Chapter 37

The living room lights were a bit too bright, dispelling the last bit of pre-dawn haze and revealing the weariness on their faces. Qi Jin's question about "helper" and "mistake" was like a pebble thrown into Shi Ye's empty mind, only stirring up a ripple of confusion.

"I don't know," Shi Ye answered honestly, her voice a little hoarse from lack of sleep. "Maybe we have to wait for it... to 'come back to life'?" She pointed to the lifeless laptop.

Qi Jin didn't comment on this rather unscientific claim. She walked to the island counter, picked up the empty coffee cup, put it back, and unconsciously tapped the counter with her fingertips. "Hungry?" she suddenly asked.

Shi Ye paused for a moment before realizing that his stomach was empty; the soup and bread from last night had long since been digested. "A little."

"I'm ordering breakfast." Qi Jin picked up his phone. "What would you like to eat?"

"Anything is fine."

Qi Jin glanced at her, then didn't ask any more questions. He walked to the living room window and quietly made a phone call to order food. Shi Ye watched her straight back, the morning light gilding her with a pale gold edge, making the band-aid on her forehead look a bit out of place. This woman had just survived a premeditated murder attempt, the apartment's electrical circuits mysteriously malfunctioning, and her computer screen displaying a message written in blood in the middle of the night (though it wasn't blood), yet she could still calmly stand here asking her what she wanted for breakfast.

This sense of stability... in some ways, is even more astonishing than the paranormal phenomena of last night.

After ordering the food, Qi Jin walked back and glanced at the closed door of the guest room: "Let Xiaoyu sleep a little longer."

"Hmm." Shi Ye nodded, his gaze falling on the sofa. There, the rabbit pillow that Lin Xiaoyu had brought was still there, quiet and still, showing no sign of snoring at night or having a built-in electric shock device.

"Your foot," Qi Jin's gaze also fell on it, "it needs a dressing change."

Shi Ye then remembered the injury on the sole of his foot. He had treated it hastily last night, but it really needed to be changed now.

"The first-aid kit is in the second drawer of the living room storage cabinet," Qi Jin said. "Do you need any help?"

"No need, I can do it myself," Shi Ye said immediately. Having Qi Jin help her change her dressing... the image was too bizarre; she couldn't bear it.

She walked to the locker, opened the drawer, and sure enough, saw a neatly organized medicine box. Inside, various medicines and dressings were neatly categorized, and there were even a few unopened tubes of ointment with printed labels indicating their indications and usage.

...Does Qi Jin have a personal medical team? Or does she actually have a hidden nursing license?

Shi Ye took the disinfectant wipes, new dressing, and tape, and sat back down on the sofa. She took off her off-white slippers and peeled off the dressing she'd applied the night before. The wound looked alright; there were no signs of infection, only a slight redness and swelling around the edges. She carefully disinfected the wound, her movements not exactly practiced, but still quite meticulous.

Qi Jin sat quietly on the single sofa next to her, watching her without saying a word or looking away. His gaze was so intense that Shi Ye felt her movements become stiff.

"Qi Jin," she said, trying to break the somewhat strange silence, "you...really didn't sleep a wink last night?"

"I took a nap," Qi Jin replied calmly.

Shi Ye didn't believe it. The sofa was so hard, and she was on her guard; how long could she possibly doze off?

"The driver who hit you..." she changed the subject, "If he doesn't wake up, or... if he's dead, wouldn't the trail go cold?"

“No,” Qi Jin said. “The car was stolen, but the thief, the driver, and the person behind it all are not the same person. As long as we find a breakthrough in any one of these links, we can follow the trail.” She paused. “Besides, I’ve also planted bait on Qin Ming’s side.”

"bait?"

“Some ‘opportunities’ he couldn’t refuse.” Qi Jin’s tone was flat. “If he gets impatient, he’ll give himself away.”

Shi Ye paused in treating the wound. Was Qi Jin deliberately luring the snake out of its hole? Using himself as bait? Did this woman have some kind of misunderstanding about the word "danger"?

"It's too dangerous," she couldn't help but say.

Qi Jin glanced at her, his eyes deep: "Waiting passively is more dangerous."

Shi Ye was speechless. Indeed, if she hadn't been lucky last night (or perhaps her bike-sharing skills were terrible?), something really bad might have happened.

She lowered her head again, applied the new dressing, and secured it with tape. After finishing, she looked up and met Qi Jin's gaze.

His gaze was intense, as if he were studying some difficult problem, or perhaps simply looking at her. Shi Ye felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and subconsciously looked away.

"Shi Ye," Qi Jin suddenly called her name.

"Um?"

"If..." Qi Jin's voice was soft, with a rare hint of hesitation, "I mean, if something really happened to me last night, would you be sad?"

Shi Ye's heart skipped a beat.

This question is too sudden, and too... straightforward.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Sadness? How should she answer? According to the mission, Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu should be together for a happy ending, but Qi Jin's accident… in a way, wouldn't that mean the mission failed? But if the mission failed, the world would collapse, and it seemed she wouldn't survive either…

My mind was a jumbled mess of logic, but deep down, a faint voice whispered: Yes.

It wasn't because of the mission, it wasn't because of the collapse, it was simply because... she was Qi Jin.

Qi Jin, the one who remembers she doesn't like sweet coffee, gives her hot soup, rubs her hair in the dark, and says "No one can touch you."

"...Yes." She heard her own voice say, softly but clearly.

Qi Jin's eyes seemed to brighten for a moment, like a shooting star suddenly streaking across the night sky, too fast to catch. She didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded, as if that answer was enough.

The living room fell silent again, but the atmosphere was different from before. There was a hint of... indescribable stickiness, and the air seemed warmer.

Fortunately, the doorbell rang.

Breakfast has been delivered.

Qi Jin went to open the door and took two large insulated bags. She carried them to the central counter and took out the contents one by one: steaming hot xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), crystal-clear shrimp dumplings, soft and glutinous shumai (steamed dumplings), golden and crispy youtiao (fried dough sticks), and warm soy milk and porridge.

The fragrance instantly filled the air, forcefully dispelling the awkward ambiguity from before.

Shi Ye's stomach let out a disapproving growl.

Qi Jin seemed not to hear her and was setting the table. "Go call Xiaoyu," she said.

Shi She got up, walked to the door of the guest room, and gently knocked: "Xiao Yu, breakfast is ready."

There was a rustling sound coming from inside, followed by Lin Xiaoyu's muffled reply: "Coming, coming..."

The door opened, and Lin Xiaoyu, her hair a mess from sleeping, eyes half-open, clutching her rabbit-shaped pillow, floated out as if sleepwalking. "Smells so good..." she sniffed, instantly becoming more awake. "Steamed buns! My favorite!"

The three sat around the central island counter. Lin Xiaoyu immediately picked up a small steamed bun, carefully bit open a small hole, sucked out the soup inside, and happily squinted her eyes: "Ah...it's alive again..."

Shi Ye also picked one up, and it really tasted great—thin skin, tender filling, and delicious broth.

Qi Jin ate very slowly and politely, making almost no sound. She first drank half a bowl of white porridge before picking up a shrimp dumpling and dipping it in a little vinegar.

"Senior," Lin Xiaoyu asked between bites, "What are we doing today? Are we going to the police station?"

“We’ll go this afternoon,” Qi Jin said. “You can rest this morning, or…” She looked at Shi Ye, “Do you want to go home to change your clothes? I’ll have someone take you there.”

Shi Ye looked at his wrinkled cartoon pajamas and realized he definitely needed to change. "Hmm, I'll go back."

"Me too! Me too!" Lin Xiaoyu raised her hand. "Sister Shi Ye, I'll go with you! Then we can go shopping? I know a newly opened dessert shop, and they say their tiramisu is amazing!"

Before Shi Ye could answer, Qi Jin spoke up: "Xiao Yu, didn't you have an appointment with Professor Wang today to discuss the details of the competition?"

Lin Xiaoyu froze, then slapped her forehead hard: "Ah! Right! I forgot! It was at ten!" She wailed, "My tiramisu..."

“Next time,” Qi Jin said, “let’s get down to business first.”

“Okay…” Lin Xiaoyu was dejected, but quickly perked up again. “Then I’ll go to school after breakfast! If I find Professor Wang early, maybe I can finish earlier and then go find you guys?” She looked at Shi Ye expectantly.

Shi Ye: "...We'll see." She really didn't want to overschedule her schedule, especially after all that mess last night.

Breakfast ended in a fairly harmonious atmosphere (if you ignore Lin Xiaoyu's resentment towards the tiramisu). Lin Xiaoyu rushed into her room to wash up and change, and ten minutes later burst out with a small backpack: "Senior, Sister Shi, I'm leaving now! I'll contact you by phone!"

She swept away like a small whirlwind.

Only Shi Ye and Qi Jin remained in the apartment.

"I'll change my clothes and then I'll take you back," Qi Jin said, walking towards the master bedroom.

Shi Ye sat in the living room waiting. She took out her phone and checked it; full signal, battery... still seventy percent? Last night she felt it was almost dead. She tried opening a few commonly used apps, and they ran normally. It was as if all the communication interruptions and app lag from last night were just her imagination.

Qi Jin came out quickly, having changed into a simple white shirt and black suit pants. His hair had been combed again, making him look more energetic, but the dark circles under his eyes were still obvious.

The two went downstairs, and Qi Jin's car was already parked downstairs—not the one that had the accident last night, but another inconspicuous black sedan.

In the car, neither of them spoke much. Shi Ye looked out the window at the rapidly receding street scene, still processing everything that had happened last night and this morning.

The car quickly arrived at Shi Ye's building.

"I'm going upstairs to change my clothes, I'll be right back down," Shi Ye said.

"I'll wait for you," Qi Jin said.

Shi Ye nodded, got out of the car, and walked into the apartment building. Her apartment wasn't on a high floor, so she chose to take the stairs. The hallway was quiet, with only the sound of her footsteps.

When she got to her front door, she took out her key and inserted it into the lock.

Rotate.

The door lock clicked softly and opened.

But at the same time, her mind went blank!

It wasn't the intense stinging pain from last night, but a strong, sudden wave of dizziness, accompanied by a momentary distortion of the scene before my eyes!

The view of her foyer flashed before her eyes, like a poorly received television screen with brief, flickering pixelation at the edges. She seemed to hear an extremely brief, sharp electrical static.

This feeling lasted for less than a second.

Shi Ye steadied himself by holding onto the door frame. His heart pounded wildly from the sudden discomfort.

Another "Honkai"?

She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Everything in the lobby was as usual. The snack wrappers that Lin Xiaoyu brought last night had been cleaned up, the floor was spotless, and there was still a faint sweet smell of fried chicken and cake mixed with a faint dusty smell in the air.

It looks... quite normal.

But her feeling just now was definitely not a hallucination.

She composed herself, strode into the bedroom, grabbed a T-shirt and jeans from the closet, and changed. Her movements were swift, as if she didn't want to linger in that space for even a second longer.

After changing her clothes, she glanced at the bottle of antidepressants on the bedside table. She hesitated for a moment, then poured out two pills and swallowed them dry. The pills slid down her throat, bringing a familiar bitter taste.

She stepped out of the bedroom, her gaze sweeping across the living room. This place had once been the venue for Lin Xiaoyu's design exhibitions; now it was empty, with only the furniture standing silently.

Everything is as usual.

But that vague feeling of being watched came back again.

It wasn't the focused gaze of Qi Jin, but a colder, inhuman "gaze".

She walked quickly to the door, opened it, went out, and locked it behind her.

I walked to the elevator and pressed the down button. The elevator arrived quickly, but it was empty.

She went inside and watched the metal door slowly close, reflecting her somewhat pale face.

The elevator descended smoothly.

The numbers jump: 5……4……3……

As the number jumped to "2", the lights in the elevator flickered very slightly.

Shi Ye's breath hitched.

The lights have been restored to normal.

The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors opened.

Qi Jin's car was still waiting downstairs. Seeing her come out, Qi Jin rolled down the car window.

Shi Ye walked over quickly, opened the car door, and got in.

"What's wrong?" Qi Jin keenly noticed that her expression was off.

"...It's nothing." Shi Ye fastened his seatbelt. "I might have a bit of low blood sugar."

Qi Jin looked at her for two seconds, didn't ask any further questions, and started the car.

The car drove away from the residential area.

Shi Ye leaned back in his seat, watching his apartment building recede into the distance in the rearview mirror.

That "feeling of being watched" seemed to... disappear after she left.

But she knew the matter wasn't over yet.

That "mistake," that "helper," that "collapse" that is slowly seeping into reality...

They are still there.

Moreover, he was getting closer and closer to her.