The sun was high, but to Jin Yuexin, the air outside felt cold and thin, like she was breathing through a straw.
Her sandals slapped against the hallway tiles as she sprinted, her breath uneven, legs trembling with every step.
The door to Su ilin’s apartnt was closed, a different number, not far at all. But for Yuexin, it might as well have been across the city.
Her fingers jamd the bell, pressing it over and over again. "Please, please, open the door!" she whispered, voice shaking, barely audible.
No response.
She began to bang her fists against the door. "ilin! ilin, please! It’s Yuexin! Please, it’s an ergency! Open up!"
Still nothing.
"M-my nanny is sick! She has a heart attack... So please... Please open the door!" she started to sob, as she fell to the floor, feeling helpless.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might explode. The edges of her vision blurred. Her eyes stung with fresh tears, her breath catching in her throat like knives.
Yeuexin didn’t know anyone in this unit. Every ti Aunty Liu talks about them, she always turns her attention. For her, everyone’s problem wasn’t her, and she wasn’t interested in anyone doing.
But now, she was in despair, she didn’t know who to call. Her brother wasn’t here to help her... She needed to do it herself or her nanny would die because she couldn’t help her!
And Yuexin couldn’t live with that kind of reality.
She stood up slowly, running to the next door over, then another. It didn’t matter who. Anyone. Soone had to help.
She rang the bell. But now answer and she turned to bang on their door.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Hello? Please! I-I need help!" she cried.
Her voice was small, fragile, but louder than she had ever dared outside her apartnt.
No one ca.
No one answered.
"Please," she choked out, tears now streaming freely.
Her legs buckled slightly, but she grabbed onto the railing to steady herself. All she could think of was her nanny’s pale face, twisted in pain, her breath short, her eyes dim.
Was she still breathing? Was she even still alive?
Yuexin didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know where the hospital was, didn’t know how to call a taxi, didn’t even have the strength to face the world beyond this floor.
But just as the weight of despair crushed her chest, a voice called from behind.
"Yuexin?"
She turned sharply, startled.
A man was walking up the hallway, his pace steady, his expression oddly calm for soone in such a chaotic mont.
Su Jinhe.
Her body instinctively took a step back. She didn’t like him. Not just because of what Aunty Liu had said but there was always sothing cold behind his eyes, like a snake hiding in a smile and his words were always sharp when mocking her.
Still, she was desperate.
"What... what are you doing here?" she asked, voice tight.
He held up both hands in a show of peace. "I ca to see ilin. I wanted to talk, clear things up between us. But it looks like you’re in trouble. What happened?"
She hesitated, biting her lip.
"My nanny... she collapsed," she whispered. "I think she had a heart attack... I called the police, but they said it would take too long. I don’t know what to do..."
Su Jinhe’s expression turned serious, though sothing in his eyes flickered too fast for her to catch.
"Then we need to get her to the hospital, now. Co with . I have a car downstairs."
Yuexin didn’t move at first.
He took a cautious step forward. "I know you don’t like . That’s fine. But right now, your nanny needs help, doesn’t she? I can get her there faster than waiting around. You want to save her, right?"
It was that last sentence that broke her hesitation.
She nodded, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "Okay... please... hurry."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, a bit too firmly, but she didn’t flinch. Not now. Not when ti was everything.
Together, they ran back to Yuexin’s apartnt as he carried Aunty Liu on his back to the car outside.
And for the first ti in years, Jin Yuexin stepped outside her building, blinded by the sun, heart strangled with fear, dragging her feet toward the very man she once swore to avoid, all for the one person who ant the world to her.
***
Su ilin stretched her arms above her head as she entered her apartnt, the soft scent of lavender clinging to her after yoga class.
Her body was sore but relaxed, and for once, she felt at peace. She humd lightly, setting her water bottle down on the kitchen counter, and reached for her phone.
The mont the screen lit up, her heart skipped a beat.
13 missed calls - Jin Yuexin
Her brows furrowed. That wasn’t normal. She quickly tapped to call her back.
But after waiting and waiting, still no answer. A gnawing worry began to settle in her chest. Yuexin never called her once as she always avoided talking, but now, 13 missed calls in a row?
She then tried Aunty Liu and still no answer.
"Sothing’s wrong," she whispered.
Zhao Yiming, who was drying his hair on the couch after a shower, looked up. "Hmm? What is it?"
She glanced at him, her face pale, and held up her phone. "Yuexin called thirteen tis. I tried to call her and Aunty Liu, but no one answered."
He sat up straighter, trying to stay calm. "Maybe Yuexin just needed to rant about sothing? Or Aunty Liu forgot her phone?"
But then he froze, rembering that Golden Earth and Su Jinhe not only wanted Su ilin’s part of the inheritance, but also Jin Yuexin.
ilin stood up in a rush. "I’m going there. Right now."
"I’m coming with you," Zhao said instantly, already throwing on a jacket.
They raced to Yuexin’s apartnt. It takes them only fifteen minutes to arrive at her apartnt. He was glad she bought the closest apartnt to Jin Haolong’s.
When they reached the door, ilin stopped. The door was wide open. Her heart dropped.
"Yuexin?! Aunty Liu?!" she called out, but no answer.
The living room was a ss. A pillow was knocked off the couch. A hairdryer was left humming on the floor. A black sesa puff was crushed beneath a shoe.
Zhao stepped in slowly, his jaw tightening. "Sothing happened."
ilin followed, panic setting in. She looked around desperately, searching for any note, any clue. But the silence was deafening.
Her voice trembled. "Yuexin wouldn’t leave the door open. She never leaves the apartnt. Never."
Zhao’s face turned grim. He turned to ilin. "We need to find them. Now, before it’s too late."
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