercise book and rubbed her sore eyes.
Today felt so strange.
Lin Wan thought as she rubbed her eyes.
Earlier at school, she’d only glanced at Li Shasha, and Li Shasha trembled like a leaf in the wind, running over to serve tea and water as if she’d seen a ghost or was under a spell.
Lin Wan looked toward the kitchen—cold stove, cold pots.
Her brother still hadn’t come home.
The house was unnaturally quiet, only the ticking of the wall clock’s second hand breaking the silence.
It was too odd. Usually, even if her brother had something come up at the last minute, at the latest he’d be home by eight or nine, and if he needed to work late, he’d always send her a message ahead of time, or have the meal prepared for her.
Never like this—still no word by midnight. This was a first.
Lin Wan picked up her phone. The screen was perfectly clean: no unread messages, no missed calls.
She walked into the living room and pressed her ear to the door, listening carefully for any movement in the hallway.
Aside from the faint sound of a TV from the neighbor’s, there was nothing.
“It’s okay… Brother must have his own things to do,” Lin Wan whispered to herself for comfort, then went to the kitchen and took a packet of instant noodles from the cupboard.
She made the noodles with boiling water, then sat at the table, eating in small bites. The instant noodles, usually tasty, seemed bland and tasteless tonight.
When she finished, she carefully washed the bowl and tidied up the books she would need for school the next day.
She did everything deliberately slowly, as if stalling for time, but when all was done, it was just past eleven o’clock.
The house was still just her.
That empty feeling made Lin Wan deeply uneasy. She couldn’t help but pick up her phone again, and this time, she dialed Lin Lu’an’s number.
“Beep… The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please call again later.”
The cold, mechanical female voice sent a shock through Lin Wan’s heart.
No answer.
Her brother never ignored her calls.
Did something happen? Was he drunk? Did he run into trouble? Or… was it a car accident?
All sorts of dreadful thoughts flooded her mind, making her hands and feet go cold.
She suddenly wanted to call Shen Yu Sister to ask, but felt it was too late at night and didn’t want to disturb her.
In the end, Lin Wan forced herself to calm down.
“No way, Brother’s so amazing, nothing will happen to him.” She murmured to herself, trying to muster courage.
She walked to her brother’s bedroom door. Inside, it was pitch-black, his familiar figure nowhere in sight.
Lin Wan quietly closed the door, went back to her own room, and climbed onto the bed.
She turned off the main light, leaving only the small, warm-yellow night lamp by her bedside.
Usually, this little lamp gave her enough sense of security, but tonight, its soft glow couldn’t seem to chase away the chill in the room.
She lay on her side, hugging her pillow tightly, eyes gazing out into the pitch-black night, waiting as time dragged endlessly.
She didn’t know how long had passed. At last, unable to resist her fatigue, Lin Wan slowly closed her eyes.
She had a dream.
***
In the dream, her brother boarded a magnificent Pumpkin Carriage, wearing an exquisite suit she had never seen before, smiling gently at her as he grew farther and farther away.
No matter how she called or how desperately she chased, the carriage vanished mercilessly in a blaze of blinding light, leaving her alone in endless darkness.
“Brother—!”
Lin Wan jolted awake from her dream, heart pounding.
She felt her face was damp. Instinctively, she touched it, realizing she didn’t even know when her face had become covered with tears.
Lin Wan glanced at her bedside alarm clock—the glowing hands clearly pointed to 3:10 in the morning.
The house was still dead silent. Lin Wan rolled out of bed, stumbling as she ran to Lin Lu’an’s room. Her brother’s bed was perfectly neat and cold, not the slightest sign he’d returned.
The feeling of losing her brother in her dream still clung to her. Lin Wan pinched herself hard, pain shooting through her thigh.
This isn’t a dream…
Fear instantly filled Lin Wan’s heart. She began to be truly afraid Lin Lu’an had left her for good.
She didn’t even bother putting on slippers, running out in her thin pajamas like a frightened little deer. She burst out of the apartment and rushed to the neighboring unit, pounding on Shen Yu Sister’s door.
“Shen Yu Sister! Shen Yu Sister! Open up! Wuwuwu…”
Hurried footsteps quickly sounded from inside.
Shen Yu’s sleepy, anxious voice asked, “Who is it?”
With a “click,” the door opened.
Shen Yu, hair a little disheveled and still in her pajamas, appeared at the doorway. The moment she saw Lin Wan outside, crying so hard she could barely breathe, she instantly sobered up.
“Wanwan?! What’s wrong?!”
Shen Yu hurriedly ushered Lin Wan inside. The moment her hand touched Lin Wan, she felt nothing but icy cold, and her heart ached with worry.
Lin Wan wiped her tears, choking out her words.
“Shen Yu Sister… my brother… my brother, he…”
“What about your brother?”
“Something’s happened to him…”