"Yizhuo, I've brought your favorite meal." Yunho offered as he entered the room.

"I don't want it." came Ningning's curt reply.

Yunho sighed, setting the tray of food down on Ningning's bedside table. Turning her back to him, Ningning pulled the thick blanket tightly around herself, shutting him out.

Locked away in Yunho's place for days now, Ningning's frustration was palpable.

Sitting beside her, Yunho gently patted her head. "You have to eat."

"I want to see my friends." Ningning retorted, her tone laced with anger. Yunho's refusal to let her see her friends had fueled her suspicions about his motives. She knew him too well to be fooled by his evasions.

Ningning's parents had died in a car crash when she was just five, leaving Yunho, her father's brother, to care for her as his own daughter. She vividly remembered Yunho's descent into madness after their son Jungwoo's death. If not for Aunt Minji, Yunho's wife, Ningning shuddered to think what he might have done.

The memory of Jungwoo's lifeless body in their basement, Yunho clutching a scalpel, haunted her still.

With Yunho dodging her questions about her Aunt Minji's whereabouts, Ningning's worst fears began to take shape. Isolated from her friends, her worries intensified, straining her patience until one final confrontation pushed her over the edge.

"Yizhuo, please eat—" Yunho started, only to be cut off by Ningning's outburst.

"I said I don't want to! Let me out of here! Where are my friends?! Where's Aunt Minji?!" Ningning's voice cracked with emotion as she confronted the uncle she scarcely recognized anymore.

Yunho attempted to fix Ningning's hair with a smile, but she slapped his hand away and distanced herself from him. His frown deepened, his clenched jaw betraying his growing impatience as he gripped the bedsheets.

"You're safe here." Yunho insisted.

Ningning scoffed, frustration evident as she raked her fingers through her hair. "I'm not a kid anymore, so stop treating me like one. Answer me."

"Where's my aunt? Where are my friends?" Ningning pressed.

Yunho shook his head, avoiding her gaze, further fueling Ningning's irritation. But then she noticed something protruding from Yunho's waistband. Desperate for answers, she acted on a hunch.

Her guess was right. Seizing the moment while Yunho was distracted, Ningning lifted his lab coat, revealing a gun tucked into his waistband. The sight jolted Yunho into alertness, but before he could react, Ningning snatched the gun and leaped off the bed.

With trembling hands, Ningning pointed the gun at Yunho, backing away slowly toward the door as he advanced.

"Give it back, Yizhuo." Yunho demanded sternly, each step forward met with a step back from Ningning.

"I want to see my friends." Ningning replied, her voice shaky but resolute. She had always respected and loved Yunho, but now she sensed something was terribly wrong and felt compelled to act, despite her nerves.

"I want to see Aunt Minji." Ningning added, tears welling in her eyes. Fear gnawed at her, dread of what she might uncover about her uncle's actions.

The sight of Yunho in this state pained Ningning. Initially thrilled to be reunited with him, their current situation filled her with apprehension and distress.

"Put it down now, you could hurt yourself." Yunho urged, slowly rising and extending a hand toward Ningning, who stood poised by the door, torn between escape and confronting the truth.

"If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself." Ningning declared, her voice steady as she sought to project strength. She knew that Yunho's deep love for her was one of his greatest weaknesses, akin to his love for Jungwoo.

When Ningning pressed the gun to her own temple, Yunho's composure shattered. He dropped to his knees, pleading with her to lower the weapon, his fists clenched in desperation.

"Yizhuo, no. Please." Yunho implored, his voice tinged with anguish.

"Then answer me." Ningning persisted, seizing the opportunity to corner her uncle further.