You Make Me Afraid

Since the boss lady still hadn't made up with Yun Huaizhu, Li Wan figured that as an employee, she shouldn't meddle too much in her boss's private affairs. "No, it was precisely your arrival that day. It made me realize I couldn't just drift through life waiting to die, so I pulled myself together and seized an opportunity to work at a major corporation. I'm now a core member of their chip research and development team."

Lin Meng: "???"

All she'd done was hand Li Wan the materials she'd prepared and ask her to make a custom listening device. And Li Wan had actually found enlightenment in that?

Even so, when Lin Meng heard "major corporation" and "core member," she knew Li Wan must be doing well for herself.

Back then, watching Li Wan embed those listening devices so perfectly into the pair of earrings, she'd known Li Wan had talent. Even then, she'd thought that if Li Wan could just get out of that old district, her future would be limitless.

Lin Meng smiled wryly at the thought. "I never imagined my visit could change your life like that. Honestly, seeing you do well makes me really happy."

Li Wan knew the boss lady was kind-hearted.

After all, when most people saw someone who'd once been as lowly as an ant suddenly rise and keep improving their life, they'd feel at least a little uncomfortable. She believed the boss lady was genuinely happy for her.

And given that Yun Huaizhu was worth billions, the boss lady probably wasn't short on money either.

A flicker of shame went through Li Wan for flattering herself earlier, but soon she began subtly trying to reconcile Yun Huaizhu and the boss lady. "Um... Lin, may I call you Miss Lin?"

Lin Meng frowned slightly at that.

She suddenly sensed something was off. What Li Wan had just said was strange, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why. "Sure."

Li Wan quickly continued, "Miss Lin, there's a saying—no couple carries a grudge overnight; quarrels at the head of the bed are made up at the foot. No matter how much you mind what your wife did, you can't do the same hurtful thing back to her. I can tell you both love each other very much."

Lin Meng was completely baffled by this.

The last time she'd used the excuse that "my wife cheated" to commission a listening device from Li Wan, Li Wan had agreed that her "wife" cheating was wrong. But Li Wan had never met the fictional wife she'd invented—so how did she know Lin Meng had wronged her "wife"?

Lin Meng didn't know what to say.

Seeing her frozen, Li Wan hurried on, "Boss lady—oh no, Miss Lin, please don't misunderstand. I genuinely hope you and your wife can make up. You both seem to love each other, and since love is the foundation, whatever you both did before can cancel out. As long as you forgive each other, life can go on just fine. Isn't being together better than anything?"

The more Lin Meng heard, the dizzier she got; she had no idea what Li Wan was talking about.

After all, the cheating excuse had only been something she'd invented on the spot to brush Li Wan off. She hadn't expected the woman to build an entire drama around it.

Lin Meng sighed and laughed softly. "You do have a point. I'll think about it carefully."

And just like that, the two of them—talking completely past each other—somehow ended up on the same wavelength.

Li Wan was so excited that she immediately stood up, looking at Lin Meng with a fond smile. "I'm glad you've come around. As long as your marriage is happy, I can rest easy. Everything I have today is because of you. I happen to know a bit about jewelry-making—could I craft a handmade piece for you? I can't think of any other way to repay you."

Lin Meng was touched by Li Wan's sudden enthusiasm, but she quickly shook her head. "I don't think I really did anything for you. You don't need to be so formal."

Li Wan shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no. You truly are my greatest benefactor in life. If not for you, I wouldn't have the life I have now—much less accomplish my life's goals. If I don't give you something as thanks, I'll never be at peace!"

Lin Meng was stunned. She stammered, "Is... is it really that serious?"

Li Wan nodded emphatically. "It is!"

Lin Meng could only relent. "If it'll make you feel better, then go ahead... but I can't accept anything too expensive."

Li Wan's eyes lit up when Lin Meng agreed. "Don't worry. With what I can afford, I couldn't buy anything too expensive anyway. It's just a small token of my feelings—as long as you don't mind."

Lin Meng smiled at her. "Of course I won't mind."

Seeing Lin Meng's smile, Li Wan felt as if her very soul had been healed.

The two of them sat in the noodle shop a while longer, then waved goodbye and headed home.

But when Lin Meng got on the subway back and opened her phone, scrolling down to Li Wan's contact buried at the bottom of her list, an inexplicable chill crept into her heart—her WeChat name wasn't her real name. The only reason she knew Li Wan's name was that she'd seen the real-name verification under the contact info Li Wan had shown her that day.

After adding Li Wan, she'd never sent a single message. So how did Li Wan know her surname was Lin?

And from the way Li Wan acted, she seemed to know her full name, too.

Goosebumps rose on Lin Meng's arms; the hairs stood on end.

If that was true, she needed to reconsider everything Li Wan had said in the noodle shop. Could Li Wan know someone close to her and believe that person was the "wife" Lin Meng had casually invented?

Lin Meng's mind spun for a moment, but fortunately, this time she didn't miss her stop.

When she got home, she once again felt something was different from when she'd left that morning, though the furniture and her belongings hadn't moved.

After the fright she'd had today, Lin Meng was acutely sensitive. She quickly checked every corner of the apartment and inspected the valuables she'd hidden away.

Nothing was missing.

Her door had a keypad lock. No one but her knew the code; she'd never told a soul. If someone wanted in, there were only two ways—force the lock or know the code.

Lin Meng examined the keypad carefully. The previous tenant had used it too, but she'd changed the code as soon as she moved in. Apart from some old grayish smudges, there was no sign of forced entry.

Maybe she was just being paranoid today.

Just as Lin Meng was about to go inside to shower and get ready for bed, the door next to hers suddenly opened. "Mengmeng, where did you go? Why are you back so late?"

Wariness flickered in Lin Meng's heart, but when she remembered that Tang Xiaoman lived next door, she gradually relaxed. She turned and saw Tang Xiaoman's head poking out. "Oh, I accidentally missed my stop on the subway today, and then I got hungry, so I ate before coming back."

Tang Xiaoman frowned. "But I heard noises from your door around six. I thought you'd come back then."

At the time, Tang Xiaoman had wanted to ask if Lin Meng had eaten. If she hadn't, she'd planned to invite her out for a meal. But no matter how she knocked, no one answered.

Tang Xiaoman thought about it and said, "It was probably just someone passing by. I must have misheard. Anyway, you should get some rest too. Goodnight!"

With that, she closed her door.

But in the shadows where no one could see, Lin Meng's face slowly drained of color.

......

On Saturday, Huo Yi put on a brown-gray plaid Bvlgari dress that she considered relatively low-key, then carefully chose a Vacheron Constantin watch that looked youthful and simple for her wrist.

She rarely spent so much time on her appearance before, because she knew that naturally beautiful people didn't need to waste time on makeup and clothes.

But this time, she changed outfits in front of the mirror for a full hour, even doing her makeup in the pure, green-tea-girl style she thought Lin Meng would like.

Since Lin Meng had said to meet at the café at nine-thirty, she got up at five-thirty in the morning to start getting ready. With breakfast, it was nearly eight-thirty by the time she left the house.

Huo Yi didn't want to keep Lin Meng waiting, so she decided to arrive an hour early.

Saturday traffic wasn't as bad as it was on weekdays, but she still spent some time on the road. By the time she reached the café on the edge of the Third Ring, it was already nine.

She and Lin Meng had agreed on nine-thirty. Arriving at nine, she should be earlier than Lin Meng no matter what, right?

But when she walked to the spot where they were supposed to meet, she found Lin Meng already waiting there.

Huo Yi was stunned. A flicker of surprise crossed her face. She walked over and sat down across from Lin Meng. "Mengmeng, we agreed on nine-thirty. Why are you here so early?"

Lin Meng had been distracted since earlier. She only came back to herself when she heard Huo Yi's voice. She looked up weakly. "Oh, morning... It's a habit of mine. When I meet people, I like to arrive half an hour early."

Huo Yi was taken aback.

She glanced incredulously at her watch. It had just passed nine. Then she looked at Lin Meng's somewhat haggard, pale face. "Mengmeng, I didn't make you wait too long, did I?"

Lin Meng shook her head gently. "No, you're early too."

Huo Yi: "......"

If she hadn't left early today specifically to get here before Lin Meng, wouldn't Lin Meng have waited even longer?

And what was wrong with Lin Meng? Why did she look so unwell?

Huo Yi noticed Lin Meng's eyes seemed unable to stay open, with faint dark circles beneath them. She clearly hadn't been sleeping well.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Lin Meng lowered her head at the question. "No."

She did have something going on... Ever since she'd heard what Tang Xiaoman said a few days ago, she'd been extremely nervous. She feared someone with ill intentions had set their sights on her. The fact that no one in the building had spotted this person meant they weren't ordinary.

The more she thought, the more frightened she became, so she'd taken to sleeping with the TV and lights on.

But the lights were too bright, and it was hard to fall asleep with them on, so she hadn't rested well all week.

Although her current apartment was infinitely better than her old one, the downside was that the hallway had no surveillance cameras. Many residents had installed their own cameras at their doors. She'd only just moved in, so she'd never thought about installing one.

Seeing her troubled expression, Huo Yi reached out and placed her hand over Lin Meng's cold one. Perhaps Lin Meng's hand was too cold, because when Huo Yi's warm hand covered hers and slowly tightened its grip, she suddenly felt a tingling warmth from the heat.

Though Huo Yi had made such an intimate gesture, her face—made up in a captivating, seductive fox-spirit style—wore a worried expression. "You really don't look well. If something has happened, you can tell me. As long as it's within my power, I'll help you."

A glimmer of light flashed through Lin Meng's uneasy eyes, and her heart gradually steadied.

She'd considered asking Yun Huaizhu to stay with her for a few nights, but Yun Huaizhu was already troubled by so many messy things. She couldn't bother her with something so trivial.

Since Huo Yi had offered, she really was tempted to ask Huo Yi to stay with her for a few days.

If this was all just her being paranoid, fine. But if there really was a stranger coming into her home every day without her knowledge—even lying on her bed, her sofa... Just thinking about it made her want to break down.

Still, she hadn't asked Huo Yi to come today for that reason.

Having said all that, Lin Meng looked up and met Huo Yi's incredibly beautiful, seductive fox eyes. "Yiyi, our company recently got a new director named Tan Xiangwei. Do you know her?"

Huo Yi's expression nearly cracked when she heard this.

Her momentary hesitation told Lin Meng everything. She slowly pulled her hand out of Huo Yi's.

Seeing this, Huo Yi felt there was no point in denying it. If she pretended not to know Tan Xiangwei, Lin Meng would surely think she was deeply scheming and never trust her again.

When Huo Yi fell silent, Lin Meng continued, "Last month I took a week off, but my salary was paid as if I had perfect attendance. I checked with every department, and they all said there was no mistake. From what my team leader said, I guessed it might be related to the director, and later someone told me you have a cousin named Tan Xiangwei."

Huo Yi's expression gradually turned guilty.

In the past, her relationships had all been transactional. Even when she did something wrong, she wouldn't show this kind of expression. After all, business involved risk—losing money wasn't her fault.

But with Lin Meng, she couldn't remain as calm and composed as before.

Perhaps she had reasons to be composed in front of others, but in front of someone as innocent as Lin Meng, there was really no need to pretend.

Lin Meng continued, "Yiyi, I genuinely consider you a friend. I know you did this to be good to me, but I don't think it's necessary. If you really do this, it's unfair to the other people at the company..."

Shame showed on Huo Yi's face. She lowered her head first in apology. "Yes... Tan Xiangwei is indeed my cousin. I thought you worked so hard every day, so I wanted to make things easier for you. I happened to have had dealings with your company, so I asked my cousin to become the director there. But don't worry, your company won't suffer a drop in performance just because of some reduced hours..."

Lin Meng's expression gradually turned serious.

Did that mean Huo Yi had signed contracts with the company just for her sake?

This was absurd.

Lin Meng continued, "But this makes me feel scared. I'm just an ordinary office worker, earning my own salary every month. Then one day you suddenly send someone over, like you're surveilling me."

Seeing the unprecedented seriousness on her face, Huo Yi hastily explained, "No! Mengmeng, you misunderstood. I never wanted to surveil you. I just wanted to hear about you at all times."

Surveillance, in her telling, became good intentions.

But Lin Meng truly couldn't accept such good intentions. She shook her head desperately. "I know you're people of high status, very wealthy. I know you want to be good to me, but I hope the way you treat me isn't like this. If you keep this up, I think I really will resign from this company. Please don't be good to me like this—I really can't bear it..."

She nearly choked up as she said this.

Huo Yi's heart ached at her distress. "I'm sorry, Mengmeng. I'll have Xiangwei leave your company. I won't interfere in anything related to your work again. I'm sorry... I just care about you too much. I want to know what you're doing today, tomorrow. When you're tired, I wish I could share the burden with you, but I feel it would be too presumptuous, so I used this method to help you. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry..."

As she spoke, tears dripped down her cheeks.

Seeing this, Lin Meng didn't even have the energy to break down anymore.

Huo Yi hung her head and sobbed like a child who deeply regretted doing something wrong.

Though having her cousin enter Lin Meng's company to surveil her was frightening, Huo Yi's intentions were good—she simply wanted to be kind to someone. A young miss who lived above the clouds might not know that such methods made people uneasy.

Lin Meng, whether in that world or this one, had pitifully few friends.

She could feel that Huo Yi was sincere toward her, so she didn't want to break things off over this. If Huo Yi called Tan Xiangwei back, their relationship could return to what it was.

Besides, if she quit and changed jobs, she wasn't sure she could find another position with such good pay and benefits.

After a mental struggle, Lin Meng chose to let the matter go. "It's fine, as long as Yiyi doesn't do anything like this again."

She had always known Huo Yi was someone beyond her reach. Huo Yi treating her as a friend was only because Huo Yi still felt enthusiastic about her. But someone with Huo Yi's personality could never keep her eyes on just one person forever.

So when it came to Huo Yi, she wouldn't invest overly passionate emotions. Friend was already the limit of what she could reach with Huo Yi. And Huo Yi was also childhood friends with Su Yutang...

Just as she thought of this, that person she hadn't seen in so long flashed through her mind like a shooting star.

Su Yutang had only been somewhat harsh in her tone before, but she had never done anything to hurt Lin Meng. She suddenly remembered that week she'd spent with Su Yutang in that old rental apartment.

With the Eldest Miss Su so fierce, surely all demons and monsters would fear her.

If she were still here...

Lin Meng suddenly snapped back to herself and shook her head vigorously. She'd barely managed to pull herself free of everyone else's karmic entanglements—why was she thinking about that person again?

She and that person had no relationship anymore. Don't think about it!

Huo Yi nodded at Lin Meng's words and raised her hand to swear, "I swear I will never do such a thing again, or may lightning strike me—"

Lin Meng came back to herself after a moment. "No... no need to swear. I know you meant well. Thank you."

Only after Lin Meng stopped pursuing the matter did Huo Yi heave a heavy sigh of relief.

But now she was curious—who had told Lin Meng about Tan Xiangwei's identity?

No one at Lin Meng's company could have known Tan Xiangwei's real identity. The only person close to Lin Meng who could have told her was—

At this thought, Huo Yi's hand clenched into a fist beneath the table. She could really understand how Su Yutang must have felt back then.

How could that woman Yun Huaizhu be so despicable!

Seeing Lin Meng relax, Huo Yi began finding various topics to chat about. The fact that Lin Meng had come clean about her and Tan Xiangwei so quickly meant that whatever had kept Lin Meng tossing and turning, looking haggard these past days, definitely wasn't this.

Something else must be troubling Lin Meng.

Finally, through persistent coaxing and persuasion, Lin Meng—now gradually relaxed—revealed the strange things that had been happening at her home recently.

Huo Yi found it incredible too. Her brows gradually furrowed. "That is indeed strange. By the way, have you changed your passcode recently?"

Lin Meng shook her head gently. "Not yet."

Huo Yi propped her chin as if thinking. "Hmm... How about this: Mengmeng, change your passcode as soon as you get home. If it happens again in a few days, change it again. If it happens twice in a row, then I suspect the person entering your home might know you."

Lin Meng was startled that Huo Yi had deduced a "suspect" so quickly. "Wh... why do you say that?"

Huo Yi continued, "Because only someone close to you could guess what kind of passcode you'd set. Most people use their birthday, or the last digits of their phone number, bank card, or a special anniversary. If that person can guess even that, it means they know you very well... Otherwise, there's another possibility. Keypad locks easily retain fingerprints. If a stalker has targeted you, they just need to stick something like a hydrogel film over the input screen to get a print of the number you press most often. No guessing needed—it's easy to figure out your passcode."

Lin Meng: "???"

After hearing Huo Yi's analysis, Lin Meng felt her brain was about to crash. She said, still shaken, "But... I'm just an ordinary person, not a celebrity. Celebrities have sasaeng fans, so it makes sense someone would do that to them. But why would anyone do this to me? My family doesn't have money, I'm not particularly good-looking, and I'm not a high-grade omega or alpha..."

Just as she said this, a figure suddenly loomed over her.

Before she could react, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

Huo Yi's gentle voice sounded by her ear. "Mengmeng is beautiful. Mengmeng is the most wonderful girl I've ever met, so it's only natural for people to have their eye on you. I won't allow you to say that about yourself, because as an A-rank alpha, I feel nothing when facing high-quality omegas, but the moment I see Mengmeng, I feel so much. So you're wonderful—don't doubt yourself."