Chapter 15: Chaos

The sudden voice behind Qin Li startled her so much she screamed, jumping nearly a foot in the air.

She stumbled on the broken porcelain shards beneath her feet, twisting her ankle. As she reached for the shelf to steady herself, the flimsy structure gave way under her weight. It collapsed spectacularly, sending a cascade of decorative items crashing to the floor.

Panicked, Qin Li groped along the wall for a light switch. With a click, the room flooded with light, illuminating the chaos she had created.

Standing in the doorway, a man watched her with an amused expression. He was holding a calico cat, dressed casually in a shirt and jeans, and leaning lazily against the doorframe.

"A pair of medieval porcelain cats, worth five thousand euros. A set of royal ceramic dinnerware, three thousand euros. Swarovski collectibles, six hundred euros…" He ticked off the damages one by one, his tone dry and sardonic. Finally, he stretched out his hand, palm up. "That's a grand total of eight thousand six hundred euros. Cash or card?"

Qin Li froze, her brain struggling to process his words. Before she could respond, his voice rang out again, sharp and urgent.

"Fire! Look out!"

She spun around in a panic. Sure enough, a candle had tipped over onto the carpet, sending a thin plume of black smoke curling into the air. Acting on instinct, she grabbed the nearest glass and flung its contents onto the flames.

But instead of water, the glass had held alcohol.

The flames roared to life with a loud whoosh, shooting up toward the ceiling.

"Oh no!" Qin Li shrieked, throwing the glass aside and stumbling back.

The man didn't rush to help. Instead, he smirked and declared in an exaggerated tone, "Ah, my Persian rug! One thousand euros, up in smoke."

Her nerves frayed, Qin Li snapped, "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help put it out?"

Before he could answer, another figure emerged from an adjacent room. Shirtless and clad only in a bath towel, the newcomer strode over, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the corner, and promptly doused the flames.

When the smoke cleared, Qin Li turned toward the shirtless man, only to find herself utterly speechless.

Two identical men now stood before her.

One was holding a cat; the other was holding the fire extinguisher. Their resemblance was uncanny, down to the sharp jawlines and striking blue eyes.

"You… you're twins?" she stammered, her gaze darting between them.

The man with the cat grinned and raised a hand. "I'm Thomas. Not the one you're looking for."

Qin Li turned to the other, who sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. "I'm Yan Sen. What were you doing?"

Flustered, Qin Li glanced at the scorched carpet and the shattered porcelain littering the floor. "I… I got startled, and I accidentally knocked things over. And then…" She trailed off, gesturing helplessly toward the chaos. "I don't have the money to pay for all this."

Thomas chimed in cheerfully, "Then just offer yourself as compensation. Problem solved."

Yan Sen shot his brother a warning look, grabbed a broom, and began sweeping the broken pieces into a pile. "It's fine. None of this is worth much."

"But he said—" Qin Li began.

"Don't listen to anything he says."

Realizing she'd been played, Qin Li glared at Thomas, who merely shrugged, utterly unrepentant.

"It was just a joke," Thomas said with a mischievous grin. "How was I supposed to know you'd freak out so easily? I thought you Asians were used to horror movies—what's that famous one? The Ring?"

Qin Li clenched her fists. "I'm Chinese, not Japanese."

Thomas smirked. "Same thing."

"Not. The. Same."

Yan Sen stepped between them, cutting off the argument. "Enough. Can I call you Li?" he asked, his tone calm and measured.

When she nodded, he said, "I'll show you to your room."

As Yan Sen turned and headed upstairs, Qin Li's gaze involuntarily dropped to the towel wrapped around his waist. The fabric clung snugly to his hips, hinting at what lay beneath. Flustered, she averted her eyes.

"Shouldn't you… put on some clothes?" she asked hesitantly.

Without breaking stride, he replied, "Not necessary."

Thomas leaned in with a wicked grin. "Usually, he skips the towel altogether. You're lucky."

Qin Li didn't dignify that with a response, hurrying after Yan Sen with her suitcase in tow. Neither man offered to help her with it.

Chivalry must have skipped these two entirely, she thought grimly, struggling up the stairs.

At the second-floor landing, Yan Sen stopped and gestured toward two doors. "Take your pick."

Opting for the door on the right, Qin Li muttered under her breath, "Let's just hope this place isn't as strange as its residents…"

Qin Li watched as Yan Sen strode out of her room, the towel wrapped around his waist barely hanging on with each step. His broad back and firm muscles moved fluidly, the fabric threatening to slip with every stride.

He's a cold and aloof farmer with a hidden streak of mischief, she mused, shaking her head as she closed the door behind him.

Opening her suitcase, she realized there wasn't much to unpack. A few necessities, quickly arranged, left the case empty. Exhausted from the day's chaos, she sat on the bed and stretched out, staring up at the wooden ceiling.

Through the thin walls, she could hear faint sounds—chairs scraping, someone coughing. It was Yan Sen, she guessed. His room was directly above hers.

Sighing, she thought about how much her life had changed since arriving in Germany. Leaving her old life behind for a remote farm in the mountains to meet a man she barely knew... Was this a bold leap forward or a colossal mistake?

The bed was firm but oddly comforting. She wrapped her arms under her head and drifted off to sleep.

In her dream, her ex-husband, Sun Yi, and his mistress, Xu Jing, appeared before her.

"Qin Li," Sun Yi said coldly, pointing a finger at her. "You think threatening suicide will make me stay? Why can't you just let me go?"

Xu Jing tugged on her arm, her voice syrupy sweet and insincere. "We're in love. Please, let us be happy!"

The scene shifted. Her mother stormed in with a broom, shouting, "You ungrateful girl! I raised you, and this is how you repay me? Divorce? Shame on you!"

Qin Li tried to dodge the blows, tears streaming down her face. The people she had loved the most—her husband, her family—had all turned into her nightmares.

A sudden jolt startled her awake. She opened her eyes to see a pair of glowing yellow orbs staring right at her.

Not human eyes.

Qin Li yelped and nearly fell off the bed, her heart pounding.

It was a cat—a calico, lounging on the edge of her pillow, licking its paw with an air of absolute indifference.

"You scared me!" she scolded, clutching her chest.

The cat responded by stretching lazily, its tail flicking nonchalantly.

"That's Schrödinger," said a voice from the doorway, smooth and amused.

Qin Li turned to see Thomas leaning against the doorframe, grinning as if her reaction had been the highlight of his evening.

"I forgot to introduce you earlier," he continued. "Schrödinger is part of the family. Isn't he charming?"

Qin Li shot him a glare. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I came to get you for dinner."

"Why didn't you knock?"

"I did."

"And I didn't say you could come in."

Thomas shrugged, his expression the picture of innocence. "I heard you talking. Logically, that means you were responding to me."

"I could have been talking in my sleep!"

He tilted his head, considering this. "Fair point. Let's start over."

Thomas stepped back into the hall, knocked on the door, and called out, "Li, may I come in?"

"No!"

A moment of silence passed before his voice came again, persistent. "Li, may I come in? Schrödinger is still in your room."

Qin Li felt her patience fraying. She scooped up the cat and marched to the door. Opening it, she thrust Schrödinger into Thomas's arms.

"Here. Keep him out of my room next time, or I'll turn him into stew!"

Thomas's eyes widened in mock horror. "You eat cats?!"

Qin Li groaned, exasperated. Arguing with him was like trying to reason with a brick wall—pointless and maddening.

Satisfied with her reaction, Thomas grinned and cradled the cat like a baby. "Alright, alright. But aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not!" Qin Li snapped, her words defiant.

But the moment she said it, her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.