Mr. Cao's introduction was brief, and Xu Keke simply nodded slightly as a greeting. After saying goodbye to Mr. Cao, she left.

Xu Keke only realized that Mr. Cao hadn't seen her off today, even though they had already reached the entrance of the second courtyard. This was the first time since she moved in. Normally, even if Mr. Cao came twice a day, he would at least see her to the door, if not the gate.

The sky was overcast that night, and it started raining in the middle of the night.

Xu Ke might have heard the rain; she knew she was dreaming. In her dream, the man she'd seen in Mr. Cao's house during the day had his face covered with a cloth, like a faceless person. Suddenly, this man strode towards a certain place. The place was shrouded in mist, and she could vaguely see Mr. Chen standing in front of the shop. Miss Feng, carrying a lunchbox, gracefully walked past him. Mr. Lin, standing in front of his bicycle, rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms.

A gunshot rang out.

The sound startled Xu Keke awake from her dream. She sat up abruptly, staring outside. Rain pounded on the roof tiles, rapid and intense. The wind mingled with the rain outside, and Xu Keke couldn't tell whether the gunshot was in her dream or in reality.

She picked up the cotton coat from the quilt and put it on. Da Cui also woke up, rubbing her eyes and looking at her, "Mother...where are you going?"

"Shh! It's okay, go to sleep." Xu Keke gently patted her. Only after she closed her eyes again did she get out of bed.

Sure enough, she heard a light knocking on their door; she wasn't mistaken. The knocking was extremely slow and weak.

Xu Keke first stood by the window and lifted the curtain a crack. She could only make out a blurry image, but it looked like a person was lying across their doorway. A bolt of lightning struck, and the person, sensing something, turned their head.

Xu Keke covered her mouth in surprise. It was the man she had seen in Mr. Cao's room earlier that day, Mrs. Cao's nephew.