Chen Ningxi tied on an apron and began to prepare the black-bone chicken. Cheng Qiaobei quickly followed her into the kitchen to help.
Stewing soup is an art, but they didn’t have much ti, so they had to use a pressure cooker to speed things up.
After packing dinner, the two of them left with insulated bags in hand.
In the elevator, Chen Ningxi suddenly rembered that Ye Yujun was still waiting for them to eat. "Oh no, I haven’t told my mom yet! I need to call her, or she’ll wait for us to eat."
Cheng Qiaobei smiled slightly. "I’ve already called her."
Chen Ningxi laughed, "You’re reliable as always. You didn’t ntion Liang Lei being hospitalized, right?"
Cheng Qiaobei said, "No."
Chen Ningxi sighed in relief. "Luckily, you didn’t say anything. My mom has her mom’s WeChat; Liang Lei specifically instructed that we must not tell them. They’re traveling, and even if we did tell them, it wouldn’t help; they can’t co back, and it would just make them worried."
Cheng Qiaobei switched the insulated bag to his other hand and, with confidence, put his arm around Chen Ningxi’s shoulders. "Your husband knows what he’s doing. Leave it to , and you can be completely at ease."
It was true; Cheng Qiaobei was thorough and considerate.
When the elevator stopped at the first floor and the doors opened, there stood a figure who resembled Pan Cheng. Chen Ningxi subconsciously took a step back. When she realized it wasn’t him, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Cheng Qiaobei turned his face with a smile.
"Look at your little courage; this could startle you."
Chen Ningxi laughed awkwardly, "Hehe..."
The two of them headed straight to Cheng Qiaobei’s car. Her car was still parked in its usual spot.
When Cheng Qiaobei’s car turned the corner, Chen Ningxi actually saw Pan Cheng. She didn’t know why, but when she saw the look in Pan Cheng’s eyes, a chill ran down her spine. The malicious grin behind his smile made her feel cold to the bone and gave her the creeps.
Cheng Qiaobei also noticed him, but his gaze remained indifferent. He just glanced over and continued to look ahead.
Pan Cheng, however, greeted them familiarly, smiling and waving his hand.
Even though Cheng Qiaobei couldn’t be bothered with him, out of courtesy, he honked the horn.
Chen Ningxi sat in the passenger seat, and as the car passed Pan Cheng, it felt like an unfriendly gaze pierced through the car window and landed on her.
Until the Cayenne was about to disappear at a corner of the road, Chen Ningxi saw from the rearview mirror that Pan Cheng was still standing by the roadside, watching the direction they left.
Does this guy have a psychological problem?
Cheng Qiaobei noticed that Chen Ningxi seed a bit distracted after seeing Pan Cheng. He also recalled that she had suddenly moved back to her mother’s house recently. With a thoughtful expression, he began to consider certain possibilities.
He tentatively asked, "Living in the sa neighborhood with soone like Pan Cheng doesn’t make you want to even see him once."
If she answered seriously, it would an that during the days he wasn’t ho, Pan Cheng had surely done sothing to make her uncomfortable.
Chen Ningxi furrowed her brows and, after so hesitation, said, "There’s nothing we can do about it; who would’ve thought it would be such a coincidence that he bought a house in this neighborhood too? I asked the designer a few days ago when they would be finished."
Normally, the most Chen Ningxi would say to such a question was to let it go or ignore him. But her earlier answer already told him there was a problem.
Cheng Qiaobei said, "Okay, I’ll talk to the designer again, see if they can speed up the renovation so we can move sooner."
Now that Cheng was ho, her worries lessened significantly. She didn’t believe that with him accompanying her to and from work, Cheng would still have the guts to block her at the elevator.
The car parked in the hospital’s parking lot. Cheng Qiaobei got out with the insulated bag and headed to the elevator on the first floor. He handed the bag to Chen Ningxi, "You take it up first; there’s an urgent matter at the company I need to handle. I’ll call Wei Lai and explain it."
Chen Ningxi took it and said, "Okay."
As the elevator doors slowly closed, the warm smile on Cheng’s face vanished completely.
He walked to the small park under the hospital, which was relatively quiet. It was alti, so there were almost no people there.
Cheng walked a few more steps, took out his phone, and dialed a number. He called the manager of the neighborhood property managent. "Manager Zhao, it’s , Cheng Qiaobei. Yes, there’s sothing I need your help with; can you check it for ?"
Normally, videos within the neighborhood were not open for residents to access as this involved the privacy of other residents. Access required filing a report, and police supervision on site to gather evidence.
However, the call from Cheng was one Manager Zhao couldn’t refuse.
In recent years, every ti Manager Zhao took his family out for fun, they almost always stayed at Jade Jiali Hotel. Cheng provided considerable accommodation, whether a standalone villa or a luxury suite, making Manager Zhao owe Cheng.
So, Cheng’s call was, accurately speaking, more of a request to settle a favor.
It happened that Manager Zhao was in the surveillance room, allowing him to co imdiately.
Cheng thanked him, "Thanks, I’ll be there soon."
He sent a WeChat ssage to Chen Ningxi.
"north: There’s an urgent matter at the company. I’ll be heading out. Call before you co back, and I’ll pick you up at the hospital."
"Chen Ningxi: Okay, you handle your business."
The Cayenne exited the hospital, and on the road, Cheng called Ye Yujun.
"Hello, Mom, not yet. I ate already... How many days did Ningxi stay at your place? No, no, there’s a shirt missing. Can you check if it was packed in her travel bag? Alright, Mom, check it out."
Ye Yujun entered Chen Ningxi’s room and opened the wardrobe to see several clothes hanging but not the gray shirt Cheng ntioned.
"Cheng, there’s no gray shirt like you said, and Ningxi took seven sets of clothes, no shirt."
"Got it, Mom, I’ll look again."
Cheng hung up the phone, his expression deepening. If it was just a boring return to live for a few days, she wouldn’t bring so many clothes. Clearly, she was planning to stay for so ti.
Thinking about it made things more off-putting.
If Chen Ningxi were really afraid of boredom, she wouldn’t have chosen to go live alone in the first place. Sothing odd was definitely going on.
Cheng’s car entered the neighborhood, and at the gate, he glimpsed the security guard inside. He clearly noticed the sneaky look the guard gave him, but he calmly looked away.
Arriving at the surveillance room, Cheng exchanged a few pleasantries with Manager Zhao, only ntioning he had lost sothing and nothing else.
Manager Zhao had Security Li in the surveillance room help retrieve the video, while Cheng sat to the side and viewed another computer.
On the two computer screens, there were four video fras each. Cheng’s attention was highly focused, with his gaze constantly scanning each screen until he saw Chen Ningxi walking from the parking lot towards the apartnt elevator followed closely by Pan Cheng’s figure.
"Hold on," Cheng gestured to Li, "Here, let take a look."
Li paused the video and handed the mouse to Cheng.
Understanding the privacy issues involving other residents, Li tactfully turned to look at other surveillance screens.
When he saw Pan Cheng blocking Chen’s path, the initial conversation seed smooth enough, but as Pan Cheng’s actions escalated, it was clear that Chen felt violated and backed away.
Cheng’s dark eyes were deep, and he clenched his teeth.
Switching to the footage inside the elevator made his anger rise even more. The fact that Pan Cheng blocked her in the elevator made him pick up an earphone to listen, his face sinking instantly.
Even as Pan Cheng exited the elevator, continuing to pester, Chen had clearly expressed complete rejection and anger, yet Pan Cheng relentlessly pursued.
Cheng downloaded all the video footage involving Pan Cheng harassing Chen Ningxi. He was determined to teach Pan Cheng a proper lesson.
Reviews
All reviews (0)