Chapter 47

Wen Zhiling's heart skipped a beat. "We've met before?"

These words were like a blinding white light, piercing through the deepest, most chaotic fog of her memory. But when she tried to grasp anything, all that remained was a sharp, stinging pain.

Zong Linyang did not answer, but a very faint, meaningful smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Just then, the door to the private room opened. Zong Linhan was still looking down at the messages. After taking a few steps in, he noticed the subtle stillness in the air.

His gaze swept between Zong Linyang and Wen Zhiling, and he asked casually, "What are you talking about?"

"Let's chat casually," Zong Linyang resumed his usual gentle demeanor, and very naturally used serving chopsticks to place a piece of fish on Wen Zhiling's plate. "The fish here is tender and cooked to perfection. Try some."

The topic was easily steered back to food, as if the question that had struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky was just Wen Zhiling's illusion.

Wen Zhiling lowered her head and ate the fish, finding it tasteless. The calmer Zong Linyang remained, the more frightened and terrified she felt. Zong Linyang knew about her blank past, which made her restless.

The chill lingered even after I got home.

The living room was lit up with warm yellow lights.

Wen Zhiling watched Zong Linhan washing cherry tomatoes for her in the kitchen, draining the fruit and pouring it into a bowl. His back was tall and reliable, a testament to his unwavering support and belief in her countless times. He was the only light in her long, dark world. This light was so precious that she hesitated to tell him about Zong Linyang's strange behavior. Her brother, whom she had waited so long for, might also have intricate connections to her past.

Wen Zhiling popped a cherry tomato into her mouth and took a bite. Only then did she come to her senses and realize that Zong Linhan was standing next to her at some point.

Zong Linhan lowered his eyes: "What do you want to say?"

Wen Zhiling: "..."

His direct approach interrupted the spellcasting, and Wen Zhiling's courage, which she had just mustered, was immediately deflated. She couldn't help but start to procrastinate.

Wen Zhiling: "It's nothing..."

Zong Linhan didn't press further, but leaned a little closer, "Would you like to wash first, or should I? Or together?"

Overwhelmed by the amount of information, Wen Zhiling was stunned. "You're going to stay here?"

Zong Linhan: "Okay. I'm not leaving tonight."

Wen Zhiling: "..." She was thinking of agonizing over it for another night.

Zong Linhan noticed her reluctance and leaned closer, threatening, "Are you going to bring up that excuse that we haven't gotten back together yet?"

She took a cherry tomato from his bowl, hesitating. Should she let him stay the night, or ponder something more important?

Zong Linhan leaned over and took a bite, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "This sofa is bigger than the original one."

Wen Zhiling's train of thought was interrupted. She glanced at the sofa and then at the person whose words carried a strong implication, "...Be a little more reserved."

Recalling the long days of recording the show where he couldn't do anything, Zong Linhan couldn't remember how to write the word "restraint." "If I continue to be restrained, I really will need to drink Chinese medicine."

Wen Zhiling didn't understand: "What Chinese medicine?"

Zong Linhan turned his face away, not wanting to tell Wen Zhiling about this.

He turned his back to her, his fingers hooking around the back of his collar, casually pulling it up. The soft fabric brushed against his short, dark hair, making a soft rustling sound. Warm light instantly flowed across his bare back, the contours of his shoulder blades clearly visible with the movement, like a cheetah poised to pounce, his muscles brimming with power.

Wen Zhiling looked away. "What's your relationship like with your brother?"

Zong Linhan was incredulous and turned to ask, "Baby, you want to talk to me about him at this time?"

Wen Zhiling: "I'm very serious."

Zong Linhan casually tossed his shirt onto the sofa. "What did he say to you?"

Wen Zhiling briefly told him what had happened during the meal. As Zong Linhan listened, he took out a small box he had bought from the convenience store and carefully opened it under the light. Wen Zhiling stumbled over her words towards the end, her attention drawn away by his actions.

The person who was speaking earnestly eventually stopped paying attention, and those who weren't listening attentively to begin with became even less attentive.

Wen Zhiling tiptoed to grab the small box, and Zong Linhan took the opportunity to put his arm around her waist, saying, "It's fine if you don't want to take a shower."

Wen Zhiling: "?"

Zong Linhan: "It's fine when you're taking a shower too."

Wen Zhiling: "???"

Wen Zhiling was carried into the bathroom by Zong Linhan.

-

In the stillness of the night, the nightlight emitted a faint glow.

Zong Linhan sat on the edge of the bed replying to messages.

He was hunched over, the cold light from his phone dimly illuminating his pale cheeks and tightly pursed lips.

Wen Zhiling opened her eyes groggily.

Noticing she was awake, Zong Linhan turned to look at her. He had changed into his outdoor clothes, and his arm instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him. His voice was deliberately gentle and soft, "I have something to take care of, I need to go out for a bit."

Wen Zhiling's cheek pressed against his clothes through the fabric, and she could clearly feel his heart beating in her chest, with a steady strength.

She asked softly, "Will you be unhappy?"

Zong Linhan lowered his eyes: "What?"

Wen Zhiling hesitated, "It's about your brother..."

She recalled the painful past that Meng Run had mentioned, the ones she had searched for but could not find.

Zong Linhan kissed her forehead. "I'll figure it out."

The night was cool and still, the streets deserted. Zong Linhan had a spreadsheet on his phone sent by Meng Run, filled with addresses all related to Zong Linyang. He had already reopened his investigation into him before Wen Zhiling even mentioned it.

-

Wen Zhiling has to go to the laboratory regularly for check-ups, including blood tests and many other routine tests that she doesn't understand.

After each blood test, past memories would surface in the form of dreams. She could recall the layout of the orphanage, the big tree in the middle, the mottled walls of the canteen, and the small room that leaked when it rained.

After the routine check-up was completed, the lab technicians and she waited for Meng Run in the room.

Wen Zhiling: "It seems unusually quiet today?"

"We've tightened controls," the lab technician sighed. "The situation became tense after the previous test results came out."

Wen Zhiling: "The result wasn't good? What happened to my blood?"

The experimenter shook his head, "I don't have permission to look at it anymore; it's been submitted directly to the highest level."

She lowered her voice: "Be careful when you go out recently. Someone from the bureau said they want to take you away, so be careful."

After Meng Run arrived, the two headed to the underground parking lot, where they unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance, Qiao Yan.

During their conversation, Meng Run learned that he was interning at a nearby research institute. She quietly explained to Wen Zhiling that there were legitimate research institutes around the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations serving as a cover.

cafes.

Meng Run sat a little further away to protect Wen Zhiling.

After listening to Wen Zhiling recount her experience of concealing her supernatural abilities, Qiao Yan stirred his coffee. "No wonder you disappeared so silently for so long."

He felt uncomfortable under Meng Run's silent gaze. "Was that person protecting you?"

Wen Zhiling replied guiltily, "Um—you told me last time that you wanted to give me something, what was it?"

Qiao Yan lowered her voice, "It was the day you came to our house after your accident... There was something that fell off you, and my mom kept it. She told me about it because she thought you wouldn't make it through the last surgery."

She had always been completely baffled by the people and events that had been chasing her, but unexpectedly, the clues came to her doorstep.

Qiao Yan took out the box, and Wen Zhiling opened it. Inside was a string of glass beads, very small in size, clearly something for a child.

Wen Zhiling thanked him, and Qiao Yan said he had other projects to attend to and left in a hurry.

As he rounded the corner, he suddenly stopped.

Zong Linyang leaned against the mottled wall, the cigarette between his fingers flickering as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"I did as you said," Qiao Yan said in a dry voice, with suppressed anger. "I gave her the things."

Zong Linyang slowly exhaled a puff of white mist and casually glanced at him.

Qiao Yan clenched her fists, mustered all her courage to meet those eyes, and said, "You said you wouldn't hurt her, it was just a necessary step..."

Upon hearing this, Zong Linyang chuckled very softly and stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette against the wall.

He walked towards Qiao Yan, exuding an invisible pressure, patted him on the shoulder, and asked with a slightly doubtful tone, "Did I say that?"

Qiao Yan: "You!"

Seeing the veins bulge on Qiao Yan's forehead and her face turn bright red, Zong Linyang relaxed his lips, a relaxed smile on his face, as if he had just pulled off a prank. "Just kidding, don't take it so seriously."

He brushed past Qiao Yan, his voice carried lightly by the wind, "But you said, the word 'hurt' has different definitions, right?"