Urban System: Beautiful lady, I really didn't steal your black stockings!

When he got home, Cheng Zhe glanced at the time and saw that it was already 2 a.m. He pushed open the door and went straight to the bedroom.

Just as he was closing the door behind him, he remembered that he still had that silky black stocking in his pocket.

My gaze swept around the room, taking in the bedside table and the wardrobe.

I felt uncomfortable anywhere, afraid of being seen and getting into trouble.

After hesitating for a while, he opened a long-untouched drawer at the bottom of his desk and haphazardly stuffed the black stockings inside.

He leaned against the desk to catch his breath when his phone vibrated again. It was another message from Zhao Ya, asking if he was angry and saying that she would definitely listen to him next time.

Cheng Zhe stared at Zhao Ya's message, thought for a moment, and finally asked, "Are you and Li Yanping really close?"

Less than two seconds after the message was sent, Zhao Ya's reply popped up: "Of course! We're best friends, why are you suddenly asking this?"

He then added, "Could it be that you've taken a liking to Yanping?"

Cheng Zhe looked at the phrase "good sister" and his lips twitched. He recalled Li Yanping's earlier expression of "hating Zhao Ya the most" and felt nothing but irony.

He wanted to tell Zhao Ya about what happened tonight, but he swallowed the words back. What if Li Yanping turned around and accused him of taking advantage of someone while they were drunk? He would end up in trouble himself.

Cheng Zhe snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "It's nothing, just asking."

After sending the message, he put down his phone, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He fell asleep on the bed within two seconds, but the turmoil of the past few days made his sleep restless, and he tossed and turned and woke up several times.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Cheng Zhe, still feeling groggy, asked for leave from work and went back to sleep, only managing to get up around noon.

After a quick wash, he went straight to the 4S store, negotiated a satisfactory price with the salesperson for a long time, finalized the earliest delivery time, and only breathed a sigh of relief after paying the deposit.

He finally had his own car. Although he kept complaining about the system, the system rewards were genuinely generous.

Just as I stepped out of the 4S store, my phone rang. It was Zhao Ya calling. But the familiar plea for help came through the line: "Ah Zhe, help me, come quick!"

Cheng Zhe frowned, about to explode, when the sound of shattering glass came from the phone, mixed with a man's furious roar: "I'll beat you to death, you little brat!"

His heart tightened, and he hung up the phone and rushed to Zhao Ya's residential area.

As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the residential area, he saw Zhao Ya rushing out crying, her hair disheveled. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, her whole body trembling.

Cheng Zhe then noticed two red marks on her arm, clearly indicating that she had been whipped with some kind of thin strip.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Zhe helped her up and asked carefully.

Zhao Ya choked back tears and shook her head. It took her a long time to finally explain the reason through sobs: her father waited for her until midnight last night, and this morning he got drunk and went on a rampage, smashing things in the house and even hitting her with a feather duster.

They kept scolding her for "not learning good things" and "having no mother to teach her."

Because her parents divorced, she lived with her father from a young age. He was an alcoholic and never cared about her. Over time, she developed this delinquent-like behavior.

Cheng Zhe reached out and ruffled Zhao Ya's messy hair, comforting her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Zhao Ya buried herself in his arms, then suddenly looked up with her tear-streaked face, pleading, "Ah Zhe, can I live with you?"

"My dad just yelled at me not to go back, or he'd beat me to death. I'm really too scared to go home."

Cheng Zhe was completely taken aback. His apartment was only a one-bedroom, one-living room unit, which was not only inconvenient, but if Lin Weiwei were to see him, the trouble would only be greater.

But seeing Zhao Ya's predicament, we couldn't just sit idly by.

Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Ya snuggled closer to him and said coquettishly, "I'll only stay for a few days, please. I'll leave as soon as you find me a place to stay."

Cheng Zhe hesitated for a moment, but finally softened: "Okay, come back with me for a couple of days. I'll help you find a rental place later, and you also need to find a proper job; you can't keep doing this forever."

Zhao Ya instantly stopped crying and smiled, nodding vigorously.

Cheng Zhe led Zhao Ya towards their residential compound, keeping his neck hunched and looking around furtively like a thief, afraid of running into acquaintances, especially Lin Weiwei.

Although she was still at work at that time, she couldn't help but worry.

Once inside, Zhao Ya immediately relaxed, kicked off her shoes, and pounced on the bed in the bedroom, tossing her socks on the floor. She then rolled around with her pillow, looking completely content.

Cheng Zhe frowned, picked up the socks from the ground, and handed them to her: "Don't litter, pick up your socks."

Zhao Ya, lying on the bed, waved her hand and said with a grin, "Here, it's for you. It smells really good. Consider it a small gift."

Cheng Zhe was speechless for a moment. Why did everyone seem to like giving him socks?

"This bed is mine from now on," Zhao Ya said, patting the mattress as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Cheng Zhe didn't reply, but turned around to tidy up the sofa, pulling the blanket over and putting it on the sofa.

Zhao Ya peeked out and asked疑惑地问道, "Why are you tidying up the sofa?"

"I'll sleep here," Cheng Zhe said without turning his head.

"Why don't we sleep in the same bed?" Zhao Ya pressed.

Cheng Zhe was too lazy to explain and continued tidying up the sofa bedding.

Seeing this, Zhao Ya didn't dwell on it. She got out of bed and curiously wandered around the room, constantly rummaging through the drawers of the bookshelves and desk, looking at everything in the room.

Zhao Ya rummaged around for a while, then reached the edge of the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled it open.

Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed a wad of silky fabric, exclaiming suddenly, "Wow, what's this!"

Cheng Zhe's heart skipped a beat, and he turned around abruptly and rushed over, his face instantly freezing.

Zhao Ya was twirling the black stockings Li Yanping had given her, a malicious smile playing on her lips as she stared at him mockingly: "Cheng Zhe, why are you hiding this?"

Cheng Zhe looked embarrassed and uncomfortable, stammering and unable to finish his sentence: "This is..."

His mind was in complete chaos, and he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.

Zhao Ya didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she took the black stockings and put them on her legs to test the size.

She smiled at Cheng Zhe and said, "It's okay, it's normal for guys to have a few quirks. But next time, don't steal from others, just ask me for it. I have plenty."

Cheng Zhe's lips twitched as he looked at her matter-of-fact expression.

I was utterly speechless, and just wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground. I secretly regretted not thinking to lock the drawer.

Just as Cheng Zhe was about to open his mouth to explain, Zhao Ya lowered her head and tugged at the black stockings on her legs.

Suddenly, she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes filled with doubt: "Wait a minute, this style is exactly the same as what Yanping usually wears!"

Cheng Zhe tensed up instantly, his pupils contracted, and his heart jumped into his throat.

If Zhao Ya were to associate this with Li Yanping, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But the next second, Zhao Ya ripped off her black stockings and casually threw them into the trash can next to her.

Pouting with a look of disgust, she pretended to pinch her nose and muttered, "It stinks! It stinks! The owner of these socks must be ugly and smelly, nowhere near as good as Pingping."

Cheng Zhe finally felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly stepped forward and pressed down on Zhao Ya's hand, which was still trying to rummage through the drawers, his tone slightly reproachful: "Stop going through my things, take a break."

Zhao Ya pouted and reluctantly withdrew her hand: "Okay, okay, why are you being so fierce? I'll make it up to you next time."