chapter 3

Chapter 3

Liang An is my ex-husband. We’ve been divorced for almost two years now. Luckily, we married young and divorced young. After saying goodbye to that relationship, I’m only twenty-eight-not exactly past my prime.

We get along like friends now, and it’s actually quite warm and comfortable.

Liang An parked the car in the underground garage. He wanted to help me carry things upstairs, but I didn’t let him.

In the elevator, I kept debating whether or not to ask Chen Suiyuan for some answers.

But as soon as the elevator doors opened, the man who’s been troubling me so much was standing right at my apartment door.

“Miss Xu.” He greeted me politely. “Sorry for dropping by unannounced. I hope I’m not being too presumptuous.”

I glanced at him. “Come in.”

Chen Suiyuan said that Xiao Min told him she sometimes stayed at her sister’s place besides school, and gave him this address.

“Xiao Min trusts you a lot,” I said.

“There’s something I thought I should pass on to you.” He took out a phone and slid it toward me. “This is her other phone. I bought it for her. She left it at my place before we broke up, and I never had the chance to return it.”

I stared at Chen Suiyuan. It was a simple conversation, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that his gaze was strange.

Confident, playful, seductive-a chaotic mix, but not a trace of the guilt or avoidance you’d expect from someone facing the family of the deceased.

“The password is my birthday. Xiao Min set it.” He recited a string of numbers, as if handing me the key to Pandora’s box.

“Miss Xu, I know you love your sister very much. I’m not in a position to look at her phone, but if you want to understand her better, maybe this phone can help you.”

This time, it was Chen Suiyuan who kept it brief. After speaking, he turned to leave.

“Chen Zong.” I called out to him, hesitating.

After much internal struggle, I finally asked the question, while discreetly starting a recording on my phone in my pocket. “Chen Zong, during your relationship with my sister, did you… did you ever cause her any physical harm?”

He turned back, looking at me with a hint of anticipation.

“I mean, did you ever hit her, or tie her up, or anything like that?”

“If I did, does that necessarily mean it was harm?” Chen Suiyuan actually gave a triumphant little smile. “Maybe it was a kind of game, something both sides enjoyed?”

Enjoyed…

His words made me recall Xiao Min’s expressions in those photos. Deep inside, a strange curiosity stirred-a kind of unsettling, subconscious urge to explore.

“So, you really did those things to Xiao Min?” I was a bit angry. “Couldn’t you even give her the most basic respect?”

Suddenly, Chen Suiyuan shut the door he’d just opened, turned around, and started advancing on me, forcing me to retreat.

He didn’t answer my question.

“Was the person who drove you home just now your ex-husband?” His oppressive presence was unmistakable. “Have you ever wondered why your marriage ended, why your relationship fell apart?”

“What are you talking about? How do you know about Liang An… Did Xiao Min tell you?”

Chen Suiyuan ignored me, continuing as if talking to himself. “Was it because he didn’t respect you, or because you didn’t respect him?”

His smile grew more wanton, more condescending. In this enclosed space, I felt like I couldn’t escape his grasp. “I think it was precisely because you both respected each other, because you both clamored for so-called equality and freedom.”

I shook my head and backed away, my body pressed against the cold wall.

And this madman, spouting nonsense, still wanted to come closer.

“Love is inherently unequal. The allure of love is conquest and submission, the loss of dignity and freedom. South Side is for kings, North Side is for subjects.” Chen Suiyuan lightly touched the exposed skin at my collarbone, making me tremble and cry out in shock.

He smiled with satisfaction, then picked up a stray hair and tucked it into his palm.

Flirtatious, ambiguous-just a mocking game of control.

“Chen Suiyuan…” I called his name in a daze. “What exactly did you do to my sister?”

“You want to know?” He looked as excited as a predator about to catch its prey. “When you truly want to understand, when you’re ready to know everything, come find me. But by then, you probably won’t have any way left to regret it.”

He’s dangerous.

That’s the conclusion I came to.

Xiao Min’s biggest mistake was exposing herself to a danger she couldn’t withstand.