At 3 a.m., when most people are in the deepest part of their sleep, Mo Ming got out of bed and once again approached the small balcony. Pang Yuanqing was someone he usually wouldn’t have access to, and if he missed tonight’s opportunity, it would be difficult to get this close to him again in the future.
Someone like Pang Yuanqing, who held such a high position and kept his emotions tightly controlled, was entirely different from people like Xia Qing or Shen Qian. Trying to interact directly might only expose himself.
The simplest and most direct method was often the most effective.
The rain had long since stopped, and a clear moon hung in the night sky, though the air was still bitterly cold.
Under the light of the overhead moon, Mo Ming carefully climbed over the stone statue, exerting considerable effort to step onto the small balcony next door.
The room inside was dark, but Mo Ming could make out a figure lying on the bed, breathing evenly, already deeply asleep.
Barefoot, Mo Ming crouched down and slowly moved toward the bedside, his hand cautiously searching the nightstand for a phone. When he couldn’t find it, he reached for the pillow instead. Suddenly, a vibrating sound came from beneath the pillow, making Mo Ming jerk his hand back and quickly roll under the bed.
The bedside lamp was gently turned on, and the person on the bed answered the call.
Given the room’s silence, Mo Ming could faintly hear the voice on the other end of the phone. The conversation was fragmented, but it seemed to be about the sudden worsening of the Pang family elder’s condition.
Only something like this could warrant a call at three in the morning…
“Mm, I understand…” Pang Yuanqing’s voice was lazy, tinged with an indifferent coldness. “I’ll head back now. Keep me updated on any developments.”
After hanging up, Pang Yuanqing turned on the main lights in the room.
From under the bed, Mo Ming watched as a pair of feet stepped onto the carpet. The sound of clothes rustling told him that Pang Yuanqing was getting dressed.
Mo Ming frowned, realizing there would be no chance to get hold of the man’s phone. He rested his chin on his arms, quietly waiting for those feet to leave.
“Make sure you expedite the tasks I assigned.”
Pang Yuanqing’s deep voice came from above again, indicating he had made another phone call.
“Pang Mingshun doesn’t have much time left. If we don’t deal with Han Shao Zhou before he dies, everything will be for nothing…”
Mo Ming’s body tensed up beneath the bed.
“If we can’t stage an accident, hire someone with nothing to lose. He’s not particularly on guard right now; it won’t be difficult to get it done… Just make sure the aftermath is handled cleanly.”
After hanging up the phone, Pang Yuanqing noticed the curtains being gently moved by the breeze. He frowned slightly, then walked over and fully pulled them open.
Gazing at the small gap in the sliding glass door, Pang Yuanqing’s eyes narrowed. He stepped out onto the balcony, scanning the area, before returning inside and carefully closing the door.
After making a call to his driver, Pang Yuanqing turned to wash up.
Hearing the sound of running water, Mo Ming slowly crawled out from under the bed.
The phone was nowhere to be seen on the desk or bed; Pang Yuanqing must have taken it with him into the bathroom. Left with no other option, Mo Ming slipped back under the bed.
After tidying up, Pang Yuanqing left the room.
However, a short distance down the hallway, Pang Yuanqing suddenly stopped. The image of that slightly ajar balcony door flashed through his mind again… His instincts were usually very accurate.
Two seconds later, Pang Yuanqing swiftly turned around and headed back to the room. He swiped his card to unlock the door and went straight to the bedroom, only to find that the balcony door had been opened again.
“Who’s there?” Pang Yuanqing rushed out onto the balcony, just in time to see a figure deftly swinging from the edge of the balcony, using the momentum to drop down to the balcony below.
Because his mind was tangled with various thoughts, Han Shao Zhou hadn’t fallen asleep until after one in the morning, so when the doorbell rang at 3 a.m., he was more than a little annoyed.
What he didn’t expect was to see Pang Yuanqing at his door.
Pang Yuanqing was impeccably dressed, his expression cold as he stood in the hallway, his bodyguard behind him.
“Sorry to disturb you, Xiao Han,” Pang Yuanqing said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “A thief just broke into my room and then escaped down to your balcony.”
“Uncle, are you asking to search my room?” Han Shao Zhou replied with a half-smile. “If there’s a thief, shouldn’t you be calling the police?”
“I’m just concerned for your safety, Xiao Han.”
“I just woke up and checked. There’s no one here.”
“Just waking up makes it harder to notice if someone’s hiding inside.”
“If I let you in to search and you find only me, will you then suspect that I was the one who sneaked into your room?” Han Shao Zhou asked with an undertone of meaning.
Pang Yuanqing didn’t actually suspect Han Shao Zhou himself; the figure he saw was too slender to be Han Shao Zhou. But he did suspect one of Han Shao Zhou’s subordinates.
“Well, whether it’s just you is something I’ll need to confirm.”
“At this point, if I don’t let you in, it’ll look like I have something to hide.” Han Shao Zhou smirked. “Fine, come in. But let’s make it clear—if there’s no one but me, you’ll have to apologize to me in person.”
Pang Yuanqing stared at Han Shao Zhou for a moment. “Deal.”
Han Shao Zhou leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed and nodded toward the room. “Go ahead and check.”
Pang Yuanqing’s bodyguard entered the room, while Pang Yuanqing stayed by the door.
It wasn’t long before the bodyguard returned and reported, “Boss, there’s someone in the bed.”
“Hmm.” Pang Yuanqing then stepped into the room.
Han Shao Zhou was momentarily stunned but quickly followed, only to see a figure lying under the snow-white blanket on the bed. A few strands of black hair peeked out from under the covers, and there was a trail of discarded clothes on the carpet beside the bed.
Pang Yuanqing turned to Han Shao Zhou, his thin-framed glasses reflecting the light slightly. “Just one person?”
Han Shao Zhou stared at the bed in disbelief.
Two hands emerged from under the blanket, cat-like, clutching the edge of the cover. Slowly, they pulled the blanket down, revealing a smooth forehead, eyebrows, and a pair of black eyes that blinked nervously at the group standing by the bed.
“Mo…”
Han Shao Zhou’s eyes widened, his voice catching in his throat.
“Han-ge, why did you let people in…” Mo Ming murmured, barely showing his eyes above the blanket, his brows furrowed. “I’m not even dressed yet.”
Han Shao Zhou: “…”
Pang Yuanqing immediately instructed his bodyguard, “Check the temperature of his feet.”
“Yes, sir.”
The bodyguard approached, reaching out to lift the blanket, but Han Shao Zhou quickly grabbed his wrist.
Han Shao Zhou’s eyes flashed coldly. “Touch him, and see what happens.”
The bodyguard slowly withdrew his hand and looked toward his boss.
“I just need to confirm whether this person just entered the room,” Pang Yuanqing said calmly.
“Uncle, can’t you see the relationship I have with the person in that bed?” Han Shao Zhou replied with a steady voice. “We’ve been together all night. We finished not long before you arrived. When would he have had the time or energy to sneak into your room?”
Mo Ming’s hands loosened their grip on the blanket, causing it to slip down a little, revealing his snow-white shoulders. Han Shao Zhou quickly pulled the blanket up to cover Mo Ming’s entire head.
“He’s completely undressed right now. If you lift the blanket, it’s like slapping me in the face,” Han Shao Zhou said, his tone firm. “Uncle, you wouldn’t embarrass me like that, would you?”
“You just said you were alone…”
“Mo Ming and I are about to get engaged,” Han Shao Zhou interrupted smoothly. “Grandfather has been eagerly waiting for me to bring him a grandson-in-law. I was planning to take Mo Ming to see him in the next couple of days.”
A few seconds of silence followed…
Pang Yuanqing adjusted his glasses and smiled slightly. “Is that so? So this is my nephew-in-law.”
Han Shao Zhou also smiled faintly. “I can vouch for Mo Ming with my own reputation. Don’t you trust me, Uncle?”
“Of course I do.” Pang Yuanqing’s gaze lingered on the lump in the bed for a few seconds. “Mo Ming… is it?”
Han Shao Zhou sat down on the bed, lightly patting the blanket-covered Mo Ming. He smiled and said, “Don’t be scared, little one. Uncle isn’t a stranger. Come on, greet Uncle. When we get married, you can expect a big red envelope from him.”
Like a little kitten, Mo Ming slowly pulled the blanket down, revealing his trembling lashes and nervously stammered, “U-Uncle… Hello, Uncle.”
Han Shao Zhou pinched Mo Ming’s cheek affectionately, smiling. “Good boy.”
Pang Yuanqing’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. He turned and left the room with his bodyguard.
“Get someone to investigate this Mo Ming,” Pang Yuanqing instructed in the hallway.
“Yes, sir.”
After closing the door, Han Shao Zhou dashed back to the bedroom like the wind.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Han Shao Zhou rolled up his sleeves and reached into the blanket. Mo Ming, panicking, tried to pull his feet back, hurriedly saying, “I-I didn’t do it on purpose…”
Han Shao Zhou ignored him, determined to grab one of Mo Ming’s feet despite his attempts to kick him away.
With a swift movement, Han Shao Zhou caught one of Mo Ming’s feet and, with a yank, pulled him down to the foot of the bed.
“Your feet are cold as ice, and they feel like they’ve got dust on them.” Han Shao Zhou held Mo Ming’s foot, looking down at him. “You really did climb in from the balcony, didn’t you?”
Mo Ming pulled the blanket over his head, choosing to hide instead of answering.
Han Shao Zhou: “…”
The thin blanket was no match for Han Shao Zhou. He easily slid under it, pinning Mo Ming down. Just as he was about to interrogate him, he realized Mo Ming’s whole body was cold.
Han Shao Zhou squeezed Mo Ming’s face, gritting his teeth. “You just wait.”
He got up and went to the bathroom to run some hot water.
Only after Han Shao Zhou left the bed did Mo Ming poke his furry head out from under the blanket. He wanted to get dressed and escape, but found that all his clothes had disappeared.
Damn it, no way to leave now…
“I took your clothes,” Han Shao Zhou said, leaning against the bathroom door with his arms crossed, watching Mo Ming. “I just staked my reputation for you. If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation, you’re not going anywhere tonight.”
Seeing the “confess and I’ll go easy on you” look on Han Shao Zhou’s face, Mo Ming pursed his lips, his brows knitting together.
“That trick isn’t going to work now,” Han Shao Zhou said sternly. “Even crying won’t help.”
Once the bath was ready, Han Shao Zhou forcibly stripped the last piece of clothing off Mo Ming and carried him straight into the tub filled with warm water.
The water rose to Mo Ming’s neck, and the warmth seeped into his cold limbs. He curled up comfortably, obediently squatting in the tub. Han Shao Zhou propped one leg up, sitting sideways on the edge of the tub, his sharp gaze like a cold wind lingering above.
“You climbed from your balcony into my uncle’s room, and when he caught you, you escaped to mine.” Han Shao Zhou said in a low voice. “Is that right?”
Mo Ming shrank further into the water, leaving only his eyes above the surface.
His silence was as good as confirmation.
A surge of anger flared up inside Han Shao Zhou, burning through him so intensely that he felt his organs tremble. “Are you crazy? Do you think you’re a gecko reborn? This place is over thirty floors up! If you fell, there wouldn’t even be a body left to find!”
Seeing the furious expression twisting Han Shao Zhou’s face, Mo Ming lightly pressed his lips together and slowly emerged from the water, murmuring softly, “There won’t be a next time.”
