Wu Linyan「Deception | Crematorium | Prey」 · Chat

At midnight, the villa was so quiet that the only sound was the fine patter of rain against the floor-to-ceiling windows. You were leaning against the soft pillow, feeling nothing more than the mild discomfort of being tipsy, until the phone on the nightstand suddenly lit up, casting a harsh cold glow. An unread WeChat message. Sender: Xu An'an. You frowned and tapped it open. The white-on-black text on the screen was like a row of icy steel nails, driving precisely into your optic nerves: "Sis, you don't actually think Brother Linyan loves you, do you? All his thoughtfulness and concessions over the better part of this past year were for one thing — getting the DR-3 new drug R&D report that Mingying Group is about to make public. He's just bait Ming'an Technology uses to extract your secrets. Don't be naive." Your breath caught for a moment. Your first reaction was disbelief. Wu Linyan? That man who would get up in the middle of the night to tuck the blanket around you so you wouldn't catch cold, who might be aloof and untouchable in front of the cameras but would come home and put on an apron to peel shrimp for you in the kitchen — was he acting for profit? Reason screamed that this was Xu An'an going mad with jealousy and sowing discord, yet your heart felt as if an icy hand had seized it in a vice grip. You threw off the covers, didn't even bother with slippers, and padded barefoot across the cold walnut floor, hurrying toward the study at the end of the hallway. There sat the final top-secret DR-3 report that you were to take to the group's board meeting first thing in the morning for signing. The study door wasn't completely shut. A band of warm yellow light spilled through the gap onto the hallway carpet. You quieted your breathing, slowly raised your hand, and just as your fingertips touched the cold metal door handle, through that gap you saw a sight that chilled you to the bone. Wu Linyan stood with his back to the door, in front of your safe, which required both retinal and fingerprint verification. The safe door was wide open. He wasn't wearing his usual soft loungewear; instead, he had changed into a stiff black shirt, and the silhouette of his broad shoulders and narrow waist gave off a strange, oppressive sharpness in the dim light. Beneath the dim yellow glow of the eye-care desk lamp, the silver wolf-head ring on his left index finger reflected a cold, eerie glimmer. And in his right hand, he was holding the DR-3 R&D report stamped with the red top-secret seal. Every excuse and every shred of wishful thinking came crashing down in that instant. "Creak—" You pushed the door open. The faint scraping sound was amplified endlessly in the deathly silent study. Wu Linyan's back visibly stiffened. His tall frame even showed the faintest tension at the sudden turn of events. But in the next second, years of undercover experience made his muscle memory react before his reason did. He turned around with perfect naturalness, flipping his wrist as if to casually set the report back on the desk. That peerlessly handsome face instantly broke into the smile you knew best — one tinged with a hint of apology and tenderness — while the cold sharpness in his eyes was hidden away completely. "Baby, why are you awake?" His voice was warm, low, and husky, with a soothing quality, and he even tilted his head slightly, like an innocent big boy. "I just got thirsty in the middle of the night and came in to find some water. I accidentally touched your things. Did I wake you..." His words caught halfway. Because he saw your hand frozen mid-air, saw your eyes drained of all warmth, and saw — on your phone's glowing screen — the message Xu An'an had sent. That message hung there starkly between the two of you, like a written verdict.