Silence had weight.
Xinyue felt it the moment she woke.
It pressed down on her chest, thick and unmoving, like the air before a storm that refused to break. She lay still beneath the thin blanket, eyes open, staring at the faint crack of light where the curtains didn't quite meet. Her body was tense in a way sleep hadn't eased tightness of muscles, breath shallow, every sense alert.
Nothing was wrong at the same time everything was wrong. That was the problem. No distant traffic noise, no voices drifting from the neighboring apartments. Even the usual hum of the city felt muted, as if someone had turned the volume down while she was sleeping.
She counted her breaths. One, two, three…
Her phone lay face down on the bedside table. She hadn't checked it since the message last night.
Someone is always there.
The words surfaced uninvited.
Xinyue pushed herself upright slowly, carful not to make any sound she didn't need to. The floor was cool beneath her feet as she stood, pausing to listen again.
Still nothing.
She moved through the apartment the way she had been trained light steps, controlled movements, never turning her back on a doorway. Her father's voice echoed faintly in her head, from years ago, from a life that felt impossibly faraway now.
"If something feels wrong, assume it is."
The kitchen looked exactly as she'd left. The window was still locked. The chair she'd pushed under the table sat flush, undisturbed. No sign of forced entry, no misplaced objects.
She checked anyway.
Bathroom. Bedroom. Closet.
Nothing.
Her pulse refused to slowdown.
Xinyue exhaled, running a hand through her hair, and told herself she was overreacting. She had worked night shifts for years, the exhaustion played tricks on her mind. Fear amplified shadows and she knew that.
She made a cup of coffee to clam herself.
The machine whirred to life, loud in the quiet apartment. She flinched despite it. As the coffee brewed, she leaned against the counter, arms crossed tightly, eyes drifting to the front door.
Locked.
She tested in once more.
Secure. Yet it still felt like not.
The feeling persisted in her mind. The sense of being observed without a direction to attach it to. Like pressure behind the eyes. Like someone standing just outside her field of vision.
She slowly sipped her coffee, barley tasting it.
Her phone buzzed, that made her nearly drop the mug. It sent a jolt through her nerves. She set the cup down carefully before picking up the phone.
A text.
Unknown number again.
Her stomach tightened.
Unknown:You didn't sleep well.
Her fingers hovered over the screen; all her sense is telling to avoid it. But...
Xinyue:Did you watch me sleep?
There was a pause this time. Long enough for her heartbeat to climb up.
Unknown:No.
She stared at the single word, unsure whether it reassured her or made thing worse.
Xinyue:That wasn't very reassuring.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
Unknown:It wasn't meant to be.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Xinyue:Then what was??
Unknown:Honesty.
Her grip tightened on the phone. "You're insane," she muttered under her breath, even as her pulse betrayed her words.
She didn't respond back. Then set the phone down, she finished her coffee quickly, changed into clean clothes and prepared for the work with mechanical precision.
By the time she stepped out of her apartment, her expression was clam again. Controlled. Professional.
The hallway was empty. The elevator arrived without delay. She watched the mirrored walls as it descended, tracking her own reflection for signs she didn't quite trust.
Nothing followed her.
That should have eased her nerves. Unfortunately, it didn't.
---
The hospital felt wrong. In a way one can't easily explain it.
Everything functioned as it always had, nurses moved with practiced efficiency, stretchers rolled past, voices overlapped in familiar rhythms. The scent of antiseptic and coffee clung to the air.
And yet.
Xinyue noticed the pauses.
The way conversations dipped when she passed.
The brief glances that slid away too quickly.
She stopped at the nurses' station to check her schedule. A junior nurse handed her the chart without meeting her eyes.
"Is something wrong?" Xinyue asked.
The nurse startled slightly. "No….no, Doctor. Everything's normal."
Xinyue studied her face. "You're lying."
A flush crept up woman's neck. She hesitated at first, then leaned in just enough to lower her voice. "The security's been on edge since last night."
Xinyue's chest tightened. "Why?"
"They didn't say." The nurse glance down the corridor. "But they're watching the cameras more closely than usual."
'Watching.'
That word lodged itself in Xinyue's mind.
She nodded and took the chart, forcing herself to look unaffected. As she turned away, she felt it again – that prickle at the base of her spine.
Eyes.
She looked up sharply.
The corridor was clear.
Still, the sensation lingered, crawling under her skin.
---
By mid-morning, it was undeniable.
Something was wrong.
A patient she was meant to check on had been discharged without her knowledge. Another chart contained gaps – missing notes that should have been there. When she asked about it. The intern assigned to the case went pale.
"I…...I was told it was handled," he said.
"By whom?"
He swallowed. "Administration."
Xinyue frowned. "Since when does administration alter medical records without informing the attending physician?"
She let him go, unease growing heavier with each unanswered question. As she walked toward the imaging wing, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Unknown:You noticed.
Her jaw tightened.
Xinyue:Stop this.
Unknown:I can't.
She paused near a window, lowering her voice instinctively. "Why?"
The reply took longer this time.
Unknown:Because they're testing boundaries.
Her chest tightened with the information. "Whose? Mine?"
Unknown:Yours.
She stared at the screen.
Xinyue:I didn't agree to this.
Unknown:No!
Her fingers curled around the phone. "Then end it."
Another long pause.
Unknown:I'm not the one who started it.
Her stomach dropped. She didn't reply, there was no need too.
She already knew.
---
It followed her through out the day of her work.
Not a person or a shadow. Instead, the absence of one.
Every time she turned a corner expecting to see someone, the space was empty. Every door that should have been closed stood slightly ajar. Every sound echoed just a beat too long.
She caught her reflection in a glass panel and froze.
For a split second, she could have sworn there was someone standing behind her.
She spun around and nothing.
That made her feel the pulse constant race in her ear. And a heavy hot breathing stuck near her ears.
'Get a grip,' she told herself.
She was letting him get inside her head. Letting the tension distort her senses.
And yet…
When her shift finally ended, relief didn't come.
The sun was already setting, painting the sky in muted golds and grays as she stepped outside. The parking lot was half-full, shadows long between the cars.
She walked faster than necessary. While entirely forgetting the promised meet up with her mother.
This time she again got another message.
Unknown:Don't drive yet.
She stopped for a short minute.
Xinyue:Why??
This time, there was no immediate response.
Seconds passed.
Then, a man crossed the far end of the lot.
Xinyue stiffened.
He wasn't looking at her. He wasn't approaching. Just walking, phone to his ear, expression neutral.
Too neutral, giving away nothing.
Her pulse spiked.
And the phone buzzed again.
Unknown:Because silence doesn't mean you're alone.
Her breath caught at that message.
She turned slowly, scanning the lot.
The man was gone but the shadow felt deeper now.
Her phone vibrated on last time.
Unknown: Wait.
She stood there, heart pounding, every instinct screaming at her to move with no knowledge of why she even following the message.
And somewhere nearby – close enough, where she can't pinpoint – someone watched.
Not an open attaching.
Not revealing themselves.
Just waiting.
Like a psychological warfare.
This time she is the prey.