Chapter 26: Putting an End to the Green Tea Delusion

Lin Buwan paused, her gaze dark and profound as she looked at them. Seeing the genuine urgency in her eyes, she knew immediately that whoever had broken into their home was someone else. After all, if it had been Qin Wei and her companion, they would never have asked her such a question with that expression.

This was a perfect opportunity to shatter Qin Wei’s hopes. She feigned surprise, her face changing abruptly as she rushed inside, heading straight for the bedroom. At the bedside, she saw the nightstand rummaged through and its contents scattered across the floor, and she fell silent.

Damn it, rifling through a woman’s private belongings—may that pervert die a miserable death!

As expected, Qin Wei, who followed behind, misunderstood, the last glimmer of hope in her eyes fading to nothing. Lin Buwan caught sight of her shattered look as she turned around, secretly delighted.

“So, it wasn’t you who stole my supplies?” She shot a skeptical look at Qin Wei.

“Lin Buwan, I told you, if we said it wasn’t us, then it wasn’t us! This morning, Weiwei heard a noise and was worried something had happened to you, so she called me to come check. It was already like this when we arrived,” Ji Dong explained impatiently before Qin Wei could speak.

“Then why were you picking someone else’s lock?” Lin Buwan regarded him with a stern face.

Ji Dong hesitated, his expression stiffening. “We heard a dog barking inside and knocked, but no one answered. We thought something had happened to you, so we forced the door.”

That explanation was reasonable enough. Lin Buwan fell silent but didn’t look any friendlier.

She stalled Ji Dong and Qin Wei while Wei Qu simply unlocked the door with his key and let Xu Yu drag Ruan Yi inside.

When Wei Qu returned, Black Bean rushed over, nuzzling him excitedly, then trotted off with Dadao. The tension in Hua Xiao and the others finally eased completely at the sight of Wei Qu.

“Where’s Buwan?” Hua Xiao, not seeing Lin Buwan behind Wei Qu, tensed up again.

“She’s next door,” Wei Qu replied, hesitant, unsure how to explain Lin Buwan’s current behavior, so he simply told her where she was.

Hearing this, Hua Xiao immediately went out to find Lin Buwan, just in time to hear Ji Dong’s words, which made her furious.

“It’s easy to talk pretty, but who knows what little petty thieving you’re really up to,” she retorted sarcastically, firing off a few barbs before dashing over to Lin Buwan’s side.

“I moved everything usable next door. Let’s go see what’s missing.” With that, she pulled Lin Buwan away.

“Hey, Buwan…” Qin Wei came to herself and hurried to call after Lin Buwan, but all that answered her was a loud bang. Hua Xiao whisked Lin Buwan back into Wei Qu’s apartment and slammed the door, leaving the pair stranded outside.

After taking stock of the losses, Lin Buwan was deeply displeased. Even though she hadn’t kept much in the apartment, it was all painstakingly gathered bit by bit. Now, who knew which bastard had gotten it for free—she could hardly calm herself.

“If it wasn’t those two, then who could it have been?” Hua Xiao frowned, puzzled.

“There are plenty of people in this building. Anyone could have done it. Even if we question them one by one, they’ll never admit it,” Lin Buwan said, taking a deep breath to quell her anger.

“That’s true,” Wei Qu nodded, his composure so unruffled it drew glances. “If it was someone in the building, then for quite some time, we’ll actually be a lot safer.”

The group stared at him in surprise, silently asking what he meant.

“Now that everyone believes we’re out of supplies, there’s no reason for them to eye us anymore. When food runs out, we won’t be the first targets.”

Realization dawned on them.

“Good fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin, I suppose,” Yu Su said with a wry smile.

“But what if they know we have the inflatable raft and can go out to scavenge?” Hua Xiao wasn’t so optimistic.

Lin Buwan nodded in agreement, sharing her concern. After all, plenty of people must have noticed them leaving by raft in search of supplies—otherwise, no one would have taken advantage of their absence to break in. They might be safe for now, but once their supplies were exhausted, they’d be targeted again. Even if not for their food, others would covet their raft.

“When the time comes, we’ll deal with it. They’ve already been alerted, and we’ll be more careful. If they want the raft, does that mean we have to give it to them?” Wei Qu shrugged.

It wasn’t impossible to give it up, but only if those others had the ability to take it.

“That’s true,” Hua Xiao agreed. “We’re not lacking in supplies right now, but we are lacking in weapons.”

There were plenty of people in the building, and just their small group—if they had to face wave after wave of ill-intentioned people, they’d be hard-pressed to defend themselves empty-handed.

“Looks like next time we go out, we’ll need to find some weapons for self-defense,” Lin Buwan said, casting a glance at Hua Xiao, thinking that this last trip had indeed helped her grow a little.

On the 18th floor, apartment 1803.

“Boss, they’re back—and they brought three more people.” A burly man lounged on the sofa, milk tea in hand, while a slightly bowing man beside him reported the situation.

“Bringing new people back at a time like this? They must be more capable than we thought.” Xie Jun smiled ambiguously, tossing the milk tea onto the coffee table.

“Boss, should we…?” The man beside him made a gesture.

Xie Jun raised his hand. “There’s no point in doing anything yet. You have to fatten the sheep before you slaughter it.”

“Understood, boss.”

Once his subordinate left, Xie Jun gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the turbid, endless sea, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Unaware that the thief was right downstairs, Lin Buwan and her group made a simple meal to fill their stomachs.

During this, Ruan Yi woke up. Remembering what happened before she fainted, she couldn’t help but curse Lin Buwan loudly.

Lin Buwan ignored her entirely. In the end, it was Xu Yu who calmed Ruan Yi down. She sobbed for a while before finally quieting.

“Tomorrow, let’s send them all away, and look for some weapons to bring back for self-defense.” After eating, Lin Buwan discussed Yun Peng and the others’ future with Wei Qu.

“Fine, but not everyone can go out. Someone has to stay and watch the house.” Wei Qu glanced at the others not far away, then turned and lowered his voice, “I suspect there are outsiders in the building.”

Lin Buwan’s eyelid twitched. She looked up at him. “How do you know?”

“A feeling,” Wei Qu replied, frowning. He hadn’t thought much about it before, but now that he’d calmed down, it was obvious—the break-in was purposeful, and the way the lock was picked wasn’t something just anyone could manage.