The first day of the year is generally the busiest time for accounting firms, with a large volume of annual audit business from listed companies concentrated during this period. Mo Nuan found herself working overtime almost every day, and before she knew it, a week had passed. Apart from that morning, Mo Nuan hadn't received any more calls from Lu Chen.
By the time the work was done, it was almost ten o'clock, and Mo Nuan's colleagues were also packing up to leave.
"Xiao Mo, are you leaving?"
"Yes, I'll leave right away." Mo Nuan shut down her computer and took the elevator with Zhang Jie.
"Oh, by the way, Xiao Mo, weren't you looking for a house the other day? I have a relative who works for a real estate company. They're currently having a promotion, and he has several properties available at internal prices. They're located near the boundary between the first and second ring roads, close to the subway for convenient commuting. The average price has just exceeded forty thousand. If you're interested, I can ask him to set aside some good options for you."
Mo Nuan smiled. "Thank you, Zhang Jie. My aunt is worried about me living alone, so I might have to postpone buying a house for a bit."
"No problem. It's not safe for a girl to live alone outside. Let me know when you need it, and I'll find out for you. We've been colleagues for many years; you don't need to be so polite to me."
"Okay."
Mo Nuan barely caught the last bus. After getting off at the bus stop, she walked towards the depths of an alley. After a few steps, she sensed something was wrong. It felt like someone was following her. Instantly, she tensed up and quickened her pace.
The footsteps behind her didn't stop, but instead grew closer. Mo Nuan quietly reached into her bag.
Someone tapped her shoulder, and Mo Nuan immediately pulled out her self-defense stick and sprayed pepper spray while swinging it.
"Mo Nuan, stop."
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice startled Mo Nuan. She turned on the flashlight attached to her self-defense stick and saw a handsome face, expressionless, staring at her.
Who else but her newlywed husband?
"Why is it you? Can't you stay at home? You scared me, coming out in the middle of the night like this." Mo Nuan was slightly annoyed. She lowered the self-defense stick, her hand still tense, showing she hadn't fully recovered from the tension just now.
Lu Chen looked at her with a wry smile. "You have quite the skill to turn the tables. But it's heartbreaking to see. In just over a week, I've roughly understood your past."
Lu Chen didn't speak but went over to take her bag. He was astonished by its contents—a variety of anti-wolf devices.
He casually picked up a circular keychain-like object with a button on it. Just as he was about to press it, Mo Nuan grabbed his wrist and shook her head gently. "Don't press this randomly. It will cause a disturbance at night."
Ignoring her, Lu Chen pressed the button, and immediately a loud alarm sounded, piercing the quiet night.
"Why are you like this? I told you not to press it casually." Annoyed, Mo Nuan took back her bag and walked away briskly.
Watching her stubborn back, Lu Chen felt a subtle wave of emotion in his heart, a bit sour and stifling. He couldn't quite define the feeling but felt uncomfortable, like scratching an itch.
Lu Chen caught up to her, placing one hand on her shoulder and vigorously rubbing her head with the other. His tone was full of helplessness. "Alright, you've got quite the temper. I haven't even scolded you yet, but you're already giving me attitude."
Mo Nuan struggled, but in terms of strength, men had the upper hand. Lu Chen's hand was as firm as a weld, and she couldn't move an inch. She turned her head away somewhat sulkily. "What's there for me to be scolded about?"
Lu Chen clasped her hand in his palm as they walked, explaining, "Now, let me enumerate the three major crimes you've committed. First, as a girl, you shouldn't be walking alone so late at night. Don't you know the security in these old neighborhoods is terrible? Second, you lack awareness of being a married woman. You have a husband, so when you finish work late, you should call your husband to come pick you up instead of pretending to be a female warrior. We are legally married. I am your husband. What does husband mean? It means being together. Your behavior today seriously challenges the legal bottom line of disregarding one's husband. Third, you shouldn't hide things from me. I remember asking you about this before. What did you say? You said your cousin and uncle would come to pick you up at night? What's going on now? You've prepared so many anti-wolf devices in your bag. This kind of thing has probably happened more than once, hasn't it? This time it's me you've encountered, but what if you meet a real thug? Don't give me excuses about not wanting to disturb my work. You never even thought of informing me."
Mo Nuan looked blankly at the man in front of her, her lips barely moving. Disregard for one's husband? What kind of term was that? She had heard of disregarding elders and disregarding rules, but she had never heard of such a saying.
Moreover, she had just walked a late-night road and carried a few anti-wolf devices with her. Which female white-collar worker nowadays doesn't have a few decent anti-wolf devices in her bag?
How had it become an unforgivable sin in his mouth, challenging the legal bottom line? What kind of confused logic was this?
She felt like she was being nagged at by her husband online.
However, one thing he had guessed correctly was that she was used to walking alone at night. How could she have thought about it when it was such a small matter? To her, he was just a husband in name, and they weren't that familiar with each other.
Being accused of three crimes like this, Mo Nuan felt unjustified.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Am I not right?" Although his tone was harsh and accusing, Mo Nuan felt strangely moved, and her voice involuntarily softened as she pointed to the devices in her bag, patiently explaining, "I have so many devices; I'm fine by myself."
The headache got worse as soon as Lu Chen brought up these things. "These broken things of yours might be able to deal with ordinary thugs, but they're completely useless against really dangerous criminals. It's as if everything I just said was in vain." This girl still thought she could sleep soundly with these broken things.
Mo Nuan pouted. "There are only some small thugs around here."
"Are you saying situations like tonight have happened many times before?" Lu Chen's gaze at Mo Nuan became even more dangerous.
Mo Nuan suddenly realized she had misspoken and changed the subject. "By the way, why did you suddenly want to come over today?"
"Mo Nuan, don't try to change the subject. Let's continue discussing the issue we just talked about." Lu Chen was not someone who could be easily deceived.