Lin Qing closed his eyes, looking quite content.

There was even a smile on his lips. He was clearly in a very good mood.

Su Yao, on the other hand, was thoroughly annoyed.

She lay on the bed beside his, which had been remade with fresh bedding. She wanted to speak to Lin Qing, but when she remembered the bet they’d made, she forced herself to hold back.

If she won, Lin Qing would grant her one request.

Anything at all.

He’d even agree to die for her.

If Su Yao lost, she wouldn’t have to give up anything.

She hadn’t wanted to take part in such a silly bet. But when she saw how serious Lin Qing was, she was tempted!

They’d only spent a short time together, but Su Yao knew Lin Qing wasn’t one to make empty promises.

If anything, he was very sincere.

Especially when he pushed her away. He’d done it with complete sincerity.

So a bet with their lives on the line was pretty special!

Though Su Yao knew the only reason Lin Qing had made the bet was that he wanted to push her away.

He didn’t want her to keep pestering him.

But why turn down such an exciting game?

But…

After she agreed to the bet, she hadn’t expected it to be a game of statue!

Whoever spoke or moved first would lose.

Opening or closing their eyes didn’t count.

The bet would last until midnight. Once the clock passed twelve, it would have no effect and be void.

The rules were simple, and they suited Lin Qing’s intentions perfectly. He’d managed to get Su Yao to quiet down.

She could only lie still in bed without moving, but for Lin Qing, who was used to time standing still, that wasn’t a restriction at all.

Back when he was locked in an iron cage, he’d also curled up in a corner and stayed there.

He’d quietly watched countless people appear and disappear. The Black-Faced Man’s cleaver rose and fell, leaving the room awash in blood. In the end, Lin Qing was the only one left alive.

Or rather, he’d been the only one alive from beginning to end.

It was strange.

But Lin Qing didn’t want to dig deeper, and he couldn’t.

After he escaped from the underground room where he’d been held captive, a passerby found him collapsed in the grass, skin and bones, and immediately called the police.

That set off a chain of events. By the time the police reached the underground room, the killer in the black mask who’d imprisoned Lin Qing had already taken his own life.

Blood covered the floor. It was a gruesome scene.

When Lin Qing heard the news from the police, he showed no reaction. He just stared at everything with blank, numb eyes, still unable to feel that he’d returned to the real world.

And the Black-Faced Man’s death was utterly ridiculous.

At least, after what had happened, Lin Qing couldn’t believe the Black-Faced Man would choose to kill himself.

“Wait. Who are you?”

Lin Qing was lost in memories of the past when a voice suddenly sounded outside the hospital room, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

The only person who’d come at this hour, besides Li Mei, should be… no one.

Su Yao had guessed right.

Li Mei hadn’t given up.

Lin Qing calmly glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. It read 11:50 p.m. Was she already making her move before midnight?

It was a little unexpected, but it didn’t matter.

In just ten minutes, his bet with Su Yao would be void.

He’d already achieved his goal: a long stretch of peace and quiet… Though Lin Qing hated silence, there were many kinds of quiet.

Rather than keep getting tangled up with a dangerous person like Su Yao, he’d rather lie quietly in his hospital bed without moving.

“I’m a nurse at the hospital. Patient Wu Gang needs another injection.”

“Wu Gang?”

“He’s in this room too. Can I come in now?”

“All right.”

The bodyguards outside the door had already received orders from Su Yao. If Li Mei showed up, they didn’t need to do anything else—just make a quick check and let her in.

No unnecessary moves.

The bodyguards were on her payroll, so they naturally didn’t dare say anything. They obediently let Li Mei in.

Lin Qing took one last look at the clock. Five minutes remained until midnight.

Then he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

From their conversation, he’d heard that Wu Gang was the first person Li Mei went to see after entering the room.

That meant the risk of Su Yao, who was lying in the bed beside him, being discovered had just increased!

But that had nothing to do with Lin Qing.

In fact, he hoped Su Yao would be exposed. That would make her act.

And the moment Su Yao did anything, the bet would be decided.

Compared to being murdered by Li Mei, Su Yao winning the bet was even more dangerous.

The small cart loaded with medicine rolled into the room. Its four wheels sounded deafening in the quiet, and it slowly came to a stop beside Lin Qing’s bed.

The curtain between Lin Qing’s bed and the one beside it was still drawn.

Li Mei didn’t seem to have any intention of pulling it open.

It looked like she had a clear target and didn’t want to waste time.

It had been barely a minute since Lin Qing closed his eyes. Four minutes remained. He couldn’t move at all, or he’d lose the bet.

Of course, he couldn’t let Li Mei kill him, either.

But just as Lin Qing was thinking this, Li Mei put down the cart and hurried toward his bed.

She stopped beside the bed and looked down at Lin Qing, whose eyes were closed. Then she glanced at the many expensive supplements on his bedside table, including bird’s nest and shark fin.

At the sight of them, Li Mei’s eyes turned cold.

She held a piece of white cloth and pressed it over Lin Qing’s nose.

The moment he caught the pungent smell, Lin Qing’s eyes snapped open. Li Mei stood expressionless beside him, while three black skulls above her head laughed gleefully.

Their eye sockets were red, as if blood were about to spill out. Combined with their grins, they looked eerie and terrifying.

It was anesthetic…

“So you weren’t asleep?”

Li Mei watched as Lin Qing’s eyes slowly closed again and muttered softly, without a trace of emotion.

But it didn’t affect her plan at all.

Lin Qing wouldn’t open his eyes again. He was going straight to hell.

If anyone was to blame, it was him for having a rich girlfriend—and for crossing paths with her.

Thinking of the affectionate scene she’d seen in the cafeteria, Li Mei’s expression twisted.

She didn’t waste any more time. Instead, she took out a syringe.

To make sure Lin Qing died quickly, she’d deliberately increased the dose. Once she injected the liquid into his body, his organs would rapidly fail, and he’d die.

Not even a god could save him.

The hospital wouldn’t perform an autopsy, so they wouldn’t be able to determine the exact cause of death. And because of when he died, they wouldn’t trace it back to her.

It was a perfect crime. She’d already carried it out several times.

She’d never left a trace.

Only…

Remembering how the old man in the same room had narrowly escaped, Li Mei tightened her grip on the syringe. This time, she couldn’t let her target get away.

Lin Qing had to die here!

With that thought in mind, Li Mei looked at the unconscious Lin Qing. The corners of her mouth lifted, and she immediately raised her hand and plunged the needle into his arm.