Chapter 100: No Crime in Eavesdropping

Back at the apartment rented by Qinglang, Ye Feng opened the door and found the atmosphere in the room somewhat off. Usually, the apartment should have been lively, as Qinglang and his accomplices were a natural trio of clowns. But this time, the room was eerily quiet. What surprised Ye Feng and Long Tian even more was that everything in the room was neatly arranged. Although the furniture remained the same, they exchanged glances and both thought the place might have been sublet to someone else.

Ye Feng stopped Long Tian and the others at the door. “Qinglang! Xiao Liuzi!”
At that moment, movement came from inside the room. It was Xiao Liuzi, who seemed to have just woken up.
“Mr. Ye, Brother Long, you’re back!” Xiao Liuzi rubbed his eyes, confirming that what he saw wasn’t a hallucination, before exclaiming in delight.
“Xiao Liuzi, what happened? Why is it so quiet today?” Only after seeing Xiao Liuzi did Ye Feng and the others realize the place hadn’t been sublet.
“Shh!” Xiao Liuzi seemed to remember something suddenly and gestured for them to be quiet.
“What are you doing? Just tell us what’s going on—don’t act mysterious!” Long Tian frowned.
“It’s… Sister Zhenzhu…” Xiao Liuzi covered his mouth and pointed toward Zhenzhu’s room.
Only then did Ye Feng and Long Tian recall that Yuwen Zhuo had given Zheng Ze three days. Given Zhenzhu’s reaction, it must be related to Zheng Ze.
“Brother Long, go greet them first! I’ll go take a look,” Ye Feng said to Long Tian.
Long Tian nodded and turned to the three women behind him, “This is where we live now. It’s tidy, right…”
Ye Feng pulled Xiao Liuzi aside. “What exactly happened?”
“When those three days were up, Sister Zhenzhu left with Old Mr. Zheng. When she returned, she was alone. From that day on, she locked herself in her room, refusing to speak or eat or drink—just like that for two days. Later, the boss kicked down the door and brought in food and drink.”
“On the third day, the boss went in to clean up and found that nothing had been touched. He said something to her, then brought in more food, and she ate a little.”

“Starting from the fourth day, she would come out once every afternoon. Every day, she would eat with us in silence, wash the dishes, then tidy up the whole house—sweeping, mopping, cleaning the windows… After that, she would go back to her room.” It was only at this point that Ye Feng understood why the place, which used to be like a dog den, had suddenly become tidy.

“I get it!” Ye Feng nodded. It seemed Pearl’s reaction wasn’t as bad as he had thought.

Knocking on Pearl’s door, Ye Feng whispered at the door, “Pearl, it’s Ye Feng. I’m coming in!”

Seeing no movement inside, Ye Feng turned the doorknob and entered.

He scanned the room and finally saw a head appear on the other side of the bed.

He walked over slowly and saw Pearl sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, her back against the bed, her head buried low as she stared at the ground in a daze.

Her face was pale, and her eyes lacked focus. When she saw a pair of black leather shoes in her line of sight, she raised her head to glance at the owner of those shoes before lowering it again.

Ye Feng sat down on the floor beside Pearl. “I was an orphan since I was young. I’ve never met my parents; I don’t even know what they look like, nor do I know why they abandoned me. I didn’t even have anything to identify my identity. As a child, I hated them for abandoning me and hated the unfairness of fate. I didn’t understand why fate had to arrange things this way. It was so enviable to see other children acting affectionately toward their parents. But as I grew up, my views changed. Which parent doesn’t love their child? They must have had no choice but to leave me. If they didn’t come back for me, maybe they’re no longer alive! At least you’ve seen your father and know what he looks like; you still have a memory of him in your heart…”

“I’ve also seen my mother…” Pearl slowly raised her head and added.

“Then what do you have to regret? For those two, it’s a relief after all these years of suffering. Now they have such a beautiful daughter—they have no regrets left…” Ye Feng smiled. “My regret might last a lifetime!”

“What I can’t understand is why, just after getting news from my parents, I had to watch my father die right in front of me, with my mother reduced to a corpse… I’d rather never see them again as long as they’re safe and well…” Pearl’s tears streamed down her cheeks like beads falling from a broken string…
“It’s okay to cry!” Ye Feng didn’t know what to do as Pearl’s tears kept flowing.
Pearl rushed into Ye Feng’s arms, burying her face in his chest and sobbing softly. After hesitating for a moment, Ye Feng finally reached out and hugged her, gently patting her back.
At Pearl’s door, a group of men and women were hiding and eavesdropping.
At that moment, there was a sound of the door opening. When the door swung wide, a rough voice came from outside, “Xiao Liuzi, come and help me quickly! I’m exhausted!”
Qing Lang and Da Sha stood at the door, both carrying heavy bundles.
“Hey, Brother Long, you guys are back! What are you doing?” Qing Lang then saw Xiao Liuzi, Long Tian, and three stunningly beautiful women standing at Pearl’s door, unsure what they were up to. He quickly greeted Long Tian.
Long Tian and the others immediately stepped back, pretending nothing had happened, and wandered near the door. “We’re just taking a walk…” they said.
Xiao Liuzi ran over to Qing Lang and took the bundles from his right hand.
Qing Lang then realized one person was missing. “Brother Long, where’s Mr. Ye? Didn’t he come back with you?”
“He’s in the room!” Long Tian pointed to Pearl’s room.
“Oh.” Hearing this, Qing Lang rushed over, only to get a sharp slap on the head from Long Tian.
“What are you doing? Instead of doing the right thing, you learn to eavesdrop?” Long Tian scolded him sternly.
“But just now…” Qing Lang felt extremely aggrieved. He had clearly seen Long Tian and the others eavesdropping earlier, yet now he was being scolded for doing the same.
“Dare you talk back!” Long Tian slapped him again.
Qing Lang quickly covered his mouth and ran away. He knew that arguing with Brother Long was pointless, so he simply fled quietly…