Chapter 79
After the alleyway attack, Lu Yitong sent Ling Hanlu a daily text, reminding her to stick to well-monitored roads. Ling Hanlu thought this was good advice and always replied with a quick, "Got it!" But the timing of the attack was odd. It happened in the early hours of New Year's Day, a time when most families were gathered together, possibly triggering someone with a mental illness or an antisocial personality. Once such incidents were seen as rare, Ling Hanlu's vigilance naturally started to fade—until she felt she was being followed again. For three days in a row, Ling Hanlu had a nagging feeling that a strange shadow was tailing her. If she were to view it through a romantic lens, it might have seemed like a "guardian spirit." But realistically, the only person likely to protect her was Gu Pan, her semi-public boyfriend, and he had no reason to be so secretive. She wanted to get to the bottom of it. However, over the next two days, Ling Hanlu didn't hear any unusual sounds behind her. She began to think it was all just her imagination playing tricks on her. Feeling relieved, she let her guard down. Once again, that narrow, winding shortcut became her preferred route for going out. 2 At 9:30 PM, Ling Hanlu finished the last slide of her presentation and went to the fridge t