Chapter 25: Caught in the Act

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Wei snapped back to her senses, realizing she had carelessly revealed her true feelings. Turning to see Ji Dong, still stunned, she took a deep breath, forcing down her irritation and displeasure, and managed to squeeze out a smile.

"I'm sorry, Ji Dong. I was just a little worried about Xiao Wan, so I..."

Ji Dong recovered himself and accepted her barely plausible excuse. He glanced around at the equally chaotic bedroom, ravaged as if a storm had swept through, and felt a weight settle in his heart.

"Maybe she left," he said, recalling the man he'd seen with Lin Buwan earlier, who seemed to live on this floor as well. One of the doors next door was open, but the other was tightly shut—clearly, someone was inside. The thought of Lin Buwan alone with another man filled him with a suffocating frustration.

If he could think of it, so could Qin Wei. Realizing the possibility, hope sparked again in her eyes. "Could Xiao Wan be next door?" Without waiting for Ji Dong's reply, she turned and hurried out, heading straight for Wei Qu's apartment and knocking firmly on the door.

At the sound, Black Bean leapt up from the floor, barking loudly at the entrance. At once, Hua Xiao and the others tensed, gripping their scavenged weapons and staring warily at the door being knocked.

Only when they heard Qin Wei's voice outside—"Xiao Wan? Are you in there?"—did Hua Xiao lower her rolling pin in exasperation, signaling to Yu Su not to worry and to carry on as before. That two-faced woman caring for someone else? She must have some ulterior motive.

With Qin Wei present, Ji Dong was surely there too. Just thinking about those two made Hua Xiao sick to her stomach, so she simply ignored their knocking and questioning.

After quieting the wary Black Bean, Hua Xiao figured that without any reply, Qin Wei would soon leave. But she didn't understand just how much Qin Wei cared about the jade pendant. After nearly ten minutes of unanswered knocking, Qin Wei began to consider breaking in.

"Vivi, maybe no one's home. Let's stop and go back," Ji Dong said, confused by how out-of-character Qin Wei's concern for Lin Buwan seemed.

He watched as Qin Wei continued to call out, but apart from the initial barking, there was no sound from within. He was sure Lin Buwan simply didn't want to deal with them. Stubbornly, he no longer cared what happened to her and just wanted to pull Qin Wei away.

Wu Xiaofei stood by, arms crossed, watching Qin Wei pound on the door. Though she didn’t know what motivated her persistence, she was certain that this scheming woman was not up early without a reason; Lin Buwan must have something Qin Wei wanted.

"How can you be like this, Ji Dong? Given what's happened at Xiao Wan's home, it's obvious something bad occurred. She needs our concern now more than ever. She might even be hurt! If we ignore her and something happens, how could we live with ourselves?" Qin Wei's words moved Ji Dong.

Wu Xiaofei rolled her eyes so hard it was nearly audible, studying Qin Wei's cold indifference. But Ji Dong, blind as ever, was shaken by her speech, his gaze growing even gentler toward her.

"But if she won’t open the door, there’s nothing we can do," he admitted, unable to fault Qin Wei's logic but helpless before the locked door.

"Why don't we just force it open?" Qin Wei suggested softly, biting her lip.

Inside, Wei Qu, whose door was once again about to be pried open, hurried along in a kayak under Lin Buwan's lead, making their way as fast as possible toward the apartment building.

As soon as they docked, Lin Buwan couldn't wait to disembark. Ruan Yi was still unconscious, and Lin Buwan was anxious to check her home—and settle accounts with that scum Ji Dong, whom she now found even more intolerable than Ruan Yi.

"I'll carry her upstairs," Wei Qu said with a sigh, glancing at the group. He didn’t want to get involved, but with their apartment on the twentieth floor and Xu Yu being older and lacking the stamina to carry Ruan Yi up, he couldn’t just leave her behind.

With no better option, Wei Qu hefted Ruan Yi onto his back. Since Lin Buwan had accepted his gold bar, she felt obliged not to leave him behind. Fortunately, Wei Qu was more than capable—carrying Ruan Yi, he didn’t slow down at all on the stairs.

By the time they reached the twentieth floor, they were greeted by the sounds of barking and banging. Before Lin Buwan could react, Daodao darted ahead, quickly adding his own barking and a woman’s scream to the chaos.

The voice was familiar—Qin Wei. Lin Buwan’s anger flared instantly.

She burst through the stairwell door to see Ji Dong and Qin Wei standing in front of Wei Qu’s apartment. Ji Dong, holding a kitchen knife, was trying to break the lock.

Her suspicions were confirmed, but catching them in the act was even more infuriating.

"You shameless pair! Have you lost your minds?" Lin Buwan shouted, rushing forward and kicking Ji Dong so hard the knife flew from his hand.

She shrugged off her backpack and, swinging the bulging bag, slammed it at them.

"Wait, Xiao Wan, you’ve misunderstood," Qin Wei started, shielded by Ji Dong and quick to explain.

But Lin Buwan wouldn’t hear a word, shouting, "You wretch! Stealing is second nature to you—if you want to fool around, fine, but you dare steal my family’s supplies? Are you just too comfortable and looking for trouble?"

Ji Dong took several blows, pain shooting through his back, his face contorted. Seizing his chance, he blocked with his arm and grabbed the backpack’s strap, stopping Lin Buwan’s assault.

The backpack was heavy with supplies, and Lin Buwan was already tiring. With Ji Dong’s superior strength, he quickly gained the upper hand.

"Lin Buwan, have you gone mad?" Ji Dong yelled as she paused. "If Vivi hadn't been worried about you, we wouldn't have tried your door! Instead of being grateful, you spew slander—you're completely unreasonable!"

Lin Buwan sneered, "Why are you barking? My home is in ruins thanks to you. You stole my supplies—what, now you want to play the hero?"

Ji Dong was completely bewildered. How was this his fault for being concerned?

But while he was at a loss, Qin Wei was perfectly clear. She recognized the misunderstanding: Lin Buwan thought they had broken in and stolen her supplies.

Yet she had no interest in explaining, for the turn of events had confirmed her worst fear. Someone had targeted Lin Buwan’s home and robbed it; the jade pendant might have been taken as well.

The thought made Qin Wei's vision swim with black spots.

She pulled Ji Dong back from arguing, stared wide-eyed at Lin Buwan, and asked, "Xiao Wan, did you leave the jade pendant at home before?"