Chap 2: Inescapable Shadows

Zhen Nuan stood motionless, the man’s gentle laughter lingering in her ears. Her face flushed as she turned her head away in surprise.

He moved quickly, fastening the necklace around her neck in a single fluid motion. Before she could react, he had already turned around, picking up his phone and walking toward the window.

Zhen Nuan glanced back, catching only the sight of his tall figure draped in a black windbreaker. His voice broke through her thoughts as he laughed, almost coaxing, “...Ha...Do you want the truth, or a lie?”

She frowned in frustration, her gaze trailing up and down his back, waiting for him to turn around so she could glare at him. But he didn’t. He stayed near the window, answering a few words on the phone, his voice soft and bright. It was clear the other person was a woman.

Zhen Nuan’s patience wore thin as his call dragged on, her irritation growing. Watching his back no longer held any meaning. Her thoughts wandered back to the moment he had placed the necklace on her. His touch had been brief and professional, avoiding any unnecessary closeness.

"Just think of it as being bitten by a pig," she thought, pursing her lips in frustration. With that, she turned and walked into room 107.

After finishing his call, Yan Han glanced toward the dead end of the corridor, realizing he had gone the wrong way. He turned back toward the stairwell, adjusting his windbreaker with practiced ease.

As he descended the stairs, his instincts sharpened. He paused, stepping aside to lean against the wall, listening intently. From behind a slightly ajar door, two waiters spoke in hushed tones.

“Did you see that woman earlier? The one in white with the black bag?” the first one asked.

“I saw her. Stunning,” the second replied, his tone lecherous.

The first man’s voice turned cold. “Zhen Nuan.”

There was a beat of silence before the other’s voice shifted in panic. “Shen Yi’s girlfriend?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

Yan Han’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Shen Yi." His sworn enemy. Nine years ago, Shen Yi had been the prime suspect in the murder of Yan Han’s fiancée, but nothing had ever come of it.

The second man’s voice trembled with fear. “If I’d known she was Shen Yi’s girlfriend, I never would have dared! You’re trying to stir up trouble between Yan Han and Shen Yi, but I want no part of it. I already gave her the drugged water. If anything happens to her, I’m doomed!”

Yan Han’s mind went blank for a moment. His fiancée’s murder, Shen Yi’s involvement—all of it came flooding back. His hand went to his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. As he was about to light it, he noticed a small wet spot on the cigarette holder. "Drugged."

A low chuckle escaped him. They had drugged him too.

He played with the cigarette between his fingers, a smile ghosting his lips. Then he straightened, pushing off the wall. There was only one room down the dead-end corridor he had just come from.

 Earlier, his coat had been hanging over the back of a chair, out of his sight as he played cards.

He toyed with his cigarette between two fingers for a moment, smiled, then stood up and casually walked back to the corridor. There was only one room at the dead end where he had just been standing.

…

Zhen Nuan closed the door behind her. The room was windowless, dark, and oppressive. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes, but the only things she could make out were the faint outlines of a table and some chairs. She didn’t bother turning on the light, relying instead on her memory of the room’s layout. Moving like a blind woman, she made her way to the far end and opened the door.

In the adjoining bathroom, a small window let in some light, though the sky outside was overcast.

She shrugged off her coat, tossed it onto the sofa, slipped on some shoe covers, and squatted down, feeling her joints creak in protest. She winced but didn’t let it slow her down. Quickly, she opened her black bag, put on gloves and special glasses, and shut the blinds, plunging the bathroom into near-total darkness once again.

For a moment, Zhen Nuan just stood there, her mind blank, before gritting her teeth and pounding her aching calves.

Winter had come again, cold and damp. The rain made her rheumatism flare up worse than ever. Each gust of cold wind seemed to grind her bones together.

This wasn’t her job, strictly speaking, but she had only just started and didn’t have much else to do. Guan Xiaoyu had something more urgent to handle and had asked her to step in. At least she was familiar enough with the task to not feel overwhelmed.

She pulled out the detection device and began scanning the room meticulously. The bathroom had been recently renovated, leaving little trace of anything. The only signs of activity were a few footprints and some fingerprints on the sink, their cold white glow catching the light. These had already been collected by Guan Xiaoyu during the last check.

Upon further inspection, though, she noticed something unusual—a faint, white speck wedged in the carpet’s fibers. It was tiny, about the size of a pinhead.

Zhen Nuan took a photo before using tweezers to carefully retrieve the object. It looked like a small scrap of tinfoil, its surface slightly reflective, with ink traces that gave no indication of its origin.

She placed the fragment into an evidence bag, then noticed that the carpet had been shifted slightly. Pulling it back, she discovered a fresh fingerprint hidden underneath.

Dipping her brush into magnetic powder, she patiently dusted the area. Once the samples were collected and there was nothing else to uncover, she packed her tools away and rubbed her sore knees.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, the sound of the door closing softly caught her attention, followed by the faint click of a lock.

Zhen Nuan froze. Someone had entered the room. She strained her ears to listen, but the dark room remained unnervingly silent. That’s when she saw it—the faint red glow of a cigarette.

Is someone smoking?

Her stomach knotted with dread.

Earlier, when she’d gone upstairs, a waiter had handed her a glass of water. She hadn’t taken more than a sip before realizing it had been drugged. As a toxicologist, she could handle it, but still, the gesture hadn’t sat right with her.

This club was run by Shen Yi’s people. She knew most of the staff well and had brushed off the incident as a prank by the manager. Now, it didn’t seem so innocent.

Shen Yi controlled half of Huasheng Group, making him a target for both public and private enemies. Many wanted to see him fall, and apparently, she was the weak link they intended to exploit.

Her heart pounded. Zhen Nuan wasn’t trained in combat. She worked in a lab, behind a desk, and her health had prevented her from mastering any real self-defense techniques.

The cigarette’s glow snuffed out, plunging the room into utter blackness.

Zhen Nuan forced herself to stay calm. If she could avoid being seen, she might be able to slip away unnoticed. If not, she’d scream for help. She bent down, placing her equipment box on the floor, hoping it wouldn’t cause any trouble if the person left before she could.

Just as she was making her plan, a sharp crack echoed—her knee, giving her away.

Damn. He knew where she was now.

She heard slow, deliberate footsteps approaching, each step reverberating through the darkened room. Her pulse quickened. She couldn’t tell where he was coming from, and the oppressive silence only made it worse.

Then, the steps stopped.

He was smart. Too smart. He’d intentionally revealed his location to scare her and was now moving stealthily, using the darkness to his advantage.

Zhen Nuan stood frozen, sweat trickling down her spine. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear anything, and had no idea where he was.

Suddenly, the air felt thick around her, a faint smell of tobacco lingering in the darkness. He was close. Too close.

She stopped breathing, hoping it was just her imagination, but then his hand gripped her shoulder.

Her heart leapt into her throat. She remembered the escape move her teacher had taught her, grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and lowered her center of gravity. For a second, it worked—he fell to the ground.

But as he went down, his breath brushed her cheek, and he let out a low, mocking laugh, as if amused by her feeble attempt.

Panic surged through her. She turned to run, but he grabbed her waist, pulling her down with him. She fell on top of him, her lips brushing against his neck, warm and smooth, with the lingering scent of tobacco.

She gasped in shock. A soft "huh" escaped his lips, full of sarcasm.

Flustered, Zhen Nuan scrambled to get up, but before she could, his hand caught her, pinching her cheeks, forcing her head back as he pressed her into the sofa.

In an instant, she was pinned down.

He clamped his hand over her mouth, making it impossible for her to speak or even move her head. Her back was pressed against him, her wrists twisted behind her, forcing her upper body into an awkward position. His knees dug into her legs, pinning them down. 

He showed no mercy, applying just enough pressure to make her wince in pain. Zhen Nuan could only lie there, her body submissive to avoid further harm.

In her current position, any attempt to resist or fight back was futile. She had no strength left to defend herself and was completely at his mercy. Fear and humiliation overwhelmed her, making her tremble uncontrollably. Zhen Nuan had a deep-seated phobia of physical contact with men. Even with Shen Yi, she had only recently managed to hold his hand. Now, in this terrifying situation...

Is this what he wants?

Tears threatened to spill as she wondered what she had done to bring this upon herself.

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