Chapter 2

The apartment was located in the best viewing building of the entire complex, overlooking the Feng River and surrounded by other tall buildings. It was named “Que Xi Ge” (Magpie and Happiness Pavilion).

The building had only eight floors to ensure that the views from the back units weren’t blocked. Wei Yuhuan had purchased the third floor unit, as the old saying goes, “Gold in March, silver in April,” which refers to the auspiciousness of buying a house during these months.

The apartment building had two units per floor, and Wei Yuhuan’s unit was 0301, which was on the left side after going up the stairs.

S City’s rapid development had come at the cost of environmental problems, with poor air quality being a significant issue. When Wei Yuhuan was in New York, he had driven his car for a month without it getting dirty. However, after returning to China, he had to wash it every two to three days. He assumed that the apartment, which had been vacant for six months, would be covered in dust.

Fortunately, the complex had a housekeeping service that could be called with a single phone call to send a cleaning person over.

After retrieving the keys, Wei Yuhuan entered the apartment. Even though he was prepared to see an empty, desolate space, he was instead greeted with a clean and fresh scent. Everywhere he looked, the windows were spotless and everything was dust-free.

Upon entering the apartment, the living room was on the left and the kitchen and dining table were on the right. On the table was a half-eaten plate of what appeared to be freshly cooked green peppers and pork.

On the connected balcony, a white T-shirt hung, swaying slightly in the breeze. The window was slightly open, and the thin fabric fluttered in the wind.

Wei Yuhuan was stunned. He thought he had entered the wrong apartment, but he double-checked the number on the door and realized that he had not. He was faced with a dilemma of how to react to everything he was seeing.

It was clear that the apartment was not empty and desolate but was instead filled with a lively atmosphere.

Wei Yuhuan was puzzled for a moment, and suddenly his forehead lit up – could it be that Cong Yuan still lived here?

Other than this possibility, what else could he think of?

He hadn’t even realized that Cong Yuan had never brought the spare key for this house when he left.

Wei Yuhuan happily took out his phone and directly dialed Cong Yuan’s number.

After not contacting each other for half a year, Cong Yuan didn’t seem to expect Wei Yuhuan to call him again. He pressed the answer button without much thought and was a little stunned when the call went through. He stood there dumbfounded and didn’t say anything.

This reaction undoubtedly gave Wei Yuhuan the wrong signal, and he directly came up with a flippant remark, “Hey, baby~”

Cong Yuan was taken aback and blurted out, “Who are you calling?!”

Wei Yuhuan still thought he was teasing Qiao: “Tsk, your temper is still so fiery.”

Cong Yuan: “…”

Wei Yuhuan strode to the kitchen and casually opened the fridge – hey! There were still two tomatoes in it!

When he bought this house, he thought Cong Yuan would at least live here until graduation, so he paid for two years of water, electricity, and internet in advance.

“I didn’t know you could cook!” Wei Yuhuan teased.

Cong Yuan calmly reminded him, “Wei Yuhuan, did you dial the wrong number?”

“How could I? Aren’t you Xiao Yuan?” Wei Yuhuan was elated, feeling that this kid was too amusing. He turned around, walked around the dining table, and directly picked up a piece of meat to eat, nodding as he chewed. “You cook pretty well!”

Cong Yuan on the other end of the phone was increasingly confused, wondering why Wei Yuhuan, who was rich and handsome, seemed to have a bit of a dull mind.

Wei Yuhuan arrived in the living room and sat down on the sofa, thinking about that young body he had only tasted once, while asking, “When do you finish class?”

Cong Yuan: “…huh?”

Wei Yuhuan’s tone became a little more serious, but still gentle: “When are you coming home? I’m back and waiting for you at home.”

The other person’s self-talk finally made Cong Yuan unable to bear it: “Wei Yuhuan, are you crazy?”

Wei Yuhuan: “…”

Cong Yuan: “What cooking? What coming home? If you want to play, go find someone else. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not with me!”

Only then did Wei Yuhuan realize that something was wrong. “Isn’t this Cong Yuan?” He paused and asked again, “Chunjiang Huajing Garden, the house I bought for you, didn’t you move in?”

Cong Yuan shouted in anger, “I’m done playing with you. Who cares about your shabby house?”

Now Wei Yuhuan was confused. He was about to ask a few more questions when he heard a “beep” in his ear. Cong Yuan had already hung up on him!

He said “hello” twice, looked at his phone, and stood there stunned.

Cong Yuan wasn’t lying, he wasn’t the kind of person who threw tantrums for no reason. And Cong Yuan’s reaction just now meant that whoever was living here must have nothing to do with him.

But if it wasn’t Cong Yuan, then who could it be living here?

Only Wei Yuhuan, Cong Yuan, and Li Xiuya knew about this house. Li Xiuya had been with him in the United States for the past six months and couldn’t have come here…

Wei Yuhuan suddenly stood up and realized that something was happening.

Someone had broken into his house and was occupying it without permission!

He suddenly felt a chill on his forehead and back, and the meat he had just eaten seemed to be stuck in his throat like a poison.

Wei Yuhuan looked around with a cold face, carefully examining inside and out, trying to find any clues. At the same time, he called the security of the community and asked them to come up.

The bedding in the bedroom was neatly folded, and a worn robe was hanging beside the bed.

It was Cong Yuan’s birthday that day, and Wei Yuhuan only bought some necessary bath products and bathrobes along with the cake, red wine, and roses. And they were all in pairs – he didn’t expect the thief to dare to wear Cong Yuan’s clothes!?

He went into the bathroom and saw a rag-like towel and a bar of Safeguard soap lying by the sink. The shower gel bottle was almost full, and there was hardly any missing.

Wei Yuhuan went to the balcony and pulled down the thin T-shirt. It was washed clean, but the label read “Iced Tea,” and there was a slit at the shoulder seam in English.

Wei Yuhuan tugged at the corner of his mouth, thinking that any hint of a romantic gesture from Cong Yuan’s clothing was now completely gone.

Although Cong Yuan’s family was of average means, he always managed to dress neatly and attractively whenever they met. It was impossible for him to wear such a ragged Ice Tea T-shirt!

Wei Yuhuan grabbed the “evidence” and returned to the living room, where he was met by security knocking on the door. He immediately vented his anger.

“A high-end civilized community where everyone lives is made up of intellectuals and university professors, and yet you allow people to trespass on private property! Are you blind? How are you managing this place?”

Normally, Wei Yuhuan wouldn’t have gotten so angry about this kind of thing, but after the series of blows he experienced yesterday, he was already in a bad mood. On top of that, he had made a fool of himself in front of Cong Yuan today. It was like adding insult to injury!

“I bought this house with my own money, and after half a year of absence, I found out today that someone has been living in my house without my knowledge! Do you know how I feel right now?” Wei Yuhuan waved the ragged T-shirt in his hand menacingly. “If you don’t give me an explanation, you can all expect to lose your jobs!”

The security chief was pale with fear, apologizing and making excuses in a low voice. “Mr. Wei, we patrol at least ten times a day, but we didn’t find anyone entering illegally. Besides, you didn’t report to us when you left for half a year, so we didn’t know if anyone was living here or not. If you had reported to us, we would have kept an eye on the house… Of course, we are responsible for this incident, and if anything valuable is missing, it would be considered a home invasion, and you must report it to the police.”

Although “trespassing on private property” could be considered a crime, if the intruder couldn’t be caught, even reporting to the police would be useless. Most citizens who encounter this kind of misfortune can only change their locks, strengthen their security doors and windows, and be vigilant, with no other options.

Fortunately, nothing had been stolen. Wei Yuhuan had prepared everything carefully for this house, but he had only stayed here for one night and hadn’t had time to buy much.

All the valuable furniture, TV, refrigerator, and washing machine were all still there.

Even if something had been stolen, Wei Yuhuan wouldn’t care about the small amount of money. What he cared about was the issue of safety.

“It doesn’t matter what was stolen, but if a stranger can come and go as they please in my house, how can I feel safe living here?”

“Yes, yes!” The security chief nodded repeatedly, quickly calling the workers in the security room to pull up all the surveillance footage of anyone entering and leaving this building, so that they could watch it together.

Generally speaking, the security guards know all the residents in the community, and deliverymen, decorators, and other personnel must register before entering. Therefore, everyone entering and leaving is usually a familiar face, unless there is someone like Wei Yuhuan who only comes once every six months.

The security guards recognized one figure after another, saying, “These are all common residents, there’s no suspicious person here!”

Wei Yuhuan angrily said, “That little thief has even moved into my house, can’t you see he’s even hanging clothes out to dry and cooking stir-fried pork with green peppers using cheap peanut oil? He might even come back later to cook some tomatoes! How could you not notice him?”

The security guards were speechless and watched the surveillance footage of the non-entry and exit points. If someone had climbed over the wall and entered without them noticing, their jobs would be in jeopardy.

But after staring at the screen for a while, they didn’t find anything suspicious. They couldn’t even find a wild cat climbing a tree, let alone a person.

The security guard felt a little frustrated and muttered, “Mr. Wei, did you give your house key to any friends and forget about it?”

Wei Yuhuan retorted, “Nonsense! I wouldn’t forget who I gave my house key to.”

The security guard was at a loss for words. Seeing Wei’s expensive car and expensive clothes, they knew not to offend him. Moreover, with the high average price of the Jiangjing Community, leaving a house empty for half a year without renting it out showed that Wei was very wealthy.

The security guard cautiously suggested, “Why don’t we knock on every door in ‘Magpie Pavilion’ and use the process of elimination to find out which one matches the suspicious person in the video? Or we can just put up a notice downstairs saying that someone broke into unit 0301 and warn other residents to be careful. We will also increase patrols in the area…”

“If you make such a big fuss, do you think he will be stupid enough to come back?” Wei Yuhuan’s eyebrows were furrowed. He pointed to his head and said, “If the guy has been illegally living here for so long without you finding out, it means he’s smarter than you guys!”

The poor security guard was on the verge of tears and wanted to kneel down and call Wei Yuhuan “Master.” “Mr. Wei, what do you suggest we do then? Should I accompany you to wait at home and catch him when he comes back? You said he cooked and hung clothes, he might come back tonight, and we can arrest him when he shows up!”

Wei Yuhuan had thought of this idea too, but he realized that the intruder had already scoped out his house and knew his habits. If he and the security guards waited at home, the intruder might not show up, and they wouldn’t even know what he looked like.

Wei Yuhuan put himself in the intruder’s shoes and thought that if he were a thief, he would observe whether the real homeowner had returned before entering the house. If there was even a hint of suspicion, he would flee. So, if they waited at home to catch him, they couldn’t turn on the lights at night.

…Damn, was this a spy movie?

“If someone comes and gets caught, that’s one thing, but what if they don’t come back for a night or two? Are we just going to sit here and wait? That’s ridiculous!

Calling the police won’t do any good. Nowadays, unless it’s a major theft case, the police won’t bother with you. They’ll just have you go through the motions, and it won’t solve the problem at all.

Wei Yuhuan just gave the security guard a piece of his mind, and now he’s starting to calm down a bit.

He squints his eyes, his eyes rolling like an old fox, and says, “Find the best security equipment company in S City!”

The security guard is confused and stupidly says, “Ah,” but Wei Yuhuan smiles and says, “The outside surveillance can’t capture it, can’t I film inside?”

Immediately, he contacts the security company and chooses their highest-level 24-hour micro-monitoring device, which costs tens of thousands of yuan each. Wei Yuhuan doesn’t even bat an eye and buys five of them on the spot, having them installed in every nook and cranny of the room, even in the bathroom!

Then, he restores everything to its original state, including the old T-shirt that he almost tore more holes in, smoothing it out and re-hanging it. He even had the security guard wipe off the footprints on the floor with tissues, and instructed everyone not to startle the snake in the grass.

The only thing he can’t guarantee is that the thief will notice that one piece of meat missing from the green pepper and meat dish.

Before closing the door, Wei Yuhuan takes a look at the room, which looks exactly the same as when he first entered, and smirks, “I don’t believe we won’t catch this little thief’s true face with all this surveillance. When we have both the evidence and witnesses, let’s see where he can run!”

The security guard following behind him wipes his forehead and thinks, “This is a vengeful rich person. We definitely can’t afford to offend him…”

He doesn’t know that Wei Yuhuan is usually a pretty tolerant person and usually doesn’t take matters into his own hands.

It’s just that this little thief had bad luck and walked right into a trap!

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