He added, "Also in this building."
With time being tight, she hadn't managed to contact the owner of the apartment opposite hers, so she temporarily bought one in the same building. But it didn’t matter much—he wasn’t planning to live there anyway.
Sang Ning: "..."
His tone made it sound like he had just bought a head of cabbage.
He casually took the suitcase she was pulling, pressed the elevator button, and asked offhandedly, "Which floor?"
Sang Ning replied flatly, "Tenth."
He pressed "29."
Sang Ning: "..."
He tried to cover up: "Just heard it from the movers."
Sang Ning couldn’t be bothered to argue.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened. Sang Ning pressed her fingerprint on the lock, pushed the door open, and stepped inside first.
He Siyu paused for a moment, glancing at the fingerprint lock.
The movers soon arrived with the boxes. Sang Ning didn’t have much—two boxes of clothes, one of study supplies, one of books, and a pipa.
After placing the boxes in the living room, Sang Ning took out a few red envelopes and handed them to the movers.
"This is extra for your trouble. Thank you."
"Oh, thank you, Miss Nan!"
The movers happily accepted the red envelopes, thanked her repeatedly, and left.
Sang Ning opened one of the boxes and began sorting—this one was full of heavy books.
"You’re quite particular, preparing red envelopes?" He Siyu walked over, taking the books from her hands. "Put these in the study?"
"Mm," she replied without looking up, still rummaging through the box. "Today’s a housewarming—of course we should celebrate for good luck."
The phrase "housewarming" echoed in his ears, and the corners of his lips lifted, as if they were moving into their new home.
His voice was light with amusement. "Then we definitely should celebrate."
Sang Ning gave him a strange look. What was he so inexplicably happy about?
She hadn’t given him a red envelope.
Her phone rang. She shoved the books into He Siyu’s hands and went to answer it.
He Siyu carried the books to the study to arrange them on the shelves.
As soon as Sang Ning picked up, Ji Yan’s explosive voice blasted through.
"Oh my god! Have you seen the news?! Those reporters just exposed Lin Shuyan as the mastermind behind everything! Holy shit, it was her!"
Sang Ning held the phone slightly away from her ear before nodding. "It was her."
"How are you so calm?!" Ji Yan shrieked. "Don’t tell me you arranged for those reporters to expose her too?!"
Sang Ning paused. "More or less."
"Damn. I’m seriously in awe. Sang Ning, you’re really giving off big boss energy now—all cool and composed on the surface, but pulling strings behind the scenes!" Ji Yan gushed.
Sang Ning blinked. "Ah, not really."
"Everything’s blowing up now! The Lin Family actually pulled such a dirty trick on the Pei Family! My dad said the Peis got hit hard. Now that they know the Lin Family was behind it, they won’t let this slide. Just wait—Lin Shuyan is done!"
Sang Ning smiled faintly. "Then I’ll just wait and see."
The Lin and Pei Families were evenly matched in power. If they really went to war, it was hard to say who’d come out on top.
But the Pei Family had been pushed to the brink—they would retaliate.
And the Lin Family? They never actually wanted a fight with the Peis. After all, who would willingly choose mutual destruction?
In the end, all the fury and consequences would be directed at one person—the one truly responsible.
---
"You wretched girl!"
Lin Yunfei’s slap sent Lin Shuyan sprawling to the floor. She clutched her cheek, staring up at him in terror.
"Dad, it really wasn’t me, I swear—"
"You dare lie to me?!" Lin Yunfei kicked her. "You’ve gone too far, scheming against the Pei Family! Now this mess has blown up, the Peis have suffered massive losses, and we’re the ones taking the blame!"
Madam Lin rushed to shield her, furious yet heartbroken. "Pei Songhan is steady-tempered, the most reasonable man! What grudge could you possibly have against him to resort to such underhanded tactics?!"
Lin Shuyan shook her head desperately. "I—I never meant to target him! I just couldn’t stand Nan Sangning flaunting herself around—"
The whole scheme had been meant to ruin Nan Sangning. Pei Songhan was just collateral damage.
A scandal like this? For a man, it’d blow over in days.
The one who should have been drowning in shame was Nan Sangning, that gold-digging bitch!
But somehow, overnight, Nan Sangning had vanished from the spotlight.
Instead, several Pei-owned companies saw their stocks plummet, even affecting the Pei Family’s bid for the International Trade Council presidency. The losses were catastrophic.
From the moment the news broke, everything spiraled like dominoes—completely out of her control. Now, in horrified despair, she could only watch as the last domino came crashing down on her.
"And you dare say that?!" Lin Yunfei’s hands trembled with rage. "All this over a woman?! You idiot! To take down some nobody from the Nan Family, you dragged the Pei Family into it?! How did I raise such a brainless fool?!"
Lin Shuyan sobbed. "Dad, I never thought it’d turn out like this, I didn’t mean to—"
Lin Yunfei snarled, "If this disaster drags the Lin Family down, you’ll wish I’d disowned you!"
---
After two hours of unpacking, Sang Ning had nearly finished. Even the pampered young master had put in rare effort, working as her laborer the whole time.
"You really like calligraphy?" He Siyu set out her inkstone and brushes.
Sang Ning hung each brush carefully on its stand. "It helps me focus and calm my mind."
It was a habit from childhood—whenever she felt restless or stuck on a problem, she’d write. The stillness helped her see things clearly, find solutions.
Watching her serious expression, he smirked. "Maybe I should try it too."
She glanced up. "You don’t need to."
"Why not?"
"You’re already pretty good at calming down."
"..."
His smile turned sardonic. "Was that a compliment?"
She blinked. "Obviously."
The blatant indifference in her eyes was unmistakable. He gave her a cool stare.
She ignored it, turning back to arrange the paperweights. A loose strand of hair slipped forward; she tucked it behind her ear.
His gaze followed her fingers, lingering on that strand. The chill in his eyes deepened into something darker.
Suddenly, she felt the weight of his stare—hotter, heavier. She turned, only to find him already beside her, his tall frame caging her against the desk.
He bent slightly, lips brushing the hair behind her ear, voice rough. "Housewarming traditions… usually involve something luckier."
It took her two full seconds to process. Then, as his body heat seeped into her, her ears burned. "What kind of tradition is that?!"
"There is one." He nipped her earlobe, hands sliding from the desk to her waist, turning her toward him. His mouth trailed from her ear to her lips.
One arm locked around her back, he kissed her deeper.
"Mmph—"
She melted under his kiss, her body going weak as the edge of the desk pressed into the small of her back. His towering frame pinned her in place, leaving her suspended mid-air with only his hand supporting her spine. Her fingers clutched desperately at his shirt for balance.
His large hands began roaming, his breaths growing heavier as a husky murmur brushed against her ear, "Yangyang."
A delicate shiver ran through her, shoulders hunching slightly in response.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
He seemed deaf to it, but she turned her head, pushing him away. "My phone."
Put at a slight distance, he frowned in dissatisfaction but loosened his grip just enough to let her reach for the device—though his lips still sought her cheek impatiently.
"Who is it?" he asked, though he hardly cared.
Sang Ning picked up the phone and paused.
His gaze dropped, catching the flickering caller ID: Young President Pei.
