Chapter 44: The Daytime and the Nightmare

Su Yutao didn’t know.

All she knew was that the person at night was a demon.

But the daytime her wasn’t.

The daytime her knew nothing.

The daytime her thought she had taken care of her for a few days, thought she was well-behaved, thought she had just fallen.

The daytime her was innocent.

Qiansui seemed to realize this too, their voice growing even softer: “Then the daytime her… what do we do?”

Su Yutao didn’t answer.

She just held Qiansui tighter.

The door lock clicked.

The sound of a key turning.

Su Yutao’s whole body went stiff.

Qiansui fell silent as well.

Footsteps entered.

Not Lin Qingxue.

Someone else’s—light and carefree.

Shen Nian’s voice came from the living room: “Little mute? I’m here! Hungry, right?”

Su Yutao let out a breath of relief.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “It’s Shen Nian. She’s here.”

Shen Nian’s footsteps approached the bedroom.

She pushed the door open and poked her head in: “Still lazing in bed? Get up and eat.”

Su Yutao slowly sat up.

Shen Nian looked at her and frowned: “What’s with that look again? Didn’t sleep well?”

Su Yutao shook her head.

Shen Nian clicked her tongue, walked over, and scooped her up from the bed.

“Come on, come on, let’s eat. I brought you braised pork—it’s delicious.”

Su Yutao was dragged toward the living room.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “Braised pork! The one you said was good last time!”

There was a hint of forced cheerfulness in their voice.

Hearing it, Su Yutao felt something twist inside her chest.

She sat on the sofa. Shen Nian opened the food container and shoved a spoon into her hand: “Eat yourself, or should I feed you?”

Su Yutao picked up the spoon. Shen Nian waited until she had a firm grip before letting go: “Alright, eat yourself. I’ll get you some water.”

Footsteps headed toward the kitchen.

Su Yutao scooped up a spoonful of rice and tentatively put it in her mouth. Chewed. Swallowed.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “Is it good?”

Su Yutao nodded.

Qiansui said: “That’s good.”

Their voice was still a little muffled.

Shen Nian came back with a glass of water, set it on the coffee table, and sat down beside her.

She crossed her legs and started scrolling through her phone.

Su Yutao ate slowly, listening to Shen Nian’s occasional laughter, listening to Qiansui softly describe the colors of the dishes—the glistening oil of the braised pork, the vibrant green of the vegetables.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling window, warm and cozy.

It didn’t seem so cold anymore. It didn’t hurt as much.

After scrolling for a while, Shen Nian suddenly spoke up: “Xiao Xue seemed a bit unhappy when she left this morning.”

Su Yutao’s hand froze.

Shen Nian continued: “She texted me, said you were avoiding her this morning.”

A pause.

“What’s wrong?”

Su Yutao shook her head.

Shen Nian looked at her like that and sighed: “Yeah, what can you do? Maybe she’s just tired.”

She stood up.

“Alright, take your time eating. Leave the bowl when you’re done—I’ll take it when I go.”

Su Yutao nodded.

Shen Nian flopped onto the other end of the sofa and continued scrolling.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “Shen Nian is really nice.”

Su Yutao held Qiansui tighter.

Yeah, Shen Nian was really nice.

Shen Nian didn’t know about the night.

Shen Nian thought the daytime her was a good person.

Shen Nian thought she was just an ordinary college student.

Everyone thought she was ordinary.

Only she knew.

Only she knew what kind of person the nighttime her was.

Only she knew where those injuries came from.

Qiansui whispered softly in her ear: “No matter what she is, I’ll be with you.”

Su Yutao held Qiansui even tighter.

Tears wouldn’t come, but her heart trembled.

The sunlight shone on her, warm.

But she knew.

When night came, it would be cold again.

Su Yutao ate slowly, Qiansui softly describing the colors of the dishes in her ear.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling window, warm and cozy.

Shen Nian lounged on the sofa, scrolling and laughing occasionally.

Everything was fine.

Then the door rang.

“Dong dong dong.”

Heavy and urgent—not like a knock, more like pounding.

Shen Nian frowned and muttered, “Who’s that?” She stood up and walked to the door.

Su Yutao pricked up her ears.

Qiansui also fell silent.

Shen Nian opened the door.

A woman’s voice exploded inward, sharp and piercing: “Damn it! Where’s that man?!”

Shen Nian was taken aback: “What man?”

The woman ignored her completely and barged straight in:

“Don’t play dumb with me! That man! The one who killed my Wangcai! The surveillance camera caught it clearly! He went into this building in the end! Came up to this floor!”

Shen Nian reached out to block her:

“Who are you? What Wangcai? There are so many apartments in this building—what makes you think it’s mine?”

The woman was blocked but kept talking, her voice even louder:

“I asked door to door! No one upstairs or downstairs—only your place didn’t open the door! If not you, then who?! That man never came back down after going upstairs—he must be in your apartment!”

Shen Nian let out a cold laugh:

“So you pound on my door? Do you even know what kind of behavior this is?”

Far from being intimidated, the woman got even more worked up at these words, her voice sharp enough to shatter glass:

“So what if I pound on your door?! I raised Wangcai for five years! He was killed just like that! If you don’t give me an explanation, pounding on your door is the least of it!”

As she spoke, she tried to push inside. Shen Nian blocked her, but the woman grabbed at Shen Nian’s arm, black dirt under her fingernails rubbing onto Shen Nian’s sleeve.

Shen Nian stepped back, her voice dropping: “Try that again.”

Seeing Shen Nian retreat, the woman thought she was scared and pressed harder, barging straight into the living room:

“I’m telling you, if you don’t give me an explanation today, no one’s getting off easy! That man—who is he to you? You’re hiding him, aren’t you? I’m telling you, the camera caught him, and I’ve got his license plate number too. You can’t run!”

Su Yutao shrank into the sofa, listening to the woman’s shrill voice explode through the living room, and her whole body began to tremble.

Not from fear.

It was that nausea welling up from deep inside.

Willful obfuscation, turning black into white—it was clearly her dog that had bitten someone, yet now she was shifting the blame.

Just like the people Su Yutao had seen in the orphanage since she was little—the same ones who took advantage and then called you an ingrate. The same ones who bullied you and then said you were being difficult.

The same faces. The same disgust.

Qiansui whispered in her ear: “Don’t mind her… Shen Nian is handling it…”

Su Yutao couldn’t quite focus.

She heard the woman saying “the dog died,” saying “pay up,” saying “you’re bullying people.”

She remembered the back of her hand.

Those teeth marks. Those bloody holes.

When the dog bit her, the pain made her roll on the ground.

She remembered when Zhou Ye kicked that dog, she was lying on the ground, blood streaming down her arm.

She remembered that person biting her hand, licking her wound, just like a dog.

Her dog bit her, her dog died, and she still had the nerve to show up and cause trouble.

Su Yutao opened her mouth.

A sound came from her throat: “Uh…”

Very soft, but very urgent.

Not a cry.

She wanted to speak. Wanted to curse her.

Wanted to say your dog bit me. Wanted to ask do you know how much it hurt. Wanted to ask what right do you have to come here and make a scene. Wanted to say why don’t you just die.

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