Lu Phong was a seasoned fox in the business world. The suspicious ease with which he obtained the blueprints didn't bring him joy; instead, it sent a chill of doubt down his spine. He avoided standard surveillance, fearing he might alert that "madwoman." Instead, using a thick wad of cash, he bribed the building manager for a master key. He decided to break into Lin Yan's apartment in broad daylight while she was busy at her shop, seeking proof for a frantic theory: Shen Zhe was still alive.
Inside the room, Shen Zhe sat at his drawing desk. His legs were no longer shackled, but his soul had long since voluntarily nailed itself to this space. The scratching of his pencil on paper was the only sound in a silence thick with the scent of withered flowers and stale smoke.
Click.
The lock turned softly, with extreme caution. Shen Zhe's heart seized; his breath stalled. That wasn't Lin Yan's distinctive knock. A cold jolt of electricity surged down his spine. The instinct of a hunted beast kicked in, and he scrambled to grab a wooden cane with an iron-capped head, vanishing behind the heavy black curtain shielding the bed.
Lu Phong stepped inside, and he wasn't empty-handed. In his grip was a stun gun, emitting a faint, menacing hum. He paced the room with disgust, using the toe of his shoe to flip over scattered sketches on the floor. He scoured every corner, from the grimy kitchen to the musty bathroom. Finally, he stopped before the only remaining curtain, the spot where the stench of cigarette smoke was strongest.
"Come out, Shen Zhe. Stop playing these cheap games of hide-and-seek. The smell of tobacco and the rot of a man who cheated death can't be hidden," Lu Phong's voice rang out, mocking and triumphant.
Shen Zhe slowly emerged from the shadows. Two former friends, two perennial rivals, now faced each other in a situation steeped in irony. One was a polished businessman in a crisp suit; the other, a gaunt ghost with unkempt hair and pallid skin, his eyes burning with a searing, vengeful fire.
Lu Phong sneered, his gaze sweeping over Shen Zhe's crippled legs. "So the once-renowned architectural genius is content living like a dog under a madwoman's floorboards? Look at you, Zhe. You're so pathetic I almost don't want to bother. Do you have any idea how sick Lin Yan is? She doesn't love you. She just wants to cage you like a plaything—a broken doll for her to nurse to soothe her own twisted guilt."
"Shut up!" Shen Zhe growled, his voice rasping from months of near-silence.
"Do you think your flawed blueprint will kill me? I've already alerted the police about Lin Yan's illegal detention. They'll be here in five minutes. You'll be free, but it'll be the freedom of a mental ward. Everyone thinks you're dead; now you show up looking like this—no identity, no assets. Who would believe you're the prestigious heir of the Shen family?"
At that moment, the door burst open. Lin Yan charged in like a whirlwind. Seeing Lu Phong leveling a stun gun at her "treasure," her composure vanished. Without a second's hesitation, she lunged like a wild animal, biting down with all her might on the wrist holding the weapon.
"You bastard! I told you never to touch him!" her scream was soul-shredding.
Lu Phong roared in pain, swinging his arm in a brutal backhand that sent Lin Yan crashing to the floor. Her head struck the sharp edge of the wooden table. Fresh blood bloomed, streaming down her porcelain cheek and soaking into her collar.
Seeing the crimson stain on Lin Yan's face—the only person who had stood by him when the world turned its back—the final thread of Shen Zhe's sanity snapped. A dark, primal power erupted within him.
He lunged forward, no longer caring about his crippled legs. He swung the iron-capped cane with every ounce of resentment accumulated over the months. A sickening thud echoed as the head of the cane slammed into Lu Phong's jaw. The businessman collapsed, the stun gun skittering away. Shen Zhe pinned him down, his bloodshot eyes devoid of humanity.
Fist after fist rained down on Lu Phong's polished face like a sledgehammer. The sound of breaking bone and the wet smack of impact filled the cramped room.
"You dared to touch her? You dared to touch the only world I have left?" Shen Zhe roared, every word punctuated by a devastating blow. Lu Phong's resistance grew weak until he went limp, his face completely mangled beneath the fury of a man driven to the edge.
When Lin Yan managed to sit up, she saw a sight both horrific and beautiful: Shen Zhe sitting on the floor, gasping for air, his hands drenched in blood that dripped onto the tiles. Lu Phong lay motionless, unconscious. Shen Zhe looked up at her, his eyes no longer reflecting weakness or retreat, but a dark, unwavering resolve.
"Yan... we can't stay here. He called the police," his voice was now eerily calm.
Lin Yan crawled to him, her trembling hands cupping his blood-stained face. She laughed—a radiant laugh amidst a pool of blood and tears. "You saved me... You chose me over your pride, over your world. Zhe, finally, you belong to me completely."
She kissed his lips, the metallic tang of blood acting as an unholy bond. "Let's go. I've already prepared another place. Somewhere deeper, darker—where no one, not even the gods, can find us. There, you will be mine forever."
As the distant wail of police sirens drifted in from afar, two dark shadows leaned on each other and stepped out of the room, leaving behind the ruins of their past.