Lin Xinrou’s hand paused slightly in the middle of serving breakfast. A fleeting trace of unnaturalness flashed across her eyes.

In truth, she had also been ravaged by me last night. Although she had been asleep the entire time, the physical exhaustion couldn’t be hidden. However, she simply assumed it was the aftereffect of a "spring dream" caused by her hormonal imbalance. Naturally, she wouldn’t show any signs of it in front of her daughter.

"It was pretty good. I slept straight through until dawn," Lin Xinrou turned around to pour milk, her back facing Shen Yufei as she replied, "What’s the matter? You didn’t sleep well? You look a little pale."

"No... nothing." Shen Yufei took a bite of her toast and continued tentatively, "Mom, was there any noise at home last night? Like... the sound of the door opening, footsteps, or anything like that?"

"Noise?" Lin Xinrou placed a glass of hot milk in front of her daughter and gave her a strange look. "No. Why are you suddenly asking this? Have you been reading too many suspense novels lately? Getting paranoid?"

"Maybe I heard it wrong..." Shen Yufei lowered her head and stirred the milk with a spoon, growing even more puzzled. Mom slept so deeply and didn’t hear anything?

She turned her head toward Shen Shuai, who was still on the sofa, and raised her voice. "Shen Shuai! Turn down the game volume!"

"What the heck? Can’t a guy relax on the weekend?" Shen Shuai grumbled but still obediently lowered the volume.

"Let me ask you," Shen Yufei stared at the back of his head, her tone stern, "What time did you go to bed last night?"

"I don’t know exactly. After eleven o’clock, I think," Shen Shuai replied, his eyes darting around as he lied without hesitation.

"After eleven?" Shen Yufei sneered. "Then did you hear any sounds coming from my room in the middle of the night?"

Shen Shuai’s finger froze on the controller for a split second, but he recovered quickly. He turned his head with an impatient expression. "What sounds could there be in your room? Were you snoring? Or sleepwalking? I sleep like a dead pig. Even if thunder struck in your room, I wouldn’t hear it!"

"You’re the one who snores! You sleepwalker!" Shen Yufei shot back coldly. "I was just asking. Why are you getting so defensive?"

"Who’s defensive? You’re the one being weird!" Shen Shuai rolled his eyes and turned back to his game, but cold sweat broke out on his back. Shit, did this girl notice something? Did Brother Tianyi make too much noise last night? I need to warn him later.

Shen Yufei narrowed her eyes as she stared at her brother’s back. Although his reaction seemed normal, something felt off.

This kid usually slept like the dead. If a grown man had really entered her room last night and done that kind of thing to her, how could there have been no sound at all?

Her gaze then fell on the glass of hot milk in front of her. The white liquid swayed gently, giving off a tempting milky aroma. But right now, it looked like it hid a terrifying secret.

"Mom..." Shen Yufei suddenly looked up and stared directly into Lin Xinrou’s eyes. "Was there something wrong with the milk you gave me last night?"

"Milk? Something wrong?" Lin Xinrou was stunned. She picked up her own glass, sniffed it, and took a sip. "No, this is fresh milk I bought from the supermarket yesterday. It’s not expired and tastes normal. What’s wrong? Does your stomach feel bad?"

"It’s not my stomach..." Shen Yufei took a deep breath and chose her words carefully. "I just felt that after drinking that glass of milk last night, I slept extremely deeply... almost like I fainted. I didn’t even dream, and when I woke up this morning, my head was still groggy and my body had no strength."

"Oh, you silly child," Lin Xinrou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, shaking her head. "You’ve just started university. Military training and classes have been exhausting you non-stop. Plus, milk helps with relaxation and sleep. Once you let go of stress, of course you sleep deeply. That’s a good thing — it means your sleep quality is high. If you’re still dizzy, go back to bed after breakfast."

"How is it that exaggerated?" Shen Shuai interjected from the sofa. "I drank milk too. Why didn’t I faint? Sis, you just don’t exercise enough. Your body is too weak."

"Shut up! No one asked you!" Shen Yufei glared at him fiercely.

She looked down at the glass of milk again. Her heart was already in turmoil.

Her mother’s explanation sounded reasonable, but she knew her own body best. That kind of unnaturally deep sleep, as if her soul had been emptied, could not be explained by simple fatigue.

It felt more like... being drugged.

Drugged?

The word sent a chill down her spine.

If she really had been drugged, then who did it?

This glass of milk was prepared by her mother herself. There was no way her mom would harm her.

Then the only other possibility was...

Her gaze shifted back to Shen Shuai. Although the boy was usually mischievous, he wouldn’t do something so insane... right? And he was only twelve years old. What would he even get out of it?

Forget it. I have no evidence right now. I can’t suspect people blindly.

Shen Yufei picked up the glass, brought it to her lips, and pretended to take a sip. In reality, her lips barely touched the rim before she set it back down.

"Mom, my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable today, so I won’t drink the milk." She stood up and pushed away the half-eaten toast. "I’m full. I’ll go back to my room and read."

"Hey? You barely ate anything," Lin Xinrou looked at her daughter with worry. "Are you really sick? Do you want Mom to take you to the hospital?"

"No need. I’m just not hungry. I’ll rest for a bit."

After speaking, Shen Yufei walked back to her room without looking back and locked the door with a soft click.

She leaned against the back of the door and let out a long, heavy breath.

Her eyes were no longer filled with the confusion and panic from when she first woke up. Instead, they had become firm and vigilant.

"No matter who you are... no matter how you did it..." Shen Yufei gritted her teeth and swore silently in her heart, "I will find you. Starting today, I will never drink anything anyone gives me at night again. Let’s see if you can still succeed."

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading! Patreon will be available soon where you can read Chapters earlier. Working hard day and night to bring more Chapters. Your support means a lot ❤️

See you next Chapter