Luo Ting felt dizzy and her head was throbbing. Where was she? She clearly remembered walking home from work.

It was 2:30 in the morning, and the streets were empty – not even a shadow in sight. She had been walking quickly, hearing only the sound of her footsteps.

Some streetlights were on, others dark, and the spring streets still held a hint of winter’s chill. She had hurried forward, vaguely aware of some movement behind her but paying it no mind.

Then she took the elevator up.

As the elevator doors opened, she was thinking about her lunch plans with a colleague tomorrow, wondering what to eat – nothing too expensive, but something her companion would enjoy. Lost in these thoughts, she reached her front door, took out her keys, opened it, and went inside.

Just as she reached for the light switch while closing the door behind her, suddenly the door was forcefully held open by some tremendous strength.

Luo Ting froze, every hair on her body standing on end. She was completely paralyzed.

Then she saw a black shadow cast from the doorway, almost pressing against her.

And she felt it immediately.

Felt someone standing right behind her.

…

Luo Ting’s eyes snapped open, first seeing a dim light, then the familiar room, ceiling, bed… The light came from a bedside lamp.

Her mind was still foggy as if someone had poured glue into her head. She thought hazily: so was it just a dream? A dream about someone breaking in at her front door?

Just as she was about to sigh in relief and reach up to rub her head, she realized her hands were bound tightly with rope, completely immobile.

Her whole body trembled as she fully awakened, seeing that her ankles were also bound with rope.

Not a dream…

It wasn’t a dream at all!

She stared blankly at the scene before her, like a bound puppet, her face ghostly pale.

Suddenly, as if shocked by electricity, she jolted awake.

She became aware.

Slowly, ever so, she turned her head to see a person sitting on a stool beside the bed. He wore a baseball cap and a windbreaker, gloves on both hands, holding a dagger, seemingly watching her with great interest. A beam of light fell across him, revealing delicate features. But his eyes were hidden under the brim of his cap, their gleam barely visible.

There had never been a more terrifying moment than this.

Luo Ting’s entire body began to shake, massive terror like a black hand gripping her heart. She opened her mouth, a hoarse cry about to escape her throat. But at that moment, the man leaned forward, pressing the dagger against her throat. Tears streamed down Luo Ting’s face, but she dared not move.

“Shh…” he said, almost tenderly, “I just want to talk to you for a bit. I won’t hurt you. I’ll let you go. Promise me you won’t make a sound, otherwise I’ll have to…”

Luo Ting, tears flowing, quickly nodded. Satisfied, he lowered the dagger, rested his arms on his knees, fingers interlaced, studying her intently as if examining a treasured possession. He frowned slightly and said, “Hmm… where should we begin? How about we start with what type of men you like?”

Luo Ting froze, speechless. He watched her very patiently, his eyes now carrying a smile as he coaxed, “You must tell me. If you don’t, I’ll get angry. And when I get angry, I’ll hurt you.”

Luo Ting began to whimper.

He sighed, patted her head, and spoke a few more coaxing words. Finally, Luo Ting gradually stopped crying and began her halting narrative.

…

Although Ying Ming Xu had visited Yin Feng’s house many times, actually living here still felt strange.

As soon as they entered the villa, Yin Feng took the suitcase from Tu Ya’s hands and went upstairs. Ying Ming Xu followed him to the master bedroom doorway, where he glanced at her before pulling the suitcase inside.

Ying Ming Xu lowered her head with a smile and followed him in.

The master bedroom had its walk-in closet, and admittedly, this guy had quite a collection of clothes and shoes. Yin Feng turned to look at her again, cleared one side of the clothing rack, and then opened her suitcase.

Ying Ming Xu said, “I’ll organize it myself, you go ahead.”

Yin Feng hugged and kissed her once before leaving.

After he went downstairs, Ying Ming Xu stood holding her clothes, looking around the enormous master bedroom. Was she going to live with this man from now on? Sleeping together, eating together.

But hadn’t they been doing this before? Except they hadn’t shared a bed. Thinking of it this way, there wasn’t much to be anxious about. If they ever fought… Ying Ming Xu thought about it and couldn’t help but smile, feeling that Tu Ya and Little Yan would take her side, while no one would dare support Chen Feng. Champion… would probably be on her side too.

By the time she finished organizing, the sun was setting. She went downstairs to find Yin Feng and the others. The living room was also huge. Yin Feng sat in a single armchair, reading a book. At this moment, he exuded scholarly charm, looking every bit the writer.

Little Yan and Champion lay head-to-head on the sofa, each holding a phone, talking non-stop – probably playing games.

Chen Feng acted most like the host, sitting at a workstation behind the sofa, surrounded by reports and documents, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, presumably handling company business for Yin Feng.

Tu Ya was watching television, and Ying Ming Xu was pleased to see he was watching the same drama series she followed. This burly man sat on the sofa, arms resting on his legs, watching intently with a smile on his face, eyes bright.

Ying Ming Xu sat down beside Tu Ya, crossed her legs, and joined in watching. Tu Ya immediately sat up straight: “Boss’s wife.” He handed her the remote, but Ying Ming Xu just raised her chin: “Keep watching this.”

Tu Ya’s eyes lit up with joy, and they both focused on the show.

Little Yan noticed Ying Ming Xu’s arrival and sat up self-consciously, feeling her posture had been unseemly. Champion didn’t move at all, continuing to occupy an entire sofa by himself.

Yin Feng looked up from his book at the woman, feeling a surge of contentment now that she was truly living under his roof. He called out, “A Xu.”

He expected her to come to his side – she was his woman, wasn’t she? But Ying Ming Xu didn’t even look at him, just “mmm” and continued watching TV with Tu Ya. They laughed together, then frowned together, then Ying Ming Xu exclaimed, “Damn, what a hypocrite!” Tu Ya nodded: “Yeah! So infuriating!”

Yin Feng tossed aside his book and sat down beside Ying Ming Xu, putting his arm around her shoulders. Still focused on the screen, she naturally leaned into his embrace. The slight sourness he had felt at being ignored was instantly cured by this small gesture. As a highly educated intellectual with refined literary taste and fashion sense, Yin Feng had little interest in such television shows. However, sitting beside her like this, stroking her hair, breathing in her scent, feeling her compliance – this seemed quite nice too.