Her smile widened.
"That's the moment everything begins to fall."
She'd just completed the sentence when a sound echoed through the study.
A cough.
Wet. Rough. Human.
Both Shuyin and Lu Yuze froze.
The sound hadn't come from the hallway outside. It had come from inside the study itself.
Without speaking, they moved in perfect synchronization, backing toward the wall behind the door, pressing themselves into the shadows. If someone opened the door from outside, they wouldn't be seen immediately.
They waited.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
Shuyin's breathing was shallow, controlled. Lu Yuze's hand had moved to his phone, ready to call Ting Fei if needed.
But the door didn't open.
No footsteps approached from the hallway.
The cough sounded again. Weaker this time. Definitely from inside the study.
But there was no one else in the room.
Shuyin activated her jade eyes.
