Chapter Forty-Five: A Thief Beyond Words!

Wang Zheng and Bai Bing quietly made their way up the steps, halting as they reached the door. Wang Zheng perked up his keen ears, listening intently; he could clearly hear footsteps coming from inside the room. Though faint, they could not escape his notice.

A thief? These days, even thieves are bold enough to leave the door wide open while stealing. Was this some kind of provocation toward the man of the house?

"Of all the people to rob, you pick me? Bad luck for you tonight—you’re going to pay for it!" With that thought, Wang Zheng handed the meat he was carrying to Bai Bing behind him, glanced once at the open security door, and stepped inside.

The first thing he saw was a chaotic mess of items strewn across the floor: books, a lamp, chairs, suitcases... The sounds of things being moved from other rooms proved the thief was completely unaware of Wang Zheng’s entrance and, utterly brazen, continued the frenzied looting.

Wang Zheng shot a look to Bai Bing, who immediately caught on and stood guard by the door.

The sounds were coming from the study. To Wang Zheng, the thief was already a rat in a trap—now he just had to decide how to deal with him.

Just as Wang Zheng crept toward the study, footsteps suddenly sounded behind him. If it were Bai Bing, she wouldn’t make a sound. That meant—another thief! An accomplice!

"You—!"

As a voice came from behind, Wang Zheng took a sudden step back. Judging by the sound, he gauged the distance perfectly. Though he had his back to the thief, his hand shot out, ready to seize the intruder by the throat, lift them single-handedly, and slam them to the ground.

Wait—something was off. The body felt light, the neck had no Adam’s apple... a woman?

Wang Zheng turned quickly. It was Chu Jun, her face full of terror, pain, and distress as she looked at him. At that moment, he had already lifted her, and she was about to hit the ground. With her petite frame, a fall could easily send her to the hospital, if not something worse. Quick as lightning, Wang Zheng crouched, withdrew his hand from her neck, and opened his arms to catch the falling girl.

"Ah!" Chu Jun squeezed her eyes shut and let out a shriek.

With one arm around her waist and the other catching her legs, Wang Zheng managed to hold her safely. She was astonishingly light—cradling her felt like holding nothing at all.

"What’s going on?" Just then, someone dashed out of the study. Lively eyes sparkled with curiosity as if they were speaking.

Su Xue? What was she doing here? Of course! Where Chu Jun was, Su Xue was never far behind—the two women were inseparable.

Su Xue had been tidying up in the room when she heard Chu Jun’s scream and hurried out. Seeing Wang Zheng holding Chu Jun, and the flush on Chu Jun’s cheeks, Su Xue flashed a mischievous smile and asked, "What are you two doing?"

"Me? I should be asking you that!" Wang Zheng retorted, standing up. Chu Jun was so light he’d nearly forgotten he was still holding the girl who’d just fallen from the sky.

"Me? I wasn’t doing anything," Su Xue replied innocently.

"Nothing? Then why is there so much stuff all over the floor and the front door wide open? I thought there was a thief! If I hadn’t reacted quickly, Chu Jun would be in the hospital by now!"

Chu Jun opened her eyes, relieved she hadn’t been dropped. Looking at the man holding her, her initial fear vanished in an instant. Feeling his solid chest and strong arms, her face flushed with embarrassment—this was the closest she’d ever been to a man. Her heart pounded wildly.

"Hehehe..." Su Xue giggled awkwardly. "I was just trying to surprise you. How could you mistake us for thieves? It’s perfectly safe here—you really think there are so many criminals around?"

"Surprised, yes; delighted, not so much," Wang Zheng shot her a look. "You and your pranks will be the death of me."

"How not? Isn’t the delight right in your arms?" Su Xue teased with a grin.

Huh? Wang Zheng glanced down. Ah—Chu Jun!

"Are you alright?" Wang Zheng finally realized he was still holding Chu Jun and hurriedly set her down, worried he’d frightened her.

"I’m... I’m fine," Chu Jun replied shyly, her head lowered. "Could you... put me down?"

Oh! Wang Zheng quickly released her. As nice as it felt to hold her, it wasn’t right to take advantage of his sister’s friend.

Wait, the surprise Su Xue mentioned... Wang Zheng’s sixth sense, combined with the mess on the floor, told him something was up. He hurried past Su Xue into the study.

He froze. Was this still his study? The bookshelf and desk were gone. In their place stood a bed in the center of the room, a vanity against the wall... So many questions flooded his mind he nearly short-circuited. He wasn’t a muscle-bound simpleton, but the scene before him rendered his brain incapable of functioning.

"Hehe!" Seeing Wang Zheng stand there dumbfounded, Su Xue laughed, walked over, knocked on his shoulder, then wrapped herself around his arm, leaning in intimately. "Brother, we haven’t seen each other in eight years—I missed you so much! Now that you’re back, I’m so happy. So I’ve decided to move in with you. From now on, we’ll never be apart. Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t you thrilled?"

Wang Zheng stood there, expressionless, unsure if he should feel happy, surprised, or neither. At that moment, he felt like a stunned Japanese soldier who’d just run into the Eighth Route Army—completely lost.

Su Xue, oblivious to Wang Zheng’s state, continued to act coy as she spoke, "After I came here that day, I set my sights on this big apartment. So these past few days, I’ve been busy moving in. You know, I lived with Chu Chu before. I couldn’t leave her alone, so I brought her to live here too. The more, the merrier!"

What? Another one?

This isn’t a holiday sale—why is it buy one, get one free?

Glancing at Bai Bing by the door, Su Xue lowered her voice and, as if doing Wang Zheng a favor, said, "I also wanted to check out that lady spy—to make sure you don’t fall for her tricks."

Wang Zheng frowned slightly. By her logic, should he be thanking her? He suddenly turned, gripped Su Xue’s shoulders tightly, and said loudly, "Didn’t I tell you not to even think about it?"

"Think about what? I have no idea," Su Xue replied, wide-eyed and innocent.

"Still pretending?"

This was chaos—he’d forgotten Su Xue was once a notorious little troublemaker.

Wait—if Wang Zheng remembered correctly, Su Xue’s new room was his study. The bookshelf, the desk... He suddenly recalled seeing the moving company carrying those very items at the gate earlier—could they have been his?

He glanced at Su Xue, feigning innocence, then at Bai Bing. Why did these women both love the game of "conquer and occupy"?

Was it really that much fun?