Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  “When a boy grows up and meets the girl he likes and likes him back, they’ll get married to become husband and wife and be together forever. They’ll then give birth to cute, little babies, and the cycle repeats.”


  “Then…… do you have a ‘husband’?”


  The question stunned her into silence; she ultimately shook her head.

  “How come you got a baby then? It’s strange how mommy also has me but not a husband.”


  “Baby,” she asked curiously, “do you wish to look for your father?”


  The kiddo raised his handsome brows and smilingly declared, “Of course! I’ve always wanted a daddy! Once I grow up, I’ll go look for him!”


  Hearing that, her heart grew heavy as she smiled back at him.

  Chu He was on duty that night.

  After giving the child a bath, the two settled in bed to watch TV.

  Although the child was usually brimming with energy, that was only provided if he did not go out to play in the day. With Meng Qingxue around, Baby Chu’s energy had long been depleted; the boy drifted into dreamland at just eight o’clock.

  The adult, too, felt somewhat sleepy when she saw him in slumber. Ever since she got pregnant, she had felt sleepy all the time. Thus, she switched off the TV and closed her eyes as she hugged the little guy to sleep.

  That night, she had a fitful sleep, where she was constantly drifting in and out of dreamland. It was hard for her to go into a deep slumber.

  It started drizzling some time in the night, and although the rain was light, the wind was especially violent; it was constantly slapping against the windows.

  The sounds of the shaky windows startled the pregnant woman out of her groggy state. She peeled open her lids, only to notice the mist outside the windows, which she had forgotten to close and lock. She carefully climbed out of bed, lest she rouse the child from his sleep, and tiptoed to the windows, intending to shut them.

  Things went silent in the room immediately; amid this bizarre silence, however, she vaguely heard the soft creaking of the wooden floor.

  Her heart skipped a beat as she stopped in her tracks and looked down at the composite flooring, which was installed throughout the house; it was the type that would creak and groan when someone stepped on it.

  She tried to still her racing heart, thinking that she had scared herself over nothing in the middle of the night. Thus, with a sigh of relief, she returned to bed, only to hear the wooden floor creaking again.

  Her eyes widened as she stared at the empty ceiling above her. This time, she knew very well that the sounds did not come from her; the lady’s keen senses told her that they came from the stairwell, which was also overlaid with composite planks and would make the same creaking sounds whenever someone climbed up them.

  She could tell, from the sounds, that the footsteps were soft and careful, which on the contrary, caused even more commotion. The nimble policewoman, with her light and airy steps, would never make so much noise and wake them from their sleep as a result.

  At the thought of this, she hopped off the bed at once and flew straight to the door with the intention of locking it. Alas, just as her hand made contact with the knob, the sound of footsteps ceased. She gripped the doorknob tightly and looked up, with large fearful eyes, as if she could see past the door, the two strangers standing outside who were about to break into her room at any moment now.