After getting into bed, lulled to sleep by Chen Yuan’s kiss, Jiangg Ning was soon sound asleep, her arms wrapped around his. She lay slightly on her side with her legs tucked, her cheek sinking into the soft pillow.
The afternoon was quiet.
A sliver of faint sunlight pierced through a gap in the curtains, spilling onto one side of the floor.
At first, Chen Yuan stared intently at the sliver of sunlight, trying to stay awake. But he had a habit of taking afternoon naps, and soon, a wave of drowsiness began to creep over him. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until his willpower finally crumbled against the overwhelming urge to sleep.
It was like a switch flipped.
The world went dark, just as if soone had turned off the lights, and everything beca so tranquil.
It felt as if a light veil were brushing against his face, coming and going. His mind settled, and all his scattered thoughts vanished.
Ti ticked by, second by second, minute by minute.
Chen Yuan seed to forget why he was here in the first place.
’Ti with Ningning is so peaceful. I don’t have to think about anything. Nothing else matters...’
HUFF!
Half an hour later, Chen Yuan’s eyes suddenly flew open. He stared at the chandelier on the ceiling.
’I’m not actually here to take a nap! I have sothing important to do!’ The thought was like a beam of light cutting through a thick fog, instantly clearing his mind and making him wide awake.
Chen Yuan’s plan had been to wait for Jiangg Ning to fall asleep before making his move.
He hadn’t expected his napping habit to be such a nuisance. All he had to do was lie down on a bed after lunch, and his eyelids would imdiately feel as heavy as lead.
It was impossible to resist.
Chen Yuan quietly rustled his phone out of his pocket. He turned it on—only half an hour had passed.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Beside him, Jiangg Ning was sleeping soundly, showing no signs of having been disturbed.
Chen Yuan turned his head to look at her. He carefully tried to move his arm. When she didn’t stir, he grew bolder and pulled out his entire arm, which had gone numb from being trapped under her.
"Mmm..." Ningning let out a soft little murmur.
Chen Yuan froze instantly, thinking she had woken up.
But Ning just rolled over, revealing the smooth, beautiful skin of her back in her camisole. She found a more comfortable position, and her breathing returned to its peaceful rhythm.
...
Without even putting on his slippers, Chen Yuan carried them in his hands and tiptoed out of the master bedroom. He still hadn’t finished searching the living room. He had already decided on a few key places to check, so he headed straight for the shelving unit and began opening the various decorative pieces and storage bins one by one.
He hadn’t gone through more than a few boxes.
Soon, he found a piece of paper that looked very much like a dical record. A flash of hopeful excitent appeared in his eyes as he opened it.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dical record at all.
It was a photocopy of a rental agreent. The pages weren’t stapled together and were scattered about; he found the rest of the pages in other boxes.
The tenant’s na was listed as Jiangg Ning.
The landlord’s surna was Shi, and her full na was Shi Yuwei. It sounded like a woman’s na.
There was also a guarantor listed.
’Wait a minute... shouldn’t the third section be for the rental agency’s na? The guarantor is soone nad Qin Ting, and it even has her detailed address.’
The na rang a bell for Chen Yuan. He seed to recall Ningning calling soone Ting. She must be one of the friends he had already t.
He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the address.
’I don’t know if this will be useful later, but it can’t hurt to be thorough.’
After putting everything back where he found it, Chen Yuan stood in the living room and scanned his surroundings.
He had searched every conceivable hiding spot that wasn’t in plain sight. Confirming there was nothing in the living room, Chen Yuan turned his attention back to the door of the second bedroom.
He walked over to it.
He put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it a couple of tis.
「Inside the room.」
Jiangg Yao seed to hear a strange noise. She turned her head, her expression still calm. But when she checked her phone and saw no ssage from Jiangg Ning, Yaoyao’s brow furrowed at once.
’Could that be Chen Yuan trying to open the door?’
At that thought, Jiangg Yao instantly held her breath, her face turning deathly pale.
In that split second, a million thoughts raced through her mind. ’How do I hide?’
’Cover my face with a pillow? Hide under the chair!’
’Behind the door would work too!’
Even though the door was locked from the inside, she couldn’t control her fear and didn’t dare to even breathe.
「Outside.」
After trying the knob a few more tis, Chen Yuan gave up. ’It’s probably for the best that the dical records aren’t in here,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, if I can’t find them, I’ll have to co up with another excuse to co back.’
Then, there was no more noise.
Jiangg Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
She picked up her phone and resud playing.
Ningning and Yaoyao were completely oblivious. The boat they shared, the one that kept them afloat together, had sprung a leak. The hole beneath their feet was growing larger and larger, yet they simply thought it was just another ordinary day.
They believed that this small crisis could be muddled through with just a bit of clever thinking.
However, you can’t hide the truth forever.
Jiangg Yao even figured Chen Yuan had just gotten up to pee and tried the wrong door, so she didn’t give it a second thought. She was more preoccupied with whether she should cancel her afternoon livestream. If the "little young master’s" nap dragged on for too long, she probably wouldn’t be able to go live.
Perhaps it was because of his complete trust in her before, but Chen Yuan had never once been suspicious.
But once a single drop of suspicion tainted that trust, it was like a small spark landing on a dry grassy hill, threatening to burn ever brighter.
Until it set the entire world ablaze.
As if guided by so unseen force, Chen Yuan found himself walking into Jiangg Ning’s study. He looked around. The quiet space felt strangely comforting. The heart-pounding anxiety he’d been feeling miraculously vanished, and his steps beca firm and composed.
User Comments
0 comments from readers