Yes, I did all of this!

"Um......"

Yu Zhi nodded and followed Duanmu Mo downstairs, listening to his muttered words: "Let's get this over with quickly and open for business as soon as possible..."

Hearing Duanmu Mo's voice, Yu Zhi smiled helplessly.

But suddenly, she thought of something and stopped in her tracks:

"By the way, Mr. Duanmu."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"I suddenly feel like going back to my apartment to pack some things. Can you come with me?"

Chapter 366: The Ring

Yu Zhi's apartment and Duanmu Mo's office are quite close, only a few steps away, but the scenery is completely different.

The police station is right across from Yuzhi Apartment, so any new construction projects there will be prioritized there, while Duanmu Mo's place is much more desolate, and almost no one goes there.

Just as Duanmu Mo drove Yu Zhi to the apartment entrance, the landlady was also throwing out the trash at the door.

After confirming Mrs. Katsuragi's death, they also contacted other landlords. They hadn't seen them for a while, and the landlord was no longer holding the baby who was always crying. They didn't know if the baby had grown up or if the baby had been handed over to her husband.

Although Yuzhi and she couldn't be called enemies, they were still at odds. While living here, there were no major conflicts, but there were many more minor troubles than before. But even so, Yuzhi never gave her a bad attitude.

After getting off the motorcycle, Yuzhi greeted her naturally: "Hello, it's been a long time."

"Um......"

The landlord stared at Duanmu Mo, somewhat bewildered.

"Alright, Mr. Duanmu, let's go."

Yu Zhi gently tugged at Duanmu Mo, nodded, and followed.

The landlady watched as Yu Zhi and Duanmu Mo walked up the stairs, and from the apartment corridor, she saw the two enter Yu Zhi's room.

As Yu Zhi closed the door, she immediately took out her phone and made a call.

"Hey?"

The phone rang for a while, and then a somewhat husky female voice came from the phone, giving the impression of a very mature person, as if she were in a high position.

"Mrs. Cangming, I saw your daughter!" the landlord said immediately, cautiously, in a flattering tone.

The voice on the other end immediately became impatient: "...So what? I have work to do, please hurry up and tell me."

The landlady said anxiously, "No, I noticed she'd been gone for several days, and when she came back, she went into her room with a man!"

"male?"

Hearing the seriousness in the other person's voice, the landlord's face lit up with joy:

"Yes, your daughter even rode on that man's motorcycle!"

Not long after Yuzhi returned home for vacation, her mother contacted the landlord. After chatting about the previous landlord for a while, she asked the landlord to take good care of her daughter.

After learning about Yuzhi's family, the landlady naturally wanted to curry favor with them, and she certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.

"—You said your daughter hasn't come home for so long, could she have been staying at someone else's house all this time?"

"..." After a moment of silence from the woman on the other end, a deep male voice followed: "What's wrong?"

"But what about Yuzhi's side..."

The sound became muffled, and the landlord could barely hear it, but he was still thinking about how the other person would reward him.

Not long after, as the sound became clearer, the woman on the other end spoke in a faint voice, seemingly somewhat displeased:

"What are the distinguishing features? Do you know what that man looks like?"

"Forehead......"

"Then just ignore him." The other person didn't seem surprised, but their tone became even more dissatisfied.

"ah......"

"Anyway, thank you for your hard work. I still have work to do. Goodbye."

After the other party sent their last message, they hung up, leaving the landlady staring blankly at her blacked-out phone.

. . . . . .

Meanwhile, Duanmu Mo looked at Yu Zhi's room and sat down at the table:

"Your parents are really cruel to you, making you suffer instead of being a proper young lady and forcing you to live alone here."

"...But my parents still contacted my teachers, landlord, and other people around me, asking them to take good care of me."

Yu Zhi smiled helplessly as she tidied up the books.

"These are my old textbooks. I think they can be used for Xia Yan to review."

"I think it should be called previewing..."

Duanmu Mo shook his head, having no expectations of Xia Yan.

"Don't say that. No matter what, Senior Xia Yan is working hard." Yu Zhi said this, but it was unclear whether she was speaking from a realistic perspective or just out of politeness.

Duanmu Mo remained noncommittal, glancing at the cup next to the kettle, which caught his attention:

"Oh? You still keep this?"

In Duanmu Mo's view, a black dog's imprint was on a white cup, and it lay lazily on the ground.

"Ah—yes, it's still in use now."

Yu Zhi followed Duanmu Mo's gaze, her eyes softening.

This is a pair of white cups that she and Duanmu Mo own, and it holds great significance for her.

Yuzhi withdrew her gaze and continued rummaging through the wardrobe. Soon, she opened a box:

"found it."

What are you looking for?

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Mo leaned over to look.

Inside the box was a pristine white dress, which looked rather formal, like something you'd only wear to a party.

“I attended a party when I went home for vacation, and this is an outfit my mother picked out for me.”

She brought it here not because she was reluctant to part with it, but simply as a memento. And now, her purpose in opening this box is not for the clothes.

Yu Zhi took out a ring inlaid with a blue-purple gemstone, which was also an accessory from that party. She then turned to Duanmu Mo and said, "Um... Mr. Duanmu, please wait here for me for a while. I need to leave for a bit."

"Ah."

Duanmu Mo didn't ask any more questions, and sat back down, watching Yu Zhi take the ring and walk into the bathroom.

—In the bathroom, Yuzhi held the ring and whispered:

"Cangyi, come out for a moment."

"...What are you going to do with it?"

Cangyi appeared beside her, glanced at the ring, and said calmly.

"I want to modify it, to turn it into something that can protect Mr. Duanmu. Do you know how to do that?"

Yu Zhi blushed slightly when she said this. It wasn't that she couldn't come up with other accessories, but most of them had already been used by others: Xia Yan's doll, Yin's watch, Ling's glasses, and Cang Yuan's necklace. After thinking it over, only this one met her requirements.

"..." Cangyi fell silent again, and then, very unusually, Yuzhi saw her make a gesture of rubbing her forehead.

"Cangyi?"

"What are you going to do by protecting him?" Cangyi looked at her, and even through the mask, Yuzhi could feel the helplessness in Cangyi's eyes.

“Mr. Duanmu likes to walk around, and Senior Sister Xia Yan is too strict with him. We can’t just leave him alone in such a dangerous situation, so I want to help him,” Yu Zhi said with a smile, expressing her simple and sincere hope.

"Help him get more free time? Give him a reason to move around freely?"

"Ah."

Looking into Yu Zhi's pure and earnest eyes, Cang Yi took a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something, but then sighed.

—What should she say? Xia Yan can keep an eye on Duanmu Mo if she's strict, but if Yu Zhi gives him this thing, this guy might just go wild and do something that will give anyone a headache.

Cangyi really didn't want Yuzhi to do this, but then he thought that Duanmu Mo had indeed helped Cangyuan find himself, so giving him this thing wouldn't be a bad idea.

After a long silence, Cangyi finally sighed and nodded:

"I understand. Hold it with the hand wearing the bracelet..."

. . . . . .

Chapter 367: Free Time

—A slight lightning bolt spread across her entire body. Yu Zhi quietly transformed in the bathroom, channeling the power of the lightning into the ring she was tightly holding in her hand.

Gradually, apart from the gemstones on the ring, the ring itself glowed with a bright red light from the intense heat of the lightning, and the fine workmanship on its surface began to melt slightly.

Seeing this, Huangyi turned to look at Cangyi, his eyes questioning.

Cangyi sighed, raised his hand and placed it on Huangyi's wristband. Immediately afterward, Huangyi felt the other's will take control of a portion of his power, turning the blue-purple lightning into pale light.

"Stay calm and use your own strength to control it."

"Um......"

Huangyi took a deep breath, and white lightning and purple lightning surged into it, changing the shape of the ring.

The ring, which was the size of a young girl's finger, was a little too big. The silver-white ring was decorated with some patterns that flowed like electric arcs on the ring.

Immediately afterwards, the rather large purple gemstone suddenly shattered. To Huang Yi's astonishment, the gemstone split into several pieces, which merged into the area around the ring, leaving only one gemstone, slightly larger than usual, set in the center of the ring.

The previous ring had such a prominent large gemstone set in it, which was fine for parties, but it was really inappropriate to carry it around with you. This change makes the ring more understated yet still gorgeous.

Changing the shape is Fengling's forte; she can create effects that are almost impossible with modern technology. Under the shaping power of lightning and the control of Cangyi's power, this ring also presents a high level of beauty.

As the lightning surged in, Huangyi clearly saw purple light illuminating the gems. Then, Cangyi spoke:

"Okay, that's all."

The two withdrew their powers simultaneously, and Yuzhi also deactivated her transformation, looking at the ring in her hand that had changed its appearance.

She could feel the power contained within the ring; with this, she would surely be able to protect Duanmu Mo.