Not long after, Hao Jian escorted Zhang Danlin downstairs. Coincidentally, as soon as they reached the street, a taxi appeared. He signaled it to stop and let Zhang Danlin get in.

As she got in the car, Zhang Danlin looked back at Hao Jian and asked, "About that..."

Hao Jian was ready to answer, but the words seemed to catch in Zhang Danlin's throat. An unusual expression flashed across her face, and then she just sat back down in the car.

Since she didn't say anything, Hao Jian didn't ask. He gave the driver her address, and the taxi drove away. As he watched the car disappear into the distance, Hao Jian finally headed back upstairs. His mind was still uneasy; although he had seen Zhang Danlin off, Liang Xiaohan was still at home.

At that moment, he could already picture Liang Xiaohan's angry face in his mind. Even though what happened was in the heat of the moment, Liang Xiaohan is someone who values reason. Besides, if you really think about it, it was pretty reckless of him, and that's why things turned out this way.

So now he imagined Liang Xiaohan must already be sitting in the living room, waiting to confront him.

However, he hadn't considered the fact that he had already sent Zhang Danlin away.

Zhang Danlin was on her way home in the taxi, but just as she was about to say something to Hao Jian, she held her words back. The questions she wanted to ask were suppressed at that moment.

She really just wanted to use the bathroom, but in there she had accidentally discovered something unexpected, something particularly surprising. She hadn't thought that Hao Jian would lie to her, and that she would find out this way.

That was the most heartbreaking thing.

But she also felt that there might be a reason why Hao Jian lied to her on purpose. Otherwise, there was nothing he would want to hide. So, the words she had almost spoken were swallowed back down, even though she felt a little disappointed, she had to hold it back.

Not long after, Hao Jian was back upstairs, and surprisingly, Liang Xiaohan wasn't waiting for him in the living room. He blinked and quickly ran to the bathroom, sensing something was off with Zhang Danlin, although he pretended otherwise.

Entering the bathroom, he quickly scanned the room. After checking, a look of relief appeared on his face. Liang Xiaohan's clothes weren't left out, and when he opened the washing machine, he found her clothes inside. This meant Zhang Danlin hadn't discovered Liang Xiaohan's clothing.

Which also meant she hadn't realized Liang Xiaohan and he were living together. Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face; it was fortunate that this hadn't been discovered.

However, the joyful smile only lingered on his face for a moment. As his gaze swept toward a corner of the bathroom, his expression suddenly contorted.

"This..." He suddenly became speechless.

No wonder Liang Xiaohan hadn't said a word on the way back, and her face maintained a strange expression. The moment she got home, she rushed to the bathroom, saying she needed a shower. It turned out the shower was a cover; she did need one, but her main purpose was to change her pad.

She had her period today, and after a long day out, she rushed home to change and left it in the bathroom intending to throw it away while Hao Jian wasn't around after her shower. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the chance to do so before Zhang Danlin arrived.

Which led to the subsequent series of events where Hao Jian had Zhang Danlin hiding out of sight, unable to care about this.

When Zhang Danlin asked to use the bathroom just now, Liang Xiaohan's pad was placed in the most conspicuous position, easily visible from the toilet, and naturally, Zhang Danlin noticed it right away.

Imagine, in a man's living space, how could there be this kind of thing—a bloodstained pad—indicating a woman's presence.

So, it was clear a woman had been staying in Hao Jian's apartment, and she, being another woman, instantly realized the pad had been recently changed. With a bit of deduction, she understood there was another woman living here. That's why Hao Jian had been urging her to leave.

The instant Hao Jian saw the pad, these thoughts flashed through his mind. It was apparent why Zhang Danlin's expression was off when she came out of the bathroom and why she had agreed to leave when he offered to escort her. At this moment, everything clicked into place in his mind.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brow.

He hadn't imagined things would develop in this way. Doesn't this reveal to Zhang Danlin that he had been deceiving her, that he was indeed living with a woman? His mind felt like it was short-circuiting, but fortunately, his living situation with Liang Xiaohan hadn't been fully exposed, and that was something to be grateful for.

Thinking this, he forced a smile and turned, intending to call Liang Xiaohan out. However, the moment he turned his head, he saw a familiar figure standing right behind him.

"Ah!" He yelped in surprise.

There stood Liang Xiaohan, staring back at him with wide eyes. As he turned around, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Maybe it was guilt, which caused him to almost stumble backward.

Seeing this, Liang Xiaohan asked, "What are you thinking about so deeply?"

There was no way Hao Jian could admit he had noticed her pad, sparking a series of associations, so he quickly waved his hand, saying, "No... nothing!"

Liang Xiaohan gave him a sly look, scaring Hao Jian into fleeing. He felt that another second there would lead Liang Xiaohan to see through him. As he left, Liang Xiaohan gave him a peculiar look, then took the spot where he was standing and followed his previous line of sight.

In that moment, her previously calm face flushed with embarrassment. She hadn't thought Hao Jian would be looking at that. She had forgotten all about it in her rush, not expecting him to see, and then she had just asked him what he was thinking about. All at once, she understood, feeling a wave of embarrassment.

Immediately, while Hao Jian was still in the living room, she suddenly emerged from the bathroom with a black bag and rushed out. Hearing the door slam shut with a "bang," Hao Jian felt a chill run down his spine.

A minute later, Liang Xiaohan returned, her blush nowhere to be seen. Entering, she noticed Hao Jian staring at her, so she asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

Hao Jian replied, "You've got something on your face!"

"Ah!" Liang Xiaohan gasped and quickly went to the bathroom mirror to check, finding nothing on her face. She stormed out, glaring at Hao Jian.

Hao Jian waved his hand, with a look that said "what a fool," and then lay down on the sofa, playing with his phone.

Perhaps realizing she couldn't outwit Hao Jian in a verbal spar, Liang Xiaohan chose to ignore him, retreating to her room and not emerging again.

Hao Jian smiled. He had expected Liang Xiaohan to give him a hard time, considering his previous actions—barging in on her shower, seeing her naked—but she surprisingly didn't trouble him, acting as if nothing happened.

He was surprised but relieved that Liang Xiaohan had let it go. For him, this meant avoiding a lot of trouble.

The night passed uneventfully. Later, Liang Xiaohan texted him, saying she was home. He replied with a simple "Hmm," and set his phone aside to sleep peacefully. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The next day was a fresh start. Early in the morning, unexpectedly, Liang Yuwei called, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Since she had the day off, she had the time to talk to him, chatting for over half an hour before mentioning she had time off next week and planned to visit him and Liang Xiaohan.

A look of delight appeared on Hao Jian's face.

If she really comes, it would be wonderful. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and he missed her dearly.

After chatting a bit more, Liang Yuwei had other things to attend to, so they ended the call. With that, Hao Jian got up.

As he noticed Liang Xiaohan's door still closed, he assumed she was still asleep and didn't disturb her. He went out alone to get food, bringing some back for her. Her senses were sharp, though; as soon as he entered with the food, she emerged from her room.

Seeing the food in his hand, she immediately took it from him and disappeared to freshen up and eat.

Seeing this, Hao Jian shook his head in resignation. He truly felt like her babysitter.