I'll Stay at Your Place for a Few Days

After meeting with Huo Yi, Lin Meng hadn't rested well for several days. Her biological clock woke her at seven-thirty, but she lay back down for another nap. Barely an hour had passed when her phone began vibrating nonstop.

Lin Meng had always been a light sleeper. She fumbled for the phone, still half-asleep, and answered. "Hello? Who is this?"

A familiar voice came through the line. "Mengmeng, it's me. I'm at your door. Can you open up?"

Before she even registered what was happening, Lin Meng agreed, "Mm, okay. Hold on."

With that, she hung up and was about to go back to sleep—but the next second, her eyes flew wide open, and she shot upright in bed.

In disbelief, she checked the caller ID again.

Hadn't she just met with Huo Yi yesterday? Hadn't she made things clear enough? Or had Huo Yi thought of something important and come to see her this early?

With that thought, Lin Meng quickly slipped into her slippers and ran to the door.

When she opened the door, she found Huo Yi standing in the hallway with two large suitcases, waving. "Hi, Mengmeng! Sorry for waking you so early—I texted you first, but you didn't reply, so I called."

Lin Meng didn't hear a word. Her full attention was fixed on the two massive suitcases. "Yiyi, what are you..."

At the question, Huo Yi dragged the suitcases inside, laughing. "Didn't you tell me yesterday you're scared living alone? I'm not comfortable with the idea of some bad person targeting you. You live by yourself; who knows what could happen before they catch the culprit? So I packed a few things—I'm staying with you for a few days."

Huh?

But Huo Yi hadn't given her any warning, and her apartment wasn't even tidy.

While Lin Meng stood frozen, Huo Yi had already wheeled the suitcases into the room. She took Lin Meng's hand and led her inside.

The sound of the door closing snapped Lin Meng back to her senses. She quickly turned to Huo Yi. "Yiyi, you really don't have to do this. There are plenty of people on this floor, and my colleague lives right next door. If someone really meant me harm, I doubt anything would happen."

From her tone, Huo Yi could tell Lin Meng was trying to refuse.

With a solemn expression, Huo Yi placed both hands on Lin Meng's shoulders. "Mengmeng, listen to me. I know you don't want to trouble me, but I genuinely don't feel at ease leaving you alone. I happen to have some free time lately, so let's just treat it as a vacation at your place. And don't worry—I'll cook and clean while I'm here. I won't freeload."

Lin Meng suddenly felt awkward. What concerned her wasn't Huo Yi freeloading; it was that she'd just confronted Huo Yi yesterday about the company surveillance, and now Huo Yi had shown up at her door without any warning.

She couldn't shake the feeling that her every move was being watched, yet Huo Yi was only doing this out of concern for her.

She'd never experienced anything like this before, so she couldn't tell whether this was genuine affection or something else.

How was she supposed to refuse outright?

More importantly, Huo Yi had already brought her suitcases inside.

Seeing Lin Meng still lost in thought, Huo Yi began exploring the apartment on her own. She first walked over to the two windows in the living room.

She opened each window in turn, brow furrowed in thought. Then she went to Lin Meng's bedroom to inspect it.

Lin Meng felt as though her private space had been violated. She rushed over. "Yiyi, what are you looking at?"

Huo Yi walked straight to the bedroom window and repeated the inspection. When she heard Lin Meng call out, she slowly turned and said matter-of-factly, "The windows still have old dust on them, which means the intruder didn't come in through the window. If they got in through the front door, they must have figured out your passcode. By the way, did you change it after you got back yesterday?"

Lin Meng nodded. "I did... but that's just my guess. Unless I catch someone in the act, I'd have to be diagnosed with paranoia. So I haven't told anyone about this except you."

At those words, a flicker of delight lit up Huo Yi's eyes. "Really?"

Lin Meng nodded with absolute certainty.

A sweet feeling welled up in Huo Yi's heart. She never expected the usually timid Lin Meng to trust her this much—that she mattered so much to Lin Meng.

Overcome with emotion, Huo Yi stepped forward and hugged Lin Meng. "Mengmeng, I'm so happy! Don't worry, while I'm here I'll sleep on the sofa outside."

When Huo Yi first arrived, Lin Meng hadn't wanted to let her in, but Huo Yi had wheeled her suitcases inside on her own, and Lin Meng couldn't bring herself to say she didn't want Huo Yi staying there, given their relationship.

And when Huo Yi barged into her bedroom, Lin Meng wanted to tell her that her bed was too small and would be uncomfortable. But just as she hesitated over whether to be blunt, Huo Yi offered to sleep on the sofa.

Lin Meng truly didn't know what to do. She could only lift her head and ask carefully, "Yiyi, how long are you planning to stay? I... I'm not saying I don't want you here, it's just that this one-bedroom apartment is really too small. I'm afraid you won't be comfortable, so, so..."

As she spoke, her gaze darted around as if searching for her next excuse.

Seeing her worried eyes, Huo Yi quickly stepped forward and patted her shoulder gently. "Not at all, Mengmeng. When I used to travel for work, I didn't always stay in presidential suites. I'm a bit particular about cleanliness, but other than that I'm not picky at all. Like I said, I'll help you clean while I'm here. Just relax!"

Huo Yi's words effectively blocked every path of refusal. Lin Meng couldn't think of a single reason to turn down such kindness.

If she kicked out Huo Yi, who was so worried about her, wouldn't she be heartless?

...

Whenever Lin Meng was with Huo Yi, she couldn't help but think about that world.

She remembered learning so many things in school during her adolescence. Her teachers and the people around her told her that a normal person should have friends. Yet there she was, already in middle school, with not a single one.

Why was that?

Lin Meng remembered the day she began testing her mother's limits. After school, she invited a quiet, well-liked girl from her class to walk home together.

The first day, she held her friend's hand and walked home—her mother didn't notice.

Over time, she grew bolder, lingering outside for five minutes, ten minutes... even longer.

Her classmates were actually good people. They weren't all bad like her mother said.

Lin Meng wanted to fly out of that suffocating cage. Driven by teenage rebellion, she tested the boundaries again and again. She thought her mother would come around, would unlock the shackles around her ankles. But then one day, her fantasy shattered...

The girl who had nearly become her good friend stood before the entire class one day, bowed to her, and apologized. "Lin Meng, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so close to you. Please, just let me go. Tell your mom to stop following me after school every day, okay? I don't want things to end up at the police station."

Only then did Lin Meng realize the truth—after seeing her new friend, her mother had found another way to control her.

After that public apology, the whole class feared her mother. One by one, they all distanced themselves from her.

She was only in her first year of middle school then. Her school reassigned classes every year, but inevitably there were familiar faces from previous classes. That reputation followed her for three full years. During those three years, she felt like she was living alone on a deserted island. Even if someone later dared to approach her despite the warnings, her mother's crazed behavior scared them off.

Some said she had a mentally ill mother; others said her family had fallen apart because of her mother... and there were many, many more cruel words.

She covered her ears and forced herself to stop interacting with the outside world.

Sometimes she resented her mother for her classmates isolating her, but every time she came home, her mother would pull her into an embrace and say affectionately, "Mengmeng, Mama only has you now... See? Your classmates got upset over such a small thing—that shows they weren't truly your friends. So what if Mengmeng has no friends? At least Mama will always be by your side... Mama is useless, I can't give you a comfortable life, but I've been working hard to earn money. As long as Mengmeng says she wants something, Mama can buy it for you."

This routine—a slap followed by a sweet reward—was something Lin Meng had known since childhood. So she would wipe the sadness and resentment from her face, and her once lively, vivacious young face would suddenly wear a smile like a programmed response. "I know, Mama. I don't want anything. I only want you, Mama."

Those gentle arms—like blades, like a dangerous honeycomb luring her in—wrapped tightly around her. "I knew it. Mengmeng is Mama's good child."

...

As the sun sank westward, the hottest part of the day finally passed.

In the end, Lin Meng couldn't bear to let Huo Yi sleep on the sofa, so she spread the bedding Huo Yi had brought on the other side of her own bed.

Lin Meng thought: Huo Yi is a pampered young miss, and she has a certain degree of germaphobia. How could she possibly tolerate sleeping on a sofa that so many people had sat on?

When Huo Yi saw what Lin Meng had done, she seemed deeply moved.

She quietly walked up behind Lin Meng and hugged her tightly. "Mengmeng, I'm not joking. Can I pursue you? My family is quite open-minded, and I hold real authority in my household. Even if I marry a beta, my family won't gossip the way the Su family does."

Lin Meng hadn't expected Huo Yi to say it so bluntly. Startled, she quickly broke free from the embrace. "Yiyi, don't joke about that."

Seeing her reaction, Huo Yi's brows drew together slightly. She looked at Lin Meng with utter seriousness. "Mengmeng, I swear to heaven I'm being serious. This isn't a joke!"

When Lin Meng saw her reaching for her hand again, she evaded the intimate gesture. "No... I can only take it as a joke, because I've never had a friend like you—someone as bright as the sun. You're someone I've never encountered before. I finally mustered a little courage to explore the world, to meet different people. But if you insist on saying things like this, then we can't even be friends anymore..."

Though Lin Meng avoided her gaze the entire time, her tone was utterly serious—even quicker than usual.

It was clear that Lin Meng had never entertained such thoughts in the first place. If she kept pressing with excuses like this, Lin Meng would truly become afraid of her, resent her, even distance herself from her.

Her affection was like a blazing flame under the golden sun—bright, but most likely to burn in the height of summer. Lin Meng was like jade buried in the mountains for years; no matter how beautiful the jade, it is still stone, and after exposure to searing heat, it easily cracks.

A bitter, sour feeling surged through Huo Yi's heart. She had always been the best in her family since childhood. Aside from being overshadowed by Su Yutang every time, she had never encountered any setbacks. But today, an utterly heartbroken, desolate emotion began to spread through her.

Yes—when you've warmed it, you fear it will shatter and pull away; when you can't warm it, you wish it would just stir with that feeling, so you could have a pure romance together.

This feeling was suspended—addictive, yet so painful and heartbreaking.

Huo Yi didn't know how long she'd been spacing out in front of Lin Meng. Then she lifted her head and restored her usual smile. "Mm, I understand... But Mengmeng, setting all that aside, we're still friends, right?"

Seeing the bitter smile on her face, Lin Meng gave a slight nod. "Mm, yes."

Only then did Huo Yi feel slightly relieved. "Mm, that's enough. Can I stay by your side always? I don't mean you any harm. Don't chase me away, okay?"

Her expression was incredibly earnest as she spoke. Lin Meng couldn't resist those eyes that seemed to glisten with tears, staring straight at her. "Mm, I won't chase you away."

At those words, a look of relief broke across Huo Yi's face. She quickly pressed close to Lin Meng, linked arms with her, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mengmeng, don't push me away. After all, we're good friends—it's normal for good friends to do this kind of thing. You haven't had many friends before, so you probably don't know how to interact with normal friends, right?"

After Huo Yi's earlier words, Lin Meng had developed a vague sense of wariness toward her.

She had originally intended to resist Huo Yi's physical intimacy, but hearing this brought back memories of her youth.

She lowered her eyes, a barely perceptible sadness crossing her face. "Mm... Besides you and Zhuzhu, I've never had any other friends. I don't know what's wrong with me—before I met you two, my real world was a complete blank. Before that, my ordinary, unremarkable life consisted of commuting, eating, sleeping, and scrolling through my phone to read novels. I never interacted with any strangers."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in Huo Yi's eyes. She wrapped an arm around Lin Meng's shoulder. "It's okay. Someone as wonderful as Mengmeng will make plenty more friends in the future."

Lin Meng shook her head slightly. "No... Having you two as friends is enough. I'm just not good at getting along with others."

Huo Yi held Lin Meng's shoulders again, her expression earnest. "Mengmeng, you don't need to try so hard to get along with people. Do you know you have a natural charisma? You just stand there and countless people flock to you."

Lin Meng: "?"

Really? How had she never noticed?

Even when she transmigrated into the novel world, it was she who approached Yun Huaizhu and Su Yutang first—though her schemes ultimately failed.

Huo Yi stared into her distant eyes. "So, you should have more confidence in yourself."

Lin Meng had no idea where Huo Yi got that conclusion, but she nodded along. "Mm."

After that topic ended, Huo Yi gradually lowered Lin Meng's guard. She was pressed close to Lin Meng now, and a faint, strangely fragrant pheromone began to fill the air around them.

Huo Yi thought: If only Lin Meng could smell her pheromones. Then she could test whether Lin Meng, whose heart was firm as stone, would remain as indifferent as she was now.

Her pheromones were potent enough to arouse even an S-rank omega. In melodramatic dramas, the cliché way to force two people who didn't love each other together was always through drugging—but Huo Yi didn't need such methods. She only needed to release her pheromones.

But why couldn't Lin Meng smell them?

By the way, that temporary beta-differentiation drug had already been successfully developed. Could she try it on Lin Meng?

She had always hated the way AO pheromones attracted people—or rather, being forced into estrus through drugs, forcibly binding two people who didn't love each other together.

If she weren't backed into a corner with no other option, she wouldn't have entertained such a thought.

Sometimes she truly hated herself for not being ruthless enough. Otherwise, she wouldn't have the patience to domesticate someone with no emotional experience.

When Huo Yi saw Lin Meng's drowsy face on the verge of sleep, she reined in her dark, unspeakable thoughts.

Lin Meng hadn't slept well for days, suspecting someone had broken into her home. Now, with a familiar person beside her, her tension melted away, and exhaustion crashed over her.

As she was about to fall asleep, Huo Yi whispered a suggestion. "Mengmeng, since we suspect it's someone you know, that person must be familiar with your schedule. If you go to work, you won't be able to catch them yourself. Why don't you take a few days off and wait at home? If nothing happens after a few days, you can go back to work."

Lin Meng was too sleepy to think straight. She nodded while mumbling, "But... I already took so many days off last month... year-end... year-end bonus..."

She was so tired she didn't even know what she was saying anymore. Huo Yi let out a helpless chuckle. "Your health matters most. Money can be earned slowly. If this wears you down, the loss won't be worth it."

Lin Meng nodded slightly. "Oh, okay."

With that, she closed her eyes and fell quietly asleep.

...

Seeing that Lin Meng was asleep, Huo Yi gently laid her flat on the bed. For some reason, she sat by the bedside just watching Lin Meng sleep. The more she looked, the happier she felt. In the darkness of night, her lips brushed Lin Meng's soft ones like a dragonfly skimming water.

Perhaps only when Lin Meng was asleep could she be handled like this. If she did something to Lin Meng now, Lin Meng wouldn't notice a thing, would she?

As this thought crossed Huo Yi's mind, a flash of light seemed to streak through her brain. Even she was startled by her own sudden idea.

Someone who knew Lin Meng well, and who would also collect fingerprints to guess her passcode—only one person fit those conditions.

At that thought, a chill of revulsion rose in Huo Yi's heart.

That Yun Huaizhu was far more twisted than she had imagined. Of course, given Yun Huaizhu's family environment, her level of depravity was probably beyond anything Huo Yi could conceive.

Wasn't Yun Huaizhu supposed to be Lin Meng's good friend?

Lin Meng treated Yun Huaizhu better than she treated Huo Yi. If Yun Huaizhu so much as mentioned wanting to visit Lin Meng's home, how could Lin Meng refuse? But if that were the case, why would Yun Huaizhu sneak in secretly?

Did she have some kind of perversion?

As this thought crossed Huo Yi's mind, her gaze drifted back to the sleeping Lin Meng.

Once Lin Meng was deeply asleep, she was completely defenseless. The strap of her pajamas had slipped down without her noticing, making her look like a coquettish little bunny inviting attention.

Huo Yi could barely restrain herself at this sight, but Yun Huaizhu was another matter entirely.

Could Yun Huaizhu have been sneaking into Lin Meng's home just to do this?

At that thought, Huo Yi couldn't help but want to call the police on Lin Meng's behalf.

Though she herself was hardly a saint, compared to a pervert like Yun Huaizhu, she was still far better.

No. She absolutely could not give Yun Huaizhu another chance to harm Lin Meng.

But then again... Lin Meng was incredibly soft-hearted. If Yun Huaizhu cried in front of her, using some excuse like "my heat cycle is too torturous, I really couldn't hold back," Lin Meng might actually believe her.

By then, Lin Meng wouldn't just not resent Yun Huaizhu—she'd pity her even more.

And wouldn't she, the one who exposed the truth, become the villain who drove a wedge between Lin Meng and Yun Huaizhu?

If that happened, Lin Meng would hate her.

With Yun Huaizhu's talent for manipulation, Lin Meng would inevitably be stolen away by her sooner or later.

As this thought crossed Huo Yi's mind, a certain person suddenly surfaced in her thoughts. She glanced quietly at Lin Meng, then tiptoed out of the room.

She found the bathroom, which had decent soundproofing, closed the door, and dialed a number saved as "Aunt Su." The phone rang for a while before a lazy female voice answered. "What's this, little money-grubber? Calling me—is there something you need Aunt Su's help with?"

Hearing this, Huo Yi laughed. "Aunt Su, you're still such a joker. I'm calling because I miss you, of course. My mom came back a while ago and told me to send you her regards. She said we should have a meal together during the New Year when we're free."

The woman on the other end couldn't help but laugh. "Ruian is still so polite. But it has been three or four years since I last saw your mother. A meal together during the New Year would be nice—Aunt Su will prepare a big red envelope for you then."

Huo Yi let out a hearty laugh.

She chatted with Su Yurong about several topics. When she judged Su Yurong's mood to be at its peak, she shifted the subject. "Aunt Su, how is Tangtang doing? I haven't been able to reach her for almost half a year. Tangtang may have gone a bit too far in some matters, but surely she's been punished enough by now. Several of us sisters miss her, and she still has a partnership with my company. If she keeps disappearing, there are major decisions I can't make on my own."

The woman let out a heavy sigh. "That child Tangtang has broken my heart. I'll have her back this month, but she'll be confined to the old estate. If you miss her, you can come visit. You two grew up together as childhood friends. As her mother, my words may not carry as much weight as yours. When you see her, you must talk some sense into her too."