After finishing her meal and washing up, Xu Yinsheng lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
At the same time, in another room, Zhao Yicheng brewed himself a cup of coffee and slowly replayed the home videos.
Every night, more or less, he would squeeze out some time to watch Xu Yinsheng’s daily life.
Sometimes, Zhao Yicheng even fantasized: if only Xu Yinsheng could put aside her prejudices, fall in love with him, be with him, and marry him.
These videos would serve as proof of their “honeymoon” period.
Imagine, ten, twenty, forty years from now, as the sun sets, the two of them walking hand in hand, watching these youthful “love” videos at dusk—wouldn’t that be a special kind of joy?
Although, given the current situation, the chance of Xu Yinsheng falling for him was about as likely as the sea cucumber team making it into the World Cup.
But men, after all, can’t help but fantasize.
Sometimes, when lost deep in thought, a faint smile would unknowingly tug at the corner of Zhao Yicheng’s lips.
Returning to reality, Zhao Yicheng manipulated the mouse, scrolling through countless dynamic scenes that filled his deep, contemplative eyes.
Xu Yinsheng’s recent daily routine was extremely disciplined: waking up at 8:30 a.m., half an hour to wash and eat breakfast, starting her workout at 9 a.m., finishing at 11 a.m., half an hour for lunch, then sleeping from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., continuing her workout until 6 p.m., followed by dinner and washing up, and then going to bed at 7 p.m., repeating the same schedule the next day.
A very regimented lifestyle.
Yet, Zhao Yicheng frowned unusually.
This kind of routine might appear in a bodybuilder’s home, or a professional athlete’s, or a self-disciplined person’s—but never in Xu Yinsheng’s room.
He knew her too well.
Xu Yinsheng would absolutely never be so disciplined.
Setting down his coffee, Zhao Yicheng lightly tapped the table with his fingers, producing a crisp sound.
The pale light cast an eerie glow over his face.
He looked toward the sleeping figure on the monitor and murmured, “Are you trying to run away again, Xiao Yin? What do I have to do to make you give up completely?”
“Hopefully, I’m just overthinking…”
A helpless sigh followed by a deathly silence, with only the croaking of frogs from the pond outside responding.
Meanwhile, in a dimension Zhao Yicheng couldn’t perceive, a verdant, translucent figure silently floated beside him, her beautiful eyes burning with anger.
“Run away, run away, my foot!”
“You damn bastard!”
“You’re trying to make me into someone no one dares mess with again!”
Xu Yinsheng grit her teeth hard.
She lifted her fair, jade-like foot and fiercely stomped toward Zhao Yicheng’s face—but her foot passed right through him, as if he were a phantom.
Seeing she couldn’t touch him, Xu Yinsheng floated onto the table, making a few silly faces directly at Zhao Yicheng.
Though ineffective, it still eased her frustration.
After playing around for a while, she glanced at the wall clock and clapped her hands.
“No more playing.”
“Going shopping.”
With that, Xu Yinsheng silently slipped into the wall, effortlessly passing through the villa’s security measures, and appeared outside, flying toward the brightly lit city.
This was the power Xu Yinsheng recently mastered in her ever-changing Narcissus Fairy Form.
It allowed her Spirit Body to leave her physical form. In this independent mode, her Spirit Body couldn’t be observed, touched, or detected—in short, it was like the Sheep Charm in Jackie Chan Adventures, the soul leaving the body in fantasy novels, or the Divine Travel in cultivation stories.
Xu Yinsheng had given this ability a very poetic name—Mirror Flowers, Water Moon.
Flowers in the mirror, moon in the water—visible but unattainable.
This didn’t mean others found Xu Yinsheng untouchable, but rather that when she used “Mirror Flowers, Water Moon,” she could freely observe others but could not touch anyone or any part of the physical world.
Night had fallen, and the lights illuminated the sky over Tianlin City. On the roads, vehicles stretched like a dragon in motion.
At intersections, traffic lights alternated endlessly, as if playing a melody for the city’s night.
Xu Yinsheng landed on a large bridge spanning the river, crossing her long, slender legs as she sat atop the bridge, looking down at the endless flow of people and traffic below.
Couples in the throes of love strolled about, showing off their affection.
Elderly and frail street cleaners patrolled the bridge.
Street vendors heated oil and wiped down their tables…
After a while, Xu Yinsheng grew bored and flew off in another direction.
At midnight, the crescent moon hung high.
As a major inland mining metropolis, Tianlin was much quieter at night than during its bustling daytime.
But the city lights still sparkled like countless stars, representing humanity’s endless desires trying to ignite the dark, silent night sky.
An old van parked quietly at the entrance of a dark alley.
The driver was a young man in his early twenties, with a simple crew cut, dressed like a taxi driver, and with an honest, plain appearance.
The van just sat there, seemingly waiting for someone.
A shifty-looking thug with yellow-dyed hair and a slightly yellowed white T-shirt slipped out of the alley and approached the window, handing the young man an ordinary cigarette, lowering his voice.
“Did you bring the goods?”
“I did.”
The young man took the cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.
“Good. I’ll take you to meet them.”
The young man got out of the van, and the yellow-haired thug led the way.
The two walked one after the other toward the end of the alley.
“Goods?”
Xu Yinsheng happened to pass by.
Seeing the two enter a dilapidated hotel in the alley, she curiously peered into the van.
The van had clearly been modified, expanding its interior space, but what really caught Xu Yinsheng’s attention was the mountain of various medicines piled inside.
“Smuggling drugs?”
Xu Yinsheng muttered with a start.
“So many.”
Although she was a prodigal daughter and had barely scraped through university, she still understood basic knowledge.
Such a huge quantity of smuggled drugs, especially in the Huayuan Federation—a federal country that valued taxation—would be enough to send someone to the firing squad for two and a half hours.
“Forget it, none of my business. Time to watch a movie.”
With that, Xu Yinsheng flew toward a movie theater.
***
The next day, following her routine, Xu Yinsheng woke at 8:30 a.m.
Out of habit, she took a frozen sandwich from the fridge, ready to heat it up and settle for that, but bumped into Zhao Yicheng cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
“Not going to work?”
Xu Yinsheng set down the sandwich and chatted idly with him.
“It’s okay to be a little late.”
Zhao Yicheng ladled two bowls of rice porridge from the pot and paired it with fried dough sticks and salted eggs.
Thus, a simple, stomach-friendly breakfast was ready.
After breakfast, Xu Yinsheng changed into her tight workout clothes, ready to head to the gym, but Zhao Yicheng stopped her.
Just as she was about to speak, a key was tossed into her arms.
“What’s this?”
Xu Yinsheng picked up the silver key.
“The collar’s key.”
He then threw her a small box about the size of a matchbox.
Xu Yinsheng took it curiously and opened it. Inside lay several silver capsules.
“This is a product I got from a friend in the military—a micro capsule tracker. Non-toxic, harmless, won’t affect your diet, and will be excreted naturally within three months.”
Zhao Yicheng’s voice explained, and Xu Yinsheng examined the capsules, then looked at him.
“Sounds like high-tech. But you just don’t trust me, do you?”
“Just to be safe.”
“Well, then for safety’s sake, I choose not to take it.”
Xu Yinsheng set the silver capsules down, proudly showing off her scholarly ignorance.
“I’m afraid if these things stay in my stomach, they might leak electricity.”
“Fair enough.”
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yicheng didn’t force her but respected her choice.
He opened a drawer in the living room and took out a ring box.
Before Xu Yinsheng, he opened it, revealing a pale pink spherical gem the size of half an egg, embedded with two small sapphires for beauty and clearly valuable.
Zhao Yicheng held the box out to her, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“I had a friend custom-make the tracker. Since you don’t like the capsules, how about an embedded one?”
“I choose the capsules.”
She really shouldn’t pick a fight with such a bastard!
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