Chapter 45 Late-Night Chat Log

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After staying here for three consecutive days, her anxiety and fatigue were greatly relieved. When she arrived at school during the day, even though Geng Chutong still didn't give her a good look and kept gossiping behind her back, she didn't care as much.

Last year, the three of them actually wanted Geng Chutong to move out or change roommates. Not only were their personalities incompatible, but their lifestyles were also different. They couldn't tell if each other was deliberately targeting the other, and they would easily quarrel over trivial matters. Originally, none of them were particularly mean-spirited, but as time went on, old and new grudges piled up, and they almost stopped talking to each other.

Geng Chutong disagreed with changing dormitories. Her family wasn't short of money and she didn't want to move out. She felt that whoever left first would be at a disadvantage, like fleeing in defeat. She was a bit stubborn. Anyway, she only came back to sleep and spent the rest of the time playing outside.

When Wen Yining returned, she continued tidying up her desk, collecting her daily necessities, cosmetics, and reference books. She found a bunch of trinkets she'd bought on a whim at some point: a dozen bottles of nail polish, hair clips, tape, hand cream, perfume, and so on. "These aren't expired, are they?" she wondered.

"How come there are so many? You've hardly used any of them, have you?"

Lou Xinyue unscrewed the cap and smelled the nail polish. "It shouldn't be expired. It's not like it's food."

"I think I bought it in my freshman year of college, but I got too lazy to apply it later. Do you want it?"

Lou Xinyue picked out a few bottles of her favorite colors. "Are you planning to throw them away or take them with you?"

"There are too many odds and ends. The table is almost full, and the cabinets are overflowing. I have to tidy up soon."

Lou Xinyue: "I thought you were just going out to sleep for one night. When I came back the day before yesterday, I was shocked. There was nothing of yours in the bathroom. This is what it looks like if you've been living here for a long time."

Wen Yining couldn't say for sure. If she and Chen Jiabai had a fight and broke up someday, it wasn't impossible. She might even come back. "I won't take the clothes or anything. I just brought a few pieces."

There's no need for a four-piece bedding set. In my large apartment in Zhaoshan, the four-piece bedding set is always washed and freshly changed, and it's covered with a dust cover. When I snuggle up in it at night, I can still smell the laundry detergent, which smells wonderful.

It smelled very similar to the laundry detergent on Shen Yueze's clothes, almost identical. You could smell it if he didn't wear those perfumes.

Lou Xinyue lay back in the chair, cautiously glancing around Geng Chutong's bed to make sure she hadn't arrived yet, then asked gossipily, "Hey, did you two have a fight? The other day when Dai Anning and I came back, she looked really grumpy and her tone was awful."

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Geng Chutong.

Wen Yining was using a plastic bag to put her shoes on, and said honestly, "Well, we had a fight. It was about the same old things. She was video chatting with someone else and deliberately talked about me. Do you know what she said?"

"condom?"

Lou Xinyue heard it from Feng Yan's roommate and then relayed it to Wen Yining, who then learned how Geng Chutong had evaluated her.

The key point is that these are all facts, hard to refute: she carries condoms in her bag every day, and her underwear is sexy and revealing.

It is indeed true.

It's obvious what kind of impression she leaves on others. Even without Geng Chutong continuing to spread rumors that her private life is messy, promiscuous, and wanton, others will still think that way.

Wen Yining: "It's not just that incident where I was sent to a leader's bed by a teacher, which was trending on social media, but also that guy from our school, everyone says he's very lecherous."

Lou Xinyue thought for a moment, "Then you should scold her, but it would be better to let her change dorms. Isn't this the same as kicking you out? Neither Dai Anning nor I want to live with her every day."

"There's another reason. I've been going back to the dorm lately, so I only have time to practice in the evenings, which is different from your schedules."

“I got back at 2 a.m. yesterday and almost woke her up. She didn’t even take a shower; she just washed her face and went to bed.”

Geng Chutong is a light sleeper and can be woken up by the sound of running water. She didn't take a shower, otherwise the sound of running water and the hairdryer would be quite loud, and if she were woken up, she would inevitably be subjected to a barrage of sarcastic remarks.

"Alright then, but you'll have to be back by noon, so you won't need to take these things."

"Yes, I need to take a nap."

Wen Yining bought some dinner from the small shop near the entrance before going back. Chen Jiabai said that the auntie comes to clean every three days and water the flowers and trees. She said that she could clean it herself and didn't need the auntie to come.

However, he's been too busy with work these past few days to reply to her or chat with her much.

I brought half of my summer clothes with me, but if I put them in the bedroom, it will look messy and unkempt. After all, it's not my own house, so I think I should take them to the walk-in closet.

Even someone who hates housework now manages to do a quick tidy-up before leaving each day.

The most obvious thing is the hair on the ground. She has a lot of hair, and it's long. One sweep isn't enough.

The apartment has a total of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an open-air balcony. Chen Jiabai said it was over 700 square meters, but she felt it was more than that, estimating it to be at least over 1,000 square meters.

I'd never been to the walk-in closet before, but as soon as I pushed the door open, I smelled the familiar men's cologne, Eau de Napoleon. The scent is very distinctive.

She frowned slightly, clutching her clothes in her arms, trying to recall if she had smelled the scent on Shen Yueze before.

He doesn't wear perfume very often, since it's summer and he needs to change it every day.

The coat I gave her smelled of this.

There weren't many clothes on display; they were mostly trendy brands, with varying prices, but none of them were covered in logos.

In the middle were several counter-style stands, with men's necklaces and watches neatly arranged according to their positions. She recognized all the brands, the most expensive being tens of millions, and the cheaper ones costing tens of thousands.

She glanced at it and sighed, wondering if she wasn't afraid that outsiders would come and steal it. She was the official girlfriend, so it was a little better, but the cleaning lady would only come in when no one was home, take a piece, and then move to another city. She wouldn't have to work for the rest of her life then.

Instead of hanging their own clothes, they were just piled up on the table. They weren't shirts or expensive coats, so there was no concern about the fit when folded.

Halfway through organizing, I felt more and more that something was wrong. The style of these clothes and watches didn't seem like Chen Jiabai's at all.

He also wears trendy brands, but he doesn't wear that many ripped jeans, nor would he buy Chrome Hearts jeans that cost 100,000 yuan a pair. He even complained, saying, "Are you sick? Why would you buy such expensive pants?"

Chen Jiabai had a limited allowance when she was a child, unlike Shen Yueze whose parents didn't care about her.

They have different spending habits. Chen Jiabai might spend millions on games, but he's not so picky about clothing.

She always felt that Shen Yueze had lived in this large apartment for a period of time; there were traces of his life everywhere.

She came out of the walk-in closet and returned to the master bedroom. She opened a drawer; there weren't many things there: cards, a watch, and an old-fashioned cell phone.

There were also condoms, I'd never seen the brand before, they were large size, and the words "hyaluronic acid" were written on them.

Wen Yining took out her phone and called Shen Yueze. She still wanted to find out who owned the house, otherwise she wouldn't feel safe living there. What if the owner came back in the middle of the night?

It rang several times before being answered.

There wasn't much noise in the background; it was past nine o'clock, so they were probably at home.

He didn't speak first, as if he was waiting for her.

Wen Yining gripped her phone tighter, her heart inexplicably racing. "Shen Yueze."

He said slowly, "Have you thought it over? How long do you plan to let me sleep?"

She was speechless for a moment, "Is the large apartment that Chen Jiabai let me live in your house?"

"Um."

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

If she had known, she wouldn't have come. After all, given his personality, once rejected, he would have cut all ties with her forever.

"Is there a difference? I'm not charging you any money."

"Just for this? I'm hanging up."

"Don't hang up yet,"

Wen Yining interrupted him, got up from the sofa, and walked towards the master bedroom, saying, "Why is the glass in your shower room the same as the ones in hotels? It's completely transparent."

He said quite seriously, "This way, there's no feeling of oppression, and the space feels larger. Isn't that the effect we wanted for the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room?"

She hesitated for a moment, and realized that was indeed the case; the visual space was more open, while having more walls would create a feeling of confinement.

"But there's no privacy at all when you're showering. If someone walks into the bedroom, they can see everything, right?"

"Don't you live alone? Chen Jiabai doesn't live with you."

She asked the question she most wanted to know, "There are no security cameras in your room, right?"

There are some at the entrance, but I haven't seen any inside the house yet. However, I've heard that most dog owners install them.

He chuckled ambiguously, "You've reminded me."

...

"Can't you be serious for once?"

"It's not installed yet, so don't worry about moving in."

However, he really wanted to install one so he could see her naked body while she was taking a bath.

She was a little worried, and luckily there were two computers in the study, one desktop and one laptop.

"What's your computer password? Can I borrow it to watch a movie?"

"Isn't there a projector?"

Then he said a string of numbers.

Wen Yining typed in the code and unlocked it; actually, she wanted to check if there was any surveillance footage.

The phone was on speakerphone and placed on the desk.

His voice was languid. "By the way, don't you love watching adult films? I have a lot saved up. Open it."

She had indeed seen quite a few, but not for sexual purposes, and she couldn't be bothered to explain it to him in such detail.

"You downloaded it? What type?"

"You'll know after you take a look."

After she opened it, she was a little overwhelmed; there were just too many, and they were all categorized.

One of the most artistic names caught her eye, and without much thought, she double-clicked the mouse to open it.

It took a while to load. He could hear some sporadic sounds from the dog on his end. His voice was a little muffled as he spoke to Tianlang, "Get down, lie down on the carpet, don't go on the sofa."

...

Wen Yining recalled Chen Jiabai saying that he was very hygienic and had a habit of not letting others sit on his bed. She had only heard of this habit among female students, including herself. She would not touch the bed while wearing her outer clothes; she would only do so after taking a shower and changing into her pajamas.

But most boys are not particular about bathing and really don't like to take showers, especially boys from the north. When she was in high school, she heard them chatting and they only took a shower once every few days. They were just lazy.

It has nothing to do with family background; it's purely a personal habit. And then the textbooks and test papers get all dirty.

Plus, with two older brothers, if they don't go out, they won't wash their hair for five or six days.

My older brother is slightly better off, but that's mainly due to his job requirements; there's nothing he can do about it.

That left her with a stereotype, so when Chen Jiabai said something unintentionally, she remembered Shen Yueze for being hygienic.

While I was distracted, the video had already loaded, and it started with extremely explicit scenes—

A man and a woman, filmed in a very enclosed setting with a dark curtain, a bed, and a sofa. Even an idiot could figure out what kind of movie this is, and it's not even a plot-driven one.

The man inside was wearing a hood, completely obscuring his facial features except for his eyes.

The actress was very beautiful. She was kneeling on the ground with her hands behind her back, handcuffed and unable to move.

The shelves next to it were filled with all sorts of toys, all of which are used in the BDSM community.

In those few seconds without exiting, I had already browsed all the important information, then hurriedly pressed the pause button, my heart racing involuntarily. Seeing that he hadn't hung up yet…

Suspecting he was doing it on purpose, she said, "Shen Yueze, you're lying to me, right? There's no movie now??"

She believed it was true, after all, the forbidden films she had saved couldn't be shown on legitimate platforms.

For example, Lolita, Lust, Caution, and Fruit Chan's trilogy are all combinations of talented directors and gifted actors.

He casually asked, "Which one did you watch? Who was in it?"

She really didn't want to describe the film she was currently watching to him; it was too embarrassing to talk about, and she also suspected that he had similar tendencies.

He continued, "Let's familiarize ourselves with it beforehand."

Even through the phone, just from his irreverent tone, she could imagine his cynical and frivolous demeanor.

This time, I hung up the call immediately and didn't browse his computer anymore. I guessed it was the computer he used in high school, the kind of computer boys use most often during that period.

-

The following day.

She had just woken up, her mind still hazy with the thought that there were no security cameras in the room. She picked up her phone from the bedside table and received another message from that bastard.

The feng shui master my dad knows happens to be free today.

Send me your birth date and time, and I'll have someone calculate your fortune.

"Small success comes from being praised, great success comes from fate, have you heard that?"

[I'll also show you your destined partner.]

Wen Yining frowned as she browsed the messages. She slowly yawned. She hadn't slept well the night before and had a dream in which Shen Yueze forcibly kissed her, but they didn't go all the way.

The entertainment industry and metaphysics are inseparable, and are highly revered by celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan to mainland China. Even the White Dragon King of Thailand receives ordinary people; it's not just entertainment stars who can meet him.

The most famous master in China is photographed with China's richest man, powerful figures in the elite circles, and a bunch of top celebrities kneeling to pay their respects.

There are many legends, which Wen Yining is certainly familiar with. He said his father had a powerful master, which she believed, but she didn't quite believe the last few sentences.

If he were truly that kind, would he keep bothering her?

So he didn't reply to a single one.

-

After class at noon, I ate lunch and was in a good mood, humming a song I'd been practicing recently, when I went to the courier station to pick up a package. It was from SF Express. I'd called her beforehand; I guessed it was some kind of gift Chen Jiabai had bought.

The weather was sweltering, and the courier station didn't have air conditioning. The fan was only blowing on the owner. It was too crowded inside, and there were a lot of people at this hour. There were freezers and refrigerators at the entrance. She lazily raised her hand to toss her long hair, wearing a thin, cool, loose T-shirt. She bought a bottle of carbonated soda and unconsciously wondered how long Shen Yueze would let her stay...?

It's already a favor that a spoiled brat like him wouldn't come looking for her in the middle of the night, let alone know the password.

The two boys in front of her finished picking up their packages. One of them was Feng Yan's roommate, whom she knew. "I just saw your package; it was quite heavy."

Wen Yining was stunned. She remembered that this was the boy Lou Xinyue had mentioned, the one who talked about Feng Yan's messy private life. Before she could even say anything, he brought it up in a good manner.

He looked her up and down and said politely, "Let me take it back for you."

She said, "No need, it doesn't look very heavy, I can move it."

Then I got it back.

The box was quite large; she weighed it in her hand but couldn't tell what it contained.

Back in the dorm, I used a knife to open it up, filled it with a layer of foam, and then there was a pile of A4 paper like the kind you get at print shops.

There were so many sheets, countless, stacked together.

She was puzzled. She hadn't seen the contents yet and couldn't guess what it was. She pulled it out; it was a thick stack, about fifty sheets, with a designer high-heeled shoe box underneath.

She unpacked it layer by layer, wondering if it was a letter from her boyfriend, but Chen Jiabai wasn't used to doing this before.

He flipped the page, glanced at two pages, frowned in disbelief, and then continued to read the rest of the content. He scanned it quickly, and after a quick look at the information, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back, his chest tightened, and his nerves were on edge, all without warning.

The printed text above is entirely her conversation with Feng Yan, and it's a late-night chat log...

There will always be some borderline topics...

...

The background is the WeChat interface; she is on the right, and Feng Yan is on the left.

The words were clear and legible, and the printer smell still lingered.

There are fifty in total, and the dates are from six months ago.

Wen Yining's mind went blank, her hands were a little cold, and the drink next to her was knocked over with a bang, the liquid spilled out, and the carbonated soda hissed out.

She could barely hear the sounds of laughter and playfulness coming from the next dormitory in the hallway. Her heart tightened and started beating very fast. She panicked and her breathing became erratic.

A name came to mind, but there was no time to think about it. A thick stack of papers was placed on my lap, and I quickly flipped through them, one after another. After flipping through about twenty papers, there was nothing else.

The main body of the text consists of chat logs between Zhang and Feng Yan.

The content contains both ambiguous and explicit elements.

...

...

She was single at the time, but the dates just happened to coincide with the period when Chen Jiabai was pursuing her.

at the same time.

My phone, which was in my pocket, vibrated three times in a row.

Shen Yueze: [Does Chen Jiabai know about your past with Feng Yan? If he did, what would he think?]

Should we send him a copy too?

I have a full three hundred of them here.

The accompanying picture shows his study, where A4 sheets of paper are neatly stacked, their combined height six times that of hers.

Several more were pulled out, the words clear and striking, the topic of which happened to be about booking a hotel room...

-

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A note from the author:

What makes humans animals is their insatiable desire for satisfaction.

Once you get a little, you'll start wanting it all.

From lyrics

To reiterate, the male protagonist is not a good person.

Then, there's still a long way to go before this part ends; it's only 190,000 words so far, and I estimate the main text will be 500,000 words.

It mainly describes ambiguous relationships, arguments, and breakups and reconciliations.

If they get together and all the misunderstandings are cleared up, then there's nothing left to write, and it'll be over. But we're still a long way off.