My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Binchen gege is searching for him right now. Are you happy?" Shi Nian brushed her fingers against Little Apple's soft fur. The little kitten had grown bigger, almost as fat as her thigh. Its fur was fluffy and soft, smelling like its owner's shampoo. Alas, without Jiang Jinyan here, the poor cat often lost its appetite and could only eat a bit everyday. 

Little Apple purred and nuzzled its head against Shi Nian's palm.

She poured cat food into its bowl and sighed as she watched it eat dispiritedly. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Looking around at the empty apartment, Shi Nian sighed to herself again. "Fortunately, I am not the only one waiting for him…"

Presumably Little Apple knew that its owner had gotten into another mishap, it refused to leave Jiang Jinyan's apartment and opted to wait inside its little nest of pillows and blankets. Shi Nian couldn't bear to leave it alone but whenever she brought it out, it would start to cry and struggle within her arms. In the end, she could do nothing but visit Jiang Jinyan's apartment everyday to feed it some food.

"If Binchen gege found him today, then I will bring you to him tomorrow. How about it?"

"Mew~"

The corner of her lips curled up as she fiddled with Little Apple's swinging little tail.

Up to now, Xu Binchen still hadn't given any further news. Shi Nian waited restlessly, each minute passed by like years. 

She stroked Little Apple's soft body and scratched the back of its ear. "I will come back tomorrow. Be good and don't bite the curtain, okay?"

"Mew~"

After saying goodbye, Shi Nian proceeded to climb the stairs home. She halted in front of the door, slapped her cheeks twice and put on a more cheerful look on her face. 

You can't show this unhappy look at home, Shi Nian. Doesn't Binchen gege say that Jinyan is fine? You have to trust him, just wait for them to come home. A little bit more and Jiang Jinyan will return… She pumped her fists and opened the door. 

The warm smell of BBQ sauce, cheese and butter spread through the air. Shi Nian's tense shoulders instantly relaxed and her mood alleviated. "Mama, I'm home!" She took off her shoes and put on the slippers. 

The water was running in the kitchen and the sound of someone shuffling around with spatula and wok was heard. Shi Nian felt herself smiling. "Are we having steak today? I am quite hungry. By the way, Mama… Binchen gege said that they have got clues to where Jinyan is. He will be found soon. Isn't that very good news?"

"I will go and change my clothes first, okay?" Shi Nian raised her voice louder so that Qiang Fei would be able to hear.

Walking toward her room, Shi Nian saw that the light in the bathroom was on and the door was slightly ajar. She drew near, all the while checking her phone to see whether there's any new messages from Xu Binchen. It was already 5 pm, what took him so long? Shi Nian thought fretfully as she fumbled for the light switch and pulled the doorknob. Yet the door was stuck on something, unable to be closed.

Shi Nian glanced down in reflex and her entire body froze up, the phone slipping from her hand to the ground in a loud thud.

"Mama…?" 

Qiang Fei was lying on the bathroom floor, a pool of blood forming along the tiles and a kitchen knife was stuck in her stomach. Shi Nian covered her mouth in reflex, tumbled backward and ended up tripping and falling on her butt. "Mama…how…" How…? How could this happen? Who did this? What should she do? Blood…there's a lot of blood everywhere…

Shi Nian's heart sank as a question popped up in her mind. If Qiang Fei was here…then who was the person in the kitchen?

Hearing the rustle, Qiang Fei cracked open her eyes, panting. Tears formed in her eyes as she struggled to speak. "Niannian…run…run away…"

The woman's bleeding stomach was the only thing reflected in Shi Nian's eyes. Her breath came out rapidly and tears streamed down her face without her realizing. Tremor quaked her entire body and no strength could be mustered on her legs.

—Right, run…she had to run…

But since when did the water in the kitchen stop running?

Loud, thunderous heartbeat and quick breathing echoed in her ears…along with the light and brisk footsteps that approached leisurely. Shi Nian's memory of that person was blurry, yet it turned out her body hadn't forgotten every single thing.

Just by hearing those footsteps, something deep in her subconsciousness jolted, fear coursed through her veins and every cell in her system was screaming: he's here — GET AWAY FROM THERE! HE'S COMING!

Her phone on the ground suddenly vibrated, snapping Shi Nian out of her dread. Cold sweat drenched her back and she scrambled up, cutting a pathetic and sorry figure. Xu Binchen's name flashed on the screen and it was as if Shi Nian had grabbed onto a lifeline as she reached out. Right, she had to answer this call. Binchen gege… Binchen gege… 

But what about Qiang Fei? If she was left there any longer, would she survive?

Millions of thoughts swam her head but in fact, only a split second had already passed. Her fingertips had barely reached the phone, so close—only within a hair's breadth when a foot suddenly kicked it away out of her reach.

A pair of black sneakers stopped in front of her followed by a soft chuckle. As soon as she heard that, all of Shi Nian's hair instantly stood on its end and an unprecedented sense of despair overwhelmed her. "I told you before…no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even you. Are you satisfied with this hide and seek play?"

A familiar voice, yet unfamiliar tone and pitch. 

Large teardrops fell from Shi Nian's eyes down to the ground and an immense headache attacked her head. Shi Nian muffled out a pained groan and clutched her head, sobbing. "Why…Why me…" Inside her mind, thousands of unfamiliar memories burst forth, as if the other person's voice was the key to the Pandora Box.

"Why you? Why you…you asked?" He crouched down and gripped her head harshly with one wide palm. From between the gaps of his fingers, Shi Nian could only see his eyes; bloodshot, manic and crazy. She let out a scream and adrenaline rushed to her head, compelling a burst of strength in her trembling body. Shoving the man off, she scrambled back but her ankle was caught once again.

"No!" She stretched her hand toward the continuously ringing phone. "Let me go…! You psychotic bastard!"

Shi Nian put all of her strength in her legs and kicked around wildly yet the man tightened his hold, his nails piercing deep into her flesh. Shi Nian gasped in pain, tears blurred her vision and the last thing she saw before everything turned dark was the bloodied Qiang Fei who struggled to crawl toward them and the dim screen of her phone.

"I will slowly tell you why." He whispered.

In the next second, a huge blow hammered her head.

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A/N: _(:3」∠)_ hehe