Lin Mian's pupils contracted sharply as her back pressed tightly against the door, her body frozen in place.

Shi Lin lowered his gaze, catching sight of her tear-filled eyes—her eyelids red and swollen, her nose glistening with moisture. She looked utterly pitiful.

If she had fallen into the hands of a real criminal operation, the consequences would have been unimaginable...

He asked coldly, "Do you truly regret it, or are you just saying that?"

"Y-yes, truly," Lin Mian nodded frantically, her head bobbing like a chicken pecking at rice. "I really regret it. I won’t cooperate with you anymore. I swear I’ll never come back—"

All she wanted was to escape this place.

This man’s aura was too terrifying—she could barely hold back her tears.

Though she knew he was a doctor, there was an undeniable sharpness about him, an intensity that made her feel inexplicably afraid.

Shi Lin tilted his head, his expression unreadable, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

He looked away. "Get out."

Lin Mian fumbled desperately with the door handle, but it still wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, a large hand reached over her shoulder, pressing down on the lock and flicking it upward with a crisp click.

The door had been locked backward.

Without another thought, Lin Mian bolted outside, forgetting to even switch back into her shoes.

She didn’t stop running until she was several meters away, finally spotting the elevator entrance. Leaning against the wall beside it, she gasped for air, her chest heaving.

The corridor was silent—too silent. She didn’t dare cry out loud.

Clutching her mouth, her teeth chattered uncontrollably, the sound echoing in the stillness.

She was terrified.

She had never done anything like this before.

She had convinced herself she could go through with it, but the moment fear gripped her, she had fled like a coward, on the verge of a complete breakdown.

Meanwhile, back in the entryway, a crumpled flyer lay discarded on the floor.

Shi Lin’s gaze flicked down, and he stooped to pick it up.

Printed in bold letters were the words: [Charity Volunteer] Part-Time Egg Donor Wanted—Compensation: 20,000–100,000 RMB. Below were contact numbers, the first one being his own.

Shi Lin: "..."

He remembered now.

This was one of those "undercover" flyers his interns had plastered around campus as part of a sting operation last week. Those idiots had even listed his number.

He took a deep breath and typed into the group chat: "Next time someone puts my number on these flyers, they’re out."

One intern tentatively replied: "Professor, we ran out of numbers, so we just used yours as a placeholder." red exclamation mark appeared.

He had been blocked.

...

Lin Mian slumped to the floor, her body trembling as the paralyzing fear slowly ebbed away after ten minutes or so.

Just then, her phone rang. The screen displayed "Mom."

Tears still streaming down her face, Lin Mian answered, desperate for comfort.

But the moment she picked up, a torrent of abuse slammed into her ears.

"You ungrateful little bitch. I’m the one slaving away to make money, and where is it? Listen here—if you don’t send me the cash right now, your father’s medical checkup tomorrow is canceled. Let him rot in that wheelchair until he dies. Might as well be dead!"

Lin Mian’s sobs choked in her throat.

When she was five, her father had been riding a bicycle to buy her an ice cream when a car slammed into them. To save her, he had thrown himself over her, taking the full brunt of the impact. His legs were crushed beneath the wheels, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

The driver had fled the scene, and their family’s breadwinner was suddenly gone, plunging them into poverty.

At eighteen, she had been accepted into university. Against all odds, her father had insisted she go, despite the years of humiliation and scorn he had endured to scrape together tuition money from relatives, all so she could study and escape their miserable fate.

But tomorrow was the long-awaited surgery to repair her father’s spine—a procedure they had waited five years to schedule with a top specialist. Without the money, he would remain confined to that wheelchair for years to come.

She had witnessed firsthand how a man’s dignity could be ground into dust. sharp pain lanced through Lin Mian’s chest.

She hung up the call and wiped her tears.

Her gaze fell to the disposable slippers on her feet. The thin soles offered no insulation, and the cold seeped through, sending jolts of numbness up her legs and spreading through her entire body.

She shivered violently, forcing herself to stand.

Then, dizziness hit her like a wave.

She hadn’t eaten all day—her blood sugar had plummeted.

Fumbling in her pocket, she found a mint candy, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it down.

Her shoes… they were still back in that man’s apartment.

Those shoes had been a gift from her father two years ago, a secret present he had slipped to her when no one was looking.

Lin Mian bit her lip, took a few steps, and knocked on the door of Room 1009.

The door opened almost immediately, revealing the man’s sharp, handsome face.

Before he could speak, Lin Mian stammered, "I-I forgot my shoes."

Shi Lin looked down at her feet, clad in the flimsy disposable slippers that were clearly too big, making her steps awkward and unsteady.

He stepped aside, gesturing for her to come in.

Lin Mian hesitated before slipping inside to retrieve her shoes.

But for some reason, her face grew hotter and hotter, her entire body flushing with warmth.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but her vision swam, colors blurring together like a kaleidoscope.

It was so hot… so dry… so unbearable…

That damn candy must have been drugged!

"Still not leaving?" a cool voice sounded above her.

Before she could respond, Lin Mian crumpled forward, collapsing against Shi Lin’s chest. Her voice, weak and pleading, slipped out.

"I… I don’t feel well. You’re a doctor… can you… help me…?"