Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Lin Zhiyao said honestly, "I saw that you took a lot of photos of me."

Shen Jin ran his fingertips along the edge of his phone, his fox-like eyes lowering.

His gaze lingered on Lin Zhiyao's pretty face for a moment, as if confirming something.

Her eyes held only curiosity and doubt, not panic or fear.

Unaware, Lin Zhiyao leaned closer and smiled at a photo in the album of herself squatting next to a palm tree. Her almond-shaped eyes crinkled as she said, "So there are still several photos of me with raccoons that haven't been sent yet. This one is even better than the previous one."

She looked up, her tone slightly puzzled, "It looked really good, why didn't you say anything or post anything back then?"

Shen Jin loosened his grip on his phone.

The dark expression that had been rapidly tightening on his face slowly faded away. He casually flipped his phone over and placed it face down on the table, then naturally continued the conversation: "That angle isn't good enough. If you like it, I'll edit it and send it to you later."

After saying that, Shen Jin didn't wait for Lin Zhiyao to think about it. Seeing that she liked it, he picked up another shrimp dumpling and put it on her plate. "By the way, there's a musical tonight. I bought the tickets."

"Musical?" Lin Zhiyao was indeed led astray, and naturally put the shrimp dumpling into her mouth, her attention shifting from her phone to his face.

"Yes, it's The Phantom of the Opera."

Shen Jin pulled two tickets from his shirt pocket and handed them to her. "The best actor who played the Phantom in London's West End is touring here this week. We can meet up after the show."

He looked down at Lin Zhiyao.

His gaze fell on her suddenly brightening almond-shaped eyes. "I had someone book the tickets."

Shen Jin added, "The female lead is the one who just won a Tony Award last week."

Her fox-like eyes lowered, her tone flat, as if stating something insignificant: "Christine, widely recognized in the industry as the best actress in the cast recently."

If it were a man... he wouldn't show it on his face, but the shadow of gloom would already be creeping up in his heart.

But Lin Zhiyao was completely oblivious; she was completely captivated by the words "The Phantom of the Opera," and as she took the ticket with both hands, her eyes sparkling, she exclaimed, "I've always wanted to see this! I saw some clips before, and I thought she sang so well. I really want to hear her sing live..."

"I heard that because that singer was so good, tickets were hard to come by. I didn't expect to actually be able to buy a ticket..." Lin Zhiyao couldn't suppress the excitement in her voice, and the last syllable of her voice rose up.

"Okay." Shen Jin withdrew his hand, looking at her happy expression, the gloom in his eyes faded, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Let's go, the car is waiting."

Lin Zhiyao had already stood up, carefully put the tickets into her bag, turned around to get her coat, and completely forgot about the photo album.

Shen Jin stood there, watching her bustling around. His phone lit up on the screen; it was a message from his assistant: "Mr. Shen, the surveillance footage has been encrypted and sent; the original file has been destroyed."

He glanced at it only once before pulling up the encrypted file and quickly scanning the progress bar.

The effect is indeed very good.

Shen Jin's lips curled slightly, but unfortunately he didn't have time to look closely. He locked the screen and followed Lin Zhiyao's chattering and excited steps as she walked out.

*

As the musical ended, a vast expanse of orange-red sunset painted the sky, layering across the low skyline of Los Angeles.

Lin Zhiyao emerged from the side door with a flushed face, her almond-shaped eyes shining brightly. She was still clutching the autographed program she had just received, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Shen Jin walked beside her, his gaze falling on her profile, which was glowing with excitement in the sunset.

"Oh my god, oh my god, she sang so well."

Lin Zhiyao spoke repeatedly, her whole body still dizzy from the high note at the end, and her eyes even felt a little sore.

Shen Jin stood beside her, glanced down at her slightly red nose, and said nothing. He simply took out a black business card from his coat pocket and handed it to her between his fingers.

"Want to see her? Let's have a meal together."

Lin Zhiyao looked up, her almond-shaped eyes still glistening with lingering tears of excitement, and blinked blankly, "...What?"

"Cass is free tonight, we can have dinner together."

Shen Jin handed the card to Lin Zhiyao, which had the restaurant's address and private room number printed on it. "She will warm up her voice just for you and sing a song you choose, or a scene from a musical."

Lin Zhiyao froze for two seconds, then burst into a short, surprised gasp, her almond-shaped eyes shining, her hands unconsciously gripping Shen Jin's sleeves: "Really? Really? Any song is fine?"

Shen Jin looked down at her fingers gripping his sleeve, the tips of which were slightly white from the force. He smiled for a moment, but said nothing.

He just turned his head and glanced at the side door where the waiting area was not far away.

The female lead, wearing a light pink dress, was standing there with a not-too-ostentatious sports car parked next to her. When she saw the two of them looking over, she smiled and waved to Lin Zhiyao.

Lin Zhiyao almost instinctively took a step, but stopped abruptly after two steps and turned back to look at Shen Jin.

Shen Jin stood there without moving, his hands in his coat pockets. His fox-like eyes swept over the lingering excitement on her face, and he said calmly, "I won't go. After it's over, I'll contact the driver and go back to my apartment in Los Angeles."

He pulled a key from his pocket and handed it to him: "I've already sent you the address."

Lin Zhiyao took the keys, her fingertips still feeling the lingering warmth, and nodded to him, "Okay, I'm going now, Shen... my boyfriend."

He held the last two words in his mouth, but changed them anyway. After saying them, he turned and ran, his steps filled with an uncontrollable joy.

Shen Jin stood still, his gaze following her retreating figure.

Lin Zhiyao ran to the car, the two exchanged a few words, and then she opened the car door and got in, without looking back at him once from beginning to end.

The car windows were tinted with privacy film, and her figure quickly disappeared behind the tinted glass.

Shen Jin's lips slowly curved into a smile.

The warmth in the fox's eyes gradually faded, and a cold, indifferent curve appeared on his jawline.

His expression was somewhat sinister.

He stood on the street corner for about five or six seconds. Passersby occasionally glanced at him, but were quickly frightened and hurried away.

Shen Jin slowly withdrew his gaze, pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and clenched his fingers tightly in his pocket.

I do have an urge to go there.

He scooped the petite figure back up and pulled her close to him, ensuring that no one else could even glance at her.

But he didn't move.

Shen Jin walked toward the car beside him.

The driver had already opened the car door for him. Shen Jin leaned back in his seat, the curtains half-drawn, and whispered, "Drive faster."

*

When Shen Jin returned to the apartment, the sunset outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was gradually sinking.

He sat on the leather sofa in the center of the living room, in front of him a huge screen embedded in the wall, which was shining with a cold blue light.

It's the blue light of the pool water.

The shimmering reflections on the water.

Lin Zhiyao was standing up from the poolside, her light blue bikini straps loosely draped over her waist, water droplets rolling down the curve of her neck, her cheeks still flushed.

Shen Jin's Adam's apple bobbed deeply as he unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt collar, his fox-like eyes fixed intently on the screen.

The sound of water, recorded by a microphone by the pool, drifted from the speakers, along with her soft, sticky moans, mixed with the splashing water.

Shen Jin removed his fingers from the sofa armrest. After a long while, he tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing heavily, and an unnatural flush gradually rose to his face. "Uh..."

In the picture, Lin Zhiyao is turning her head to talk to him, her cheeks are flushed, her lips are parting and closing, and she looks incredibly beautiful with her skin glistening.

He held her by the waist, and she clung to him, her neck hunched in the night breeze. Her lips moved, but her voice was muffled.

Shen Jin repeatedly pressed the replay button, watching the segment with no dialogue but only breathing and broken sounds over and over again.

Night gradually fell outside the window.

The light from the screen reflected on Shen Jin's porcelain-white, gloomy face, turning his pupils into a small, flowing patch of cold blue.

Shen Jin's knuckles turned white as he stared, his breathing grew heavier, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on his forehead. The sweat slid down his temples and into his open collar, making the scratch mark left by Lin Zhiyao on his collarbone yesterday even redder.

Sounds emanated continuously from the millions of surround sound speakers—fragmented, damp, gasps and sobs through the water, amplified and then amplified, densely enveloping the entire enclosed space.

…………

……

Until it was completely dark.

It was already eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

Only the screen's light was still on in the theater.

Shen Jin remained seated, his eyes glued to the screen, his face flushed, and dark sweat stains visible on the front of his half-open shirt.

"Yaoyao..."

His fox-like eyes were half-closed, the veins on his neck were bulging, and low groans and heavy breathing kept escaping from between his lips.

……

at the same time.

Downstairs in the apartment.

A silver-gray sports car came to a stop in front of the apartment building.

"What a coincidence! You also live in this apartment complex."

Lin Zhiyao unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, turned around, bent down, and waved to the driver's seat, "Thank you for bringing me back!"

"This area has the best security and is well-maintained. Wealthy people and celebrities all choose to live in this neighborhood."

The woman in the driver's seat leaned out, her red lips curving into a smile: "Baby, I really enjoyed chatting with you today. I hope we'll have the chance to meet again in the future." Then she blew a kiss over.

Lin Zhiyao smiled and took it, straightened up, and glanced at her phone.

It happened much earlier than expected.

The actress's cat broke the automatic feeder, and the screen was filled with video clips of the cat meowing at the camera. She was in a hurry to get back and fix it.

Although Lin Zhiyao felt regretful, she also felt that the kitten was more important, so the actress brought it back for her as an apology.

The apartment building's main entrance has an electronic lock.

Lin Zhiyao swiped the card Shen Jin gave her, and the elevator ascended smoothly. She walked to the door, inserted the key into the lock, and gently turned it open.

The lights were off inside.

The entryway was pitch black, with only a sliver of light leaking through the curtains at the end of the corridor, barely illuminating the outline of the living room sofa.

The layout here is similar to the apartment she rented from her company in China, except that it has a two-story design with a penthouse. Shen Jin had told her about it beforehand, so Lin Zhiyao wasn't unfamiliar with it.

Lin Zhiyao changed into slippers, a little doubt rising in her mind.

Is Shen Jin not here?

I didn't see anyone.

Lin Zhiyao didn't say anything either.

She took two steps inside, crossed the porch and turned into the living room. Before her eyes had fully adjusted to the light in the darkness, she suddenly heard a very faint, intermittent sound coming from further inside the apartment.

Lin Zhiyao stopped in her tracks, her body stiffening with tension. Who was there? What were they doing?

She listened intently.

The intermittent sounds inside were muffled, as if pressed deep in the throat, with a kind of suppressed, restrained ending tone, rough and damp, mixed in with the low airflow of the air conditioner. If you didn't stand in the empty living room and listen carefully, you would almost ignore it.

Lin Zhiyao's eyelashes trembled violently.

She recognized it; it sounded like... Shen Jin's voice.