Chapter 97 Part 2

Enlightenment dawned on Pei Yan, and his speech sped up. “So it was all my misunderstanding. You two are at most ordinary friends—or not even that.”

“Exactly.”

Pei Yan’s eyes lit up as he murmured, “Only me now.”

Zhong Nian didn’t quite catch that last sentence.

–

On the second evening at Pei Yan’s home, Mo Heng showed up at the door.

Zhong Nian hid in the bedroom and even locked it from the inside for good measure, pressing his ear to the door to listen.

Pei Yan let Mo Heng knock for quite a while, until the sounds grew louder and more urgent. Only when the man outside the peephole had completely lost his usual composure and calm did he crack the door open a sliver.

Aside from the bedroom, Pei Yan turned off all the lights, just as he liked best—placing himself in a dim, lightless environment that felt more secure.

This way, outsiders couldn’t glimpse his entire domain at a glance.

Even so, he habitually used his body to block the door crack completely, eliminating any chance of intrusion.

He had an extreme possessiveness over his private territory—not to mention that his home now hid a treasure he’d finally managed to steal away.

With vigilant, hostile eyes, he gazed at the former “owner” of that treasure outside, quietly tensing all his muscles in full alert, not daring to relax for a second.

“Something wrong?”

Mo Heng’s face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, his state exhausted—but his gaze was sharp, his demeanor in no way softened.

The moment he opened his mouth, his voice came out hoarse yet forceful: “I’m here for my wife.”

Pei Yan fell silent for two seconds. “He’s not here.”

Mo Heng said nothing and stepped forward aggressively, as if to barge in.

A cold glint shot from Pei Yan’s eyes as he emphasized, “I said he’s not here.”

Mo Heng raised his gaze and met it without backing down.

The air grew taut like a strung bowstring, ready to snap and shatter the silence at any moment.

In the midst of the standoff, a warm, jade-like voice intervened, disrupting the frozen tension.

“Mr. Mo.”

Mo Heng glanced indifferently and looked away, paying the newcomer no mind.

Jiang Jingyun strode gracefully up to Mo Heng and said, “Mr. Mo, I understand your anxiety over losing your wife, but as the Administrator, I must remind you that forcing your way into someone else’s residence violates the Apartment rules.”

Mo Heng remained unmoved. “I just want to find my wife.”

“Mr. Mo.” Jiang Jingyun sighed softly. “Wasn’t it enough that you just searched my home? Do you intend to turn every household in the Apartment upside down? I let you in because I pitied you and made allowances.”

At a certain word, Mo Heng’s brow twitched. He turned to Jiang Jingyun with a mocking tone. “Pitied?”

Jiang Jingyun glanced at Pei Yan before continuing, “You seem convinced that someone stole your wife away. But have you calmed down to consider that maybe no one took him—he left on his own?”

A vein throbbed at Mo Heng’s temple as his eyes turned blood-red staring at Jiang Jingyun.

But Jiang Jingyun acted as if he hadn’t noticed Mo Heng’s expression at all, still advising in his mild, courteous tone: “After all, he’s done it before. So perhaps Mr. Mo should reflect properly on why your wife keeps leaving you time and again…”

“What’s it to you?” Mo Heng cut him off coldly. “My wife and I have no issues in our relationship. Even if we did, it’s not for an outsider like you to comment on.”

The curve of Jiang Jingyun’s smile faded slightly. “Of course… But I’m just kindly reminding you: if you insist on forcing your way into Mr. Pei’s home, you’ll face three days and nights of confinement as punishment. By the time that’s over… finding him will be even harder. Are you sure you want to do that?”

At those words, Mo Heng’s gaze turned icy as a blade, radiating sharp killing intent.

…

Zhong Nian in the bedroom couldn’t hear the outside clearly and grew a bit anxious.

Though Pei Yan had assured him he wouldn’t let Mo Heng take him no matter what, he didn’t want to see them fight either.

Then he recognized Jiang Jingyun’s voice and relaxed a little.

As the Apartment’s Administrator, with him there, things shouldn’t escalate beyond control.

After waiting anxiously a bit longer, Zhong Nian heard the door close, followed by Pei Yan’s voice outside the bedroom.

“He’s gone.”

Only then did Zhong Nian dare open the door. He glanced out warily and still asked uneasily, “No fight?”

Pei Yan shook his head and recounted exactly what had happened.

“Good, nothing happened.” The stone in Zhong Nian’s heart dropped.

Mo Heng had probably just suspected, not known for sure he was here.

“Even if Mr. Jiang hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have let him in,” Pei Yan suddenly said.

Zhong Nian paused. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

Pei Yan stared at him, throat bobbing, then asked, “Did I do well?”

Zhong Nian belatedly realized Pei Yan was seeking praise from him and couldn’t help smiling. He nodded. “Really well. Thanks to you.”

“I want a reward.” Pei Yan’s voice was low, his gaze tense and eager on Zhong Nian, looking terrified of rejection as he pleaded hoarsely, “Can I?”

Zhong Nian hesitated. “What do you want? I don’t think I have anything to give you…”

Pei Yan said nothing, just stared fixedly at his lips, swallowing hard.

Zhong Nian gradually caught on. “…”