Late at night, it was unnaturally quiet. The sound of the lock being pried open was crisp and jarringly loud.
Shu Yi’s heart skipped a beat. Cold sweat broke out across her back as news stories of women living alone in rented apartments being murdered flashed through her mind.
Her chest tightened, and the fingers gripping her phone trembled.
She watched as the door was kicked open.
Her eyes met the man who walked in, his lips curled into a cynical, mocking smile. In that instant, her heart sank.
She hadn’t expected Wang Bin to escape the police, nor had she expected him to find his way to her home.
“The beautiful secretary is still awake this late…” Wang Bin looked at Shu Yi in the living room without the slightest panic, his smile turning darker. “Waiting for me?”
Shu Yi’s body tensed as she instinctively stepped back. “What do you want?”
Wang Bin looked her up and down with a half-smile, his gaze lingering on her nightdress. He had seen all kinds of women, but none as beautiful as Shu Yi.
If he could spend one night with her, it would be worth it even if he died.
“What do I want? Didn’t you already know? I came all this way, of course to sleep with you.”
As he spoke, he grabbed her by the throat and yanked her toward him. In the chaos, the phone in Shu Yi’s hand fell to the ground.
Her face turned deathly pale. “My husband is downstairs. He’ll be up any moment…”
Wang Bin’s alcohol-laced breath brushed against her neck. Before coming up, he had already asked around—Shu Yi lived alone.
But when he noticed the marks on her neck, his grip tightened. “You’ve slept with Pei Yanli?”
Choked by his grip, Shu Yi struggled to breathe.
Seeing her flushed face, as if tinted with rouge, stirred something in Wang Bin. He lowered his head, about to kiss her.
The pungent smell of smoke made Shu Yi nauseous. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but she slammed her head forward into his.
“You bitch—!” Wang Bin roared, slapping her hard.
The blow sent Shu Yi crashing to the ground, stars exploding in her vision.
“You dress like that just to seduce me, don’t you? Now that I’ve taken the bait, you’re pretending to be virtuous? Don’t be ungrateful.”
She was wearing a proper, conservative outfit that covered her completely, not a single inch of skin exposed. Yet in a man like him’s eyes, it was still her fault.
Just like years ago—when Shu Linyuan had written her love letters, but his mother, upon seeing them, slapped her and called her shameless for seducing her own “brother.”
“Your mind is filthy. Everything you see is filthy.”
Before she could finish, another slap came crashing down, nearly knocking her senseless.
The sound of a metal belt being unbuckled rang out. Shu Yi’s heart sank to the bottom. She struggled desperately, and in the chaos, her hand brushed against a table lamp nearby.
As if grabbing a lifeline, she picked it up and smashed it toward his head.
The dull thud of the lamp hitting Wang Bin’s temple echoed sharply in the dark living room.
“You bitch, you dare hit me?” He clutched his bleeding forehead, while his other hand viciously grabbed her hair.
The searing pain made stars burst before Shu Yi’s eyes. Instinctively, she curled her knee and drove it into his abdomen with all her strength.
Taking advantage of his moment of pain, Shu Yi grabbed her phone from the ground and staggered toward the doorway. Her trembling hand clutched the doorknob, her palm slick with cold sweat.
She had to get out.
But just as she managed to run a few steps out the door, the man yanked her back. This time, he dragged her into the stairwell.
“Want to die? I’ll grant it.”
Sharp pain surged through her body. Shu Yi met the man’s bloodshot eyes, fear flooding her gaze—especially when she saw the knife in his hand.
In an instant, her entire body turned cold. Even in the summer heat, she couldn’t stop trembling.
Caught by a madman like this, she… probably wouldn’t escape tonight.
She closed her eyes, and Niannian’s babyish voice calling her “mama” flashed through her mind. A dull ache spread through her heart.
Would she never see Niannian again? Never kiss her, never hold her again…
Shu Yi lowered her gaze. If she were to die tonight, then perhaps Niannian should be with Pei Yanli—only then would she have a chance to live.
She took out her phone. In her panic, she dialed Pei Yanli’s number. Unlike before, he answered almost immediately.
“Pei Yanli, our daughter…”