I Was Trapped on the Same Day for a Thousand Years: Come On, Say Something!

In East District's old quarter, the blue Lamborghini had been parked by the road outside the alley for hours. No one knew whose it was.

Wu Chen had been careful when he brought Su Qingying back. He had even gone to buy masks alone before returning.

He wasn't afraid of being seen by neighbors who knew him, but Su Qingying couldn't afford to be recognized.

As the heir to Jinfu Group and East Sea's Top Beauty, Su Qingying was famous throughout East Sea. She had also appeared frequently in the news over the past few days.

Because of the major July 7 case, she had been in the public eye more than usual. She couldn't let anyone see her face, so Wu Chen had bought two masks to avoid unnecessary complications.

It was already past two in the afternoon. Wu Chen had brought Su Qingying back shortly after ten. A full four hours had passed.

In the bedroom of Wu Chen's old apartment on the Fifth Floor, he used a small scraper to remove wax from the cabinet. He had picked up the candle when he bought the masks, and they had already used it. So much of it had burned that more than half had melted, leaving wax all over the tabletop.

After cleaning the table, he picked up the rope from the floor, coiled it, and tucked it into the bottom of the cabinet.

There was also a flyswatter in the drawer. It had already been in the apartment.

Although Wu Chen had moved out, he had only taken some clothes and toiletries. East Sea Splendor had come fully furnished, so he hadn't needed to bring anything else.

He had washed the flyswatter as soon as he got back. It was clean.

Wu Chen went about his work. Behind him, Su Qingying was asleep under the blanket. She usually took afternoon naps because they were good for her skin, but that wasn't why she had fallen asleep now. She was simply exhausted.

She slept soundly, a faint smile on her lips.

Wu Chen's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, and answered. "They tracked it to you?"

"Brother-in-law?"

"Uh, brother-in-law, you already know? It's Li Ruotai."

Wu Chen gave a brief hum in reply.

Earlier, during a lull, Wu Chen had asked Su Qingying who else knew about the information she had found on him.

Su Qingying had said she destroyed the information after reading it. She had been careful, afraid her parents would find out she had investigated a young man.

Who she investigated wasn't the problem. The problem was that her target was a young man. She had taken every precaution.

She had been able to investigate Wu Chen because he had texted her first, giving her his real-name-registered phone number. Her mother didn't have it. She could have found it by checking Su Qingying's call records, but she wouldn't necessarily think to start there.

Her first lead would probably be Wu Chen's blue Lamborghini. The license plate would lead straight to the registered owner.

But the Lamborghini wasn't registered to Wu Chen. It was registered to Wang Zhuangyuan.

The title hadn't been transferred. Wu Chen was only driving it.

He didn't even have to worry about traffic violations. Wang Zhuangyuan would handle them.

So Su Qingying's mother would clearly find Wang Zhuangyuan first, but he wouldn't easily give up Wu Chen's information.

Wu Chen knew these people too well. He could work out each person's reaction, step by step.

"Zhuangyuan called me first. He said Madam Su found him and asked who was driving the car. He couldn't do much, and he didn't dare tell her about you, brother-in-law, so he passed her on to me."

"Then Madam Su called me too."

Li Ruotai gave him the short version. Wang Zhuangyuan knew how to handle things. He treated Wu Chen with great respect, but he was closer to Li Ruotai, and some matters were easier to discuss with him.

"What did you tell her?" Wu Chen asked casually. At the same time, he turned toward a sound behind him. Su Qingying had woken up.

Wrapped in the blanket, Su Qingying blinked up at Wu Chen with the gaze of a woman deeply in love.

They weren't in love, of course. Her gaze merely looked that way.

She was an M. After what had happened between them, the way Wu Chen made her feel—and the place he held in her heart—had changed completely.

Wu Chen reached over and stroked Su Qingying's hair. She crawled closer, tilted her head, and rubbed her cheek against the back of his hand without making a sound.

She knew he was on the phone. "I told her you're my brother-in-law. I said you and my sister are practically married already."

Li Ruotai went on, "Brother-in-law, what's going on?"

"The Su Family has been investigating you for two days. My sister told you yesterday, right?"

"Madam Su called just now, and she sounded furious. I asked whether you'd offended her, but she wouldn't say. She only said she was looking for you."

Madam Su naturally wouldn't say why. She wouldn't allow any stain on her daughter's reputation, so she was only looking for Wu Chen. She wouldn't mention Su Qingying.

"I told her she could talk to me if there was a problem, but she refused. She said it had nothing to do with the Li Family, only with you, brother-in-law."

"Then she hung up," Li Ruotai finished.

"Mm. All right, I know," Wu Chen said.

"Brother-in-law, what exactly— Look, you don't have to hide anything from me. If something's wrong, I'll back you up. We're family. No need to be polite."

"It's nothing. A small problem." Wu Chen laughed. "Do you think anything will happen to me?"

"I know you're capable, brother-in-law, but this is strange."

"Enough. Stay out of it. You won't be able to handle this. I'm hanging up."

"All right, then."

Wu Chen ended the call. Everything had gone as he expected.

He had barely put his phone down when two notification sounds came in succession. He picked it up again and saw two text alerts.

While he had been talking to Li Ruotai, someone had tried to call twice but hadn't gotten through. The alerts were for missed calls from Li Ruobing.

Li Ruotai had probably called Li Ruobing after speaking with Madam Su.

Wu Chen doubted Madam Su would call Li Ruobing directly. Once she learned that the man who had taken her daughter away was Li Ruobing's boyfriend, she wouldn't call to confront her. She would start to doubt her own conclusion.

Li Ruobing's boyfriend stealing another woman was bad enough. Madam Su would worry that a direct confrontation might blow the matter up. More importantly, Li Ruobing wasn't someone who would quietly put up with accusations. If Madam Su said something offensive, Li Ruobing would tear into her.

Madam Su held a lofty position in East Sea. She was, after all, the wife of its richest man. Su Ruiwen had been wealthy when she married him, but nowhere near as wealthy as he was now. Most of his current fortune was therefore marital property.

Su Ruiwen also loved and respected his wife deeply. Madam Su was well educated and had helped him greatly with his business over the years.

She could call Li Ruotai to ask what was going on without taking her anger out on him. She wasn't that foolish. Even if they argued, they could still make peace afterward.

Li Ruobing was different. A clash with Li Ruotai wouldn't necessarily make an enemy of him. They could reconcile. But if Madam Su went after Li Ruobing, she really would make an enemy of Li Ruotai.

Wu Chen had just finished reading the alerts when his phone rang again. It was Li Ruobing's third call, and this time it connected.

Wu Chen answered.

"A Tai called me," Wu Chen said first.

"What exactly is going on?" Li Ruobing asked. She sounded puzzled, nothing more.

"How did you get mixed up with the Su Family?"

"From what A Tai said, it sounds like you offended them. They were quietly investigating you yesterday, and today they called him directly to ask about you."

"You want to know?" Wu Chen asked with a smile in his voice.

"If you're willing to tell me."

Li Ruobing knew he would never tell her something he didn't want to share.

"Mm. Hold on." Wu Chen turned to Su Qingying and held out the phone. "Here. Say something."

Su Qingying froze. Wu Chen wanted her to speak? She had heard him take two calls, but she had no idea what the people on the other end had said.

Nothing Wu Chen had said revealed anything important. Even the name A Tai meant nothing specific to her. She didn't know who was on the phone and couldn't guess.

In truth, she had barely listened to what Wu Chen said on the calls. Whatever she happened to hear went in one ear and out the other.

It had nothing to do with her. She only wanted to enjoy today.

Su Qingying wasn't the only one taken aback. Li Ruobing froze on the other end too.

She had heard Wu Chen say, "Here. Say something."

Someone was with him. "It's fine. Go on," Wu Chen said. Seeing Su Qingying look at him, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Say what?" Su Qingying asked softly.

Li Ruobing heard a woman's voice. "Anything you like."

"Don't worry. She knows who you are," Wu Chen said.

Su Qingying blinked and glanced at the phone. Then she whispered, "Honey, who is it?"

"Is it really okay?"

She had spoken quietly, but the phone was right there.

Li Ruobing heard "honey."

There wasn't just a woman beside Wu Chen. The woman had called him honey.

She had no idea how many times Su Qingying had called Wu Chen honey over the past four hours.

"Hm."

"Why don't you ask her yourself? It's fine." Wu Chen smiled.

Su Qingying finally took the phone and cleared her throat.

"Hello."

The languid softness had vanished from Su Qingying's voice. She sounded formal and polite.

"Who are you?" Li Ruobing asked directly, her voice cold.

"Who are you?" Su Qingying frowned and glanced at Wu Chen as she returned the question.

He gave her another reassuring smile.

"I'm Li Ruobing."

Su Qingying's hand jerked. She nearly dropped the phone. Sitting bolt upright under the blanket, she stared at Wu Chen with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" Li Ruobing asked again.

She had given her name, but Su Qingying had fallen silent.

"Oh, Miss Li." Su Qingying took a deep breath and quickly steadied herself. "We've met before, at a business banquet," she said in the same polite tone.

"Who exactly are you?" Li Ruobing asked again.

"I..."

Su Qingying took another deep breath. She was stunned and terribly nervous, but she hid it well.

"I'm Su Qingying."

She admitted it. Li Ruobing now knew another woman was with her boyfriend, and Su Qingying's family was looking for Wu Chen. If Li Ruobing investigated, she would find Su Qingying soon enough. Denying it would be pointless. Worse, refusing to admit it might cause trouble. If Li Ruobing flew into a rage and stormed over with people in tow, there was no telling what she might do. Su Qingying could be in real danger.

But once Li Ruobing knew she was Su Qingying, she was less likely to do that. Su Qingying was Jinfu Group chairman Su Ruiwen's daughter. Anyone who wanted to touch her would have to think twice, especially in East Sea.

Su Qingying couldn't understand why Wu Chen had been so reckless. He had even let his girlfriend find out another woman was with him. It was madness.

Wasn't Wu Chen afraid of dying?

He had asked her to speak, so she couldn't make sense of it.

One thing she was sure of: now that Li Ruobing knew about her, Su Qingying would be safe. Wu Chen was the one in serious trouble. He had dared to cheat on Li Ruobing!

After Su Qingying gave her name, the other end of the line fell silent. Li Ruobing was stunned, though Su Qingying had no way of knowing that.

"Miss Li, are you still there?" Su Qingying asked when she heard nothing. "You're Su Qingying?" Li Ruobing asked.

"Yes. Why are you with Wu Chen? What's your relationship?"

"We're friends, discussing work," Su Qingying said with remarkable composure. Perhaps she was so nervous that she had forgotten calling Wu Chen honey a moment ago. The word had slipped out so naturally that she had overlooked it.

She still wanted to cover this up. If she could get away with it, so much the better.

"Friends?"

"Yes, friends. Miss Li, do you forbid your boyfriend from having friends? If so, we won't meet again."

"Friends? You called him honey. Who are you trying to fool?"

"Uh..." Su Qingying could no longer hide her nerves. They showed on her face.

"Miss Li, perhaps you misheard. I didn't call him that."

"You didn't? Didn't you just call him honey?"

"Do you think I'm that kind of woman? Maybe you should think back carefully."

That made Li Ruobing question her own hearing for a moment. The impression Su Qingying had always given people, her public reputation, and everything she had shown of herself seemed at odds with this situation.

But the more Li Ruobing thought about it, the less plausible that seemed. How could she have misheard? "Perhaps I did mishear," she said, controlling her emotions. "Sorry to interrupt your work, Miss Su. Please give the phone back to Wu Chen."

Su Qingying relaxed a little and handed Wu Chen the phone.

"Finished?" Wu Chen put it to his ear. "Where are you?"

"At your old apartment," Li Ruobing asked directly.

Wu Chen answered, "Yes."

"Don't leave. Don't you dare leave!" Li Ruobing hung up.

Wu Chen looked at his phone and smiled, then set it on the cabinet beside him.

Of course he knew why Li Ruobing had told him not to leave. She would come straight over to see what was going on. Things should get interesting when she arrived.

"Aren't you afraid she knows?" Su Qingying finally asked, her face full of shock and confusion.