Knocking

Fu Nanzhi had only been to this place twice at most.

In her past life, this apartment had been quickly given up, and she had come once with Shen Yi to move some things back.

In reality, this was her first time stepping inside.

On the other hand, Shu Yunyi was in a far less pleasant mood.

‘That Cheng Jun really lied to me…’

She fumed silently in her heart.

Shen Yi really did live in this unit—last time, she had been misled by Cheng Jun. Now, it was clear how cunning she was.

Setting down his water glass, Shen Yi waved at the two women standing at the door.

“What are you standing there for? Come in and sit.”

“No need to change shoes—I don’t care about that here.”

His tone had softened considerably. After all, he had to give them a way to step back.

“It’s a small place, so bear with it.”

Shen Yi bent down to clear the clothes off the sofa, making space for them to sit.

This rented apartment had originally been meant for him alone, barely spanning thirty or forty square meters.

To save space, it didn’t even have a kitchen.

Hearing him finally speak, Fu Nanzhi and Shu Yunyi both felt slightly more at ease.

Stepping inside, they saw only a reclining beanbag chair and a long sofa to sit on.

The two women each took a seat at opposite ends, leaving a wide gap between them.

Truthfully, both had a lot they wanted to say, but with an "outsider" present, neither could speak freely.

So they each resolved to wait for a chance to talk privately.

Seeing them finally seated without arguing, Shen Yi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Being firm had its advantages—after all, they had lived with him for a lifetime in the past and knew his temperament well.

Shen Yi was, at his core, a gentle person who rarely lost his temper. But it was precisely because of that gentleness that his anger was all the more intimidating.

The room fell silent as Shen Yi took out two new cups, poured water, and set them in front of the women.

Then he turned, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Feeling better now?”

“It’s not convenient to rest here—I’ll take you both home later.”

The place was too small, with only one bed, making it impossible to accommodate multiple people.

Now that tempers had cooled and both women had calmed down, Shen Yi planned to send them back separately.

As for the idea of both women staying overnight—he didn’t dare entertain it. Even this current peace was only temporary.

Their lack of arguing didn’t mean they had accepted each other—it was just because Shen Yi was present.

He’d bet anything that the moment he left, they’d start fighting again.

When Shen Yi brought up the topic again, Fu Nanzhi stayed silent.

But Shu Yunyi, reminded of the matter with Cheng Jun, couldn’t suppress her frustration and jealousy.

“Inconvenient? But Cheng Jun was convenient enough, wasn’t she?”

At this, Fu Nanzhi finally broke her silence, turning her head in confusion.

“Cheng Jun?”

She didn’t understand why her cousin’s name had suddenly come up.

Shu Yunyi let out a cold laugh.

“You didn’t know?”

“That Cheng Jun lives right next door! And she even called herself his live-in girlfriend.”

“This has been going on for a long time.”

Shu Yunyi had long disliked Cheng Jun. Back when she had come looking for Shen Yi, Cheng Jun had infuriated her.

At the time, she had assumed Cheng Jun was an ex-girlfriend, and with the confidence of someone who had been reborn, she hadn’t cared.

But now things were different—she had no reason to cover for Cheng Jun.

“What?!”

Fu Nanzhi’s expression immediately shifted dramatically as she turned to Shen Yi for confirmation.

The moment Shu Yunyi spoke, Shen Yi had a sinking feeling. Now, under Fu Nanzhi’s piercing gaze, even he felt sweat trickling down his back.

But there was no avoiding the truth. He could only brace himself and nod.

“She did rent the place next door, but that was before.”

Neither Shen Yi nor Cheng Jun had ever mentioned to Fu Nanzhi that Cheng Jun lived right across from him.

Now, Fu Nanzhi was truly furious. Her face darkened as she pressed further.

“Before? How long before?”

Shen Yi thought for a moment before answering.

“Last month, she said she had a fight with her family and wanted to move out.”

“And… coincidentally, she ended up renting the place across from me.”

Fu Nanzhi scoffed.

“Coincidentally? What kind of coincidence is that?”

Shen Yi gave a bitter smile but didn’t argue. Of course, it wasn’t a coincidence—Cheng Jun had clearly used connections to track down his address and deliberately moved there.

He didn’t explain further. He couldn’t just say Cheng Jun had attached herself to him and it wasn’t his fault.

That would sound too scummy and irresponsible—better to say nothing at all.

Shu Yunyi, on the other hand, felt slightly better. Most of her resentment was directed at Shen Yi, and she was happy to see Fu Nanzhi giving him a hard time.

“So Cheng Jun is still living next door right now?”

When Shen Yi didn’t respond, Shu Yunyi wasn’t about to let Cheng Jun off the hook. She raised an eyebrow and continued.

“I… I’m not sure.”

“She moved back home days ago and hasn’t been back since.”

Cheng Jun’s whereabouts were unpredictable, and Shen Yi wasn’t entirely certain. All he knew was that after their last conversation, she hadn’t stayed at the apartment across from him.

“Hmph…”

Shu Yunyi didn’t believe a word of it. Determined to expose Cheng Jun’s true nature, she stood up abruptly.

“Then let’s go knock on her door and find out.”

“Wait—”

Shen Yi stiffened, realizing the situation was about to get much worse.

Things were already complicated enough—adding Cheng Jun into the mix might just cost him his life.

But he couldn’t outright stop Shu Yunyi without looking guilty.

Before he could think of a way to intervene, Fu Nanzhi spoke up.

“Hold on…”

Shen Yi’s heart lifted slightly—at least Fu Nanzhi still had some sense of reason. Knocking on someone’s door in the middle of the night wasn’t appropriate.

But his relief was short-lived.

Fu Nanzhi turned to him and asked,

“Does Cheng Jun… know about your situation?”

“About the ‘dream’ explanation…”

Cheng Jun did know—in fact, she had been the first to figure it out.

So Shen Yi answered truthfully.

“She knows.”

“?”

“She knew before we did?!”

“If we hadn’t run into each other today, how long were you planning to keep this from me?!”

Shen Yi’s response set off another explosion in the tiny apartment.

Fu Nanzhi and Shu Yunyi fired questions at him one after another.

Sensing the tension rising again, Shen Yi quickly raised his hands in defense.

“Cheng Jun is too sharp—I didn’t tell her.”

“She figured it out on her own…”

Cheng Jun’s situation was different from theirs. Though their history was shorter, her suffering had been prolonged, and she had endured no small amount of emotional turmoil. Shen Yi carried a fair share of guilt toward her.

“Hmph…”

Fu Nanzhi let out a cold snort, neither believing nor disbelieving him. But she stood up from the sofa.

After everything that had happened, her once-favorable impression of her dear cousin Cheng Jun had been shattered.

Pretending not to know him in public while secretly meeting him behind her back—how could Fu Nanzhi not be furious at such underhanded behavior?

She couldn’t resist the urge to expose Cheng Jun’s true face.

For once, Shu Yunyi found herself on the same side as Fu Nanzhi. She quickly stood as well, following her to the door.

Shen Yi had no choice but to follow behind, watching helplessly as Fu Nanzhi and the others crossed over to the opposite side.

He couldn’t intervene to stop them, so he could only pray that Cheng Jun hadn’t lied—that the person was indeed still staying at home.

Fu Nanzhi and Shu Yunyi approached Cheng Jun’s door one after the other.

Fu Nanzhi reached out and knocked several times on the door.

Thud, thud, thud...