Lan Jin had no idea what happened with Huang Jinghe afterward. Once she closed the door, her entire focus shifted to parenting. In just a few minutes, Qiao Qiao had managed to take apart her doll again—but this time, it wasn't a Barbie. It was a cloth doll. And in all her thirty-plus years, Lan Jin had never seen anyone manage to dismantle a cloth doll.
Bits of stuffing were scattered across the floor like battlefield debris, the once-intact doll now emptied of its insides. It was such a mess that Lan Jin didn't even want to look at it.
She didn't have the energy to scold. Lan Jin just found it baffling. Did all kids go through this kind of phase, or was it just her daughter?
Instead of yelling, she kept her cool. Lan Jin sat beside Qiao Qiao, quietly watching as the little girl picked up the cotton and pieces and dropped them into the trash one by one. That was the rule: you make the mess, you clean it up. Once it was all in the bin, they'd be done.
At first, Qiao Qiao thought it was fun. She threw pieces into the trash like it was a game. But soon, she got bored. The clean-up wasn't nearly as exciting as destruction.
Eventually, she started to whine and act out. Lan Jin, who had planned not to spank her child, ended up giving Qiao Qiao a light smack. That finally did the trick—the mess was cleaned up.
Whether Qiao Qiao would actually remember the lesson was another question entirely.
She cried hard, sobbing in Lan Jin's arms like her heart had broken. But after a little while, she calmed down again.
Honestly, Lan Jin couldn't really blame her. If even a dog locked indoors for two weeks would get restless, how could a toddler not be? And even though animals could technically move freely during the poisonous fog, she wouldn't dare let their puppy, Nana, outside. Nana was still too small. What if she couldn't find her way back?
Midnight.
In the stairwell, a man and woman moved quietly, creeping up the steps. When they reached the thirty-second floor and gently pushed open the stairwell door, Nana, sleeping beside Lan Jin and Qiao Qiao, suddenly stirred.
Because the apartment was only occupied by the mother and daughter, the bedroom door was usually left open. Nana slipped out without a sound, ears twitching, and padded silently to the front door.
She stood still, nose twitching, straining to hear.
The footsteps outside were slow, but they were getting closer. Nana listened a moment longer, then turned and ran back into the bedroom.
Despite baring her teeth and being fully alert, she didn't make a sound.
Nana's dog bed was placed at the foot of Lan Jin's bed. She was too small to jump directly onto the bed, so she bounced onto her bed first, then climbed up, pawing at Lan Jin's blanket.
Lan Jin was a light sleeper. The moment Nana touched her, she opened her eyes.
Nana tugged gently at Lan Jin's sleeve with her teeth, trying to pull her toward the door.
"Someone's outside?" Lan Jin whispered.
Nana nodded eagerly.
This was one of the perks of the spirit spring water. Nana was barely three months old and had barely needed any training. Yet she already understood her owner's words.
Now fully awake, Lan Jin got up quietly and tiptoed toward the door, softly closing the bedroom behind her.
As she approached the main entrance, she could clearly hear faint rustling noises coming from the other side.
Someone really was trying to break in.
But this wasn't just any door. Lan Jin had replaced it with a high-grade security door. No ordinary thief would be able to pry it open.
Still, the people outside were persistent. After several minutes of failure, their frustration began to show.
"Dammit. What kind of door is this? It's like a freaking vault," the man grumbled under his breath.
"It's obviously been replaced. Just hurry up, okay? We can't make too much noise or she'll wake up." The woman paced nervously at the stairwell entrance, glancing up and down the hallway. The last thing they needed was to be caught in the act.
But no matter how hard he tried, the man couldn't get the lock to budge. Time ticked by, and the door still held firm. The woman was getting impatient.
"Maybe we should just try the next floor?"
The man rolled his eyes and muttered, "You serious? That door's been replaced too. If I can't get this one open, you think the next'll be any easier?"
The woman frowned. "You sure it's not your technique that's the problem?"
That lit his temper instantly. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? If I suck at this, why'd you even tag along?"
"If you were any good, would it be taking this long? That guy with the community crew opened one of these in, like, ten seconds."
"That's 'cause those doors weren't this heavy-duty. If I was some pro locksmith, I wouldn't be busting my ass on construction sites. Think about it."
"Yeah? A door's still just a door. You're just bad at this, that's the real problem. What was all that bragging for if you can't even get us inside?"
Her voice was full of contempt now. They'd been trying for so long with nothing to show for it. No food, no entry, no reward.
Inside the apartment, Lan Jin kept quiet. She didn't deny that the man's skill was lacking, but her door really was top-tier. Even so, she couldn't just let them keep at it. What if they broke the lock? Even if they didn't get in, she'd be the one stuck with a broken door afterward.
So while the two outside bickered louder and louder, Lan Jin suddenly pulled open the inner safety door and spoke coldly, "That's enough. I can hear everything."
The man and woman froze mid-argument, both raising their hands like they were about to slap each other. For a moment, neither of them knew whether to keep fighting or drop their hands.
The man recovered first and glared at Lan Jin through the still-closed main door.
"You've been listening this whole time, haven't you? Just sitting inside laughing at us?"
Lan Jin considered the question and replied calmly, "If that's how you want to put it, then yes."
That pushed the woman over the edge. She shouted furiously, no longer bothering to keep quiet, "You better open this door right now!"
The sudden outburst startled even the man beside her, and the stairwell sensor light flicked on in response to the noise.
Worried someone would really come out and catch them, Lan Jin hissed sharply, "Keep your voice down! You'll wake the whole building!"
The woman narrowed her eyes. Now that Lan Jin had spoken, her tone turned icy.
"What, you think we're dumb? You think we'll fall for your fake concern? We're trying to break into your home and you're warning us about getting caught?"
Her voice dropped, but her words were sharper now, more dangerous.
"Don't waste our time. You heard us. Give us your food now and we'll leave it at that. But if we get this door open, you won't be keeping anything. That mutt of yours? I'll take her too. Been a while since I had dog meat."