Caught Red-Handed

The familiar, gentle voice echoed from outside the door.

Ye Shengge and Peng Biao, who was still half-kneeling on the floor, both froze. It was Wen Jinshi’s voice.

Receiving no response, the person outside knocked several more times. The rhythm was steady, neither hurried nor slow. “Open the door. I heard sounds coming from inside.”

Peng Biao pursed his lips, a flash of annoyance crossing his eyes. He could feel that the beautiful youth was wavering; given a few more minutes, the boy likely would have agreed to his proposal. Yet, at this exact moment, this irritating rival had to show up.

But no matter how much he wanted to ignore the man—who was both his rival and his business partner—he couldn’t. Given the special relationship between his sweetheart and Wen Jinshi, and the fact that Wen Jinshi already knew he was home, it was only proper to open the door.

However, before turning the handle, Peng Biao intentionally gave the youth enough time to hide. Even after opening the door, he lingered at the entrance, dragging out a conversation to stall Wen Jinshi further.

Ye Shengge gave the “big dummy” a grateful look. He hadn’t expected the man to be so thoughtful as to buy him time to disappear.

Instead of running to the second floor, Ye Shengge crawled under the large, cloth-covered coffee table in front of the sofa. It was called a coffee table, but it was essentially a large desk, more than spacious enough to hide a person.

While Ye Shengge needed to maintain his character—the Dollmaker who didn’t want his childhood friend to find out he’d sought help from a rival—he was also incredibly curious. What did Wen Jinshi want with Peng Biao at a time like this? To find out, he seized the opportunity to hide right under their noses.

Peng Biao didn’t know exactly where the youth had vanished to, but judging that enough time had passed, he finally invited Wen Jinshi inside.

Wen Jinshi entered with a perpetual, gentle smile. He scanned the room once and joked nonchalantly, “Seeing how you were blocking the door, I thought you were hiding some treasure in here.”

“You know me. What treasure could I possibly hide?” Peng Biao poured a glass of plain water and handed it to Wen Jinshi. He lied without a hint of guilt, looking perfectly composed. One could hardly tell he was the same man who had just been plotting to sabotage the person standing before him.

“True.” Wen Jinshi let out a light chuckle, not pressing the matter.

Hiding under the table, Ye Shengge was stunned by Peng Biao’s steady tone. He couldn’t believe this man—who usually looked so simple and mindless—could lie so naturally without blushing or a racing heart.

Even if their friendship is superficial, they’ve lived together for years. They’re basically brothers, aren’t they?

How could someone talk trash about their “brother,” set up a trap for him, and then chat with him this calmly? His mental fortitude was terrifying. Ye Shengge felt utterly inferior; if it were him, he’d be so embarrassed he’d want to sink into the floor.

As he was lost in thought, two sets of footsteps approached the table. Through the gap in the tablecloth, Ye Shengge saw two different pairs of shoes coming his way. He realized they were planning to sit on the sofa for a long talk.

At this moment, Ye Shengge was incredibly relieved he hadn’t stopped Peng Biao’s sudden whim last night to cover the living room in thick, plush carpets. If he had to lie on a cold floor until Wen Jinshi left, his body would surely give out, and he’d likely be sick by morning. With the warm carpet, he could endure the wait.

“Why the sudden decision to put down carpets? Didn’t you used to hate such ‘troublesome and flashy’ things?”

As he lay there, Ye Shengge heard his childhood friend’s voice. Though it was a question, there was no real curiosity in it; it sounded more like a polite formality.

“People change.” Peng Biao didn’t offer a detailed explanation, adding only a meaningful: “Just like you.”

The glass touched the table with a soft clink, but Ye Shengge heard it clearly.

“True. Everyone changes.” Wen Jinshi glanced at the cup on the table but didn’t take a single sip.

“What did you come here to say? If it’s just this, you should head back. I have things to do today.” Peng Biao was growing impatient. He wanted to get rid of Wen Jinshi so he could get an answer from his beautiful youth. He had zero interest in small talk.

Wen Jinshi wasn’t offended. Seeing the impatience, he cut to the chase. “I didn’t come here for small talk.” He paused, his tone becoming several shades more serious. “I wanted to ask you… regarding Shengge being haunted by those ‘unclean things,’ what are your thoughts?”

Hearing that his childhood friend had come for his sake, Ye Shengge felt a wave of guilt. He held his breath, even more determined not to be discovered. His childhood friend was worried about him, yet he had run off to a rival’s house to seek help and was now eavesdropping from under a table. If he were caught now, no amount of explaining could clear his name.

Peng Biao ignored the untouched water glass. He looked at Wen Jinshi and said steadily, “I have a solution for that. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Hearing this, Ye Shengge—who was desperate to finish the dungeon mission—felt his eyes light up. Excitedly, he forgot his current predicament. He instinctively started to look up, wanting to ask the Heavenly Master what the solution was.

He caught himself halfway and tried to stop, but he was a fraction too slow. His head bumped against the underside of the table.

The sound wasn’t loud, and the vibration was slight. If there hadn’t been a glass of water on the table, it might have gone unnoticed. But the slight tremor caused ripples to form in the water.

The conversation between Peng Biao and Wen Jinshi halted instantly. Both noticed the anomaly.

Unlike Wen Jinshi, Peng Biao knew his sweetheart was hiding, but he hadn’t known exactly where. Now, it seemed he didn’t have to guess.

As Wen Jinshi frowned and reached out to lift the tablecloth to see what had hit the underside, Peng Biao’s hand shot out to block him.

Meeting Wen Jinshi’s suddenly cold and sharp gaze, Peng Biao didn’t flinch. Instead, he flashed a “pure” smile. “Sorry, brother. My foot just kicked the table leg.”

“Is that so? You should be more careful then. You wouldn’t want the glass to fall; it’s a mess to clean up.” Wen Jinshi lowered his eyes, staring at the arm blocking him. It was impossible to tell if he believed the lie.

Peng Biao acted as if he didn’t catch the testing tone, replying half-jokingly, “I’m not some young master. Even if a glass breaks, it’s not like I can’t clean it up.”

If the person under the table really was the beautiful youth, Peng Biao wouldn’t just clean up one broken glass; he’d let the boy smash every glass in the house for fun and clean them all up one by one without a single complaint. To Wen Jinshi, however, the remark sounded like a jab at him being a “troublesome young master.”

Wen Jinshi pursed his lips, his eyes flickering as he mentioned seemingly in passing, “Is that so? Speaking of which, I saw clothes drying in your yard. A few pieces looked a bit small for you. Don’t tell me you’re being a Good Samaritan and washing clothes for others now?”

The smile slowly faded from Peng Biao’s face. Without any panic, he said calmly, “I’m not that kind-hearted. Those clothes were just bought in the wrong size. I’m washing them to donate later.”

Peng Biao had a habit of hanging clothes inside-out. The patterns on the youth’s clothes were faint; unless one looked closely, the designs were invisible. He intended to deny everything until the very end.

He thought that without evidence, Wen Jinshi would let it go for now. But he hadn’t expected the man to be so relentless.

“How coincidental. From a distance, the style looked very familiar. They look quite a bit like what Shengge wears.” Wen Jinshi’s voice was soft but unyielding. He had no intention of letting the matter drop.

Peng Biao didn’t want to continue talking to this hypocrite. “Quite a coincidence indeed. You should head back. I’m taking full responsibility for the hauntings; you don’t need to bother.”

Wen Jinshi suddenly smiled. “No rush. I’ll wait until the clothes you ordered arrive before I leave.”

“How do you know about that?” Peng Biao’s eyelid twitched. He stared straight at the smiling Wen Jinshi, who looked as though everything was within his grasp. Peng Biao’s expression of wariness and hostility, combined with his rugged features, looked quite fierce.

Under the table, Ye Shengge’s hand slipped. His chin hit the carpet with a soft thud. It hurt so much his eyes watered, but he didn’t dare make a sound, terrified his sharp-witted childhood friend would find him.

“Is Shengge here with you?” Wen Jinshi asked directly. Although phrased as a question, it was a statement. He was certain the neighbor boy was at his partner’s house.

“What if he is? What if he isn’t?” Peng Biao sneered, as angry as a lion whose territory had been invaded. He realized now that Wen Jinshi’s previous words were all a smokescreen; his true target was Ye Shengge.

Peng Biao’s reaction was as good as a confession.

Wen Jinshi didn’t waste another word. He bypassed the hand blocking him, his lips pressed into a thin line. Before Peng Biao could react, he yanked up the long tablecloth on the other side.

Seeing the boy hiding under the table—clutching his chin with teary eyes, his eyelashes trembling as he blinked timidly—Wen Jinshi felt a sense of “as expected.”

A complex, unreadable emotion swirled in his dark eyes. He let out a soft sigh. “You really are here.”

Hearing those words and seeing that face—nearly identical to his own brother’s—Ye Shengge was overwhelmed by a mixture of embarrassment and shame. He felt like he had never been this humiliated in his life. Finally, unable to hold it back, he burst into small, whimpering sobs. Tears fell like pearls as he choked out:

“But… I didn’t want it to be like this!”

The livestream viewers, who had been happily eating snacks and watching the drama, immediately stopped joking. Their hearts broke for him.

[I’m dying of heartbreak! Everyone stop looking at the drama, give wifey some peace!] [Wifey, please don’t cry! We didn’t see anything!] [Exactly! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. As long as wifey isn’t embarrassed, it’s the others who should be!]