Zhao Lifei fumed when she realized she had been played by the Devil. The tables were turned against her and she didn"t even realize it amidst his seduction. Right after he left, the driver entered the car. She was forced to clamp her mouth shut and silently sulk in the car while vowing to get her revenge.
Her s.e.xual frustration finally died down by the time she arrived at Lu Minhong"s apartment complex. But that didn"t mean she wouldn"t torture and torment Yang Feng tonight.
Zhao Lifei rang the bell outside of Lu Minhong"s apartment door. It let out a small rhythm of dings before silence ensued the empty hallway. Frowning at the lack of response, she pressed the doorbell again. Yet again, no one answered. She knew Lu Minhong rarely left the house. He was a very light sleeper and the slightest sound could wake him up. Worried that something might have happened to him, she began to type in the pa.s.scode to his door. To her pleasant surprise, the pa.s.scode hasn"t changed in the past three years.
It didn"t take long for her to enter his s.p.a.cious apartment that was covered in darkness. The lights were shut off, which didn"t surprise her. The thick, black curtains shut out any sunlight, even though he lived high up in the complex. She flickered on the light and was truly surprised to see how meticulously clean it was. There weren"t any spare objects laying around and for once, the trash can wasn"t br.i.m.m.i.n.g with cup noodles. It was like someone entirely new lived here.
"Or maybe there is someone else…" She whispered to herself upon seeing an unfamiliarly large pair of shoes sitting by the doorway. She changed to the indoor slippers there and headed straight to Lu Minhong"s bedroom.
Nothing in a billion years would prepare her for the sight she witnessed. From the silhouette of the blankets, there were two bodies. And both of them had short hair. She did a double-take and rubbed her eyes.
"Huh, I must be seeing things." Closing the door to the room, she paused for five seconds, then opened it again. She saw the same thing.
Letting out a quiet and awkward laugh, she closed the door again. Then opened it. Then closed it. And opened it one last time.
"d.a.m.n, this must be the wrong house." She said out-loud, prepared to close the door again.
A voice replied, "Oh. It"s you."
Zhao Lifei could feel her entire world shake at the familiar voice. Swirling around on her heels, complete bewilderment took over her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Ling Fulei?!" She shrieked, dropping her handbag.
At the loud voice, Lu Minhong s.h.i.+fted in his sleep and grumbled, "Who"s there?" His voice was heavy with sleep and deeper than normal.
"Oh my G.o.d. Pardon me, I walked into a parallel universe." Zhao Lifei laughed awkwardly, slapping herself on the forehead. Right, right, this can"t be real. She closed the door again.
A minute later, it opened again and out came Ling Fulei. He closed the door right behind him, his lips pursed. His hair was disheveled, as expected of bed-hair, but it was oddly parted as if a pair of hands had run through it yesterday. "You didn"t see anything."
"Where"s my explanation?" She frowned, crossing her arms. Didn"t see anything? You wis.h.!.+
"What"s there to explain?" Ling Fulei kept a firm grasp on the door handle. He stood protectively in front of it, refraining her from walking inside.
"There"s everything to explain." She hissed, mindful of her voice so that she didn"t wake Lu Minhong up. "For example, what the h.e.l.l happened between you two?"
"You said I should talk to him. So I did."
"And then?"
"And then we got to know each other a lot more. I explained to him and we talked about our…" He trailed off, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
"This is not what I expected when I said you guys should talk it through." What they did was beyond talking…
Zhao Lifei let out a tired sigh, walking to the couch and collapsing down upon it. She wasn"t sure how she should react to the news.
A few seconds later the door opened again, revealing a sloppily dressed Lu Minhong. The b.u.t.tons to his pajamas were sloppily done, suggesting he had just worn it hastily. "I smell another rich person." The hacker mumbled, nearly tripping over his feet while walking with one eye open.
"What does a rich person even smell like?" Zhao Lifei sighed, running a hand through her hair.
Lu Minhong was shaken awake by her voice. His eyes widened at the sight of her and the only thing he could say was, "Overpriced perfume?"
Zhao Lifei gave her good friend a deadpan expression. She didn"t look humored by his words. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
"D-do I?" He asked, unnerved by the unexpected appearance of a woman who behaved like his older sister. Thinking about the idea of a sibling, his face became gloomy. It forced him to think about his broken family filled with half-siblings, ruled by an abusive father and a pa.s.sive mother. He could still remember the days where his body was covered with all sorts of bruises. His family wasn"t that well-off and the only reason Lu Minhong was able to enroll in Zhao Lifei"s prestigious school was because of the scholars.h.i.+p he won.
"Yeah. You do." She pointed towards the smaller couch next to the larger one she was sitting on.
"When did this happen?" Despite the doubtful expression on her face, her voice was still patient and welcoming. It was originally curt but became a bit more understanding when Lu Minhong fiddled with the hemline of his s.h.i.+rt.
"A few weeks ago." Lu Minhong answered, sitting down. Ling Fulei didn"t seem pleased by the questioning, but he kept his mouth shut and sat beside Lu Minhong.
"And you didn"t bother to inform me about this?"
"I-I thought you would be angry." Lu Minhong really felt like a younger brother being interrogated by his older sister.
"I"m only angry because Ling Fulei used to--" She cut herself off. Pressing her lips together, she breathed in through her nose and let out a heavy sigh. It wasn"t her place to judge them, but it was her place to doubt Ling Fulei"s intentions.
Zhao Lifei turned her attention back to Ling Fulei. "Why did you do it? Why did you bully Lu Minhong in the past?"
Ling Fulei shared glances with Lu Minhong before he finally confessed, "It was because I was confused with my emotions. I was just a stupid teenager who thought the best way to react to their feelings was through useless teasing."
"Teasing?!" Zhao Lifei harshly repeated, "You called having your people beat him...teasing?!"
"It was only one time!" Ling Fulei snarled, "AND it was against my orders. You should know by now that I"ve had them severely punished."
"And what about the insults and pranks?"
"I was just…" Ling Fulei sunk into the couch. His voice, barely above a whisper, said, "...trying to get his attention."
"Right." Zhao Lifei curtly said, with a slight frown. She turned to Lu Minhong, "Are you being forced to do this?" She raised a brow, "I can get you out of this situation." She blinked twice as if to signal him.
"No, I"m not. Don"t worry about it." Lu Minhong cracked a lopsided, rea.s.suring smile. "I"m a big boy now, I can handle my own problems."
Zhao Lifei bit her bottom lip. She was used to having him under her wing that she wasn"t prepared for the day that the little bird flew out of its nest. Slowly, she nodded her head. "But if that crazy man does something horrible to you, you let me know. Okay?" She said the last part with a fierce glare towards Ling Fulei"s way.
"Wouldn"t dream of it." Ling Fulei responded.
"Good, or else you"ll wake up one day without an eggplant."
Ling Fulei let out an awkward laughter that trailed off when he saw how solemnly serious this crazy woman was. The laughter died when he realized three important people in his life were attached to her" his lover, his younger sister Yunai, and Yang Feng. She was here to stay. He couldn"t escape her even if he tried.