Chapter 15: Can... Can You Give Me a Sip of Water?

【System Notification: Resources in the villa are insufficient; only 3 bottles of drinking water remain. It is recommended to prioritize core members.】

Lin Chen leaned against the sofa, unscrewed a bottle of water, and drank most of it.

The sound of his Adam's apple bobbing was exceptionally clear in the quiet living room.

Xia Nuan sat beside him, holding another bottle of water in her hands.

She took small sips, her gaze occasionally darting toward Su Qing in the corner.

Su Qing curled up on the floor, her back against the wall.

Her lips were so dry and cracked that the skin was peeling.

She stared at the water bottles in their hands, her own Adam's apple bobbing.

Finally gathering her courage to speak, her voice was as raspy as rusted iron sheets:

"Can... can you give me a sip of water?"

Xia Nuan immediately gripped her water bottle tight, looked up at Lin Chen,

her eyes filled with pleading.

Lin Chen did not look at her; his gaze fell upon Su Qing,

cold as quenched ice: "Put it down."

Xia Nuan's hand froze in mid-air, then slowly withdrew.

She stuffed the water bottle into her backpack, zipping it shut quickly and tightly.

Su Qing's face instantly turned pale; she lowered her eyes.

Her long eyelashes cast a shadow beneath them, concealing the emotions within.

"You're thirsty?" Lin Chen stood up and walked to stand before her.

He looked down at her from above; right at his feet was the bucket Su Qing had knocked over while mopping earlier, the water stain not yet dry.

"If you're thirsty, then endure it." He paused.

His voice was as cold as the wind outside the window.

"Have you forgotten that summer in our senior year of high school? You locked me in the art studio, giving me not a single drop of water all day, just because the sketch I drew was better than the one that won you the award."

Su Qing's shoulders jerked violently, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms.

How could she forget what happened that summer—

Lin Chen had squatted in the corner of the art studio, clutching his drawing board, his lips so dry and cracked they bled.

Meanwhile, she had been outside celebrating her award with classmates; hearing the faint knocking from within, she had laughed and said, "Let him stay a while longer to grind down his arrogance."

"I..." Su Qing wanted to argue,

but her throat felt blocked, able to emit only fragmented gasps.

Seeing her like this, Lin Chen felt no turmoil in his heart,

only a numb chill.

"You won't die of thirst." He dropped these words,

turned around, walked back to the sofa, picked up his water bottle, and took another sip,

deliberately amplifying the sound of the water flowing down his throat.

Su Qing lowered her head, resting her chin on her knees.

She could clearly feel the burning pain in her throat, as if a ball of fire were blazing there.

Xia Nuan watched her, quietly fished a mint candy out of her pocket,

and intended to hand it over, but just as her hand extended halfway, she met Lin Chen's gaze—

that look was so cold it made her instantly retract her hand, stuff the candy back into her pocket, her fingertips trembling.

"Who allowed you to act on pity?" Lin Chen's voice was not loud,

yet it carried an unquestionable authority.

"Have you forgotten how she swapped your entry design draft for waste paper?"

Xia Nuan's face instantly turned pale.

In the design competition during their sophomore year of college, the draft she had stayed up three consecutive nights to create

suddenly turned into waste paper the day before the finals; only later did she learn that Su Qing had tampered with it, all because a mentor had praised her by saying she "had spirit."

Su Qing's back stiffened even more, her shoulders trembling slightly,

yet she did not raise her head again.

In the living room, only the ticking of the wall clock remained,

along with the occasional sound of Lin Chen drinking water.

【System Notification: Su Qing's dehydration state is worsening; physical stamina has dropped to 60%. Continued lack of water will impair basic mobility.】

Lin Chen glanced at the system panel, then shifted his gaze toward the window—

sometime unnoticed, snow had begun to fall, the flakes swirling as they descended.

Soon, a thin layer of white accumulated on the windowsill.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.

Cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in, making one shiver.

"It's snowing outside," Lin Chen said.

Xia Nuan came over to take a look; the snow was not heavy, but dense.

The roof of the bicycle shed downstairs had already turned white.

Lin Chen suddenly turned his head to look at Su Qing in the corner:

"Go stand downstairs. Stay there for a full hour before coming back up."

"Now?" Xia Nuan started in surprise,

"It's snowing outside; you'll catch a cold!"

Lin Chen ignored her, staring only at Su Qing: "Did you hear me?"

Su Qing slowly lifted her head, her eyes devoid of emotion,

neither surprised nor angry, only a dead-water-like obedience.

She stood up and walked toward the door, still wearing thin house slippers,

the edges of which were worn through.

"No need to change shoes," Lin Chen added,

his gaze falling on her bare ankles—

last winter, wearing these very slippers, she had thrown Lin Chen's art supplies off the teaching building's rooftop, watching him pick up shards in the snow while saying, "Who told you to refuse helping me revise my competition entry."

Su Qing's steps faltered briefly before she continued forward,

the instant she pulled open the door, a cold wind rolled snowflakes inside,

she shivered yet still walked out step by step, her figure quickly disappearing at the stairwell.

Lin Chen shut the door, blocking the wind and snow outside.

Xia Nuan bit her lip and whispered, "Isn't this too..."

"Too what?" Lin Chen cut her off, walking over to sit on the sofa,

picking up a book to flip through,

"Last winter, she locked me on the balcony, making me stand in the snow for two hours just because I refused to copy her thesis."

His hand flipping the pages paused slightly, his voice softening,

"I was running a fever; she was inside video-calling her boyfriend, laughing and saying, 'Look at him, doesn't he look like a pitiful worm?'"

Xia Nuan's words stuck in her throat,

last winter when Lin Chen suddenly developed a fever and was hospitalized, she had visited him,

his arms covered in red frostbite marks; back then he had only said he accidentally fell in the snow, so it was actually...

The living room fell silent, with only the sound of turning pages and the faint wind outside.

The hour passed excruciatingly slowly; Xia Nuan checked the wall clock countless times,

each movement of the hands feeling like crawling.

Finally, when the hour hand pointed to the full hour, Lin Chen closed the book:

"Let her come up."

Xia Nuan practically ran downstairs, and within minutes,

returned supporting Su Qing.

Su Qing was soaked through, fine ice crystals clinging to her hair,

her cheeks frozen red, lips turning purple; as soon as she entered, she slid down the door panel to sit on the floor,

her body trembling like a leaf in the wind, lacking even the strength to speak.

Lin Chen took a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator—

it had been specially frozen in the freezer compartment earlier, frost still coating the bottle.

He walked over, did not bend down, but simply pinched Su Qing's chin,

forcing her to tilt her head back, unscrewed the cap, and poured it straight into her mouth.

"Mmph..." Su Qing shook her head desperately,

ice water streaming down the corners of her mouth, soaking her collar and bringing a bone-chilling cold.

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, tears mixing with the ice water as they fell,

yet she dared not struggle, only allowing the icy liquid to choke down her throat, triggering a fit of violent coughing.

Lin Chen poured half the bottle before letting go.

Su Qing lay prostrate on the floor, coughing as if tearing her heart and lungs apart,

every breath exhaling white mist, her lips shivering from the cold.

Xia Nuan wanted to cover her with a blanket, but Lin Chen pressed down on her wrist:

"Let her lie prone."

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang,

the ding-dong-ding-dong sounding especially jarring in the quiet room.

Lin Chen's eyes instantly sharpened; he walked to the door and looked out through the peephole—

standing at the entrance was a man in a black down jacket, carrying an insulated food container, looking up toward the upper floors.

It was Zhao Kai.

【System Notification: Associated character "Zhao Kai" detected arriving; carried items contain food components; current hostility value unknown】

Lin Chen's brows knitted together.

How had Zhao Kai found this place?

He glanced back at Su Qing, who was still lying prone on the floor,

then looked at Xia Nuan, whose face was taut with tension, and said in a lowered voice:

"Without my order, no one is to make a sound."

Having said that, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Upon seeing him, Zhao Kai immediately plastered a smile on his face:

"Brother Chen, long time no see; I came to bring you some things..."

Before he could finish, his gaze swept past Lin Chen and landed on Su Qing lying on the ground, his smile instantly freezing.

"Why is she here?" Zhao Kai's voice dropped,

his knuckles turning white as he crushed the thermal flask in his hand.

Lin Chen stepped sideways to block his view, his tone flat:

"What business is it of yours?"

Zhao Kai didn't answer, his eyes fixed firmly on Su Qing,

then suddenly raised his voice: "Is Fengzi with you?"

Lin Chen's heart sank sharply.

Zhao Feng? The younger brother Zhao Kai had protected since childhood, and also... the junior student whom Su Qing had once tricked into taking the fall.

Su Qing had lifted her head at some point,

ice crystals still clinging to her face, staring vacantly at Zhao Kai; her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Zhao Kai's expression grew increasingly grim,

until he suddenly shoved Lin Chen aside, rushed into the room, and grabbed Su Qing by the collar:

"Where is my brother? Where have you hidden him?"

Su Qing swayed from the pull, coughing several times,

her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum: "He... he isn't here..."

"Not here?" Zhao Kai laughed,

laughing until his eyes turned red. "His phone's last location was in this building! And you say he isn't here?"

Lin Chen stepped forward, intending to pull them apart,

but Zhao Kai whipped his head around, his eyes looking as if he wanted to devour someone:

"Lin Chen, don't protect her! Have you forgotten how badly she ruined Fengzi back then?"

【System Notification: Zhao Kai's hostility value surges to 80%; conflict with Su Qing intensifies, triggering an imminent confrontation.】

Lin Chen's hand halted in mid-air.

How could he forget what happened back then—

Su Qing had pinned the cheating scandal on Zhao Feng, getting him disciplined and nearly preventing his graduation,

while she secured the postgraduate recommendation slot, smiling as she said, "Who told him to be so easily fooled."

All color drained completely from Su Qing's face,

her lips trembling as she failed to utter a single complete sentence.

Seeing her like this, Zhao Kai's fury only intensified,

his fists clenching with an audible crunch.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from downstairs,

someone shouting as they ran: "Brother Kai! We found him! Fengzi... he's in the flowerbed downstairs..."

Zhao Kai's body went rigid instantly,

and he abruptly released Su Qing, rushing downstairs like a madman.

Lin Chen's heart gave a jolt, and he ran out after him,

but upon reaching the stairwell landing, he saw several male students surrounding the flowerbed,

one of them squatting on the ground, his voice choked with tears:

"Brother Kai, Fengzi... he has no breath..."

Snow continued to fall, landing on Zhao Feng's pale face,

like a sprinkling of salt.

In his hand, he still clutched a drawing depicting Su Qing as she looked in university, its corners worn frayed.

Su Qing had followed out at some point,

standing at the stairwell corner; upon seeing the person in the flowerbed, she suddenly let out a piercing scream,

then, as if all strength had been drained from her, collapsed straight to the ground.

Lin Chen felt as if something had violently seized his heart,

and gazing at the swirling snow, he suddenly felt that every inch of air within this villa was cold enough to suffocate.

【System Notification: Major negative event detected. Zhao Feng's vital signs have ceased; Su Qing has fainted; Zhao Kai has lost emotional control. Danger level rising sharply.】

Zhao Kai knelt in the snow, cradling Zhao Feng's body,

his shoulders shaking violently; though he made no sound, the sight tightened hearts more than any wail could.

After a few seconds, he suddenly lifted his head,

his bloodshot eyes locking onto Su Qing at the stairwell entrance like a wolf cornered with no escape.

"I'll kill you!" Zhao Kai roared,

snatching a brick from the ground and charging toward Su Qing like a madman.

Do you think this paragraphing meets your expectations? If you feel any part needs adjustment, just let me know anytime.