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

Lin Zhiyao did not answer.

She groped along the wall with her fingers, half-squatting, while her other hand reached out onto the floor. When she touched the white cane, she gripped it tightly and slowly stood up.

My whole body was ice cold.

Yes.

She didn't actually know anything about Shen Jin's background, and Shen Jin had never told her anything.

Lin Zhiyao felt a sudden dizziness.

The smell of rust still lingered in the air, and Gu Yuanshao's heavy breathing came out intermittently from the crack in the door.

"Speak up! Lin Zhiyao! Are you even here?!"

Gu Yuanshao's voice suddenly rose, and the chains rattled loudly, as if he had fallen to the door.

Lin Zhiyao subconsciously took half a step back, her back hitting the wall opposite in the corridor, causing her a sharp pain.

"……exist."

Lin Zhiyao's throat tightened, and her voice was so thin it sounded like it was being squeezed out of her throat.

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door.

Then Gu Yuanshao let out a strange sound that sounded like laughter mixed with choking: "Okay, it's good that you're here. Listen carefully, that guy surnamed Shen is no good. He locked me up here and pretended to be me to get out, do you understand?"

"He's impersonating you?"

"He claims he's the real grandson of that old man from the Gu family!" Gu Yuanshao's voice suddenly became agitated again. "Who knows where he came from? He says he was switched at birth when he was little, that I'm an imposter, and that he'll take back everything that belongs to him—isn't he crazy?"

The chains rattled again, this time more rapidly, the clanging of metal growing louder.

Lin Zhiyao gripped the white cane tighter and tighter, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.

"He took you to that dinner party last night, didn't he? Damn it, wearing my clothes, using my identity, and showing off my fiancée in public."

Gu Yuanshao spoke too hastily, choked, and began to cough violently.

Lin Zhiyao didn't say anything.

She leaned against the wall, her face upturned, her unfocused gaze fixed on the ceiling. Her mind was a mess, and her vision was growing increasingly blurry as tears streamed down her face.

Last night, she thought it was just the intimacy between friends. She even took the initiative to ask him if he wanted to do this in the future, and asked him if he was feeling unwell. She also tried to help him relieve his discomfort despite her shyness.

She thought she was being treated well for the first time, but it turned out to be a setup from beginning to end.

And she, like a fool, thought all that concern was genuine.

"...And what about you?" Lin Zhiyao looked back at the dark dungeon and asked softly, "How did you end up locked up here? And when were you imprisoned here?"

"I was kidnapped by his men on the very first night I brought him in." Gu Yuanshao's voice lowered, filled with hatred. "He knocked me out and dumped me in this basement, taking advantage of the fact that I don't know many people in the country. He even fooled you, so of course he can fool others too."

Lin Zhiyao's hand, gripping the white cane, was trembling.

She stared at the blurry darkness before her, her mind replaying Shen Jin's words—

Yao Yao, you are the only one...

This is something only best friends can do...

If you sleep with someone else, it's a betrayal of me...

Every word felt like a thin thread wrapped around her neck; she thought it was gentle then, but now she just felt breathless.

It turned out to be a scam from beginning to end.

She was the only one who took it seriously; she was ridiculously foolish.

Lin Zhiyao's face was already covered in tears without her realizing it, and her heart was clenching painfully.

"You really didn't notice anything at all?" Gu Yuanshao continued, his voice now filled with agitation that overshadowed his weakness. "It's my fault for listening to him when I first came back. If I had gotten to know the people in China sooner, I wouldn't have given him an opportunity. I really fell for his trick! Damn it, I'm nothing like him. Only a blind person like you or someone who's never met me would be fooled by him—"

"Shut up."

Lin Zhiyao suddenly spoke.

The voice wasn't loud, and it was even a little hoarse, but Gu Yuanshao on the other side of the door clearly paused for a moment.

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Yuanshao chuckled, "Fine, I'll shut up. Anyway, I've said my piece, believe it or not. If you still want to be fooled by him, then pretend I didn't say anything... Anyway, you'd better come over here now and find a way to get me out of here."

Lin Zhiyao pursed her lips into a thin line, turned around, tapped her cane on the ground, and walked away with a clattering sound.

"Where are you going?" Gu Yuanshao called after her. "You're not thinking of going back to him, are you? After what he did to you last night, do you really think he treated you like a human being?"

"And what about you?" Lin Zhiyao stopped, her back to the darkness. "Have you ever treated me like a human being?"

She would never go to save Gu Yuanshao.

It would be best if that scum died.

"Damn it! Lin Zhiyao, don't go! Come back here right now! Let me out!" Gu Yuanshao was clearly out of his mind, not expecting Lin Zhiyao to dare to completely ignore him. "Damn it! Come back now—"

Lin Zhiyao walked quickly outside, tapping her white cane rapidly and repeatedly. She bumped into the corner of the wall several times and almost fell, but she didn't care.

Lin Zhiyao didn't know where to go.

But the only thing she knew was that she absolutely could not go back to that room to wait.

Perhaps she really should call the police; if she walks out onto the street, she'll surely encounter a kind person willing to call the police for her.

Clearly, Shen Jin had achieved his goal of getting close to her; last night was the moment he completely impersonated Gu Yuanshao and established a firm foothold in the country. In other words, she was no longer of any use to Shen Jin.

So, what does Shen Jin plan to do with her? Will she be chained up and locked up like Gu Yuanshao?

Lin Zhiyao gripped the white cane tightly in her hand, a layer of cold sweat appearing on her forehead.

She walked outside, guided by her memory and the blurry light and shadows before her eyes.

But at the next corner.

She suddenly bumped into a solid wall of people with a familiar scent.

"Hmm."

Lin Zhiyao groaned in pain, tears welling up in her almond-shaped eyes, but her body was completely stiff, trembling slightly as she stood there, afraid to move.

Because the person in front of me is Shen Jin.

She wouldn't mistake that taste.

"Yao Yao".

Shen Jin spoke slowly, taking a step closer to her, seemingly tilting his head to examine her expression. "Why did you come out? You look unwell; are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Zhiyao swallowed subconsciously and gripped her white cane tightly, looking very nervous.

She didn't know how long Shen Jin had been standing there, nor whether he had heard her conversation with Gu Yuanshao.

Will he know she's trying to escape and call the police? Probably not...

Otherwise, Shen Jin wouldn't be so calm, and there would be no need for him to continue pretending with her.

Lin Zhiyao secretly cheered herself up and tried to calm down. "It's nothing... I'm just used to staying in my room. I went out once recently and felt that it wasn't good to stay in my room all the time, so I wanted to take a walk around."

"Yeah?"

Shen Jin approached her and stood right in front of her, his voice soft and gentle.