Because he knew no one was inside the house, Liu Yuan became bolder in his actions.

He swapped to an axe and swung directly at the glass, but not even a single shard fell off.

The noise carried outside, and Xu Qingrou, holding her children, pressed her ears against Yu Xifeng’s front door to listen for sounds inside.

Yang Rong looked annoyed: “What the hell are you doing this late at night?”

Xu Qingrou said, “Xiao Yu hasn’t come back for days. I’m worried something might have happened. No one’s home there, and if something goes missing, what then?”

“She doesn’t even care about me, her own father. Why are you worrying about her?” Yang Rong shouted.

Xu Qingrou said, “She’s still a kid. You’re her father; why argue with a child? I think there’s a thief breaking in through the window. We need to figure out how to open the door quickly—don’t let anything go missing inside.”

Leaving aside everything else, that big box of rice can’t just be stolen by someone else.

Yang Sizhu said, “Yeah, sister won’t let us in. If something happens, there’s nothing we can do. Such a nice house would just get ruined by others.”

The house in her dreams was Yu Xifeng’s. Yang Sizhu felt it was only natural for her to live there.

Yu Xifeng was like a bird that had taken over a nest, heartless.

Yang Rong didn’t want to sleep on the floor, especially since his son was cold and still had a fever.

Yang Rong tried the door lock but had no luck, so he grabbed a small hammer from the fire equipment and started hitting the lock.

He hadn’t done this before and just used brute force. After struggling with all his might, there was no progress.

The sound of hitting glass kept coming. Xu Qingrou frowned, growing more and more disgusted with Yang Rong.

What good is he, anyway?

“What are you doing?” Hu Qiangyong appeared.

Yang Rong glanced at Hu Qiangyong’s strong build and immediately felt intimidated.

Xu Qingrou quickly said, “Listen, there’s noise inside. My daughter is still in there. We’re worried something happened to her, so we want to open the door. Even if she doesn’t recognize us, we don’t want her to get hurt.”

Hu Qiangyong found the whole family suspicious.

Zhao Yao, who had come out with him, interrupted: “Isn’t Yu Xifeng already gone?”

Xu Qingrou hadn’t expected Zhao Yao to know about it and nodded.

“If she’s gone, what’s unsafe? There’s a thief knocking on the window over there. Why aren’t you chasing them off instead of prying the door?”

Xu Qingrou awkwardly said, “We can’t get through.”

Zhao Yao lifted her chin: “Xu Yun’s second bedroom faces Yu Xifeng’s balcony. I’ll call her.”

Just then, Sister Yun opened the door. Xu Qingrou’s smile was barely holding.

Xu Yun called out, “Sister Zhao, bring your man over quickly! There’s a thief here!”

Outside the window, Liu Yuan didn’t expect that after so long, he still couldn’t get this window open.

Who would put such good glass on a 15th-floor window?

He was even more convinced that the house owner had something valuable.

Sister Yun pushed open the second bedroom window and turned on a flashlight. The beam shone directly on Liu Yuan’s face.

Sister Yun shouted, “What are you doing?”

Thinking the house was empty, Liu Yuan, hopeful and almost obsessed, stubbornly kept fighting with the window.

Such a scare made him lose his nerve completely.

Hu Qiangyong looked fierce, and Sister Yun held a knife.

If Liu Yuan wanted to get inside, he would have to climb past Sister Yun’s bedroom window.

Hu Qiangyong’s eyes glared angrily. So many people were waiting to catch him, and Liu Yuan had no choice but to pick the opposite direction.

That path hadn’t been scouted either.

In a panic, he stepped on nothing and fell.

His scream cut through the dark night.

This was the 15th floor, and below was water, though the water level was much lower than before.

Liu Yuan crashed into the water. Even though the water reduced some of the impact, he still hit the bottom.

His blood mixed with the dirty water, turning it into an ink-black pool.

Hu Qiangyong and Sister Yun were stunned. No one expected this to end in a death.

“He’s… dead,” Xu Qingrou murmured.

Dead.

A living person falling right before their eyes was a shock no one could recover from.

The atmosphere was eerie and silent.

The night remained thick, and everyone went back to their own homes.

They had been up all night from the commotion, and Yang Rong’s group still hadn’t slept.

Yu Xifeng was sound asleep in the villa district, still unaware of what had happened. The door and windows were specially made by Yu Xifeng herself, so she was at ease.

Even if something was broken, there was nothing they could steal from that room.

Liu Yuan’s fall made a loud noise, and many heard his scream.

Not to mention the sound of breaking the window before.

Liu Yuan’s wife had been worried since he left.

When she heard his scream, her heart sank further.

When Liu Yuan was pulled up, his wife immediately carried his body to find Aunt Liu.

Liu Yuan’s deeds were shameful and disgraceful. After discussing with Aunt Liu, they carried his body to the 15th floor.

“The slut from 1501 seduced my nephew. Everyone saw it. My nephew fell from her house. They had a secret affair behind my back, and they made my husband walk outside the window. He died so miserably!”

Aunt Liu struck first, reckless and bold, putting the blame on someone else before listening.

Liu Yuan’s wife rushed up, pounding the door: “Come out, you won’t die well, whore! Mistress! Slut! You’re going to hell!”

Xu Yun scolded, “What nonsense are you talking? It was clearly your husband’s greed and cowardice. He fell by himself. Who else is to blame? I think he was just looking for death.”

“You! And you!” Aunt Liu pointed at Xu Yun, “You’re in on it, and you killed my nephew!”

Zhao Yao frowned, looking at Aunt Liu like she was a mad dog: “What rubbish are you saying? Yu Xifeng went out and wasn’t even inside. Someone was smashing the window with something — everyone heard it. What affair are you talking about?”

“There are so many windows, why did my nephew pick her house? Because she’s reckless!”

Aunt Liu’s unreasonable arguments were relentless, always twisting things her way.

Yu Xifeng descended the mountain and switched back to the kayak.

The water level was much lower than before.

Everywhere was covered in moldy green moss, growing after the water receded but the environment remained damp.

The biting north wind seemed to have dropped the temperature two degrees more.

Yu Xifeng changed to a motorized boat to speed up.

Near the community, she switched back.

When Yu Xifeng returned, her home was surrounded on all sides.

Someone had called the police, but in these special times, enforcement had been delegated to the community.

Yu Xifeng carried the deflated kayak and a big bag on her back.

“What’s going on?” she asked, seeing the noisy scene but pretending she didn’t know anything.

The community leader was a new face — probably newly appointed — named Han Lei.

“Are you Yu Xifeng?” Han Lei asked formally.

Yu Xifeng nodded. “Yes, I am.”

Han Lei asked, “What’s your relationship with Liu Yuan?”

“Who’s Liu Yuan?” Yu Xifeng really didn’t know who Liu Yuan was.