She tied the dessert box’s plastic bag to her belt, knotted her suit jacket around her waist, sleeves rolled to her solid biceps.
She tore sheets into strips, knotted a rope, secured it to the balcony corner. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Limbs working in tandem, she vaulted over, gripping the sturdy fabric. Toes firm on the window ledge’s overhang, then pushing off decorative stone bricks.
She moved lithely, like a trained cat.
Head down: soft grass and flowers. Confident, she let go, feet to ground, one hand bracing for balance.
Her landing pose was badass—female alpha Spider-Woman.
Suddenly, sharp pain pierced. Lin Xu crashed.
Moonlight revealed glass shards. Blood gushed; she gritted teeth, plucking fragments from her palm one by one.
Bang bang bang—
Gu Huaiyuan had sent the driver home and was dead asleep when window knocks jolted her awake. A face pressed to the glass.
“What the hell!”
Spooked, she drove up as Lin Xu climbed in, yawning hugely. “You filming a midnight horror? Just call me.”
Lin Xu glanced up, pricey suit jacket now cheap bandage on her mangled right hand. “Then it’d be The Ring at midnight.”
She urged Gu Huaiyuan to drive. “Hurry, or Grandma’ll drag me back.”
“You think she really wants you locked up? You don’t know—while she was comatose, your uncle stirred up a storm at the group.”
Lin Xu listened quietly. Her hand throbbed too much to talk, and Shu Qingyou’s silence fueled a growing unease.
Gu Huaiyuan revealed more inside information about the family conglomerate to her—factions forming alliances, and she had capable assistants too. However, with Lin Xu absent, all their positions had been sidelined.
Between the lines, she urged Lin Xu to return soon and manage the group’s affairs.
“What about the company I started, Cloud Track Technology?”
It was only today that Lin Xu learned the basics about this company: independently developed chip architecture, a pioneering trajectory prediction neural network that effectively avoided 99.6% of “ghost peeking” accidents.
And that one line on the official website: Let AI understand and serve humanity.
Gu Huaiyuan shook her head. “I’m not sure. You hired a professional manager to run it, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Relieved, Lin Xu settled one worry and closed her eyes for a brief nap.
Halfway there, Gu Huaiyuan asked her, “My parents want you to join us for dinner.”
Lin Xu refused without thinking. “I’m a taken woman. I can’t mess around with other girls.”
“Oh.”
The car entered the village road. The streetlights were still on, but it was deathly quiet—not even a dog was barking; they’d all gone to dream of Zhou Gong.
Lin Xu got out early, her left wrist dangling a bag of chocolate balls. “My girlfriend will get jealous. No need to see me all the way.”
Gu Huaiyuan teased her. “Did your little sweetheart put a spell on you? I never realized you were such a hopeless romantic before.”
“Can your mouth spit out ivory for once? Though I do find it strange,” Lin Xu said. “It’s like love at first sight with her—I can’t pull myself away. Feels like I’m possessed.”
Gu Huaiyuan was a night owl and had no intention of sleeping. She called out to stop Lin Xu and sent her a video.
“Can’t you just say it to my face?”
Her phone vibrated. Lin Xu hit play and glanced at it. Noisy voices and music assaulted her ears in the less-than-one-minute clip.
Lin Xu’s expression gradually darkened. She whipped around abruptly.
“Gu Huaiyuan, how many more of these do you have?”
“You shouldn’t ask me that.”
Moonlight spilled like water, dispersing the clouds and mist, stretching Lin Xu’s shadow thin and long across the ground.
Gu Huaiyuan had a bit of selfish motive, hoping to push Lin Xu to recover sooner. These videos were ones Lin Xu had sent her in the past, inviting her to hit the nightclub together.
Too debauched—the woman in the video had lipstick marks all over her cheeks. Lin Xu seriously considered whether she’d been body-snatched.
“This definitely isn’t me. Or maybe it’s AI face-swapping. You know I have mysophobia and don’t let anyone touch me.”
Gu Huaiyuan thought about the timeline when Lin Xu had suddenly become untouchable. “Four years ago, you weren’t this conservative. Back then, you were quite the player.”
Lin Xu’s vision went black. Memories? Bye-bye, never see you again.
“Big Sis Gu, really, I get what you’re implying. I’ll have dinner with you, just don’t tell Qingyou, or I’m dead meat.”
Gu Huaiyuan liked her perceptiveness and raised a brow. “Aren’t I Old Gu?”
Lin Xu wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead. “No, no, no—Miss Gu.”
She wouldn’t spill if she didn’t want to. Gu Huaiyuan did enjoy being sweet-talked, but she wouldn’t be too harsh on a friend. The two agreed on a time and place for dinner.
Exhausted in body and mind, Lin Xu just wanted to get home quickly and recharge.
Full of anticipation, she knocked on the door. No answer. The car was parked in the front yard, but her call went straight to shutdown.
Lin Xu’s heart hung in suspense. Ignoring the past conflict with the neighbors, she pounded on their door with loud bangs.
They’d crossed paths occasionally on the road these days. She knew the neighbor was surnamed Sun—Auntie Sun was quite wary of them. Seeing Lin Xu storm up furious and disheveled, Auntie Sun’s mind raced, wondering if she’d offended the Lin family recently.
Lin Xu demanded straight away where Shu Qingyou had gone. Auntie Sun let out a long breath of relief—it was just this. “An ambulance came and took her away today.”
Lin Xu thanked her, blood rushing to her head. Forcing herself to stay rational, she dialed Gu Huaiyuan. The moment it connected, Lin Xu said while running, “Turn around! Turn around—fast!”
It sounded like trouble. When she’d dropped Lin Xu off earlier, Gu Huaiyuan had slowed to twenty or thirty kph, but now the engine roared, echoing through the small area.
Any lingering drowsiness vanished. Lin Xu’s thighs trembled nonstop, cold sweat beading on her skin.
The last time she’d seen Lin Xu this worried about someone was years ago when her mom passed. Gu Huaiyuan comforted her. “Your little sweetheart’s definitely fine.”
Lin Xu sat silently in the passenger seat, redialing Shu Qingyou over and over. Shutdown every time.
“Stop calling—the pedal’s about to break,” Gu Huaiyuan said, reminiscing. “No speed limit here. Remember when we used to race this route?”
Lin Xu’s eyes were unfocused. Shu Qingyou was frail and didn’t like exercising. Lin Xu had suggested hiking several times, but Shu Qingyou always brushed it off with work.
Life is movement! Lin Xu thought wildly, but she was far from ready to hear bad news.
Gu Huaiyuan recalled the despondent Lin Xu from back then—sprawled on the sofa like mud, drowning in booze amid scattered beer cans, a psychological evaluation report stuck to the coffee table.
The liquid had soaked most of the text and data, half-dried.
They arrived at the hospital. Lin Xu bolted straight to the ER—the only department open at this hour.
She circled the whole place, full of patients on IVs. The nurse checked the day’s admissions for her: three-year-old Shu Rong, admitted that evening with a 39.2°C fever, rapid breathing, poor complexion…
Admitted to pediatric respiratory. Lin Xu ran the whole way. Gu Huaiyuan thought about leaving, but loyalty to her friend kept her there.
In the elevator, Lin Xu softly thanked Gu Huaiyuan.
Their friendship was beyond “thank yous.” Gu Huaiyuan felt like she’d taken advantage of her instead.
The hospital corridor lights were off, only low-brightness ones on. Shu Qingyou stood sideways, long hair draped behind her, clad in thin clothes that hugged her slender shoulders and waist. Half her face looked gentle and refined as she spoke with the doctor in the white coat.
Lin Xu’s steps slowed, but her taut muscles didn’t relax.
She spoke timidly. “Qingyou?”
The two discussing Shu Rong turned at once. Lin Xu’s expression froze—that doctor was the one pursuing Shu Qingyou. Lin Xu forced her eyes away.
Shu Qingyou’s lips parted slightly, stunned for a moment, thinking she’d seen wrong. Lin Xu had a new hairstyle—pretty refreshing—but why was she dressed so sloppily? Hadn’t she gone home?
She looked like a refugee who’d just arrived… with her fiancée in tow…
Lin Xu stepped forward and took Shu Qingyou’s hand. “Qingyou, what happened to Rongrong?”
Before Shu Qingyou could speak, the doctor cut in. “I know you—you’re Qingyou’s little sister, right? Rongrong just has bacterial pneumonia; she’s basically stable now. Rare for you to rush over so late.”
Lin Xu’s face twisted. Gu Huaiyuan, who’d wanted to leave, changed her mind and leaned against the wall behind Lin Xu, ready to watch the show—maybe even grab some melon seeds.
She drawled teasingly, “Oh, little sister~”
The coquettish voice drew the doctor’s gaze involuntarily. She stared: unconventional big waves, long slim legs under a short skirt—like a model from a fashion mag.
Doctor Xu said deliberately, “Qingyou, I’ll head back first. Come find me in my office if there’s anything.”
Lin Xu ignored Gu Huaiyuan’s ribbing and went in to check on Shu Rong. The frail little body lay under the quilt, breathing steadily, an IV needle still in the vein on the back of her hand.
She set down the bag she’d been carrying and asked, “How did Shu Rong end up hospitalized?”
Shu Qingyou’s hand gently rested on Shu Rong’s face. Lowering her eyes, she said, “Shu Rong’s immunity isn’t great. She played at the amusement park for most of the day, caught a virus, started vomiting and diarrhea at home, then spiked a high fever. Tests showed influenza Haemophilus—fever’s down now.”
The heavy stone lifted from her heart. Lin Xu collapsed into the caregiver’s chair, holding Shu Qingyou’s hand and refusing to let go. Gazing at Shu Rong’s sleeping face, she slowly pressed her own cheek to Shu Qingyou’s wrist, their fine hairs brushing and tangling.
It brought reassurance, and long-missed drowsiness.
She craned her neck, shooing her a bit. “Gu Huaiyuan, you should head home and rest too. I’ll keep our dinner date.”
Lin Xu might’ve forgotten her childhood looks, but Gu Huaiyuan had grown up with her—she’d recognize that underdeveloped face even burned to ash.
Now, she was just shocked into speechless stupor.
The little girl’s serene sleeping face, naturally long curled lashes—everything looked off.
Her gaze shuttled between her and Lin Xu’s faces. Similar, but not quite…
Could Lin Xu have quietly popped out a big daughter as an O?
She glanced at Shu Qingyou, who met her eyes. A second of silent exchange.
Shu Qingyou whispered to Lin Xu, “I’ll grab a drink. Sleep if you’re tired.”
Lin Xu inhaled Shu Qingyou’s sweet scent hungrily, letting out a satisfied whimper.
Shu Qingyou deliberately slowed as she passed Gu Huaiyuan. Gu Huaiyuan got it and said, “Lin Xu, take good care of her.”
The out-of-nowhere words—Lin Xu was too drained to probe. She waved. “Got it. Oh, and thanks again.”
“No need to be polite…”
Gu Huaiyuan wanted to say more but held back. Fine, better if Lin Xu stays in the dark.
