The mournful "Nocturne" lingered in Lin Nuannuan's mind like a ghost for the next few days, intertwining with Xie Chen's fleetingly vulnerable expression while playing, creating a puzzle she could not decipher.

The piano stood quietly before the French windows, its black lacquered surface reflecting the drifting clouds and the occasional bird flying by outside. It was no longer just an expensive piece of furniture, a toy to pass the time, but had become a silent witness, a potential key to the unknown forbidden zone in Xie Chen's heart.

Lin Nuannuan found she could no longer treat it with a purely perfunctory attitude. When her piano teacher came to teach again, she was more focused than before, even proactively asking questions about the background and emotional expression of the music. The teacher was somewhat surprised by her change, but was happy to answer.

"Music is a vessel for emotions, Miss Lin," the teacher said gently. "Many times, what we play is not notes, but our innermost thoughts."

What are Xie Chen's worries...? Where does the loneliness and struggle contained in that song "Nocturne" originate? Is it related to Gu Weiwei? Or is there another hidden story?

She tried to subtly probe Aunt Mei's intentions. During one afternoon tea session, Lin Nuannuan casually remarked, "Sir plays the piano so beautifully; he must have been studying for a long time, right?"

Aunt Mei paused almost imperceptibly while setting out the tea and snacks, her face still bearing that respectful yet distant expression: "It's not appropriate for us servants to inquire about the master's private affairs." Her answer was impeccable, but that momentary hesitation only made Lin Nuannuan more certain that there must be an unusual story behind that piano and that piece of music.

“088,” she called out to the system in her mind, “can you find out about Xie Chen’s past related to the piano?”

"Ding—Querying this type of in-depth background information requires 100 points. The host currently has 25 points. Insufficient points to query." 088's response was calm and mechanical.

Insufficient points! Lin Nuannuan felt the limitations of poverty once again. She glanced at the still glaringly obvious "Kiss of Trust" quest on the system panel, and the unchanging negative favorability score beside it, feeling utterly powerless. Gaining his trust—how easy was that?

However, some inexplicable impulse drove her. It wasn't just for the mission; it was more like an instinctive curiosity, a desire to peel back the layers and glimpse the true nature beneath. She wanted to know what kind of person this enigmatic man, who had imprisoned her by his side, truly was.

An opportunity quietly presented itself one afternoon.

Xie Chen was away attending an important business forum and, according to Aunt Mei, wouldn't be back until evening. Only Lin Nuannuan and the occasional bodyguard remained in the apartment. She finished practicing the piano as usual, her fingers tracing the smooth piano lid, her gaze inadvertently falling on a tiny, extremely hidden crack on the side of the piano, one that required close inspection to spot.

That seems to be... a hidden compartment?

Her heart skipped a beat. She looked around; the spacious living room was empty except for her. A sense of adventure began to creep in like a vine.

She took a deep breath, held it, and carefully used her fingernails to pry open the crack.

With a barely audible click, a flat, hidden compartment about the size of a palm popped out.

There were no confidential documents or precious jewels inside, only a yellowed old photograph and a simple silver ring that showed the marks of time.

The photo shows a young woman with a gentle smile, sitting at a piano, her head slightly tilted, her eyes softly gazing at the camera. She bears a resemblance to Xie Chen, especially her high nose bridge and deep-set eyes. Her fingers rest lightly on the piano keys.

Lin Nuannuan's gaze froze.

This woman... is not Gu Weiwei.

who is she?

A strong intuition told her that this was the true listener of the "Nocturne," the hidden, tender place in Xie Chen's heart.

She picked up the ring, feeling its cool touch. On the inside of the ring were two small letters—RS.

RS? Xie Chen's initials are xc, which clearly doesn't match. Does this ring belong to the woman in the photo?

Just as she was concentrating on trying to decipher these clues, a cold, emotionless voice boomed behind her like a thunderclap:

"Who gave you permission to touch my things?"

Lin Nuannuan was so frightened that she almost dropped the ring in her hand! She turned around abruptly and saw Xie Chen standing at the entrance of the living room. He was staring at her and the ring in her hand with a look she had never seen before, a look that was a mixture of overwhelming anger, the violence of being invaded, and an almost panicked look.

Isn't he supposed to be back at night?!

A wave of overwhelming fear gripped Lin Nuannuan instantly; she felt as if the air around her had frozen into ice. Instinctively, she hid the hand holding the ring behind her back, her face ashen, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Xie Chen strode over, each step carrying a terrifying, impending storm. He grabbed her wrist, which was hidden behind her back, with such force that she had no doubt her bones were at risk of shattering again. He forcibly pried open her fingers, snatching back the ring with brutal, utterly merciless movements.

Then, his gaze swept over the open hidden compartment and the yellowed photograph, and the storm in his eyes instantly escalated into a devastating hurricane!

"How dare you..." His voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying a kind of madness that had been touched on a sore spot, "Who gave you the guts?!"

He abruptly shoved her away, and Lin Nuannuan stumbled and crashed into the cold piano, a sharp pain shooting through her waist. She watched as Xie Chen carefully placed the ring back into the hidden compartment and closed the lid, as if guarding a rare treasure, before turning around, his scarlet eyes locking onto her like those of a bloodthirsty beast.

"I...I didn't mean to..." Lin Nuannuan's voice was trembling with sobs and genuine fear; this time it wasn't acting. "I was just...curious..."

"Curious?" Xie Chen approached step by step, trapping her between the piano and him. His tall figure cast a shadow that completely enveloped her. "Curious about my past? Curious about how I became a 'monster'?"

His tone was full of self-deprecation and a deep-seated pain, which made Lin Nuannuan's heart clench inexplicably.

“No…” she tried to explain, but she appeared weak and powerless under his terrifying gaze.

Xie Chen suddenly reached out, grabbed her chin, and forced her to raise her head and look directly into the raging ocean in his eyes.

“Listen,” he said, each word sharp and clear, “there are some boundaries you can never cross. There are some pasts you shouldn’t explore.”

His fingertips were icy cold, but the force he applied was incredibly hot.

"This is the first and last warning." His voice was extremely low, carrying a deadly danger. "If I find you touching things you shouldn't touch, or prying into things you shouldn't know..."

He paused, a genuine, undisguised killing intent flashing in his eyes.

“I will show you what true ‘imprisonment’ really is.”

Lin Nuannuan felt ice-cold all over, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She had no doubt about his words. This time, she had truly touched a forbidden zone that he absolutely would not allow anyone to set foot in.

Xie Chen released her, as if touching her was something he found repulsive. He didn't look at her again, picked up the yellowed photograph, clenched it tightly in his palm, turned and strode out of the living room, his back view resolute and cold.

Lin Nuannuan slid down the piano onto the carpet, her heart still pounding wildly, her back completely soaked in cold sweat. The pain he had inflicted still lingered on her chin and wrists, but what chilled her to the bone even more was the undisguised murderous intent in his eyes, and... the information revealed in his words.

"Monster"... Why would he use that word to describe himself?

Who is that gentle woman? And what does that ring engraved with "RS" represent?

All of this is clearly unrelated to Gu Weiwei; rather, it is a deeper, more hidden scar.

She had initially thought he was merely paranoid, possessive, and driven by love turned to hate. But now it seemed that beneath his cold exterior lay a past far darker and more painful than she had imagined.

Her "crossing the line" not only failed to bring the two closer, but may have pushed her to an even more dangerous edge.

Can trust still be built after spying and warnings?

Lin Nuannuan hugged her knees tightly, burying her face in her arms, feeling an unprecedented sense of confusion and... an indescribable heartache. For the woman with the gentle smile in the photo, and for the man who had locked himself away in painful memories, arming himself with indifference and violence.

Just then, the system 088 notification tone suddenly sounded, accompanied by an unusual, almost urgent electrical noise:

"Ding—Warning! Detected…buzz…The host's emotional fluctuations are resonating with the target's core trauma…buzz…unknown resonance…"

"Core data stream...is being disrupted...plot line...zzzz...slightly shifted..."

"Reassessing... Warning... Host, please... buzz... extreme caution..."

The noise stopped abruptly, and the system returned to calm, as if the anomaly just now was merely an illusion.

Lin Nuannuan suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Resonance? Displacement? Caution?

What does this mean?

The suspense of the story is pushed to a whole new level at this moment—Lin Nuannuan's unintentional act seems to have triggered a change that even the system had not anticipated. Is this an even greater crisis, or... a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation? Everything awaits to be revealed in the next chapter.