Ouyang Yu knelt down, his head tilted up. The scar on his left cheek was now visible, making him look particularly menacing. "I was wrong."

"Lin Fan?" someone called from behind. Lin Fan quickly sheathed her short sword and turned around, realizing they were at the school gate. She hid her hand behind her back as Lei Xiaojia walked over quickly, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Then I'm leaving." Ouyang Yu said softly.

Lin Fan's mind raced, "You're not allowed to leave."

"Who's this?" Lei Xiaojia looked behind her. Lin Fan said, "A friend. Do you need something?"

"I didn't see Uncle Qin come to pick you up. My mom is here and wants to take you home."

"He'll be here soon." Lin Fan said, "You can go ahead."

Lei Xiaojia looked suspiciously at Ouyang Yu and then at Lin Fan, "So, I'm leaving?"

"Go on."

Lei Xiaojia walked away, looking back every few steps. Lin Fan stared at Ouyang Yu, deciding to test him. She only had fragmented memories of her past life, but Ouyang Yu's reaction gave her some clues. He must have mistaken someone else before; the princess he was loyal to on her sickbed was actually Lin Fan herself.

Ouyang Yu kept his head down. Lin Fan stared at him, "Let me ask you this: were you responsible for the heart-extraction case?"

Ouyang Yu shook his head and looked up, his phoenix eyes filled with deep emotion. Lin Fan took a half step back, "Were you involved in my grandparents' deaths? Were you involved with the seven corpses under my old house? Where are you going now?"

Ouyang Yu stared directly at Lin Fan, his gaze darkening.

Lin Fan smiled and raised her head, "If you're a man, if you're a real man, then take responsibility for your crimes."

Ouyang Yu continued to look at her. Lin Fan said no more.

She wanted to call the police but feared Ouyang Yu might become murderous again. She wasn't sure she could defeat him.

Ouyang Yu didn't move, silently watching Lin Fan. After a long standoff, Ouyang Yu said, "Once I've finished what I need to do, I'll give you my life. Do with me as you wish."

Lin Fan raised her eyebrows. Ouyang Yu turned and quickly left. Lin Fan opened her mouth to speak. Where was the righteousness from a moment ago? Where were the vows just now? How could he just run away?

She quickly called Qin Feng. He answered promptly, and Lin Fan walked towards a crowd of people, "I saw Ouyang Yu."

"What did he want?"

"I don't know. First, he knelt and begged for forgiveness, acting all mysterious, and then he just ran away."

There was silence on the other end of the line. Lin Fan said, "Can you catch him?"

"He's not human anymore," Qin Feng's tone was heavy. "I saw him on Monday too, but I couldn't catch him. He escaped, and the surveillance cameras didn't catch him."

Lin Fan felt her mood sour after the encounter with Ouyang Yu, "What do we do now?"

"He shouldn't harm you," Qin Feng said. "Stay with my parents tonight. We'll talk when I get back tomorrow."

"Okay."

She hung up, and soon Qin Yunke's car arrived. His driver got out and loaded her bag into the car. Lin Fan got in and saw Qin Yunke, smiling, "Uncle Qin."

"How's your studying?" Qin Yunke, who was stern, asked standard questions.

Lin Fan quickly straightened up, "It's okay."

"When's your winter break?"

"It shouldn't be too long," Lin Fan turned to look at Qin Yunke and smiled. "Besides, it's still two months away. We'll see what the school decides then."

"Your aunt wants to take the whole family on a trip for the New Year."

"Does Qin Feng have a break?"

"We're not taking him."

Lin Fan laughed. Qin Yunke said, "He ruins the fun, workaholic."

Their common complaint was always Qin Feng. Lin Fan looked out the window, hoping everyone in this family would stay safe and healthy, free from illness, and live long lives.

Qin Feng returned on Saturday night. They had already finished dinner, and Lin Fan was in her room doing homework. While she was working, she heard voices outside, likely Qin Feng, making her heart race.

She continued her homework, not daring to go out. Soon, the door opened, and Lin Fan quickly turned around to see Qin Feng. He had taken off his coat and was wearing a sweater and casual pants.

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Lin Fan blinked. Qin Feng walked over, pressed the back of her chair, and leaned down to kiss her hard on the lips before letting go. His gaze fell on her worksheet, "Not done yet? What were you doing all day?"

His voice was hoarse, and he smelled of tobacco. Lin Fan blushed, feeling pressured. She huffed and continued her homework, "Auntie took me to work out. Almost done."

Qin Feng let go of Lin Fan and sat on the desk beside her, watching her.

After a while, Qin Feng bent over and pointed at her worksheet, "That's wrong."

Lin Fan looked closely and realized it was wrong. She quickly erased it, dropped her pen, and got up, pulling Qin Feng towards the door, "You go out first. I'll find you when I'm done. I can't do my homework with you here. You're so annoying."

Qin Feng propped himself against the study door, his black eyes smiling, "Are you staying here or going back tonight?"

"Either way, I'll find you when I'm done."

Qin Feng held the door and didn't let go, "Kiss me."

Lin Fan tiptoed to look outside, but Qin Feng blocked her view, "No one's watching, hurry up."

Under pressure, Lin Fan kissed him on the chin, "Go away."

Qin Feng laughed—the study door closed in his face. He touched his nose and walked to the dining room. His mother was setting the table, "Come eat, don't bother her. She hasn't finished her homework."

Qin Feng picked up his chopsticks, "Did you go to the gym?"

"She needs to work out more; it's not good to be too weak." Qin's mother pulled out a chair opposite and sat down, looking at Qin Feng, "Why don't you two get engaged?"

"Not yet."

Qin's mother thought for a moment and said, "Are you going back tonight?"

"No, I have to leave at five in the morning, no time."

Qin's mother sighed, "What kind of job is this, always so busy."

Qin Feng didn't reply, continuing to eat. Qin's mother asked, "Any progress on Xiaoyu's case?"

"No."

Talking about Qin Yu made the whole family silent. It was their family's pain.

"Your uncle and aunt are not doing well. Visit them when you can."

"Okay." Qin Feng ate without tasting the food. They had been investigating the heart-extraction case day and night, trying to find clues, but it was too clean.

——

Lin Fan finished her homework at eleven. Qin Feng knocked on the door, "Are you done?"

Lin Fan opened the door and stretched her arms, "Yes—" Seeing Qin Feng in a bathrobe, his chest partly exposed, she quickly looked away, "I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll wait for you."

These words were somewhat ambiguous. Lin Fan glanced at Qin Feng again before grabbing her clothes and heading into the bathroom.

When she came out after her shower, Qin Feng scooped her up horizontally, startling Lin Fan. She clutched his clothes and whispered, "What are you doing? Uncle and Aunt are home."

Qin Feng closed and locked the door, pressing Lin Fan onto the bed and kissing her forehead. He spoke in a low voice, "Don't scream too loudly."

Lin Fan's face heated up, "What are you doing—mm, don't touch there."

They didn't turn on the light, caressing each other in the dark, listening to each other's breaths. Lin Fan rolled over, lying on top of Qin Feng, carefully kissing him, "Qin Feng."

"Yes?"

"Are we being a bit reckless?"

"No." Qin Feng pinned Lin Fan beneath him, lowering his head to kiss her, gradually moving downward. Lin Fan panted, not knowing what he intended until he touched a sensitive spot. Lin Fan tried to pull him away, but Qin Feng held her hands down, chuckling, "Don't move."

Qin Feng had always been direct before or used his hands, but this time was different. Lin Fan's mind went blank, her breathing rapid. Suddenly, she reached the peak, turning to bite the pillow to muffle her scream as the intense sensation coursed from her toes to her brain. As she was still recovering, Qin Feng lifted her up and entered her.

Lin Fan shuddered again, biting his shoulder with a muffled cry. Feeling like she was losing her mind, Qin Feng kissed her forehead, "Don't be so tense, relax."

Lin Fan clung to his neck to avoid him going too deep, gritting her teeth before finally catching her breath, "Are you trying to kill me?"

Qin Feng laughed, stroking her hair, "Do you like it?"

Lin Fan closed her eyes, panting, "No."

Qin Feng pressed down on her waist, sinking deeper, "How about this?"

Lin Fan, both embarrassed and angry, bit him again. After an exhausting ordeal, she finally lay limp in Qin Feng's arms, regaining her composure, "You're insane."

Qin Feng turned on the bedside lamp, pulled the blanket over her, and stroked her hair, "I have to leave at five tomorrow morning."

"Where to?"

"Ying County," Qin Feng said. "I need to re-investigate the Yin Sha case."

Lin Fan pressed close to him, opening her eyes, "How long will you be gone? Do you have any leads? Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know how long. This case involves too many people. If I can't make progress, I'll be out of a job." Qin Feng looked at Lin Fan, unable to get enough of her. The little girl was becoming more beautiful, now shedding some of her youthful awkwardness, making him even more captivated.

"What's going on with Ouyang Yu?"

"He was at your old home, and you almost died by his hand. He mistook someone else for you," Qin Feng said.

"I knew it. He's so stupid." Lin Fan closed her eyes again, turning her back to Qin Feng. "He tried to extract my soul at my old house. The Yin Sha there was definitely his doing, but we can't catch him now."

"Did you remember?"

Qin Feng kissed the back of her neck. Lin Fan turned to look at him for a moment, then nodded, "I remembered after drinking too much that day."

No wonder she was so wild that day. Qin Feng didn't want to explain further, gently touching her face, "Sleep."

Lin Fan closed her eyes, "I hope you stay safe. I want to be with you for a long time."

She didn't ask for a lifetime, just a little more time. She hadn't had enough of being with Qin Feng.

The next morning, when Lin Fan woke up, Qin Feng was already gone. She dazedly got up and headed straight to school. The events of last night left her tired, and Lin Fan felt drowsy during her morning classes, struggling to stay awake.

Lei Xiaojia poked her, "Don't sleep. Let me show you something to wake you up."

Lin Fan turned around, "What?"

"This Weibo account is famous. It summarizes real-life paranormal events. It gives me chills."

Lin Fan looked at her phone screen. She also followed this Weibo account, so she took a closer look. The title was a recent list of the top ten eerie events in Jiangcheng, not for the faint-hearted.

"Our school is on the list. Isn't that scary?"

Lin Fan took the phone and scrolled down to find the terrifying legend of the Sixteenth High School. Its horror index ranked eighth, claiming that one could hear ghostly wails at midnight in the old library.

Lin Fan handed the phone back, laying her head on the desk with her eyes closed, "We've been studying here for so long. Have you ever heard any wails? Last time, this blogger said there was a woman crying in the old building of Zhongming, and it turned out to be a ghost. Guess what happened?"

"I know about that. The police found a woman who had been imprisoned at the construction site behind the building. It was on the news. But it did prove that the Weibo account wasn't lying."

"But does it have anything to do with ghosts?" Lin Fan asked.

Lei Xiaojia was stunned, "Then do you think there's an imprisoned woman in our library too?"

Lin Fan, too sleepy to care about the topic, mumbled, "Maybe not a ghost. Our school is so big and well-managed; it's unlikely there are any imprisonments. Whatever it is, let me sleep first, and we can discuss it when I wake up."