He wasn't expecting her to be alert enough to realize someone had entered the room.
He stopped hiding his presence and the door closed with a click. He said no words as he inched closer to Xinghe, a large baseball bat in his hand.
Xinghe's voice showed no sign of alarm as she repeated, "Zhi, is that you?"
She then heard an eerie chuckle in the dark.
She turned around sharply and stared right at his face.
Lit by the weak candle light, the person's eyes were crazed and their smile was creepy. Xinghe was staring into the face of a homicidal psychopath.
The go-to response for any normal person under these circumstances would be to scream for help.
However, Xinghe was studying the man's face closely with not a trace of fear in her eyes.
"It's you!" Xinghe exclaimed in surprise.
Her shock was shared by the man. In a deep, throaty voice, he growled, "You know me?"