The call ended, plunging the room into absolute silence.
"Ten minutes," Qin Jiu announced coolly, glancing at his wristwatch and pronouncing their final deadline. "Perhaps less."
The countdown had begun.
Each second fell like a grain of sand in an hourglass, audible and heavy, landing squarely on Shen Mian's heart. Under this immense pressure, her earlier panic and fear strangely solidified into a cold, sharp clarity. She looked at Qin Jiu, this man she couldn't begin to fathom, who had now become the only lifeline she could grasp.
"Final step," Qin Jiu said as he walked towards her, his steps still measured as if they had ten hours, not ten minutes. "Align our stories. Get into character."
He stopped before her, his gaze intense, scrutinizing the most minute expressions on her face.
"Repeat our relationship and timeline."
Shen Mian took a deep breath, forcing her mind to detach from the chaos and enter a state of focused concentration, akin to preparing for an interrogation.
"Last night was my celebration banquet. I drank too much. You, my... husband, came to pick me up. But I was too drunk to walk, so you booked this room for us to rest. We came in and went straight to sleep until we were just woken up." Her voice still held a slight tremble, but the words were clear, the logic sound.
"Regarding the deceased, Wang Jianming."
"We don't know him. Never had any contact. Why he was in the living room is a mystery." Shen Mian replied. This was the core line that protected herself.
"Good," Qin Jiu nodded, but his demands went far beyond that. "Remember, the story is the skeleton, but the emotion is the flesh. The skeleton cannot be wrong, but the flesh must be full."
He leaned in slightly, closing the distance between them. His presence suddenly enveloped her.
"Your fear cannot be the fear of a 'suspect afraid of being caught.' It must be the panic of an 'ordinary citizen caught in a disaster not of their making.' Your dependence," his eyes rested on her still-pale face, "must feel real. Treat me as your only anchor in this chaotic world."
His words carried a strange, irresistible, hypnotic force.
Just then, faint but growing sounds of嘈杂的脚步声 (clamorous footsteps) and serious, muted conversation became audible from somewhere down the hall outside!
The police were here! Sooner than expected!
Shen Mian's breath hitched; her blood seemed to freeze solid.
In that moment of mental blankness, as her body instinctively screamed to flee—
A warm, dry hand firmly enveloped her own icy, trembling one.
It was Qin Jiu.
The warmth from his palm shot through her like a faint electric current, momentarily piercing her panic. Shen Mian looked up in shock, meeting his eyes. In those eyes, which had previously held only cold analysis and absolute control, there now seemed to... ripple a layer of gentle, firm reassurance.
"Don't be afraid," he said softly, his voice utterly different from the feigned hoarseness she had used on the phone. It was a unnervingly steady sound, strangely soothing, carrying a weight of promise. "Look at me. I'm here."
In that moment, a wave of profound absurdity washed over Shen Mian once more.
The man who had pushed her into this desperate situation was now, in the most reliable manner, pulling her out of the abyss of panic. This path to survival he had laid out—leading into the unknown—was paved with thorns and lies, yet it was the only direction visible in the darkness.
The doorbell rang.
"Ding dong—"
The crisp sound exploded like thunder in the deathly quiet room, announcing the end of the countdown.
Qin Jiu tightened his grip on her hand, the pressure leaving no room for refusal. Then, holding her hand, he led her steadily towards the door facing the unknown, like a truly trusting couple about to greet morning visitors.
Shen Mian followed his lead, her eyes dropping to their joined hands.
This was the hand that had just directed every step of "staging the scene," the hand that had dragged her deeper into complicity. Now, it transmitted not cold commands, but warm, supporting strength.
This sole way out—she was already on it, with no turning back.