After the maid tidied up the room, Lin Mian looked around and noticed an additional cabinet in the room.
It was about two meters tall and half a meter wide, wrapped in dark brown leather with subtle, intricate patterns, resembling a luxurious yet understated decorative piece.
The cabinet door had a combination lock. She didn’t know what was inside, but Lin Mian guessed it probably wasn’t anything good.
After studying it for a while, she gave up and turned her attention to the wardrobe filled with new clothes.
Although her ex-boyfriend was now nothing but a piece of garbage, she had to admit that these clothes and shoes were quite beautiful.
Confined to the room with no other entertainment, Lin Mian had no choice but to try on the clothes in the wardrobe out of boredom.
By noon, Uncle Jixiang came to ask what she wanted for lunch.
The estate had two private chefs who could prepare dishes from multiple cuisines, even offering a menu longer than the lifespan of some restaurants.
Lin Mian, feeling overwhelmed, ordered her lunch, increasingly aware that her life had been turned upside down.
She had suddenly been thrust into the life of a feudal concubine.
But with her ex-boyfriend suddenly becoming so incredibly wealthy, could he be involved in some insane scam?
Lin Mian closed the menu and hesitantly asked, “Can you tell me what he does for a living now?”
Uncle Jixiang smiled and said, “Do you see the tallest golden building outside the window? That’s the Pearl Casino, where the young master works.”
Lin Mian glanced back.
From her vantage point, the tallest building was partially obscured by others, revealing only its grand and luxurious spire.
So, was He Duoye running a casino here?
Or was it his father who owned the casino, and he was simply inheriting the family business?
After lunch, Lin Mian took a nap.
She hadn’t rested well these past few days, and with everything happening one after another, now that things had settled down, drowsiness quickly overtook her.
She slept deeply and even dreamed of cooking with He Duoye in his old, dilapidated house.
The dream was filled with bizarre events, but she forgot them all upon waking.
Lin Mian opened her eyes to a dark room—she had slept until nightfall.
Lying on her side, hugging a pillow, she remained still for a moment, slowly recalling the past.
Her cooking with He Duoye in his house had started by accident.
Lin Mian and He Duoye were in the same high school class, though one sat in the front row and the other in the back.
Initially, their relationship was quite ordinary.
He Duoye was a loner—tall, fierce, and exuding an air of menace. Though Lin Mian was curious about him deep down, she was also afraid of him.
So, despite being in the same class and living nearby, they hardly ever spoke.
Sometimes, they would run into each other on their way to or from school. Usually, He Duoye would glance at her and flash a half-smile.
Feeling nervous, Lin Mian would either pretend not to see him or quicken her pace to get away.
It wasn’t until winter, on a Monday, when He Duoye took a sick day and didn’t come to class, that the teacher asked Lin Mian to deliver his homework and test papers.
That was the first time Lin Mian stepped into He Duoye’s courtyard.
She knocked on the courtyard gate, but no one answered. She had no choice but to push the gate open and walk in.
The courtyard was empty and clean, with no clutter in sight.
The wooden door, painted black, was tightly shut. The entire house was eerily quiet, making Lin Mian wonder if He Duoye was even home.
She didn’t know what she was thinking at that moment. In any case, she neither called out He Duoye’s name nor left. Instead, she walked up to the window, pressed her face close, and secretly peeked inside.
The curtains were drawn, but there was a gap left open.
The room was somewhat dark and blurry. Lin Mian saw something hanging inside—dark and shadowy, unclear in detail. But it instantly reminded her of a hanged ghost from a horror movie.
Holy shit, could He Duoye have hanged himself?
A loud thud echoed in Lin Mian’s mind. Just then, a human face flashed in the gap of the curtains, its pitch-black eyes coldly staring at Lin Mian. Instantly terrified out of her wits, she screamed, “Ghost!”
Lin Mian turned and ran, stumbling in her panic, practically scrambling away on all fours.
Only after running out of the yard and calming down did she slowly realize that the person just now seemed to be He Duoye.
Lin Mian hesitated and lingered outside for a long time before finally mustering the courage to turn back.
The yard gate was still open, and the black wooden door inside had also been opened.
The house where He Duoye lived was not only dilapidated but also very cramped. Standing at the edge of the yard, Lin Mian could see the scene inside the wooden door.
He Duoye stood in the main room, which served as both the living room and kitchen, holding a bowl. He filled it with cold water from the tap and then brought it to his lips, gulping it down.
After drinking the water, he opened the refrigerator. The cold light illuminated his pale, sickly face. He lowered his eyes, looked for a moment, took out a steamed bun, and took a bite.
Lin Mian was stunned.
She hadn’t expected that He Duoye, who usually appeared tall, fierce, and intimidating, would privately be so impoverished as to drink cold water and eat dry steamed buns.
And this was winter.
Even touching cold water with your hands would make you shiver, let alone drinking it.
At that moment, He Duoye seemed to sense someone’s presence. He turned his expressionless face and, seeing it was Lin Mian, raised an eyebrow, his features no longer as icy as before.
Holding the steamed bun, He Duoye walked to the doorway and spoke in a hoarse voice, “What do you want? Trying to rob my house?”
Lin Mian thought to herself, With a home as bare as yours, even a thief would have to leave two yuan behind.
But she didn’t dare say that out loud.
Seeing He Duoye, she still felt somewhat nervous. She slowly took a few steps closer. “The homeroom teacher asked me to bring you the homework.”
Lin Mian opened her backpack and handed over the test papers and exercise books.
He Duoye took them and, without even looking, casually tossed them onto a chair. “Oh, thanks. Want to come in and sit for a bit?”
Lin Mian glanced inside and saw instant noodle packets in the nearby trash can.
She quickly averted her gaze and shook her head. “No need, I’m going home.”
She hurried away, unsure if it was her imagination, but she kept feeling as though He Duoye was staring at her back. She didn’t dare turn around to confirm.
Returning home, Lin Mian put down her backpack and, as usual, started by washing the rice to cook.
Her father lived on construction sites year-round, so she was alone at home. She usually bought groceries and cooked for herself, so she was already quite skilled at preparing her own meals.
But this time, as she scooped the rice, He Duoye’s pale, sickly face, the dry steamed bun, and the instant noodle packets in the trash can suddenly flashed through her mind.
Lin Mian struggled and hesitated for a long time but couldn’t suppress her pity. In the end, she made an extra portion of dinner.