"I should go." He averted his gaze. "Lock the door."
Seeing him to the entrance, Su Xiaoxi suddenly mustered her courage: "Lin Yi... we're still... friends, right?"
Lin Yi paused, then turned to look at her. Under the moonlight, his expression was unexpectedly soft. "...More than that."
Before Su Xiaoxi could process the meaning of those two words, he had already turned and left, his footsteps quickly fading down the hallway.
Closing the door, Su Xiaoxi leaned against it, her heart pounding. *More than that?* What did that mean? More than friends? Protector and protected? Or...
She didn't dare dwell on it, yet couldn't help but hope. That night, she dreamed of being held in a pair of strong arms, enveloped in the scent of sandalwood—safe and warm.
---
**3:17 AM.**
A faint *click* jolted Su Xiaoxi awake.
Her eyes flew open. In the darkness, only the dim glow of her alarm clock displayed the time. The room was deathly quiet, but every nerve in her body screamed—*something was wrong.*
Another soft sound, this time from the living room. Like a drawer being carefully opened.
Su Xiaoxi held her breath, her fingers inching toward the personal alarm by her pillow. Just as she was about to press the button, her phone on the nightstand lit up with a message:
**Don't move. Don't make a sound. I'm outside your door. —L**
*Lin Yi?* How could he be...? Before she could finish the thought, more faint noises came from the living room—footsteps. More than one person.
Her phone vibrated again:
**Two intruders. Armed. Moving in 60 seconds.**
She bit her lip hard, her fingers tightening around the alarm. She counted her heartbeats—*fifty-eight, fifty-nine—*
**BANG!**
A deafening crash as the apartment door was kicked open, followed by two muffled thuds and the sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor. The scuffle was chaotic—grunts, sharp breaths, furniture toppling in the dark.
"Su Xiaoxi!" Lin Yi's voice cut through the chaos.
She leapt out of bed and ran barefoot into the living room. Moonlight seeped through the curtains, outlining the scene—two dark figures sprawled on the ground, and Lin Yi standing in the center, gun in hand, his silhouette sharp as a blade.
"Are you hurt?" He strode toward her, gripping her shoulders to check.
"N-no, I'm fine..." Her voice trembled. "Who are they?"
Lin Yi didn't answer, turning instead to examine the unconscious men. "We need to leave. Now."