Gong Chen approached her, his slender fingers brushing the edges of the paper, producing a faint sound of pages turning.
Lin Zhiyi couldn’t help but swallow hard, pressing her hand down even more firmly.
The next moment, the man’s fingertips slid along the paper to caress her hand, slowly clasping it. The warmth of his palm scorched the scar on the back of her hand.
The room’s lighting, designed to match the overall aesthetic of the inn, consisted entirely of warm-toned ambient lights.
The only downside was that it was too hazy.
So much so that Lin Zhiyi could barely make out the man’s expression, yet there was no way to evade his deep, piercing gaze.
He lowered his head and lightly pecked her lips.
Then he quietly locked eyes with her, his breaths growing increasingly heated.
Lin Zhiyi pressed her lips together, attempting to avoid him, but he kissed her again, this time not allowing any resistance.
Her hand was firmly gripped and moved aside, and the wind from outside blew in, scattering her design drafts, revealing a sketch that had been hidden at the bottom.
That day, Lin Zhiyi had fallen asleep hunched over her desk and dreamed of Gong Chen’s death.
The scene in her dream was vivid—Gong Chen wearing a gray, faded outfit, sitting upright somewhere, staring directly at her as if he could see her, his eyes reddening.
Before she could get closer, he began to cough up mouthfuls of blood.
Lin Zhiyi woke up with a start, her palms clammy, as if stained with blood, yet she had no recollection of why he would die.
And so she had drawn this sketch. Apart from Gong Chen’s face, much of the rest was shrouded in shadows.
Lin Zhiyi’s thoughts were pulled far away by the kiss, but suddenly, a sound came from downstairs.
"Zhiyi, you’re back?"
Hearing Du Qian’s voice, Lin Zhiyi was startled.
It’s not Saturday—why had Du Qian returned to Hai Yue Bay?
Like Li Huan, he often worked night shifts, and since the hospital wasn’t close to Hai Yue Bay, he usually stayed in the dormitories.
Yet the Gong Chen in front of her acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, his grip on her unrelenting.
Lin Zhiyi raised her hand to block him, whispering, "Are you crazy?"
"What does he have to do with me? Are you concerned?" Gong Chen narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness lingering in them.
"You..." Lin Zhiyi glared at Gong Chen as the footsteps outside the door grew closer. "Do you enjoy seeing me embarrassed?"
"Can’t I just be jealous?"
Lin Zhiyi froze for a moment.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Zhiyi, is that you?"
Lin Zhiyi snapped back to her senses, pushing Gong Chen further into the room and pulling down the divider.
The divider consisted of two layers of sheer curtains with different patterns, overlapping in a way that let light through without revealing anyone inside. Coupled with the dim lighting, it was nearly impossible to see Gong Chen, who stood in the shadows.
After that, Lin Zhiyi opened the door.
Du Qian stood outside, smiling at her. "I heard you were back, so I came to check on you and Xingxing."
As he spoke, he moved to step inside.
Lin Zhiyi raised her hand to block him. "Doctor Du, this is my bedroom, and Xingxing isn’t here."
Du Qian paused awkwardly and apologized, "Sorry, I was being presumptuous. I was just worried about Xingxing. Why isn’t she with you? Do you need someone to pick her up?"
"No need. There have been too many reporters around here lately. I was worried she’d get scared, so I took her to stay somewhere else. I just came back to grab something," Lin Zhiyi explained.
"Doctor Du, how did you know I was back? Who told you?"
Lin Zhiyi had wanted to ask earlier but was interrupted when Du Qian tried to come in.
Du Qian hesitated before saying, "A neighbor saw someone who looked like you and told me."
"I see. Why did you come back today?"
"My mom said her foot was aching, so I came back to check on her," Du Qian explained.
"Is your mom okay?" Lin Zhiyi shifted the topic.
"She’s fine. Are you done packing? I can take you to Xingxing," Du Qian offered with a gentle smile.
Lin Zhiyi pressed her lips together. "No need, I can go myself. You should hurry back to take care of your mom."
Du Qian said nothing, his gaze drifting past Lin Zhiyi toward the dim interior.
Sensing this, Lin Zhiyi shifted to block his line of sight. "Doctor Du, I’ll see you out."
"Alright, take care."
Lin Zhiyi shut the door as Du Qian turned to leave.
Hearing the sound of his footsteps receding down the stairs, she finally exhaled in relief.
From the shadows, Gong Chen slowly approached, parting the curtain as he stepped out.
"Do you really think he’s that easy to fool?"
"What do you mean?" Lin Zhiyi asked, slightly puzzled.
Gong Chen glanced at the still-unpacked items by the cabinet, then gave her a meaningful look. "Just pack your things for now."
Though Lin Zhiyi found it strange, she followed his suggestion and resumed packing.
Gong Chen carried her things downstairs, but unexpectedly, they were spotted by an attendant.
The attendant looked at Gong Chen in surprise, covering her mouth.
"Boss, this is..." she started.
"Shh! I haven’t even reprimanded you yet. Why didn’t you stop Doctor Du just now? It’s late, and all the guests staying these past two nights are women," Lin Zhiyi whispered in admonishment.
"Doctor Du? I didn’t see him come in," the attendant said after some thought. "Could he have entered through the backyard? Why has he been acting so strangely lately? I warned him before about how our guests are all women—how could he dare enter through the back door? If a female guest saw a strange man wandering around, wouldn’t she be terrified?"
"You’re sure you didn’t see him?" Lin Zhiyi asked with some surprise.
"Definitely. I’ve been at the entrance the whole time," the attendant assured her.
Lin Zhiyi frowned. "After we leave, make sure to lock the backyard and check all the windows on the first floor. We don’t want to scare the guests. Also, act like you didn’t see us."
After that, Lin Zhiyi and Gong Chen left through the back door.
Once inside the car, she appeared deep in thought.
Gong Chen spoke in a cold tone. "You’ve started to sense something’s wrong?"
Lin Zhiyi looked at him suspiciously. "You knew all along?"
"Yes. When Li Huan told me about the photos, I suspected he’d already figured out that I was the one who took you and Xingxing. But how could he know my whereabouts unless... he was tracking your every move."
"You’re saying he’s been monitoring me? Impossible. He’s a doctor—how could he have time to watch me?" Lin Zhiyi shook her head.
"Do you remember what he said to you on the phone last night?"
"He said the attendant told him I went out and asked if I needed any help or if I wanted him to come pick me up," Lin Zhiyi recalled, then suddenly added, "But I told the attendant I was going back to my hometown. They don’t even know where that is, so his offer to pick me up didn’t make sense. It sounded as though he already knew my situation."
Upon saying this, Lin Zhiyi remembered a few other things.
It seemed like Du Qian always showed up at just the right time whenever something happened to her.
But Du Qian wasn’t omniscient—how could he know everything?
Gong Chen said in his low voice, "That’s why I suggested coming back to grab your things. I wanted to test my theory, and now you’ve seen it for yourself."
"You... you used me as an experiment?" Lin Zhiyi said angrily.
"If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, would you have believed me? After all, he’s the one who’s been personally taking care of Xingxing’s condition."
Lin Zhiyi fell silent.
At that moment, Gong Chen extended his hand toward her.