"You tricked people into coming here to share an apartment with you?" Meng's father hit the nail on the head.
"Hmm... how should I explain this to you?" Meng Yang's mind raced. "My friend is very talented; he's also a doctor."
“She had a conflict with her colleagues while living in the staff dormitory, so she had to move out. And you know how high the rent is in the capital, so I told a little white lie.”
"Are you afraid of hurting your friend's pride?" Meng's father said. "Well, I understand that, but why should I make the call for you?"
"I almost let it slip today. The door lock at home is broken, and I told them to just replace it." Meng Yang said with a worried look on his face.
“This doesn’t count as exposing anything,” Meng’s father said, pushing up his glasses.
“She called the landlord today; that number is on my secondary SIM card.” Meng Yang tapped the sofa. “She’s very clever. My WeChat reply probably won’t dispel her suspicions. Could you try calling her for me?”
“I understand.” Father Meng opened his palm.
Meng Yang smiled, immediately handed over his phone, and didn't forget to shower him with compliments.
The phone rang a few times before it connected. Liu Zhi spoke with a slightly nasal tone, sounding as if she had just woken up.
"Hello," Liu Zhi cleared her throat. "This is Liu Zhi."
"I'm the landlord of Nanjin Royal Garden. I was busy today and didn't answer the phone," Mr. Meng said in a serious tone.
"Here's the thing, I accidentally lost a key, and for safety reasons, I'd like to change the lock. Is that alright with you?"
Meng Yang desperately tried to wink at his father.
“Okay, but you have to give me a spare key,” Meng’s father said.
“Of course.” Liu Zhi’s nasal tone lessened. “How will I give it to you after I’ve changed it?”
Meng's father was taken aback by the question. He glanced at Meng Yang, who was mouthing words to him.
"I'll go get it. Doctors are usually very busy, I understand."
"How did you know I'm a doctor?" Liu Zhi asked very quickly.
Upon hearing this, Meng Yang slapped her leg in anger. Her father gestured for her to be quiet.
"I heard it from Xiao Meng, aren't you all doctors?"
"Oh, I see. Thank you for your help."
"It's alright."
"I'm so sorry to bother you."
"It's okay, I'll hang up now."
"good."
After hanging up the phone, Meng's father said to his daughter, "See, hasn't this made things right?"
"That scared me to death." Meng Yang sighed. "Alright, I have to go back now."
"Not eating at home?"
"No, no, maybe next time!" Meng Yang picked up his bag and pushed open the door, leaving his father sitting alone on the sofa.
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Author's Note:
Sorry for the late update, I was a little busy today.
Chapter 13 Coincidence
Meng Yang went out but then came back. She leaned out and said to Meng's father, "I'll leave the supplementary card with you. If she calls again, can you give it to Yuanyuan?"
"What if I can't explain this away?" Father Meng took a leisurely sip of tea. "Won't you hate me to death?"
"How could that be? My dad is a man, there's no way he couldn't make it up!" Meng Yang said with a forced smile.
"Look at you."
Meng Yang found a toothpick, pressed out the supplementary card, and respectfully handed it to his father.
"You must be careful not to leave any loopholes; she's very clever!"
"Look at what you're saying, is she a fox or something?" Meng's father inserted the SIM card into his phone.
“The young fox is definitely not as cunning as the old fox, don’t you think?” Meng Yang agreed with his father.
Mr. Meng beamed, “That’s right.”
Once outside, Meng Yang glanced at the time and realized something was wrong.
She got home almost an hour later than usual.
Meng Yang looked around and headed to a less busy cooked food shop.
While riding the elevator, Meng Yang had anticipated dozens of scenarios. She stood at her door, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
"I'm back."
Liu Zhi was sitting on a high chair at the dining table, propping his chin up as he looked at her.
Only one hanging lamp was on in the house. Bathed in the warm yellow light, Liu Zhi's aloof demeanor softened, and her eyes and brows gained a touch of gentleness.
This is a scene that Meng Yang has repeated many times in her dreams—Liu Zhi is waiting for her to come home.
"It's nice to treat myself once in a while." Meng Yang held up the bag of cooked food and shook it. "I've been waiting in line for ages."
"I made noodles. I found a recipe for zha jiang mian (noodles with soybean paste) online. It's been sitting for so long, the noodles might have clumped together." Liu Zhi got up and went to the kitchen to bring out a bowl of noodles.
"Just heat it up in the microwave." Meng Yang leaned forward to take a look. "It looks pretty good."
Meng Yang plated the cooked dishes and pushed them to the center of the table.
"Let me try the noodles first." Meng Yang held the bowl of noodles and took a bite.
Liu Zhi's zha jiang mian (noodles with soybean paste) was a bit sweet and not authentic, but it was still very delicious. Meng Yang praised it several times.
"It's my first time making this, so I didn't quite get the flavor right. You don't need to comfort me," Liu Zhi said softly as she stirred the noodles.
If it weren't for the lighting, Meng Yang would definitely have noticed Liu Zhi's reddened ears.
"Do I have a key on my desk?" Liu Zhi changed the subject.
What's meant to happen will happen. Meng Yang's alarm bells had already been sounded, and she had to mentally review every word Liu Zhi said.
"I've looked it over several times, and I've searched the route I take to and from work several times," Meng Yang said without changing his expression. "Change the lock."
"I'll call the landlord." Meng Yang finished the last bite of his noodles and put down his chopsticks.
"Hmm." Liu Zhi replied calmly.
Meng Yang called his secondary cardholder. The first call went unanswered, and the second call also went unanswered.
Liu Zhi looked at Meng Yang quietly, without saying anything.
Meng Yang had no choice but to make a third phone call.
This time the phone rang a few times before connecting—it was Meng Yang's mother who answered.
"Hello. My husband is taking a shower right now. You can tell me what's wrong first."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Meng Yang felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She had never imagined that her luck would run out to this extent.
Fortunately, Meng Yang, adhering to the principle of going all out, changed the note before leaving. Her mother should see the words "tenant" now.
Meng Yang forced himself to speak.
"Hello, I am Meng Yang, a tenant of Nan Jing Yu Yuan. The rental agreement was negotiated with your husband."
The mother on the other end of the phone put her phone away and looked at the screen again, unable to process what was happening for a moment.
"Are you Meng Yang?" Meng's mother asked in confusion.
"Yes." Meng Yang almost cried, but no one knew the grief in her heart.
"you……"
"Hello, hello, this is the landlord. Sorry, I was just taking a shower."
The female voice on the other end of the phone suddenly changed to a male voice.
"You're talking about changing the locks, right? Your roommate called me today," Meng's father said. "I agree, you can go ahead and change them."
These words left Liu Zhi feeling awkward.
Meng Yang, as if he had been granted a pardon, feigned surprise and looked back at Liu Zhi.
Liu Zhi was speechless, and her ears turned even redder.
"Oh...we'd like to change to a fingerprint lock, is that alright?" Meng Yang gave Liu Zhi a way out.
“I think it’s better not to change to a fingerprint lock,” said Mr. Meng.
Mencius' mother glanced at her husband, then at her phone, her expression turning somewhat distraught.
She really couldn't understand what the father and daughter were up to.
However, she absolutely disagreed with changing the fingerprint or password lock.
When Mencius' mother had nothing to do, she often read news that could cause anxiety about electronic products. She always managed to exaggerate a very low probability event into the entire group.
Therefore, she has never been very trusting of high-tech products.
"This won't do. I saw on the news that there are electronic jammers, and low-quality locks can be easily jammed!"
The houses on both sides were well soundproofed, and Meng's mother's voice reached Liu Zhi and Meng Yang.
Following his mother's line of thought, Mencius' father said, "Safety is one aspect, but the inconvenience for me to rent it out is another."
"What if you move out later and some scoundrel moves in instead? If I urge him to change the password, how will I get in?"
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll just get a regular lock. I'll give you the key," Meng Yang said. "Should you call a locksmith or should we call a locksmith?"
“I can handle it, you guys go ahead with your work,” Mr. Meng said with a hearty laugh. “But at least one of you will have to stay when you’re changing the locks.”
“No problem,” Meng Yang said.
Mencius' mother really wanted to interject and ask what the father and daughter were up to. But every time she opened her mouth, Mencius' father would make hand gestures.