chapter 3

Looking back carefully, there have indeed been quite a few things that warrant suspicion during this period.

On one side of the Secret Room is the Study where I work; on the other side is another Study, used by Li Wenzhou.

Li Wenzhou doesn’t like eating at the dining table. He always brings his food into the Study, working while he eats.

He has a large appetite, always taking plenty of dishes inside, and somehow manages to finish them all.

But I distinctly remember that when I first met him, his appetite was perfectly normal. He even used to joke about needing to eat less as he got older.

I hadn’t thought much of it before-after all, it’s not unusual for men to eat a lot. I just assumed that being with me had improved his mood and his appetite.

I also recall one time when he brought his meal into the Study. Not long after, I went to ask him a question, but didn’t see any plates or bowls on the desk.

These are utensils he uses all the time, and he’d need to take them to the kitchen to wash soon. Surely he wouldn’t have put them all away?

But I didn’t pay it any mind then, thinking maybe Li Wenzhou was just a neat freak who didn’t like seeing greasy dishes out in the open, so he’d stashed them away to bring out when he left the Study.

Now that I think about it, those dishes weren’t put away-they were taken into the Secret Room; and the extra food was eaten by someone inside the Secret Room.

So, the entrance to the Secret Room must be inside Li Wenzhou’s Study.

My Study and the Secret Room are separated by nothing but a wall. No matter how much I knock or search, I’ll never find any mechanism or entrance.

Only by entering Li Wenzhou’s Study can I uncover the Secret Room’s secret.

At this moment, I’m in the kitchen, absentmindedly plating the food, my eyes drifting toward that Study.

Carelessly, I miss the bowl while pouring soup, and the hot liquid splashes onto my hand, scalding me.

I wince in pain, snapping back to reality.

“Yiyi, what are you thinking about?” Li Wenzhou comes over, blocking my line of sight.

He gently takes my reddened hand and runs it under cool water.

“You’re so distracted while cooking. How careless,” he says, eyes lowered, reproachful.

Li Wenzhou has a faint birthmark around his left eye, making his gaze seem even deeper and more gentle.

I stare blankly at his profile, thinking how wonderful things would be if not for all this. I truly love him.

He turns off the water, blows on my hand carefully, and seeing that it’s not serious, says, “I’ll head back to my room. If you have any questions, just message me on WeChat.”

With that, he takes enough food for two and walks into the Study.

I watch the tightly closed door, my feelings in turmoil.

I do love him, but now that I know about the Secret Room, I can’t pretend I don’t.

Is he hiding someone in the Study, like a beauty in a golden house?

I’ve never been inside alone; at most, I’d go in while he was working to ask a question, never staying more than two minutes.

Usually, after I ask a couple of things, he’d naturally stand up, circle the desk, answer me while leading me out. In the end, we’d both sit on the Living Room sofa and resolve the issue.

Thinking back, that’s suspicious too.

I have to find a chance to enter his Study alone.

During the lockdown, Li Wenzhou stayed home all the time. Except for sleeping with me in the Bedroom at night, he spent every other moment working in the Study, never leaving.

He didn’t need to come out to use the Bathroom or shower, since there was one inside.

So my only chance is late at night.