Chapter 78 Part 3

Zhong Nian silently apologized in his heart while his lips curved happily for a bit. He went to the trash area, dumping the bag of sinful items.

With a thud as it hit the ground, his heart lightened too.

He patted his hands and turned back, scanning around extra—no sign of that neighbor.

Wasn’t he here to throw trash?

Did he leave right away, or had he guessed wrong?

“Meow~”

A tiny cat meow caught Zhong Nian’s attention. After searching, he spotted the familiar Tabby Cat near the bins.

It hissed aggressively at a black garbage bag, back arched, paw swatting.

Its sharp claws tore the plastic, revealing the contents.

Pale bones hung with bloody flesh, reeking foully—whoever hadn’t finished their meat had tossed it out.

Zhong Nian wrinkled his nose and called, “Mimi.”

The Tabby Cat turned, saw him, and immediately dropped its attack stance. It leaped lightly from the trash heap, meowing as it trotted happily to his side and rubbed against his leg.

His pant leg got dirty, but Zhong Nian didn’t mind. He squatted to pet it.

“Are you hungry? I’ll bring something down later to feed you. Don’t eat garbage—it’ll make you sick.”

“Meow~”

Without the other pesky four-legged beast, the Tabby Cat let loose, shamelessly coquettish toward Zhong Nian, rubbing wildly against his pants and palms.

After just two meetings, it even let him rub its belly.

Zhong Nian saw its belly was plump—not starved. Instead, he worried it hadn’t gotten food from other residents today and had scavenged a lot from the trash.

“I’ll try to come down to feed you more from now on. Eat less garbage.” Though the little cat couldn’t understand, Zhong Nian spoke warmly to it anyway, playing for quite a while.

He almost couldn’t tear himself away until he heard someone calling “Mrs. Mo.”

He wasn’t used to the title yet—after several calls, he reacted, turning to see the dark-skinned Security Uncle standing outside the Security Booth, beaming and waving at him.

“Someone’s calling me. Play by yourself for now, Mimi.”

Zhong Nian patted the Tabby Cat’s head and walked over.

“Security Uncle, were you calling me?”

“Yes, yes.” The Security Uncle adjusted his neatly perched hat. He’d clearly been in the sun a long time—his dark skin was reddened, like heated iron.

“Is something up?” Zhong Nian was curious why the Security Uncle had called him over specifically. He stayed vigilant, keeping two meters’ distance.

“Wait a sec.” The Security Uncle said, then ducked into the Security Booth and quickly emerged with a bag.

It was a pretty gift bag, red, contents hidden.

The Security Uncle wiped sweat from his brow, his smile a bit shy as he handed it to Zhong Nian. “A little something for Mrs. Mo.”

Zhong Nian blinked in surprise. “What is it?”

“One of the residents just moved in and gave me a welcome gift—some imported snacks, I think…” Seeing Zhong Nian’s hesitation, he hurried on. “This sweet stuff isn’t for a rough guy like me—I can’t even taste it properly. Waste to eat it. Thought I’d give it to you… Does Mrs. Mo like sweets? I hear it’s good—small and pretty-looking.”

“This…” Zhong Nian felt flattered and waved it off. “I can’t accept—I haven’t given you anything before.”

“Take it, take it.” The Security Uncle simply shoved the whole bag into his arms, forcing him to catch it. “Don’t stand on ceremony. Last time you came, I had nothing good to offer, right?”

“…Okay, thank you.”

Unable to refuse, Zhong Nian accepted with proper thanks.

Carrying the gift bag back, he curiously pulled out the contents to look.

The outer lid of the box was transparent, allowing him to see the petite pastries neatly arranged inside. They were as beautiful as the Security Uncle had said, in all sorts of shapes—cherry blossoms, roses, and even little rabbits.

They looked utterly tempting.

Zhong Nian stared at them entranced, walking with his head down until he entered the elevator. He felt someone enter a second after him and looked up in surprise.

…It was that neighbor from 1604 again.

He was still carrying that black bag, hadn’t thrown it away yet, and didn’t know what he’d been up to just now. His breathing was a bit labored, and his footsteps had been hurried as he came in.

What a coincidence.

Then a question popped into Zhong Nian’s mind. If the guy had social anxiety, wouldn’t he normally wait for the next elevator rather than ride with someone already inside?

Though he didn’t quite understand, Zhong Nian still tried to give the other man some comfortable space. He stood in the corner again, minimizing his presence and not saying a word as he continued admiring the pastries.

He counted them—only nine.

Each one was so cute, and with an odd number like that, they were hard to divide. Zhong Nian secretly decided to take them home and hide them, making sure the Bastard Husband didn’t find out.

Or… he could take a few as a return gift for Mr. Administrator.

He wondered if the man had made any new pastries today?

As he thought about it, Zhong Nian suddenly felt a gaze on him.

He looked up but saw nothing. The tall neighbor was still standing by the elevator door, his back to Zhong Nian, without even turning his head.

Zhong Nian chalked it up to his own sensitivity and shook off the thought.

But just as he was about to put the things away, he inadvertently caught sight of a pair of peeping eyes in the elevator wall’s reflection.

The moment their eyes met, the tall neighbor shuddered like a startled cat and quickly turned his face away.

But it was too late—Zhong Nian had already caught him sneaking peeks at his little actions. And he hadn’t looked away, continuing to scrutinize him steadily.

The more Zhong Nian looked, the more uneasy the man became. He visibly panicked, even shrinking bit by bit to the diagonally opposite corner from Zhong Nian and starting to “face the wall.”

Zhong Nian almost laughed again.

To avoid stimulating this timid giant of a neighbor any further, Zhong Nian tried his best to suppress his smile. He took a pastry from the gift bag and held it out, doing his utmost to show goodwill.

“Want one?”