Chapter 11: Thrown onto the bed and caught
Wen Zhiling: "How did you get in... What are you doing here?"
Zong Linhan walked towards her with one hand in his pocket, put his arm around the girl's thin shoulder, and led her to sit down on the sofa. "I couldn't wait to hear the reason for the breakup, but I didn't expect to find the house so clean when I walked in. Are you moving or going on a trip?"
"You just renewed your lease for six months and you're already leaving?" Zong Linhan's gaze swept around the room, from the empty wardrobe on the far right to the bedside table on the far left. The table was completely empty, and the sunlight danced freely in the evening glow. "It's a bit small, but the lighting is quite good."
The two sat side by side on the sofa, the warm light of the setting sun shining on their legs, like a warm-colored blanket, but it couldn't warm Wen Zhiling's cold hands and feet.
Did he guess her identity? Did the Bureau of Surveillance find out? Did his family send him?
“I feel too much pressure dating you, that’s why I want to leave,” Wen Zhiling covered her face with her hands and sobbed, “Zong Linhan, we’re not suitable for each other.”
The sudden crying echoed through the living room. The girl buried her face tightly in her hands, her shoulders heaving, her curled-up posture looking utterly aggrieved.
Zong Linhan threw the apple core into the trash can, took out a tissue and slowly wiped his hands. He noticed that the table was slightly dirty, so he took out another tissue to wipe the table. He was calm and composed.
Wen Zhiling choked back tears, her fingers slightly parted as she glanced to the side.
A glass was handed to him, and Zong Linhan said, "Drink some water. It's not appropriate to wail for so long without shedding a single tear. Show some respect for your performance, baby."
He held up a glass of water, his pale fingertips tinged with the afterglow of the sunset, the glass reflecting colorful light. The man's smile was gentle, as soft and harmless as the evening breeze. He handed her the glass, half-filled with lukewarm water, yet a chill ran through her fingers, making Wen Zhiling almost drop her grip.
She drank warm water, her gaze sweeping over the box by the door. After finishing her water, she changed her strategy.
The glass fell to the table with a loud thud.
"Zong Linhan, can I trust you?" Wen Zhiling took a deep breath, staring at the glass. Her expression was so serious that it was unlike her usual self. She looked more like a character in a horror movie who had seen a ghost but was not believed. She had made a great decision to reveal her secret to the world.
Zong Linhan held a glass, a delicate silver ring adorning his slightly bent ring finger, reflecting a beautiful light. His thin lips were moist and slightly red from drinking water, possessing a captivating beauty. He glanced at her expression, his tone calm and collected, "Tell me."
“I’ve seen those monsters, and I’m terrified,” Wen Zhiling said, clasping her hands in front of her and breathing heavily, her chest heaving as if she had used up all her courage. Her voice even trembled slightly. “I know your family has connections with those organizations. I’m afraid of monsters, and I’m also afraid of you who deal with them. I’ve hesitated and struggled, but I can’t sleep at night. I dream that I’m being captured by monsters. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t endure it for even one more day. I just want to stay away from you and live a peaceful life.”
He lightly tapped the glass with his fingers, the silver ring clinking against the glass. Zong Linhan asked in a calm voice, "Time?"
Wen Zhiling: "Three years ago."
Zong Linhan: "Be specific."
Wen Zhiling: "The time when Baihe subway station was closed for one hour at 2 pm on April 6th."
Zong Linhan glanced at her. "The scene was sealed off, and all witnesses were taken for psychological treatment. How did you escape?"
Wen Zhiling clutched her head, as if in too much pain, refusing to recall anything. "It's too chaotic, I don't remember."
Zong Linhan: "How did you know about my relationship with those organizations?"
Wen Zhiling: "Once your computer was left on, and I saw the files on the desktop."
Zong Linhan narrowed his eyes slightly. "So it was that time."
Wen Zhiling lowered her head and didn't speak, thinking to herself that it was good that she had prepared in advance.
After a while, Zong Linhan's warm body came closer and hugged Wen Zhiling.
Wen Zhiling was held obediently in his arms, enjoying the comforting embrace. Zong Linhan's voice came from above her head, deep and gentle, "There are many unsolved mysteries in this world. They are just creatures living in different ecological environments than humans. Conflict only arises when they pose a threat to humans. The agency that handles these matters is called the 'Supernatural Investigation Bureau.' They won't harm ordinary people. What happened at Baihe subway station was their mistake. If they had taken you for a simple check-up then, you wouldn't have been scared."
The last word had barely left her lips when Wen Zhiling jumped to her feet, tears streaming down her face. "But I don't want to forget! Fear is what makes people live better! I don't want to live in ignorance, without knowing anything!"
Tears welled up in her eyes without her noticing, leaving two or three new tear tracks on her face. The teardrops on her eyelashes looked pitiful. "Zong Linhan, I'm just an ordinary person. I'm scared, I regret it, I just want to get far away from you!"
With trembling hands, Wen Zhiling wiped away her tears. She cried so hard that she almost couldn't catch her breath.
His words were righteous and sincere, and she almost believed them.
But Zong Linhan leaned lazily against the sofa, looking up at her with a slight tilt of his head, his expression devoid of any extra emotion. This calm reaction turned the intense wailing performance into a clumsy farce, abruptly ending at its climax. In the empty world, there were no cheers or applause; the audience was eerily silent and gloomy.
Like a boulder thrown into a lake, it sank with a thud, the ripples unable to cause any further disturbance. The descending night took away the remaining warmth of the room, and the evening breeze chilled her ankles. Wen Zhiling felt an urgent longing to leave this place and go to a safer place.
She pulled her suitcase to leave, ignoring the unpacked and unresolved matters, when Zong Linhan slowly spoke up, "Any other fresh reasons you haven't mentioned?"
Wen Zhiling turned to look at him, forcing herself to remain calm, "What do you mean?"
The sun had set sometime earlier, and the streetlights hadn't come on yet. The distant mountains and the horizon were a deep gray, blending into one. Zong Linhan stood by the window, the dimness creeping up his slender figure.
Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other for so long, but he seemed a little unfamiliar. The Zong Linhan she knew was unruly and arrogant, and his upbringing, where he got whatever he wanted, had left him with a bit of a spoiled young master's temper. He often switched between childishness and arrogance, and there was a kind of childlike innocence that no one else could see, only she knew. It was this innocence that she initially liked.
Zong Linhan bent down, picked up the glass she had used, and tossed it casually. The glass rose and fell repeatedly, landing in his palm with a dull thud. The rising and falling sounds made Wen Zhiling's heart jump; she was worried he would accidentally break the glass.
"Zhi Ling, it turns out you don't want to believe at all that I would protect you."
He uttered these words softly, his tone revealing undisguised disappointment and self-mockery. The glass fell straight into his palm. Wen Zhiling's gaze shifted to Zong Linhan, who smiled, reverting to his arrogant and willful expression, and slightly raised his chin. "Baby, step back a couple of steps."
Wen Zhiling subconsciously stepped back. The next second, Zong Linhan loosened his grip, and the glass fell to the ground with a clatter, shattering into pieces of varying sizes on the floor, sofa, and table legs, like colorless flowers scattered all over the place.
Zong Linhan casually picked up a long, diamond-shaped fragment and slowly played with it, causing Wen Zhiling to catch her breath.
This man is playing with fire!
Her slender, pale fingers deftly twirled the shards of glass, like twirling a pen. The sharp edge moved between her fingers, its point close to her delicate skin; a single misstep could cause a small cut. She had already taken her last suppressant pill. If Zong Linhan were injured and bled, she wouldn't be able to hide her identity!
"Be careful, you might get tetanus." Wen Zhiling's back was covered in cold sweat, and she gripped her luggage tightly. "You know about anaerobic bacteria, right? If you get infected, they release toxins that can be life-threatening."
Zong Linhan chuckled, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if he had heard something amusing. "Hmm, I'll be careful. However, in most cases, if you want to kill me, you'd better use more force and cut the wound deeper and harder, otherwise it won't be so easy to take me away."
These words sound so dangerous. Wen Zhiling stopped looking at Zong Linhan's smiling face and turned to turn the doorknob. If she had to suck blood again after three years, it would be a second calibration, and she might not be able to have the surgery again.
The door wouldn't open; Wen Zhiling's hands were sweaty, and her heart was pounding.
"Are you in such a hurry to leave?"
A shard of light fell on her neck. The man had somehow gotten behind her, and a silent shadow enveloped her, enclosing her in a small space in front of her. She didn't even hear his footsteps approaching.
The streetlights came on, casting a faint, warm glow on the third floor. The fragments being turned over by fingertips shimmered with an orange light. The dangerous sharp point moved away from the side of her neck, like a leaping musical note, wandering over Wen Zhiling's body. Danger played with her with ease, landing on her stiff shoulders, her elbow bent as she opened the door, her pale wrist, and her trembling fingertips.
He sighed, as if regretting, "Not long ago, someone told me that I was marked. The first test didn't detect it, and I thought the other person was just saying it casually. It wasn't until the second test that they found out I was a vampire-type supernatural monster, which had probably been extinct for about thirty years."
Wen Zhiling felt her blood run cold.
"You know, when you find one cockroach in your house, there are usually a lot of them. This blood test report caused quite a stir. The lab immediately reported it to higher authorities, and it quickly became a nationwide red alert. I didn't even have time to suppress it."
"The city has been running smoothly all day. Your colleagues might be having dinner and chatting right now. Most people don't know that today the entire city is under martial law. The highest level of traffic checks, major ports, airports, and high-speed rail stations are all under the supervision of the Surveillance Bureau. This afternoon, we also took the time to raid a hospital office and, following the clues, caught a small organization. As soon as we received the information, we immediately decided to ban departures. For seven days, from today until next week, until the citywide investigation is completed, you won't be able to leave, no matter where you want to go."
"Ah, perhaps I misspoke. Even without today's incident, you wouldn't have been able to go anywhere anyway." A shard of glass rested on the back of Wen Zhiling's hand as she turned the doorknob, a cat-like scratch sending a chill down her spine. Zong Linhan's low, husky voice whispered in her ear, "If it weren't for this, I might not even know if your name is Wen Zhiling or not. Where can someone without an identity go?"
Fear gripped Wen Zhiling tightly. She remembered the electric shock collar mentioned in the surgical brochure, the pain of which could burn the brain nerves with a single shock.
"Zong Zong." Wen Zhiling turned around and threw herself into Zong Linhan's arms, her forehead pressed against his chest, her slender hands weakly gripping the hem of his clothes. "You won't hurt me, right?"
She looked up, tears streaming down her face. The girl's vulnerability was etched on her delicate features. She pleaded with him for help, as if he were the only person in the world who mattered to her. Zong Linhan lowered his eyes. "Do you think I would?"
Wen Zhiling shook her head, looking at him with teary eyes, "You won't, you will protect me."
"I'm not leaving."
As if eager to express her feelings, Wen Zhiling pushed Zong Linhan to the window, the place furthest from the door.
She hugged him tightly, like a timid and pitiful little animal that had been wronged outside and was now obediently nestled in the safest embrace in the world. His waist was firm and comfortable to hold, and Wen Zhiling buried herself even tighter, almost making Zong Linhan unable to move.
There was no car parked under the window; Zong Linhan had come alone. Wen Zhiling glanced outside as she turned her head, her eyes searching for the curtain cord under the curtains. If she was quick enough, she could tie his hands to the shelf pillar, perhaps buying him two seconds to escape.
Wen Zhiling sobbed softly, her mind wandering between trying to open the door again and jumping from the third floor, wondering what the chances were of breaking her leg and being caught and collared.
Zong Linhan pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him, his voice indifferent, "Why won't you look at me?"
Wen Zhiling sobbed earnestly, "I don't look good when I cry. Remember my good-looking side, don't look at me now."
Zong Linhan scoffed, "Baby, you acted terribly."
Wen Zhiling looked pitiful, sobbing as if she didn't understand what she was saying.
He held her in one arm and twirled the rope with the other. "Looking for this?"
Wen Zhiling remained silent for two seconds, then lunged at the window without hesitation, only to be caught by Zong Linhan around the waist and thrown onto the bed.
The two were very close, and the shadow completely covered Wen Zhiling, making her appear petite and vulnerable in his presence.
Her words were false, her tears were false, but the terror in her eyes was real—a fear of him. Zong Linhan braced himself on either side of her, his muscles taut and powerful. As he leaned down, his movements were undeniably aggressive, and he kissed away her tears.
Then, through Wen Zhiling's blurry, tearful eyes, Zong Linhan slightly raised his body, his dark eyes fixed on her. "Although there is very little information about vampire-type abilities, there is one piece of information that mentions that there is one chance to change the marked target once every three spring years. However, if the same person is marked twice, it cannot be changed to someone else. Doesn't that sound a bit romantic?"
Realizing what he might be about to do, Wen Zhiling was momentarily stunned.
"You'll probably need me a lot."
A shard of glass grazed the side of her neck, and as the wound opened, blood dripped out. The fresh scent of citrus immediately filled the room, instantly neutralizing the inhibitor and leaving Wen Zhiling's world devoid of other people and things.
He moved closer to her, his voice casual, "I've heard that people who are marked have a special scent. Baby, what's my scent?"
A note from the author:
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