Wei Anning looked blankly at the vast sea before her, feeling as though she was caught in an enormous conspiracy, but couldn't make head or tail of it. The sea breeze brushed against her face, the sun shone brightly outside, yet she felt a chill throughout her body.
Isolated from the world on a small island, the woman who looked exactly like her, and the masked man who appeared in her room in the middle of the night—all these things filled her with despair and fear.
"Anjing, what's wrong with you? You look very pale." Leng Youchen's voice, full of concern, rang in her ears.
Regaining her senses, Wei Anning looked at Leng Youchen with a gaze as if she had seen a lifesaving straw, filled with a strange eagerness. She squatted down, clutching his hand tightly, "Leng Youchen, is it possible to contact the outside world from here?"
"Of course, there's a satellite phone here." Leng Youchen's eyes flickered lightly.
"May I use it? I want to make a call."
"Sure." Leng Youchen gestured for her to push his wheelchair inside, and once they reached the living room, he picked up the phone and handed it to her.
Wei Anning took the phone, glanced at him, then walked to a corner of the living room and dialed a number that was etched in her memory. The call connected quickly, but no one answered.
Her heart burned with impatience as she urged internally, Brother Gu, please pick up the phone.
She made three calls in a row without answer, so she decided to call the school. If she had been kidnapped after going missing, the school would surely contact the police, and perhaps she could take that opportunity to leave this place.
Leng Youchen silently watched the woman in the corner making calls, his sharp, falcon-like eyes reflecting flares of sharp light.
About 20 minutes later, Wei Anning returned with the phone, looking dejected.
"What happened, the call didn't go through?"
"It did," said Wei Anning with drooped eyelids. The reply from the academic affairs office was that they had not received any reports of a new student going missing after registration, and that they needed to investigate her claims before they could respond to her.
She had wanted to call her parents, but they wouldn't be able to find her until the situation was clarified, and she feared causing them worry.
"The servants have prepared breakfast, let's go eat first." Leng Youchen took the phone away, placed it back on the side table, and led her by the hand to the dining room.
The dining room was vast, with a long table that could accommodate twenty people, its surface made of natural marble. The tableware, crafted from enamel and inlaid with various precious stones, exuded endless luxury and splendor, it could only be described as extravagant.
Wei Anning ate without tasting anything, her mind preoccupied with how to leave this place, and naturally, she paid no attention to these details. So, she was unaware that Leng Youchen was observing her closely in secret.
After breakfast, a middle-aged man resembling a butler appeared disheveled within the castle. His features were quintessentially British, yet he spoke Mandarin with perfect intonation, "Third Young Master, Third Young Lady, I've safely brought the Lord and Lady back to the mainland. The Lady also said, if it weren't for the hasty schedule, she would have liked to stay on the island for a few days."
Leng Youchen's face showed little emotion as he glanced thoughtfully at Wei Anning. His voice, as always, was cold and noble, yet tinged with a slight impatience, "Enough, she says that every time, but when has she ever actually stayed on this island?"
The butler sensed the discontent in his voice and fell silent, as if stricken by cold. After a while, seeing Leng Youchen's expression soften slightly, he summoned the courage to say, "Third Young Master, the Lord and Lady really do care about you. Otherwise, they wouldn't..."
"Ande, you've overstepped," Leng Youchen interrupted him coldly, with an expression of untouchable authority.
"I'm sorry, Young Master."
"You may leave," Leng Youchen waved dismissively, and the butler had no choice but to turn and walk away.
After dismissing the butler, Leng Youchen turned his head to find Wei Anning looking at him with a stranger's eyes. A smile flickered in the depths of his eyes, "What's the matter, you don't recognize me anymore?"