Chapter 128: I swear, I really didn't have my phone on me

Lin Meng watched Ye Chenjing leave without looking back, and she actually felt a bit lost and disoriented, for a moment not understanding what was happening.

When did I offend this Buddha?

She hurriedly stretched out the Er Kang hand toward Ye Chenjing, saying, "General Manager, it's so late—did you come for me? Come in and have a seat?"

Ye Chenjing's steps paused, but he shook his head at Lin Meng.

"No, it's fine as long as you're okay."

Earlier he wanted to come in and sit, but this woman gave him no face; now she invites him in, but it's unnecessary—since they're not even ordinary friends, he should keep his distance and not disturb her.

Ye Chenjing has his own principles and way of doing things.

These five days exposed his hidden palpitations, but Lin Meng personally snuffed them out.

This is fine; between them there is only a pure relationship of interest.

While he hasn't sunk deep yet, withdrawing early is best.

As clear-headed as Ye Chenjing, after returning to the villa he drove off, completely cutting off his just-budding affection, leaving his sorrow in tonight's night wind...

Lin Meng scratched her head, watching him drive away, then scratched her hair, feeling ever more bewildered.

What's up with this guy, acting weird today—did his maternal uncle come?

Unable to figure out the situation, Lin Meng could only close the door and go inside.

Her cultivation had reached a stopping point; she should have continued immersing herself, not come out so quickly.

But no one told her that during cultivation, as she breathed in and out, spiritual qi circulated within her body, and her body would unconsciously expel some old dead skin.

As someone who feels uncomfortable without a daily bath, five days without washing, plus the accelerated metabolism from cultivation, made her whole body feel itchy, so she could only break out of her cultivation state.

Lin Meng rushed into the bathroom, gave herself a thorough scrub and bubble bath, then returned to the bedroom feeling comfortable.

The phone was charging; after five days without looking, she didn't know who could break the embarrassment of zero messages.

These past years, Lin Meng has mostly been alone.

The loss of her parents and the pressure of debt left her breathless, making even making friends feel like a burden.

So on her phone, aside from work messages, there was rarely any extra social contact; she had long grown used to going half a day without touching her phone, and when she opened it she still saw a blank screen.

After using her internal spiritual qi to evaporate the moisture from her hair, Lin Meng picked up her phone and opened it, astonished to find dozens of missed calls on the call log, and the chat app showing a conspicuous red "99+" badge.

She quickly opened the call log and discovered that someone had been trying to reach her these past days.

Yesterday, her aunt's family kept calling her, with her cousin calling the most frantically.

The remaining twenty-plus missed calls were all from Ye Chenjing.

Lin Meng's heart gave a jolt, and she understood why Ye Chenjing had acted strangely just before.

Though she was clearly at home, she had completely ignored his series of calls—anyone would be anxious, yet she acted as if nothing were wrong.

Now the misunderstanding has grown big.

Lin Meng opened the chat app, and besides her aunt and cousin, it was indeed Ye Chenjing who had sent her the most messages.

At first he just wanted to ask her to meet and talk about the Fang family matter.

Later, presumably after seeing his messages sink like stones, Ye Chenjing's words already showed some anxiety and worry.

The last message read: "Lin Meng, are you safe? Could you send me a message to let me know you're alright?"

Seeing this, Lin Meng felt a twinge of guilt.

This was her oversight; she hadn't considered that during cultivation her five senses are closed, so external disturbances don't affect her, but this also indirectly prevents the outside world from contacting her, causing those who care about her to become anxious and afraid.

After thinking, Lin Meng quickly called her cousin.

It was 1 a. m.; her aunt might already be asleep, but her cousin might still be awake.

The call was indeed quickly connected, and from the other end came Xu Yixiao's anxious voice.

"Sis, is that you, sis?"

Hearing his hoarse voice, Lin Meng felt guilty inside.

"Yeah, sorry, little cousin—I've been busy these days and forgot to bring my phone, surely making you and your aunt and uncle worry."

After confirming it was Lin Meng's voice, Xu Yixiao couldn't help but let out a big sigh of relief and flopped back into bed.

"Great, sis, as long as you're okay—these past days we couldn't reach you, Mom got worked up, bought the tickets, and will set out at 5 a. m. to find you."

"Oh no, I need to get in touch with Mom right away—no more talk, sis, I just needed to know you're safe, bye-bye sis!"

Xu Yixiao hastily hung up and called Lin Cuihua.

Although work at the Stone Gambling site now earns more and involves less labor, their parents dare not be lax, fearing they'd be caught making a mistake and betraying Lin Meng's arrangements, so they try not to take time off.

Since the older sister is fine—just forgot her phone—there's no need for them to worry.

After settling things with her aunt, Lin Meng began to waver.

Should she call General Manager to apologize?

Would he appreciate it?

Judging by his earlier demeanor, he must be a bit angry, right?

But he just left like that; there probably isn't anything urgent, right?

In the dead of night, Lin Meng also felt torn.

After thinking, she still opened the chat box and sent Ye Chenjing a funny emoticon of kneeling before a boss, accompanied by the text:

"General Manager, I was wrong, but I swear I truly didn't have my phone on me; otherwise I couldn't have failed to reply to your messages!"

At that moment Ye Chenjing was sitting on the balcony blowing in the cold wind, his coffee also cold.

Hearing the phone notification, he instinctively grabbed it quickly.

This action has repeatedly occurred many times over these short five days.

Whenever the phone vibrates, he hopes it's a message from Lin Meng, but each time it's only disappointment.

Holding the phone in his hand, before his gaze even fell, Ye Chenjing's heart was already mocking himself.

What are you still expecting? They didn't even take you seriously at all.

This time it's probably just another hot‑news alert; that woman has no conscience—at this hour she's probably sound asleep.

But he still couldn't help lowering his gaze, his eyes locking onto the screen where Lin Meng's avatar suddenly lit up.

Ye Chenjing immediately sat up straight from the chair and carefully examined the message.

The next second, his thin lips pressed together, then slightly curled up, and the pent‑up feeling in his heart vanished instantly.

"Turns out he didn't bring his phone."

"It's not that I don't care, nor am I deliberately not replying—I just forgot to bring my phone."

Ye Chenjing didn't notice at all; on his usually stern, cold face that hid his emotions so well, a worthless smile slowly appeared.

His slender, bony fingers flew over the phone, typed a few characters, and hit send.

"Mm, got it. Rest early."

Thus, the ice‑berg face thawed—melting a millennium of ice in an instant.

Lin Meng, having received the message, pursed her lips—she seemed to have overthought it; how could Ye Chenjing possibly be angry or worried just because they hadn't been in touch for five days?

They're not even related—what's there to worry about?

"Forget it; next time I go into closed‑door cultivation, I'll give a heads‑up beforehand."

Otherwise, prolonged radio silence might directly get reported to the police and cause trouble……