Ch18 Baby, Just Forgive Me
"Go!"
Meng Ci placed a black object on the ground, then operated the remote control in his hand. Soon, the thing on the ground slowly rose into the air.
Only after it was fully airborne did he realize it resembled a fly in shape, about the size of an adult's pinky finger.
Meng Ci had stumbled upon it while shopping for drones earlier.
The description touted ultra-long battery life, ultra-clear video capture, and crystal-clear audio recording-all while remaining nearly impossible to detect.
With plenty of cash to spare, Meng Ci reasoned that not buying something would just leave him with a string of useless numbers.
So he'd picked up several gadgets that piqued his interest, and now one was proving invaluable.
Under Meng Ci's command, the fly-sized surveillance device silently ascended into the air before gliding forward a short distance.
Once the camera precisely captured Li Xiaoya and her companions, Meng Ci instructed the mechanical fly to stick to the ceiling.
After adjusting the camera angle and confirming the headphones picked up sound, Meng Ci ascended two more floors to the tenth level.
Based on his observations over the past few days, the tenth floor was currently unoccupied, and several rooms had been quietly pried open.
Meng Ci selected a room, entered, and locked the door from the inside.
He first pulled out a stack of useless cardboard from his spatial pocket and spread it on the floor.
He continued rummaging, pulling out a beanbag chair, a small table, and lighting a scented candle.
He then placed a cup of yogurt-flavored lychee dessert on the table, followed by a heaping pile of snacks-potato chips, spicy strips, sunflower seeds-spilling across the surface.
Only then, satisfied, did he prop up his phone and glance at the screen.
"Knock knock!"
On the other side of the monitor, Li Xiaoya had been knocking on the door for quite some time.
Seeing no one answering after prolonged knocking, Li Xiaoya's elegant, charming smile began to crack.
Her head kept turning back; Li Xiaoya was already considering leaving.
But Zhang Lu kept waving her hands, signaling for her to keep knocking. Li Xiaoya had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue.
"Is this ever going to end?!"
With a click, Li Xiaoya heard the door unlock. Her eyes lit up.
She quickly composed her expression, only to be met by an impatient voice.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Li Xiaoya took a small step back, head bowed, her voice filled with hurt as she hurriedly apologized.
Meng Ci, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but gasp.
Had he not been attracted to men, and had he not known exactly what kind of person Li Xiaoya was, he might have been charmed by her.
That pitifully helpless look truly stirred a man's protective instincts.
Yet, unexpectedly, the man across from her wasn't the least bit tempted. Instead, he rolled his eyes, showing no appreciation whatsoever.
"You know you're sorry, yet you still knock?" He then eyed Li Xiaoya up and down, his tone dripping with contempt.
"And dressed like that? You didn't come here to seduce someone, did you?"
Li Xiaoya shook her head hastily. "No, no."
"I just saw you guys go out to get food and wanted to buy some from you. Honestly, that's all."
Li Xiaoya mentally rolled her eyes at him. How dare this grown man speak to a young woman like this?
Where were his gentlemanly manners?
The man snorted coldly. "Buy? Money? Show me the money."
Earlier, while they were carrying things back, several people had tried to buy from them but were turned down.
Now this girl showed up, dressed so flamboyantly-clearly eyeing them because they were all men.
How shameless!
Li Xiaoya had no money. They'd spent every last cent on food during the third day of the downpour.
Between the four of them, they didn't even have two hundred yuan combined. Naturally, they couldn't produce any cash.
"I... I can sign an IOU," LI Xiaoya said, her eyes brimming with tears.
Usually, if Li Xiaoya acted like this, the men around her would just hand over whatever she wanted without hesitation.
But clearly, this man before her was no ordinary person.
Disdain was written all over his face. He pointed at himself and said, "Come on, do I look like a kid to you? Signing an IOU?"
"Can an IOU feed you? Can it be spent like cash?"
"Get lost, or I'll beat you up."
Seeing the man raise his fist, Li Xiaoya was genuinely frightened this time. "I"
Before she could finish, another young man emerged from the house.
Li Xiaoya recognized him-it was the man who had gone out searching in the assault boat earlier!
The words she'd been about to say to leave instantly vanished. Instead, she looked at the man with an even more pitiful expression, as if she'd been wronged.
The words she'd been about to say to leave instantly vanished. Instead, she looked at the man with an even more pitiful expression, as if she'd been wronged.
Meng Ci, who had been monitoring everything, also recognized him-this was Si Chen, the male lead of the book.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
Hearing this, Meng Ci realized that the person who had just exchanged sharp words with Li Xiaoya was Si Chen's childhood friend, Wen Si'ang.
"It's all because she kept banging on the door!"
Wen Si'ang's tone was sharp as he pushed away Si Chen's arm that was reaching out to hug him.
Li Xiaoya saw Si Chen's sunny, athletic build-just like the boys who usually fawned over her-and knew her chance had come.
"I, I just wanted to buy some food!" Tears already fell from Li Xiaoya's eyes.
"I haven't eaten in days!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
As she bowed repeatedly in apology, the already low neckline of her dress plunged further, revealing her chest completely.
"I didn't mean to knock on the door."
"I just wanted to buy some food -I don't know how I upset this gentleman!"
"If I've done anything wrong, I'll definitely change."
Having gone hungry for days, LI Xiaoya now wore a pitifully vulnerable makeup, making her even more endearing.
Wen Si'ang turned away. He couldn't care less about this.
And what was this girl's deal? He hadn't even laid a finger on anyone. Why was she crying like this?
"What are you crying for? Are you burying yourself alive?"
But then he remembered Li Xiaoya was acting this way because of Si Chen. His hand shot out, grabbing Si Chen's ear and twisting it hard.
"Spill it! Did you bring this person here?"
"You've got your eye on her, haven't you?"
Si Chen held his hands up in surrender. "No, no!"
"Baby, you're my favorite. I've never even met her!"
"How could I possibly like her!"
"That's more like it!"
Wen Si'ang withdrew his hand, shoved Si Chen aside, and stormed off to the living room.
If Li Xiaoya hadn't been pounding on the door, fearing she'd disturb everyone's sleep, he wouldn't have bothered opening it.
Now that Si Chen-the one who could resolve this mess-had arrived, Wen Si'ang naturally didn't want to linger.
Seeing Wen Si'ang leave, Li Xiaoya's heart raced.
Her chance had come!
Taking a step forward, Li Xiaoya thought: With that annoying guy finally gone, she could properly implement the tactics Zhang Lu had taught her.
But unexpectedly, after Wen Si'ang left, Si Chen didn't even glance at Li Xiaoya. He slammed the door shut and scampered right behind Wen Si'ang!
"Baby, I was wrong! Please forgive me!"
"I..."
"Ah!"
Li Xiaoya couldn't help but kick the security door hard.
How could these people be so insensitive? It was outrageous.
Meng Ci witnessed the scene and nearly choked on his own laughter.
He'd always said Si Chen was into guys-how could he possibly fancy Li Xiaoya?
Besides, Wen Si'ang's looks were leagues ahead of Li Xiaoya's. Where did she even get the confidence to compete with him?
Meng Ci also deeply doubted the book's portrayal of Li Xiaoya and Liu Jie eventually becoming the male lead's right-hand men.
Could all this really be Liu Jie's doing?