“Ah!”
Qin Xue let out a soft cry.
Fearing she’d been seen, she quickly dropped down and pressed herself against the wall below the window.
Something about that man felt very off.
Why was he going from building to building like that?
Qin Xue hadn’t seen his face clearly, only knew that he was a man dressed completely in black, like he was trying to hide something.
That thought immediately reminded her of what had happened the day before.
Could he be one of those people?
This area was so quiet, and odds were she was the only one in the building. There weren’t even any security cameras...
Just imagining the possibilities made her body start trembling with fear.
“Sister Xue, what’s wrong?”
Su Yun quickly noticed something was wrong and asked in alarm.
“There’s… there’s someone outside. He’s going from floor to floor. He looks really suspicious… he’s about to reach my floor.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Su Yun was stunned. She didn’t understand, but she could clearly see the panic on Qin Xue’s face.
It was her first time seeing her like this.
“Don’t hang up. I’m coming!”
Without thinking, Su Yun opened the screenshot of her home location and started running.
On Qin Xue’s end, all she could hear was wind whooshing violently through the speaker. Su Yun must’ve been sprinting full speed.
“Sister Xiaoyun? What’s going on?”
Qin Xue’s voice trembled with unease, but there was no response.
“Sister Xiaoyun…”
Silence.
That only made Qin Xue more anxious. Maybe the signal had dropped.
She thought back to how that man had been standing downstairs, glancing around. Then it hit her—there were still clothes drying on the balcony outside.
Clothes that belonged to her and Sister Xiaoyun.
Qin Xue jumped to her feet and rushed into the living room, but to her surprise, the balcony was empty.
Then she remembered. Sister Xiaoyun had already taken them down and brought them inside earlier.
“…Was she worried someone might recognize us?”
In that moment, a wave of warmth filled her chest.
But just as she turned to go back into her room, she heard it.
Knock, knock.
Someone was knocking. Loud and deliberate.
There were no voices, no calls from outside—just that knock, as if waiting for her to open the door.
Qin Xue knew, she absolutely couldn’t open it.
“No… this isn’t right.”
She suddenly remembered—the door had just been repaired not long ago. Before that, it had already been kicked in once.
Knock.
The knocks continued, each one slamming into her chest like a drumbeat.
Without Su Yun’s voice on the line, she felt like a helpless little girl again. Her body gave out, and she collapsed on the living room floor, too afraid to move.
She had never experienced anything like this before. She’d never even seen a real criminal, only ever been surrounded by maids and the so-called “elite” guests her mother invited home.
Now, she had no idea how to handle a situation like this. All she felt was helplessness and fear.
The knocking didn’t stop.
Which… wasn’t normal.
“Ugh…”
Without realizing it, Qin Xue’s eyes began to burn.
A single warm tear dripped onto the fabric stretched over her chest, making her look all the more fragile.
But what scared her more than physical harm—was the thought of never seeing Sister Xiaoyun again.
She could barely stand being apart for a few hours. If something truly separated them…
She couldn’t even imagine it.
…
Minutes passed.
Then…
Suddenly, the knocking stopped.
“The sound… it’s gone?”
Qin Xue slowly came back to her senses and began to shakily rise to her feet. She wiped the corners of her eyes.
Could he be trying to break the lock now?
That thought made her cautiously walk barefoot toward the door, intending to peek through the peephole.
“Ah!”
But the moment she looked, she jumped back and fell hard onto the floor.
Through the peephole, she saw a man standing there with his head lowered. A wide black hat completely obscured his face.
Her startled scream seemed to trigger another round of knocking, this time even louder than before.
BANG.
Terrified, Qin Xue froze right there in front of the door.
She wanted to run, but her body had gone limp. She couldn’t move.
Click.
The sound of the door handle turning echoed in her ears.
Qin Xue buried her head into her chest, tears pouring down onto her clothes.
“What are you doing at my door?!”
Just then, a loud female voice rang out from outside.
It wasn’t threatening, but soft and airy.
“…Huh?”
That familiar voice jolted Qin Xue back to her senses.
“Get out of here! Now!”
The voice shouted again.
And every time the girl outside yelled, the phone that had fallen to the floor beside Qin Xue echoed the same words, just a second later.
Hearing it twice, Qin Xue realized—
Sister Xiaoyun was back!
She immediately scrambled to the door.
The man was still standing there with his head down, but now, a small figure in a white dress stood beside him.
Tiny as she was, the moment Qin Xue saw her, the fear in her heart melted away.
Su Yun was panting, out of breath as she stared daggers at the man’s face, eyes full of fury.
She’d just run nearly 4,000 meters in a few minutes. With all the twists and turns along unfamiliar roads, the actual distance was probably over 6,000 meters.
Thankfully, there were hardly any people or cars around. She’d dashed through unnoticed. Even if someone had seen her, she moved so fast, they probably thought they were imagining things.
“…”
“Say something!”
Su Yun glared at him, her voice sharp and firm.
But the man didn’t speak, didn’t even turn his head.
“…?”
Su Yun blinked, something feeling off. She took a step back.
After a moment, the man finally turned around. His eyes were squinted, and his face was covered in deep wrinkles—clearly, he was an old man.
But unlike the kind old men one might expect, this one gave off an odd, unsettling vibe.
“???”
“You… what are you saying?”
The old man leaned closer to her ear, clearly not having heard her properly.
Hearing his raspy voice, Su Yun suddenly realized—this was all a misunderstanding.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I got it wrong!”
She quickly bowed and stepped forward to apologize.
“Did you need something?”
She asked politely.
Even though the old man looked frail, he was still well over 170 centimeters tall. With that black hat on, he appeared even taller. His back wasn’t hunched, and his posture was upright. If she hadn’t seen his face, she would’ve thought he was middle-aged.
“Huh?” the old man mumbled, tilting his ear toward her again.
“What do you need?!” Su Yun shouted directly into his ear.
“I’m looking for my daughter… She likes to run off into people’s homes. Haven’t found her yet… Daughter, where are you…”
His voice was even more weary this time, his words slow and broken.
After mumbling that, he suddenly turned and walked away down the stairs—so quickly that Su Yun didn’t even have time to react.
“…?”
She just stood there in shock.
Clearly, this old man had some mental issues. Probably no one was taking proper care of him.
There sure were a lot of strange people in this town...
“Sister Xiaoyun! Sister Xiaoyun! Wuu…”
(End of Chapter)