She didn’t know the man. Yet, she could not shake the feeling that he was someone she knew. From the tone of his voice down to his attitude, something about him spoke to their being acquainted.

  Another question came to mind. If he knew her, did he also know about her relationship with Fu Tingyu?

  Would he use her as a means to threaten Fu Tingyu?

  Qin Shu knew Fu Tingyu well. He would give up his life for her without so much as batting an eye.

  She could not put him through such torment for her sake.

  The thought alone pained her greatly.

  Suddenly, the man stood up and took a step towards her. He stopped when he was mere inches away from her. With his head bowed, it looked like he was staring down at her.

  Qin Shu caught unprepared, took an unconscious step back. However, the man stopped her with a forceful tug.

  She reacted instinctively, drawing the dagger she had stowed under her clothes and pressing it against the man’s neck.

  Regarding him warily, she hissed, “What are you doing?”


  The man felt a chilling presence against his neck. A sharp blade threatened to tear into his throat. As long as Qin Shu exerted force, her blade would bite into his skin and sever his carotid artery.

  The man remained still, allowing the dagger to rest against his bare skin.

  “Don’t be hasty, now. There’s no need for alarm.” The man spoke with a helpless note colouring his voice.

  Qin Shu clenched the dagger in her hand. “Then why are you holding my arm?”


  “I did not want you to hide from me,” the man said.

  “.……”


  “Then let go,” she grouched.

  The man let out an inaudible sigh and let go of her arm. “It’s time to for lunch. Let’s go down.”


  Qin Shu eyed the man warily. Seeing as he was not about to try anything else, she slipped her dagger under her clothes and followed him out……

  Lunch was as decadent as breakfast.

  Qin Shu and the man were the only ones at the dining table.

  Most of the dishes were ones she liked. Picking up her chopsticks, she helped herself to the dishes she fancied. She ate slowly, savouring the taste of each dish.

  The man ate with slow, practised motions that bespoke an education in the fine art of dining etiquette. Every sweep of his hand, every pause he took in between, displayed the refined elegance of a man brought up to meet the highest standards of dignity.

  Finished with her meal, Qin Shu set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Seeing as her host had yet to finish his meal, she waited patiently with her hands on her lap.

  The man only ate one bowl of rice before he put down his chopsticks and stopped eating. Afterwards, he wiped his mouth with a napkin before making his way back upstairs.

  Qin Shu followed him up, trailing behind him in the same way a subordinate would.

  Soon, there were back in the man’s quarters.

  “I’m tired. I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up at two o’clock.” The man said.

  “Okay,” Qin Shu replied.

  The man shuffled to the sofa and laid down. He was out like a light almost as soon as his head rested against the sofa’s cushions, not unlike the previous night.

  Qin Shu stared at the sleeping man for a while, an unreadable expression plastered on her face. Walking to the bed, she sat down and pulled out a phone. A message hovered on the screen. It was from Ye Xing.

  [ Ye Xing: Alright. I’ll head back without you. If there’s anything you need, don’t forget to call me. ]

  Qin Shu put away her phone. It was only after she did so that she realized how unusual her situation was. The man had not even taken her phone away. Wasn’t he afraid that she would call for help?

  She looked at the man on the sofa who was already asleep. How much did he trust her? Why did he leave his phone with her? Why didn’t he block her phone’s reception?

  Qin Shu’s face scrunched up in thought. She could not figure out what went through the man’s head. Realizing that trying to rationalize a crazy man’s thoughts was an exercise in futility, she gave up.

  It was at this moment that President Ba sauntered in through the open door. When he saw Qin Shu, he bounded over and jumped into Qin Shu’s arms.

  “Meow!” he cried out cheerfully.

  Qin Shu glowered at President Ba who had left her high and dry for so long. “So you do know when to return! Hmph. What nerve you have playing coy like this. Hush, now. He’s sleeping.” Qin Shu grumbled pointedly as she glanced in the man’s direction.

  President Ba’s mouth snapped shut with Qin Shu’s gentle reprimand. Turning his attention towards the sofa, President Ba saw a man sleeping and wisely did as his mistress instructed.

  Deciding to take a nap himself, President Ba nestled in QIn Shu’s arms, curling into himself and dozed off.

  Qin Shu shook her head indulgently, allowing President Ba the privilege of sleeping in her lap whilst stroking his inky-black fur.

  –


  –


  At two o’clock, Qin Shu lifted President Ba off her lap and laid him gently on the bed.

  President Ba twitched but did not stir from his slumber. Instead, he simply rolled over and continued sleeping.

  Qin Shu walked up to the sofa, settled herself in a half squat, and shook the man’s shoulder. “It’s two o’clock,” she said.

  The man sat up, nursing his throbbing head. It felt like someone had taken a mallet and pounded his head as if it was a bell.

  Qin Shu studied the man’s face. He looked even paler than before he had gone to bed. It reminded her of the conversation she had overheard. He was dying. If he did not receive treatment soon, he would most certainly die before the year was up.

  The man’s plight paralleled Fu Tingyu so greatly that she could not help but compare them both. Would Fu Tingyu also……

  She did not pursue her train of thought. Fortunately, Gu Yan had managed to concoct an antidote. She did not need to worry that he would suffer the same fate.

  A while later, when his head stopped pounding like a drum, the man said, “Let’s go for a walk.”


  “Okay,” Qin Shu replied. It was all part of her agreement with him. She would uphold her end of the bargain to ensure Gu Yan walked free. It was the only thing she could do.

  If she could leave with Gu Yan safely, a request as small as this was well within tolerable limits.

  In the villa’s back garden……

  As it was winter, the garden’s flowers were in bloom. The trees dotting the garden were all leafless and bare.

  Only the plants sheltered in the greenhouse still had some semblance of spring and summer.

  The man who walked on the cement path was tall and slender. His thin frame caused his clothes to hang limply on his skinny form. Whenever the wind blew, his gaunt physique would flutter into view with the billowing of his clothes.

  In the cold winter wind, his hair was tossed left and right. It did not bother him the least. With the gauze over his eyes, his flapping hair was merely a small, inconsequential annoyance.

  As the man did not speak, Qin Shu opted to remain silent. She simply walked with him. They walked for almost an hour without saying so much as a word to each other.

  Time passed swiftly, and soon it was nightfall.

  Qin Shu had just taken a shower and exited the bathroom. The room was still dimly lit.

  She looked at the man sitting on the sofa. He looked like he had already fallen asleep.

  She did not fancy the idea of spending another night in the same room as him. She wanted a room to herself so that she could actually sleep.

  “Give me a separate room,” she said.

  The man was dozing on the sofa when he heard Qin Shu’s request. Sitting up, he spoke slowly, “You promised to accompany me, and I promised that I wouldn’t do anything to you. What are you worried about?”


  Undeterred, Qin Shu continued to persuade him. “It’s not appropriate for a man and a woman to sleep in the same room. I can’t imagine the sofa being very comfortable. Why don’t you sleep on the bed instead? I’ll sleep in another room.”


  The man smiled sweetly. “If you really feel sorry for me, let me sleep on the same bed as you.”


  “Dream on!” Qin Shu replied without thinking.

  The nerve! He wanted to sleep with her and, still, he insisted that he would not lay a finger on her. Who was he trying to deceive?

  The man waltzed over lazily. Pointing at the bed, he said, “The bed is quite large. If we each sleep on one side, we won’t come into contact.”


  “Besides, I said I wouldn’t touch you, so I won’t. Don’t you have a dagger on you? If I touch you, your dagger will definitely come in handy.”