Though he said this, the black short-haired man in his thirties before them clearly remained unmoved by the second man's threat.

Instead, he looked intrigued.

Seeing this, the second man wanted to make a move but was pulled back by the third man.

"Enough, this guy's probably mentally ill. Haven't you seen the recent news? Mentally ill people don't get charged for murder anyway, just ignore him."

Though restrained, the second man still pointed aggressively at the black short-haired man and said:

"Consider yourself lucky!"

With that, the whole group went inside.

Slamming the door shut with a bang.

Leaving only Wang Jian outside, sitting against the wall near the security door in the hallway.

Wang Jian sat against the wall now, his whole body curled into an irregular cube.

The atmosphere around him felt oppressive and desolate.

At that moment, the black short-haired man suddenly walked over to Wang Jian's side.

He patted Wang Jian's shoulder.

Wang Jian looked up, his eyes reddened, choking for a moment before asking: "Can I help you?"

The black short-haired man said: "I'm Chen Fei, living next door in 1003. Would you like to come to my place?"

Wang Jian probably didn't expect the black short-haired man to invite him over.

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "Probably not..."

Chen Fei smiled: "You should come. Your so-called friends won't finish eating for at least two or three hours. Are you just going to sit here the whole time?"

"The weather's getting hotter—come in and enjoy the air conditioning!"

Hearing Chen Fei's words, Wang Jian seemed to genuinely feel the heat, especially since he'd been running around buying food and drinks for the people inside earlier.

He was practically steaming from all the running.

So he agreed.

Chen Fei's home was luxurious.

Though the overall space wasn't large, the decor made it feel like being in a palace.

In the living room.

Wang Jian sat on a soft sofa that felt smooth to the touch with excellent texture.

Chen Fei poured Wang Jian a glass of red wine, but Wang Jian said he didn't drink. Get full chapters from novelFirｅ.net

Chen Fei then brought out a bottle of Sprite and poured it into Wang Jian's wine glass: "How about this?"

Wang Jian couldn't refuse the kindness anymore, so he took a small sip.

"Who are those people anyway?"

"I thought you just moved in yesterday? Isn't that your apartment?"

Swirling his wine glass, Chen Fei sat on an expensive Chinese-style antique wooden chair as he questioned Wang Jian.

Wang Jian kept his head down, then said: "They're just some friends of mine."

"Friends? Really? You're Wang Jian, right? I was at the welcome party too."

"You can tell me what's going on. I'll help you. After all, we're neighbors."

"Besides, anyone can see your relationship with those people is terrible. They treat you like an enemy."

"Are those really friends?"

Chen Fei took a sip of red wine and smiled.

Hearing this, Wang Jian continued to keep his head down.

Chen Fei didn't press further, instead focusing on tasting his newly purchased red wine.

After a long silence.

Wang Jian suddenly spoke, though his voice was very quiet: "You can't help me."

He thought Chen Fei hadn't heard, but Chen Fei had actually heard quite clearly:

"Can't help? How do you know I can't help if you don't tell me?"

"Even if I can't help, you can still say it. Consider it venting. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

After another long while.

Wang Jian downed his red wine mixed with Sprite in one gulp.

Apparently having thought something through, he said:

"I work at a textile factory. Those people work there too."

"But one of them, Qi Shen—his father is a shareholder there, so these people basically do whatever they want at that factory, working when they feel like it and slacking off most of the time."

"Once when the factory was hiring general workers, they brought in a very beautiful girl."

"Qi Shen took a liking to her and pursued her relentlessly."

"But the girl wasn't interested in Qi Shen's approach and didn't respond to his advances."

"Qi Shen got impatient and couldn't wait. One time on the way home after night shift, he and his friends—the ones you saw today—dragged that beautiful girl into an alley. You can guess what they intended to do."

"Coincidentally, I was also working night shift that day and happened to see this, so I intervened."

Qi Shen was the ringleader among the three men and two women—the third man.

Chen Fei swirled his wine glass: "After you intervened? Did the beautiful girl get saved?"

Wang Jian nodded: "She was saved. The girl managed to run away, but I didn't get away. They beat me up."

Chen Fei: "Hero saving the beauty—you should have gotten the girl, right?"

Wang Jian smiled bitterly at this: "After that girl got home that night, the next day she came to the factory with her parents to resign. I happened to run into her at the factory gate, and when she saw me covered in injuries, she just glanced at me and left. I never saw her again after that. Heard she went back to her hometown with her parents."

Chen Fei thought for a moment, then said: "The girl didn't offer herself to you, not even a thank you?"

Wang Jian shook his head: "No, like I said, she just glanced at me and left, like I was a complete stranger."

Chen Fei smiled: "So after this incident, Qi Shen and his group started targeting and bullying you?"

Wang Jian nodded.

Chen Fei: "Do you regret it?"

Wang Jian shook his head.

Chen Fei: "You must have had some feelings for that beautiful girl too, right? That's why you intervened. If it had just been an ordinary girl being cornered by Qi Shen's group, would you still have intervened?"

Wang Jian thought for a while, then nodded.

Chen Fei: "I'm not sure I believe that."

Wang Jian looked very serious, word by word, staring into Chen Fei's eyes: "Even if it was just an ordinary girl I didn't know, if I could help, I would still help. Because I'm afraid my conscience wouldn't let me rest otherwise."

"Hmm... I see. You really are a good person!"

Chen Fei put down his wine glass, resting his chin on his left hand as his gaze drifted to the left.

Then his eyes returned to Wang Jian: "In that case, let me help you! I'll make sure those people can never bully you again."

Hearing this, Wang Jian smiled bitterly and rubbed his forehead: "Don't joke around. How can you help me? Help me report to the police?"

Chen Fei suddenly gave a mysterious smile: "If I help you kill them, then they naturally won't be able to bully you anymore, right?"

Whoosh!

Wang Jian, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly lifted it sharply upon hearing these words.

His face was filled with shock and horror.

He asked with utter astonishment:

"Did I hear correctly? You said you'd help me kill them?!"

Chen Fei continued smiling: "You heard correctly."

Once Wang Jian confirmed this, he quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, don't joke about things like this! Murder is illegal!"

Chen Fei remained silent, just quietly watching Wang Jian, then suddenly changed the subject: "Wang Jian, how long have they been bullying you?"

Wang Jian said: "About half a year."

Chen Fei said: "In that case, why not resign and find work somewhere else? If they can't see you, they can't bully you, right?"

Wang Jian's expression turned bitter: "It's no use. My parents also work at that textile factory. They've been employees there for over ten, almost twenty years."

"Qi Shen said if I resign and go work at another factory or another city, he'll make sure my parents lose their jobs."

"Also, I used to live in the employee dormitory. After they started bullying me, I moved back home to reduce contact with them, but it didn't help."

"So I moved here."

"I thought I could find some peace, but those people followed me secretly when I returned here..."