Because of drawing that extremely unlucky fortune slip, Xu Zhinan felt increasingly uneasy in her heart, even though Lin Qingye had already broken the slip in half.

“Qingye-ge,” she called softly.

Lin Qingye bent down. “Hmm?”

She lowered her head and said, “We shouldn’t have broken that fortune slip just now. It’s very disrespectful.”

“Ah Nan, I don’t believe in such things.” He took Xu Zhinan’s hand, holding it as he crouched down in front of her, looking up with his clean jawline. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you even if it costs me my life. We’ll wait together until the culprit is caught.”

Xu Zhinan lowered her head to look into his eyes.

Lin Qingye had beautiful eyes. She thought they were beautiful from the first time she saw him. Not the kind of large eyes that most people would consider attractive, but a very special pair.

They always appeared light, yet with a touch of sharpness, showing a hint of charm when he smiled.

Now these eyes were gazing at her with tenderness.

Xu Zhinan’s heart grew calm again, no longer so flustered. She bent down and hugged him.

On the dark little path, in the quiet night, the young man crouched on the ground while the young woman held him tightly, her fingers interlacing behind his back.

As they approached the school, there were gradually more people on the road. Lin Qingye pulled his cap lower, hiding all of his eye-catching blue hair underneath.

Xu Zhinan glanced at him. “You can just see me off here. It’s very close now. I can go back by myself.”

“You walk in front,” Lin Qingye said.

So the two walked, one in front of the other.

Lin Qingye raised his collar and zipped up his jacket, covering half his chin. Between his mask and cap, almost none of his face was visible.

But his tall stature and exceptional body proportions still caught the attention of the occasional passing students.

With his hands in his pockets and head slightly lowered, Lin Qingye walked unhurriedly behind Xu Zhinan, always maintaining a distance of four or five meters.

He waited until Xu Zhinan reached the dormitory building before stopping and standing in the shadows.

Xu Zhinan looked back at him, her footsteps faltering. In the end, she couldn’t resist glancing around quickly before waving at Lin Qingye to say goodbye.

He lowered his head with a slight laugh, standing there with his hands in his pockets, only raising his chin slightly to signal her to go inside.

Xu Zhinan ran into the dormitory building.

Lin Qingye watched until her silhouette disappeared at the end of the staircase, then waited another minute before turning to leave.

Fang Houyu had already told Xu Zhinan’s mother about what happened that afternoon. As soon as Xu Zhinan returned to the dormitory, she received a call from her mother.

She stood on the balcony while her mother, worried sick, gave her lengthy instructions.

After hanging up, she saw Jiang Yue reading a book, and Zhao Qian was still working overtime at her internship company.

After showering, Xu Zhinan climbed directly into bed.

She had thought tonight would be difficult to sleep through, but she ended up sleeping quite well.

At first, her mind had been occupied by various chaotic sounds and the face of the man from the bookstore that afternoon. In the end, everything faded away, leaving only Lin Qingye’s words: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you even if it costs me my life.”

Finally, she fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, there were no classes at school, so Xu Zhinan got up to go to her shop.

After washing up and going downstairs, it was still very early. She walked toward the south gate, in the opposite direction of the large batch of students heading to class. After a few steps, she saw a familiar car.

Lin Qingye’s car.

She checked the time.

Seven-thirty in the morning.

Why so early?

Xu Zhinan jogged over and got into the car.

Lin Qingye had been sleeping lightly with his eyes closed. Hearing the sound, he woke up and looked over.

“Why did you come to the school?” Xu Zhinan asked.

Lin Qingye raised his hand and rubbed his face. “To take you.”

“I’m just going to the shop. It’s just across the street.”

“I’ll go with you. I don’t have anything to do today. Just give me a corner where I can stay.”

“Are you going to stay with me at the shop today?”

“Mm.”

Xu Zhinan blinked, suddenly realizing that Lin Qingye wasn’t indifferent to that extremely unlucky fortune slip.

He seemed to be afraid, too.

The few hundred meters of road, they drove over.

Tattoo enthusiasts are generally quite casual and laid-back, so there usually wouldn’t be customers this early in the morning.

Xu Zhinan had several folding screens, used when customers needed privacy for tattoos in more intimate areas.

She arranged the screens around the work chair, truly creating a little corner for Lin Qingye to stay in, just as he had requested.

It was still early, so Xu Zhinan tidied up the room, then went to get water and boiled a kettle. She poured a cup for Lin Qingye and placed it in the corner of the table.

He wasn’t idle either. He took out paper and pen, working on somewhat untidy musical notes. With his hand supporting his chin, he wrote a few lines, glanced at the water cup, and said thanks.

Xu Zhinan had nothing to do and was quite free. She stood beside him, watching him draw the musical staff.

She had learned a little bit during school choir when she was young, but only knew the basics. She definitely couldn’t understand Lin Qingye’s musical notation, which looked like an academic’s abbreviated problem-solving steps—basically, only he could understand it.

Noticing her gaze, Lin Qingye looked at her.

“Have you been busy with your new album recently?” she asked.

“Mm, it’s almost finished.”

“How many songs in total?”

“Not many, six.”

“Did you write all the songs yourself?”

“Mm.”

“That’s amazing.”

Lin Qingye chuckled softly, casually saying, “You’re so amazing, I can’t let you down.”

“How am I amazing?” Xu Zhinan asked again. “Will you be taking album cover photos soon then?”

“Already done. The initial version of the album packaging has been made too.”

“That was fast. What’s the album called?”

Lin Qingye laughed. “It’s a secret. I’ll tell you later.”

Xu Zhinan puffed out her cheeks. “You’re being so mysterious.”

“Want to know?” He curled his lips with a slightly mischievous expression.

Xu Zhinan stood while he sat, looking down at him.

He continued languidly, “Give me a kiss, and I’ll tell you.”

“…”

Hearing such direct words again, the heat rose in Xu Zhinan’s face.

She had been immersed in the subtle feeling of Lin Qingye accompanying her to the shop out of concern, and was completely unprepared for his shameless, roguish words.

“You…”

She said one word, then stopped, not knowing what to say to him. She turned her head away. “I don’t want to know.”

He laughed out loud.

That laughter was like soft feathers brushing against her heart. Xu Zhinan couldn’t stand being in the small space created by the folding screen any longer. She moved the screen aside and was about to walk out when Lin Qingye grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back.

She lost her balance and fell backward, landing directly in Lin Qingye’s arms, sitting on his lap.

Their eyes met at close range.

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow.

Xu Zhinan: “…”

He smiled. “So eager to know that you’re throwing yourself into my arms?”

“…”

Her face reddened even more. She slapped his arm and was about to scold him when a string of wind chimes sounded at the door. Someone had come in, calling out, “Ah Nan!”

“Coming!” she hurriedly called back, still sitting on Lin Qingye’s lap.

Only after shouting did she push against his shoulders to stand up. The angry words were stuck in her throat because of the sudden arrival of a customer, unable to come out.

Xu Zhinan glared at Lin Qingye and whispered fiercely, “Don’t make a sound.”

With that, she opened the screen slightly and squeezed out through the gap.

“A customer so early?” the person said. “How long will she take? If it’s going to be a while, I’ll go shopping first and come back later.”

“No, it’s already finished. Are you getting the design you sent me earlier?”

“Yes.”

During the tattooing session that followed, Lin Qingye didn’t make a sound, sitting quietly in the small space enclosed by the folding screen.

When Xu Zhinan saw the customer off and opened the screen, he had already finished writing his music score. He was leaning lazily against the chair back, wearing headphones and playing a game, his slender fingers tapping on the screen.

Seeing her enter, Lin Qingye closed his phone and looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to go to the police station,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“That man is about to be released. I want to take a look.”

Yancheng Police Station.

Lin Qingye went in with her. Fang Houyu was already waiting outside. Seeing Lin Qingye behind Xu Zhinan, he gave him an extra glance.

“Uncle Fang,” she greeted.

Fang Houyu: “Mm, come with me.”

Xu Zhinan followed him into the corridor, then looked back at Lin Qingye.

He quickly walked up to her side, squeezed her hand firmly, and said in a low voice, “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Fang Houyu led her to the observation room next to the interrogation room. Through a one-way glass, they could see directly into the interrogation room, but those inside couldn’t see them.

“We’re not sure of his true identity. You’d better not appear in front of him again.”

“Mm.”

Su Qian was sitting in the interrogation room, looking more haggard than when they saw him in the bookstore yesterday. Perhaps because he hadn’t slept all night, the dark circles and bags under his eyes were heavy.

Fang Houyu walked back into the interrogation room. Su Qian still asked respectfully and nervously, “Officer Fang, when can I leave?”

He looked no different from an ordinary citizen.

After another round of interrogation.

Although Su Qian’s answers were somewhat hesitant, ordinary people would naturally be nervous in an interrogation room. This made his behavior seem more reasonable and in line with expectations.

Without other evidence, they could only release him.

Fang Houyu called Xu Zhinan to the side and gave her a few instructions.

When she went out, Lin Qingye was still standing by the corridor, an unlit cigarette between his lips—he used to smoke heavily, and quitting wasn’t so easy, so he still needed to smell the tobacco to feel comfortable.

Xu Zhinan walked to his side. Lin Qingye took the cigarette out of his mouth and asked, “Done?”

“Mm, I’m going to the bathroom and then we’ll leave.”

Only Fang Houyu and Lin Qingye were left in the corridor.

Fang Houyu had seen Lin Qingye once before during the Wei Jing incident. He had suspected the relationship between him and Xu Zhinan back then, and now he was even more certain.

He looked Lin Qingye up and down, knowing he was the singer that many young girls were fond of these days. He was indeed good-looking and seemed to treat Xu Zhinan well.

But he still felt the boy was too reckless and impulsive.

Like last time.

Fang Houyu recalled Wei Jing’s bloody appearance last time, his head wrapped in several layers of gauze with blood seeping through.

He had been startled, thinking Xu Zhinan had suffered something terrible. But after reviewing the surveillance footage, thankfully, nothing too extreme had happened.

But looking at the wound on Wei Jing’s head made him even more concerned.

It was good that he cared for Xu Zhinan, but it was still worrying. He was too obsessive and impulsive.

“You’re Ah Nan’s classmate, right?” Fang Houyu took the initiative to ask.

Lin Qingye glanced at him, not saying much: “Mm.”

“I promised her father I would take good care of her, but with work, I don’t always have the time. Now with this situation, I’ll have to trouble you to look after her more.”

He “mm” ed again, then after a pause, asked, “That man inside just now, is he the killer from Ah Nan’s father’s case?”

“We can’t be sure. There was little evidence left from the case back then, and the clues connected to Ah Nan’s father were all destroyed in the fire at the time. We’ve been waiting for the kidnapper to act again, but we haven’t received any related reports.”

Footsteps sounded from behind. Xu Zhinan had returned, and Fang Houyu didn’t say more.

As he sent the two to the outside of the police station, Fang Houyu added one more reminder: “Be careful.”

Xu Zhinan nodded. “Mm.”

He looked at Lin Qingye again: “You too.”

Lin Qingye smiled. “Alright.”

The car was parked outside. Lin Qingye put his hat and mask back on.

As they reached the car, just as Xu Zhinan was about to open the door, she glimpsed a figure across the street from the corner of her eye. She paused and looked up.

Su Qian was standing there, looking at her.

Xu Zhinan’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but stare back.

But Su Qian quickly averted his gaze. He casually broke a foxtail grass from the roadside and continued walking, using the stem to pick his teeth while making “peh peh” sounds. Then he placed the foxtail grass between his lips, bobbing it up and down.

He suddenly didn’t look like how he had appeared in the police station, nor like his appearance in the bookstore.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Xu Zhinan again, just for a moment, before turning back.

Xu Zhinan saw his lips curl upward slightly.

Her heart was pulled upward too.

It wasn’t until she heard Lin Qingye’s voice that she came back to her senses. She got into the car, and Lin Qingye asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I just saw him.”

“Who?” He turned his head. “Su Qian?”

“Mm.” Xu Zhinan’s delicate eyebrows gradually furrowed. She felt his smile was very strange, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the distance that made her see wrong.

In the end, she shook her head and said, “It’s nothing. Maybe because we finally have some progress, I’m overthinking things.”

Lin Qingye squeezed the back of her hand. “Then don’t think about it for now. I think you’ve been thinking too much lately. Don’t get a fever again.”

She obediently nodded, responding dutifully: “Mm.”

Lin Qingye: “Are you going to the shop tonight?”

She wasn’t in good condition. Even while tattooing the customer this morning, she could feel it. Originally, she had a big, intricate job scheduled for tonight, but worried about her poor state affecting the quality, she had already rescheduled with the client.

“No,” Xu Zhinan said.

“I’ll take you somewhere.”

Lin Qingye bought a dozen drinks and barbecue skewers from a street vendor, returned to the car, and continued driving.

The car sped along, leaving the bustling downtown Yancheng behind.

Xu Zhinan watched the scenery passing by the window and couldn’t help asking, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll know soon.”

After driving for twenty minutes, Lin Qingye parked by the roadside. Xu Zhinan looked outside. This area was a bit dark, with an abandoned five-story building. Who knew how long it had been left unfinished—it looked dilapidated.

Xu Zhinan followed him to the rooftop.

In one corner of the rooftop was a board where they could sit. He swept away the dust and dirt with his hand, then laid down some paper and pulled Xu Zhinan to sit.

Opening a can of drink, he sat directly beside her and casually explained, “I used to come here a lot in high school, with the band.”

“So far away?”

“Seventh High School was close to here. There weren’t many people around, so we wouldn’t disturb anyone. Guan Chi and his group didn’t study much. They would skip evening self-study sessions to come play here.”

Hearing him talk about the past felt like a lifetime ago.

When Xu Zhinan first met him, she had only seen him singing in bars, standing in the center of the stage with lights, equipment, and an audience. She never imagined he had gone through such a period.

“You hadn’t won the Golden Melody Award then, right?”

Lin Qingye: “Mm, that happened in the second semester of senior year. Before that, we were just playing around.”

As he spoke, he didn’t mind that the board was dirty and lay down directly, crossing his hands behind his head.

The sky in this area was clean and clear, without too much artificial light. Stars could be seen, scattered sparsely and densely across the sky above.

Xu Zhinan also raised her head to look at the stars.

After looking for a while, her neck started to hurt.

She glanced back at the board. It was very dirty, but since Lin Qingye had already lain down, she stopped caring and leaned back.

Halfway through leaning back, Lin Qingye supported her back. “Wait.”

“Huh?”

Lin Qingye swept away the dust where she would lie, then lay back down, extending his right arm that had been behind his head. “It’s still a bit dirty. Lean on me.”

Xu Zhinan looked at him, at his arm, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally slowly leaned back.

However, she didn’t dare to fully relax her body, afraid of hurting him. So she lay down stiffly, looking very rigid.

Lin Qingye chuckled softly.

Just as Xu Zhinan was about to look over, he pinched her waist.

She immediately relaxed, completely leaning on his arm.

Lin Qingye laughed and said, “Are you afraid you’ll crush me?”

“…” It wasn’t as if she had never rested on Lin Qingye’s arm like this before, but such experiences were too distant, making it feel even more unfamiliar and strange.

She pressed her lips together, embarrassed. “No.”

The wind was gentle, the night quiet, the trees rustling.

There was no one else around. Xu Zhinan and Lin Qingye lay on their backs on the old wooden board of the rooftop. It was hard and a bit uncomfortable against their bones.

She quietly watched the stars, and her heart gradually calmed.

Such clear and bright stars were rare in the city.

As she was watching, Lin Qingye suddenly turned to his side. Then an arm crossed over her waist, his leg also pressed on hers, and his warm breath touched her neck.

She stiffened again, feeling awkward, wanting to pull her arm out but unable to.

“Lin Qingye.”

He answered with amusement in his voice. “Hmm?”

“Heavy.”

“I’m not even using any strength.” Despite saying this, he did lighten his weight a bit, though they were still just as close.

Xu Zhinan shrank her neck, enduring the awkwardness, and didn’t argue with him further.

“Ah Nan,” he called softly.

“What is it?”

He didn’t speak. After a few seconds, he laughed softly. “Nothing.”

“What is it really?”

No response.

Xu Zhinan turned her head to look and found that Lin Qingye had already closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

She turned her head back and continued to watch the stars above.

The night breeze was very comfortable. Eventually, she became drowsy. Half asleep and half awake, she heard Lin Qingye’s gentle voice: “I love you.”

The following two weeks passed peacefully without incident.

The school had reached the midterm stage, with fewer classes and lighter workloads. There were no exams, just a few design drawings to complete.

Meanwhile, Lin Qingye was busy with his album.

Wang Qi had already contacted the music show that had sent a collaboration invitation earlier and arranged the schedule.

When they finally both had free time, Lin Qingye arranged to have dinner with Xu Zhinan, but something came up at the company that delayed him.

Xu Zhinan didn’t have any appointments, so with nothing to do, she took a car to Chuanqi Entertainment to wait for him.

Walking into the company, the receptionist thought she was a new small-time celebrity signed by the company and asked, “Who are you looking for? I can help you contact them.”

“No need, I’m waiting for someone.”

“Oh, then please wait in the rest area over there.”

Xu Zhinan sat on the sofa in the rest area and sent Lin Qingye a message saying she had arrived.

She had changed his contact name back some time ago. He replied after two minutes.

[Qingye-ge: I’ll be a while longer. Have a seat first.]

[Xu Zhinan: Okay, take your time, no rush.]

She waited patiently, wanting to drink some water only to realize she’d left her water bottle at the shop. Several people were coming and going on the first floor lobby, all busy with their own affairs. Xu Zhinan didn’t want to bother anyone, and seeing a milk tea shop across the street, she went over to buy a drink.

“One cup of cheese green tea, thank you,” Xu Zhinan said.

She originally thought of buying a cup for Lin Qingye too, but remembered he didn’t like sweet things. So she went through the small alley next to the shop, planning to go to the convenience store on the other side to buy him a bottle of water.

The alley was barely wider than a person.

She walked while looking at her phone when suddenly a voice came from behind: “One lemon water.”

The voice was somewhat familiar. Listening carefully, one could tell it wasn’t a local Yancheng accent.

—Su Qian.

Her footsteps faltered. She looked back and saw the man paying and waiting to the side. He also saw her and smiled. “What a coincidence.”

Xu Zhinan pressed her lips together without speaking.

He walked up to her, lit a cigarette, leaned against the wall, and said softly, “Last time I met you at the bookstore, I had just mentioned tattoos, and then the police came. It was quite a coincidence.”

Xu Zhinan noticed that he seemed different from the impression he had given before.

She instinctively took a step back.

The man raised an eyebrow, grinning to reveal tobacco-stained teeth. He asked, “Are you Xu Yuanwen’s daughter?”

As soon as Lin Qingye finished, he immediately took the elevator down. The rest area was empty. He walked to the reception desk and asked, “Did you see the person who was sitting there just now?”

“A very pretty young lady?”

“Yes.”

The receptionist looked over. “Eh? She was sitting there just now. How come she’s gone? Did she go to the bathroom?”

Lin Qingye sent Xu Zhinan a message and sat in the rest area waiting for her. After waiting for a while without seeing her come out, he started to worry. Normally, if Xu Zhinan needed to leave, she would definitely tell him in advance.

He called Xu Zhinan’s phone, only to hear that it was already powered off. Now he was truly alarmed.

In the past, this might have been fine, but now things were different.

His heart sank bit by bit.

After standing still for about ten seconds, he quickly went back to the reception desk. This time, another person nearby told him, “Oh, I saw her go to the milk tea shop across the street just now.”

But there was no one in front of the milk tea shop now.

Without a word, Lin Qingye ran straight to the milk tea shop. Someone from the company called out “Hey—” but before they could stop him, Lin Qingye had already left the company building.

“What’s the rush? Not even covering up. Aren’t you afraid of being surrounded by fans?”

The female shop assistant at the milk tea shop nearly couldn’t catch her breath when she saw Lin Qingye, who she had only seen on TV. Her finger shook with excitement as she pointed at him: “Y-y-you—!”

Lin Qingye’s expression was very grim. He interrupted her: “Did you see a girl just now, very beautiful, about this tall?” He gestured at chest level.

Xu Zhinan had a face that wasn’t easily forgotten.

Female shop assistant: “She just bought a cup of cheese green tea, but hasn’t picked it up yet.”

She was so enchanted that she directly handed the green tea to Lin Qingye. “You can give it to her.”

“Did you see where she went?”

“Huh? I didn’t notice. She was standing there just now.”

Lin Qingye appearing in public without any mask or cap quickly attracted attention. A circle of people gathered around, all taking out their phones to photograph him.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! It’s really Lin Qingye!!!”

“What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know, but he’s so handsome!!!”

…

He was anxiously trying to find Xu Zhinan. The milk tea shop hadn’t provided any information, so he turned to go elsewhere, but the crowd had formed a tight circle, impossible to break through.

Lin Qingye coldly raised his eyes, his voice like ice chips: “Move aside.”

When Xu Zhinan woke up again, Su Qian was sitting across from her.

The surroundings were dirty and messy, like an abandoned steel factory. She was sitting on a chair, her hands tied behind her back.

Su Qian had a cigarette between his teeth.

It was still bright outside. She probably hadn’t been unconscious for long.

“You’re just as troublesome as Xu Yuanwen,” the man said, biting his cigarette.

Xu Zhinan felt as if an electric current ran from her toes up her spine straight to her nerves. Her whole body felt like it had been shocked.

“Are you—” her voice was so high and thin it hardly sounded like her own, “the one who set the fire five years ago?”

Su Qian smiled. “That’s right.”

“It’s all because Xu Yuanwen wouldn’t let go. I thought killing him and destroying the evidence he had would be enough, but you kept poking around. So fucking annoying.”

“You’ve been hiding for so many years. Now that you’ve brought me here, aren’t you afraid of being exposed?”

“Do you think,” he flicked his cigarette ash, “I’d let you go back to report to the police?”

“I told the police about you a few days ago. If I disappear, you’ll be the prime suspect.”

“I was able to make those useless cops find no evidence to convict me before. Do you think they can find any now? What does being the prime suspect matter? Without evidence, they still can’t convict me.”

Useless cops.

What does being the prime suspect matter?

Still can’t convict me.

Images flashed through Xu Zhinan’s mind—the photo of her father lying in a pool of blood that she had seen in the case files. She trembled with rage.

Suddenly, there was a loud “bang” from downstairs.

Just as Xu Zhinan was about to call for help, Su Qian quickly covered her mouth with his tobacco-stained fingers that reeked of cigarettes. He grabbed tape from the ground and sealed her mouth.

The noise from downstairs continued.

Su Qian walked to the staircase and peered down. The sound became slightly more distant but was still audible.

He slowly walked downstairs.

Xu Zhinan was surrounded by emptiness, with nothing nearby she could use to make noise and call for help.

The sound from downstairs rose and fell, like drumbeats.

It fell on Xu Zhinan’s heart, making her even more anxious. Her legs were weak, but she took the opportunity to try to save herself. She struggled to move with the chair to the window and kicked at the glass.

Afraid Su Qian would return any moment, she kicked urgently, but glass isn’t so easily broken.

Eventually, the rusted window latch fell off, its side sharp.

Xu Zhinan used the sharp edge to desperately cut the rope.

As the rope broke and fell away, there came a painful wail from Su Qian downstairs.

Xu Zhinan was startled by the sound. She had just stood up but her legs gave way and she fell back down, her palm scraping against the sharp edge of the window latch.

It started bleeding.

She didn’t dare delay any longer and forced herself up on her weak legs to walk down the stairs.

Xu Zhinan had never imagined she would witness such a scene.

She could no longer stand and collapsed on the stairs, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.

The scene began to rewind.

“Let me like you again.”

“At that time, I was quite insecure.”

“I won back your birthday gift.”

“I’m here.”

“Trust me, I’m Lin Qingye.”

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you even if it costs me my life.”

And that night under the starry sky with the gentle breeze, he had said: “I love you.”

All these voices intertwined, bombarding Xu Zhinan’s brain.

In the abandoned building, dust danced in the air.

Outside grew a locust tree, its faint fragrance drifting in.

She saw.

The blue-haired youth, hands covered in blood.

Su Qian lying in a pool of blood.

The sun was setting, making it impossible to tell where the twilight ended and where the blood began.