Chapter One: An Unexpected Sense of Immersion

With Xiao Wang’s help, Xia Wuyou finally managed, with great effort, to bring Su Tianmu home. She used up all her strength just to get Su Tianmu onto the bed. Looking at his tall frame—over six feet—sprawled in a drunken slumber, she couldn’t help but find the situation both exasperating and amusing.

“Our captain never drinks, you know. Isn’t he aware that he’s allergic to alcohol? How could he drink this much?” Xiao Wang grumbled as he tidied up after his captain.

Ha! He did drink quite a bit—just one large glass of beer, that’s all! Xia Wuyou mocked inwardly.

“Maybe your captain has something on his mind?” she suggested to Xiao Wang.

“Since you’re already here, why don’t you stay and look after him? I’ll be going, then,” she said.

“I’m really sorry, Miss Xia, I truly can’t stay today. Could you possibly stay and look after him for a while?” Xiao Wang pleaded awkwardly. “Actually, our captain is easy to care for—whenever he drinks, he just sleeps. If you could just stay until he’s sound asleep, then you can go.”

Xia Wuyou hesitated. After all, it was just the two of them, and their relationship had only just started to thaw.

“Is that so? Doesn’t he have any other family or friends?”

“Our captain is naturally aloof and has few friends. None of us have ever met his family; it seems he rarely has any contact with them,” Xiao Wang explained.

Seeing Xiao Wang’s embarrassment, Xia Wuyou’s heart softened. “Alright, I’ll stay with him for a while.”

After Xiao Wang left, she looked at the tall man before her and recalled the helplessness she’d seen in him by the sea. Suddenly, she felt a pang of sympathy. What had he been through? Usually, his imposing figure seemed to say that even if the sky fell, he’d be there to hold it up. How could someone like him have such vulnerable moments?

Unconsciously, Xia Wuyou reached out and touched his forehead. “Why does it feel even cooler than mine?” she murmured.

Then, she realized that her own forehead was burning hot. Perhaps it was the chill from the sea breeze earlier. Worried that she might catch a cold and pass it to Su Tianmu, and seeing that he was already fast asleep, she quietly slipped out of his apartment.

Once home, she hurriedly took a hot bath. After drinking a large bowl of ginger soup, she crawled into bed and wrapped herself in her blankets.

But then, something strange began to happen.

From that day on, Xia Wuyou started experiencing inexplicable sensations. Sometimes she’d feel cold, sometimes she’d ache, and at other times, she’d be gripped by sudden, intense terror at the sight of certain scenes.

She couldn’t understand it, thinking perhaps she’d caught a chill by the sea and was simply feeling the effects of a cold.

After that night when Su Tianmu drank too much, he didn’t contact Xia Wuyou for quite some time. Perhaps he was embarrassed that she had seen him in such a state?

“Xiao Wang, I didn’t say anything foolish when I was drunk that night, did I?” Su Tianmu asked again, still uneasy.

“Captain Su, you really just fell asleep. Nothing happened, I promise,” Xiao Wang replied wearily, almost at his wit’s end.

Then why hasn’t she reached out to me for so long? Su Tianmu racked his brains, trying to recall if he’d done anything inappropriate.

“Captain, if you want to call Miss Xia, just do it, please. Stop torturing me!” Xiao Wang pleaded.

“You’re right. I should call to thank her for taking care of me that night,” Su Tianmu finally found an excuse.

Bzzz… bzzz…

Before he could pick up his phone, it vibrated on its own—it was Xia Wuyou calling.

Startled, Su Tianmu answered, “Hello?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, feigning calm.

“Did you catch a cold after that night? I’ve been feeling unwell ever since I got home,” Xia Wuyou’s feeble voice came through the phone.

“Are you sick? What’s wrong?” Su Tianmu asked, instantly worried.

“I don’t know, maybe. By the way, I called to ask if there have been any new cases. I have this feeling, as if something has already happened.”

Xia Wuyou’s abrupt question left Su Tianmu dumbfounded.

“Are you addicted to solving cases now? Do you really want to join the police force?” Su Tianmu couldn’t help but laugh. She was truly starting to think of herself as Sherlock Holmes.

“I’m not joking. I really feel like something is off,” Xia Wuyou replied, her sudden seriousness making Su Tianmu wary—he had witnessed her uncanny abilities before.

“Sometimes, I feel as if I can see crime scenes, and at times I even sense the victims’ feelings. I can’t quite explain it, but something just feels wrong.”

“Alright, then be careful. If anything new comes up here, I’ll let you know right away,” Su Tianmu said, sensing her tension and earnestly reminding her to be safe.

After the call, Xia Wuyou felt a bit more at ease. In moments of helplessness, she realized how precious it was to have someone she could confide in.

She set down her phone and picked up a glass of water, but as soon as her eyes fell on the water, a wave of terror overwhelmed her. It felt as if she were staring into an endless abyss, the black depths of the ocean, cold waves lapping against her, the sensation of suffocating striking every sense with brutal clarity.

Crash!

Startled, Xia Wuyou knocked the glass from her hand, sending it shattering to the floor.

“Miss Xia, are you alright?” a colleague nearby asked with concern.

She didn’t know what was happening to her, either. These episodes were becoming more and more frequent—if they got any worse, they would start to disrupt her daily life.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ve just been dieting lately—maybe I’m a bit hypoglycemic,” Xia Wuyou replied, bending to pick up the cup and trying to cover up her distress.

Where was this feeling coming from? Why was it happening to her? Was someone trying to tell her something? Could it be another tormented soul, burdened with deep resentment?

Although Xia Wuyou wasn’t afraid of her own extraordinary abilities, she found it tragic that, in a life not particularly blessed with happiness, she was constantly forced to experience the sorrows of others. That was what she found most pitiable about herself.

After tidying her desk, she wearily grabbed her bag and left the office.

Standing in the sunlight, for the first time, Xia Wuyou wished the heavens would take back her special gift. Though she had once been grateful for it—grateful that it allowed her to see her deceased parents one last time—now, the burden felt almost too much to bear.