Qiao Zhen and Lu Zheng went back to the residential area first.
A group of people blocked the entrance to the residential compound, shouting "Qiao Luosheng, get out here!" This attracted many onlookers and seriously hindered normal entry and exit.
The security guards tried their best to stop them.
Lu Zheng parked the car on the next street. "I'll have someone come to your house to clean it up, or I'll just buy a new one."
Qiao Zhen shook her head. Firstly, she didn't like strangers touching her things, and secondly, buying new things would arouse Qiao Luosheng's suspicion.
“I want to take the Heart of Eternity with me.” She thought for a moment, “Few people use the small door on the north side, shall we go and take a look over there?”
"Okay," Lu Zheng agreed.
Qiao Zhen jumped off the car, not wanting to rush, and her sandals flew off and landed under a row of electric bicycles on the sidewalk.
As she hopped onto the sidewalk on one foot, a hand grabbed her arm.
Qiao Zhen immediately lost her balance and fell backward.
A second later, her back slammed into a solid chest, and another hand wrapped around her waist.
The sounds of car horns and pedestrians talking echoed in her ears, and Qiao Zhen simultaneously imagined their current posture, which looked incredibly ambiguous, causing her to blush deeply.
"Lu Zheng, let me go!" she cried urgently, her voice weak and soft, with a hint of coquettishness.
Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I'll do it."
He helped Qiao Zhen back into the passenger seat.
Qiao Zhen could only point the way, "It's over there."
Lu Zheng observed for a moment, took off the cumbersome suit jacket, threw it on Qiao Zhen's lap, then bent down and stretched out his arm to pick it up.
Qiao Zhen could see that he was struggling. The gaps between the electric bikes were not large, and for someone with his muscular build, it felt even more cramped.
"Let me do it," she said, unable to bear it any longer, and was about to step on the ground barefoot.
"No need." Lu Zheng turned around and easily grabbed her ankle. "Wouldn't it be dirty to step on the ground and then into the car?"
Qiao Zhen pouted, "Okay."
She crossed her arms and watched with amusement as Lu Zheng, the president of the prestigious Lu Group and a prominent figure in Jiangcheng, lay on the roadside just to pick up an old pair of sandals.
As she watched, Qiao Zhen's vision gradually blurred.
When she vaguely saw a figure moving, she quickly wiped her eyes and said, "Thank you for your help."
She wanted to take back her sandals, but Lu Zheng knelt down on one knee in front of her, holding the sandals in one hand and supporting her foot with the other, and slowly put the sandals on her.
Qiao Zhen felt a jolt, as if she had been electrocuted.
Lu Zheng firmly grabbed her foot. "Don't move, or you'll fly out again."
Qiao Zhen obediently didn't move.
This scene is like something out of a fairy tale...
When passersby looked over, they covered their mouths and laughed.
A smile filled with envy and goodwill made Qiao Zhen's cheeks involuntarily flush.
"You never help me put on my shoes, you should learn from other husbands!"
"Hmph, the man is definitely acting! He's deliberately showing off his affection in the street so people will praise him as a good husband!"
"Hey, hey, hey, how can you be like this?"
The sounds of the young couple chatting and joking gradually faded away, but Lu Zheng remained kneeling on one knee in front of her.
Qiao Zhen glanced at his chest, her cheeks flushing even more. She teased him casually, "My dear minister, rise?"
Lu Zheng sneered, looked up, and his deep eyes pierced Qiao Zhen's heart.
She felt a pang of panic, coughed twice, and urged, "Let's go quickly."
As he spoke, he kept his head down and squeezed through the gap between Lu Zheng and the car, heading towards the residential area.
There seemed to be no movement behind them, but Qiao Zhen knew that Lu Zheng was following them.
She easily found her way to the small gate on the north side of the residential area. After observing from a distance and making sure there were no suspicious people, she turned back to Lu Zheng and asked, "Do you think it's safe?"
Lu Zheng nodded.
The two quickened their pace, entered the residential area, and arrived at the building where Qiao Zhen lived.
The community security guards were very efficient. Despite the commotion at the entrance, they didn't let any troublemakers in, while things were quite peaceful downstairs.
Qiao Zhen quickly went upstairs to open the door, took out her suitcase from the small storage room, and said to Lu Zheng who followed her in, "Please sit wherever you like. There's bottled water in the refrigerator. I'll unpack my things first."
This was, in fact, the first time Lu Zheng had ever stepped into Qiao Zhen's house.
His cool, sharp gaze swept across the small living room before he sat down on the sofa.
Qiao Zhen didn't have time to think too much. She went into Qiao Luosheng's room, took out some clothes from the closet, stuffed them into her suitcase, and then took out the textbooks and workbooks he needed.
"Hmm?" She noticed that the small succulent on the windowsill had fallen onto the desk.
Qiao Luosheng treasured this little thing. He planted it in a small flowerpot and placed it securely on the windowsill in the sunniest spot.
Normally, they are only allowed to look, and no one is allowed to touch them.
How did it fall out of the flowerpot?
She tugged at the curtains and saw that the windows were closed.
"Could it be that mice have gotten into the house?" She had heard that mice would mistake succulents for delicious vegetables.
She didn't have time to think too much about it. She assumed it had been dragged out by a mouse, quickly checked that it wasn't damaged, put it back in the flowerpot, and rearranged it.
Qiao Luosheng quickly packed his things, and Qiao Zhen went to her room, opened the wardrobe, and a dark shadow suddenly crashed down.
"Ah!" She was startled and grabbed the thing covering her face, only to find that it was her own clothes.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Zheng's voice rang out from behind him at the same time.
Qiao Zhen waved the clothes in her hand, "It's nothing, I just got hit by the clothes by accident."
Lu Zheng casually crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, watching Qiao Zhen pick up the clothes that had fallen to the ground.
"Aren't you going to sit in the living room?" Qiao Zhen shook her clothes and casually tossed them on the bed. She noticed that Lu Zheng was staring intently at something, his eyes not even blinking, and there was a color in his deep eyes that she couldn't quite understand.
She followed his gaze and saw a photo of her family of four on the bedside table.
At that time, the Qiao family had not yet declined, and Qiao's father was still alive.
At the beginning of the new year, they took this photo in front of their villa. Happy smiles radiated from every face, making the photo especially touching because they came from the heart.
Qiao Zhen remembered that Lu Zheng had mentioned that the Lu family was cold and devoid of fun. Was he now envious of her having a happy family?
"Lu Zheng..." she called out, her tone softening involuntarily.
Then she walked towards this man who was actually very lonely, but just as she was about to reach him, her toe bumped into something.
She looked down and saw it was a small storage box.
“No…” She bent down and lifted the lid of the box, her face immediately turned pale, and a chill ran down her spine. She immediately turned around and looked around her bedroom.
The small bedroom, with its warm, light colors, is comfortable and cozy.
Nothing was different from usual.
She lunged to the bedside, lay down on the floor, and looked at the storage boxes under the bed. After running her fingers over each box, her face turned even more grim.
Pushing open the storage box, she dragged out the safe, her fingers trembling slightly as she entered the password, took out the ring box, took a deep breath, and opened it.
The Heart of Eternity lay quietly on the velvet, the brilliance of the diamonds reflecting off her face, making her appear even paler.
"Lu Zheng, my house has been broken into." She looked up and said to Lu Zheng seriously.
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