Even though she couldn’t see behind her, she could sense a pair of eyes staring at her.
That person was hiding in a position difficult to detect, watching her enter her home, turn on the lights, and then quietly, step by step, approach her.
With invisible malice.
Perhaps she often felt that someone wanted to harm her. But when danger truly arrived, that feeling became so intense it could not be ignored—no longer a misconception, but an extremely clear sensation.
Shu Nian’s mind went blank, her breathing rapid and labored as she instinctively fumbled for her phone in her pocket.
At the same time, just as she expected.
Something cold pressed against her neck.
“Miss, don’t move,” a strange man’s voice sounded from behind, coarse and unpleasant. “Why’d you come back so early? I was about to leave. This dump doesn’t have many valuable things.”
Shu Nian’s eyes instantly reddened, involuntarily letting out a faint sobbing sound, like a pitiful little animal. Her body trembled violently, the blade making a shallow cut on her neck.
She wanted to cry out for help, but her throat felt constricted, unable to utter a single word.
“But it’s not a total loss.” Looking at her face, the man let out a vulgar laugh. “The miss is very pretty.”
After saying this, the man withdrew his knife and without hesitation grabbed Shu Nian’s wrist, dragging her into the room.
Guessing what might happen next, Shu Nian screamed and struggled with all her might, crying and begging: “Let me go, let me go… I have money in my bag… I’ll give it to you…”
But the physical disparity between men and women was too great; her struggles were utterly useless.
The man immediately covered her mouth with his hand, saying harshly: “Be quiet.”
It was an extremely unbearable proximity.
The man was dressed shabbily, emitting a foul stench, his eyes lifeless, without a shred of humanity. His fingers brushed against Shu Nian’s face, and he revealed another ambiguous smile: “We’ll get the money later.”
Shu Nian’s consciousness began to scatter, feeling as if someone was gripping her throat, a sense of suffocating death washing over her.
Another scene floated into her mind.
She lay helplessly on the ground, her entire body in pain, without any strength. Her nostrils filled with the smell of decay, her eyes seeing only dim light, her ears hearing only the sound of a dripping faucet that hadn’t been turned off properly.
Drip—drip—
That man’s footsteps always appeared under this sound, his face wearing a gentle smile, dressed neatly and elegantly. If Shu Nian had met such a person on the street, she would never have imagined he could be someone so terrifying.
He walked over, whistling softly, crouched beside her, and gleefully tore off the scab that had formed on her wound. Hearing her painful cries, the man let out an admiring laugh and asked: “Little girl, do you want to die?”
…
Just as those words faded, Shu Nian’s phone rang.
The man paused and took the phone from her pocket. Seeing “Xie Ruhe” on the caller ID, he didn’t hang up but instead muted it.
Then he simply threw it to the ground.
Somehow, the answer button was touched, and the call was successfully connected. Shu Nian’s call volume was set very high, and with the room being extremely quiet, Xie Ruhe’s voice could be heard clearly.
“Shu Nian.” He paused, then continued, “You left something at my place, I’m bringing it back to you. I’ll be there soon.”
Hearing this, the man sensed danger and pressed the knife against Shu Nian’s neck again, lowering his voice: “You know what to say, right?”
Xie Ruhe was still speaking on the other end: “Shu Nian?”
Tears streamed down Shu Nian’s face. Behind her was a vicious criminal, at her throat a sharp blade—one wrong word and it would immediately slice open her flesh and major artery.
And outside was Xie Ruhe.
This almost completely overturned Shu Nian’s perception.
She had always thought that the safest place in the world was her home. As long as she didn’t go out, she would certainly not be harmed, she would be able to safely pass the coming days.
But now, someone else had broken into her little house.
The outside world, which she had once considered most frightening, had in this moment become the place she wanted to go.
Perhaps Xie Ruhe was already standing outside her door. Out of respect, even if he had a key, he would still call her first to let her know, rather than barging in unannounced.
The criminal controlling her from behind picked up the phone. He seemed a bit nervous too, threatening: “Tell him you’re very tired and were about to go to sleep.”
Shu Nian’s breathing grew heavier, and she stiffly repeated his words, her voice trembling: “I’m very tired, I was about to go to sleep.”
Xie Ruhe was waiting for her outside.
She had just told him that she would accompany him to visit Auntie Ji in the future.
They had both said to each other:
See you tomorrow.
Xie Ruhe was silent for a few seconds, his voice becoming very soft: “I understand.”
This response suggested he was about to hang up.
He didn’t know she was in danger.
And even if she preserved her safety for the moment, she would still suffer torture afterward, perhaps even lose her life.
Then she would never see him again.
Thinking of this possibility, Shu Nian completely lost her rationality. No longer concerned about the blade at her neck, no longer worried about life or death, she cried like a child, saying chaotically: “No… Xie Ruhe, I’m not safe, you need to come in… you need to save me…”