Seemingly because of the intrusion of the second person, all the strange phenomena around them vanished at that moment. Jiang Shihe frowned, but the next moment, he asked without any change in expression, "What happened, Miss Ruan? What's this on you—"

"That's great, that's really great..."

At this moment, Ruan Qing'an had already run up to Jiang Shihe. The girl was much shorter than the man and looked very small. When she looked up at him, her pale face looked pitiful, like snow falling on a branch, needing to be carefully protected.

Her dark, tousled hair clung to her forehead with cold sweat, making her appear even more delicate. When Ruan Qing'an stumbled over, Jiang Shihe even instinctively caught her and carefully half-embraced her.

Only after confirming that Nguyen Thanh An was standing firmly did Jiang Shihe gentlemanly take half a step back, put his hands behind his back, and unconsciously rub his fingertips together.

"I'm fine, but Miss Ruan, what about you?"

"It's nothing, Mr. Jiang. I'm just glad you're alright. Did anything happen just now? It was just... some strange things?"

Seeing the girl in front of him asking anxiously, yet also hesitating as if trying to hide something, Jiang Shihe immediately remembered what had just happened: the inexplicably opened automatic door, the strange shadow, and especially... the person who brushed past him.

Everywhere exudes an eerie atmosphere, making it exceptionally sinister.

But Jiang Shihe didn't show it on his face; the gentle and gentlemanly smile on his lips remained unchanged: "Strange thing? I'm sorry, I didn't notice. What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Seeing that the girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her previous hesitant expression disappeared, Jiang Shihe's eyes darkened slightly, and he suddenly said, "I'm fine, but how's your hand?"

Ruan Qing'an seemed to only then realize what was happening. She raised her hand and discovered that her slender, fair arm had been cut by something sharp, leaving a long wound that was still bleeding.

She instinctively covered her face and whispered, "It's nothing, I just bumped into it accidentally. I'm fine, Mr. Jiang."

"But you still need to get your hand wound treated."

Jiang Shihe paused, extinguished his cigarette, threw it into the trash can beside him, and turned to look at Ruan Qing'an: "Miss Ruan, if it's inconvenient for you to treat it yourself, I can help you bandage your wound."

"No need, Mr. Jiang, I—"

Before Ruan Qing'an could finish speaking, Jiang Shihe's low, husky voice, which had been tinged with amusement, turned serious: "Regarding the deceased Zhang Wu, I think I can talk to Miss Ruan a little more. Would that be alright?"

The man's voice clearly carried a hint of laughter, yet it was so forceful that it was impossible to refuse. Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but bite her bright red lips. She hesitated for a long while before saying, "I... Mr. Jiang, perhaps... perhaps you could come upstairs and sit for a while..."

"Alright, Miss Ruan, please."

Soon, Ruan Qing'an led Jiang Shihe into the house—a small apartment of about seventy square meters, decorated warmly and beautifully, with every little detail reflecting the girl's thoughtfulness. There was also a potted green ivy on the balcony, which was growing exceptionally well.

Jiang Shihe glanced at it without showing any emotion, suppressing the doubt in his eyes. Strangely, the room, which should have made people feel comfortable, made him feel a little cold, as if there was a strong yin energy.

Just then, accompanied by footsteps, Ruan Qingan ran into the living room carrying a home first-aid kit.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang..."

She spoke softly and hesitantly, seemingly because of nervousness, even her small earlobes were tinged with a blush.

Jiang Shihe half-squatted down in front of her, opened the home first aid kit while holding Ruan Qing'an's wrist, and asked, "Speaking of which, why did Miss Ruan get injured? Actually, before you came downstairs, someone did brush past me."

"What--"

Ruan Qingan was startled and couldn't help but grasp Jiang Shihe's hand.

Seemingly realizing her behavior was inappropriate, Ruan Qing'an hurriedly lowered her head again, but Jiang Shihe clearly wouldn't let her off so easily. He tightened his grip on her wrist and looked up.

The tall man, who was originally squatting in front of her, now moved like a crouching wild beast, his strong aura unyielding.

"Miss Ruan, may we speak now?"

"I……"

The atmosphere froze. Finally, Ruan Qing'an said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jiang, I really don't dare to tell you about this. I'm not sure if you can believe me. I... I feel that Zhang Wu's death is not so simple. It might not have been caused by someone..."

Jiang Shihe countered, "Is it related to your performance just now?"

Ruan Qingan nodded and said, "Yes, when I went to F University today, I saw Zhang Wu's body. After that, Captain Long took me to the art studio next door, which was several rooms away from the art studio where the incident happened. It shouldn't have happened there, but... it's not clean there."

"Unclean?"

"When Captain Long took out the portrait that Zhang Wu drew for me before he died, I saw that behind him there was blood everywhere, and... and Zhang Wu's body was hanging on the wall!"

Ruan Qing'an instinctively gripped Jiang Shihe's hand, staring intently at him with fear and panic: "He told me that he hadn't had time to paint my face on the portrait, and kept apologizing to me, saying he would give me his face, and then..."

"His face disappeared, his eyeballs fell out, and all his features vanished. It was terrifying."

Ruan Qing'an seemed to be on the verge of collapse. She was already petite, and now she was curled up in fear, hugging her knees, which made her look even more pitiful and soft-hearted.

She subconsciously tugged at Jiang Shihe's sleeve. The slightly bitter, cold tobacco scent emanating from the man seemed to fill her with a sense of security at that moment. Ruan Qing'an carefully raised her eyes and whispered, "The strange feeling didn't disappear until... until Captain Long spoke up."

"But Mr. Jiang, that can't be a hallucination. When the eyeball rolled down in front of me, it even got some blood on my shoe. I don't believe it's fake..."

Noticing the girl's unease, Jiang Shihe looked down to check the bandaged wound before standing up, bending down slightly, and half-embracing Ruan Qing'an in his arms. His large palm pressed against her overly thin back, her beautiful butterfly-shaped shoulder blades seemed about to flutter, while his large hand gently restrained her.

He lowered his eyes and said softly, "It's alright, I'm here now, Miss. Please continue. Can you trust me?"

"What happened tonight?"

"..."

Ruan Qing'an froze: "I was about to go back inside today when it came again. It's definitely not Zhang Wu... Mr. Jiang, it's a ghost. It keeps bothering me. I ran in the stairwell for a long time, fell down, and cut my arm, but I could still feel it chasing me."

"In the end, I even thought I was going to die, before it finally disappeared and went outside. I saw you through the window, Mr. Jiang, and that's when I wanted to run out to warn you..."

Ruan Qingan explained, "That's why I thought Zhang Wu's death couldn't have been caused by humans; it must have been done by a ghost!"

"...It is indeed somewhat unbelievable."

Jiang Shihe was silent for a moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said in a low voice, "Is this what you've been hiding from Captain Long?"

Only after seeing Ruan Qing'an nod did Jiang Shihe begin to have some thoughts. He pondered and said, "Miss Ruan, I believe you won't lie to me, but this matter is indeed very strange. I'm afraid telling Captain Long won't help. Could you keep it a secret for now?"

"As for Captain Long, I will communicate with him. You don't need to worry. If you encounter something like this again, you can call me."

Ruan Qingan nodded obediently: "Okay, I understand."