Visitors
Tao Chu changed into his running shoes, preparing to pretend to go for a night run as usual, and strolled over to Cen Le's neighborhood.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, a man wearing a baseball cap and a black mask walked towards her and stretched out his arm to block her from entering the elevator.
Before Tao Chu could retaliate, he spoke first: "It's me."
Tao Chu lowered her hand, watched as he pressed the button for her floor, and then subconsciously turned her back to the elevator camera.
They left the elevator in silence, one after the other.
Tao Chu took out his key and opened the door. The person did not rush to take off his mask and hat after entering. He only removed his disguise after confirming that the curtains in the living room and kitchen were closed.
"Not bad, you're quite vigilant." Shen Yingchang smiled at her, revealing his pearly white teeth. "Haven't seen you for two months, did you miss me?"
"How long have you been sunbathing in the tropics? With that skin tone, why are you even wearing a hat and mask? You'd be invisible in places without streetlights." Tao Chu couldn't help but joke at his shameless behavior.
Shen Yingchang clicked his tongue twice and casually ruffled his hair: "Looks like you didn't care about me. You're like a flamethrower when you open your mouth—and I came all this way to find you."
Tao Chu poured him a glass of water, took out her phone to tell Cen Le that she would be there later, and found a notification in the notification bar that Cen Le was going to start her live broadcast.
It seems there's not enough time this month, so they're broadcasting every minute. Tao Chu left a message on WeChat saying "I'll be late," but Cen Le probably didn't have time to check his phone.
After sending the message, Tao Chu looked up and asked Shen Yingchang, "What do you need me for?"
Shen Yingchang sat casually on the sofa: "Do me a favor."
"With your elusive abilities, do you really need my help?"
"Thank you for the compliment—but even Sun Wukong has a golden headband, and you know how difficult it is to overthrow the 'Five Finger Mountain' in front of him."
Tao Chu didn't respond immediately. Shen Yingchang knew what she was hesitating about, so he put down his water glass and pointed outside:
“There are two people keeping watch downstairs, and a car full of people outside the gate. If I hadn’t stopped you, who knows what might have happened to you after you went out.”
Seeing Tao Chu's furrowed brows, Shen Yingchang said, "There wasn't this much activity a few days ago. I only showed up today because I felt something was off—have you been up to something again lately?"
Tao Chu suddenly stood up. If she had been being watched for several days, would Cen Le be in danger...?
She had just taken out her phone to make a call when someone knocked on the door.
Shen Yingchang followed her to the door. After looking through the peephole, Tao Chu turned back and whispered to him, "It's Wen Yunsheng. You should hide in the bedroom."
"I'm not like Old Wang next door, why would I be afraid to see him?"
Tao Chu resisted the urge to roll her eyes and lowered her voice to ask, "He must have come to see me for something. What will he say if you just stand here?"
Shen Yingchang had no choice but to go into the bedroom as she instructed. He didn't turn on the light, but left the door ajar.
Tao Chu took a deep breath and opened the door.
Wen Yunsheng squeezed in and quickly closed the door, staring intently through the peephole.
She hadn't seen Wen Yunsheng since she disembarked. Why did they all have to come today?
How many people have figured out that she lives here?
Seeing Wen Yunsheng's wary and uneasy appearance, Tao Chu's heart pounded, and she asked him, "What's wrong?"
Wen Yunsheng turned his head: "Cen Le is live streaming."
"I saw the notification that the broadcast has started..."
"Li Yue went to find her."
Tao Chu's mind went blank. What?!
Ten minutes ago, Cen Le stared at Li Yue standing outside the door and asked, "Why are you here?"
Li Yue, with one hand in his pocket and the other waving the takeout bag in his hand, said, "Here's some late-night snack for a pretty girl."
Cen Le forced a smile, but her hand remained firmly gripping the doorknob: "How could I possibly trouble President Li?"
"You don't welcome me?" Li Yue took half a step forward and reached out his left hand to grab the door frame.
“I’m still live streaming…” Cen Le said with a troubled expression.
"Didn't you just say you were ending the broadcast?" Li Yue asked with a half-smile. "How long are you planning to hide from me?"
After being exposed, Cen Le realized that he had come for a reason and that he couldn't be driven away in a few words.
If we block him at the door, we might run into Tao Chu head-on.
She stepped aside to let him in, intending to go back to her room to get her phone to text Tao Chu, but Li Yue grabbed her wrist.
Cen Le could tell from his eyes that he was about to say some nauseating sweet nothings.
She grabbed the takeout bag from Li Yue's hand: "I'll put it in the room first."
Li Yue let go of her hand, but followed her into the study.
Cen Le put the bag on the computer desk and reached for her phone next to the mouse pad.
Just as he picked up his phone and turned on the screen, Li Yue behind him suddenly spoke up: "Are you going to send a message to Tao Chu?"
His slow, deliberate words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Cen Le's head, instantly chilling her to the bone—
How could he know that Tao Chu had contacted him, and even know that Tao Chu was coming soon? What was he going to do? What should he do?
Her eyes blinked rapidly, and she suddenly glanced at the monitor.
She opened several split screens: a video app for watching movies with Tao Chu, a chat interface, and a live stream page ready to go live.
Cen Le pretended to be nervous and her hands were shaking, so her phone fell onto the keyboard with a clattering sound.
She hurriedly picked up her phone, and while her body was blocking it, she quickly pressed a few shortcut keys on the keyboard. Then she slowly turned around, blocking half of the computer screen.
She looked at Li Yue, who was leaning against the display case behind him, looking smug and in complete control.
"What do you mean?" Cen Le asked.
Since Li Yue confronted her at the door and said those words, there was no point in her pretending to be stupid and saying she didn't know Tao Chu.
However, he still needs to test the waters to find out exactly how much he understands.
"What did she promise you? Help your family overturn the verdict and avenge your father?" Li Yue chuckled dismissively, pushing aside the gaming chair in front of her. "Why go through all that trouble? Why don't you just come at me directly? Wouldn't that be much simpler?"
Cen Le was shocked to find out that Li Yue had investigated her so thoroughly. Her heart pounded, her hand gripping her phone trembled, and her eyes were fixed on Li Yue, who was standing right in front of her.
She was no match for Li Yue in a one-on-one fight, and he certainly didn't come alone.
They should stall for as long as possible, and ideally, the camera should capture Li Yue's face so they can get a few more questions out of him.
That's what she thought, but Cen Le's voice trembled as she spoke: "Li Yue, my father's matter... has nothing to do with you—when he was killed by Li Pengcheng ten years ago, you didn't even know where you were, and I, I'm not targeting you."
Seeing her trembling, Li Yue sneered: "What, you dared to pretend to be innocent and seduce me before, but now you don't dare to admit it? If you don't have that kind of guts, why did you get involved?"
On the half of the screen that was blocked by Cen Le, comments and bullet screen messages were scrolling wildly.
Having been a live streamer for so many years, Cen Le knew that Li Yue's two sentences would smear her with indelible stains, and she absolutely could not let him lead her astray.
She swallowed hard and tried to steer the conversation back on track.
"My dad was clearly stabbed to death by thugs from 'Mu Kang Road' while rushing in to save people, but Li Pengcheng turned the tables and accused my dad of being killed while raping a woman. Over twenty stab wounds... That woman was already forced to jump off the third-floor balcony, how could she have stabbed my dad over twenty times in the living room?!"
As she finished speaking, her voice rose and her eyes welled up with tears.
Her father sacrificed his life while trying to save a hero, yet he was posthumously accused of being a rapist.
Our family's small stir-fry shop was vandalized several times, forcing us to move.
She was forced to remarry with her mother, lost interest in studying, and drifted aimlessly through life.
If it weren't for Tao Chu's mother's efforts to overturn the case, and if it weren't for Tao Chu tutoring her every day after school, her life... would have been shattered long ago.
Li Yue found it even more interesting to see her shed her sweet and gentle facade, revealing undisguised hatred in her eyes.
He moved closer to her, raising his hand to gently stroke her face with his thumb: "Isn't it a coincidence? Your house is also on the third floor. Guess what, maybe someone will rush in to save you too?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com