"Yifei, you seem listless today," Adrian Li noted with a faint smile, leaning back against the padded wall of his private training facility as he watched Hu Yifei relentlessly pound a heavy wooden martial arts dummy.
Admittedly, following her awkward physical reaction during their last sparring session, Yifei had avoided his combat ground for nearly two full months out of sheer mortification. Today, however, her violent, aggressive strikes made it obvious she was in a foul mood and desperately needed a physical outlet to vent her frustration.
BANG!
With a furious, spinning back-kick, Yifei launched the reinforced wooden dummy ten meters across the rubberized mat, sending it skidding into the far wall. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, marched over to Adrian, and suddenly bowed her head deeply before him.
"Landlord... I am deeply, deeply sorry!"
"What on earth is wrong?" Adrian asked, quickly reaching out to gently cup her shoulders and pull her back upright, his tone laced with polite concern.
"Landlord... Chen Meijia and Lu Ziqiao stole your rent money and fled," Yifei confessed, her eyes downcast as she forced the words out. "I've known about it for weeks, but I deliberately kept it a secret from you until today. I came here specifically to bow and apologize!"
In truth, Yifei had held onto the desperate hope that Meijia and Ziqiao would regain their senses and return the stolen funds, as she genuinely viewed them as close, cherished friends. But nearly two months had passed without a single trace or phone call, forcing her to abandon all hope.
Having vanished for this long, it was undeniable: they had pulled a heist and become fugitives.
"Landlord, I will personally find a way to repay every single cent they owe you," Yifei added, her face flushing with intense embarrassment. "I am truly sorry for bringing this disaster upon your head!"
"Meijia and Ziqiao stole my money and fled the city?" Adrian gasped, his expression morphing into one of absolute, stunned astonishment. The sheer shock plastered across his face was worthy of an Academy Award. "How much cash did they actually take? Was it truly a sum worth fleeing over?"
"More than... 800,000 yuan," Yifei answered weakly.
"How much?"
"Over 800,000 yuan!"
"Ah, I assumed it was a sum of actual significance," Adrian waved his hand dismissively, letting out a casual laugh. 'Eight hundred thousand yuan wouldn't even cover a single week of specialized metabolic injections and medical maintenance for Qin Yumo, let alone my other private operations.'
"Landlord, an amount like that might be pocket change to a billionaire like you, but for ordinary citizens, it is a life-altering fortune!" Yifei pressed, her tone solemn. "So please, rest assured—I will absolutely find a way to repay you in full."
In her mind, had she not failed to report their disappearance immediately, the police might have apprehended them at the airport instead of allowing them to vanish unpunished.
"I was the one who personally hired Chen Meijia to handle the rent collections," Adrian smiled, stepping closer. "Besides, what exact legal or moral obligation binds you to pay off her personal criminal debts?"
Seeing her stubborn expression, Adrian knew she was fully prepared to shoulder the financial burden herself.
Honestly, compared to the other women in his sphere, he genuinely held a high degree of respect for Hu Yifei. While she possessed her fair share of chaotic flaws, her fiercely independent nature, sense of responsibility, and raw courage set her lightyears apart from shallow socialites.
It was important to remember that as a university lecturer, 800,000 yuan represented several years' worth of her total net income.
"I must take responsibility for this," Yifei insisted, her eyes burning with fiery determination. "I lied to your face for over a month to protect them. I have an inescapable responsibility in this mess!"
"If you insist on taking the debt onto your shoulders, I won't refuse," Adrian smiled thoughtfully. "The regional UFC Women's Championship takes place in two months. With your athletic caliber, reaching at least the national semifinals should be effortless. You can simply share a portion of your tournament prize money with me to settle the account."
"Deal!" Yifei nodded hastily, a massive weight lifting from her chest.
She had been suffocating under the stress of this debt for weeks. 800,000 yuan was an insurmountable sum for her to produce on short notice, and she harbored zero desire to beg her family or friends for a massive loan. To her surprise, Adrian had resolved the crisis in a few casual sentences, immediately reigniting her spirits.
'If I secure a top-four finish in the UFC bracket, the prize purse exceeds one million yuan! That will completely clear the debt!'
"Um... Landlord, I have one more favor to ask of you," Yifei hesitated, her tone dropping into a rare, quiet purr.
"Don't be so distant with me, Yifei," Adrian said warmly, stepping into her personal space. "Just call me Adrian."
Sensing that she was deliberately trying to maintain an artificial, formal boundary, Adrian offered a gentle smile.
"Um... Adrian... could you please refrain from filing an official police report?" Yifei pleaded, her eyes filled with earnest concern. "Meijia was simply confused and foolish for a moment. I truly believe she will come to her senses eventually. If you involve the police and issue a national warrant, her entire life will be permanently ruined!"
"Very well, I promise you I won't contact the police," Adrian agreed smoothly. He paused, looking at her with genuine curiosity. "But Yifei... you've known Chen Meijia for less than two years. Is it truly worth going to such extreme lengths to shield a girl who betrayed your trust?"
"I consider her my friend," Yifei declared proudly, slapping her chest. "So going to extreme lengths for her is simply the right thing to do!"
However, the second the words left her mouth, she noticed Adrian's dark eyes lingering directly on her chest. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and she immediately crossed her arms tightly over her torso.
"What the hell are you staring at?!" she hissed, glaring at him. "Don't assume owing you money grants you visual privileges!"
"I assure you, I wasn't staring at anything," Adrian shrugged indifferently, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Mostly because there is nothing there to see in the first place!"
"You arrogant bastard! You are explicitly asking for a beating!"
Yifei exploded with dramatic rage, launching herself forward with bare fists and flashing kicks.
Of course, both of them were merely playfully sparring. Yifei, having finally unburdened her soul of the heavy financial guilt, desperately needed a lighthearted tussle to release her remaining nervous energy.
BANG!
After a rapid exchange of grapples on the padded mat, Yifei managed to twist around, sweeping his legs and pinning him flat on his back before straddling his waist.
"Thanks, Adrian!" Yifei panted softly, looking down at him with a radiant, genuine smile as she held his wrists against the mat.
To be clear, Yifei was simply straddling his hips in a standard martial arts pin—given their athletic backgrounds, close physical entanglement during training was second nature to her.
"There is zero need for formal thanks between us," Adrian smiled, looking up at her flush, sweat-glistening face. "You can come to me whenever you require assistance."
"Don't get cocky," Yifei quickly released his wrists and hopped off his waist, smoothing down her gi with a playful grin. "I'm not interested in you like that!"
In Yifei's mind, Adrian was a genuinely good man, a reliable ally, and an exceptional friend—but as a romantic partner, she closed that door entirely. The boundary of 'more than friends, less than lovers' best described her dynamic with the wealthy landlord.
Seeing her reject his subtle advance once again, Adrian displayed zero disappointment. After all, if a fiercely independent woman like Hu Yifei were so easily conquered, she wouldn't be the legendary tomboy of the iPartment.
'No matter,' Adrian thought darkly, watching her graceful figure. 'There will always be another lever to pull.'
"I'm heading back downstairs now. See you around, Adrian!"
Having fully released her suppressed stress, Yifei waved cheerfully, changed into her casual clothes, and exited the private gym to return to her apartment.
The second the heavy doors clicked shut, leaving Adrian entirely alone in the sprawling facility, he walked over to a heavy wooden storage crate resting in the shadowed corner of the gym.
Kick!
He casually struck the side of the crate with his boot.
"Woof! Woof!"
The hinged lid of the crate pushed open, and Chen Meijia—dressed in her hyper-realistic fur dog ears, leather collar, and tongue-hook setup—scrambled out on all fours.
She crawled eagerly across the rubber mat, her eyes shining with broken, submissive devotion as she extended her tongue to eagerly lick the toes of his leather boots.
Adrian looked down at the panting, domesticated girl, shaking his head with a mixture of dark amusement and mild disappointment.
'Did Nan Xiang shatter this airhead's cognition so thoroughly that she genuinely believes she is a pet hound?' he mused, resting his boot against Meijia's chin.
'I wonder how the newly captured second dog... Gu Li... is progressing inside the holding cell.'