As she prepared to get into the car, Yun Li hesitated for a moment between the passenger seat and the back.
Miss He hadn’t been entirely clear, only mentioning that this person was staff. He might just be helping to pick her up, and sitting in the back as if he were a driver felt somewhat impolite.
She had no choice but to steel herself and choose the front seat.
The rain and lights intertwined, pouring down heavily from above, the windows adorned with countless stars.
Yun Li fastened her seatbelt and pulled a tissue from her bag, roughly wiping away the large droplets of water on her clothes.
The car was silent.
Normally, she would sit in the back of a taxi and pretend to be dead, at most asking for the fare when it was time to get out. Sitting in the front passenger seat of a stranger’s car was a rare occurrence, leaving her uneasy and unsure of what to do. The silence felt unbearably awkward.
Racking her brain, Yun Li finally spoke up, “Sorry for the trouble of having you come pick me up.”
A few seconds later, the man replied indifferently, “Mm.”
Silence fell again.
Yun Li truly couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she pretended to be busy, pulling out her phone and repeatedly flipping through her usual apps.
After driving for a while, the man suddenly asked, “Where should I drop you off?”
“Ah,” Yun Li straightened up and quickly answered, “Yangjin Hotel.”
“Mm.”
After that, the man didn’t speak again.
He seemed to have no desire for conversation either, remaining silent except for necessary questions.
He was perfectly content acting as nothing more than a driver.
The two people she’d encountered tonight were polar opposites in temperament.
One was excessively enthusiastic, the other excessively cold. Both, however, were strikingly good-looking.
At this thought, Yun Li stole another glance in his direction.
From this angle, she could see most of his profile, partially obscured by shadows. His cap had been removed, revealing a sharp jawline. His damp bangs partially covered his brows and eyes.
His lips were still pale.
He was wearing a jacket in this weather.
And, he still seemed to be cold.
She averted her gaze, pretending to look at the scenery, but couldn’t resist stealing another glance or two.
Just based on appearance, the man was her type.
His demeanor was cold and detached, as if he had no worldly desires or weaknesses. He seemed frail, yet inexplicably carried a hint of ruthlessness.
Like a wild wolf picked up from the roadside—
On the verge of death, yet ready to turn and bite at any moment.
…
The silence lasted until they reached the hotel.
There was a glass awning at the entrance. The man parked the car, uttered a simple “We’re here,” and got out. Yun Li responded with an “Okay,” hastily gathered her things, and hurried after him.
After carrying her suitcase to the steps in front of the entrance, he tilted his chin toward the inside. “Just head in.”
Yun Li: “Alright, thank you.”
The man nodded without another word. He turned and walked back toward the driver’s side.
The rain showed no sign of letting up. Staring at the man’s retreating figure, Yun Li recalled his pallid, almost collapsing appearance. Almost involuntarily, she took a step forward. “Uh—wait!”
The man paused and turned back.
Yun Li’s heart pounded as she held out her umbrella. “The rain probably won’t stop anytime soon.”
He didn’t move.
“I’ll be going to EAW tomorrow,” she met his eyes, inexplicably nervous, her voice trembling slightly. “You can just leave it at the front desk, and I’ll pick it up.”
Afraid of a repeat of the earlier rejection when she’d offered to share her umbrella, Yun Li hesitated for a moment.
In the end, she simply placed the umbrella on the hood of the car and quickly said, “Thank you for driving me here today.”
Without waiting for the man to respond, Yun Li was already pulling her suitcase toward the entrance.A few meters ahead, as she approached the hotel entrance, Yun Li finally dared to glance back.
The spot where the umbrella had been was now empty, washed clean by the rain.
The car drove forward, breaking through the rain curtain and disrupting its rhythm. White streaks danced wildly in the air, guiding him into the darkness.
Only then did Yun Li relax, exhaling softly—
Back in her room, she collapsed into bed after a shower. But in an unfamiliar environment, her sleep was restless. At one point, she experienced sleep paralysis, her consciousness hovering between drowsiness and wakefulness.
Eventually, she drifted into a dream, reliving the events of the night.
Everything unfolded as it had—until she got into the man’s car. From there, the dream took a different turn.
Instead of taking her to the hotel, the man drove her to a desolate wilderness.
There, she saw the young man from the airport. He laughed maniacally, calling her a fool, and declared that the man was the leader of their criminal gang.
The man’s gaze toward her turned cold-blooded and cruel, as if she were prey trapped in a cage.
Terrified, she tried to run.
But the moment she turned, the man stabbed her through the heart with the umbrella she had lent him earlier that night—
And then Yun Li woke up.
“…”
The fear from the dream lingered. Unconsciously, she touched her chest. After lying still for a few minutes, her mind cleared, and she realized how absurd the dream had been.
After a long pause, she checked the time on her phone.
On WeChat, Miss He had added her to a group chat, notifying everyone to gather in the hotel lobby at 3 p.m.
Yun Li didn’t dawdle. She got up, washed up, and got ready.
She left ten minutes early.
When she arrived, she saw two men and a woman sitting on the sofa, with only the woman facing her. Spotting Yun Li out of the corner of her eye, the woman immediately stood up and greeted her, “Are you Teacher Xian Yun Di Da Jiang?”
Yun Li nodded.
Xian Yun Di Da Jiang was her registered username on E-Station.
E-Station, short for EndlessSharing, was a video platform for creation and sharing. Originally a small communication platform, it later expanded into video content, gradually growing its user base and influence.
During the summer before her sophomore year, out of boredom, Yun Li started uploading videos on E-Station.
At first, it was just for fun—she never expected anyone to watch. Her content was eclectic, mostly centered around food, but she recorded whatever interested her on a whim.
Now, though not wildly popular, she had steadily amassed hundreds of thousands of followers.
The woman was Miss He—her full name, He Jiameng. The two men were also moderately well-known content creators on E-Station: one called Zhi Buliao, the other Fei Shui.
Soon, the group boarded a car.
They were assigned a seven-seater SUV. Yun Li and He Jiameng sat in the middle row, while the other two took the seats behind them. The ride was filled with lively chatter.
Her phone vibrated.
Yun Li opened it to see a message from her friend Deng Chuqi.
Deng Chuqi: You’re in Nanwu now?
Yun Li answered irrelevantly: I almost died just now.
Deng Chuqi: ?
Yun Li: In a dream.
A moment later.
Deng Chuqi: I almost landed a job with a million-yuan salary today.
Yun Li: ?
Deng Chuqi: Too bad they didn’t want me.
“…”
Yun Li couldn’t help but laugh.
Then, whether it was her imagination or not, the background noise seemed to quieten slightly. She turned her head and met He Jiameng’s smiling face.
“Teacher Xian Yun, you think it’s funny too, right?”
“Huh?” Yun Li hadn’t been listening at all. Guiltily, she replied, “Ah… yeah, pretty funny.”Perhaps sensing her perfunctory responses, they didn’t linger on the topic and soon moved on to other things.
Yun Li relaxed mentally but felt a bit frustrated.
She thought of herself as a conversation killer.
……
EAW Technology City was located in a large commercial district called Sea Sky Mall. It wasn’t far from the hotel—just about a fifteen-minute drive.
The area was bustling, with commercial streets lining both sides of the road, and they even passed by South Wu University of Technology along the way. Coincidentally, today was Qixi Festival, and the streets were filled with couples, lively and brimming with the warmth of everyday life.
Looking out the window, Yun Li could see a giant Ferris wheel standing atop the mall.
The entrance to EAW was on the first floor.
Today wasn’t an official shooting day—just a preliminary visit to familiarize everyone with the environment and plan the shooting schedule later. Attendance wasn’t mandatory, and people could choose whether to come based on their own preferences.
Afraid of falling behind and not knowing what to do later, Yun Li didn’t decline.
Aside from them, a few others had already arrived. Yun Li didn’t recognize most of them.
After exchanging greetings, He Jiameng led them inside.
Past the entrance were the reception and ticket counters. Taking the escalator down, EAW’s entertainment facilities occupied parts of the upper three floors, separated from the other shops in the mall.
Since it wasn’t open yet, there weren’t many people inside, and the equipment hadn’t been turned on. He Jiameng gave them a general overview of the attractions on each floor.
Once the introductions were done, they were free to explore on their own.
Yun Li wandered alone, marking interesting attractions in her memo app. After finishing, she started drafting some copy while her phone once again flashed a low battery warning.
Rummaging through her bag, she couldn’t find her power bank.
Did she forget to bring it?
Glancing around, she spotted He Jiameng sitting on a bench in the corridor on the same floor and walked over. “Jiameng, do you have a charger here?”
He Jiameng looked up. “No, but there’s one in the break room.”
Yun Li: “Then never—”
“It’s fine, the break room is really close. I’ll take you there.” He Jiameng checked the time. “We’ll probably be here for another hour. You can rest there and charge your phone.”
Having a dead phone would be inconvenient, so Yun Li didn’t refuse. “Okay, thanks.”
They exited EAW and took the nearest fire escape, descending the stairs to the basement level. Entering through a side door led to a long hallway with several single glass doors, one of which had a sign reading “EAW Technology City.”
Below it was a note: “Authorized Personnel Only.”
He Jiameng swiped her card to enter.
Inside, there were two doors ahead and to the left—one leading to the office and the other to the staff break room.
The two entered the break room and turned on the lights.
The entire left wall was lined with lockers, with two small changing rooms beside them. In the center were two rectangular tables and a small bar counter.
The space was sizable, but He Jiameng only turned on the lights on this side, leaving the interior somewhat dim. Still, it was clear that the far end had three sofas arranged in a U-shape, surrounded by several bean bag chairs.
He Jiameng picked up the air conditioner remote and muttered, “Why is the AC on? And set to 30 degrees…”
Yun Li: “Is someone here?”"Someone might have come down earlier. Only a few people came today, and they're all in the shop now." He Jiameng turned down the temperature a few degrees, pulled out a charger for her, and pointed to one of the tables. "You can charge here or over on the sofa—whichever you prefer."
"Okay."
Originally planning to sit with her for a while, He Jiameng suddenly pulled out a compact from her bag and began touching up her makeup after glancing at her phone.
Yun Li blinked. "What's up?"
"The boss is here—he's in the shop right now." He Jiameng said excitedly. "My boss is insanely handsome, loaded, and super gentle! Teacher Xian Yun, you should touch up your lipstick too!"
Insanely handsome?
Hearing this key phrase, Yun Li asked, "Is it the person who picked me up yesterday?"
"No. Yesterday, the boss called me and first gently reprimanded me," He Jiameng clasped her hands to her chest, "then said he'd arranged for someone to pick you up. I don’t know who it was. Probably one of my colleagues, I guess."
"..."
A gentle reprimand? That was a new one.
"My boss rarely comes by. During the trial run, he only showed up once, and I missed him that time." He Jiameng said. "He’s free on Qixi Festival today—must be single." She then grinned and extended an invitation. "Want to come upstairs with me now to check him out?"
Yun Li chuckled. "No, I’ll just charge my phone for a bit first."
He Jiameng didn’t push it. "He probably won’t leave anytime soon, so you can come up later if you want. I’ll head back to the shop now."
"Okay."
There was a power strip right by the table, so Yun Li decided not to move to the sofa. She planned to leave once her phone was halfway charged.
A while later.
Deng Chuqi sent a voice message: "So what did you dream about yesterday?"
Yun Li typed out a brief description of the dream.
Deng Chuqi: "An umbrella can stab someone to death?"
Deng Chuqi: "That’s such an ominous dream. Borrowing an umbrella only for it to turn into a murder weapon. You should get that umbrella back—having the 'murder weapon' in the 'killer’s' hands just feels unsettling."
"..."
There was some truth to that.
Yun Li was a bit superstitious.
Normally, she forgot her dreams as soon as she woke up, but this one felt so vivid—she could still recall the sight of blood spurting out.
Getting the umbrella back would be like cutting ties, right?
She’d asked the man to leave it at the front desk yesterday. She wasn’t sure if he’d come back today.
She’d ask He Jiameng about it later.
With that thought, Yun Li lost interest in charging her phone and began packing up. Just then, she heard a faint rustling sound from the sofa area—not too loud, but noticeable.
Yun Li paused, hesitating before walking in that direction.
As she got closer, she realized someone was lying on the sofa.
The spot had been blocked by the chair backs earlier, and with the dim lighting and distance, she hadn’t noticed at all.
The man was tall—too tall for the sofa, his limbs awkwardly cramped. A thin blanket covered him, his brows slightly furrowed, making it hard to tell if he was asleep or awake.
Yun Li recognized him instantly.
It was the man who had picked her up.
"..."
Her breath hitched.
Thinking about the voice message she’d just played aloud, Yun Li wasn’t sure if he’d heard it. Before she could process that, something worse happened.
—She saw the man open his eyes.
His gaze was clear, as if he’d been awake for a while.
The air around them froze, even their breaths sounding louder.
A second later, the man looked away and sat up, unhurried, reaching for her umbrella from the side of the sofa. Instead of handing it to her, he placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
"Your umbrella."As if caught by a teacher playing with her phone in class, Yun Li froze in place for three seconds before stepping forward to retrieve it.
The man said calmly, "Thank you."
Too nervous to look at him, Yun Li merely gave a soft "Mhm."
Seeing he had no intention of speaking further, she could no longer bear the awkward silence. Swallowing hard, she stammered, "I’ll… I’ll head upstairs now."
Before she could take a step, the man spoke again, his voice light, almost like an offhand remark.
"That’s a folding umbrella. It can’t kill anyone."
Yun Li stiffened, turning her head slightly to meet his eyes once more—like returning to that rainy night in her dream. Cold, damp raindrops seemed to seep into her chest with his next words, merciless and chilling.
"A straight-handled one might have a chance."
"……"
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