For a moment, no one moved.
Wen Jun stood at the center of the room like a pillar carved out of calm storms, his violet-glowing eyes soft but unyielding.
Zhao Liren finally swallowed his fear and questioned him.
"Where?"
Wen Jun didn't even blink.
His voice was low, unshaken.
"You'll know. I'll tell you everything."
A tiny pause.
"But right now… go pack your things."
He turned and left the bedroom, footsteps soundless, like he floated rather than walked.
The second he disappeared into the living room, Zhao Liren immediately aimed a death glare at Shen Lian.
Shen raised both hands, annoyed and tired.
"I know I lied. I will tell you everything. Stop glaring at me."
Zhao's glare didn't falter.
Shen frowned.
"Then what?"
Zhao didn't answer him.
Instead, he pulled Qin Yuelin into his arms protectively, like shielding something precious.
Yuelin just blinked, quiet and small, mask resting loosely around his neck.
Zhao exhaled deeply.
"What's going on between you two…?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"When did you become so close?"
Yuelin's cheeks reddened instantly, visible even under the dim bedroom light.
Shen smirked, unashamed.
"Zhao, I love Yuelin," he said simply, like confessing the sky was blue. "I've been wooing him for a while."
Zhao's jaw dropped.
His first instinct was to yell, but he held back... because Yuelin's little blush was too soft to ruin.
He turned to Yuelin.
"Baby… do you like this bastard?"
Yuelin nodded shyly.
"Zhao… I feel easy with him. He's gentle with me."
Zhao stared at them like they were the biggest puzzle of his life.
Suspicious. Annoyed.
But the sight of Yuelin smiling made something warm melt his anger.
"…okay, okay," he muttered. "Let's pack before Wen Jun comes back in."
All three began gathering necessary things... chargers, medicine, warm clothes, wallets, knives that Shen insisted on packing, and a ridiculous amount of snacks Zhao stuffed into a bag.
Shen helped Yuelin fold his clothes neatly, slipping the mask over his face and adjusting the straps gently.
"You good?" Shen murmured.
Yuelin nodded with a soft little laugh.
The two of them giggled like idiots over something tiny... probably matching socks... while Zhao watched suspiciously from the doorway.
But when he saw Yuelin smiling… really smiling…
Zhao's suspicion melted into quiet relief.
Wen Jun entered the room without warning.
"Done? I called a car. We're leaving right now."
Zhao blinked.
"It's almost midnight..."
Wen Jun stepped closer, towering over him just slightly, voice dipping low.
"We're leaving now."
Zhao backed up instantly, nodding.
"Y-yeah okay."
They left the apartment, locking the door from outside.
And then it came.
A sound like bones cracking.
Crack after crack from inside the apartment, echoing against the hallway walls.
As if mirrors were shattering.
As if something inside was breaking its own face.
Yuelin instinctively reached for the doorknob, panic rising.
Wen Jun caught his wrist.
"Let it be. Don't open it."
His tone left no space for bravery.
They hurried to the parking lot.
Zhao's brows furrowed the second he saw the car waiting there.
"Bro… you changed the car again?"
Wen Jun nodded casually, unlocking the stunningly sleek Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII Extended Wheelbase, its glossy black frame shimmering like quiet wealth.
Shen leaned in close to Zhao, whispering with a teasing smirk.
"Is this man rich?"
Zhao nodded numbly.
Shen whispered, "Date him..."
Zhao smacked the back of his head.
"Shut up, bastard."
Shen choked on a laugh while Yuelin giggled through his mask.
Wen Jun glanced at them with an expression that said he regretted everything.
Yuelin approached Wen Jun timidly.
"Brother… where are we going?"
The title "brother" softened something in Wen Jun's eyes immediately, like water smoothing stone.
"Where I came from," Wen Jun said gently.
"Sit in the car so we can leave."
Yuelin nodded, slipping into the backseat with Shen.
Shen wrapped an arm around him, whispering something that made Yuelin hide his face shyly in his shoulder.
Zhao noticed something strange.
Not just Yuelin... but Shen, too.
Shen was showing emotions.
Real ones.
Warm ones.
For the first time in years, Shen looked… alive.
Zhao exhaled softly, strangely relieved, and slid into the front passenger seat.
Wen Jun reached for the ignition, then froze.
He looked at Zhao.
"You're not wearing your seat belt."
Zhao blinked.
"Oh-"
Before he could move, Wen Jun leaned in.
Close.
Too close.
His breath warm.
His lips hovering an inch from Zhao's.
Zhao's heart went wild... slamming against his ribs so loudly he was sure everyone heard it.
His face burned crimson, breath hitching, mind empty.
For one terrifying, beautiful second, he thought...
*He's going to kiss me.*
But Wen Jun simply clicked the seat belt into place.
Then leaned back calmly as if nothing happened.
Zhao sat frozen.
Absolutely fried.
Shen whistled from the backseat.
Yuelin giggled behind his mask.
Wen Jun ignored all of them and started the car, expression as calm as moonlight on water.
The engine purred like some expensive beast awakening.
The night swallowed them as they began driving away from the shattered, haunted apartment.
None of them knew where they were going.
None of them understood why they suddenly felt safer in a stranger's car than in their own home.
But together... Shen, Yuelin, Zhao, and Wen Jun... they drove into the dark.
Into the unknown.
Into the beginning.
END OF THE CHAPTER.