Ye Que had clearly thought of the same problem.
He checked meticulously and methodically, starting from the ceiling lights, then going through the smoke detectors, the air conditioning vents, and even unscrewing the base of the night light.
About five minutes later, Ye Que straightened up from the last corner.
He frowned.
"There are no surveillance devices."
Ye Que's gaze swept across the room one more time before landing back on her face.
"The entire room is clean."
This answer should have been a relief.
In her expectations, the presence of surveillance would have been the natural outcome.
But then again… maybe she was overthinking it.
When she really thought about it, everything Bai Siyuan had done from start to finish could be explained away reasonably.
Giving her earrings was concern. Inviting her back to the Bai residence was catching up. Setting up the room the way she liked it… in the pre-apocalypse era, such a cozy bedroom would easily have found a template in the old-world archives.
It was just thoughtfulness.
Right?
If she hadn't encountered Zero Squad first—hadn't gone through the Forbidden Zone, the Apocalypse Society, and life-and-death situations on the White Whale alongside them—but instead had been found by Bai Siyuan the moment she transmigrated and brought back to the Bai estate…
She would likely have thought her luck was almost impossibly good.
She would have trusted him unreservedly.
Depended on him.
After all, in this apocalypse, a gentle, handsome man who knows your every preference, opening his arms to you—
Who wouldn't fall into that?
She even briefly imagined that scene.
Being taken care of, completely. No need to be a purification resource, no need to fight for her life in dangerous zones, no need to train until her hands shook. Every morning waking up to the smell of sun-dried quilts.
It would be warm.
It would be safe.
And then?
The "and then" was a mystery to her.
But somewhere inside her body, a warning went off. A vague, baseless instinct she couldn't quite articulate.
"Jiang Nuan?"
Ye Que's voice cut through her thoughts.
She didn't know when, but he had already stood up, looking at her.
"...I'm fine." Jiang Nuan forced down the chill surging from her chest and pulled out a smile. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. At least tonight, I can get a good night's sleep."
She turned and walked into the bathroom, took a quick shower, and changed into the long-sleeved pajamas she'd brought.
When she came out, the curtains in the room had already been drawn closed.
There was still a few hours before dinner. A nap was possible.
Ye Que was lying on a three-seater sofa in the room.
At his height—just over one meter ninety—his legs were too long for the sofa to accommodate his whole body. His legs had to bend at an awkward angle, curled up in a way that looked impossibly uncomfortable no matter how he positioned himself.
Jiang Nuan paused mid-towel-dry, her hair dripping, and for no clear reason, her heart softened.
"Ye Que."
"Yeah?"
Ye Que opened his eyes.
"...You should come sleep on the bed." Jiang Nuan tried to keep her tone casual. "The bed's big enough; it's not like there's no room."
The air went quiet for two seconds.
Ye Que's gaze crossed the dim light and landed on her.
Her freshly washed hair cascaded over her pale collarbones. The collar of her pajamas was slightly loose, revealing a slender stretch of neck.
Completely defenseless.
His breath hitched.
Then he shut his eyes, rolled over in one motion—face to the back of the sofa—like he was forcibly pressing something down along with his gaze.
"No need." His voice was a little hoarse. "I'm used to it."
A pause.
"You should get to sleep as soon as possible."
The tone carried a hint of gritted teeth.
"I don't have that kind of self-restraint."
Jiang Nuan made a small "oh" sound, her cheeks warming.
She didn't say anything more. She grabbed the milky-white fleece blanket off the bed and tossed it over to him.
The blanket landed on him, loosely and softly covering half his body.
"Good afternoon."
"...Mm."
In the darkness, Ye Que's fingers slowly curled into the corner of the blanket.
It carried the scent of her.
Jiang Nuan burrowed under the covers and turned to face the wall. The comfortable bed quickly dissolved what little awareness she had left, and drowsiness rushed in like a tide.
Just as she reached the edge of sleep—
"Link established."
A cold, clear voice sounded in her mind without any warning.
"Jiang Nuan, Ye Que, and Shen Wu connected."
Jiang Nuan jolted, nearly bolting off the bed.
What?
Couldn't a person take a proper afternoon nap? So eager to work?
The next second, that cold, clear voice spoke again.
"Seems nobody is asleep. Good. Saves me from knocking."
"..." Jiang Nuan rolled over, staring at the ceiling. "What's up?"
"Haven't you all found it strange?" Shen Wu said.
Ye Que's voice followed immediately. "You mean the fact that we're having a meeting during nap time?"
"Nap time?" Shen Wu's voice rose slightly. "Please report the sleeping arrangements between you and Jiang Nuan in that bedroom."
Jiang Nuan: "..."
"I sleep on the bed. Ye Que sleeps on the sofa."
"I see." Shen Wu's tone betrayed zero emotion.
Jiang Nuan could only feel exasperated. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Shen Wu dropped the topic, his tone turning serious.
"Since we entered the main residence, I've been using my ability to probe the people around us," he said. "In the Bai family's main estate, the number of people is surprisingly low."
Jiang Nuan yawned. "What do you mean?"
"The old master, Bai Siyuan's father, his siblings—none of them are here. The only people I can reach are the butler and the staff."
Shen Wu paused for a moment.
"I read through every staff member's thoughts, one by one. Utterly worthless. They only have shift schedules, cleaning routines, and tonight's menu in their heads."
"The Bai family probably has a lot of residences," Jiang Nuan said, rubbing her eyes. "Maybe they just don't live together."
"That's possible," Shen Wu said. "But the entire mansion is designed for multi-generational cohabitation—three floors in the main building plus two side wings, big enough for at least thirty people. Something makes me uneasy."
The mental link fell silent for a beat.
Ye Que spoke.
"One of our main tasks in coming here is to investigate whether there's more to Bai Siyuan's role as a piece of the Forbidden Zone puzzle than we know."
His voice was composed.
"As long as Bai Siyuan is here, it doesn't matter who else is or isn't present. Whatever internal conflicts the Bai family has—irrelevant."
"That's all well and good," Shen Wu said. "But doesn't it seem too convenient? The day we arrive, the sprawling Bai family estate just happens to be cleared down to Bai Siyuan and a bunch of staff whose heads are filled with shift schedules."
Jiang Nuan's drowsiness was completely chased away by that statement.
She stared at the ceiling, slowly piecing together Shen Wu's meaning.
If there were other members of the Bai family in the estate, Shen Wu could read their thoughts and gain a side-angle understanding of Bai Siyuan's plans and methods.
But now, Bai Siyuan's mental ability level was on par with Shen Wu's—unreadable.
Everyone else was just ground-level staff who knew nothing.
The only valuable source of information in the entire mansion was Bai Siyuan himself.
And Bai Siyuan's mind happened to be the one thing Shen Wu couldn't read.
"He cleared the place in advance." Jiang Nuan said.
"Likely," Shen Wu answered.
A faint sense of unease settled in Jiang Nuan's chest. She instinctively glanced toward the sofa.
In the dimness, Ye Que had already sat up silently, the blanket pooled on the floor.
He was looking at her, too.
"For the next few days, everyone stays on high alert," Ye Que said.
The connection cut off, plunging back into silence—a silence so deep she could hear the wind whispering through the air-conditioning ducts.
Jiang Nuan lay in bed, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
She would almost rather be dealing with those monsters in the restricted zones.
Because at least those had rules, an unmistakable hostility written all over them.
Monsters were at least upfront about it—their "I want to eat you" plastered plainly on their faces. How honest was that?
But Bai Siyuan was different.
What he wore on his face was "I want to protect you."
She wasn't even sure what exactly she was afraid of. Was she afraid he was an enemy? Or afraid that some part of his gentleness might actually be real?
From the corridor outside came the faint sound of footsteps, approaching from a distance, pausing for a moment before her door.
Then they continued on.
