When Shu Qingqing went shopping with Feng Xiangdi that day, she also bought a shawl for the Old Madam.
The car hadn't driven far when she remembered that she had forgotten to bring the shawl, so she quickly asked the driver to turn around.
Leaving Lu Yu and Lu Xun waiting in the car, she went back into the villa to get it.
The shawl she bought for the Old Madam was placed in the walk-in closet.
Shu Qingqing went upstairs, opened the bedroom door, and was about to turn on the light when she found that the light in the walk-in closet was actually on.
Shu Qingqing frowned slightly.
She remembered turning off the light when she left.
Shu Qingqing entered the closet and picked up the box containing the shawl. Just as she was about to turn off the light and leave, she caught sight of her jewelry cabinet out of the corner of her eye. The sapphire necklace was lying there in a mess.
Shu Qingqing had mild OCD. Whether it was clothes, shoes, or jewelry, she would always put them back neatly after every use.
But now, this necklace...
Shu Qingqing then remembered the pair of earrings Feng Xiangdi had given her.
When she had free time, she had turned the whole room upside down but still couldn't find those earrings.
Shu Qingqing tapped her fingertips against the glass and looked up at the light.
Did she really forget to turn it off?
Or...
Someone else had entered her closet.
After thinking for a moment, she took out her phone and made a call.
In the bathroom, just a door away.
Through the crack in the door, Tan Meng saw Shu Qingqing step out. She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard her instructing someone on the phone to come over.
Tan Meng's heart clenched again.
Calling someone over?
Could it be that Shu Qingqing had discovered her?
What should she do?
In her panic, she heard another flurry of hurried footsteps.
"Madam, you're looking for me?"
It was Nanny Li's voice.
Did Shu Qingqing really discover her? Was that why she specifically called Nanny Li over to help catch her?
Tan Meng's whole body tensed up, and she didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
"Nanny Li, contact someone right now to come to the house and install a security camera in the second-floor hallway," Shu Qingqing instructed.
With the New Year approaching, she couldn't be bothered to waste energy investigating exactly who was harboring improper thoughts.
On the first floor, only the living room area had a camera. It was installed when Lu Xun was little, so the original owner could keep an eye on him whenever she went out.
Besides, there were no valuable items on the first floor.
Now, once a camera was installed on the second floor, the culprit would surely have reservations and wouldn't dare to make a move easily.
After the New Year, she would thoroughly investigate the servants in the house.
Shu Qingqing was about to give Nanny Li a few more instructions, but Lu Xun couldn't wait any longer and kept calling for her from downstairs.
Shu Qingqing didn't say anything else and went straight downstairs.
Nanny Li, however, didn't leave. She immediately started contacting someone to come and install the camera.
Hiding in the bathroom, Tan Meng was so anxious that she broke out in a sweat.
Although Shu Qingqing had left, this damn Nanny Li was just standing there motionless. How was she supposed to get out?
Not long after, the voices of two men could be heard.
They were here to install the camera.
Tan Meng had no choice but to continue staying in the bathroom.
After another half hour, Tan Meng suddenly heard the installation worker asking Nanny Li to help him find some tool.
Nanny Li said she didn't know what he was talking about and asked the installation master to come down and look for it with her.
Then came the sound of the two of them going downstairs.
Tan Meng deeply regretted not going straight into the study when she came in earlier. That way, Shu Qingqing wouldn't have noticed anything unusual, nor would she have called someone to install a camera.
She had to take advantage of Nanny Li going downstairs to slip away quickly. Otherwise, once the camera on the second floor was set up, she wouldn't be able to explain herself at all.
Tan Meng cautiously slipped out of the bedroom, tiptoed downstairs, dodged the living room camera, and left the villa.
The next afternoon, Feng Xiangdi arrived on time as usual to give Lu Yu his lesson.
With the camera installed on the second floor, she was even more afraid to act rashly.
Thinking about this matter, she became increasingly anxious.
By the time she snapped out of her daze, she realized that heavy snow was falling outside.
Just as she was enjoying the sight of the snowflakes, her phone suddenly buzzed.
Lu Yu was currently doing exercises.
She quickly took her phone and went outside.
Upon opening it, her face fell.
It was a message from that person, asking how things were going.
Gripping her phone, Tan Meng took a long time before replying with a single sentence: Not successful yet.
[That person: I don't expect you to be able to touch Lu Bochuan's computer anymore. Just placing a bug in his study, is it really that hard?]
[That person: You've been at the Lu house for nine days already.]
[That person: If you still can't get it done before the New Year, I wouldn't mind letting your gambling father out, so your whole family can have a nice reunion for the holidays.]
Seeing this message, Tan Meng immediately panicked. If her father was let out, she could kiss any good days goodbye.
She hurriedly replied—
[They installed a camera on the second floor. I don't dare to act rashly.]
[That person: What kind of obstacle is a mere camera?]
[That person: I'll give you a suggestion. It's going to snow heavily today. Find a way to stay overnight at their house, and then slip the bug in during the middle of the night when they are all asleep.]
[That person: Even if they see you entering the study on the camera, they won't know what you did. At most, they will just scold you a bit.]
Tan Meng's eyes lit up. Right, this was a good idea.
Perhaps even God was helping her. It was only five-thirty, and the snow outside had already accumulated into a thick layer. At a glance, it looked to be nearly a dozen centimeters thick.
When the tutoring session ended, Tan Meng deliberately sighed heavily in front of Lu Yu.
Sure enough, Lu Yu asked, "What's wrong, Teacher Tan?"
Tan Meng put on a bitter expression. "You know I'm staying at school for the winter break, right? The snow is so heavy that it broke the school's power lines. The maintenance workers are all on holiday, so no one is there to fix it. If I go back today, I'll probably freeze to death."
Lu Yu thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Tan, let me book a hotel for you."
Tan Meng immediately shook her head. "No, no, that won't do."
When the two came out and Shu Qingqing learned about the power outage at her school, she also offered to help book a hotel for her.
Tan Meng bit her lip. "Mrs. Lu, really, there's no need." Saying that, she made a move to leave.
Opening the door, the snow outside was actually thick enough to almost reach her calves.
With such heavy snow, Tan Meng didn't believe that Shu Qingqing would really just ignore her.
Sure enough, just as she took a single step, she heard Shu Qingqing say, "How about this, Teacher Tan. Why don't you stay here today and sleep in the guest room for the night?"
Tan Meng cheered 'yes' in her heart. When she turned around, she had resumed her gentle expression. "Mrs. Lu, thank you so much. Then I will respectfully accept your offer."
Shu Qingqing had the nanny tidy up a guest room on the first floor for Tan Meng to stay in.
Aside from eating dinner, Tan Meng stayed in the guest room the whole time without going out.
She just lay on the bed playing with her phone, waiting until after two in the morning before she finally pushed the door open.
The villa was completely silent. She tiptoed up to the second floor. At the end of the hallway, the camera's infrared light was blinking continuously.
That person had said that even if Shu Qingqing saw her entering the study on the camera, she wouldn't know what she did. The worst that could happen was getting scolded a bit.
Anyway, by then she would have her five hundred thousand in hand. If Shu Qingqing dared to talk about firing her, she would just leave immediately.
Thinking this way, Tan Meng was no longer afraid.
She walked to the door of the study and pressed down on the door handle.
