Yan Chuan couldn’t make sense of it all.
But now that he was awake and out of bed, apologizing seemed futile. He could only curl up in bed, awkwardly wrapped in the blanket, and say a dry “I’m sorry” to Ash.
Fortunately, Ash didn’t say much in response. “The rain was really heavy last night, and there was thunder,” Ash said, already sitting up. “I got up to add some coal, but it was still cold; it might have been because of that.”
Yan Chuan still felt embarrassed. So, it rained and thunders last night, and Ash even got up? He didn’t know; perhaps it was because he was in such a deep sleep that he had heard nothing at all.
As Ash got dressed, Yan Chuan dully uttered an “oh.” That night, the rain had indeed been heavy. Feeling frustrated, Yan Chuan slapped his forehead and decided he should get up too. He couldn’t let himself sleep so deeply again; if something happened in the inn tonight, he wouldn’t hear a thing.
Yan Chuan felt a bit defeated. “Did you hear anything unusual last night?”
Turning to avoid watching Ash change, Yan Chuan thought for a moment and asked.
“I didn’t really hear much either,” Ash replied, denying the possibility. “The thunder was loud, and I was in a deep sleep.”
Yan Chuan could only nod in agreement.
The first night in the script passed so confusingly, and despite managing to sleep well, he had ended up snuggled in someone else’s warmth… Yan Chuan’s feelings were a chaotic mix. The only comfort was that Ash was very generous and didn’t seem to mind being treated as a human-shaped pillow for warmth throughout the night.
He picked a slightly thicker piece of clothing from the wardrobe.
The washroom was not in their room, so Yan Chuan followed Ash outside.
While washing his face, he glanced at Ash beside him, his eyelids drooping as his thoughts began to wander again.
He originally thought he would sleep uneasily. After all, he didn’t have much experience sharing a bed with someone—except for that instance in the apartment script with the two “husbands.”
He thought he’d need some time to fall asleep. This was the first night in the script; something terrifying had happened in the afternoon. Yan Chuan considered himself a somewhat seasoned contestant and figured he should ponder a bit.
To his surprise, he fell asleep the moment he lay on the soft bed. In his dream, he kicked off his blanket to warm up and crawled into someone else’s blanket, treating them casually as a human-shaped pillow.
Yan Chuan lowered his head and splashed cold water on his slightly heated cheeks.
After washing up, Yan Chuan went downstairs.
They woke up early, and the inn maintained a calm atmosphere. Outside, the rain pitter-pattered like white noise, serving as a repeated background melody.
However, as Yan Chuan descended the stairs, he caught sight of messy footprints on the stairs leading to the second floor.
They were smeared with mud, as if someone had just returned from the rain. In the same spot, stepping back and forth, the footprints blended together, obscuring whose they might be.
Had someone gone out last night?
In such heavy rain?
Yan Chuan looked at the dirty stairs, his brows slightly furrowing.
But the dark footprints disappeared at the second floor, abruptly ceasing; no traces could be seen as he looked further ahead.
His brows knit tighter.
He glanced back at Ash.
The other person wore a similarly concerned expression, but the second floor was where the guests stayed, and all windows and doors were tightly shut, leaving them unsure if anyone had gotten up inside.
“Shall we head down first?” Yan Chuan suggested to Ash, uncertain if the footprints were solely at the second-floor staircase. “Let’s go check it out.”
If Ash hadn’t gone out last night, the footprints could only belong to a guest.
But why would someone leave messy footprints on the second-floor stairs in such stormy weather?
Those footprints… seemed almost deliberate.
If someone intended to sneak out, whatever the reason, wouldn’t they clean up after themselves?
Yan Chuan couldn’t make sense of it; he obviously didn’t know who that person was and could only follow Ash as they headed downstairs.
The lobby on the first floor was spotless.
Apart from a bit of rainwater seeping in through the gaps in the door, the carpet was clean, and there was no sign of the dark blood stains from yesterday.
Ash opened the inn’s front door.
It was still raining outside, but the downpour had eased. Light raindrops pelted the inn’s eaves, cascading down.
The sky was hazy, fog enveloping the area; the forest was filled with moisture, the leaves washed to a bright green, creating a shimmering green sea when viewed from afar.
It looked serene and peaceful; however, due to the heavy rain, the small pathway that could be traversed had become unrecognizable after being washed away.
There was no way to drive over to the neighboring town.
Ash glanced at the sky.
Dark clouds spread from the horizon, foreboding another round of downpour ahead.
“We can’t leave,” Ash stated. “We’ll have to wait until the rain stops and the roads dry out a bit.”
Otherwise, driving on the slippery, muddy paths surrounded by dense trees and bushes would be extremely hazardous.
Yan Chuan nodded.
He mimicked Ash’s actions and stole a glance outside the inn.
The outside was deserted; dirt from the small slope had been washed away alongside the moss, revealing bare stones below.
It seemed… something was missing?
Yan Chuan frowned, and before he could think about what was lacking, he heard a piercing scream coming from within the inn.
“Ahhh!”
The scream was particularly loud, piercing, and hoarse, as if someone had witnessed something terrifying.
Following the scream was the hasty sound of doors opening, chaotic noises spilling out from the rooms.
Yan Chuan’s heart dropped.
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