Volume One, Chapter 15: I Know Where She Is

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Yu Jin dared not go downstairs to look. Her fingers trembled as she fumbled for the keys in her bag, struggling to fit the key into the lock.

She dropped the plastic grocery bag in her hand and peered through the peephole. A dark figure stood at the stairwell's corner, lingering without leaving or coming forward.

Someone was really following her.

Terrified, she stepped back and grabbed the phone left on the table. Trembling all over, her hand shook as she dialed a string of numbers.

Before she finished the eleven digits, the screen displayed the name “Lawyer Zhou.”

Hesitating for a moment, she pressed the call button.

After three seconds of ringing with no answer, Yu Jin realized what she was doing and ended the call.

She thought she must be crazy to even consider calling Zhou Jincheng.

It was probably because they had just parted downstairs that he naturally came to her mind.

She grabbed the fruit knife from the table but quickly felt uneasy and set it down, then ran to the kitchen. This time, she came out holding a rolling pin.

She couldn’t bring herself to hurt anyone—she would be sent back to prison again, and she still had to care for Xiao Jing.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She shivered in fright, and the rolling pin slipped from her hands, rolling to her feet.

“Who is it?”

She didn’t dare move, standing rigid in the living room, her face paler than her lips.

“Miss Yu, it’s me.”

It was the landlady’s voice.

“Aunt Zhang, it’s so late. Is something wrong?”

Yu Jin breathed a slight sigh of relief, bent down to pick up the rolling pin, and held it tightly in her hands without putting it down.

“I just wanted to ask if you’ll continue renting next semester. I have a relative coming to Jingjiang City in a few months and they’re struggling to find a place to stay. If you’re not renewing...”

“I’m renting, Aunt Zhang.”

Without hesitation, Yu Jin answered firmly.

“That’s good. I’ll head back then. Get some rest.”

“Wait, Aunt Zhang, did you see anyone when you came upstairs?”

“No, I didn’t see anyone.”

The landlady lived on the first floor—how could she not have noticed someone on the stairs? Was it all in Yu Jin’s imagination?

At that moment, the phone screen suddenly lit up.

Zhou Jincheng was calling.

Yu Jin answered, her voice trembling.

“Hello...”

The man’s voice was magnetic, cool and distant.

“Yeah, I’m downstairs.”

“You’re still downstairs?”

Yu Jin didn’t want to say anything more. Since the landlady hadn’t seen anyone, it must have been a mistake.

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“What’s the matter?”

Zhou Jincheng sounded slightly breathless, as if he had just finished intense exercise.

Seeing the missed call, he immediately turned back the way he came.

“I thought someone was following me, but it was probably just my imagination. It’s fine now.”

Yu Jin was about to hang up.

A low voice came from the phone: “Wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“Hello...”

The call wasn’t disconnected, but he didn’t reply.

Footsteps echoed again in the stairwell—this time the steady sound of leather shoes ascending.

Yu Jin looked through the peephole and recognized Zhou Jincheng.

Almost at the same moment, he pressed down on the door handle and pushed open the door.

Strands of hair fell across his forehead. His expression was cold and stern, standing in the dark hallway, his sharp features even more striking.

His moon-white tailored shirt hugged broad shoulders and a narrow waist; his bespoke trousers accentuated his long legs.

Even with his back to the light, she would never mistake him.

“Get me a flashlight.”

Yu Jin replied softly and found one in the living room drawer, handing it to him.

Zhou Jincheng took the black flashlight, which looked remarkably small in his hand.

“I’m going upstairs to check.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Yu Jin picked up the rolling pin left on the table, grasping it tightly with both hands, her gaze steady on him.

“Alright.”

Zhou Jincheng’s tone was indifferent as his eyes briefly scanned her clear gaze. Behind his glasses, a strange expression flickered.

They ascended the stairs to the rooftop.

Yu Jin, afraid of the dark and with a fear of heights, instinctively clung to the hem of his suit jacket as she followed behind. Then, thinking better of it, she released her grip.

Zhou Jincheng felt the light tug and release at the jacket’s edge but said calmly, “I’m not obsessive about cleanliness.”

Yu Jin responded with a rising intonation.

Since when did he lose his obsession with cleanliness? Did marrying Wen Yu change him?

Or was his old fastidiousness reserved only for her?

When they spent nights outside school, he always chose the best hotels, not just because of cleanliness but also his mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

No matter how late or tired he was after making love, he would immediately get up to shower—and insist she shower too.

If she was too weak to move, he would carry her to the bathroom and drop her into the bathtub.

When she said she had no strength, he would squat down and help her.

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Only after both had bathed and fresh sheets were on the bed could they sleep soundly.

She once wondered if all the money he earned as an intern at the law firm each month was spent on this.

She had told him it didn’t matter, that being with him was enough, no matter where.

Looking back, she realized how foolish those words were.

Zhou Jincheng probably thought the same—letting him take advantage while trying to save him money.

“Come out yourself.”

His face was stern as he looked ahead at a pile of miscellaneous items not far away.

Yu Jin peeked over and felt a chill—someone really had been following her and had hidden on the rooftop.

“Should we call the police?”

She asked softly, but Zhou Jincheng shook his head.

Boxes and plastic pipes were stacked neatly, with a pair of pants peeking out—a deep blue cotton-linen fabric with a colorful floral trim at the cuffs.

Could it be a little girl?

The pile shifted twice, and a small, hesitant girl emerged.

She was slender and lively, wearing a silver necklace around her neck, with long, straight black hair reaching her waist and healthy wheat-colored skin.

“Don’t call the police.”

“It’s me—we’ve met before.”

The little girl spoke anxiously. She wore a deep blue cotton-linen long-sleeved shirt and pants, carried a matching cloth bag on her back, and held something like a bronze compass in her hand.

Yu Jin looked at Zhou Jincheng, puzzled.

He glanced down at her with an even colder expression.

“She’s the granddaughter of a shaman from a nearby village.”

The little girl ran over happily.

“That’s great, you still remember me.”

She unbuckled her backpack and carefully put the bronze compass inside before slinging it back over her shoulder, as if she had just finished some task.

“I can’t take your money for nothing. Since I’ve been paid, I have to help you find the person.”

“I’m not just good at saying auspicious things to make people happy—I do have real skills, just not very refined.”

Zhou Jincheng said nothing, the crease between his brows deepening.

Yu Jin, standing beside them, felt a bad premonition and her heart grew wary. She curled her fingers, feeling the damp sweat in her palm.

His cold, scrutinizing gaze fell upon the little girl as he tried to maintain a calm exterior.

Aside from looking for her, she couldn’t imagine who else Zhou Jincheng might be searching for lately.

The little girl’s demeanor hardly seemed like someone searching for a person; if anything, she looked ready to summon a spirit.

Just as Yu Jin was about to say something, the girl locked eyes with her sharply, squinting before speaking first.

“I know where she is.”

The words were clearly meant for Zhou Jincheng.