Gu Jin rubbed her fingers and thought for a while.
She didn’t feel anything was wrong with her, so she smiled.
Mrs. Gu tucked the blanket more tightly around Gu Jin, then glanced down at her daughter’s pale, calm face.
That strange, distant look hadn’t left Gu Jin’s eyes since she woke up. No relief. No tears. Not even confusion.
Just silence.
"Jin’er," Mrs. Gu said softly, testing again, "do you rember how I burnt my hand last week? You told not to cook when I’m distracted."
She raised her hand slightly, revealing the faded, healing burn along her wrist.
For a long mont, Gu Jin didn’t react.
Then, just for a flicker, her eyes moved, the emptiness in them shifting slightly. It was small, almost invisible, but it was there.
Gu Jin blinked, her gaze settling on the red mark.
"You burned yourself?" she asked, her voice soft. And for the first ti since waking, there was sothing real in her tone—faint concern, barely audible, but not hollow.
Mrs. Gu smiled in relief, as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her chest.
"Yes, but I’m alright now. It wasn’t serious," she said gently, brushing Gu Jin’s hair back. "It’s already healing. See?"
Gu Jin stared at it for a mont longer before nodding slowly.
Mrs. Gu stood up. "I’ll go get you sothing to eat. You should rest a bit more."
Gu Jin watched her mother walk toward the door. Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say sothing, but then she closed them and simply nodded.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Mrs. Gu’s entire expression changed.
She moved quickly down the stairs, each step louder than the last, until she reached the living room.
Long Yifan stood near the window, flanked by Mr. Gu, Gu Jihu, and Gu Jichun.
When Mrs. Gu entered, her face was cold and her eyes sharp.
She stopped in front of Long Yifan.
"What happened to my daughter?" she asked, her voice like ice.
"During training, she was fine. Now, she’s... she’s lost her emotions. What did you do?"
Everyone froze.
Gu Jihu stood up abruptly. "What do you an? What happened to Jin’er?"
"I just saw her smile," Mrs. Gu said quietly, "but there was no warmth. No light. It was... empty. Like she was pretending to be normal but didn’t even know how anymore."
Gu Jichun’s eyes widened, and she stood too. "I’ll go check on her—"
"No," Mrs. Gu stopped them both with a raised hand. She turned sharply to Long Yifan.
"You were with her. You brought her back. So answer . What happened to her?"
Long Yifan’s brows furrowed. His lips parted, then pressed into a tight line.
"She was fine just a few days ago," he said. "Before the court hearing, she was still joking with . There was nothing wrong."
"Then why?" Mr. Gu asked, stepping forward. His voice was low, tense. "What changed?"
Long Yifan exhaled slowly.
"The night after the court hearing... she had a fever. It ca on suddenly. She kept shaking her head, whispering things in her sleep. I tried to wake her, but she was trapped—like she couldn’t hear at all."
Gu Jichun’s hands clenched. "Trapped? Like in a nightmare?"
Long Yifan nodded grimly. "Yes. I think it might be related to Han Xiaoyu."
Everyone stiffened at that na.
"What does that girl have to do with this?" Mr. Gu asked sharply.
Long Yifan hesitated for only a second before telling the truth.
Mrs. Gu gasped. "Death Music Box? That thing’s banned!"
"I know," Long Yifan said, his jaw tightening.
Mr. Gu’s face turned grim. "And you didn’t think to ntion this sooner?"
"I stopped her," Long Yifan said quickly.
"I nearly killed her on the spot, but Instructor Luo arrived in ti and handed her over to the authorities. We thought the danger had passed."
He looked down, voice dropping.
"But maybe it didn’t. Maybe the artifact did sothing worse than we realized. Maybe... the Death Music Box triggered sothing inside Gu Jin.
So mory or trauma she never told us about. Sothing dark."
The room fell into heavy silence.
Mrs. Gu slowly sat down, her hands trembling slightly.
"My daughter is the pride of this nation," she whispered.
"She’s going to represent us internationally. And now... now she can’t even feel. I shouldn’t have let her go to that damn cursed place!
F*ck them! I will kill that Han b*tch!"
Mr. Gu placed a firm hand on Mrs. Gu’s shoulder, trying to steady her.
"Calm down," he said quietly. "You losing control won’t help Jin’er."
Mrs. Gu buried her face in her hands for a mont, trying to collect herself. Her voice trembled with fury and heartbreak.
"She’s just a child," she said. "She’s our child. And now she looks at like I’m a stranger."
Gu Jichun sat beside her mother, her eyes wet.
"We’ll get her back," she said softly.
"Whatever it takes. I’ll go through every alchemy book, every magical theory. There has to be a cure for sothing like this."
Gu Jihu turned to Long Yifan, eyes dark. "You said it was the Death Music Box. How does it work?"
Long Yifan exhaled, folding his arms.
"It’s a cursed artifact. Illegal in most regions. If your na is written inside it and the lody is played while you sleep... it traps your soul in a dream world.
A fake reality made from your worst fears, regrets, or suppressed mories. Most victims never wake up. And if they do... they co back broken and die within 24 hours."
Gu Jihu would be silent for a while before saying,
"Since her parents think she is innocent, we should let them have a taste."
"But it will still not deal with the main problem." Gu Jichun bit her lips.
"There might still be ti," Long Yifan said quickly.
"If we find a skilled enough healer—soone who understands soul magic or dream interference—there might be a way to pull her the rest of the way out."
"But that’s taboo," Gu Jichun whispered. "Most people don’t even study that kind of magic anymore."
"There are still a few," Mr. Gu said, his voice low. "I’ll make so calls. We’re not letting her stay like this."
Dinner that evening was unusually quiet at first.
Everyone tried to act normal, but there was a nervous energy in the air, like they were all walking on eggshells. Mrs. Gu served steaming bowls of soup and dishes filled with Gu Jin’s favorites—sweet lotus root, spicy tofu, and fragrant jasmine rice. The rich slls filled the room, making it feel warm and alive again.
Gu Jin sat at the table, quiet but watching.
She picked up her chopsticks and took a small bite of the tofu. Her fingers hesitated for just a second, then moved smoothly.
At first, she tasted nothing. It was like eating air.
But then—faintly—she noticed the spice. A little heat at the tip of her tongue. Then the soft texture. Then the warmth. Slowly, it built. She blinked, surprised, and took another bite. This ti, the flavor hit more clearly.
Across the table, Mrs. Gu watched her daughter with wide, hopeful eyes.
Gu Jin ate a few more bites. The food wasn’t just food anymore. It had weight. Warmth. aning.
She didn’t smile. But sothing loosened in her shoulders.
She felt... a little less empty.
The others noticed too. Gu Jichun exchanged a quiet glance with Mr. Gu. Mrs. Gu wiped at her eyes, pretending it was just the steam from the soup.
So finally, Gu Jihu leaned back in his chair, stretched, and looked directly at Long Yifan.
"So," he said loudly, "why are you still here, exactly?"
The tension in the room broke like glass.
Long Yifan, who had just stuffed a dumpling into his mouth, nearly choked. He coughed twice, swallowed hard, and gave Gu Jihu a mock glare.
"I saved your sister’s life, thank you very much," he said proudly, puffing out his chest a little.
Gu Jihu raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? That doesn’t an you get to move in with us."
Long Yifan pointed at himself. "Excuse ? I think I’ve earned it. Besides—"
He looked around dramatically, then pointed at Gu Jin, who had paused mid-bite to listen.
"I’m the future son-in-law of this family. Of course I deserve to stay!"
Gu Jin froze, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth.
Everyone else stared at Long Yifan like he’d just declared himself emperor.
Mrs. Gu choked on her tea. Mr. Gu blinked slowly. Gu Jichun burst out laughing.
Gu Jihu clapped once. "Oh? Confident, aren’t you? Should we take it to a vote?"
"I vote no," Mr. Gu said instantly.
"Too bad," Long Yifan said, grinning. "Jin’er didn’t say no. That’s a yes in my book."
Gu Jin blinked at him, completely speechless. But there was a tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth.
Long Yifan saw it. He leaned in slightly.
"See? She’s thinking about it. That’s basically agreent."
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