The phone slipped from his fingers and clattered against the wooden floor. The screen's light bled across his pale skin, painting his trembling face in ghostly blue.
Li An- no, Qin Yuelin... stood frozen, breath trapped in his throat. His eyes, wide and glimmering like glass under moonlight, reflected the single line that still shone on the screen:
"let's meet soon, my little sparrow...Qin Yuelin."
His lips parted, but no sound came out. The soft tremor of his breath fogged the air; sweat clung to his temple. Even in fear, his beauty had a cruel precision... like a porcelain doll cracked but not yet broken. His lashes quivered, catching the light, and the faintest shiver ran through his slender hands as if the message had burned into his veins.
"Zhao…" his voice came out broken, whisper-thin. He turned, eyes darting across the empty apartment. "Zhao Liren!! are you home?"
Silence answered.
Only the ticking clock, the faint hum of the refrigerator, and the wind pressing against the window like something wanting to come in.
He took a step forward, bare feet touching the cold floor. "Liren?" he called again, louder this time. But he already knew. The jacket was gone from the chair. The shoes were missing from the mat.
Zhao had gone out.
His fingers trembled as he grabbed his phone again and hit the call button. The dial tone stretched endlessly, like the sound of a heartbeat underwater.
Come on… pick up.
Meanwhile, the neon lights pulsed like living veins. The bass from the club trembled through the air, shaking glass and skin alike. Inside, laughter and perfume mixed with the heat of liquor and the scent of sin.
Zhao Liren lounged on a velvet couch, his black shirt half unbuttoned, collarbone glinting in dim light. His hair was tousled, his jaw sharp, eyes half-lidded and full of mischief. A girl with crimson lips sat on his lap, tracing her fingers across his chest, while a boy with silver earrings leaned close, whispering something that made Zhao smirk.
He looked like temptation carved in flesh... untouchable yet owned by everyone in that room.
"Liren, come on, one more round," the bartender shouted, sliding another glass toward him.
Zhao lifted it lazily, his deep voice curling through the noise. "You trying to kill me tonight, huh?"
The boy beside him laughed, biting his lip. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Zhao was about to respond when his phone buzzed on the table, vibrating beside a pile of scattered cash. The name flashing across the screen ~ Li An ~ made his smirk fade instantly.
He frowned.
Li An never called unless it was serious.
He picked it up. "Hey-"
But the voice on the other end wasn't calm. It was shaking. Small. Fragile.
"Liren… someone, someone knows…"
Zhao sat upright, every trace of his playfulness gone. The girl on his lap shifted, confused.
"What? Li An, slow down. What happened?"
"There's a message," Li An's voice trembled, breaking between words. "They know my name. My real name- they found me"
The world around Zhao blurred into meaningless sound. The music, the laughter, the hands pulling at him... all faded under the pounding of his heart. He shoved the people off him, ignoring the protest.
"Where are you right now?"
"At home," came the whisper. "I don't know what to do, Liren… it's-it's like they're watching-"
"I'm coming. Don't hang up, you hear me?" Zhao's voice cut sharp as steel. "Keep talking to me."
He grabbed his keys, rushing out of the club. Behind him, the neon lights flickered once, then dimmed.
Li An pressed the phone to his ear, curling up on the couch, his knees drawn to his chest. "I'm scared, Liren."
"I know. Just breathe, baby," Zhao said, voice softer now, though his foot pressed hard on the accelerator. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"There was… there was a message," Li An said, tears trembling in his eyes. "It said-"
"I know. You said someone knows your real name. But that's impossible, right? Only I-" He stopped, his throat tightening. "Only I know."
"That's what I thought too," Li An whispered.
The sound of the wind outside deepened, brushing against the windows with a strange rhythm. The curtains swayed, casting ghostlike movements across the walls. The air inside the apartment grew colder, sharp with something unseen.
"Liren…" Li An's voice was almost a breath now. "I think someone's outside."
Zhao's grip on the wheel tightened. "Don't move. I'll be there in five minutes. Just lock the door, okay? Stay on the phone."
Li An nodded, even though Zhao couldn't see him. "Okay…"
He stood slowly, moving toward the door. His bare feet made no sound against the wooden floor. The handle felt icy under his fingers as he turned the lock. Click.
He leaned his forehead against the wood, breathing quietly. His reflection in the nearby mirror caught his eye, pale, trembling, almost translucent in the low light. His eyes were wide with fear, yet something else flickered behind them… something deeper.
Why now? Why me again?
He looked around the room, everything too still, too silent. Even the clock seemed to hold its breath.
"Liren," he whispered into the phone. "What if they're inside?"
"Don't say that," Zhao said quickly, trying to sound calm though panic was creeping into his tone. "Check the windows. Just look around for me, okay? I'm almost there."
Li An nodded faintly and walked toward the balcony. The crow was still there, perched exactly where it had been before. But this time… there were two.
Both stared at him, their beady eyes glinting with something intelligent, unnatural. One tilted its head, letting out a low, guttural sound that wasn't quite a caw. It sounded almost like… laughter.
He stepped back, trembling. "Liren… they're looking at me."
"Who?" Zhao's voice rose. "Who's looking at you, Li An?"
"The birds," he whispered. "They're not… normal."
Zhao cursed under his breath. "Don't look at them. Move away from the window, do you hear me?"
Li An backed away slowly, heart hammering in his chest. His breath came out shallow and fast. "Liren, hurry…"
"I'm almost there. I can see the building."
And then- click.
The sound didn't come from his phone or the door. It came from inside the apartment.
A faint metallic click, like the turning of a lock.
Li An froze. His eyes darted toward the kitchen. Nothing. The hall. Nothing. Then... under the narrow crack of the bedroom door... something shifted. Just a shadow, soft, brief, but enough to steal his breath.
"Liren," he whispered. "There's… someone in the bedroom."
Zhao's voice hardened. "Get out of there right now. Go out the front door and wait outside. Do not go near that room-"
But Li An's eyes were already fixed on the door. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I think I saw movement."
"Don't go in there, damn it!"
But he did. Slowly. Step by step. The phone still pressed to his ear, Zhao's frantic voice echoing like a ghost from another world.
He pushed the door open. The hinges creaked. The room was dark, curtains drawn, air cold enough to make him shiver. He reached for the light switch.
It flicked on.
Empty.
Everything was just as it had been. His bed. Zhao's bed. The books stacked neatly by the nightstand. The faint scent of Zhao's cologne still in the air.
He exhaled shakily. "There's no one-"
Then he saw it.
On the mirror above his desk. Written in something dark, smeared like fingerpaint.
"You can't hide, Qin."
The phone slipped from his grasp again, clattering against the floor. Zhao's voice burst through, muffled, shouting his name.
Li An's lips parted, his breathing sharp, unsteady. He stepped backward, eyes wide, tears threatening to spill.
Then the lights flickered once… twice… and went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
For a heartbeat, everything was silent-
Until a voice, soft as breath, whispered right behind him:
"Found you."
END OF CHAPTER~