3: Take a photo - 2

The woman outside the elevator, seeing a man inside, seemed momentarily stunned. Then, her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her gaze quickly swept over Jiang Ye's face before settling on the delivery rider uniform he wore, a flicker of confusion flashing in her eyes.

She didn't say anything, just quickly lowered her head, bent down to pick up the Watsons bag placed at the elevator entrance, and turned to leave decisively.

The whole process took only a few seconds.

Jiang Ye watched as the elevator doors slowly closed. He glanced down at the photo he had just snapped on his phone, then instinctively looked at his own right hand, which had grown somewhat rough from gripping motorcycle handlebars for half a year... Both are men, but other guys' girlfriends are so tender you could pinch water out of them, with curves in all the right places... Mine... Well, let's not even go there.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang. He casually answered it, habitually saying, "Hello?"

From the other end of the line came a soft, slightly interrogative snort.

Immediately after, the elevator doors, which were about to close completely, suddenly emitted a "ding," paused for a moment, then slowly slid open again.

Jiang Ye was taken aback. While saying, "Hello? Can you hear me?" he leaned out to look but didn't see anyone.

"What the hell..."

He muttered, raising his hand to press the close button. "Hello? I might have bad signal, I'll..."

Before he could finish, a pale, slender hand suddenly reached in from outside, blocking the closing elevator doors!

"Didn't I tell you to leave it in the elevator? Why did you come up?"

A cool female voice sounded beside his ear.

Jiang Ye froze mid-action, his entire body stiffening in place. He slowly turned his head to follow the voice.

He saw the woman who had just taken the cosmetics standing quietly outside the elevator, leaning slightly forward, one hand holding the door open. Her clear almond-shaped eyes were fixed unblinkingly on him.

Holy shit!

Why did she come back?!

This scene, straight out of a horror movie, scared Jiang Ye so much he took a step back, his back hitting the elevator wall.

Seeing his guilty look, the woman raised an elegant eyebrow:

"I'm asking you. Didn't I tell you to leave it in the elevator? Why did you follow me up?"

Jiang Ye's mind raced as he quickly came up with an excuse:

"Ah... I, I was worried it might not be safe to leave it in the elevator, so I came up to check and make sure you got it before going back down."

As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously drifted downward again.

He really couldn't help it—it was just... too noticeable.

The woman clearly noticed this subtle shift in his gaze. She snorted softly through her nose but didn't dwell on it. Instead, she directly extended her hand, palm open:

"Hand over your phone. I want to see it."

Jiang Ye was stunned. "What?"

"Your phone!"

The woman pushed her hand forward further, her tone firm. "Did you take a photo of me? Give me your phone. I'm checking!"

"Check my phone?"

Jiang Ye glanced at the long list of adult videos in his WeChat File Assistant and decisively shook his head. "No way! Who are you? The FBI? Why should I let you check my phone? That's personal privacy!"

Seeing his refusal, the woman bit her lower lip, withdrew her hand, and said coldly, "Not handing it over, huh? Fine. You followed a customer upstairs, acting suspiciously and doing weird things secretly! I'm reporting you!"

Hearing "report," Jiang Ye actually felt relieved.

If this had happened a couple of months ago, he might have panicked, since it would affect his delivery stats and earn him a lecture from the Station Master.

But today?

He was "ascending the throne" tomorrow! Who cared about this?

"Report me? For not just dumping the stuff in the elevator like you said, but responsibly following up to confirm delivery? Or for not letting you check my phone? Then go ahead and report me! Be my guest!"

Jiang Ye rolled his eyes and wagged his index finger. "And also! Miss, the word is 'stalking,' not 'tailgating.' You should play fewer of those dirty games."

"You!"

The woman put her hands on her hips and looked him up and down, as if trying to find a flaw in his expression. But Jiang Ye did his best to maintain a "I'm upright and aboveboard" look.

She really didn't have any solid evidence, and forcibly checking someone's phone wasn't practical—she couldn't just snatch it.

In the end, she could only point angrily at Jiang Ye, toss out a "You just wait!" and turn to leave again.

This time, the elevator doors finally closed smoothly and began descending.

Stepping out the door of Wanda Apartment Building B, the cold wind hit him, and Jiang Ye instantly felt more alert.

He had just walked toward his electric scooter when the WeChat voice call notification sounded.

Picking up his phone, he saw it was indeed the guy who had asked him to "help out" earlier.

"Hello? Buddy! What's going on?"

The other guy sounded a bit annoyed. "She just texted me saying some ugly, creepy delivery rider was fantasizing about her. What the hell did you do to her? I'll report you, you hear me?!"

Jiang Ye: "..."

He clicked his tongue, feeling a bit confused.

Honestly, with a face like that and a figure so... prominent, what was she so shy about showing her face?

With those looks, she could just post a few photos, and guys would be lining up to chase her. Why bother being mysterious online?

Hmm... Probably she didn't take this guy seriously at all, just using him as an ATM. She was afraid of being pestered or recognized by people in real life if she showed her face, which was why she refused to video chat no matter what.

She might even have a boyfriend in real life—or more than one.

This guy was a total sucker.

Jiang Ye looked at the 100-yuan red envelope in WeChat and thought about it. Since he'd taken the money, he should help this guy snap out of it, so he wouldn't sink deeper and end up losing both the person and the money.

What good could come from online dating? Especially this kind of unequal relationship.

Hmm!

It definitely wasn't because of this guy's attitude! And it had absolutely nothing to do with that woman calling me ugly and creepy!

Jiang Ye let out a heavy sigh and, in a tone tinged with lingering fear and helplessness, briefly recounted what had just happened, emphasizing how clever he'd been and how he'd stood his ground under pressure:

"...Bro, I withstood the huge pressure of being reported and didn't give you away, but I really didn't dare take a photo."

The guy on the other end fell silent for a moment, as if digesting the news. "Then... what did she look like? Was she pretty?"

"Bro, do you want the truth..."

"Uh..."

"You know Dongbei Xiaoyu? They look about the same—a tie."

"..."

The other end went quiet again, his breathing noticeably heavier, his back teeth clearly clenched. "Then... what about her figure?"

Jiang Ye thought, "Holy shit!" This guy... even after "Dongbei Xiaoyu," he's still asking about her figure? Was it true love, or was he just not picky?

"Her figure... cough, I'll be honest with you. Her back is flatter than mine, her front isn't as big as mine, her waist-to-hip ratio is 1:1, and those big feet are at least size 46. Bro, you..."

Before he could finish, he heard a gnashing of teeth from the other end, along with the faint sound of a fist pounding a table:

"Damn it! Shit! No wonder! No wonder she only does voice chat rooms! Never turns on video! Liar! They're all liars!"

voice chat rooms?

What was that?

Jiang Ye was momentarily stunned. That seemed like a new term.

Before he could think it through, the other guy angrily spat out, "Forget it! That's it!" and hung up.

Jiang Ye scratched his head, not giving it much more thought. He got on his beat-up electric scooter, twisted the throttle, and headed straight for the nearby Wanda Plaza to start his slacking-off time for the day.