Chapter Sixty-Two: Foreboding

“The preliminary tests show there’s nothing wrong. Normally, we’d stop here, but since Mr. Le especially asked, I’ll send a few samples to the lab for further analysis. That’ll take two days for the results, but they’re more accurate than what my small device can do.” The casually dressed man held a toolkit in one hand, a friendly smile on his face.

Kong Yajie hurriedly asked, “So, in general, there’s nothing to worry about, right? Could it be the furniture or something like that…?”

“Don’t worry, Yaya,” Gao Yan wrapped his arm around Kong Yajie’s shoulders. “Sir, does this mean we can keep living here?”

“Of course you can. I don’t see any major problems,” the man replied, turning toward the entrance to change his shoes.

Kong Yajie pressed her lips together.

Gao Yan cleared his throat. “That’s good. Thank you for your trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Mr. Le is an old friend of mine—he’s helped me a lot over the years,” the man replied, tying his shoes.

Gao Yan nodded and accompanied him to the door.

Once their guest had left, Gao Yan returned to the living room to find Kong Yajie standing in the middle of the room, looking lost.

“See, Yaya? Everything’s fine.” Gao Yan hugged her and guided her to the sofa.

Kong Yajie forced a smile. “Mr. Le just wants to comfort me. I know you’re all trying to help, but the problem must be with me…”

“Don’t stress. We’ve both been to the hospital for checkups. We just need to wait until Monday—no, wait! We don’t even have to wait; we can check the results online now!” Gao Yan took out his phone.

Kong Yajie glanced at his profile, then gently stroked the stubble on his chin. “Sorry for making you worry. I’m fine now…”

Suddenly, Gao Yan looked up at her, his gaze serious.

Startled, Kong Yajie asked, “What is it?”

“Did you know you’re allergic to dust mites?” Gao Yan turned his phone to show her.

Kong Yajie was momentarily dazed. “Back in school, you knew I’d get breakouts, and I’d sneeze if it got too dusty… Uh…” She looked closer at the results on the screen. Among the allergens listed, only “dust/dust mites” had three plus signs next to it.

“Is that serious?” she asked.

“We’ll ask the doctor on Monday.” Gao Yan put away his phone with a deep sigh. “No wonder you’ve been so uncomfortable lately. Think about it—new environment, and maybe we’ve been a bit lazy with cleaning? Your new company, a new home. We only mop once a week.” He hugged her again.

Kong Yajie was still confused. “Is that really the reason? I didn’t have any reaction working at that pet store…”

“There’s a section here for cat and dog hair. You’re not allergic to pet fur, just to dust mites,” Gao Yan said, scrolling through his phone with her. “Now that I think about it, we haven’t changed the bedding since it got hot, have we?”

“We use the air conditioner every day, so we don’t sweat…” Kong Yajie mused.

Gao Yan shook his head. “Your mom did a thorough cleaning every month, changed all the bedding, plus pillows, comforters, even the mattress. She’s really clean. Even the kitchen in your family home—after all these years, there isn’t a trace of grease. When you rented before, your mom often helped clean. But now that we’ve moved here, she hasn’t come…”

Kong Yajie punched him lightly. “So you think I’m not clean enough? Want my mom to move in as our cleaning lady?”

Gao Yan chuckled. “Not at all, I’m just reflecting on myself. You never had these issues before marrying me.” He hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry, honey. From now on, I’ll take care of all the housework. I won’t let you have another allergy attack.”

“Easy for you to say. Do you even have time to do everything?” Kong Yajie rolled her eyes but held his arm.

“I do. The project’s nearly finished. I can just lie back and enjoy the dividends,” Gao Yan whispered into her ear.

Kong Yajie straightened in surprise. “You finished development?”

“It’s done. Youkang 3.0. I won’t brag, but we’ll dominate the medical AI market for at least five years. After that, expanding functions, new fields, that’s for the next generation. I’m moving into management and won’t be as busy.”

Kong Yajie eyed him skeptically. “You’re exaggerating, aren’t you? Dominate the market… Zheng Yichao’s team is moving even faster. Isn’t he already breaking into your market? If he weren’t everywhere, always competing with us, and only focusing on healthcare like you do, your company might have—”

Gao Yan shook his head, kissing her on the cheek. “Don’t worry, there’s no problem.”

Kong Yajie remained dubious. “You never told me…”

Gao Yan lowered his voice. “Zheng Yichao even tried to poach me. Not just me, actually. You know his usual tactics. He didn’t succeed.”

Kong Yajie’s eyes widened.

“I’m not lying. Zheng Yichao can focus on fighting your old company for market share—agriculture, telecommunications, transportation… plenty to go around. No way your old company can swallow it all. As for healthcare, he’s out of luck.”

“That’s because Zheng Yichao is talented. In recent years, only his company’s managed to rise—everyone else folded.” Kong Yajie was interrupted mid-sentence by her phone ringing.

She picked it up and saw that Du Aiyun and Ding Yi were chatting nonstop in their old dorm group.

Just one glance, and Kong Yajie froze.

Gao Yan leaned over. “What is it? Who messaged you?”

“It’s Aiyun and the others…” Kong Yajie looked up. “Do you remember the woman I bumped into in the restroom at the class reunion?”

“I didn’t meet her, but you all talked about it afterwards. Her husband was Zheng Yichao’s classmate in grad school, right? And she had some kind of issue with him?”

“Yes. They… they’ve gone missing…” Kong Yajie shuddered. “Both of them… their son reported them missing. Just a few days ago, they vanished. No one knows where they are. I… I’ll call Tong Bin! Last time, he mentioned that guy switched to our company…”

Gao Yan reminded her, “That’s your former company. Two adults missing? Maybe they just went on a trip without telling their son?”

Kong Yajie dialed, gesturing for Gao Yan to be quiet.

The call didn’t go through—she got a busy signal. Dejected, she hung up.

“Let me see what Du Aiyun and the others said,” Gao Yan said, taking the phone from her. “Hmm… missing, son reported them, no one knows where… sounds like gossip. All just ‘heard from someone.’ Why are you so nervous?”

“I… I went to the restroom with her that day…” Kong Yajie looked at Gao Yan, fear flickering in her eyes.

She could distinctly sense something following her—following her and that woman into the restroom. The woman had left first… That thing must have stayed behind in the restroom. But what if it had actually left with the woman? And then…

Kong Yajie shook her head, burying her face in Gao Yan’s chest.

It was all her imagination. There was no “something.” It was just allergies, stress-induced hallucinations. She hadn’t encountered anything…

“Yaya?” Gao Yan patted her back.

His phone still buzzed and rang continuously.

Gao Yan glanced at the screen, then asked suddenly, “What exactly did Zheng Yichao do in university? You all seem to have a strange attitude toward him. Du Aiyun mentioned that exam, Ding Yi said something about cheating…”

Kong Yajie sighed, retrieved her phone, and set it to silent.

“It’s nothing… He grew up in a single-parent family—just him and his mother. She worked hard to support his education. All through elementary, middle, and high school, he was top of his grade, student council president, won countless awards—his mother’s pride.”

Kong Yajie’s voice softened with another sigh. “Before the college entrance results even came out, his mother passed away.”

Gao Yan was momentarily speechless.

“When Zheng Yichao started university, he didn’t really fit in; he never got over it. It wasn’t until our junior year, during a big selection exam organized by a professor, that he pulled himself together. Not that it was all because of his mother’s death. He grew up in a small city, so competition wasn’t as fierce. After that exam, Lin Jun was upset and accused Zheng Yichao in public of cheating to beat him. Zheng Yichao lost his temper, and they fought…”

Kong Yajie put her phone on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa. “They argued in front of the whole class, and the next room over was full of students from other classes in our department. That’s when Zheng Yichao first told everyone about his family. No one knew before—only the counselor did. Later, people checked with the counselor, and it was all true…”

Gao Yan gently stroked her hair. “No wonder you all treat him that way. Must’ve been a nasty argument.”

“Yeah. We girls all huddled together, afraid they’d come to blows. A few guys tried to break it up—the class president got shoved aside and bruised his arm against a desk. He used to be pretty big…” Kong Yajie gestured. “Lin Jun and Zheng Yichao were really fired up, faces flushed. If several guys hadn’t held them back, they would’ve fought for sure. One person couldn’t hold them; it took several, grabbing any way they could…”

She suddenly laughed. “That was the first time I really noticed Tong Bin—he grabbed Zheng Yichao around the waist and wouldn’t let go. After that, whenever I saw him, I’d remember that scene. He could be quite manly sometimes.”

Gao Yan teased, “Did you have a crush on him?”

Kong Yajie sighed again. “Not really. He’s still pretty reserved. He was the closest to Zheng Yichao back then, but when others asked him about Zheng Yichao’s family, he knew nothing. He’s the type who never asks unless you tell him first.”

“You’re like that, too,” Gao Yan remarked suddenly.

Kong Yajie paused, then nodded. “Yes… I am.”

“Alright. Enough of that. It’s a beautiful weekend—let’s do a thorough cleaning,” Gao Yan clapped his hands.

Kong Yajie looked up in surprise.

“There’s a typhoon coming in a few days, and we won’t be able to clean then. Better do it today so you can sleep well tonight.” Gao Yan swung his arms, warming up.

Kong Yajie protested, “Are you out of your mind from overwork? The typhoon’s today! What are you cleaning for?”

“Really?” Gao Yan was puzzled.

“You don’t even check the weather? I just stocked up on food and asked if you were going to work. Seriously, forget the cleaning—I want to rest.” Kong Yajie slumped on the sofa.

“Then let’s watch a movie. Order takeout for dinner,” Gao Yan sat beside her, grabbed the remote, and browsed the movie recommendations. “Movie marathon—do you want the magic epic seven-part series or the comedy star collection?”

Kong Yajie thought for a moment. “Comedy. I just want something nonsensical to relax.”

“OK! Nonsensical comedy…” Gao Yan scrolled through the library. “How about this one?”

“Sure.”

“Great. I’ll get us drinks and snacks.” Gao Yan put down the remote and bounced to the kitchen.

Kong Yajie rested her head on the sofa, watching Gao Yan’s upside-down figure with amusement.

On the coffee table, her phone screen kept lighting up. Du Aiyun and Ding Yi had returned to discussing the missing couple.

Words like “police report,” “traces of blood,” “broken window,” and “screams” flashed across the screen—each more unsettling than the last.