One, they couldn’t play. Two, they couldn’t look. Three, they couldn’t even display.
The group could only wander through the house.
Shu Shu had spent a fortune on the renovation. Even after more than a decade, the decor still held up—understated, yet luxurious.
Chu Lian wanted to divert everyone’s attention from the locked cabinets, so she led the group to the terrace to admire the distant river view.
Shu Shu, meanwhile, walked into her bedroom.
The bedroom looked much the same as before.
Only her belongings were gone, replaced with traces of Chu Lian’s life.
Shu Shu suddenly remembered something and went to the walk-in closet. She pulled aside a curtain inside one of the wardrobes, placed her hand on a certain spot, and pushed.
A hidden compartment slid open.
Inside was a fingerprint lock.
Shu Shu placed her fingertip on the glowing sensor.
A beep sounded.
A hidden door behind the wardrobe moved aside.
Shu Shu had specially designed a secret room inside the closet.
It was for storing valuable items.
As the door opened, all the lights in the room, plus the lighting inside the central golden glass cabinets, illuminated.
Watches, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and designer handbags on three walls sparkled brilliantly under the light.
Shu Shu walked forward, excited.
“My precious ones… after thirteen years, you’ve missed me, haven’t you?”
She picked up one of the bags, hugging it lovingly.
It was a limited-edition bag she had bought just before “the incident”—she hadn’t even carried it twice yet.
But now, it felt outdated, no longer fashionable.
With a pang, she put the bag down and went to the central jewelry cabinet.
There’s a saying:
“Diamonds are forever.”
Fortunately, a whole cabinet of diamonds and jewelry could give her some consolation.
A layer of dust covered the glass cabinet.
It meant it hadn’t been opened in a long time.
Shu Shu raised an eyebrow.
She noticed earlier that the hidden door showed the same signs—it hadn’t been touched in ages.
Perhaps no one had entered this room since she left.
Makes sense.
The secret door was so well-hidden that it was nearly impossible to find. Even if discovered, without fingerprint access, no one could enter.
So that little idiot Shu Lingchen hadn’t revealed the existence of the secret room to the Chu family?
Shu Shu looked at the bags and jewelry, her mind screaming:
“Don’t worry, my treasures… don’t worry about the Moutai wall either. I’ll bring you all home soon!”
She then exited the secret room, closed the door, and left the bedroom.
“How was it, poor folks? Eye-opening, right?”
As soon as she came out, a sharp female voice rang out.
Zhang Lu, arms crossed, looked at Shu Shu with a sneer, her tone condescending:
“Treasure this opportunity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You won’t get another chance to see it.”
Shu Shu nodded.
She had to admit, Zhang Lu was right.
This truly was the last time she could see the house properly and completely.
At the same time, it was the last time for everyone else in the house.
Just as Zhang Lu finished speaking—
Ding Dong——
The doorbell rang.
Chu Lian instinctively moved to answer, but remembering the “housekeeper” in the house, she cleared her throat, sat upright on the sofa, and called out to the kitchen:
“Wu Ma, go open the door.”
“I’m busy! Didn’t you see me? Can’t you do it yourself?”
Handling tea, cutting fruit—there were seven or eight tasks at once.
Chu Lian’s mother, now in the role of Wu Ma, looked around, seeing the puzzled and surprised eyes of the guests. Her face stiffened for two seconds, then she awkwardly smiled:
“Sorry, Miss, I’ll go open it right away.”
She went to the entrance.
When the door opened, two property management staff in suits with name tags stood outside.
“Hello, we are staff from Yu Jing Yuan Property Management.”
The female staff member smiled and said:
“The property fees for 1701 have been overdue for over a month. Today is the final deadline. We’re here to ask you to settle the fees.”
“W-what property fees?”
“Ma’am, it’s like this: the card you used to pay the property fees previously had insufficient balance, causing last month’s payment to fail.”
Chu Lian’s mother was baffled.
She had lived in 1701 for years and had never paid any fees, long forgetting about property charges.
Hearing the staff mention the top-up card, her eyes flickered. She immediately ran back inside, pulling Chu Lian aside and whispering:
“Hurry, contact Xiao Chen (Shu Lingchen) and ask him what’s going on. The card for paying property fees is empty. Have him top it up quickly—the property management is already here!”
Chu Lian was stunned.
Like her mother, she had always assumed Shu Lingchen was handling all payments for 1701.
Just as she was about to take her phone to message Shu Lingchen, she realized it was missing.
“Has anyone seen my phone?”
Chu Lian peered around, searching.
Everyone assumed she was looking for her phone to pay the property fees and helped search, but in vain:
“Can’t find it.”
Zhang Lu offered her phone:
“Xiao Lian, let me call your number.”
They dialed multiple times but heard nothing.
Chu Lian remembered she had set her phone to silent.
She quickly signaled to her mother to contact Shu Lingchen.
Her mother ran to the balcony with the phone.
No one noticed Shu Shu sitting on the single sofa, her phone showing “in call.”
She had a Bluetooth earpiece in one ear.
“Hello? Who’s this? Why call and not speak?”
Shu Lingchen’s confused voice came from the other side.
Shu Shu typed a message:
“It’s your mom.”
“Mom? You? You finally contacted me. Is this your number?!” Shu Lingchen was excited—these days, Shu Shu had disappeared right after school, leaving him clueless about her whereabouts.
Shu Shu:
“Yes.”
“Where are you? Should I come find you? Why don’t you speak, why text?”
“I can’t talk right now.”
“Ah, did something happen? I’ll come to you!”
Shu Shu quickly typed:
“No need. I just got a new SIM card. The salesperson said the call must last 8 minutes to activate it officially.”
“Oh, I see. So just let it run for 8 minutes?”
Shu Shu paused, then seriously replied:
“The person receiving the call must speak. Sing ‘Little Apple’ for me.”
“???” Shu Lingchen: “There’s such a rule?”
“Sing or not.”
Three words. Even as text, Shu Lingchen felt immense pressure through the screen.
So he braced himself and started singing Little Apple.
After finishing, he asked:
“…How was it?”
Shu Shu:
“Not bad. Sing another one.”
Shu Lingchen, feeling a mix of surprise and encouragement from his mom, sang even more passionately, even grabbing the TV remote as a microphone.
Meanwhile, Shu Shu had removed the earpiece expressionlessly as soon as she heard the first note.
“Damn kid, singing is lethal.”
Chu Lian’s mother hurried back from the balcony with the phone and told Chu Lian:
“Xiao Chen hasn’t replied to messages, and the line has been busy.”
Chu Lian: “…Now what?”
The two property staff, who had been waiting outside for some time, peeked in and asked:
“Is the owner of 1701 available?”
“…Yes,” Chu Lian went to the entrance, slightly uncomfortable, speaking in a negotiating tone:
“Um, sorry, I can’t find my phone. Can we pay the property fees tomorrow?”
Delaying until tomorrow would allow Shu Lingchen to make the payment.
The female staff member smiled politely but said:
“I’m afraid that won’t work. The property fees for 1701 are long overdue. We hope you can cooperate.”
She added:
“This is the only unit in the building that hasn’t paid.”