“I’ve also been waiting for someone special to appear.”

After You Mingxu spoke these words, Gu Tiancheng stared at her delicate face, at those rouge lips. Suddenly, he felt a somewhat wicked impulse to kiss that mouth. No, not just kiss—to devour it passionately, to caress her, with all the desire of a man. On such a night, in this desolate wilderness, with a strange woman, throwing all caution to the wind. The thought made Gu Tiancheng increasingly restless; he took another drag of his cigarette, feeling his throat grow drier.

Like her, he stubbed out his cigarette in the dirt at his feet, as if burying something. He leaned forward into the narrow space between their tents, bringing his body closer to hers, and asked, “Who did you say you were waiting for?”

His voice had dropped lower, carrying a hint of distraction, his eyelids slightly lowered as he focused on some spot on her face. In this state, he suddenly possessed a somewhat frivolous, predatory air.

You Mingxu’s face was less than 20 centimeters from his. In the dim light, he was taller, looking down at her slightly. Yet she seemed to want to peer into the depths of his eyes, staring at those dark, gleaming pupils for quite a while.

“I said…” her lips curved into a tiny arc, her eyes flashing with a hint of mischief, “it’s time to sleep.” Before Gu Tiancheng could react, reaching out to stop her, You Mingxu had already pulled down her tent flap with a swift “whoosh” of the zipper.

The tent was completely dark, and Gu Tiancheng only saw her move a few times inside, presumably undressing to lie down. He knew his wild nature and felt the impulse to reach through the tent fabric to grab her arm or waist. They were both mature adults, and everything had just begun to unfold—why had she run away? Still, he restrained himself, not wanting her to think him too forward.

Gu Tiancheng lay down, glancing at the other tent and the two rooms, all quiet now, presumably everyone asleep. He looked at his car, standing silently not far away, steady and secure. This place was rarely visited; it should be safe. His expression settled into calmness as he closed the tent door and shut his eyes to sleep.

Before long, Ming Tao’s loud, prolonged snoring echoed above the campsite. Song Lan had been somewhat alert, given they were essentially sleeping in the wild. But exhausted from the day’s cycling, her eyes soon grew heavy, and she fell into deep sleep.

Zou Furong had always been straightforward in her sweet nature; she felt the people they’d met today seemed trustworthy and reliable. Plus, she was sleeping inside a house—it couldn’t be safer. So she too quickly fell asleep.

Gu Tiancheng and You Mingxu’s tents remained perfectly quiet.

The camp light left on the ground had been turned off by Gu Tiancheng. The night grew deeper, and not a single sound could be heard in the wilderness. This small campsite seemed to have completely merged with the dark world.

You Mingxu remained vigilant, only dozing lightly, opening her eyes every so often to check the tent ceiling, her ears alert to surrounding sounds. When all was quiet, she would close her eyes again for a brief rest.

During one such intermittent sleep, she suddenly opened her eyes, instantly wide awake. Unable to pinpoint what had startled her, she slowly calmed her heartbeat, listening to the wind gently rustling the tent. Everything around remained pitch black.

Then she heard slow footsteps on the grass, “crush—crush—crush—” followed by the subtle sounds of something being rummaged through, and chewing sounds—someone eating.

She pressed her hands against the ground, slowly sitting up, slipped out of her sleeping bag, and was about to unzip the tent door. But the night was so quiet that even this tiny sound was audible. The eating sounds stopped abruptly.

In that split second, You Mingxu flung open the tent door and crawled out. She only caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting into the woods behind the small house, instantly vanishing. You Mingxu shouted, “Who’s there!”

Almost simultaneously, Gu Tiancheng jumped out of his tent, casting a vigilant glance at her before scanning the surroundings, urgently asking, “What happened?”

The commotion brought Ming Tao and the others—Song Lan and Zou Furong—running out with their lights on, everyone looking tense and uncertain.

You Mingxu pressed her lips together, staring into the depths of the woods, and related what she’d seen and heard. Everyone exchanged worried glances. Ming-Tao spoke first: “Damn, could it be a wild man?” Without waiting for responses, he contradicted himself, his voice oddly excited: “No, no, Tibet’s never had reports of wild men—could it be that serial killer, driven to desperation, coming to us? Holy crap!” He immediately ran to check around the tents. Song Lan and Zou Furong huddled together.

Gu Tiancheng exchanged a look with You Mingxu, saying, “Check what’s been disturbed.” You Mingxu nodded.

“Damn it, my shoes and clothes are gone!” Ming-Tao shouted, his tone somewhere between excitement and shock. Everyone looked where he pointed—indeed, his boots that had been outside the tent had vanished.

“And my jacket,” Ming Tao gestured, “It was a bit wet, so I hung it outside the tent to air out—it’s gone, damn it’s cold…” he complained, hugging his arms.

You Mingxu’s sharp eyes caught sight of torn sausage packaging and cookie crumbs on the ground outside her tent, making her scalp tingle. Running over to check, she found her backpack, which had been leaning against the tent exterior, had been opened and ransacked.

Gu Tiancheng walked over, asking, “What’s wrong?”

She lifted the bag to show him. Ming-Tao and the others came over at the sound.

Gu Tiancheng’s brow furrowed in thought, then suddenly his expression changed as he turned and ran toward his car. You Mingxu’s eyes widened, and she followed him. The others, confused, trailed behind.

The trunk was open. Gu Tiancheng reached it first, his brow deeply furrowed as he bent to search through it. When You Mingxu arrived, he looked up at her, his voice still steady: “Two of my cases have been taken.”

You Mingxu looked quickly—indeed, only one small case remained in the trunk, along with a few bags thrown in haphazardly. In the corner were some miscellaneous items: a dirty pair of shoes, a hat, a piece of rope, and such.

Before You Mingxu could look closer, Gu Tiancheng had already closed the trunk with a grim expression and continued checking the car’s body.

“Damn,” he kicked the left rear wheel, then crouched to examine it carefully, his face darkening. You Mingxu’s heart sank as she ran to check the right rear wheel—sure enough, the tire had been punctured, deflated all around. She slowly stood up, and across the car, their eyes met, both seeing the gravity in each other’s gaze.

Ming-Tao and the others saw this and were shocked. Zou Furong said, “How… how could this happen? Someone punctured them?”

Song Lan looked up at You Mingxu—for some reason, their energies seemed quite compatible. Song Lan asked, “Was it… that shadow from just now?” As soon as she spoke, she felt a shiver in her own heart.

You Mingxu slowly nodded.