Chapter 2

In the days that followed, Ye Feng felt that Liu Meimei had definitely forgotten about him. They were merely acquaintances, not close friends, and perhaps not even acquaintances. Liu Meimei had just happened to ask him for a small favor.

However, for several nights in a row, he would dream of Liu Meimei, seeing her gently smile at him and hearing her call his name in a soft voice.

Ye Feng felt that his secret crush on Liu Meimei was not just painful but sinful, a sin of suffering. How could he not be suffering if he couldn't stop thinking about a woman he had only met once?

Later, in the villa complex, Ye Feng encountered Liu Meimei several more times. Each time they met, Liu Meimei would call out his name. During the hot summer, she would sometimes even stop by the construction site where Ye Feng worked and bring him an ice cream, saying with a smile, "Ye Feng, it's so hot today, let me buy you an ice cream."

Then, after Ye Feng took the ice cream, Liu Meimei would smile at him and skip away.

This made Ye Feng's face turn red and his heart race, and it also earned him the envy and jealousy of his coworkers.

Ye Feng thought to himself, "She must have a good impression of me, otherwise why would she, among so many people at the construction site, only buy ice cream for me, and do so for several days in a row?"

It must be said that Ye Feng, who had never been in a relationship, was easily misled by a beautiful woman's playful teasing. If this misunderstanding continued, it could be fatal.

Because of the ice cream, Ye Feng and Liu Meimei's relationship gradually became more harmonious. They started to communicate more, and Ye Feng would occasionally visit Liu Meimei's home after work, chatting with her and sharing stories about his rural life, while she would tell him about her college days and work experiences.

After this period of interaction, Ye Feng no longer felt nervous or timid in front of Liu Meimei. He gradually became more confident, even daring to ask her questions, such as what she did for a living, why she was always alone in the villa, and whether she had any family or friends. Although she never answered any of his questions, this did not stop Ye Feng from feeling that Liu Meimei must have a good impression of him.

Until one day, Ye Feng saw Liu Meimei with a young, handsome man in the villa complex, and they entered her home together, acting intimately. The fiery passion in Ye Feng's heart suddenly cooled. He mocked himself, "Ye Feng, you're just a worker at the bottom of society. What makes you think Liu Meimei would like you?"

The young, handsome man turned out to be a police officer, as he often came to the villa complex in his police uniform and car. What made Ye Feng even more sad was that one time, when Liu Meimei's bathroom drain was clogged again, she called Ye Feng to help, but the police officer was also in her home.

While Ye Feng was fixing the drain, he could hear Liu Meimei and the police officer flirting openly outside. At that moment, Ye Feng realized that a secret crush was not just painful but also a sin.

Ye Feng's life took a major turn when the bathroom drain in Liu Meimei's home clogged for the third time. She called Ye Feng to help again, and this time, she made a request.

She asked Ye Feng to completely remove the bathroom tiles and thoroughly examine why the drain was always clogged. Ye Feng was puzzled but agreed without much thought.

However, removing the tiles and fixing the pipes was not something Ye Feng could do alone in a short time. He suggested asking a coworker to help, but Liu Meimei firmly refused. Her reason sounded weak; she said she had a phobia of dirt and could only allow Ye Feng to do the work, not anyone else.

It was just a matter of time and effort, so Ye Feng didn't insist. He went back to the construction site to get some necessary tools and started the work alone.

Unlike before, this time Liu Meimei stayed by Ye Feng's side, watching him work. He couldn't get rid of her, and her expression looked tense, as if she was expecting something or afraid of something.

When Ye Feng removed the bathroom tiles, a shocking scene unfolded. He never expected that under the tiles, there was a hidden space.

The space under the tiles was about two square meters, and the drain pipe, which should have gone straight through, had been rerouted with several bends, causing frequent clogs.

In this two-square-meter space, there was a large, long, dark green rectangular box, not made of wood but seemingly of iron, with rust from age.

Ye Feng looked at Liu Meimei and saw an extremely excited expression on her face. Her body was trembling slightly. When Ye Feng reached out to take the rectangular iron box, Liu Meimei suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "Ye Feng, thank you. You don't need to worry about the rest. Just go. Don't tell anyone about this. I think this box was placed here by my parents, involving some family secrets. I can't tell you more. Thank you very much. Just go."

Ye Feng had many questions but didn't dare to ask. He tidied up and left her home.

For many days after that, Ye Feng didn't see Liu Meimei again. Even when the construction project was almost finished, he still hadn't seen her.

One night, when Ye Feng was sound asleep, his phone, which was on his pillow, rang, waking him up. He groggily opened his phone and saw that it was Liu Meimei calling.

Ye Feng excitedly answered the call and said, "Hello."

"Is that you, Ye Feng? Where are you?" It was indeed Liu Meimei's voice, but it sounded shaky and anxious.

"It's me. I'm at the construction site. Why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?"

"Ye Feng, don't ask any questions. I need your help urgently. Come to my house right now."

Before Ye Feng could ask what was wrong, Liu Meimei hung up.

Thinking of Liu Meimei's beautiful face and the ice cream she had bought him on a hot summer day, Ye Feng, despite his better judgment, got dressed and went to her house at around two in the morning.

But as soon as he entered Liu Meimei's home, something unexpected happened. A cold, hard object was pressed against his head.

When Ye Feng turned his head to see what was pressing against him, a chill ran down his spine, and a sense of instinctive fear gripped him.

The object pressing against his head was a black gun. Ye Feng had seen such guns on TV; he didn't know if they could kill from a distance, but at such close range, he would definitely die if the gun went off.

What was even more chilling was that the person holding the gun was the police officer, the same one who had been intimate with Liu Meimei.

The police officer was not in uniform but in a black casual outfit, looking at Ye Feng coldly. When their eyes met, Ye Feng saw a look of contempt and mockery in the officer's eyes.

"Brother, don't move. The safety on this gun is off. If you move, I might accidentally fire it."

Ye Feng was drenched in cold sweat, not knowing what was happening. Why did Liu Meimei call him in the middle of the night? Why was the police officer there, and why was he threatening him with a gun?

Ye Feng felt his mind couldn't process the situation. The instinctive fear overwhelmed everything. He didn't dare to speak or move, standing there stiffly.

At that moment, Liu Meimei came down from upstairs. Her face was pale, with red marks, as if she had been slapped. She was wearing a sheer silk nightgown, and in the light, Ye Feng could clearly see her white breasts. Strangely, she was holding a blood-stained knife.

She walked shakily to Ye Feng, lifting the knife as if to hand it to him, but each time she raised it to her chest, she would let it fall weakly. Her pale face was trembling, and her teeth were biting her lips, drawing blood.

Ye Feng still didn't understand what was happening. He mustered the courage to ask, "Liu Meimei, what's going on? Why is your boyfriend pointing a gun at me? What's happening?"

As soon as Ye Feng said this, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead. The police officer had hit him with the gun's butt. It didn't bleed, but it hurt a lot.

The police officer then took the knife from Liu Meimei, wiped it with a cloth, and forced it into Ye Feng's hand. He pressed the gun against the back of Ye Feng's head and said coldly, "If you don't want to die, go upstairs."

Ye Feng was terrified. This was the first time he had experienced such a situation. He regretted coming to Liu Meimei's house, but it was too late. He was being threatened by a police officer with a gun, and he had no idea why.

Ye Feng held the knife unconsciously and walked up the stairs, step by step, to a bedroom door. At that moment, he heard Liu Meimei say behind him, "Liu Yong, do we really have to do this?"

Liu Yong, it seemed, was the name of Liu Meimei's police officer boyfriend.

"At this point, is there a better way? We can only blame this guy for his bad luck. Many people in this villa complex, especially the neighbors, know that this worker likes you and often comes to your house. He has enough reason to have evil thoughts. He came to your house in the middle of the night and was caught by the other guy, leading to a violent argument. Xiao Mei, I'm a police officer and understand criminal psychology. This worker is the perfect scapegoat. With this idiot, I guarantee we'll be fine."

"But Liu Yong, how will we explain it to the police? Will they believe he's the murderer?"

"Don't worry. As long as you identify the suspect, the police will investigate. There are surveillance cameras on the way from the construction site to the villa, and this knife has his fingerprints. Besides, he entered the scene and left enough evidence. With my help, this idiot will take the fall without any problems. As for my appearance in the surveillance footage, don't worry. I can delete and reset it."

Ye Feng didn't understand anything Liu Yong and Liu Meimei were saying. It wasn't until they pushed him into the bedroom that he started to get a sense of what was happening.

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