Could you please take a step back

'Is she home? That water sound... could she be deceiving me? What if she's...?'

An ominous feeling rose in Shen Yi's heart, and he quickly asked,

"Are you really at home? Where do you live? I need to see you about something right now."

Fu Nanzhi's voice came through, seemingly caught off guard by Shen Yi's request. After hesitating for a moment, she said:

"Not tonight, it's quite late. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

Indeed, Fu Nanzhi's response made Shen Yi even more uneasy, but he couldn't let her slip away.

Knowing he couldn't rush and risk alarming her, Shen Yi took a deep breath to calm his anxiety and adopted a playful tone:

"It's all because of you that I had to work overtime. You know about that lawsuit, right?"

At the mention of work, Fu Nanzhi immediately stopped hesitating and followed Shen Yi's lead: "What about the lawsuit?"

"You made a mistake!" Shen Yi said while jogging through the parking lot, making up the story as he went.

"You got something wrong in that lawsuit, and now people from their department have come looking. They said you were the one who handled it initially. I don't know the specifics, so I could only stall them. We need to sort this out now."

"Where are you? I'll come to you."

Shen Yi steered with one hand while putting the phone on speaker and fastening his seatbelt with the other.

"A mistake?" Fu Nanzhi's voice was puzzled.

She had handled so many consultation cases that it was impossible to recall them all immediately, which was exactly why Shen Yi dared to fabricate this story.

"What's the client's name? Do you have a digital copy? Send it to me."

Shen Yi had no actual client in mind. As he drove out of the parking lot, he continued his fabrication, "I can't remember the client's name, but I've printed everything out. Give me your address, and I'll bring it over now."

Fu Nanzhi's lips quivered before finally telling Shen Yi:

"Songping Garden Phase One, Peaceful Lake Residence, Number 114."

Having finally gotten the answer, Shen Yi immediately stepped on the gas and set off, not forgetting to remind her:

"I'm on my way, don't fall asleep, make sure you wait for me."

Fu Nanzhi replied resignedly: "I won't sleep."

After hanging up, Shen Yi immediately opened his navigation app. Although he had managed to temporarily calm Fu Nanzhi over the phone, he couldn't risk any unexpected developments, and his time to act was limited - every second counted.

Normally, given Fu Nanzhi's conservative and rule-following nature - she wouldn't even go out for meals - it was unusual for her to allow anyone into her home, not even Shen Yi.

Fortunately, Shen Yi knew her well enough to exploit her conscientious nature regarding work.

The moment he mentioned work issues, especially one involving her own oversight,

She immediately gave him her home address.

...

At Peaceful Lake Residence.

Fu Nanzhi glided through the long swimming pool in her swimsuit, her fair body moving like a streak of pure moonlight, pristine and translucent.

It was March, and the temperature was somewhat cool, but she loved swimming and made it a habit to swim after work.

In the water, everything seemed to slow down, becoming peaceful.

The temperature-controlled water enveloped her entire body, making her feel completely at ease, as if returning to the womb.

"Ring ring ring..."

Her phone, placed on a bench by the poolside, suddenly started ringing.

Fu Nanzhi heard it from the water but didn't want to answer, planning to call back after finishing her swim.

However, the phone seemed to be working against her, continuing its endless, irritating ring.

Fu Nanzhi sighed helplessly and swam to the edge. Without getting out of the water, she reached out and grabbed her phone.

Looking at the contact name: Shen Yi

She answered.

"Hello? Shen Yi, what's the matter at this late hour?"

Shen Yi's sudden late-night call surprised her.

Over the phone, Shen Yi repeatedly asked about her location and home address, which made Fu Nanzhi suspicious.

Hearing Shen Yi say he wanted to come find her, Fu Nanzhi looked down at her rather scanty attire and hesitantly refused, thinking whatever it was could wait until tomorrow.

However, when Shen Yi mentioned a previous lawsuit, work-related matters immediately made Fu Nanzhi's attitude turn serious.

She had handled so many cases that she couldn't immediately recall which one he was referring to.

Seeing that Shen Yi insisted on coming to find her, Fu Nanzhi instinctively felt resistant.

It wasn't that she particularly disliked Shen Yi, but rather that she wasn't in a suitable state to see him right now.

She wanted to refuse, but considering this was her oversight and he had worked overtime because of it, and now he was even willing to make the effort to come to her.

His consistently professional work attitude was something Fu Nanzhi had always admired.

Her red lips moved silently near the receiver several times before Fu Nanzhi finally gave Shen Yi her address.

Hearing Shen Yi tell her not to sleep, Fu Nanzhi felt quite helpless - did he think she was the type to be so impolite?

After hanging up, Fu Nanzhi would have liked to swim a bit more, but knowing Shen Yi might arrive soon and she would need to open the door for him.

If he saw her dressed like this...

Fu Nanzhi couldn't even bear to imagine the scene, feeling her skin and even her cheeks burning up like fire.

Even the cool pool water couldn't extinguish the fire in her heart. Fu Nanzhi quickly grabbed the poolside handle to get out and change clothes.

Her wet jade feet touched the floor, water droplets trailing down her body.

Distracted and still holding her phone in one hand, she lost her balance during the process of getting out and slipped sideways. In her panic, she only managed a scream before falling heavily to the ground.

"Ah!"

With the cry of pain, Fu Nanzhi's side hit the pool edge hard.

Lying on the floor, she couldn't move for quite a while.

When she finally recovered somewhat, Fu Nanzhi discovered her knee was bruised and her ankle was stiff, with sharp pain shooting through it at the slightest movement.

'Seems like I've sprained it...'

The pain caused sweat to bead on Fu Nanzhi's forehead. She wanted to call for help, but her phone had slipped from her hand during the unexpected fall and now lay at the bottom of the pool.

'Just my luck...'

The series of misfortunes made Fu Nanzhi sigh inwardly. She was currently the only resident at Peaceful Lake Residence, having chosen it for its proximity to Tiancheng Corporation, making her commute convenient.

Her mother had wanted to come live with her to take care of her, but she had refused, and now she couldn't even call for help.

After a while, Fu Nanzhi tried to move again, but the moment she applied force, the intense pain made her vision go dark and half her body go numb.

She had never experienced such suffering before, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes, though she tried hard not to let them fall.

...

In the car, Shen Yi drove steadily.

According to the navigation, Songping Garden wasn't far from the company - Shen Yi had already reached the community entrance within 20 minutes.

The security guard at the gate politely stopped Shen Yi, asking for his name and whether he had an appointment. Shen Yi nodded and provided Fu Nanzhi's residence number.

As he watched the guard go back to verify, Shen Yi's fingers tapped impatiently on the steering wheel as he forced himself to wait.

While Peaceful Lake Residence appeared modestly decorated, it was actually quietly luxurious, suggesting its residents were either wealthy or noble.

Shen Yi had long noticed that Fu Nanzhi came from a well-off background. Though she didn't flaunt it, everything from her temperament and upbringing to her daily conduct and speech confirmed this fact.

Soon, the guard returned and bent down at Shen Yi's window to apologize:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shen, but there's no visitor application for Unit 114, and we tried calling the resident, but there was no answer."

"Would you like to double-check?"

Shen Yi couldn't hear the guard's subsequent words, his mind filled with panic - had he arrived too late despite his rush?

Though his heart was filled with anxiety, he managed to maintain his composure.

He quickly tried calling Fu Nanzhi's phone, but the continuous busy signal sent a chill down his spine.

Without time to think further, Shen Yi suddenly composed himself and softly asked the nearby guard:

"Could you please step back a bit?"

The guard was confused by the request but, due to his professional training, instinctively took a step back.

The response he received was the roar of an engine.

"Vrooom!"

Shen Yi floored the accelerator, causing the tires to screech sharply as they gripped the ground.

The entrance barrier was instantly shattered, leaving the security guards staring open-mouthed at the disappearing taillights.