Her phone rang.
Bai Tao was so startled that she rolled straight toward the bottom of the sofa.
She ended up getting wedged tightly in the impossibly narrow gap between the sofa and the coffee table, unable to move.
Bai Tao remained half suspended in the air for two seconds.
Then she burst out laughing.
Good grief, she really had no choice.
The place was so small that she could not even roll all the way onto the floor. She had gotten stuck halfway.
“Hahahahaha…”
Bai Tao laughed several times. But as she laughed, she began to feel that something was seriously wrong with her.
She was going crazy. She felt like she was already a little crazy.
Using both her hands and feet, Bai Tao struggled out of the gap. She picked up her phone and saw that it was eight o’clock.
The locksmith was very punctual. He was already waiting outside.
Bai Tao opened the door. The locksmith was a middle-aged man in his forties with a toolbox on his back. As soon as he entered, he got to work.
He worked very efficiently. In just over ten minutes, he had replaced the lock and even taught Bai Tao how to use it.
“Miss, you live alone?”
The locksmith asked casually.
Bai Tao smiled.
“Mm.”
The locksmith did not ask anything else. He took his payment and left.
Before leaving, he reminded her to stay safe. Bai Tao felt warm inside when she heard that.
After the lock was replaced, Bai Tao took out her phone and checked the time. Then she made a decision.
She would take the subway to the villa entrance and wait there.
Wait for Pei Jin.
She could no longer enter the villa district. Although the security guard at the entrance looked at her with a hint of sympathy, rules were rules. Since she was not a homeowner, she could not even get through the main gate.
Bai Tao found a shady spot and squatted down.
She did not know when Pei Jin had been thrown out of the house. Her memories from her previous life had already become somewhat hazy. She only remembered that it had probably happened within these two days.
She had to stay here and keep watch. She could not miss him.
At noon, the sun was so hot that it made people dizzy.
Bai Tao ordered takeout, squatted under the shade of a tree, opened a sun umbrella, and continued waiting.
The takeout was a serving of cold rice noodles. She squatted on the ground and ate them.
People passing by looked at her strangely. Some even had a trace of sympathy in their eyes. Bai Tao pretended not to notice. She slurped up the cold noodles while keeping her eyes fixed on the entrance of the villa district.
She waited until her waist ached.
She waited until her back hurt.
She waited until her bottom went numb from squatting. After changing positions seven or eight times, finally…
Three in the afternoon.
The gate of the villa district opened, and a tall, slender figure walked out, dragging a suitcase behind him.
Bai Tao’s eyes lit up instantly.
Pei Jin.
At 187 centimeters tall, he wore a black short-sleeved shirt and black wide-legged casual pants. He looked as if he had stepped straight out of a magazine. Clean, aloof, and completely unapproachable.
One hand rested on the handle of the suitcase, the veins on the back of his hand slightly bulging.
His other hand covered his neck as he slowly turned his head, probably because his neck was uncomfortable.
His brows were furrowed, and he looked extremely impatient.
That handsome face was cold and imposing, arrogant as if the whole world owed him something.
Bai Tao hid behind a tree and held her breath, revealing only half her head.
Pei Jin walked out of the gate and took out his phone to look at it. His brows furrowed even more deeply.
He did not know what troublesome thing he had seen on his phone. He stuffed it into his trouser pocket, dragged his suitcase, and walked to the right.
He walked to the right.
Bai Tao hurriedly poked her head out from behind the tree and quietly followed him.
When they reached the entrance of an alley, she turned into it.
The next second, everything spun around.
A large hand clamped around her neck. The veins on the hand stood out clearly as he slammed her against the wall.
Her back struck the hard brick wall, and Bai Tao’s vision went black from the pain.
“Ah… Pei Jin! Cough, cough… It’s me! Let me go!”
Pei Jin’s strength was absurdly strong. He usually looked quite thin, yet he was incredibly powerful. Bai Tao could even see the outline of the muscles beneath his short-sleeved shirt.
Pei Jin lifted Bai Tao by the neck. Her entire body was pinned against the wall, with only the tips of her toes barely touching the ground.
She found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Her vision began to darken, and her ears rang.
Just when she thought she was really going to die here, the hand around her neck suddenly loosened.
Bai Tao’s legs went weak. She slid down the wall and fell to the ground with a thud.
Her knee struck the broken stones in the alley, sending a sharp pain through her. Tears uncontrollably welled up at the corners of her eyes.
She raised her head.
Pei Jin was looking down at her coldly.
His gloomy eyes were filled with annoyance and confusion.
He was also a fake young master. Being thrown out of his family was bad enough, but this inexplicable woman named Bai Tao had been doing strange things that made no sense since yesterday.
Talking about being best friends. Were they even that familiar?
And now she was following him?
Pei Jin’s lips moved slightly. His voice was as cold as ice.
“Don’t follow me.”
After saying that, Pei Jin picked up his suitcase, turned around, and walked out of the alley without looking back.
His black figure disappeared at the end of the alley, clean and decisive, just like him. He left no room for anything.
Bai Tao sat limply on the ground, gasping for breath.
She reached up and touched her neck. It burned fiercely. It had definitely been squeezed red.
Her heart was filled with lingering fear.
That had been close.
She had almost thought she was going to die just now.
Bai Tao closed her eyes, and a huge question mark appeared in her mind.
How exactly had that woman in her previous life managed to pick Pei Jin up?
Could the two of them have known each other for a long time?
Otherwise, with Pei Jin’s temper, who would dare approach him?
She sat there for quite a while. Only after her heartbeat slowly calmed down did she brace herself against the wall and stagger to her feet.
Her scraped elbow and palms began to ache in waves.
She pulled up her pant leg and looked.
Sure enough, her knee was scraped too. The wound had been rubbed raw in several places. Just looking at it hurts.
The great emperor had died before his great undertaking was halfway complete.
The expedition had barely begun before he died.
Bai Tao limped into a pharmacy by the roadside, leaning against the wall for support.
There was a young female intern in the pharmacy. She was dozing behind the counter. The white work uniform looked slightly oversized on her, and her ponytail was tied high. She looked very young.
When she heard the door open, the girl immediately raised her head and rubbed her eyes.
When she saw the beautiful woman at the door, leaning against the doorframe with injuries all over her body and red-rimmed eyes, she instantly became fully awake and hurried over.
“Big Sister! What happened? Are you okay?”
The girl’s voice was soft and sweet, filled with genuine concern.
Bai Tao shook her head. She wanted to say she was fine, but it felt as though something was lodged in her throat. All that came out was a hoarse “Mm.”
Without another word, the girl helped Bai Tao sit down on a stool in the pharmacy. Then she crouched down and carefully picked the bits of gravel out of Bai Tao’s wounds before disinfecting them thoroughly with alcohol and iodine.
The moment the alcohol touched her wounds, Bai Tao sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, but she bit her lip and did not make a sound.
The girl gently blew on the wounds as she cleaned them, as though soothing a child.
“It won’t hurt anymore. It won’t hurt anymore. It’ll be done soon.”
Bai Tao looked at her serious profile, and suddenly felt a little emotional.
After treating the wounds, the girl turned around and took several things from the shelves that Bai Tao might need while living alone, including bandages, cold medicine, fever medicine, anti-inflammatory medicine, iodine swabs, and gauze.
She neatly packed everything into a small bag and then helped Bai Tao out of the pharmacy.
“Big Sister, do you live alone? Remember to change your dressing on time when you get back, and don’t let the wound touch water. If you get a fever, remember to take your medicine.”
Bai Tao stood at the entrance of the pharmacy, so touched by the girl that she almost cried.
She turned around and smiled at the girl. Her eyes were still red, but her smile was completely sincere.
“Thank you, little sister.”
The girl was dazzled by that smile and froze for a moment before hurriedly waving her hand.
“N-no need to thank me. Goodbye, Big Sister.”
Bai Tao turned around and took a deep breath. She suddenly felt as though the injuries on her body did not hurt quite as much anymore.
She took out her phone and opened the navigation. It would only take seven minutes to walk from here to the basement where she lived.
That was pretty close.
Bai Tao put her phone back into her pocket, carried the medicine bag, and slowly made her way back.
As she walked, she cursed Pei Jin in her heart.
Bastard.
He had been like this ever since he was a child. He did not like playing with people and had very few friends.
Bai Tao remembered very clearly that when they were little, before they had to attend so many tutoring classes and extracurricular courses, she had tried several times to find Pei Jin and play with him.
She had taken her doll to find him, but Pei Jin had not even looked at it.
She had taken some cookies to find him, but Pei Jin had simply turned around and walked away.
She had chased after him and tried to grab his sleeve, only for Pei Jin to shake her off.
Back then, the children in the neighborhood all said Pei Jin had no mother because his mother never went outside, and no one had ever seen her. Everyone thought he was strange. As time passed, no one went to play with him anymore.
Neither did Bai Tao.
Later, she stopped going too.
Who could have imagined that someone who had ignored her when they were children would nearly strangle her to death after they grew up?
Bai Tao touched her still aching neck and gave a bitter laugh.
Seven minutes later, Bai Tao returned to the basement.
The moment she pushed open the iron door, she wrinkled her nose.
The basement had not been this damp before. For some reason, it had suddenly become stuffy and humid. The air was filled with the smell of soil, as though it were about to rain.
Bai Tao walked inside and turned on the light. She looked at the two windows that were only about the height of a palm.
She quickly pulled out several tissues, folded them into long strips, and wedged them into the gaps around the window glass.
Wang Jianguo had taught her this. If the tissues became wet, it meant the windows were leaking, and she would have to find a solution quickly.
After fixing them, Bai Tao pulled the curtain closed.
Calling it a curtain was actually an exaggeration. It was just a small piece of cloth that she had nailed above the window last night.
It was just the right size to block the outside view.
The moment the curtain was drawn, the basement darkened. The light bulb overhead swayed slightly, casting mottled shadows on the wall.
Bai Tao lowered her head and looked at her bandaged knee. Suddenly, she found it a little funny.
No matter what happened, she would never let herself be thrown into the sea again.
Bai Tao limped over to the sofa and carefully sat down. She rested her injured leg on the coffee table and let out a long breath.
Her phone screen lit up.
It was a message from Wang Jianguo.
【Beautiful lady, are you satisfied with the place? If there’s any problem, just let me know anytime!】
Bai Tao stared at the message for two seconds before typing two words.
【Okay, thank you.】
After sending it, she placed her phone aside, leaned back into the sofa, and closed her eyes.
A dull rumble of thunder came from far outside.
Bai Tao shuddered and curled herself into a ball.
She frowned and glanced outside. A little gray light filtered through the curtain.
Then suddenly, it crashed!
Rain came pouring down, pounding against the small basement windows. The loud patter sounded like firecrackers, making her scalp tingle.
Bai Tao had never been particularly afraid of thunder before. But now that she was alone in such a small basement, she suddenly felt as though she were in a horror movie.
The damp smell in the basement grew stronger. Soil and cement mixed together. It was not exactly unpleasant, but it made her feel inexplicably stifled.
Bai Tao buried herself deeper under the blanket, curling herself into a ball.
The blanket was one she had brought from the Bai Family. It still carried a faint, sweet fragrance that washed away the smell of rain and damp earth, giving her a tiny sense of security in the wet basement.
The next second, hurried footsteps sounded in the basement corridor, along with the rustling of plastic. They were probably taking off their raincoats.
Bai Tao pricked up her ears and heard two young men talking in the corridor.
“Damn, it’s hailing! Good thing we got back quickly!”
“What are you standing at the door for?”
“I want to take another look. I’ve never seen hail before.”
“What is there to see? Come inside. I’m telling you, some hailstones can be as big as eggs and can kill someone. I’m not joking.”
The voices gradually faded away, followed by the dull sound of a door closing.
The corridor fell silent again. Only the loud patter of rain remained outside.
Bai Tao buried her face deeper into the blanket. Ten seconds later, she clenched her fists and gave her pink blanket a fierce beating.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I’m so pissed!”
After beating it up, she collapsed onto the sofa as though all her energy had been drained and gasped for breath.
Then she sighed and resigned herself to getting up.
Pei Jin.
Pei Jin still had nowhere to live.
In her previous life, that little girl had picked him up. But when exactly had that little girl found him?
What if she did not go looking for Pei Jin now and something happened to him?
Hail really could kill people. If Pei Jin died…
She would really have to say goodbye to all the luxury goods she loved.
Bai Tao gritted her teeth, rummaged through her suitcase, pulled out her sun umbrella, and pushed open the door.
A dim yellow motion-sensor light was on in the corridor, illuminating the wet footprints and puddles on the floor.
An electric scooter was parked in the corridor. A two-person raincoat was draped over it, with two helmets resting on top.
The footprints on the ground curved all the way to the tightly closed door directly opposite Bai Tao’s room.
Bai Tao took a deep breath, walked over, and knocked on the door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
There had been laughter and conversation inside, but the moment the knocking sounded, the voices instantly stopped.
Silence lasted for two seconds.
Bai Tao knocked twice more.
“Knock, knock.”
A young man’s voice came from inside, carrying a hint of caution.
“Who is it?”
Bai Tao was a little nervous, and her voice trembled slightly.
“H-hello. I’m your new neighbor.”
Hearing that it was a young woman’s voice, the person inside clearly relaxed a little.
A series of footsteps approached, and the door clicked open.
Someone stood inside the doorway. He looked around twenty-five or twenty-six. He wore a gray T-shirt meant for lounging at home. His hair was half dry, his features were neat and handsome, and there was a youthful air between his brows.
Bai Tao froze for a moment when she saw his appearance.
So handsome?
Did all the guys living in basements look like this nowadays?
The man opposite her was also stunned.
Such a beautiful woman?
She looked completely out of place in this damp, dark, old basement.
The two of them stared at each other blankly for two seconds.
Just then, a large hand with distinct knuckles reached around the waist of the young man and lazily wrapped around him.
Then another handsome face with strong features appeared from behind. Its chin rested on the shoulder of the person in front.
Bai Tao’s eyes widened instantly.
Two male leads?
One was gentle and refined, while the other was handsome and rugged. This scene, this atmosphere, this…
Bai Tao suddenly realized that staring at them like this was impolite. She quickly lowered her head, her gaze falling to her toes as the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
“Hello. I want to borrow your raincoat and helmets. My friend is still outside. I’m worried about him and want to go look for him.”
The refined young man in front turned to look at He Yilong behind him.
Yilong raised an eyebrow slightly. His gaze passed over He Fan’s shoulder and studied Bai Tao at the door.
Bai Tao felt that scrutinizing gaze and quickly pointed toward her own door before continuing.
“I live right there. I can leave my ID card with you. I promise I’ll come back. I’m not a scammer.
“I just moved here and haven’t had time to buy these things yet.
“If the hail damages the raincoat, I’ll compensate you with a new one.”
He Fan looked back at He Yilong again.
He Yilong was silent for two seconds before giving a slight nod.
Fan handed over the raincoat and helmets and spoke gently.
“It’s fine. You can use them first. You don’t need to leave your ID. We’re neighbors.”
Everyone here was living in a basement. There was no need to make things difficult for one another.
Bai Tao took the raincoat and helmets and thanked them repeatedly.
Because it was a two-person raincoat, it dragged behind her in a long piece when she wore it alone.
She put on the helmet, fastened the strap, and walked toward the building entrance.
The wind at the entrance carried strands of rain straight into her face. It was chilly.
Bai Tao looked up.
It was clearly six in the evening in summer, yet the sky was as dark as midnight.
The air was filled with the mixed smell of rainwater and soil, making it difficult to breathe.
Small hailstones were still falling outside, striking the puddles and splashing water into the air.
Bai Tao gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, hardened her heart, opened her umbrella, and rushed into the rain.
The umbrella canopy was pounded by the hail. The hailstones bounced off it and fell to the ground, hopping twice before coming to a stop.
Bai Tao stayed close to the wall, using the shelter of the eaves to avoid being hit by the hail.
Fortunately, she was dressed warmly. The two-person raincoat wrapped her up completely, and the helmet protected her head. The hail did not hurt much when it hit her body. It just sounded frightening.
Pei Jin, this is the last time I’m going to chase after you when you don’t want me around.
If you still refuse to appreciate it this time, I, I, I will find another way!
I really will!
Bai Tao had spent a long time agonizing over it on the sofa earlier.
She had figured it out. Since she had been given another chance at life, as long as she behaved properly and honestly found a job, she could work for the rest of her life.
But then she would never be able to make a fortune!
Her beloved Chanel, Balenciaga, and Hermès would have to say goodbye to her forever.
That would not do.
So, for the sake of her wealth and glory, she had to give it one more shot.
Just one.
Bai Tao first navigated to the pharmacy she had visited during the day. From there, she began searching in the direction where Pei Jin had disappeared.
During the day, she had not thought this road looked particularly eerie. But at night, with the rain falling, the streetlights dim and yellow, and the old houses on both sides shrouded in darkness, only sparse lights showed through the windows. There was hardly a single person on the entire street.
The small alley had only looked run-down during the day. At night, it looked gloomy and desolate, like the kind of alley a horror movie protagonist would foolishly insist on entering.
There was only one streetlight standing at the entrance of the alley. Its dim yellow light was barely enough to see the road beneath one’s feet, let alone illuminate anything.
Bai Tao hunched her shoulders and forced herself to walk inside.
“Pei Jin… Pei Jin… where are you.”
Her voice echoed briefly through the alley before quickly being swallowed by the sound of rain.
The alley was empty. Apart from the rain, there was only the sound of her own footsteps, splashing through the puddles with each step.
Bai Tao took out her phone and made a voice call to Pei Jin.
“Beep… beep… beep…”
No one answered.
She called again.
Still no answer.
Fine.
She took a deep breath and continued walking inside.
When she passed an intersection in the alley, Bai Tao instinctively glanced to the left.
There was a plastic shelter about two or three meters wide. Several large trash bins were piled beside it, all black and impossible to see clearly.
The plastic sheet covering the shelter flapped loudly in the wind, billowing in and out. Bai Tao’s hair stood on end.
She took a quick look, turned around, and hurried away.
“Pei Jin!”
The rain was still heavy, but the hail had gradually stopped.
Bai Tao had already walked around this area three times.
Water had gotten into her shoes. Every step made her feel her soaked socks sticking to her feet.
The bottom of her raincoat was covered in muddy water. It was heavy and cold. Her calves began to ache, and she felt an icy chill spreading through them.
With rain this heavy, there was not even a dog in sight.
She returned to the same intersection.
As usual, she glanced to the left.
The reflective bicycle shelter, the trash bins, the pitch-black surroundings. She could not see anything clearly.
After confirming that there was still nothing to see, Bai Tao had only taken two steps when…
Clang.
A plastic bottle fell to the ground behind her. The sound was particularly clear on a rainy night.
Bai Tao’s feet froze in place.
Her heart jolted violently, then began pounding wildly as though it were about to leap out of her throat.
“Who is it?”
Her voice trembled with an obvious sob. Goosebumps covered her body.
Good heavens. Was she really going to die this quickly in this life?
She usually loved watching horror movie explanations, but now she was standing in this pitch-black alley with the rain pouring down and the streetlights dim. All the horror movie scenes suddenly flooded into her mind.
This kind of alley was exactly where murderers were most likely to appear.
Bai Tao’s legs began to weaken. Tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision.
“Pei Jin… is that you?”
She called out tentatively.
No one answered.
The rain was so loud that it sounded as though the entire world were pouring water from the sky.
Bai Tao gritted her teeth. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
She raised her phone toward the dark entrance of the alley and pressed the shutter.
Thank goodness for the phone’s amazing night vision and flash. Although she could see nothing at all in the instant the flash went off, with only a blinding white light before her eyes, at least she had taken the picture.
Bai Tao tremblingly opened her photo album, her heart in her throat.
Good heavens, please. Please don’t let a murderer holding a knife suddenly appear in front of her.
She opened the photo.
Zoomed in.
In the picture, there was a human leg behind the trash bin. It protruded through the gap between the trash bin and the wall, with the knee slightly bent. The trouser leg was soaked by the rain and clung to the calf.
Half the blood drained from Bai Tao’s face.
A dark, windy night. The perfect time for murder and arson.
When people were especially frightened, their bodies simply refused to move.
Bai Tao felt as though her legs had been filled with lead. Her feet seemed nailed to the ground. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to run, yet her body remained completely still.
A dead person.
She instinctively thought it was a corpse.
Then her gaze fell on the foot attached to that leg.
It was wearing a pair of black sneakers with white lines on the upper. The design was simple and clean. Despite the heavy rain, the shoes were actually clean, as though they had only recently been put on.
Bai Tao stared at those shoes for two seconds.
Pei Jin’s shoes.
It was Pei Jin.