Chapter 2

“It wasn’t me, it was my mom. She’s the one who told me to come back.”
Tang Yajun crouched down, lifting her tear-brimmed eyes with a pitiful look.

A teardrop that had not quite fallen slid down her fair, delicate cheek and disappeared at the corner of her lips.

Lu Chongjin cupped her face in his large palm, his cold, sharp gaze scrutinizing her.

His thumb brushed lightly across the tearstain on her skin, his voice hoarse:
“You didn’t lie to me?”

Feeling the warmth of his palm against her face, Tang Yajun nuzzled into it affectionately.

“Of course not,” she said with certainty.

Lu Chongjin’s heart jolted violently, utterly without warning.

Tang Yajun placed her hand on his wrist, feeling the rapid, unsteady thrum of his pulse beneath her fingertips. The corners of her lips curved ever so slightly in secret.

Tilting her head, she looked at him with fragile innocence.
“What will it take for you to believe me?”

As though suddenly remembering something, she stood up and began fumbling through her pockets.

Lu Chongjin slowly clenched the hand he had withdrawn, reluctant to lose the lingering warmth of her skin.

“Here, look.” Tang Yajun’s tears gave way to a smile as she unfolded a slip of paper and held it out before him.

Lu Chongjin cleared his throat softly, casting a glance toward Cui Shan at his side.

Cui Shan instantly understood, moving to the doorway.
“Withdraw,” he ordered.

The soldiers, who had already turned the house upside down without finding any suspicious figures, immediately ceased their search and filed out into the courtyard.

Liu Yane, flustered and sweating, followed them out, wearing a forced, embarrassed smile.

Tang Yajun gave her a bright smile.
“Mom, all that effort you spent arranging this little play—it was quite the performance. Chongjin and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.”

Liu Yane laughed awkwardly.
“You silly child, talking nonsense. You must have hurt your head in the fall. Come into the living room, I’ll get you some medicine.”

With that, she affectionately tugged at Tang Yajun’s arm, trying to pull her inside.

Tang Yajun glanced back at Lu Chongjin.

Cui Shan quickly pushed his wheelchair forward to follow.

When Tang Liyong, Yajun’s father, heard that his son-in-law had come, he rushed home from the factory on leave to keep him company.

Using the excuse of going to the restroom, Tang Yajun slipped out of the living room. Making sure no one noticed, she hurried to her younger sister Tang Yaning’s room. She pushed the door open and cast a knowing smile toward the wardrobe in the corner.

Closing the door behind her, she held her breath and focused on the memory of that mysterious door appearing before her earlier.

But no matter how hard she concentrated, the room remained the same—no door appeared.

She paced back and forth, frowning. Just before, simply by thinking of it, the door had manifested. Why wouldn’t it work now?

And what about Tang Hewei? A living person was still inside.

Steeling herself, she tried again. Nothing. Once more. Still nothing.

Sweat beaded at the tip of her nose. She rubbed her fingertips together, racking her brain for a solution.

Suddenly, a beam of white light spun into existence before her, widening slowly into a door.

She looked down at her hand: the small brown mole on her index finger glowed red. So that was the key.

She stepped through. Tang Hewei was still lying unconscious by the entrance. Dragging him out, she stuffed him into the wardrobe.

Then she quickly slipped back out, heading for the restroom.

Once inside, she opened the glowing doorway again—and gasped at the sight. Before her stood the research institute itself.

Closing the entrance behind her, she sprinted toward it. The experimental fields in the courtyard were neatly marked and categorized.

Inside the main building, she ran straight to her laboratory. It was deserted and silent.

She flipped the switch on the wall—click—and the room blazed with light.

“Hahaha—hahaha!”

Her laughter echoed wildly through the empty lab. Like a master finally attaining enlightenment after years of cultivation, she threw her arms about and even broke into a triumphant little dance.

“Heaven is on my side. With this research institute in my hands…”

Suddenly recalling something, she darted into the adjoining break room with its attached storage.

There it was: the coffee machine, the refrigerator, the microwave, the oven—
even the snack supplies in the storeroom were all intact!

She grabbed a vial from the fridge—an energy-restoring, wound-healing solution their institute had developed but never officially released—and drank it down.

Knowing she couldn’t stay too long without raising suspicion, she dashed back outside, rubbed her glowing finger, and reopened the door.

Exiting through the restroom, she calmly returned to the living room.

Liu Yane, still feeling guilty, bustled about serving tea and speaking with unusual warmth.

Seeing Tang Yajun, she said gently,
“Since your husband’s home, you should settle down and live properly. The sooner you give the Lu family an heir, the better.”

The words had barely left her lips before Lu Chongjin’s expression iced over.

The room went silent.

Realizing her blunder, Liu Yane panicked. How could she have mentioned children? The whole neighborhood already knew: Lu Chongjin had returned injured, his legs crippled—and along with them, his ability as a man.

Meeting his cold, piercing stare, she scrambled to recover.
“N-no rush about children. You’re both still young.”

Tang Liyong stepped in to smooth things over.
“We haven’t eaten yet, have we? Go make some food, give our son-in-law a proper welcome.”

“Yes, yes,” Liu Yane replied, rising quickly.

“No need,” Lu Chongjin cut her off. His tone was clipped.
“The elders at home are waiting for us. We won’t stay for dinner.”

Tang Yajun judged the timing right and went to push his wheelchair.

Just as they exited, a shriek erupted from Tang Yaning’s room.

A moment later, Tang Hewei came stumbling out, disheveled and clutching his head in panic.

Spotting Tang Yajun, he rushed to her.
“Yajun! I—I don’t know how I ended up in your sister’s wardrobe. Please, you have to explain it for me!”

Tang Yaning followed, clothes hastily thrown on, and burst into tears at the sight of all the people in the courtyard. She fled back inside, sobbing.

Her mother hurried after her. Tang Yaning, in broken sobs, explained: she’d been changing into something nice to greet her brother-in-law when she opened the wardrobe—only to find Tang Hewei hiding inside.

Out in the courtyard, Tang Yajun eyed him curiously.
“How did you end up here?”

Lu Chongjin sat in his wheelchair, face dark and brooding. Behind him, Cui Shan shifted uncomfortably.

Tang Liyong looked deeply troubled, unable to make sense of why Tang Hewei had appeared in his younger daughter’s room.

Terrified of the imposing man at Tang Yajun’s side, Tang Hewei instinctively backed away from her, nearly stumbling.

She reached out to steady him.

Already simmering with anger, Lu Zhongjin’s hands clenched tightly on the armrests of his wheelchair, veins bulging across the back of his hands.

“Yajun, who is this?” His voice was cold as ice.

Tang Yajun turned back toward him, pulling the man forward from behind her.
“This is Tang Hewei, a neighbor of ours.”

Then, smiling sweetly at Tang Hewei, she introduced,
“And this is my husband, Lu Chongjin. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”

Tang Hewei had never imagined such a situation. He had only come, hoping to steal a brief meeting with Tang Yajun. Now, cornered, he had no choice but to step forward and extend his hand awkwardly.
“H-hello.”

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, unable to bear the tension, it was seized in an iron grip.