Yu Ning woke up.

She lay flat on the bed. Even though her mind had been clear during the dream, she felt dizzy and groggy upon waking. She blinked slowly several times.

It was not yet dawn. The room was pitch black, making her already muddled head feel even more confused, as if she didn’t know what time or era it was.

She reached out to the side in a daze, though she still felt a flicker of irritation in her heart.

Thinking of you, you brat, acting compliant to my face while doing the opposite behind my back. You spoke so sincerely in reality, claiming you trusted me and hadn’t installed a tracking device…

Thinking of this, a sentence Ling Wangjin had once said suddenly popped into her mind—I don’t need to install a tracking device.

Yu Ning: ”…Damn.”

In a sense, with his level of positioning technology, he truly didn’t need a tracking device.

Yu Ning was amused by her own thought, but she was still angry.

She reached back, grabbed her pillow, and swiped it at the side, venting the frustration she had felt in the dream.

As it turned out, the pillow hit empty air.

She turned on the light. There was no one on the bed.

Yu Ning paused. She looked up at the wall clock: 4:20 AM.

Did he wake up a bit early today?

Although Ling Wangjin didn’t seem to need much sleep, he usually slept in with her on weekends.

Yu Ning climbed out of bed. As she stepped down, she absentmindedly patted the belly of the cat curled up at the foot of the bed.

The sensor lights outside the room flickered on one by one as she walked.

She saw the light was still on in the small gym downstairs and suddenly remembered those burgers from yesterday.

It seemed that for him, the calorie surplus was enough to force him to get up at 4:00 AM for an extra workout.

Yu Ning suddenly felt it was a bit funny and quickened her pace, wanting to go watch him lift weights.

As she stepped onto the last step, the sensor light here was brighter, illuminating the door to the left. She tilted her head to glance at it through the semi-darkness.

The door was wide open, and moonlight filtered in from the window, lighting up a corner of the bookshelf.

It was the study.

Yu Ning stopped walking, and the sensor light went out.

She remembered that he kept books in the study.

At this moment, many thoughts flooded Yu Ning’s mind.

The rebirth Jin Miao had told her about, along with Ling Wangjin’s words and actions in the dream…

It was difficult to pry his past experiences out of his mouth. Many things were beyond her control, and ultimately, she knew too little about him.

At this stage, she could only analyze things by comparing them to the dream. Perhaps she could learn the methods he used in the dream?

For example, starting from the details?

Yu Ning walked into the study.

At home, besides accompanying her, the gym and the study were the places Ling Wangjin frequented most.

She reached back and gently closed the door, then pressed the button for the desk lamp.

The bookshelf was a glass cabinet filled with quite a few books related to psychology.

This was normal; after all, the hospital he ran dealt with that field.

Yu Ning looked closely for a while and discovered that the books were categorized and showed a certain inclination.

Books regarding the influence of family on personality and psychology made up the majority, followed by some binders he had put together himself.

Yu Ning flipped through them. The books contained case studies, many of which were patients whose personalities had changed drastically after brain injuries…

Seeing this, she subconsciously touched her own head.

She parted the hair on her crown and felt a raised, strip-like scar running from her forehead to the back of her head. She had to be careful when wearing her hair down or tying it up, otherwise, she would accidentally end up with two parts in her hair.

She had fallen when she was a child and had received several stitches.

Yu Ning didn’t have much memory of the scar, only remembering her mother crying with a face full of tears.

She couldn’t remember exactly what happened, but it must have been an injury from playing with friends, right?

Ever since then, Yu Ning had become much more reserved.

Only when meeting relatives during holidays would they jokingly mention how incredibly rowdy she had been as a child.

Oh, so it seems this entire shelf of books was prepared for her.

Yu Ning shoved the book back into place.

She opened a few more cabinet doors but couldn’t find any clues regarding him.

It was also possible that she lacked Ling Wangjin’s ability to collect and analyze clues; even if some were placed right in front of her, she might not necessarily notice them.

It’s so hard, Yu Ning thought.

In the dream, watching him collect clues and track people so effortlessly made it look easy, but now that she was actually doing it, she realized it was all just a tangled mess.

How on earth does he aggregate and analyze these clues?

She wandered around the study in a daze, and after failing to find a lead, she gave up on trying to build an analysis of Ling Wangjin from scratch.

She would have to start from the precognitive dreams and prevent his next moves.

She could no longer give him taxi receipts; that habit had to change.

Yu Ning now highly suspected that some of her habits had been deliberately cultivated by him.

Wow, thinking about it this way, he really is a bit terrifying.

Yu Ning rubbed her arms.

She had already given him the receipts for the burger outing, although not as many as in the dream.

But she had to prepare for the worst. Even if there weren’t enough receipts, who knew what other methods he might have summarized to determine the meeting place between her and Jin Miao?

Assuming he determined the meeting spot, what would Ling Wangjin do next?

Yu Ning began to think ahead.

He wanted to figure out Jin Miao’s specific identity.

Now that the positioning was successful, how would he confirm Jin Miao’s identity?

Based on the previous dreams, Yu Ning leaned toward the idea that Ling Wangjin would try to fish information out of her.

There was a precedent for this.

He had done the same with Lao San, using probing questions and the content of her chats with Lao San to deduce her personality, thereby finding her weak points.

But come to think of it, it was always Ling Wangjin fishing for information from her.

When would she have the ability to reverse-engineer his tactics?

Yu Ning sighed silently.

Knock.

A light sound came from the door.

Yu Ning turned around. “Wangjin?”

“Yes.” Ling Wangjin’s voice came through the door panel. “May I come in?”

Yu Ning: “It’s fine, come in.”

It seemed she had stayed in the study for too long.

Yu Ning braced herself, preparing to face the upcoming challenge with full focus.

A hazy, amber light was cast from outside the door.

He seemed to have only turned on the kitchen light; the living room was still half-lit and half-dark.

Consequently, he was only partially illuminated as he stood before the door.

His face and most of his body were hidden in the shadows, yet a few areas were lit.

On his shoulders, the play of light and shadow created a slight contrast between his shoulders and neck, adding more depth.

Yu Ning saw the area connecting to his collarbone; it looked as if it were hollowed out, then pushed up by the rounded, taut muscles of his shoulder.

He looked like one of those half-body sculptures in an art studio—defined, sharp, and hard.

Yu Ning: “Why are you working out at this hour?”

She asked a question she already knew the answer to just to make conversation, tearing her gaze away so it wouldn’t act like a scanner, constantly sweeping over his body.

Ling Wangjin: “I ate too many burgers and needed to burn off some calories.”

He seemed to be panting, his voice carrying a breathy undertone.

Was he working out just now? Yu Ning’s ears began to burn.

Yu Ning: “Then don’t buy so many…”

Ling Wangjin: “I thought you would want to try all the flavors…”

He lowered his voice, sounding somewhat aggrieved, his head bowed as if in dejection while his back was to the light.

Don’t soften, don’t soften.

Yu Ning told herself in her heart.

Unable to help herself, her gaze turned back to him once more.

Damn it, he’s wearing a quick-dry shirt.

The fabric was so form-fitting it was slightly tight. There seemed to be a black line at the collar, no… two.

They traced an arc from the collar downward, perfectly circling his chest.

Three thick lines extended under his chest and along his ribs, giving this already tight garment a sense of sharp angles.

“Can’t sleep?” He walked into the study.

His breathing frequency had quickened after the exercise.

Yu Ning could hear the sound of his breath.

Yu Ning: ”…A little.”

She unconsciously took a breath, syncing with the sound of his breathing in her ears.

Ling Wangjin: “Are you restless?”

She exhaled as she watched him lean over, his hot breath brushing against the top of her head.

Yu Ning: ”…I’m alright.”

Ling Wangjin: “Really? You’re sweating on your forehead.”

Yu Ning: ”…It’s a bit hot.”

Yu Ning raised her hand to quickly wipe her forehead, then looked at him nervously.

Her whole body was tense, thinking that Ling Wangjin would definitely try to fish for information.

It had been like this several times before—the shirt, the unbuttoning…

Then a hug, followed by some sweet words, which would surely make her head spin, causing her to spill a truth or two.

Just as Yu Ning was thinking this, there was the swish sound of a tissue being pulled out.

He had taken a tissue and wiped her forehead.

But it was only a brief touch.

No hug?

Yu Ning looked up, somewhat surprised.

He took a step forward.

Yu Ning jumped, her entire body from her back to her neck stiffening as if an invisible hand had straightened her out.

The imagined hug did not come.

She let out a sigh of relief, but also felt inexplicably disappointed, watching longingly as he walked past her and pushed open the study window.

A cool night breeze blew in from outside.

Ling Wangjin: “Still hot?”

Yu Ning: ”…A bit better.”

A sliver of yellow light seeped in from outside the window; dawn was approaching.

Ling Wangjin turned his head, and that sliver of yellow light spilled onto his face, as if he were covered in a halo.

He smiled, his canine teeth poking out—two sharp points. “What do you want for breakfast?”

At this hour, besides McDonald’s and KFC, there was no takeout available, and having eaten burgers yesterday, she wanted to eat something Chinese.

Yu Ning: “Are there any greens at home? I want to eat egg noodles.”

Ling Wangjin: “The kind Lao San’s mother makes?”

“She told you?” Yu Ning hadn’t expected that in just a few days, their relationship seemed to have improved so much.

He gave an “mm” and blinked. Following the blink, Yu Ning felt as if he had scanned her face from top to bottom.

Ling Wangjin: “She probably took pity on me. She sent me an email telling me you like the egg noodles her mother makes and asked me to come over to cheer you up.”

Yu Ning was already numb to his ability to collect clues.

Yu Ning: “Make them for me. I want to see how much of Lao San’s mother’s craft you’ve learned.”

Ling Wangjin: “No problem, but I need to take a shower first.”

Yu Ning: “A shower?”

Her gaze drifted downward following the word, finally resting on his chest.

Before dawn, it had been dark, and she could only see faint outlines, but now the sun was gradually rising.

She saw the details on his clothing clearly. The fabric from the collar to his abdomen was a darker color, as if water had splashed onto it, dampening a patch that clung to his skin, vaguely outlining a few blurred muscle groups.

Ling Wangjin: “Yes, I was in such a rush to find you that I didn’t have time to shower.”

The restlessness she had finally suppressed surged back up. Yu Ning stared at his chest.

“You’re sweating so much… go wash up…”

“Alright, wait for me a moment.” He leaned in, reaching out as he usually did to give her a hug.

Yu Ning opened her arms, preparing to welcome the first hug of the day.

But his raised hand retracted slightly in mid-air, bypassed her arms, and lightly brushed her face before he quickly backed away and opened the distance.

Yu Ning swiped at empty air, looking at him in a daze, both bewildered and annoyed.

Ling Wangjin just smiled. “I’m sweaty, I’m dirty.”

After saying that, he turned around leisurely, grabbed the hem of his quick-dry shirt with both hands, and peeled it off from bottom to top.

Yu Ning saw the black shirt peel away, revealing two curved back muscles, which then unfolded with his movement of straightening his back, silently blooming like layered petals, shimmering in the warm light of the morning sun.

Ling Wangjin: “I’ll be quick.”

Yu Ning had been mesmerized and only came to her senses when he spoke.

Then, her gaze remained firmly glued to his back.

She watched him walk out of the study, and her limbs felt as if they were being pulled by invisible strings, following him out.

Ling Wangjin turned his head sideways. “Why are you following me?”

Yu Ning stared at his body and saw those two stretches of back muscle twist and tighten. Because he had turned to face her, half of his pectoral muscle also turned slightly toward her.

He must be doing this on purpose.

Yu Ning realized she couldn’t tear her eyes away at all.

“…Nothing, I’m just going the same way.”

Ling Wangjin smiled without a word.

Yu Ning was annoyed by his smile. “If you need to shower, hurry up and go!”

After watching him enter the bathroom, Yu Ning finally pulled her gaze away from him.

How can he have such a huge attraction?

She found a beanbag chair and sat down, feeling very depressed.

Yu Ning sat with her head tilted back for a while, feeling a wave of restlessness that made her sit upright.

But sitting felt uncomfortable too; that restlessness made her uneasy. After sitting for a short while, she stood up again.

Yu Ning was well-versed in this kind of restlessness. She first paced back and forth in the living room, saw the Pikachu cup on the coffee table, picked it up, went to the kitchen to wash it, filled it with warm water, and continued to pace the living room while drinking.

Just as she had calmed down a bit, she heard it.

Splash.

The water in the bathroom splashed loudly.

Yu Ning was frozen in place by the sound of the water. She turned halfway toward the sound, her gaze shifting to the bathroom door.

He must be doing this on purpose.

Yu Ning thought.

She held the cup, drank the water in one go, took out her phone, turned the volume to the max, and opened Douyin.

Before the short video’s music could fill the entire living room.

Meow.

A fluffy little cat darted past her feet.

It ran meowing to the bathroom door, lifted its upper body, and placed two furry paws gently on the door, making a pat-pat sound.

Yu Ning: “Xiao Mi!”

She called out.

The cat’s ears twitched, and it turned its round face toward her, meowing as well.

The family cat, Guai Guai, was still young and at the age where it was clingy, liking to follow people around; even when someone was showering, it would claw at the door to follow them inside.

The cat sat in front of the bathroom door, wagging its tail, meowing softly, and its two paws kept scratching and sliding against the door.

“Xiao Mi, he’s showering. Be a good boy.”

Yu Ning put the cup on the coffee table, her mind flashing back to the nickname Ling Wangjin had changed to on WeChat.

For a moment, she didn’t know which “good boy” she was talking to.

The little cat circled the door, meowing several times. The soft, sweet sound made even Yu Ning’s heart soften.

She walked over immediately, preparing to pick Xiao Mi up.

Before she reached the door, the bathroom door suddenly pushed open a crack.

A white mist mixed with the scent of lemon sprayed out from the gap, hitting her square in the face.

The cat squeezed inside through the crack with a meow.

Yu Ning heard a laugh mixed in with the drip-drop sound of the water.

Ling Wangjin: “Come on in…”