Chapter 40: Meeting Wang Ruolan Again

"How did you know I was watching your video?" Jiang Yang asked.

"Hee hee, I guessed it."

"You could guess that? Did you go and become an apprentice to that Taoist Master Changsong?"

"Him? Those cheap tricks of his, I wouldn't even look twice at them. By the way, are you coming to my birthday party?"

Instead of answering directly, Jiang Yang asked, "How are you planning to celebrate?"

"What's so special about a party? Just gathering a few friends, getting some food. Come over and help me hold down the fort and liven things up."

The image of the adorable Junior Sister popped into Jiang Yang's mind. Seeing her always brought a sense of delight.

Yet, as a major internet influencer, why would she need someone like him to liven up her party?

Anyway, he was practically single now, so attending his junior sister's birthday party wouldn't hurt. Besides, she had mentioned there would be lots of people, so going couldn't really be considered a date with just the two of them.

So he readily agreed, "Alright, send me the location later, and I'll come over to support you."

"Yay! It's a deal then. Don't you dare stand me up."

"Relax, I'll definitely be there."

After replying to Bingbing, Jiang Yang saw that it was getting late and walked home from the park.

Upon arriving home, he received a call from Xiaoqing saying she had urgent business that required her to rush back to City S overnight, so she wouldn't be able to come back and spend the weekend with them.

At this point, Jiang Yang had completely lost all clues as to who he had originally intended to confess his feelings to. He couldn't even remember his own decision back then, so he simply hardened his heart and decided to just lie flat and stop caring.

It was like losing something in the house—you knew it had to be somewhere inside, but no matter how hard you looked, you couldn't find it. In times like that, the best approach was simply to stop searching; maybe one day it would just pop up on its own.

So that weekend he went nowhere, simply taking his mother out for walks and eating meals at home. Mother and son tacitly avoided bringing up the matter.

Because his mother felt that if Jiang Yang didn't want to bring it up, he must have his reasons. When he wanted to tell her, he naturally would, and asking too many questions would be pointless.

The mother and son spent a quiet weekend together. By Sunday afternoon, Jiang Yang, feeling quite relaxed, took the high-speed rail back to City S.

Emerging from the railway station, he headed straight back to Sunshine Apartment. As he reached the building entrance, his footsteps halted, and he froze in place.

A woman wearing a sky-blue dress with slightly wavy hair and fair skin—so breathtakingly pretty it almost didn't seem real—was standing gracefully right at the apartment entrance, staring straight at him.

Just standing there, she caused passersby, regardless of gender, to turn their heads for a second look.

It was none other than Wang Ruolan, who had vanished for two days.

"Honey, you're... back," Ruolan said timidly, her demeanor resembling a child who had done something wrong and feared adult punishment.

Jiang Yang's expression darkened. "I am not your husband. Who on earth are you?"

Ruolan took a quick step forward, wanting to grab Jiang Yang's hand, but he stepped back to avoid her. "Don't touch me! If you come any closer, I'll call the police!"

Jiang Yang had met underworld female bosses like Su Muyun who lived on the edge of a knife, but none of them had made him feel as dangerous as Ruolan did right now.

With tears welling in her eyes, Ruolan said, "Honey, please listen to my explanation. I just love you so much, which is why I installed the cameras in the room. I just... I just wanted to be able to see you even when I wasn't by your side."

Jiang Yang pointed upstairs. "Installing one might barely pass as some weird kink, but you installed a full eighteen of them! Am I some kind of 24/7 research subject to you?

Or are you an actress sent by some weird fetish group to trick me into bed and then post hidden camera footage online to make money?

And another thing, I checked, we are not a married couple at all. Who on earth are you? And what about those pills? Did you deliberately make me unable to remember the past? What is your purpose in getting this close to me?!"

The more Jiang Yang spoke, the angrier he became. His bottom line could be low, but he still had principles.

This level of deception was even more agonizing than being cuckolded. Just thinking about those eighteen cameras in the room aimed right at him gave him an unspeakable sense of suffocation.

If not for the half-month of affection between them, he would have wanted to drag this woman straight to the police station on the spot.

"Honey, I—I know you're very angry..."

"Stop. Don't call me honey."

"Fine, fine... Jiang Yang, calm down first. I came here today to confess two things to you."

For some reason, seeing the tears at the corners of her eyes instantly softened Jiang Yang's heart, cutting his anger in half.

He slightly composed his emotions and said, "Go ahead. If your explanation doesn't satisfy me, I'll have no choice but to let the police investigate."

Ruolan took a household register booklet out of her bag. "The first thing is that we aren't actually a married couple. The household register I showed you was fake, and I had someone print my name in it myself. To keep you from finding out, I hid the real household register."

She solemnly held the booklet with both hands, offering it to Jiang Yang.

Suspiciously, Jiang Yang reached out to take it, but Wang Ruolan clutched it tightly, reluctant to let go.

He glared at her fiercely, and only then did she release her grip so he could take it.

Opening the register, he saw it was just as it had always been—containing only his own name. Back when he rented the Sunshine Apartment, he had transferred his household registration from the university to City S, and to this day, it remained solely his.

For some reason, looking at the blank pages following his name stirred complex emotions within him.

He put the booklet away and said, "I figured that out long ago. What's the second thing?"

"The second thing..." Ruolan's expression became awkward. After hesitating for a moment, she looked toward the elevator and asked, "Can we go home and talk about it?"

"No." Jiang Yang flatly refused. Who knew what kind of ether spray Ruolan might have hidden on her?

If this psycho woman knocked him out with some sleeping potion and sliced him up bit by bit to become "The Vanished Him," his life would be completely over.

"That's not your home. Say whatever you have to say right here."

Ruolan hesitated once more before speaking timidly, "Can you promise me you won't get angry after I tell you?"

Jiang Yang took a deep breath. He figured nothing could be more maddening than being tricked into a fake marriage and having eighteen hidden cameras installed in his home.

"Go ahead, I promise I won't get angry," Jiang Yang said, trying his best to calm his nerves and brace himself for yet another mental shock.

Biting her lip, Ruolan murmured, "Actually... actually..."

"Actually what?"

"There aren't eighteen cameras in the room. There are twenty-three. You missed five of them..."

Jiang Yang's vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.