Although Sang Li reacted quickly and raised his hand to block, he still couldn’t withstand the sneak attack, and in an instant, one of his eyes couldn’t see clearly.
Lin Zhiyi looked outside in surprise and said, "Sister Zhou? What are you doing?"
Seeing that it was Lin Zhiyi and Sang Li, the object in Sister Zhou’s hand also dropped to the ground.
"I’m, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you two."
Lin Zhiyi glanced at the object that had rolled onto the ground, pepper spray.
She quickly helped Sang Li into the house and washed his eyes with mineral water.
Fortunately, he had blocked some of it, and not much had gotten into his eyes.
After washing, Sang Li took the towel from Lin Zhiyi’s hand and wiped his face.
Lin Zhiyi let out a sigh of relief and quickly opened her phone, purchasing some medicine that could be used on the eyes for delivery.
Then, she turned to look at Sister Zhou, who looked as timid as a quail in the room.
"Sister Zhou, what’s the matter?"
"Don’t you know? Lately, several single women in our area have been stalked; it’s been on the news. Today, when I was returning home, I kept feeling like someone was following me, so I..."
Sister Zhou looked apologetically toward Sang Li, "I’m sorry, Mr. Sang."
Sang Li smiled, "It’s nothing, but are you sure someone was following you?"
Sister Zhou nodded vehemently, "Ever since I was conned by a man last time, I’ve been especially cautious with the opposite sex. I don’t even dare have takeout delivered upstairs. Yesterday when I went downstairs to get my takeout, I saw a man walking around outside the building, occasionally peeking inside."
"I asked him who he was looking for, and he said he was from the next building over doing some renovations, so I didn’t think much of it."
"Today, when I came back and wanted to visit the nearby fruit stand to buy some fruit, I got off the bus early, and I saw him again, following me all the way home."
"But if he really was doing renovations, entering the neighborhood wouldn’t be unusual, yet when I went upstairs, I suddenly remembered how he had come close to look at my takeout yesterday, even asking how it tasted. It dawned on me that he wanted to see how much I had ordered and how many utensils there were, thus judging whether I was living alone or not."
Considering this, it was understandable why Sister Zhou was so nervous.
Lin Zhiyi opened her phone and browsed through the property management group, finding that the property had posted three reports and also reminded them not to open their doors casually.
But Zhiyi had been too busy the past two days to notice.
She reluctantly handed Sang Li her phone to look at.
After reading it, Sang Li nodded understandingly and consoled Sister Zhou, "I’m already much better now, you should go back and rest early, don’t worry about it."
Sister Zhou still wanted to apologize, but when she looked up at Sang Li and met his gaze, she immediately understood something.
She hurriedly said, "Then I’ll go back first. I need to check my door lock and won’t bother you both."
Hearing that, Lin Zhiyi realized that she had misunderstood something, but Sister Zhou had already scurried away.
Lin Zhiyi awkwardly looked at Sang Li, "You sit down, the medicine should arrive very soon."
Sang Li hummed in response, holding his phone, "I’m going to the restroom."
Just as Sang Li had entered, the doorbell rang.
Lin Zhiyi cautiously looked through the peephole before opening the door.
The delivery person stared at Lin Zhiyi for a moment and immediately apologized, "I’m sorry, I fell earlier, and the bag tore. Check if anything is missing from inside; if something’s missing, I’ll compensate you."
Lin Zhiyi, seeing the big hole in the bag, didn’t think much of it and checked the medicine.
"Nothing’s missing, thank you."
"Don’t mention it, remember to leave a good review."
The delivery person glanced past Lin Zhiyi into the room.
Lin Zhiyi found it a bit strange and blocked the view with her body, then closed the door.
As she walked back into the living room with the bag, Sang Li happened to come out of the restroom.
She saw that one of his eyes was still red and immediately rummaged through the medicine in her hand, "Let me put some drops in for you."
"You’ll help me?" Sang Li asked softly.
Lin Zhiyi nodded without hesitation, unaware of the smile on Sang Li’s face.
He promptly sat down beside Lin Zhiyi, waiting for her to assist him.
Lin Zhiyi opened the spray, and a strong medicinal scent instantly overwhelmed both of them, causing a coughing fit that lingered for some time.
She covered her nose and mouth, "I’ll open the window to air it out."
She went over to the window by the bed to ventilate the room and finally eased the overpowering smell.
Upon realizing the spray was a herbal extract targeting swelling, though with a complex scent,
Lin Zhiyi quickly capped the bottle and took a deep breath of fresh air. When she turned around, Sang Li was already standing by her side.
The two exchanged smiles.
"Sorry, I didn’t notice the warning above."
"Do you really have to be so formal with me?" Sang Li countered.
Zhiyi realized they were standing too close, and she felt a bit uneasy.
Just as she was about to say something, Sang Li simply stated, "Tonight, I’ll stay."
Zhiyi looked at Sang Li in disbelief.
With a light chuckle, Sang Li explained, "On this floor, it’s just you and Miss Zhou living alone. If what she said is true, it means she has already been targeted. If someone really comes prepared, how can you two women defend yourselves?"
Zhiyi knew he was right, but she felt embarrassed to trouble Sang Li.
As she was about to graciously decline, Sang Li stepped closer, tilting his head slightly to gaze at her.
"It’s mainly because I’m worried about you."
While speaking, his hand tentatively rose to touch Zhiyi’s hair before slowly sliding down to her cheek.
Zhiyi froze for a moment, her hands clenching nervously.
She didn’t dislike Sang Li.
She could have a conversation with him.
Their interactions were comfortable.
As Sang Li leaned in, Zhiyi’s breath caught, and at the critical moment, she raised her hand.
But before she could resist, the lights above suddenly went out.
Startled, Zhiyi felt Sang Li pull her into his embrace.
"Could it be a power outage?" Zhiyi asked cautiously.
"Where’s the main switch?"
"Outside. I know where it is; I’ll go check."
As Zhiyi prepared to head to the door, Sang Li pulled her back.
He spoke in a hushed tone, "Shh, call Miss Zhou and tell her not to open the door under any circumstances."
Upon hearing this, Zhiyi immediately understood his point.
It was very likely that someone outside had shut off the main switch.
She hurriedly called Sister Zhou, who was clearly very scared and was talking about going out to check.
"Sister Zhou, don’t go out. Lock your door tight."
Sister Zhou snapped to her senses, "Okay, okay, be careful. I’ll get the security to come and check."
After hanging up, Zhiyi, shrouded in darkness, heard someone tampering with her door lock.
She had just spoken with Sister Zhou, so it couldn’t be her.
Suddenly, the frightening darkness combined with the rustling sounds brought back the memory of being locked up by He Yao.
Her whole body stiffened.
Then, Sang Li pressed her head into his chest.
"I’ve already asked Zhou Zhao to keep watch downstairs," Sang Li whispered in Zhiyi’s ear.
Zhiyi looked up at him, unable to speak, and she just nodded her head.
Soon, the property management arrived with security to check the main switch and confirmed that someone had indeed turned it off.
But they could not find that person in the building; it seemed he had run away.
The property advised everyone in the group chat not to go out for the time being and that they would strengthen patrols.
Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief for the moment.
Just then, Sang Li’s phone rang.
He got up to answer the call.
"Young Master, the person was caught, but not by me."