Parents definitely wouldn't visit at night, and Koda Kaoru isn't someone I need to avoid, so the identity of the visitor was clear.

Of course.

Jiang Chen felt he had a clear conscience. Eating a late-night snack and drinking a little alcohol—it's not anything shameful—there was no need to sneak around. Yet, since Koda Kaoru asked him to go upstairs, he felt it best not to refuse as a guest.

Indeed.

Whatever Jiang Chen and Koda Kaoru were doing, only the two of them knew. Who could guarantee how others would imagine seeing them?

It's better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

So, Jiang Chen cooperated and hid on the second floor.

Not long after, a fierce argument broke out downstairs. The argument was in Japanese, and Jiang Chen hiding upstairs couldn't understand the content. However, even without understanding the language, he could guess the gist of the conflict.

Jiang Chen lowered his head and sighed softly.

Not to mention the dishes and wine glasses on the table, his shoes were still at the door.

He wondered if Koda Kaoru considered these details in the heat of the moment.

What if they search upstairs later?

Jiang Chen, curled up at the staircase corner with his back against the wall, couldn't help but look deeper down the hallway.

Could this really turn into playing hide and seek?

If it comes to that, logic would seem lost—but if he doesn't hide and they come upstairs, there's no avoiding an encounter, and explaining it away might be impossible.

While there was a commotion downstairs, Boss Jiang weighed his options and hesitated on the second floor.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Suddenly.

A familiar sound echoed again.

Jiang Chen slightly furrowed his brow and turned his head back towards the hallway.

If the first time was a mistake, this time was definitely not just hearing things.

But the second floor was dark; of course, you wouldn't turn on lights during such moments, and the hallway had no windows, making visibility extremely low. He couldn't see what was causing the noise.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The sound continued.

Jiang Chen leaned against the wall, listened for a while to the downstairs quarrel, but ultimately couldn't resist his curiosity. He turned around and cautiously stepped down the hallway.

With a clear conscience, there's no fear of ghosts knocking on the door.

Otherwise, most people wouldn't have such courage.

The downstairs ruckus was so lively, it surely wouldn't catch any noise upstairs's attention—even so, Jiang Chen tried to keep his footsteps light. Feeling his way through the darkness, he arrived at an open door.

Compared to the hallway, this room finally had a small window, allowing a sliver of moonlight to filter in.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

With the moonlight as illumination, Jiang Chen's gaze was drawn to a tightly closed wardrobe.

It sounded very much like a bouncing ball.

Was someone playing ball in the wardrobe?

Koda Kaoru had once said she lived alone in this house.

Even the strongest of men would likely choose to bolt at a moment like this; truthfully, Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Fear is a natural emotion—no need to be ashamed. Even a person with the stature of Lan Peizhi surely has weaknesses, as would a Taoist nun sister.

Fear isn't terrifying.

The key is whether one dares to confront it.

And Boss Jiang has never been the type to shrink back.

So he didn't retreat but continued moving forward, step by step, until he was at the wardrobe door.

"Wham."

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen directly pulled the wardrobe door open.

No child.

No ball.

Just a few paper boxes piled messily.

Jiang Chen bent down, moved the boxes stacked high, revealing a pile of clutter hidden beneath. In the darkness, a weak red dot blinked repeatedly.

After sifting through the clutter, Jiang Chen took hold of a radio and pressed the off button.

The sound stopped.

The red dot stopped blinking,

"Snap."

Jiang Chen dropped the radio back into the box.

He closed the wardrobe door.

Without hurrying outside, Jiang Chen simply stayed inside the room. If caught while staying here, he would have no choice but to tell the truth.

Luckily, no one came upstairs.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Was the argument still going?

Surely, he couldn't stay here all night?

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Chen left the living room and returned to the hallway, heading back to the staircase corner, leaning his shoulders against the wall, listening quietly.

Downstairs was very quiet.

The arguing had vanished.

Even the sound of voices was absent.

Jiang Chen furrowed his brow, felt at ease, and then leaned out to look downstairs.

If he were discovered now, they might truly be startled.

From showing just one shoulder, to his whole body.

Jiang Chen stepped out directly.

Finding that no one was downstairs; only Koda Kaoru sat at the table, her back facing him, as if nothing had happened.

"Click, click, click..."

Confident there was no one else, Jiang Chen descended the stairs in his sandals.

"Are you okay?"

Koda Kaoru, facing away, took a sip of wine, "I'm fine."

Indeed.

By the tone.

Quite calm.

There was no trace of having argued intensely, and it seemed she had been sitting here the whole time, not moving at all.

If he hadn't distinctly heard an angry male voice earlier, Jiang Chen might suspect it was all an illusion.

"Did he leave?"

Jiang Chen glanced at the doorway.

"Yes."

He walked to the table and gazed at Koda Kaoru's face.

Not just her tone, even her expression was perfectly calm.

Jiang Chen wasn't emotionally naive, knowing well that the calmer someone acts at such a moment, the more severe the situation might be.

"Actually, there's no need to hide."

Jiang Chen said, after the fact, with good intentions.

"If he misunderstood, call him back, and I'll explain."

Although he didn't come upstairs to check, that doesn't mean he didn't notice someone was up here.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.