“If you don’t believe me…” Su Wan bit her lower lip, seemingly making a difficult decision, “Wait… wait a while, and you’ll know.”
Lu Shiyan fell silent.
He just stared at her intently, complex and unreadable emotions churning in his deep eyes.
There was suspicion, disgust, rage, and perhaps even… a bewilderment he hadn’t even realized himself.
The memory of that night, too, tormented him like a maggot in his bones.
He hated this woman to the core, wishing he could immediately break free from these damned chains and personally wring her slender neck.
But she said she was pregnant…
What if…
What if what she said was true?
Lu Shiyan abruptly choked off that thought.
Impossible!
This woman, this woman who had imprisoned him here, tortured him, and made him suffer endless humiliation!
How could his… bastard child be in her belly?
But that damned night… chaotic, out of control, without any protective measures…
No!
This must be her new trick!
To bind him with an illusory child? To defile him?
Lu Shiyan’s chest heaved violently, the iron chains clanging with his movements, gratingly loud in the dead silence.
Lu Shiyan suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.
This emotion came out of nowhere, yet it burned like a fire, making his chest feel tight.
“Get out.”
His voice was even hoarser than before, like worn sandpaper, carrying a violently suppressed rage and a hint of almost imperceptible… exhaustion?
Su Wan’s tensed body relaxed for an almost imperceptible moment.
He still didn’t believe her.
But at least, he didn’t immediately go berserk.
This crazy lie had temporarily separated her from death.
She couldn’t leave.
If she left, when he awakened his ability tonight, the first person he’d kill would be her.
Su Wan composed herself, trying to make her voice sound steady, even though her heart was still pounding.
“I can’t release you yet.”
She met his icy gaze, not flinching at all.
“You… your hatred for me is too deep right now.”
The killing intent in Lu Shiyan’s eyes was almost solidified.
Su Wan, however, seemed not to notice, continuing to speak on her own.
“You need to calm down first.”
“I’ll have someone bring food over later.”
“You can’t starve… right?”
Lu Shiyan almost doubted his ears.
This woman was truly insane.
Or was she confident that he couldn’t do anything to her right now?
He stopped speaking, simply closing his eyes, the veins on his forehead throbbing slightly.
Su Wan didn’t dare to linger any longer.
If she said anything more, she was afraid she would break down first.
Su Wan leaned against the cold wall, her chest heaving violently, like a fish on the verge of death.
Pregnant.
Did he believe her?
No, he didn’t.
The mockery and disdain in his eyes pricked her heart like needles.
But he hadn’t gone berserk again for the time being.
That was enough.
At least, she had bought herself a little time.
Su Wan held onto the wall, forcing herself to stand straight.
Her legs were still weak, but the instinct for survival made her have to move.
She couldn’t stay here forever.
Turning a corner, she bumped into Zhang Ma, who was carrying an empty tray.
Zhang Ma clearly hadn’t expected to run into her here, and her steps faltered.
Her gaze quickly swept over Su Wan’s pale face and the clearly blood-stained, somewhat disheveled white dress.
“Young Miss?” Zhang Ma lowered her head, her tone respectful, but that brief appraisal didn’t escape Su Wan’s eyes.
“Mm.” Su Wan raised her chin, trying to imitate the original owner’s arrogant demeanor, but her voice, due to the recent fright, carried a subtle weakness and hoarseness, “Go prepare some light food, suitable for someone who hasn’t eaten much for a long time.”
Zhang Ma was stunned for a moment, seemingly not reacting.
“…For whom?”
“The basement.” Su Wan coldly spat out three words, offering no further explanation.
She walked past Zhang Ma, not looking at her again, and headed straight for the stairs.
The basement?
To bring food to that man? Young Miss today… was too strange. She suddenly cared about the man she had tormented until he was unrecognizable.
And her appearance just now… like she had been frightened?
Zhang Ma didn’t ask any more questions, nodding her head in response: “Yes, Young Miss.”
Su Wan returned to the second-floor bedroom and almost immediately locked the door.
With a soft “thump,” the outside world was shut off.
Su Wan walked to the walk-in closet.
The original owner’s luxurious walk-in closet was filled with beautiful clothes and high heels, all unsuitable for escaping the apocalypse.
She patiently rummaged through them, finally finding a few relatively simple and comfortable tracksuits and a few pairs of flat sneakers in a corner.
She changed out of the cumbersome white dress and put on dark sportswear and sneakers. They were easier to move in and less conspicuous.
Then, she began to purposefully scavenge the room for anything potentially useful.
The first-aid kit on the dressing table, the few bottles of water and chocolate left in the mini-fridge, the lighter in the drawer, the Swiss Army knife…
Everything was collected into her space with her thoughts.
She walked to the door, pressing her ear to the door panel, carefully listening to the movements outside.
The hallway was quiet.
Zhang Ma must have gone to prepare the food.
Su Wan hesitated. Should she go to the basement again? Delivering the food herself might further lower Lu Shiyan’s guard?
She had to make this lie seem more “real.”
At least, until Lu Shiyan awakened his ability and could verify the truth, she needed him to be half-believing.
Su Wan’s gaze fell on the bedside table, where the original owner’s phone lay. With the apocalypse, the signal had long since been cut off, making communication impossible. But perhaps there was still some… useful information on the phone?
She tried to turn it on.
Unexpectedly, the phone still had power.
The screen lit up, displaying the original owner’s beautiful yet arrogant face as the wallpaper.
Su Wan unlocked it and began to browse the phone’s contents.
The photo album was full of the original owner’s selfies and various luxury item photos.
The call logs and messages were mostly contacts with her fair-weather friends.
Su Wan quickly scanned through, hoping to find some information about Lu Shiyan.
Suddenly, her finger stopped.
In the SMS draft box, there was an unsent message.
The recipient was… Lu Shiyan.
The message content was very short, just one sentence, but it made Su Wan’s pupils shrink sharply.
“I think… I’m pregnant.”
It was followed by a hesitant emoji.
The editing time of this message was just half a month after the apocalypse broke out!
So, the original owner really suspected she was pregnant at the time?
The outrageous lie she had concocted in desperation to save her life had actually… hit the mark by accident?
No, it couldn’t be confirmed.
This might just be another one of the original owner’s attempts to attract Lu Shiyan’s attention, or rather, a means to further control him.
After all, with the original owner’s twisted possessiveness, doing something like this wouldn’t be strange.
But what if?
What if the original owner had suspected it at the time…
Su Wan gripped the phone tightly.