Chapter Seventy-One: Hide and Seek

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Bai Bing's mouth emitted a series of tsk-tsk sounds, as if she had stumbled upon a breathtaking scene, her lewd smile and teasing voice beckoning Wang Zheng's curiosity. Wang Zheng truly regretted his momentary carelessness—how could he leave such a precious item as his telescope lying so conspicuously on the sand? He should have tucked it into his shorts; it might have been safer, although admittedly a bit uncomfortable...

"Standing here, you can take in the full springtime glory of the entire neighborhood—a scene vibrant with life and brimming with vitality!" Bai Bing commented as she gazed through the telescope, addressing the somewhat impatient Wang Zheng beside her. "When did you start this?"

"I told you, I'm using it for astronomical research," Wang Zheng replied with solemn earnestness.

"Astronomy? Anything above the first floor counts as astronomy, huh? Hey, someone's changing clothes!" Bai Bing suddenly exclaimed, her tone brimming with excitement, though Wang Zheng couldn't quite tell what had thrilled her.

"Where? Where?" Wang Zheng hurriedly crouched behind Bai Bing, hoping to glimpse something through the telescope, but the device was small, and Bai Bing was all too adept at blocking his view. Disappointed, Wang Zheng straightened up, looked at Bai Bing—who was still engrossed—and abruptly turned toward the room. "Forget it, you can have it!"

Wang Zheng debated whether he should buy another telescope, and how he might do so without others noticing. But then he thought it over: with Bai Bing around, she'd inevitably follow him day and night. Buying one without being discovered would be a challenge—but a challenge made things interesting. Since he had moved here, how could he miss the eternal spring that bathed this place?

Not to gaze would be a disservice to the house's unrivaled location; not to gaze would be letting down the trust of the countless women who believed in him; not to gaze would be betraying his passion for astronomy. Not to gaze would simply be wasting the opportunity...

The night was long, sleep eluded him—and besides, it was not even eight o'clock!

Wang Zheng had managed to offend Su Xue, who was now staying inside with Chu Jun, preoccupied with some unknown endeavor. As for Bai Bing, Wang Zheng had no intention of embarrassing himself in front of her. Just as boredom began to settle in, Wang Zheng suddenly thought of someone. He climbed out of bed and glanced at the opposite building, wondering if something interesting might happen there.

Taking advantage of Bai Bing's distraction with the scenery, Wang Zheng slipped quietly out of the room and made his escape.

"Ta-da!" Reaching the fifth floor of the opposite building, Wang Zheng knocked on the door. Light footsteps approached, and the door opened. The bespectacled woman appeared, dressed differently this time—she wore hot pants and a T-shirt.

"You again?" She frowned, staring at Wang Zheng.

He smiled and walked in as naturally as if it were his own home, heading straight for her bedroom with practiced ease.

"You ought to be grateful—this time I knocked!" Wang Zheng said as he stationed himself in front of the telescope and began to look through it.

"How can you be so shameless? Who let you in? Get out!" The woman was clearly at her limit with Wang Zheng's familiarity, her eyes wide behind her glasses—if it weren’t for the lenses, her eyeballs would surely have popped out.

"We share the same interest, don’t be so cold!" Wang Zheng replied, scanning for targets with the telescope. Compared to his own small telescope, hers was far more professional.

"Caterpillars...!"

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"It's Zhang Miaomiao!"

"Oh, Zhang Miaomiao. Have you discovered anything new lately? Care to share?" Wang Zheng asked.

"No. Are you leaving or not?" Zhang Miaomiao replied impatiently. This man was utterly shameless—he didn’t even bother with pleasantries, barging in as if the place belonged to him. What did he take this house for?

"Don’t be so stingy! I’m a new resident, still unfamiliar with this place. As an old-timer, you should help newcomers like me—that’s the essence of a harmonious society!"

Miaomiao clenched her fists. Having trained in self-defense, she considered using an attack move, but seeing Wang Zheng's muscular build and pronounced physique, she abandoned the idea.

"If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police!"

"Which unit in my building has beautiful women?"

"I really will call the police! Is anyone else in this neighborhood fond of peeping? Maybe we should get together for dinner and exchange notes!"

Wang Zheng acted as though he hadn’t heard a word Miaomiao said—he spoke over her threats, showed no fear, and had no intention of leaving. Miaomiao finally lowered her proud head, utterly defeated by this man’s persistence.

Wang Zheng scanned around with the telescope, but unfamiliarity with the households meant he couldn’t spot any targets. Finally, he locked the lens onto his own balcony—the target was Bai Bing.

Wang Zheng’s departure hadn’t attracted Bai Bing’s attention, but his entry into the opposite building was enough to set her on alert. Most of her telescope time was spent focused on Wang Zheng’s current unit; as someone with a background in intelligence, she sensed something unusual about the household with its curtains drawn, and kept her sights trained there. Wang Zheng, for his part, met her gaze without fear.

"You came here just to use the telescope to look at your own home?" Zhang Miaomiao approached Wang Zheng, asking calmly. Since she couldn’t drive him away and he didn’t seem malicious, it was better to settle down and be at ease. Miaomiao was optimistic and good at self-regulation—no point ruining her health over such a trivial matter.

Hmm? Wang Zheng turned to her, curious. "How did you know I was watching my own home?"

"That angle makes it obvious!" Zhang Miaomiao replied smugly, as if showing off her skills.

"Impressive!" Wang Zheng gave her a thumbs-up. "Looks like you’ve spent a fair bit of time watching my house—not just the accidental glances you claim, right?"

Eh? Zhang Miaomiao was startled and hurried to explain, "No, I really didn’t mean to look at your house!" She’d gotten carried away and let slip—damn!

"You don’t have to admit it. What’s done is done; I can’t do anything about it!" Wang Zheng said casually. "By the way, what do you think of my physique?"

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"It’s... decent—I don’t know anything, really!" Zhang Miaomiao shook her head vigorously and clamped her hand tightly over her mouth. Every time she let her guard down, he would ask a seemingly casual question that was actually loaded, leaving her at a loss for words. The saying, "disaster comes from careless speech," was spot on.

Wang Zheng turned and looked at her with ill intent. On closer inspection, she was quite attractive—and to have survived so long in this neighborhood full of beautiful women, she must have some outstanding qualities. Otherwise, living here surrounded by beauties every day would be disastrous for one's self-esteem. From Wang Zheng’s observation, besides Miaomiao’s lovely face, her most distinctive feature was her legs.

Long, slender, straight, and well-proportioned—no wonder she favored short hot pants!

"You... aren’t a lesbian, are you?" Wang Zheng asked, not out of prejudice, but genuine curiosity. Otherwise, why would someone in a neighborhood that was over ninety percent single women spend so much time peeping?

"I’m not—I like men," Zhang Miaomiao replied, suddenly feeling that her words sounded off, oddly awkward.

"Is that so?" Wang Zheng remained skeptical, turning back to the telescope... Wait, where was Bai Bing? He paused; in the brief moment he’d spent talking, Bai Bing, who had been facing him from the balcony, had vanished. Wang Zheng immediately used the telescope to scan his home’s other windows, but found no sign of her.

Damn! Could she be planning a sneak attack?

Wang Zheng quickly shifted the lens to the neighborhood streets but couldn't spot Bai Bing. It was night now, darkness had fully settled, and although the street lights were on, they couldn’t illuminate the entire complex. Based on his understanding of Bai Bing, since she had already grown suspicious of the house, it was impossible for her to just go to bed—the very thought was contrary to her nature.

"Is there anywhere in your house where someone could hide?" Wang Zheng asked Zhang Miaomiao.

"Hide? I haven’t hidden anyone!" Miaomiao replied innocently.

"I don’t mean you’re hiding someone, I just want a place to hide myself..." Just then, Wang Zheng’s keen ears caught the sound of the door lock turning.

"You... You’re so dumb with those glasses!" Wang Zheng snapped at Miaomiao. There was no time to hide now, and with Bai Bing’s skills, she would find him anywhere in the apartment. Wang Zheng glanced out the window, abruptly pulled the curtain aside, and opened the window.

"What... What are you doing? This is the fifth floor!" Zhang Miaomiao exclaimed.

"I know—if anyone asks, you don’t know me, you’ve never seen me, got it?" With that, Wang Zheng gripped the window ledge, swung his body down, found a foothold, and leapt to the next balcony.

"That’s my home balcony!" Zhang Miaomiao said.

"What?" Damn it, he’d jumped wrong!