What if she was asleep, and knocking on the door to wake her up would only make him look like he was overthinking things?
After much thought, Tang Si felt his pride was important, so he turned and went to his bedroom, pushed open the bedroom window, and climbed out.
The houses of the Yin clan were designed with overhanging eaves and dougong brackets, similar to ancient architecture. Leaping from the window and stepping on the green bricks and tiles, he easily reached the window of Shi Ran's living room.
Her room's window was half-open. He pushed the window open, tiptoed in, and entered the living room.
Standing in the living room, he faintly heard sounds coming from the bedroom.
He couldn't help but wonder, wasn't she asleep so late at night?
Tang Si walked towards the bedroom, reached out, and gently pushed the door open. He then discovered that the bedside lamp in the bedroom had been on, and the phone was playing some Yin clan songs he couldn't understand.
The bedding on the bed was piled up, and there was no sign of Shi Ran.
Tang Si's heart skipped a beat, and he began to panic.
Where was Shi Ran?
He went to the bathroom, pushed the door open, and found no one inside. He turned and walked out of the bedroom, then went to the study, but it was also empty.
"Shi Ran?"
Tang Si called out, but no one answered.
Now, he was even more worried about Shi Ran. He returned to the bedroom, wanting to observe carefully, to see if the bedroom could reveal anything.
Standing in the bedroom, Tang Si carefully examined every detail, but found no signs of a struggle.
Then where had Shi Ran gone?
Just as Tang Si hesitated, he keenly noticed that the wardrobe door moved.
His brow furrowed. He glanced at the ashtray on the bedroom table, picked it up, and holding it in his hand, he slowly walked towards the wardrobe.
Standing beside the wardrobe, he listened again for any movement inside. Finding none, he raised his hand, grasped the handle of the wardrobe door, and yanked it open with a sudden pull...
"Ah—!!!"
A sharp scream came from inside.
Tang Si then saw Shi Ran curled up in a corner of the wardrobe, her head buried between her knees, trembling.
With a bang, the ashtray in Tang Si's hand fell to the floor. He grabbed Shi Ran's arm and pulled her out. "Shi Ran, it's me!"
Shi Ran, who was terrified, looked up. Seeing Tang Si standing outside, she immediately hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest, and wept silently.
As Shi Ran lunged into his arms, Tang Si felt her entire body was soaked and covered in sweat.
Her pitiable appearance ignited Tang Si's protective instincts. Unexplainably, his throat tightened, and he felt a pang of heartache.
He reproached himself, thinking that he shouldn't have deliberately made things difficult for Shi Ran earlier that evening; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so frightened.
"Little fool, don't be afraid, I'm here."
He held her waist with one hand and gently stroked her hair with the other, constantly comforting her.
"So it was you who came in, you scared me to death..."
Shi Ran choked back a sob.
Shi Ran, who was afraid of the dark, couldn't sleep, so she kept the light on and played music. But just as she fell asleep, she had several nightmares and was still shaken.
Who knew she would hear faint sounds from outside? She was so frightened that she hid directly in the wardrobe.
Especially when she heard someone shouting 'Shi Ran' from outside, she was too nervous to recognize it was Tang Si's voice and even thought it was an auditory hallucination.
Who would have thought it would be Tang Si!
"Yes, okay, I'll stay with you. I'll stay with you..."
Tang Si nodded, let her go, and took her hand. "If you're scared here, come to my place. Don't worry, I won't... I won't 'bully' you anymore."
Hearing his promise, Shi Ran didn't refuse. She quietly followed him to Tang Si's adjacent suite.
A few hours earlier, after arguing with Tang Si, she had returned to her bedroom in anger, thinking she had enough backbone to get through the night and gradually adapt.
But she had overestimated herself.
Now that Tang Si had come to find her, Shi Ran was eager to take advantage of the situation and escape her cold and eerie room.
Tang Si had expected Shi Ran to come over that night, so he had deliberately not locked his door, which made it convenient for them to enter.
He led Shi Ran into his bedroom, pulled her to sit on the bed, and leaned against the headboard.
Seeing that her face was still covered in sweat, he went to the bathroom, returned with a damp towel, sat beside her, and thoughtfully wiped the sweat from her face.
Shi Ran was still in shock. Even though Tang Si was caring and as gentle as water, she didn't pay much attention.
Tang Si noticed that Shi Ran was not quite right. He casually placed the towel on a nearby table, sat cross-legged on the bed, and asked her, "Tell me, why are you so afraid of the dark? You weren't this scared back in Lancheng."