Chapter 1: Her Gaze Is a Little Off

This is a story about the hunter and the hunted. It is also a story about a gentle trap.

The rainy season of Lin Shiyu’s junior year seemed especially endless.

The first time she sensed something was wrong was on that sweltering afternoon.

She was organizing research materials in a quiet corner of the library. The moment she looked up, her eyes met another pair.

It was Su Wan.

The university’s universally acknowledged goddess, gentle, graceful, and intelligent, like a white lily adorned with morning dew. She was seated not far from Lin Shiyu, a book resting in her hands, seemingly lost in thought.

When she noticed Lin Shiyu looking up, Su Wan’s eyes curved into a smile. She offered her signature gentle smile and gave a slight nod in greeting.

Everything appeared perfectly normal.

Flawless.

Yet an inexplicable chill crept up Lin Shiyu’s spine.

Because, for the briefest fraction of a second before that smile blossomed, she had seen it clearly.

There had been no light in those eyes.

Only a viscous, bottomless greed, one that seemed intent on devouring her whole.

Like a spider lurking in the shadows, watching its prey step, little by little, into the carefully woven web.

Lin Shiyu lowered her head, her heart pounding violently twice against her chest.

It must have been my imagination…

How could someone as gentle as Su Wan possess such a gaze?

“Her gaze is a little off.”

Almost unconsciously, Lin Shiyu scribbled those words in the corner of her notebook.

———

Lin Shiyu had always considered herself someone who blended into the background.

As a computer science major, she devoted most of her time to writing code and studying in the library. Aside from occasionally passing each other during large lecture classes, this was only the third time she and Su Wan had truly met.

The first had been at the convenience store outside the university gates, when they had both reached for the last bottle of sugar-free oolong tea.

The second had been on the roster for an elective course, where their names happened to appear in the same group.

And now, for the third time, they found themselves in the nearly deserted library on a Wednesday afternoon.

Lin Shiyu was staring helplessly at lines of red error messages covering her screen when a cup of warm coffee was quietly placed beside her.

“I added milk, but no sugar. I thought you could use something to keep you awake.”

A soft, soothing voice spoke beside her.

Lin Shiyu turned and saw Su Wan.

She was wearing a cream-colored knitted cardigan. Her long hair was loosely pinned up, with a few wisps framing her face. A faint fragrance of gardenias lingered around her, lending her an air of effortless elegance.

“S-Su… Classmate Su?” Lin Shiyu asked in surprise.

“Just call me Su Wan.”

Su Wan pulled out the chair across from her and sat down with such natural ease that it felt as though they had been friends for years.

“I’ve been watching you frown at your screen for the past half hour. Is the code giving you that much trouble?”

“A little.”

Lin Shiyu wasn’t good at interacting with strangers. Her fingers instinctively curled inward.

Su Wan rested her chin on one hand and tilted her head as she looked at her.

There it was again.

That sensation of being completely enveloped by someone’s gaze, with nowhere to hide.

Although Su Wan wore an impeccable smile, Lin Shiyu couldn’t shake the feeling that her eyes weren’t merely resting on her face. They swept over her like X-rays, carefully tracing the contours of her brow, her lips, and even the collarbones hidden beneath the neckline of her shirt.

“Um…”

Feeling increasingly self-conscious, Lin Shiyu looked away.

“Thanks for the coffee. But I probably don’t have time to chat,I need to finish this assignment.”

“That’s alright. Go ahead and work.”

Su Wan took out a sketchbook, opened it on the table, and idly twirled a pencil between her fingers.

“I’ll just do a little sketching here. I won’t disturb you.”

Lin Shiyu nodded and forced herself to turn her attention back to the screen.

But it was difficult.

The person sitting across from her had far too strong a presence.

Whenever Lin Shiyu paused between keystrokes, she could feel that gaze resting on her. It was intense, unwavering, carrying a weight that made her heart race.

The moment she looked up, Su Wan would immediately lower her eyes, pretending to study her sketchbook, or she would offer Lin Shiyu that same gentle, harmless smile.

By the end of the afternoon, Lin Shiyu felt as though she had spent hours sitting on pins and needles.

Only when the sky outside began to darken did she finally close her laptop and prepare to leave.

“Heading out?” Su Wan asked as she packed up her own things.

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Lin Shiyu.”

Standing in the glow of the setting sun, backlit by the golden light, Su Wan’s expression was blurred and impossible to read.

“Tomorrow?” Lin Shiyu blinked in surprise.

“That’s right.”

Su Wan let out a soft laugh, her voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.

“See you tomorrow.”

As soon as she stepped out of the library, the evening breeze brushed against her, and only then did Lin Shiyu realize that a thin layer of sweat had formed across her back.

She glanced back at the brightly lit library.

That absurd thought surfaced once more.

There was definitely something off about the way Su Wan looked at her.