The hospital no longer felt safe.
It didn't matter how quiet the corridors were… or how normal everything looked on the surface.
Xiaoyu could feel it now.
The danger wasn't gone.
It was watching.
Waiting.
"You're leaving tonight."
Lu Shen's voice cut through the silence.
Xiaoyu looked up immediately. "What?"
He stood near the door, already composed, as if the decision had been made long before she heard it.
"This place is compromised," he continued. "You'll move somewhere secure."
"My mother—"
"Will be transferred," he interrupted. "Private facility. Controlled access."
Xiaoyu shook her head. "No. We just stabilized everything. Moving her again is risky."
"Staying is worse."
His tone didn't rise.
But it didn't leave room for argument either.
"I'm not leaving her," Xiaoyu said firmly.
Lu Shen stepped closer.
"You're not being asked."
Her chest tightened. "Then what is this?"
"A necessary decision."
"Yours?" she challenged.
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
That made something inside her snap.
"You don't get to decide everything!" she said, her voice breaking slightly. "This is my mother, my life—"
"And you're being targeted," he cut in, sharper this time.
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
"You heard what my assistant said," Lu Shen continued, quieter now but more intense. "You are no longer separate from this."
Xiaoyu's hands clenched.
"I didn't choose this," she whispered.
"No," he agreed. "But you're in it now."
She turned away, pacing a few steps, trying to think clearly.
Running wasn't an option.
Ignoring it wasn't an option.
Everything she thought she understood was already breaking apart.
"So what?" she said finally. "I just follow your orders now?"
Lu Shen watched her carefully.
"For now," he said, "you stay alive."
The words landed hard.
Not dramatic.
Not emotional.
Just truth.
An hour later—
Everything moved quickly.
Too quickly.
Papers were signed.
Arrangements made.
Doctors informed.
Xiaoyu barely had time to process it before her mother was already being prepared for transfer.
Lu Shen handled everything without hesitation.
Every step precise.
Every detail controlled.
It was like watching a machine work.
And for the first time—
Xiaoyu realized how powerful he actually was.
Outside the hospital, a black car waited.
The night air felt colder than usual.
Xiaoyu stood beside the vehicle, her eyes scanning the area instinctively.
"You're thinking too much," Lu Shen said.
"I'm trying to understand," she replied.
"You don't need to."
"That's easy for you to say."
He didn't argue.
Instead, he opened the car door.
"Get in."
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then—
She got in.
The ride was silent.
The city lights blurred past the window, reflections shifting across Xiaoyu's face.
Her thoughts were louder than anything else.
Target.
Seven years.
Something her father took.
Nothing made sense.
Yet everything felt connected.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"My residence."
She turned sharply. "No."
Lu Shen didn't even look at her.
"Yes."
"I'm not staying there."
"You are."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not listening."
"And you're not understanding," he replied calmly.
The car slowed slightly as it turned onto a quieter road.
"You said I'm a target," Xiaoyu continued. "So why would I go somewhere so obvious?"
Lu Shen finally looked at her.
"Because no one expects you to be hidden in the most visible place."
She paused.
That… made sense.
And she hated that it did.
The car stopped.
The gates opened automatically.
Large. Secure. Silent.
His world.
Inside the house, everything looked the same as before.
Cold.
Ordered.
Untouched.
But tonight—
It felt different.
Because she wasn't here as part of a contract.
She was here because she had nowhere else to go.
"You'll stay in the main wing," Lu Shen said.
Xiaoyu crossed her arms. "And you?"
He met her gaze.
"The same place I've always been."
That wasn't the answer she expected.
A moment of silence passed.
Then she said quietly—
"This wasn't part of the deal."
"No," he agreed.
"Then why are you doing this?"
Lu Shen looked at her.
Longer this time.
As if considering something.
Then—
"Because you're under my protection now."
Her breath caught.
The words weren't soft.
They weren't emotional.
But they carried weight.
Real weight.
"And when this is over?" she asked.
A pause.
Small.
But there.
"Then everything returns to normal."
She searched his expression.
Trying to believe that.
Trying to hold onto the idea that this was temporary.
But something deep inside her—
Didn't believe it anymore.
That night—
Xiaoyu stood alone in the unfamiliar room.
The same house.
But everything felt different.
Because now—
The danger was real.
The past was coming back.
And the man she married under a contract…
Was no longer just part of an agreement.
Meanwhile—
In a dark office across the city—
A screen flickered.
Footage.
Grainy.
Black and white.
The hospital.
The hallway.
The moment the nurse was taken away.
A figure stood in the shadows, watching the replay.
Silent.
Patient.
Then—
A voice.
Low.
Calm.
"Interesting."
A pause.
Then—
"Shift focus."
The screen changed.
A new image appeared.
Clear.
Sharp.
Xiaoyu.
Walking beside Lu Shen.
"Let's see," the voice continued softly,
"how long she lasts under his protection."