In the morning, Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu were each busy with their own things in the villa's courtyard.
Shen Jingqi continued to explore related clues, and during his break, he noticed Li Baiyu looking troubled.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
Li Baiyu looked down at the teacup in his hand, his brows furrowed: "Tuantuan came home, but it's different from before."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jingqi felt a pang in his heart.
"What's wrong with it?" Shen Jingqi asked anxiously.
Li Baiyu sighed: "I don't know, it's just listless and doesn't like to move anymore."
The two exchanged a look, their eyes full of concern. Shen Jingqi stood up: "Let's go take a look at it."
They went to Tuantuan's room, where the little creature was curled up in the corner, its eyes dull, all its former vitality gone.
"Tuantuan, what's wrong?" Li Baiyu squatted down, calling softly.
Tuantuan lifted its head and glanced at them, then weakly lowered it again. Shen Jingqi noticed that there seemed to be a hint of fear in Tuantuan's eyes.
"Was it scared by something outside?" Shen Jingqi guessed.
Li Baiyu shook his head: "I don't know, everything seems pretty normal."
Shen Jingqi patted Tuantuan's head, trying to comfort it: "Don't be afraid, Tuantuan, we're here."
Just then, Tuantuan's eyes suddenly flickered, as if it saw something frightening. It jumped up, fur standing on end, and then meowed twice before quickly darting out of the room.
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu stared at each other, not knowing what had happened.
"Tuantuan!" Li Baiyu chased after it.
Shen Jingqi followed, filled with confusion and unease. They came to the living room and saw Tuantuan hiding behind the sofa, trembling.
"Tuantuan, come out!" Li Baiyu called softly, trying to get close.
But Tuantuan only seemed to get more scared, continuously retreating.
Shen Jingqi noticed Tuantuan's eyes fixed on the entrance, as though something terrifying was there.
"Is there something at the door?" Shen Jingqi asked.
Li Baiyu shook his head: "No, I don't see anything."
Shen Jingqi furrowed his brow, walked to the door, and looked carefully, but there was indeed nothing.
"Tuantuan, don't be afraid, there's nothing here," Shen Jingqi returned to comfort the little creature.
But Tuantuan still stayed hidden behind the sofa, not daring to come out.
At that moment, Shen Jingqi suddenly felt a chill come over him, involuntarily shivering. He glanced around, everything looked normal, but the cold sensation grew stronger.
"Jingqi, what's wrong?" Li Baiyu noticed something off about Shen Jingqi's expression and asked with concern.
Shen Jingqi shook his head: "It's nothing, just suddenly felt a bit cold."
He looked again at Tuantuan, still hiding behind the sofa, eyes filled with fear.
"What should we do?" Li Baiyu asked.
Shen Jingqi thought for a moment: "I think Tuantuan might have seen something we can't see."
He didn't answer directly but said: "Tuantuan has always been lively; ever since it went out of control last time and broke the cat vase, it's been . There must be a reason, and there's a deep fear in its eyes — it's not caused by ordinary fright."
Li Baiyu seemed frightened: "What should we do then?"
Shen Jingqi took a deep breath: "Let's not rush; we can try to communicate with Tuantuan, see if it can tell us what happened."
They returned to Tuantuan, softly calling its name, trying to soothe its emotions. But Tuantuan still hid behind the sofa, not daring to come out.
Just then, Shen Jingqi suddenly heard a faint sound, seemingly coming from the doorway. He quickly turned his head but saw nothing.
"Did you hear that?" Shen Jingqi asked Li Baiyu.
Li Baiyu shook his head: "Hear what?"
Shen Jingqi frowned, the sound came again, clearer this time. He was sure it came from the doorway.
"There's someone at the door!" Shen Jingqi said.
Li Baiyu was startled: "Where? I can't see anyone."
Shen Jingqi walked to the door and looked carefully, but still saw nothing. He opened the door and poked his head out; the corridor was empty, not a single figure in sight.
"Strange…" Shen Jingqi murmured to himself.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a strong chill, as if something was touching his back. He spun around but saw nothing. However, the coldness intensified, making him shiver uncontrollably.
"What's wrong?" Li Baiyu noticed something was off about Shen Jingqi's face and asked with concern.
Shen Jingqi shook his head: "It's nothing, just suddenly felt a bit cold."
He looked back at the door, unease welling in his heart. He felt like something was watching them from the doorway.
"We should bring Tuantuan to the room; it's too unsafe out here," Shen Jingqi suggested.
Li Baiyu nodded. They tried to approach Tuantuan, but the little creature still stayed hidden behind the sofa, not daring to come out.
Just then, Shen Jingqi saw a black shadow flash by, moving incredibly fast, like a ghost. He rushed after it, but the shadow had already disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"What did you see?" Li Baiyu followed up and asked.
Shen Jingqi, breathing heavily, said: "A black shadow, moved extremely fast, then vanished."
Shen Jingqi looked again at the end of the corridor, filled with doubt and fear.
At that moment, they suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the stairwell. They exchanged a glance, both filled with alertness.
The footsteps got closer and stopped at their front door. Then, they heard a man's voice: "You come out!"
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu froze upon hearing this.
Who was that man? Why was he here? And from his tone, it seemed like he was looking for someone?
Then they heard the man continue: "I knew you were here! Don't hide, I saw you!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu went over and saw a man standing at the door, looking at them with a face full of anger.
"Who are you?" Shen Jingqi asked in surprise.
The man didn't answer, instead, he started looking around: "You come out! Don't think I don't know just because you're hiding!"
Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu exchanged a look, not knowing what was happening.
"What are you looking for?" Li Baiyu couldn't help but ask.
The man looked at them: "Have you seen a black shadow?"
A black shadow? Shen Jingqi felt a jolt in his heart; could it be the man had also seen the shadow?
He nodded: "We saw it, a black shadow flashed by, moving very fast."
The man was surprised for a moment: "You also saw it? Where did it run?"
Shen Jingqi pointed to the end of the corridor: "It ran that way."
The man didn't hesitate and immediately chased after it. Shen Jingqi and Li Baiyu exchanged a glance and followed.
They reached the end of the corridor, but it was empty; not a single figure was in sight. The man looked around, then lowered his head in disappointment.
"Looks like it's escaped again," Cong Nanxue muttered to himself.
Shen Jingqi couldn't help but ask: "What are you looking for? Who is that black shadow?"
The man glanced at him, a trace of hesitation in his eyes. But soon, he steeled his gaze: "That's my sister. She… she died."