Chapter 24: The Scoundrel Must Take the Blame

Lin Buwan boarded the boat with swift efficiency, casting a glance at Ruan Yi, who had, as expected, lost consciousness. Daodao was pacing anxiously around her, clearly worried, while Xu Yu stood nearby, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xu Yu could never have imagined Lin Buwan would do something like this. Just moments ago, she had watched Ruan Yi fall from above, her own heart nearly stopping in fright. Now, seeing Lin Buwan return without any sign of guilt over Ruan Yi’s fainting—only cold indifference written on her face—Xu Yu felt a sudden, wary fear of her.

“What did you say?” Lin Buwan’s voice rose sharply when she heard from Wei Qu that her home had been broken into. She could not control her emotions.

“We were delayed coming back because of this. We don’t know who did it, or when it happened,” Wei Qu said, his expression grave.

As soon as they set out, he had told Lin Buwan everything that had happened on their return. Since it concerned her interests, it was only right to let her know and prepare herself.

Hearing that Wei Qu had gathered Hua Xiao and the others together, Lin Buwan felt a bit more at ease. Still, she began to ponder who could be daring enough to pull such a stunt. The first person who came to mind was Ji Dong.

Someone like him, vile to the core, would not hesitate to do something like this—especially since there was bad blood between them. And then there was Qin Wei, that rat in the gutter, forever lurking in the shadows, coveting her space and never giving up on her thieving ambition. If Qin Wei discovered she wasn’t home, she would never pass up such a golden opportunity.

It had to be them.

“I know who did it. I’ll finish them off when I get back,” Lin Buwan’s face was suffused with murderous intent, as if she could fly home that instant and cut those two wretches down.

Unaware that he was about to be blamed, Ji Dong had already heard the commotion while Wei Qu was repairing the door. But he’d been lying in bed, too lazy to get up, and so chose to ignore it.

He preferred not to get involved, but someone else could not resist the urge to investigate.

“Ji Dong? Are you up?” Qin Wei knocked gently on his door, her voice soft.

At the sound of her voice, Ji Dong sprang from the bed, hurriedly threw on some clothes, and rushed to open the door.

“Weiwei, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Ji Dong with a head of messy hair, sleep still clinging to his face, and traces of sleep in his eyes, Qin Wei’s gaze flashed with a trace of disdain.

“I heard a lot of noise next door. I’m worried something’s happened to Xiaowan. Why don’t we go and see?”

Ji Dong’s face stiffened, his tone sour as he replied, “What could happen to her? Someone like her… it’d be good if something did.” The last words were muttered, but with Qin Wei standing right there, she caught them easily, and a flicker of delight appeared in her eyes.

“Don’t say that. Xiaowan just has some misunderstandings about us. When there’s a good opportunity, we can explain everything, and she’ll understand.” As she spoke, Qin Wei added a few words in his favor, coaxing him until he was utterly lost.

Taking advantage of the moment, she suggested again that they go out and have a look. This time, Ji Dong was less reluctant.

Satisfied, Qin Wei deepened her smile. Just as she was about to head out with Ji Dong, she found herself confronted by a pair of jealous eyes.

Her steps faltered, and the smile at the corners of her lips stiffened for a moment before she composed herself.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Dong noticed her pause and asked curiously. Circling around, he saw the girl standing at the door to the nearby bedroom.

It was Wu Xiaofei, the owner of the apartment. She had a soft spot for Ji Dong; otherwise, she would never have allowed seven of them to stay. She had even given up the master bedroom for Ji Dong and ended up sharing a room with none other than her rival, Qin Wei.

From the first meeting, Wu Xiaofei had seen through Qin Wei’s act. But Ji Dong treated Qin Wei differently, completely under her spell, and that made Wu Xiaofei burn with jealousy.

On her way back from the bathroom, Wu Xiaofei noticed Qin Wei was absent and immediately guessed she must have gone to find Ji Dong. Sure enough, as she stepped out, she saw the two of them about to leave together, and her eyes instantly filled with envy.

“Brother Ji Dong, where are you two going?” Wu Xiaofei forced a smile, suppressing the urge to tear Qin Wei’s hair out.

Ji Dong frowned in annoyance at the sight of her. He didn’t want to answer, but Qin Wei tugged at his sleeve—a reminder that this was Wu Xiaofei’s home and he ought to show some courtesy.

So he softened his expression. “Just going to have a look outside. There was quite a commotion just now, and since we have friends living next door, we want to see if something happened.”

Hearing this, Wu Xiaofei’s mood improved somewhat, though she had seen Qin Wei’s little gesture and was still seething inside. Determined not to give the pair any time alone, she insisted on joining them.

Ji Dong didn’t care whether there was one more or one less. He hadn’t wanted to go in the first place, but since Qin Wei was so insistent, he went along.

So, from two it became three, and they left together. Their delay meant they crossed paths with Wei Qu in the hallway.

Arriving at the corridor, they saw that Lin Buwan’s door, as well as her neighbor’s, were wide open.

All three were momentarily stunned, but Qin Wei quickly recovered, her eyes gleaming.

She hurried forward to the entrance of Lin Buwan’s apartment. Seeing the chaos inside, her heart skipped a beat as she rushed in, searching anxiously left and right.

“What’s going on?” Ji Dong followed close behind. Seeing the state of the place, he couldn’t help but frown. He wasn’t foolish enough to think Lin Buwan would ransack her own home. Clearly, someone had broken in and turned the place upside down.

The realization made his heart clench.

“Lin Buwan?” he called out loudly. The echo lingered in the empty rooms, but no answer came.

His expression grew even darker.

Qin Wei, unconcerned, began rummaging through cabinets and drawers, hoping to get lucky and find Lin Buwan’s space pendant.

But the result was predictable—something so important would never be left behind. Even if it had been, in these circumstances, it would have been the first thing taken.

Biting her lip, Qin Wei lingered by Lin Buwan’s bed, wondering whether the pendant had been taken by someone else or was still with Lin Buwan. If it was still with her, perhaps there was a way to get it. If someone else had taken it, then who?

She had thought acquiring the pendant would be easy; she hadn’t expected things to spiral out of control.

As the prospect of obtaining the pendant grew dimmer, Qin Wei’s anxiety mounted.

Just then, Ji Dong entered the bedroom. Seeing Qin Wei standing motionless at Lin Buwan’s bedside, he asked in confusion, “Weiwei, what are you doing here?”

“What business is it of yours?”