Chapter 11... Almost Missed
The grocery store was louder than Cai Lang preferred.
Too many voices. Too many exits.
He stood near the entrance, eyes scanning faces with practiced calm. Suo Ran should have been easy to spot too alert, too restless for someone pretending to shop normally.
But he wasn't there.
Cai Lang checked the aisles once.
Then twice.
Nothing.
The cashier looked at him oddly as he paused near the exit again, gaze sharp now, tension tightening his shoulders.
He pulled out his phone.
No messages.
A familiar unease crept in—slow, cold, unwelcome.
"He didn't listen," Cai Lang muttered.
Outside, the street was chaotic. A broken bottle near the entrance. A shopkeeper arguing loudly. Someone pointing down the road, animated.
Cai Lang followed the direction instinctively.
But whatever had happened had already ended.
Too late.
He stood there for a moment longer than necessary, jaw tight, then turned away.
Elsewhere
By the time Suo Ran reached his building, the adrenaline had burned itself out.
The walk back with Lian Zihao had been calm almost normal but the moment they parted, the weight returned all at once.
His steps slowed.
The world tilted slightly.
"Just tired," he told himself.
By the time he reached the entrance, his vision blurred at the edges. He leaned against the wall, breathing shallowly, the morning heat suddenly unbearable.
He didn't realize he was sliding down until the ground met him.
Nightfall
Cai Lang returned late.
Too late for his liking.
The city lights flickered on as he stepped out of the car, exhaustion settling deep in his bones not physical, but mental. His eyes lifted automatically toward Suo Ran's building.
Then..
He stopped.
Someone was sitting near the entrance.
Curled slightly.
Still.
Cai Lang's breath hitched just once.
"Suo Ran."
He crossed the distance quickly, kneeling in front of him. Suo Ran's skin was warm, his expression unfocused.
"You're burning up," Cai Lang said quietly.
Suo Ran blinked slowly, trying to focus.
"You're… back."
"Yes," Cai Lang replied, steady but tight. "Why are you sitting outside?"
Suo Ran laughed weakly. "Didn't… want to pass out alone inside."
Cai Lang's jaw clenched.
He slipped an arm around Suo Ran's shoulders, careful, controlled, lifting him with ease.
"You went out alone," Cai Lang said, not accusing stating fact.
Suo Ran leaned against him without resistance. "I ran into someone."
Cai Lang paused. "Who?"
"A… friend," Suo Ran murmured. "I think."
Something unreadable crossed Cai Lang's face.
Inside the apartment, Cai Lang set him down gently on the couch, fetched water, pressed the glass to his lips.
"Drink," he said.
Suo Ran obeyed.
Silence settled between them heavy, layered.
"I went to the grocery store," Cai Lang said finally.
Suo Ran looked up. "You did?"
"I didn't find you."
A beat.
Suo Ran's chest tightened. "Sorry."
Cai Lang studied him closely. "You should have been followed."
"I was," Suo Ran admitted softly.
Cai Lang's hand tightened on the glass.
"But I got away," Suo Ran added quickly.
"With help."
That word stayed in the air.
Help.
Cai Lang straightened slowly. "Next time," he said, voice calm but edged with steel, "don't disappear."
Suo Ran nodded, dizzy but sincere. "Okay."
Cai Lang turned awayto the kitchen, to control himself.
Behind him, Suo Ran watched his back, realizing something quietly terrifying.
Cai Lang hadn't raised his voice.
Hadn't scolded him.
He had worried.
And that made everything far more dangerous.