This would prevent anyone from noticing that things had been moved.

“Okay.”

“Should I install one in the secondary bedroom too?”

“If you do, where do you plan on installing it?” Jiangg Ruxue asked.

“I can place it between the computer’s graphics card and CPU. It’ll be completely invisible unless you take the computer apart. This way, while you won’t be able to see the content on the screen, you’ll have a clear view of any activity in most of the secondary bedroom.”

“Excellent!” A slight smile touched Jiangg Ruxue’s lips.

‘Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao are determined to return to Lanjing. It’s something I can’t stop, but I can use these cameras to monitor their every move. That way, I can protect them.’

“I’m going to turn off the lights now to check for reflections. A lens glint can be easily spotted.”

After getting Jiangg Ruxue’s approval, the man turned off the living room lights, leaving only the faint glow of the laptop on the coffee table.

Jiangg Ruxue and her assistant sat on the sofa, watching the man bustle about in the gloom.

The living room was shrouded in a blurry darkness. The three of them were like wandering ghosts, their faces indistinct.

…

「Lanjing West City. Inside a brightly lit villa.」

Guests came and went in an endless stream. Some were students of the elder who had traveled a great distance to bid him farewell.

Chen Yuan sat with the owner of Bauhinia Investment Company, the same man from last time, listening to him introduce the people around them.

Not long after, Jiang Zhengfeng, who had disappeared for a moment, returned.

“We’re about done, Yuan. If you’re getting tired of being here, I can have the driver take you to get something to eat.”

“What about you, Dad?”

“I have to stay and entertain the guests.”

“Alright, then.” Chen Yuan nodded. He was indeed incredibly bored just sitting here.

A moment ago, the deceased’s family members had even come over to thank him, their enthusiasm leaving him feeling both flattered and overwhelmed. Then a bunch of people whose names he didn’t know came to shake his hand, their warmth so intense it gave Chen Yuan goosebumps.

“Take care, Young Master Jiang.” Pei Youwen stood up to see him off.

Chen Yuan nodded and left the funeral alone. The driver was already waiting outside. Once he was in the car, within the enclosed space, he felt his whole body relax.

“Phew…”

“Yuan, should I take you to the hotel to change first? Then we can go eat?”

The driver, a man in his fifties, asked, turning around.

“Oh, right, I do need to change,” Chen Yuan said, pulling out his phone and unbuttoning his formal suit at the chest. “Forget it, just take me to Fengting District to change. The down jacket I wore from home is too thick.”

“That works too.”

The driver nodded in agreement.

Four hundred kilometers away, Qishui County was clearly much colder than Lanjing. He had been bundled up like a polar bear when he arrived, and putting on those clothes from the hotel again would feel far too bulky.

Chen Yuan took out his phone and started texting Ningning.

When he’d told her at noon that he was coming to Lanjing, Ningning had been very surprised. After learning the reason, she had urged him to be careful on the road.

But she hadn’t replied since this afternoon.

‘She must be busy visiting relatives and friends, so it’s probably not convenient for her to be on her phone.’

Amusing himself in the back seat, Chen Yuan took a selfie and sent it to her. In the photo, dressed in his black formal suit with a white handkerchief in the pocket, he had an unexpected air of a young nobleman.

…

“We’re here.”

“Okay, please wait for me here, Uncle. I’ll go change and be right down.”

“No rush. It’s fine even if you take a while.”

The driver dropped Chen Yuan off in the underground parking garage of Fengting District. After Chen Yuan got out, the driver watched him disappear through the doorway leading to the elevators.

Then, the driver turned on the stereo and picked a random, soothing song.

He waited in silence.

As Jiang Zhengfeng’s personal driver, he was long accustomed to this kind of waiting. Sometimes he’d be in the car for seven or eight hours at a time. Of course, he could never do the unthinkable and rush his boss by saying, “What’s taking so long?!” He could only wait for what felt like an eternity, occasionally getting out for a short smoke or a brief walk.

“Mmm-hmm-hmm~”

Humming along to the music in the car, the driver closed his eyes and swayed his head, enjoying the moment.

Meanwhile, before Chen Yuan even reached the elevators, he heard a woman shouting from a few steps away. Curious, he went to take a look.

What came into view were two elevators. One had its doors wide open, while the other was closed. The down button had been pressed for both. A man and a woman were arguing with their backs against the wall.

“I already told you, I don’t know that girl!”

“If you don’t know her, why’d you delete your chat history? Don’t think I don’t know! You didn’t go on a business trip the night before last! If you don’t tell the truth, this isn’t over between us today!”

“I am telling the truth!” the young-looking man exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

The next second.

SLAP—

A crisp slap echoed.

The woman, who was dressed in revealing and sexy clothes despite the winter weather, glared, and several red marks had already appeared on the man’s face.

“You dare lie to my face again!?”

The shrill rebuke made Chen Yuan, who was just waiting nearby, jump.

He braced himself and waited for the elevator, subtly glancing at the couple.

‘By comparison, even the straightforward Jiangg Yao seemed so gentle and cute… This woman is way too violent!’

The man who had been slapped obviously noticed the sudden appearance of another person waiting for the elevator. He glanced at Chen Yuan, took a deep breath, and said to his girlfriend, “If we’re going to fight, can we at least do it at home?”

“Why the hell should we go home to fight! I’m fighting right here! You weren’t ashamed to go be a john, but now you’re ashamed to have people watch us argue!?”

“When the fuck did I go whoring???”

‘Wow, this is juicy…’

It’s human nature to enjoy a good spectacle. Chen Yuan was inwardly marveling at how sensational the argument was; he almost didn’t want to leave.

But the elevator had already descended, and with a DING, it slowly opened.

The couple was still frantically mashing the button for the other elevator. Their argument seemed to have reached a fever pitch, and if he didn’t leave now, he might get caught in the crossfire.

Hearing the final line, “I’m calling your mom right now,” Chen Yuan could no longer hold back a grin as his face gradually disappeared between the closing elevator doors.

He was thoroughly amused and sent a message to Jiangg Ning to share what he had just witnessed.

He rode it all the way to the 13th floor.

He turned, unlocked the door with facial recognition, and went inside.

Just on the other side of his door, Chen Yuan had no idea that in the apartment opposite his, behind its closed door, there was someone inside…

…

CLINK CLINK CLINK—

Ice cubes rattled in a glass. Chen Yuan took an ice-cold Coke from the fridge, poured it in with a FIZZ, and took a long drink. An invigorating sensation immediately spread through his mouth and throat.

He let out a sigh of relief.

Even though he’d been gone for two days, his small rented apartment in Lanjing was still spotless.

He went into the bedroom, took off his suit, and put on a sweater and a down jacket. He adjusted his hat in front of the mirror. He habitually started to change his shoes but then remembered he’d be heading back down soon.

So he decided against it.

After changing, Chen Yuan picked up his glass of Coke, intending to set it on the coffee table.

The moment he put the glass down, a small figurine caught his eye.

It was the kissing figurine that Jiangg Yao had bought for his desk, but now it was sitting securely on the coffee table, holding down a small slip of paper.

Chen Yuan picked it up to look.

“I’ve gone back to Mingzhu City, little young master. Looking forward to seeing you again. ♡”

He stared at the small note in silence, an image of Jiangg Yao with her suitcase, ready to leave, involuntarily appearing in his mind. She was all packed and about to head out the door when she suddenly remembered something. She must have hurried to find a pen, torn off a piece of paper, grabbed the figurine to use as a paperweight, and then, stroke by stroke, written down this line of text.

Finally, she must have clapped her hands together, satisfied, and stood up.

Only then would she have left with light, quick steps.

An immense warmth filled Chen Yuan’s heart, leaving him in a bit of a daze.

‘I really have a very cute girlfriend…’

A smile unconsciously appeared on Chen Yuan’s lips. He carefully put the note away, turned off the living room lights, and briskly left the apartment.

The voice-activated light outside the door switched on, casting a clean, white glow.

Chen Yuan was in an especially good mood and couldn’t help but hum a song. He strolled over to the elevator, pressed the button, and looked down at his phone. After a busy afternoon, he was starting to get hungry.

‘What should I get to eat later…’

DING—

The door to the apartment next door slowly opened.

The muffled yet pleasant sound of high heels echoed in the hallway, neither fast nor slow…

It was almost like the light prelude to an exquisite piece of music, growing clearer as it approached from a distance, getting closer and closer to the corner by the elevator. But by then, the elevator doors had already closed.

Chen Yuan didn’t notice the sound; he was busy scrolling through short videos.

However, the elevator didn’t begin its descent. Instead, it paused for a few seconds before the doors opened again.

A gust of fresh air rushed into the enclosed space.

Chen Yuan looked up, puzzled.

Before him stood a graceful figure. At that moment, she also noticed the man in the elevator.

Their eyes met.

Chen Yuan froze instantly!

Because in that fleeting moment, the woman’s eyes and brows seemed incredibly similar to Jiangg Ning’s.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep