The sound of cars pulling up outside wasn't unusual.
Xu Zhenlan had visitors constantly. Business associates, security personnel, people whose names I never bothered learning, they were constantly going in and out when he was working from home. Luckily for us, the house was large enough that I could ignore most of it.
But this time was different.
I was in the sitting room, flipping through a magazine I wasn't actually reading, when I heard voices at the front door. These weren't the polite murmur of scheduled meetings, these voices were sharp and tense.
I looked up.
Zhou Chenghai appeared in the front doorway, his expression tight. He didn't say anything, just moved into the room and positioned himself between me and the hallway. His hand rested near his hip.
I set the magazine down and listened.
Xu Zhenlan's voice carried from the entryway, calm but firm. "You're not welcome here."
Another voice responded, one I'd heard before but I couldn't place. "I'm not here for a social visit, Xu Zhenlan."
I stood up slowly and walked toward the hallway. Chenghai shifted to block me, but I stepped around him anyway. He followed immediately, his presence a shadow at my back.
The entryway was crowded.
A man stood just inside the door—the same man from a few days ago, the one who'd held a gun to Chenghai's head and demanded to see Zhenlan. He was wearing yet another dark suit, but this time without the tie. Even looking more casual, everything tailored and expensive.
And behind him were ten men, all armed, and all watching the room with the kind of focus that suggested they were waiting for an excuse.
Zhenlan stood facing him, blocking the hallway that led deeper into the house. His posture was rigid, his arms crossed. Unmovable.
The tension was immediate and so thick I could cut it with a knife.
I stopped at the edge of the entryway and leaned against the wall, watching. No one had noticed me yet, they were too focused on each other.
The armed men had spread out slightly, positioning themselves near the walls. Their hands rested near their weapons. Not drawn...not yet... but they were ready for shit to hit the fan.
Chenghai moved closer to me, his body angled to shield me from the room.
"I need to search your house," the man announced in a voice that said he expected to be obeyed.
Too bad he was up against my 'guardian'. Zhenlan's expression didn't change when he folded his arms in front of his chest and planted his feet. "No."
"I'm not asking."
"And I'm not negotiating."
The man smiled, but there was no humor in it. "You're protecting her. I understand that. But she took something that belongs to me, and I'm going to find it."
"She didn't take anything."
"The footage says otherwise."
Zhenlan's jaw tightened. "The footage shows her near a building. That's all."
"The footage shows her entering my building. And when I arrived, everything inside was gone." The man took a step forward. "Billions of dollars in weapons and equipment. Vanished. And the only person on camera is your ward."
So that's what this was about. The warehouse.
I ran the calculations quickly.
If he searched the house, he wouldn't find anything. The supplies weren't here—they were in my space, completely inaccessible to anyone but me. He could tear the house apart brick by brick and he wouldn't find a single bullet.
But if this escalated into violence, there was a good chance that people would die.
I knew without a doubt that both Zhenlan and Chenghai would move to protect me. I also knew that the armed men would target Zhenlan first, then Chenghai. The odds of surviving weren't good.
Even if we survived, the house would be compromised and I didn't think I had enough time to establish a new home before the zombies came.
What worried me most was that everything I'd worked for would be exposed.
And that was just unacceptable.
"My name is Jian Yuche," the man said, his voice dropping lower as he turned to look at me like he had always known I was there. "And I don't make threats I don't intend to follow through on. So I'll ask one more time—let me search your house, or I'll do it by force."
One of his men shifted, his hand moving toward his weapon and Chenghai's hand moved to his hip in response. The other men tensed, their eyes flicking between Zhenlan and Yuche, waiting for a signal.
I was right...this was going to get violent.
I could see it in the way they were standing, the way their muscles were coiled, ready to move. Jian Yuche wasn't going to back down. Zhenlan wasn't going to let him search the house. And neither side was going to de-escalate.
Someone was going to draw a weapon. Someone was going to fire. And once that happened, it wouldn't stop until people were dead.
I pushed off the wall and walked forward.
"If he wants to search, let him."
Every head in the room turned toward me.
Zhenlan's expression shifted immediately—surprise, then something sharper... more protective. "Rouxi—"
"Let him search," I said again, my tone flat. I looked at the man, Jian Yuche, meeting his eyes directly. "You're not going to find anything, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead. Maybe then you can dedicate your time to finding the actual person who stole from you and leave me alone."
Jian Yuche studied me for a long moment. His expression was unreadable, but there was something calculating in his gaze. Like he was trying to figure out if I was bluffing.
I wasn't.
"Rouxi," Zhenlan said again, his voice low and warning.
I shrugged. "He's going to keep coming back until he's satisfied. Might as well get it over with."
Chenghai moved closer, his hand still near his weapon. "You don't have to agree to this."
"I know." I looked at him, then back at Yuche. "But I'm going to make popcorn before a new episode of Supernatural comes on, and I don't want to be interrupted."
There was a beat of silence.
Then I turned and walked toward the kitchen, my footsteps echoing in the quiet entryway.
I didn't look back. Didn't wait for permission. I just walked away, leaving them all standing there, staring after me.
Behind me, I heard Yuche's voice, low and amused. "Interesting."
"Don't touch anything you don't need to," Zhenlan said, his tone clipped.
"Of course."
I reached the kitchen and pulled open the pantry, grabbing a bag of popcorn kernels. The sound of footsteps echoed through the house—Yuche's men spreading out, beginning their search. Doors opening. Drawers sliding. The methodical sound of people looking for something they weren't going to find.
I poured the kernels into a pot and turned on the stove, listening to the sounds of the search filtering through the walls. They were thorough. I'd give them that.
But it also seemed a bit... ridiculous... after all, that many weapons wouldn't exactly fit in my underwear drawer.
Scoffing silently to myself, I shook my head. Their thoroughness didn't matter when the thing they were looking for didn't exist in this reality.
The kernels started popping, the sound sharp and rhythmic. I shook the pot absently, my mind already moving to the next problem. I still needed medical supplies. The hospital plan was out, so I would have to think of something else.
The popcorn finished. I poured it into a bowl and walked back toward the sitting room, passing one of Yuche's men in the hallway. He glanced at me, then at the bowl of popcorn, his expression confused.
I ignored him and kept walking.
The search continued around me. Footsteps upstairs. Voices in the other wing. The sound of furniture being moved.
I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through channels until I found the station I was looking for. You could never go wrong watching hot guys fighting supernatural beings.
I wondered how they would do against zombies... pretty well, considering how well they could use their guns.
I ignored the chaos around me as I settled deeper into the couch. Why worry when they weren't going to find anything.
And when they left empty-handed, Jian Yuche would have to accept that I wasn't the thief he was looking for.
Or he wouldn't.
Either way, it wasn't my problem right now.
I reached for another handful of popcorn, throwing it into my mouth.
Jian Yuche stepped further into the house, his men fanning out behind him.
The search had begun...
And I wished him the best of luck.