Chapter 12: The Room with the Surveillance Camera

After putting on her pajamas, Kong Lingxin curled up on the bed, hugging her knees. The memory of what had just transpired left her with lingering fear. She would never allow Meng Zexiao to touch her, for he was not only her brother-in-law but also the person responsible for her sister’s death.

Elsewhere, after leaving the guest room on the fifth floor, Meng Zexiao had retreated to his study on the fourth floor, located directly beneath Kong Lingxin’s room. Only he and Sister Qi had access to this study, and Sister Qi entered solely for cleaning purposes.

Upon entering the study, he immediately switched on his computer, and the screen displayed a live feed of the fifth-floor room.

Staring at the screen for a long time, Meng Zexiao watched as Kong Lingxin emerged timidly from the bathroom. After quickly pulling on her pajamas, she sat slowly on the bed, burying her head in her knees. She looked truly like a wounded little animal.

Meng Zexiao kept his eyes fixed on the monitor, his mind racing with questions about why Kong Lingxin’s personality had changed so drastically since her miscarriage.

He opened a browser and searched for the potential aftereffects of a miscarriage.

The search results suggested that depression was a possibility, and there were numerous links to online forums where other men shared accounts of their wives or girlfriends undergoing radical personality shifts following a pregnancy loss.

Meng Zexiao frowned. It seemed the changes in Kong Lingxin were indeed linked to the miscarriage.

In truth, he hadn't particularly wanted the child at first. At twenty-five, he felt he hadn't finished enjoying his youth; if a child were to suddenly call him "Father," he wouldn't have been ready.

Yet, when Kong Lingxin had lain in her hospital bed, her face as pale as the sheets, the first thing she did upon waking was to touch her stomach and ask about the baby. It was then that Meng Zexiao, standing by, realized he had developed feelings for that unborn child after all. When he picked her up from the hospital, he looked at her flattened stomach and felt a rare moment of tenderness, but she remained expressionless, completely unaware of his gaze.

The moment he started the car, she had firmly insisted on returning to the Kong family home to recover, adamantly refusing to go to their villa by the sea.

Mrs. Meng, upon hearing that her daughter-in-law wanted to return to her parents' home for her confinement, was deeply displeased. She insisted that Meng Zexiao drive back to the main family estate. The Meng family was a prominent household; if word got out that their daughter-in-law refused to return to her in-laws' home after a miscarriage, people would surely gossip that the Mengs had treated her poorly.

Meng Zexiao hung up on his mother and turned to Kong Lingxin, trying to sound conciliatory. "If you don't want to go to the seaside villa, we can go to the family estate. With so many servants there, someone will surely be able to take good care of you."

Kong Lingxin remained impassive, uttering only a few words: "I want to go to my mother and father's house!"

Young Master Meng, who had never had to coax a woman—having always been the one courted—felt his patience fray. He had already compromised, yet this woman was so ungrateful!

Fine, have it your way! I’ll take you home, and I won’t have to look at you and get annoyed.

A month later, seeing her again, the feeling of "out of sight, out of mind" had turned into "out of sight, very much on my mind."

Meng Zexiao switched the surveillance feed back. Kong Lingxin was still holding the same position, motionless. What on earth was wrong with her?

The reason for the cameras in this villa dated back to a specific incident. The villa had been a twenty-second birthday gift from his father, Meng Haoquan. At the time, Meng Zexiao had just returned from abroad and was placed in the sales department of Dingsheng Group. His father had carved out a territory for him to practice his skills, and he ended up producing sales figures equivalent to those of three other employees combined.

Pleased by his second son's performance, Meng Haoquan was relieved to see he had a worthy successor. In a fit of generosity, he bought one of only three villas on that stretch of beach as a gift.

On the day Meng Zexiao received the keys, he brought a female model there to revel.

The model, thinking she had hooked a wealthy heir, began posting incessantly on social media, flaunting her wealth and claiming the villa was hers.

The photos of such opulence were eye-catching, and by the time she woke up the next morning, her posts had been shared tens of thousands of times.

Netizens began digging into her background, claiming that since she came from a poor family, such a lavish lifestyle must have been earned through illicit affairs. They began calling for the identity of the man behind her to be exposed.

The Meng family’s public relations team quickly spotted the posts. If the public were to uncover Meng Zexiao’s involvement, it would not only damage his reputation but also drag down the stock price of Dingsheng Group.

For this reason, Meng Zexiao had installed the security camera in that fifth-floor room. Although the room faced north, it offered a spectacular view from the balcony. He invited the model back to the villa, led her into that room, and then made an excuse to leave.

The model did not disappoint. As soon as he left, she began snapping selfies, from inside the room to the balcony. While she posted her updates, a newly registered account was live-streaming screenshots of her photo session, with the caption: "Aspiring model uses developer’s show house to stage fake luxury and gain fame."

The public flocked to the exposé account, tagging the model in mockery.

The crisis was averted. The model’s scheme backfired, and Meng Zexiao used his own entertainment company to ensure she was disgraced, effectively ending her career in the industry.

After that, he never brought a female companion to his personal residence again.

Having learned his lesson, Meng Zexiao became more cautious. Play was just play, but it shouldn't go too far; discretion became his primary requirement for companions.

Caught between wanting discreet partners and his love for dating stars and models, Meng Zexiao often found his name in the headlines, which frequently infuriated his father. However, for a man, affairs were considered minor; as long as he performed well at Dingsheng Group, Meng Haoquan gradually overlooked this flaw.

He hadn't expected that the camera installed three years ago would prove useful again today.

Meng Zexiao had dropped Peng Nan off where she could catch a ride, eager to return home and confront Kong Lingxin. But upon returning, he couldn't find her in their bedroom or her study, and the servants insisted she hadn't left the house.

After checking the hallway security footage, he realized she had fled to the guest room on the fifth floor.

No one else in the house knew about the guest room’s surveillance.

Back in his study, he saw her clothes on the guest room bed and realized she intended to separate from him and sleep there.

Even if they were to separate, it should be his decision! This woman really was ungrateful!

He didn't need to go up there to know she had locked the door from the inside. However, every door in the Meng household had a key kept by the housekeeper, Sister Qi. Even if locked from within, the door could still be opened from the outside.

After Sister Qi opened the door, Meng Zexiao sat on the bed, waiting. Kong Lingxin was singing in the shower, her voice cheerful—a stark contrast to the mood she had displayed during dinner.