The city never truly slept.
Even at midnight, distant traffic hummed like a restless tide. Neon lights flickered across glass towers, and somewhere far below, laughter spilled from late-night bars.
But inside Suo Ran's apartment, the world felt unnaturally still.
Too still.
He sat at the small dining table, the overhead light casting a pale circle around him. His bag rested beside his chair. Inside it, beneath folded clothes and a thin file of work documents, lay the envelope he had brought back from his hometown.
His father's handwriting.
Faded, Familiar and Heavy with things unsaid.
He hadn't opened it.
Not in the house.
Not on the road.
Not even when Lian had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and the world had been quiet enough to pretend nothing was wrong.
Because opening it would make everything real.
And Suo Ran wasn't sure he was ready for that.
Rooftop Earlier That Night____
Wind swept across the rooftop, carrying the smell of rain that hadn't fallen yet.
Lian Ziho leaned against the low concrete wall, looking out over the city lights. From up here, everything seemed distant.
Manageable Like problems belonged to someone else.
Footsteps approached.
He didn't need to turn to know it was Suo Ran.
"You're avoiding sleep," Lian ziho said.
"You're not asleep either," Suo Ran replied.
"That's different."
Suo Ran huffed softly. "How?"
"I'm not pretending I can rest."
They stood side by side, shoulders almost touching.
Almost.
Lian ziho could feel the warmth of him close enough to reach, too far to claim.
"You found something there," Lian ziho said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
Suo Ran didn't deny it.
"…Old documents."
"That's not nothing."
"No," Suo Ran admitted. "It's not."
Silence settled again.
Lian ziho wanted to ask more.
He wanted to step past the invisible line Suo Ran kept drawing between himself and everyone else.
Instead, he said, "You don't have to carry it alone."
Suo Ran stared at the skyline for a long time.
"I know," he said.
But he didn't hand anything over.
And Lian realized something that hurt more than rejection:
Suo Ran trusted him just not enough.
The underground garage smelled of oil and damp concrete.
Cai Lang leaned against his car, staring at his phone.
The image on the screen showed a grainy photograph: Suo Ran inside the old hometown house, holding an envelope.
Taken from outside.
Through a window.
Watched.
His jaw tightened.
They had eyes there.
Which meant the scroll wasn't the only thing they were after.
His phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"You're digging too deep," the distorted voice said.
"Who are you?" Cai Lang's voice was ice.
"Tell him to stay away from the scroll."
The line went dead.
Tell him.
Not tell you.
They weren't warning Cai Lang.
They were warning about Suo Ran.
He looked up toward the ceiling, toward the floors above.
Toward the rooftop.
Toward the man who refused to stay out of danger.
"…What did you find?" he muttered.
Back in the Apartment
Suo Ran finally removed the envelope from his bag.
The paper felt brittle.
As if time itself had tried to erase it.
He traced the edge of his father's handwriting with his thumb.
Then....
He put it back.
Not yet.
Instead, he stood and walked to the window. Across the street, the city lights reflected in his eyes, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
His boss's words echoed in his mind:
"You don't walk away from this assignment."
And the threat beneath it.
If he left the scroll case… others would pay the price.
Suo Ran closed his eyes.
"I'll protect it," he whispered to no one. "But I won't become your weapon."
The room remained silent.
Lian Ziho His Apartment
Lian ziho sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his phone.
No new messages.
No emergencies.
No reason for the tightness in his chest.
He leaned back, rubbing his face.
"Idiot," he muttered.
He wasn't supposed to feel like this.
Not for someone who looked at him with gratitude… but never longing.
He closed his eyes.
And saw Suo Ran asleep in the car, head resting against his shoulder.
The memory warmed him.
And hurt.
Because he knew...
If Suo Ran had woken then, he would have moved away immediately.
Archive Unit 7 — 02:03 AM____
The preservation wing was sealed.
Temperature controlled.
Motion sensors active.
No human presence authorized.
Yet the system log flickered.
A brief anomaly.
Nine seconds.
The scroll case did not open.
Nothing moved.
But a new line appeared in the system record:-
TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION: PENDING
REQUEST SOURCE: CLASSIFIED
02:11 AM Suo Ran's Apartment____
Suo Ran didn't remember falling asleep.
One moment he was sitting at the table.
The next darkness.
Silence.
Then...
A faint click.
His eyes opened instantly.
Not fully.
Just enough.
The apartment was dark.
But not empty.
He didn't move.
Didn't change his breathing.
Didn't even shift his fingers.
A shadow moved near the door.
Not searching.
Not rushing.
Watching.
Its gaze swept slowly across the room.
Paused at the table.
Moved to the bag.
Stopped.
Suo Ran's pulse slowed instead of racing.
They know.
The figure stepped closer.
A gloved hand reached toward the bag and stopped.
A phone vibrated softly.
The intruder checked the screen.
A whisper, barely audible:-
"Not yet."
The hand withdrew.
The figure stepped back.
Another soft click.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Only then did Suo Ran sit up.
He didn't turn on the light.
Didn't rush to check the bag.
Because the message was clear:-
They could take it.
They chose not to.
They were waiting for him to open it himself.
02:14 AM — Cai Lang___
His phone lit up.
A live security still.
Suo Ran's apartment door.
Time-stamped three minutes earlier.
Cai Lang's blood ran cold.
He hadn't authorized surveillance there.
Which meant...
His father had.
02:18 AM — Rooftop Camera Feed____
A black sedan idled across the street.
Engine running.
Lights off.
Inside, a man watched the building through night-vision lenses.
"Target is active," he murmured into his headset.
A pause.
Then:-
"Accelerate."
Inside the Apartment
Suo Ran stood slowly.
He walked to the table.
Opened his bag.
Took out the envelope.
His father's handwriting stared back at him.
For a long moment, he held it over the table.
Unopened.
Untouched.
A choice.
If he opened it, he might uncover the truth.
If he didn't...
Others would force it open.
Behind him, the hallway light outside his apartment flickered once… then went out.
Suo Ran's fingers tightened.
The darkness beyond the door felt alive.
Waiting.
He slid his finger under the seal and stopped.
Three slow knocks echoed through the silence.
Not loud.
Not urgent.
Certain.
Suo Ran froze.
A voice came through the wood, calm and familiar.
"Open the door."
His breath caught.
Because he knew that voice.
And it should have been impossible.
Outside, the hallway remained dark.
Inside, the envelope trembled in his hand.
And somewhere deep in the building's electrical system...
the power failed for exactly three seconds.
Long enough for every camera to go blind.