Chapter 8: Entangled by Inner Demons

I do not fear this cold, unfeeling world—because I, too, am cold and unfeeling.

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The torrential rain seemed endless, drenching and devouring every corner, until the winding trails of water gradually morphed into streaks of glaring crimson.

In a haze, I seemed to see, by the roadside where traffic surged ceaselessly, a pair of middle-aged spouses locked in a relentless quarrel, shoving each other in a tangled struggle.

Suddenly, the man pushed with all his might. The woman’s high heel twisted beneath her, and, with nothing to steady her, she fell backward—directly into the path of an onrushing car…

A muffled thunderclap tore open the dark sky, roaring as it crashed toward the earth.

“No—!” On an empty bed, Lu Huaining jerked awake from a fevered nightmare, bolting upright. All he saw was the beige curtain fluttering as the wind howled through the window’s narrow crack.

The scenes from his dream replayed endlessly in his mind. Perhaps, because he had not witnessed firsthand the catastrophe that destroyed his life, he was condemned to piece together those surveillance video fragments in his dreams, over and over.

Each time, the nightmare was more brutal, more agonizing.

He closed his eyes, feeling his blood boiling in his veins, the pounding in his temples so loud it seemed audible. He realized, dimly, that his pajamas were once again soaked through with cold sweat on a night like this.

Under the faint glow of the night lamp, the locked bedroom door was quietly opened with a spare key. In the hush, the gentle breathing of a girl could be heard.

In the dim light, Lu Huaining stood at the threshold. He could just make out the outline of a huddled figure on the bed, but his own elongated shadow on the floor was clear.

His hand tightened on the doorknob, knuckles whitening as he gripped it more firmly.

The person in the bed seemed to sense the intrusion, turning slightly. When Lu Huaining caught a glimpse of her face, a dangerous glint flashed in his cold gaze.

The poor door, spared from being slammed in anger, nonetheless symbolized the last vestige of resistance in the man’s heart finally closing.

Bare-chested, Lu Huaining walked into the living room, picked up his phone, dialed a number, and let his low voice drift through the vast space: “Find out. I want all information on her daughter.”

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A night’s rain seemed to wash the city’s air clean.

“Hiss…” As Xue Zuining sat up, she inadvertently brushed the scrape on her elbow. After a night, the shallow wound had already formed a brown scab.

Knock, knock!

The sudden knock on the door made Xue Zuining hastily roll down her sleeves. But before she could respond, there was a sharp “click”—the door she clearly remembered locking had been opened.

Startled by the person in the doorway, Xue Zuining scrambled backward into the bedding, her angry eyes accusing the unwelcome intruder. “Get out!”

“Get out?” Lu Huaining sneered coldly, an amused smirk on his lips. “This is my house. If anyone should leave, it’s you.” His gaze mocked her as she clutched the corner of the blanket. “What are you so afraid of? Don’t tell me you’re not dressed?”

As the man advanced slowly, sunlight streaming in only made his icy presence sharper. Xue Zuining threw off the covers, preparing to leap from the bed, but he caught her and pulled her back in place.

“Ah! Pervert—!” Xue Zuining squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, but the man had already released her, standing by the bed with arms crossed, watching her.

“If I truly were a pervert, you’d be in the hospital by now,” Lu Huaining said, his deep voice masking an undercurrent of menace as he pressed a knee into the bed, pinning her. “Or, if you like, you can try standing before me with nothing on. Who knows, maybe I’d be tempted. Hmm?”

“Degenerate!” Furious, Xue Zuining hurled a pillow at him.

Lu Huaining merely chuckled, unfazed, and as he rose, he left a business card on the nightstand.

“What is this?” Xue Zuining picked up the card, puzzled. She glanced at the man beside her—Lu Huaining, so that was his name?

“I don’t need this,” she said, handing the card back. “Thank you for putting me up last night, but I don’t think our paths will cross again.”

“We won’t meet again?” Lu Huaining regarded her pure yet stubborn eyes and replied coolly, “Keep it. You never know—this place might become your refuge again.” He smiled faintly. “Besides, you still owe me.”

Owe him? Xue Zuining’s puzzled gaze met his half-smile, sensing some hidden implication. Before she could speak, his eyes turned cold in an instant, and he was already heading for the door.

“Oh, and the code for the villa’s main gate is the last six digits of my phone number. Remember it.” With those words, his indifferent figure disappeared from view.

“What a weirdo!” Xue Zuining muttered in frustration, tossing the card onto the quilt. Only then did she recall breaking his photo frame the previous night.

Did he mean she owed him for that?

Looking around the guest room, she noted that every item was far grander than anything in her own modest home. Would someone like him really care about a cheap, broken frame?

He truly was a man whose temperament she could not fathom.

In the spacious back seat of the Bentley, the man gazed out the window at the scenery sliding by. Perhaps because of last night’s rain, the sun shone unimpeded today, casting brilliant light on the lush leaves of the street trees, dappling the sidewalk with pools of radiance—like gently spinning neon, but with a purity that only nature could bestow.

Old Ma, the chauffeur, glanced at Lu Huaining’s unchanged expression in the rearview mirror. As the car rolled to a stop at a red light, he kept his eyes ahead, though his voice was respectful. “Young Master, early this morning, the old madam asked about your not coming home last night.”

“Is that so? Grandmother is up early,” Lu Huaining finally allowed a touch of warmth to melt his cool demeanor at the mention of his only living relative. A faint, genuine smile appeared. “What did you say to her?”

Old Ma cleared his throat. “I told her the company has kept you busy lately, and you had no time for anything else.”

When the light turned green, the car eased forward again.

A shadow crossed Lu Huaining’s eyes. Thinking back, ever since he had abruptly taken over all the Lu family’s affairs, he truly had been so busy that even visits to his grandmother were rare, and he had little time to entertain friends, either.

After a pause, he said, “Take me to the office, then go to the old house and tell my grandmother I’ll have dinner with her tonight.”

With that, he let out a deep breath—only to find that the face haunting his mind was that one he could not forget.