My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 428 Chen Yan: You Can Call Me Daddy (Continuing with an additional 8000 words!)

Chapter 428: Chapter 428 Chen Yan: You Can Call Me Daddy (Continuing with an additional 8000 words!)

At that time, He Mengxue was utterly defeated.

Yang Rou had easily won the victory with just a few phrases.

Back then, Chen Yan only felt that He Mengxue had lost due to her youth, now thinking about Yang Rou’s restraint and madness when she was younger.

Chen Yan thought, "Meng Xue... we weren’t unfairly defeated, huh."

Perhaps sensing Chen Yan’s gaze, Yang Rou tactfully nodded her head and asked, "Then, Mr. Chen, may I leave first?"

Chen Yan nodded without holding her back, "Sure."

Yang Rou, with her long legs, walked to the door and opened it.

And indeed, He Mengxue was standing outside the door.

Two people, who naturally shared a similar aura, instantly sparked an electric friction upon meeting.

He Mengxue hadn’t expected to find Yang Rou in Chen Yan’s office; she was taken aback, then looked at Yang Rou with a gaze full of confidence and aggression.

Yang Rou, seeing that look in He Mengxue’s eyes, actually cracked a slight smile, then nodded her head and promptly left He Mengxue’s side.

He Mengxue felt as though she was pounding the air, feeling extremely frustrated.

She didn’t even enter Chen Yan’s office right away but instead followed Yang Rou’s retreating figure with her gaze.

Perhaps sensing He Mengxue’s stare, Yang Rou swayed gracefully with a cool and detached face, evoking the sensation of a bewitching yet dispassionate enchantress.

He Mengxue felt somewhat astonished for a moment.

Because although her own appearance was no less attractive than Yang Rou’s, she greatly lacked that sort of aura.

Her interior was frail, and her external toughness was all forced; compared to Yang Rou’s confidence to stand against the whole world, the confidence to charm everyone even with a cold demeanor, she was far from par...

For a moment, He Mengxue felt somewhat dejected.

Am I really that useless...

Regaining her composure, He Mengxue walked into the office.

Inside the office, Chen Yan had already returned to his desk and had not witnessed the confrontation between He Mengxue and Yang Rou.

Of course, He Mengxue didn’t mention her defeat again. Seeing Chen Yan, her mood instantly brightened without having to adjust her emotions, a hint of joy involuntarily appearing in her eyes. Standing before the desk, she posed as natural as possible, yet in a way that accentuated her good figure, then said to Chen Yan, "Mr. Chen, there’s something I need to report to you."

Hearing He Mengxue’s words, Chen Yan looked up.

After seeing He Mengxue, his eyes brightened. She looked very pretty today. In the company, she still dressed in professional attire—a white shirt on top, paired with a black professional skirt on the bottom, wearing black stockings, light makeup, and a fancy diamond earring on her left ear that Chen Yan had never seen before—making her look mature yet with a touch of playfulness.

Averting his gaze, Chen Yan didn’t follow up but instead smiled and complimented, "Your outfit is very pretty."

Then, he added, "The earring is very pretty too."

In fact, men and women think very differently. When women observe a person, they like to focus on details. They can even distinguish countless different shades of the same color, red for example.

A subtle yet beautiful accessory can also make them genuinely like and admire it.

This thought process makes them like to add some "little tricks" or "small details" when dressing themselves.

It’s because they subconsciously believe that others will also notice these small details.

Men, on the other hand, are different. Men mostly look at the overall picture, and most of their attention focuses on the "internal conditions" of the other person: whether the face is pretty, the legs are slender, handsome or not, if there are muscles, and so on.

So, to get along better with women, one must learn to have a pair of eyes that "discover beauty" and "notice details."

This is why Chen Yan complimented He Mengxue.

And indeed, upon hearing Chen Yan notice the differences in her attire today, He Mengxue became even happier.

She adjusted her hair, gave Chen Yan a flirtatious look, "As long as you like it."

Chen Yan just smiled and didn’t say much. Then he asked, "Right. You mentioned that you needed to report something? What is it?"

Reminded by Chen Yan, He Mengxue went "Oh~," snapped out of it, then walked forward, placing the folder she was holding onto the desk. She playfully smiled at Chen Yan, "The matter is in the folder. Please take your time, Mr. Chen~"

After speaking, she didn’t wait for Chen Yan’s reaction and walked out of the office with her long legs.

Watching He Mengxue’s carefree departure, Chen Yan was momentarily stunned.

Wondering what game this woman was playing.

He then opened the folder and was even more astonished.

Because inside, there was an invitation formally asking Chen Yan to come to He Mengxue’s home for dinner.

Looking at the graceful writing on it, Chen Yan was amused.

This He Mengxue always had a new trick up her sleeve every day, didn’t she?

What’s this? Did she think she could continuously boost some kind of favorability level with him without stop?

While silently criticizing, Chen Yan picked up a pen and signed "Approved" on the document.

Closing it and setting it aside: These documents would later be distributed by the secretary to various companies in sequence. Eventually, it would reach He Mengxue’s hands.

After playing this little interaction with He Mengxue, Chen Yan continued to start working on official business.

Approaching noon, Chen Yan stopped his work, suddenly recalling Yang Rou who had taken medicine.

He tidied up his desk, intending to find Yang Rou and have lunch to observe her.

But as he was about to stand up, he hesitated.

He thought... if Yang Rou had noticed something off by now, wouldn’t this move be like walking right into a trap?

So, after contemplation, he decided not to stir up trouble and remained inactive.

Meanwhile, in the office, Yang Rou was also gradually feeling that something was not quite right.

Yang Rou was a very rational woman, trusting data and science.

So she knew her body well, aware that she had been overworking lately causing her physical and mental condition to suffer.

The company had been exceedingly busy recently, and Yang Rou couldn’t step away.

Thus, she had to keep pushing through with work.

These past few days, she could clearly feel her work efficiency slightly declining. Hence, she was contemplating the possibility of taking a day off to recuperate her strength and energy.

This was how she had always managed throughout the years: working overtime intensely, until she felt too exhausted and then taking a few days of rest.

Yet, while she was still considering, after returning from Chen Yan’s office today, Yang Rou found her energy seemed to have surged.

Initially, she attributed this to having seen Chen Yan, thinking her improved mood was the reason.

But while working, she discovered her thinking was unbelievably quick; regardless of the matter at hand, she could arrive at clear conclusions with ease.

Some minor decisions that used to require at least ten minutes of thought, she now reached conclusions almost instantaneously.

Moreover, she didn’t feel the slightest bit tired, no matter how much work she undertook, her energy was incredibly robust.

This left her quite astonished.

Because how many years had it been since she’d felt this energized?

She was a typical workaholic—if needed, she could work long hours, start early and finish late, acting with relentless zeal.

Apart from the occasional few days off to rest, she had always operated under high-intensity work conditions.

Therefore, she had always been somewhat energy-deficient.

But today, she experienced that long-forgotten sensation of being full of energy.

Yang Rou couldn’t help but ponder what could have caused this change.

She thought hard but couldn’t find a reason.

She carefully thought about what was different today compared to the past.

It seemed... the only difference was that this morning she had gone to Chen Yan’s office.

Could it be... did Chen Yan do something?

As soon as this thought occurred to her, Yang Rou began to recall some details from this morning.

Her energetic self was still very sharp mentally.

After pondering for a while, she felt that aside from pouring her a glass of water, Chen Yan seemed to have done nothing else.

Thinking of this, a flicker of "spirit light" crossed Yang Rou’s mind?

Could it be... there was something wrong with that glass of water?

But then, Yang Rou giggled as she remembered the water from this morning, she could be one hundred percent certain that neither the taste nor the texture of the water had any problems.

So what exactly was going on?

Yang Rou couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought.

As she was mulling over it, she felt that if Chen Yan really did do something, he would most likely come to "check" the results, so in that case, Yang Rou could start to suspect him.

With this thought, Yang Rou patiently waited.

However... it seemed like it really had nothing to do with Chen Yan, as Yang Rou waited all noon and all afternoon without Chen Yan coming to visit her once, nor did he inquire about anything through WeChat or phone calls.

This made Yang Rou dismiss her suspicions of Chen Yan.

Could it be... it really didn’t have anything to do with Chen Yan?

Then, why did she suddenly have so much energy?

Had she rested too well last night?

As she thought about it, Yang Rou couldn’t help but turn her thoughts to the melatonin she had bought a few days ago to help her sleep.

"Could it be... that melatonin not only aids with sleep but also increases energy?"

The more Yang Rou thought, the more she found it strange...

...

Just like that, a day quickly passed by.

In the afternoon, several companies finished their workdays.

Chen Yan was still packing up his things when a knock came at his office door.

Chen Yan called out, "Please come in."

Along with his voice, He Mengxue walked in.

She had already changed into casual clothes, which made her appear even more approachable.

She was jangling her keys in her hand, looking at Chen Yan with a beaming smile, and asked, "Shall we go, Mr. Chen?"

Chen Yan couldn’t help but remember her invitation from this morning. He tucked away the last document with a smile and nodded, "Let’s go."

Yu Qiao Qiao had gone off to class in the afternoon, and Lu Man had been worn out by Chen Yan’s activities the past couple of days, so she was resting at the villa, which meant Chen Yan wasn’t worried about being seen by the two of them.

He and He Mengxue headed to the elevator together, down to the second basement level.

Chen Yan had planned to drive with He Mengxue, but she stopped him, "I’m cooking for you tonight."

"So, you’ll have to have a couple of drinks, won’t you?"

Hearing He Mengxue’s words, Chen Yan hesitated for a moment but then smiled and abandoned the idea of driving himself.

He strapped into He Mengxue’s Porsche and she started the car.

The vehicle left the underground parking and drove towards He Mengxue’s home.

On the road, the two casually chatted.

Chen Yan, "How’s the company been doing recently?"

He Mengxue drove as she laughed, "Very smoothly."

"The folks over at The Headlines have been very cooperative because of your involvement."

"I remember submitting a few reports a few days ago. I’ve had the secretary deliver them to your office."

Chen Yan recalled having seen those reports yesterday.

He Mengxue continued, "Also, the ride-hailing service has indeed caught the attention of the market leaders while engaging in the money burning war. Now, both sides have started to contact to acquire it."

"As per your advice, I’m pushing this forward too."

"I believe, the results will come out soon."

"Then, we can take the opportunity to make a profit by exiting. We should be able to make quite a bit of money."

"Also, because of the fame from those companies’ successful investments, many domestic enterprises in need of financing are starting to send us their fundraising plans."

After updating him on the investment company, He Mengxue glanced at Chen Yan and praised with a smile, "Anyway, with you, this great deity, presiding over us, there’s no worry about the company’s development."

Chen Yan nodded and said, "That’s good."

"But if you encounter something you can’t handle, remember to find me. Don’t struggle alone."

"After all, this company is ours together."

Hearing Chen Yan include her in "ours", He Mengxue involuntarily curved her lips into a slight smile.

She nodded, then with a touch of emotion said, "Chen Yan, to be honest. At first, I was a bit too conceited, thinking it was my own ability that allowed me to hold a high position at such a young age and achieve success."

"But later, I understood, it was actually leaning on my father’s protection."

"After all, within Wutong Group, as long as it’s external, people automatically assume it represents my father’s will."

"So, as long as my demands were not too harsh, they would accept."

"As a result, after joining our company, facing those companies that didn’t give me face, I came to understand how cruel society really is."

Saying this, she glanced at Chen Yan, her eyes filled with tenderness, "Thanks to you. You stood behind me again, shielding me from the wind and rain, cleaning up the messes."

Hearing He Mengxue’s words, Chen Yan couldn’t help but smile, "If you really want to call me ’Dad’, I’m not totally against it."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, He Mengxue’s face flushed red. She reached out and gave him a punch, annoyed, "You’re taking advantage of me."

Chen Yan covered the punched area and just laughed without saying a word.

The car fell quiet for a moment.

After driving a while longer, He Mengxue initiated the conversation.

This time, she brought up a personal topic, "By the way, Chen Yan. I’ve known you for so long and yet I still don’t know what your hobbies are?"

"Hobbies?" Chen Yan fabricated casually, "Does listening to symphonies count?"

He Mengxue’s eyes sparkled slightly, she nodded, "Of course."

Chen Yan continued, "Playing golf, does that count?"

He Mengxue’s eyes brightened again, eagerly saying, "Definitely!"

Chen Yan, "Oh. Then horse riding, racing, playing basketball, reading..." He glanced briefly at the black stockings on He Mengxue’s legs, "...watching black stockings, these all count, right?"

He Mengxue had been nodding along with Chen Yan’s examples, but when she heard the last hobby, she paused for a moment, "Huh? Watching black stockings?"

Chen Yan saw He Mengxue’s surprised look and burst into laughter, "Just kidding, just kidding."

He Mengxue also laughed along.

While laughing, she said, "I knew it. You wouldn’t be that kind of person."

Chen Yan nodded earnestly, "Yeah. How could someone like me listen to symphonies, play golf, go riding, or race cars?"

He Mengxue, "Huh?"

Chen Yan looked at her legs, holding back a laugh, "My interests are very specific. I only have one."

He Mengxue followed Chen Yan’s gaze to her legs clad in black stockings and was so embarrassed she almost hit the brakes so hard that Chen Yan would have been thrown out of the car.

Her pretty eyes glared at Chen Yan.

But her mouth said, "Do you want to touch them?"

Chen Yan smacked his lips and turned his head to refuse, "No need. I have them at home."

He Mengxue: ....

He Mengxue thought Chen Yan was incredibly annoying.

He only knew how to flirt with her, but his behavior was extremely proper, leaving He Mengxue hanging, which was particularly tormenting.

Meanwhile, Chen Yan was feeling over the moon.

He suddenly found that the most beautiful part of a relationship was actually the ambiguous phase.

This kind of mutual probing and pulling, the feeling of being near yet far, was the most delightful.

Just by looking at He Mengxue’s expressions, whether shy or annoyed, Chen Yan felt his amusement was well worth the entertainment.

In this manner, amid Chen Yan’s teasing and He Mengxue’s seduction, the two of them arrived at He Mengxue’s home, now close, now distant in their relationship.

Pulling up the car, taking the elevator, they arrived at He Mengxue’s home.

Chen Yan then noticed that there seemed to be some new changes to He Mengxue’s home.

After changing her shoes, He Mengxue casually called out, "Xiao Dai, turn on the living room lights."

Instantly, all the living room lights came on by themselves.

Chen Yan couldn’t help but ask, "Smart home?"

He Mengxue nodded, smiling, "Yep. It’s a new system our company just developed. My dad gave me a set to experience, saying it’s very handy." freewebnøvel.coɱ

Chen Yan clicked his tongue in admiration for He Ruifeng’s foresight.

Indeed worthy of being the trendsetter of the past era—although decades have passed, he still had a clear grasp of the next era’s trends.

Smart homes were destined to be a future trend, and to start planning now, even bringing forth a finished product, indicated that Wutong Group had already positioned itself at the forefront of this emerging field.

While reflecting on this, Chen Yan changed his shoes and followed He Mengxue into the living room.

Upon entering the living room, He Mengxue commanded, "Xiao Dai, turn on the TV, draw the curtains, and turn on the air conditioner."

Moments later, the TV turned on automatically, the electric curtains slowly drew themselves, and even the air conditioner turned on, setting its own temperature.

After all this, He Mengxue pushed Chen Yan down onto the sofa, saying with a coy smile, "Sit here and don’t move. I’ll go cook."

"Rest assured, I will prepare you a lavish meal."

Chen Yan chuckled, saying, "It’s fine. I’m not fussy about food, as long as it doesn’t kill me."

He Mengxue glared at him playfully, "I can promise it’ll taste good. Anything else... well, that’s up to luck."

Chen Yan: ??

Seeing Chen Yan finally stumped, He Mengxue happily twisted her slim waist and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the evening.

Chen Yan’s gaze followed He Mengxue until she disappeared into the kitchen, only then did he look away, turning his attention to the TV.

At this time, in the kitchen, He Mengxue was not cooking.

She sneakily took out a little black box from the kitchen and whispered, "Xiao Dai, lock all doors and windows completely until 7 a.m. tomorrow."

Shortly after, a mechanical voice from the box responded, "Please verify authorization."

He Mengxue said, "2938101."

The mechanical voice confirmed, "Authorization verified. Until seven o’clock tomorrow morning, all methods of opening doors and windows, including super administrator privileges, will be disabled."

"Wishing you a pleasant evening."

Following its announcement, He Mengxue’s security door gave a soft "beep" and then rotated several times, completely locking itself.

Then, from inside the door, a "click" could be heard as if a switch had been activated.

And in the room, all the windows slowly descended and then "click," "click," a few light sounds followed, locking them one by one.

In the living room, Chen Yan, with the TV on and curtains drawn, didn’t notice any of this.

But after the black box confirmed "All locks engaged," He Mengxue’s face couldn’t help but show a smile.

Then, humming a tune, she put the black box away and began to happily cook.

While cooking, she muttered, "Although my dad’s taste in aesthetics isn’t that great, as his tech products are all so black and boring, at least they’re truly functional."

He Mengxue cooked quickly. In less than an hour, two home-cooked dishes were laid out on the table.

One dish was tomatoes stir-fried with eggs, and the other was leek stir-fried with eggs.

Looking at the two plates of eggs on the table, Chen Yan turned to He Mengxue, who was expectantly looking at him.

"This... is what you call a lavish meal?"

He Mengxue proudly nodded, "How is it? Not bad, right?"

"Heh... heh..." Chen Yan chuckled, commenting, "It seems you’ve had your fair share of hardships at the He family over the years."

He took out his phone, saying, "I better order some takeout."

Seeing Chen Yan about to order takeout, He Mengxue quickly grabbed his hand, saying, "Don’t order takeout. At least give me some face."

She said indignantly, "This is the result of several days of practice, painstakingly learning how to cook these dishes."

Chen Yan looked at her and saw the young lady indeed had a sincere and hopeful expression.

So, he sighed softly, agreeing, "All right. Then I’ll try the two dishes you’ve made."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, He Mengxue looked at him with a joyful face and said, "Okay!"

Then... both of them, you look at me, I look at you, neither making a move.

After a while, He Mengxue asked Chen Yan, "Why... aren’t you eating?"

Chen Yan looked at the two dishes on the table and said, "Hmm. I’m contemplating what exactly it is you’ve made."

He Mengxue’s head slowly produced a question mark, "Huh?"

"It’s tomato stir-fried with eggs and leek stir-fried with eggs."

Chen Yan’s face showed a sudden realization, "Oh, it’s those two dishes. I thought it was shredded pancake!"

Hearing Chen Yan’s joke, He Mengxue couldn’t help but laugh.

She said, "How could it be shredded pancake? They’re totally different."

Chen Yan nodded, imitating her tone, "Yeah. How could it be shredded pancake? At least a shredded pancake has disposable gloves, but these don’t even come with gloves."

Realizing that in her eagerness to have Chen Yan taste her cooking, He Mengxue had hurriedly brought out two plates of food but forgot to bring any chopsticks, she laughed embarrassingly and then quickly dashed to the kitchen to fetch a pair for Chen Yan.

Observing He Mengxue’s bustle, Chen Yan shook his head slightly.

He felt it was better to settle for a bit of this meal and then have a late-night snack back home.

Otherwise, with He Mengxue’s culinary skills, Chen Yan really wondered if he’d be able to leave her place.

Soon, He Mengxue returned with the chopsticks. This time she was more astute, even bringing two spoons, seeming to let Chen Yan choose.

Chen Yan picked up a spoon and scooped up some tomato stir-fried with eggs.

Hmm... Not bad in taste.

He then tried the leek stir-fried with eggs.

Also not bad.

Honestly, it was beyond Chen Yan’s expectations.

He now believed that He Mengxue did really practice at home these past few days.

So, with the mindset of just making do with this meal, he didn’t hesitate to give a thumbs up, praising, "Very good. Delicious!"

Hearing Chen Yan’s praise, He Mengxue was a bit happy and said, "I told you so! My cooking tastes great!"

Chen Yan smiled, not saying anything.

So, the two of them, eating the two plates of eggs and drinking red wine, oddly had their dinner for the day.

While eating, Chen Yan couldn’t help but recall a classic quote from Mr. Zhou Shuren: To the left, a plate of eggs; to the right, another plate of eggs. Which to eat, that is the question...

After quickly finishing the meal, Chen Yan politely helped He Mengxue clean up the dishes, then spontaneously suggested going home—he was eager to have another meal.

Chen Yan originally thought He Mengxue would find a way to keep him a while longer, considering he had visited so briefly that day. They hadn’t even had much of a chat after dinner.

Unexpectedly, contrary to Chen Yan’s expectations, He Mengxue did not try to keep him but rather, in a considerate and thoughtful manner, said, "Chen Yan, are you leaving?"

"Yeah, it’s getting a bit late."

"Then go home and have a good rest. I’ll see you out."

Seeing that He Mengxue didn’t "cling" to him, Chen Yan was somewhat surprised, but he still said, "It’s fine. I can leave on my own."

He smiled and said, "Rest well at home."

"Thank you for your hospitality tonight."

He Mengxue blinked, "No problem~ Take care."

Chen Yan nodded, then went to the door and put on his shoes.

While putting on his shoes, Chen Yan couldn’t help but glance back at the living room.

He Mengxue suddenly seemed uninterested in him, not even bothering to get up and see him out.

Chen Yan shook his head, a little puzzled: Are women nowadays so fickle?

Before dinner, I was sweet as candy. After dinner, I’ve become Mrs. Bull??

Pondering over this, Chen Yan put on his shoes and arrived at the door.

Then, he placed his hand on the doorknob. He twisted. The door didn’t open.

Chen Yan paused.

And then he tried twisting it again.

The door was very sturdy; even with his constitution of +9, he couldn’t budge it.

Chen Yan bent down curiously to check the door lock.

Then he fiddled with the lock. There were no issues with it, it was unlocked.

Chen Yan tried twisting the door knob again, still unable to open it.

He paused for a moment, then inevitably turned his head to look at He Mengxue in the living room.

A certain premonition increased in his heart:

’Could it be this woman’s doing...’

——————

Otherwise, with He Mengxue’s culinary skills, Chen Yan really wondered if he would be able to walk out of this home.

Soon, He Mengxue came back with chopsticks. This time she was much smarter, even bringing two spoons, seeming to let Chen Yan choose.

Chen Yan picked up a spoon and scooped up some tomato stir-fried with eggs.

Hmm... The taste was not bad.

He also sampled the leek stir-fried with eggs.

Also not bad.

Truth be told, this was beyond Chen Yan’s expectations.

He now believed He Mengxue did indeed practice these past few days at home.

So, convinced that the meal was just something to tide him over, he unhesitatingly raised his thumb, praising, "Really good. Tasty!"

Hearing Chen Yan’s praise, He Mengxue was somewhat joyful and said, "I said it! My cooking is delicious!"

Chen Yan smiled but remained silent.

Thus, the two of them, eating two plates of eggs and drinking red wine, strangely proceeded with today’s dinner.

While eating, Chen Yan’s mind couldn’t stop revisiting Mr. Zhou Shuren’s classic saying: To the left, a plate of eggs; to the right, another plate of eggs. Which to eat, that is the question...

After hurriedly wrapping up the meal, Chen Yan politely helped He Mengxue clear away the dishes and then took the initiative to say he needed to head home—he was in a hurry to have another meal.

Chen Yan initially thought He Mengxue would definitely find a way to keep him around longer: after all, Chen Yan’s visit today was too brief. They hadn’t even spoken much after eating.

However, counter to Chen Yan’s expectations, He Mengxue didn’t detain him but instead showed understanding, kindly saying, "Chen Yan, are you off?"

"Yeah, it’s indeed a bit late."

"Then go home and rest well. Let me walk you out."

Seeing that He Mengxue hadn’t "fussed" over him, Chen Yan was a bit surprised, but he still said, "It’s okay. I can leave by myself."

He smiled and said, "Get some good rest at home."

"Thanks for having me tonight."

He Mengxue blinked, "No trouble at all~ Have a safe journey."

Chen Yan nodded and then made his way to the door, where he put on his shoes.

As he put on his shoes, Chen Yan couldn’t help but glance back toward the living room.

He Mengxue, as if her interest in him had suddenly waned, didn’t even bother to get up and see him off as he left.

Chen Yan shook his head, somewhat confused: Are women really that changeable these days?

Before the meal, I was the sweet darling. After the meal, have I become Mrs. Bull??

While unable to make heads or tails of it, Chen Yan put on his shoes and approached the door.

Then, he placed his hand on the door handle and turned it. The door didn’t open.

Chen Yan hesitated for a moment.

Then tried turning it again.

The door was quite solid; not even with his +9 constitution could he make it budge.

Chen Yan curiously bent down to check the door lock.

Then he tried jiggling the lock. There was nothing wrong with it, it was unlocked.

Chen Yan tried twisting the door handle once more, yet it still wouldn’t open.

Chen Yan was baffled for a moment, then turned and looked back at He Mengxue in the living room.

A suspicion began to grow in his heart:

’It couldn’t be this woman’s trickery, could it...’