She knew that calling this number again might arouse the police's suspicion, but... thinking of how Sister Lin had always looked after her, she really couldn't bear to see anything happen to Sister Lin.
Under the influence of morality and conscience, she dialed the number.
Mao Hong listened to the slightly trembling voice of the girl on the other side, and her heart softened. She instinctively felt that this girl wouldn't be the type to prank the police or make a false report.
"Don't worry, the police are already on their way."
Hearing that the police were already heading there, Lin Xiaoyan felt a slight sense of relief, "Thank you, thank you so much!"
"You're welcome, it's what we should do."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiaoyan lay on the bed, only to realize she was drenched in sweat.
Glancing at the time, twelve minutes past midnight, she got up quickly to wash up and then lay back in bed, praying for Sister Lin's safety.
"Hiss..."
As Lin Xiaoyan closed her eyes to sleep, her left eye started to hurt again.
She had no choice but to get up and check her eye in the mirror.
It was red again!!!
Lin Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly swallowed the leftover anti-inflammatory medicine, then applied eye drops before lying back in bed.
However, after tossing and turning for half an hour, she still couldn't fall asleep. Her head was throbbing, and images of Sister Lin in danger kept flashing through her mind uncontrollably, leaving her wondering what Sister Lin's situation might be.
At some point, the rain outside quieted down, and the wind stopped.
Lin Xiaoyan forced herself to sleep; she had to work tomorrow!
That night, she drifted in and out of consciousness, and when the alarm went off, she felt a sense of relief in her heart.
Finally, she didn't have to force herself to sleep anymore; the feeling of not being able to sleep was too uncomfortable!
Lin Xiaoyan opened her eyes; her left eye still ached and looked red. She quickly freshened up, grabbed her eye drops and anti-inflammatory medicine, and headed for the company.
Walking out of the neighborhood, the scorching sun beat down on her. Lin Xiaoyan took a deep breath and quickly walked towards the bus stop, grabbing breakfast on the way.
She was eager to know how Sister Lin was doing.
When she reached the company, she saw many people gathered, discussing something. She slowed her pace, wanting to hear if they were talking about Sister Lin, but a sense of fear held her back.
She glanced at the group, unable to overcome the fear in her heart. She didn't know what to say or how to interact if she went over.
After some thought, she returned to her desk, slowly turned on her computer, and listened carefully to the conversation happening over there.
"I'm not ordering takeout anymore; it scared me to death!"
"Ai Lin is really lucky. It's a good thing the police arrived when they did; otherwise, last night could have been a disaster!"
"Exactly, so girls living alone must be careful, there are too many creeps nowadays..."
…
Listening to their fragmented conversation, Lin Xiaoyan let out a breath, finally feeling relieved, it seemed Ai Lin was okay.
She calmly turned on the computer and began organizing the files.
Working part-time at this company, Lin Xiaoyan was like an invisible person, only responsible for file management and nothing else.
Usually, only Ai Lin and the other two part-timers would chat with her; she hardly spoke with anyone else.
At noon, during the lunch break, the two other part-time girls came excitedly to Lin Xiaoyan's desk.
"Xiao Yan, it's our break, let's have lunch together!" Gao Miao quickly ran to Lin Xiaoyan's desk and said.
Then she bent down and whispered, "Did you know something big happened in the company today?"
At this moment, the other part-time girl, Susan, also ran over, whispering excitedly, "I know, I know! I heard from Sister An in front of me that something big happened to Sister Ai Lin last night!"
Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyan froze, turned off the computer, and forced a smile, "Wh-what happened?"
Susan grabbed Lin Xiaoyan, "Come on, let's eat and talk!"
Gao Miao also took Lin Xiaoyan's other arm, "Yes, yes, I almost ran late this morning and haven't had breakfast, I'm starving!"
For a moment, as the two of them linked arms with her, Lin Xiaoyan felt a pang of fear, afraid of "seeing" something again.
After a few seconds, realizing she hadn't "seen" anything, she relaxed, letting them lead her to the cafeteria.
Before long, the three of them had their meals and sat in a corner, eating and chatting.
Gao Miao devoured her food, taking several bites before feeling less starved.
"I heard from Sister An that last night, Sister Ai Lin ordered takeout, and the delivery guy broke into her place and tried to kill her!" Gao Miao whispered.
Susan took a bite of her food, barely swallowing before saying, "I heard too. Everyone has been talking about it all morning, it's so scary!"
Lin Xiaoyan gripped her chopsticks and asked, "Then, how is Sister Ai Lin...? Is she alright?"
Gao Miao took another big bite, "She's fine, just terribly scared. She only has some minor injuries and has taken a week off; she'll be back to work in a week."
"Phew... that's good." Lin Xiaoyan finally felt completely at ease, relaxing as she lowered her head to eat.
"This world is too scary now, sigh, I'm considering whether to go home and settle down."
Gao Miao wore a troubled expression, eating as she spoke, "My mom has been urging me to go back for a marriage match, to find a job there, saying they're worried about me being alone out here..."
Upon hearing this, Susan also showed a look of melancholy, "Don't even mention it, I'm also struggling with the same thing."
"Sigh, after graduation, I originally thought I'd join a company, work hard to earn money, buy my own place in this city, and then have the confidence to refuse marriage meetings when I go home..."
"But now, I've graduated for a year and still haven't been hired by a company. I spend all day scraping together various part-time jobs, living in such a shabby place with rent so high!"
"Yeah, after all the random expenses, there's hardly anything left, and now, thinking about it, actually, going home might be better."
"At least at home, there's no rent to worry about, and living expenses are covered. No matter how much you make in a month, it's enough for yourself!"
The more they talked, the more despondent Gao Miao and Susan became.
"Xiao Yan, what do you think? Are you going home?" They both looked at Lin Xiaoyan.
Listening to what they just said, Lin Xiaoyan felt a pang of bitterness inside.
"I don't know either, but for now, I don't want to go home." Lin Xiaoyan was a bit confused.
Going home, what would it change? She didn't want to live at home, for fear that if she did, her sister-in-law would get upset with the family because of her, what then?
When she was little, she thought of home as home.
Now grown up, her brother married, she realized that home was no longer just her home...