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墨書 Inktalez
After finishing her shower and drying her hair, Yao Nian emerged from the bathroom nearly an hour later. She hurried to the kitchen to heat a cup of milk for herself.
Qiao Shuzhen had once mentioned that drinking a glass of milk before bed could help with sleep. Yao Nian had scoffed at the idea until she found herself struggling with insomnia and decided to give it a try.
Holding the warm cup of milk, she lay down on her bed and absentmindedly picked up her phone. A WeChat message was displayed on the screen.
She paused for a moment, then quickly sat up and unlocked her phone. It was a message from Shen Du, sent almost immediately after she had reached out to him.
“Be punctual. Get some rest as soon as you’re home.”
Yao Nian stared at the chat box, hesitating as she typed and deleted her response repeatedly. It felt inappropriate to reply at this hour, and an inexplicable gloom settled over her. In frustration, she turned off the screen and buried herself under the silk comforter.
She couldn’t recall when she fell asleep.
A strange sensation washed over her, and in her dream, she found herself adrift on a misty sea, a small boat floating on the surface of a lake.
The sunlight shattered against the water, casting glimmers onto an old man fishing on the opposite shore. He leaned forward, his large hat obscuring his face, making it impossible to discern his features.
The little boat drifted closer to the shore, creating ripples that swelled one after another. Suddenly, the fishing rod in the old man's hand transformed into a brush, ink dripping into the lake. The inky edges spread outwards, turning the once-clear water pitch black in an instant.
The old man looked up; his pointed ears twitched slightly. What appeared to be an elderly man was actually a cat, dark as midnight.
As the sun rose high in the sky, Yao Nian was jolted awake by the cold air from the air conditioner that had been running all night.
Shivering, she got out of bed in search of the remote control. As she rubbed her eyes, a strong aroma of food wafted through the air, catching her attention.
Since Qiao Shuzhen had left nearly a month ago, no cooking had taken place in their home. The smell was undeniably strange.
Groggy and confused, Yao Nian opened her bedroom door and followed the scent down the stairs.
“Li Ayi?” she called out while rubbing her eyes.
Li Ayi was their part-time housekeeper who occasionally came by to clean. At this hour, Yao Nian couldn’t think of anyone else who would be in the house besides her.
Barefoot, she crossed the living room and headed straight for the kitchen.
Wait!
She paused mid-step.
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw someone sitting on the sofa.
Yao Nian instinctively took two steps back in surprise.
When she finally recognized the person in front of her, her pupils trembled slightly, and her mouth hung open for a long moment without closing. She rubbed her eyes again, almost convinced she was hallucinating.
Shen Du leaned back on the sofa, his fingers pausing as he flipped through a file. The girl, with her messy long hair and a look of sleepiness on her face, met his gaze, and her expression visibly shifted from confusion to shock.
With a smile, Shen Du closed the file and waved at her. "Good morning."
Yao Nian silently glanced down at her cartoon duck pajamas. Suddenly, a surge of energy propelled her to dash upstairs in a flash, slamming the door behind her with a bang.
Aunt Li emerged from the kitchen, rubbing her hands on her apron and asking suspiciously, "Is Xiao Nian awake?"
Shen Du watched her retreating figure with an increasingly amused expression.
Leaning against the door, Yao Nian's head buzzed—how could Shen Du be at her house?! Before she could gather her thoughts, Aunt Li's voice called from outside, "Xiao Nian? You can come out for dinner now; I made your favorite soy sauce duck."
Yao Nian's voice was barely a whisper as she replied, "I’ll be down in a moment."
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