Behind her was the door; in front of her was Lin Ran.
Sheng Qingxi was trapped in this narrow space.
The dim light above the door flickered softly, illuminating Sheng Qingxi’s tear-streaked face.
Lin Ran’s breath hitched, but he said nothing.
He skillfully pulled a tissue from her backpack, gently tilting her chin as he carefully wiped away the tear stains from her cheeks and the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Sheng Qingxi,” Lin Ran called her name, his voice hoarse.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her gaze, her wet eyelashes clumping together.
After a while, she responded in a small, cat-like voice, sounding as if she had been terribly wronged, her head drooping in grievance, wanting to avoid everyone. If he hadn’t trapped her there, she would have run away by now.
The few times she cried, it was always because of him.
Lin Ran wasn’t sure if he was angry with himself or with this foolish girl.
The feeling from that night at the summer camp, he never wanted to experience again in his life. So, when Sheng Qingxi said those words, he couldn’t suppress the surge of anger. She hadn’t taken his words to heart.
She never placed herself first.
This was something Lin Ran found hard to accept.
Lin Ran leaned down, pulling her into his arms, his voice low. “Sheng Qingxi, do you remember what I told you the day the fire broke out at the summer camp?”
The person in his arms answered softly, “I remember.”
Lin Ran looked at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He continued to ask, “What did I say?”
Her small hand gripped the hem of his shirt, then slowly moved up, tentatively wrapping around his waist. A delicate voice sounded from his chest, “I’m important to you.”
Sheng Qingxi held Lin Ran tightly, her tears once again flowing uncontrollably.
When she spoke again, her voice was choked with sobs, “Lin Ran, I’m so scared.”
Sheng Qingxi could not bear the pain of losing Lin Ran again. In her previous life, her world was rebuilt after constant collapse, and uncovering the truth was her only motivation and belief that kept her going.
But if it happened again?
Sheng Qingxi didn’t dare think about it.
Lin Ran’s warm fingertips brushed against Sheng Qingxi’s cool cheek, gradually moving upward until they reached the corner of her eyes. He frowned as he gently coaxed her, “Sheng Qingxi, I promise nothing will happen to me. Do you believe me?”
The little crybaby buried in his arms nodded.
Lin Ran knew that until this ordeal was over, there was no way he could discuss the matter with her. It had become an obsession for her. He hadn’t lived through Sheng Qingxi’s ten years of suffering, so he had no right to blame her.
Lin Ran’s heart felt seared by her tears, suffocating him.
He lowered his head, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her hair. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been harsh with you. Now, be good, go back, take a shower, and sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll come pick you up. Lock the doors and windows, especially the door.”
As he said the last four words, there was a hint of laughter in Lin Ran’s voice.
After all, he had a key.
The heavy atmosphere was broken by the hint of laughter in Lin Ran’s voice. The little crybaby in his arms looked up and glared at him.
Lin Ran curled his lips into a smile and patted her head. “Be good, go inside.”
After speaking, Lin Ran let go of Sheng Qingxi. She raised her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes. After a long moment, with her head lowered, she finally spoke, “Lin Ran, when I fell into the sea, you saw it.”
That was all she said.
Her figure quickly disappeared from Lin Ran’s sight, the door closing behind her, and the lights in the room flickered on.
Lin Ran seemed to freeze in place, the smile on his lips fading inch by inch until it tightened into a grim line. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze in that moment, and even his fingertips started trembling.
She had used herself as a bargaining chip to demand a guarantee for his safety.
Lin Ran stood at the door, silently staring at her room.
After a long while, when the lights inside finally went out, he turned around and walked away, taking out his phone to send a message to Lin Huang as he walked.
Inside the room.
Sheng Qingxi listened carefully for any sound outside, only relaxing when she heard the engine start and fade into the distance.
Tonight, she had crossed Lin Ran’s bottom line.
She knew that.
—
Two o’clock in the morning.
When Lin Huang saw Lin Ran’s message, he was still at the bar. It had been two hours since the message had been sent. Lin Huang looked at the screen, hesitating for a moment. At this hour, Xiao Huo should be asleep, right?
Lin Huang thought for a moment but still felt uneasy. He decided to call Lin Ran.
The phone rang for barely a second before it was answered. Lin Ran’s usually clear voice came through, but it sounded a little heavy: “Brother, do you have time now?”
Lin Huang found the situation strange. He pulled his phone away and checked the time again.
It was indeed 2:13 AM.
Lin Huang cleared his throat. “Where are you, Xiao Huo?”
Lin Ran: “At your front door.”
Lin Huang: “…”
This brat.
Lin Huang made a quick excuse to his friends, grabbed his coat, and called for a driver to take him home to deal with the troublemaker. It was the middle of the night, and Lin Ran had school tomorrow, yet he had somehow ended up at his door.
Lin Ran didn’t say what it was about in the message, only that he had something to talk about.
Lin Huang thought about it all the way home, even considering the possibility that Lin Ran had gone through a breakup, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t figure out why the kid had come to him at this hour.
The bar wasn’t far from Lin Huang’s residential complex, so it only took him twenty minutes to arrive.
From a distance, Lin Huang could already see a flashy motorcycle parked by the flowerbed at his front door. A tall, lean figure was lazily leaning against the bike, something hanging from his mouth.
It looked like a cigarette.
Lin Huang wasn’t too concerned whether Lin Ran smoked or not. After all, he’d been that age too. In his opinion, kids like Lin Ran should be allowed to grow freely and wildly within reasonable limits, not pruned into neat shapes.
As the headlights drew closer, Lin Ran instinctively squinted and turned his head to look.
Lin Huang got out of the car, dressed in a long coat, and walked toward him.
When Lin Huang got closer, he noticed that the cigarette in Lin Ran’s mouth wasn’t even lit. He paused for a moment, then pulled out a lighter from his coat pocket. “Forgot to bring a light?”
Lin Ran glanced at him indifferently and mumbled, “Quit.”
Oh?
Hearing that, Lin Huang raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “So you’ve got something on your mind. Let’s go inside.”
Lin Huang started toward the door, speaking as he walked. “You couldn’t wait until tomorrow to deal with this, huh? Had to show up in the middle of the night. Wait, don’t tell me it’s something about Xu Yirong?”
Lin Huang turned back to look at Lin Ran with suspicion.
It shouldn’t be the case, though; he’d been keeping an eye on things.
Lin Ran didn’t respond, just nodded slightly toward the door.
“Alright, let’s talk inside,” Lin Huang said, opening the door.
…
A faint cloud of smoke rose, obscuring Lin Huang’s features.
Lin Huang didn’t speak, quietly and attentively listening to Lin Ran. But halfway through, he couldn’t help lighting a cigarette. There was too much information to process, and he couldn’t take it all in at once.
When Lin Ran finally finished speaking, Lin Huang stubbed out his cigarette.
He struggled to understand. “Little firecracker, are you saying we’re just going to ignore Xu Yirong and let her continue with her shady dealings in the background? What about your dad?”
Lin Ran replied calmly, “You don’t need to worry about him. This is my problem.”
Originally, Lin Ran hadn’t planned to get involved in this. After all, in this lifetime, things hadn’t escalated to that point yet. But tonight, Sheng Qingxi’s words made him realize for the first time that she had been living in constant fear, dreading the day it would all come crashing down.
Maybe Xu Yirong hadn’t done anything yet, but what about the next time?
He couldn’t let Sheng Qingxi live in perpetual terror.
Lin Huang didn’t know what methods Xu Yirong might use against Lin Ran, but Lin Ran did.
That was why Lin Ran came to Lin Huang tonight. “Brother, I don’t need you to handle this from now on. I came to ask you to help me find two people. But first, we need to draft a risk agreement.”
Lin Huang didn’t ask why, just agreed.
By the time they finished discussing, it was nearly 4 AM.
Lin Huang wanted Lin Ran to stay the night, but Lin Ran waved him off and left, his stride looking rather carefree.
Watching his retreating figure, Lin Huang felt a bit sentimental.
Their Xiao Huo had grown up.
—
After leaving Lin Huang’s place, Lin Ran didn’t go home. Instead, he headed back to the Shengkai Orphanage.
He smoothly scaled the wall, familiar with the layout, and made his way to the back of the dormitory building. With a running start, he effortlessly climbed onto the wall. The back door leading into the building was locked, but Lin Ran glanced at the dormitory.
The window on the second floor was open.
Lin Ran took out his phone and briefly turned on the flashlight to illuminate the nearby pipe. He didn’t need the light for long, and after a quick glance, he slipped the phone back into his pocket. In the darkness, he moved like a swift leopard.
Silently, he landed on the second-floor balcony.
From the moment Lin Ran scaled the wall at the entrance to the point he climbed to the second floor and stood in front of Sheng Qingxi’s room, the entire process took less than two minutes.
But all of this hinged on one key factor—Sheng Qingxi hadn’t locked the door.
Lin Ran felt the key in his pocket with a hint of helplessness. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for. Part of him wanted her to have locked the door, as it would mean she had obediently followed his instructions. But another part of him hoped she hadn’t, so he could go inside.
After standing at the door for five minutes, Lin Ran finally pulled out the key.
With a soft *click*, the door opened.
Sheng Qingxi hadn’t locked the door.
For a moment, Lin Ran didn’t know whether to be angry or relieved. But without further hesitation, he quietly slipped into the room. He had already minimized any noise, but even so, he managed to wake the person in the bed.
“Lin Ran?”
Her voice was slightly tense, and upon closer listen, it carried more wariness than grogginess.
Lin Ran froze, standing still and unsure of what to do.
When she was with him, she rarely showed this kind of vigilance. The last time she had been like this was on Song Shiman’s boat. When he was by her side, she was usually relaxed and unguarded. Lin Ran knew this sensitivity came from Sheng Qingxi’s previous experience as a police officer, but she seemed particularly on edge now.
“Sheng Qingxi, it’s me,” Lin Ran said softly.
With Lin Ran’s words, Sheng Qingxi’s taut nerves relaxed. She looked at the tall figure by the door, her voice a bit confused. “What time is it?”
Lin Ran didn’t dare answer, and he didn’t dare turn on the lights either. If he did, she would see the clock on the desk.
He walked over to the bed in a few quick strides. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed that Sheng Qingxi was holding something in her hand.
In that moment, Lin Ran forgot about the time. Without a second thought, he reached out and turned on the light.
With the light on, he could see the situation on the bed clearly.
Sheng Qingxi, dressed in her pajamas, was sitting up, looking at him with her head slightly tilted. In her pale hand, she tightly gripped a sharp, gleaming pair of scissors, holding them with considerable force.
Lin Ran’s gaze slowly shifted back to her face. His voice was soft, almost coaxing. “Yuan Yuan, give me the scissors.”
Sheng Qingxi obediently extended her hand, passing the scissors to Lin Ran.
Lin Ran tossed the scissors onto the table and, without giving her a chance to react, quickly turned off the light again. The room plunged back into darkness, and Sheng Qingxi called out in confusion, “Lin Ran?”
Lin Ran sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out in the dark to find her hand, which he clasped gently. “I’m here.”
Sheng Qingxi bit her lip nervously. “Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened. I just missed you. Now lie back down.”
Lin Ran, who had barged into her room in the middle of the night, didn’t show the slightest bit of shame as he spoke.
Sheng Qingxi lay back down, scooting over to make more room so Lin Ran could sit comfortably. When the light had briefly been on earlier, she’d noticed Lin Ran was still wearing his school uniform, meaning he likely hadn’t even gone home.
Lin Ran didn’t give Sheng Qingxi a chance to speak first. He gently held her fingertips and asked in a low voice, “Sheng Qingxi, has… has something like this happened before?”
His question was vague and incomplete, but Sheng Qingxi understood what he was asking. She shifted her gaze to the side of the pillow, where for many nights, a gun used to rest. It was a habit that had been hard to break.
Sheng Qingxi recalled the events from her previous life and briefly explained to Lin Ran, “Back then, we were cracking down on a theft ring. There were thirteen suspects in total; we caught nine, three were on the run, and one remained unaccounted for. That last person stayed in Chucheng. The night after the news reports, he broke into my home.”
At that time, Sheng Qingxi had only been in the criminal police unit for two years. It was her first time encountering something like this.
Although she eventually subdued the suspect, the incident left her unable to sleep well for a long time. She moved houses afterward, choosing a more secure and discreet place to live.
After she finished speaking, Lin Ran remained silent for a long while.
Hidden in the darkness, Sheng Qingxi couldn’t see his expression, so she squeezed his hand and softly called, “Lin Ran.”
After a long pause, the young man by the bed finally responded hoarsely, “Go to sleep. Don’t be afraid, I’ll stay with you.”
The Lin Ran of the past didn’t believe in love and didn’t expect love.
But now, Lin Ran believed that someone in this world loved him as dearly as life itself.
For all that she had lost in life, he would present it back to her anew.