Winter in the capital was dry, cold, and miserable. After dark, the strong gusts of wind swept up sand and dust, seemingly swallowing something silently.

Fu Sinian left Yunjin Prime Manor and went straight to the old residence for no other reason than to continue the blind dates.

Old Madam Fu was in a bad mood today and had arranged four blind dates for him in one go. She had even said directly that he wasn’t allowed to stand the other parties up.

Fu Sinian didn’t like blind dates, but he was getting on in years. With his family urging him, he would go through the formalities to reassure the elders. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get half a day of peace at all.

When he returned to his condo, he didn’t go upstairs directly. He leaned against the car for a while before opening the car door to get a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out, held it in his hand, touched his pocket twice, and brought the lighter to his mouth.

The flame brightened the night sky, and half of his face became clearer. With the cigarette in his mouth, he leaned against the side of the car. His down jacket was wide open, and he casually unbuttoned his collar, looking lazy and a little rakish.

From his car’s appearance, it was apparent that he wasn’t as taciturn and cold as he looked on the surface.

Not far away, a car’s headlights flashed past. The car stopped on the other side of the underground garage, and two people got out, a man and a woman…

They were the couple who had moved in opposite him today.

The woman had a white down jacket hung onto the crook of her arm and was wearing a red knitted dress that softly hugged her body. She was still wearing a mask. Her wavy, seaweed-like long hair hung down, and when she casually brushed her hair, it was graceful and dazzling.

The man walked her to the elevator and watched her leave.

The two chatted very happily and seemed to have a good relationship.

Fu Sinian tilted his head and let out a puff of smoke. The two looked like a fitting couple. When he thought of the four blind dates tomorrow, he felt very uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it.

After finishing smoking, he went for a stroll around the neighborhood to get rid of the smell of hotpot and cigarettes on him before returning.

When he pushed open the door of the building, he saw that the person in the red dress was leaning against the window of the duty room, writing something with her head lowered.

Perhaps she had heard the noise, so she turned her head slightly to look at him. The red off-shoulder dress openly revealed her bare arms and her especially eye-catching collarbone.

Even though she was wearing a mask and her face couldn’t be seen clearly, her seductive eyes could easily steal people’s hearts.

“Mr. Fu, you’re back?” the community administrator greeted him with a smile.

“Yeah.” Fu Sinian nodded.

“I knocked on your door earlier, but you weren’t in. It’s time to collect the property management fees this year.” It was almost Lunar New Year, so the property management always tried to find a way to collect all the property fees before the year ended.

“How much…?”

Fu Sinian walked to the window, and the distance between the two of them instantly shortened. In close proximity, Fu Sinian saw that she was filling in a registration form.

“Four hundred twenty-five.” The community administrator took out a notebook and passed it to him. “You can scan the QR code to pay. After you’re done, sign this.”

When the two of them got closer, he could smell the faint scent of alcohol on her. He frowned slightly. He didn’t like women drinking.

Fu Sinian took out his phone and prepared to pay the property management fees.

“By the way, Miss Yu, Mr. Fu lives across from you. You’re both on the 16th floor.”

“Oh.” She lowered her head and continued filling in the form.

Fu Sinian moved quickly. He signed the notebook with a flourish and left. She glanced at his name and turned around to chase after him. The two entered the same elevator.

Strangely enough, there were only the two of them when the elevator reached the 16th floor.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fu Sinian looked at the person standing in the corner. She was leaning against the elevator, and her body was so soft that it seemed as though she couldn’t stand. Her graceful red dress swayed slightly, revealing her fair ankles as she flaunted them wantonly in front of him.

Perhaps because she had drunk alcohol, but the corners of her eyes were dyed with a dash of crimson. She looked up slightly and sized him up blatantly, her eyes shining brightly.

“Hi, my surname is Yu. I just moved in across from you today.” Even the words at the end of the woman’s speech carried a seductive note as she walked to his side and stretched out her hand to him.

Fu Sinian frowned as he looked at her hands. They were clean and fair, and her nails were covered in a layer of shiny polish. They were trimmed smoothly and beautifully.

He merely nodded in acknowledgment. Upon seeing him remain motionless, she retracted her hand sheepishly. But there was still a smile in the corner of her eyes.

She looked at him as though she was teasing him covertly.

When they reached the 16th floor, the two parted ways and returned to their own homes…

***

After returning, Fu Sinian turned on the lights, took off his coat, and prepared to take a shower when there was a knock on the door. He looked through the peephole and opened the door.

“Sorry, Mr. Fu. I forgot to give you the receipt.” The administrator smiled.

Fu Sinian reached out to take it.

“Just now, I heard that Miss Yu rented the condo for a year and paid a lot of money in one go. She’s only twenty-five years old, and she’s wearing famous name brand clothes from head to toe. When she moved in this morning, I saw a luxury car send her here. I heard from her landlord that she may be someone’s…” The administrator was a 50-year-old auntie who liked to gossip habitually.

Seeing that Fu Sinian lived opposite her, she couldn’t help saying a few more words.

There were all kinds of people in the capital, with the good and the bad mixing together. It was never an uncommon thing to keep mistresses. Miss Yu dressed flamboyantly, and this condo wasn’t cheap to rent either. Combined with the fact that someone of the opposite sex had followed her, it was inevitable that people would gossip about her.

“That man was also the one who helped her find this condo. He was busy all day. I heard that he wanted to buy the condo, but the landlord wouldn’t sell it.

“Men nowadays are really willing to spend money on a woman.”



Fu Sinian clutched the receipt tightly and closed the door behind him smoothly.

The administrator was dumbfounded. She had only said a few words. Did he have to slam the door?

His fingers tightened as he crushed the receipt and threw it straight into the trash can. He felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

***

Yunjin Prime Manor…

Song Fengwan would have another examination a few days later, but the university didn’t have an examination venue in the capital, so she would have to take a train out of town. The high-speed rail would also take half an hour. She was drawing in the studio when Fu Chen suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

“Why are you here?” Song Fengwan’s sleeves and clothes were inevitably stained with some watercolor.

“I lent the study to Huai Sheng,” Fu Chen said self-righteously.

Shen Jinye had to help tutor Huai Sheng, so he borrowed the study. Thus, Fu Chen had a valid reason to enter the studio.

The studio was already full of Song Fengwan’s belongings. She got up to make room for him, but Fu Chen reached out to grab her arm. Before Song Fengwan could cry out in alarm, her mouth was blocked.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she reached out to push him away. “Mmph—”

The two of them weren’t the only ones on the second floor, so Song Fengwan was scared.

“I already locked the door.” Fu Chen’s thin lips gently kissed the corner of her lips. “Close your eyes. Don’t be afraid.”

Song Fengwan was embarrassed. This person is really…

Fu Chen held her waist with one hand and the back of her head with the other as he deepened the kiss continuously. Even though he said that the door was locked, Song Fengwan was still a little worried and so nervous that she couldn’t control herself.

“What are you so nervous for? Open your mouth…”

Song Fengwan’s face flushed red. A certain someone easily parted her lips and teeth. The tip of her tongue was sucked into his mouth, and her body went limp.

***

Around 10 p.m., there was a knock on the studio door.

“Third Master…” It was Shi Fang’s voice.

If there were usually no urgent matters at this hour, Shi Fang and Qian Jiang wouldn’t come to the second floor at all. Fu Chen got up to open the door. “What’s the matter?”

“Sun Zhen is outside.” Shi Fang deliberately lowered his voice.

“Sun Zhen?” Fu Chen raised an eyebrow, as though he didn’t remember who this person was.

“The adopted son of the Sun family.”

“What is he doing here?”

“He said he wants to discuss a deal with you. It concerns Young Master Duan and Miss Song. He said that if you don’t meet him, you’ll regret it in the future.”

Fu Chen chuckled lightly. “Let him in.”

“What happened?” Song Fengwan packed her painting tools and planned to rest early.

“It’s nothing. I have something to take care of. Go wash up quickly after you’re done.” Then Fu Chen walked downstairs.

Sun Rui had actually come with Sun Zhen. Although she had just gone to the police station, the video had been taken around eight years ago. The police investigation also took time. The Sun family had used some connections to bail her out first.

This was still the first time Sun Rui came to Yunjin Prime Manor.

Holding her breath, she sized up the house with slight greediness. If it wasn’t because of that brat, I would have been the first woman to come here.

***

On the other side…

Inside Fu Sinian’s apartment…

He had just taken a shower. He turned on his computer and prepared to make a cup of coffee before working. During the day, the ruckus caused by his neighbor moving in had given him a headache, and it had finally stopped.

He sat down in front of his computer and casually flipped through the few recent unread emails. He picked up the cup of coffee, but before he could bring it to his mouth, he heard a scream from next door. His heart skipped a beat, and he nearly knocked the cup over.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Fu Sinian frowned. He didn’t want to open the door, but the person knocked for a long time, so he reluctantly went to open the door…

A drenched woman stood at his door. “I’m sorry. My water pipe burst…”