Pretty Wife Insists I Live Off Her - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: She Discovered the Surveillance Camera Installation

As soon as they arrived home, Aunt Wang suggested, “Miss Yue, let’s put the cats in the first-floor guest room for now. Let them get used to the environment here before letting them roam freely. Otherwise, they might run and scratch everywhere, and with the house this big, they’ll be hard to find.”

Yue Lei agreed: “Perfect, perfect.”

Ever since Mo Yingxue mentioned that Aunt Wang raised several cats at home, she had treated her with respect, listening to whatever she said about cat rearing.

Before leaving, Aunt Wang had tidied up the guest bedroom, removing anything the cats might accidentally eat or damage. The soft bedding on the bed had been removed and replaced with a waterproof mat.

They first opened the cages containing the kittens, watching the little things scatter like an exploding flower. Then, they released Xia Yu, the tortoiseshell cat mother. Xia Yu naturally had a wild streak. The moment she gained freedom, she darted out like a black shadow, quickly analyzed the terrain, and hid under the bed, mournfully calling for her kittens.

After checking one last time that the food, water bowls, and litter box were all fine, Yue Lei and Aunt Wang slowly backed out of the guest room.

Aunt Wang was in a great mood after handling the kittens: “Let them settle in first. When the Young Lady gets home, we’ll have her set up a camera in the guest room.”

“Xiao Xue knows how to do that?” Yue Lei was slightly surprised.

Aunt Wang nodded, then suddenly lowered her eyes. Seeing Yue Lei still watching her, she continued, “The Young Lady fell ill after her college entrance exams. She was very down during that time and always felt like someone was in the empty rooms, so she put cameras in all the empty rooms on the second floor. She set them up herself, and no one knows where they are.”

“All the empty rooms on the second floor?” Yue Lei gasped. “Including the one I’m staying in?”

Aunt Wang realized her slip-up. She shook her head like a rattle-drum: “Probably not. Rooms like mine, where someone is living, the Young Lady feels at ease and didn’t install one.” She anxiously glanced at the kitchen while wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m going to start dinner. The Young Lady said she wanted steamed buns before she left today. What filling do you like, Miss Yue?”

Some things Yue Lei had to find out for herself, and pressuring Aunt Wang was pointless. Yue Lei replied distractedly, “Sauerkraut and pork will be fine. You go ahead and get busy.”

Once Aunt Wang left, she secretly slipped back into her bedroom, suspiciously examining the high places for any spots a camera could be hidden.

Quickly, Yue Lei locked onto her target. She stood on the desk, opened the display cabinet, and reached behind the scattered Suzhou embroidery pieces. Sure enough, she felt a round object there!

Yue Lei pulled the camera out, her face dark. She felt a bit relieved when she saw the plug had already been pulled. She wasn’t sure if it had been unplugged when she first moved in or only recently. Nor was she sure if Mo Yingxue had been watching the feed remotely.

Truthfully, she had no privacy left with her wife now. Since they started living together, they slept embracing each other every night, seeing everything they could and couldn’t see. But Yue Lei felt that Mo Yingxue’s act of installing a camera in her bedroom without telling her was completely unacceptable. After all, when she first moved in, their relationship wasn’t this intimate. She had sincerely wanted to work for Mo Yingxue. The thought that her every private move during that time might have been watched by Mo Yingxue made her scalp tingle, filled with both fear and shame. There was also a barely contained anger lurking beneath the surface—a blazing fury stemming from not being trusted.

After thinking it over, Yue Lei pocketed the camera and walked straight to the guest room converted into the cat room. She found a spot to set up the camera, adjusted the angle, and then walked out of the room as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, Mo Yingxue’s phone popped up a camera reset notification. She opened it suspiciously, and her heart sank heavily. All she could think was, I’m finished… She realized that Yue Lei had discovered her monitoring.

Mo Yingxue only had two classes that afternoon. When it was time, she, as usual, saw the location pin Yue Lei had sent from the school gate. Seeing that Yue Lei still intended to pick her up, Mo Yingxue slightly relaxed.

Still worried about a direct confrontation with Yue Lei, she tugged on her friend’s sleeve: “Jiajia, we’re out of school early today. Want to come over to my place? That horror movie you wanted to see is out on the online platform, right? Want to watch it together at my house?”

Wu Jiajia had been to Mo Yingxue’s house twice before. Each time, she was overwhelmed by the opulence, feeling a mix of envy and jealousy. But then she’d remember that Mo Yingxue’s mother was constantly away, and the house was cold and empty with only Mo Yingxue and the nanny. She’d feel that her own home, with loving parents and harmonious sisters, was quite nice after all.

Hearing the invitation now, she immediately agreed: “Yes, please! Didn’t you say your assistant brought the cats home today? I can see which one is fated to be mine!”

Seeing her agree, Mo Yingxue calmed down a little. She lifted her chin: “Let’s go. The car is at the school gate.”

Halfway there, Mo Yingxue felt that wasn’t enough. She quietly linked arms with Wu Jiajia and started chatting about the content the teacher discussed in class today. Mo Yingxue always kept her distance from people, so Wu Jiajia was pleasantly surprised. She didn’t let go of her arm, and they walked happily, linked together.

Lately, when Yue Lei came to pick up Mo Yingxue, she would bring her freshly squeezed, ice-cold watermelon juice, offering a touch of coolness on a scorching summer day. Today, the car was parked at the school gate for quite a while before she went out to buy anything.

When she saw Mo Yingxue and Wu Jiajia walking hand-in-hand from a distance, her brows furrowed, and her eyes followed their hands like nails. Wu Jiajia was already feeling a little uncomfortable, and now, sensing Yue Lei’s gaze, she grew even more awkward. When she tried to let go and Mo Yingxue wouldn’t allow it, she finally understood what was going on today. She turned her head and softly asked, “Xiao Xue, did your assistant upset you?”

Realizing she had been too obvious, Mo Yingxue let go of her hand and, with a face as composed as usual, said, “No. What do you want to drink? I’ll ask her to buy it.”

Wu Jiajia shook her head like a rattle-drum: “No need, no need! Let’s hurry up and watch the movie. My sister asked me to go to the night market later this afternoon. She’s been setting up a stall since she finished her exams, and I need to go home early to support her.”

Once the two were in the car, Yue Lei handed Mo Yingxue the watermelon juice she liked and gave Wu Jiajia the unopened lemon tea she had bought for herself. Suppressing her emotions, she started the car and asked, “Xiao Xue, is Jiajia coming over to our house today?”

Mo Yingxue hummed, honestly replying, “I remembered that the horror movie she likes is out, and our private theater has a great atmosphere, so I invited her over.”

“And to see the cats, too! They can be adopted in about two weeks, right?” Wu Jiajia added cheerily.

Yue Lei glanced at the rearview mirror. Mo Yingxue hadn’t lifted her head, so her expression was unclear. Yue Lei said, “Yes, we just brought them home today.”

Since it had only been four hours since lunch, none of the three were very hungry. After asking Aunt Wang to cut some fruit and bring out some snacks, they went into the private cinema.

The three sat in a row, Mo Yingxue sandwiched in the middle, with Yue Lei and Wu Jiajia on either side of her. After the drive, Wu Jiajia finally relaxed. She enthusiastically explained the movie’s plot: “This movie is about the resurrection of a witch. The synopsis says that after the new woman moved into town, people started disappearing. But it’s not a mindless gore-fest; there are many details worth thinking about.”

Yue Lei asked across Mo Yingxue, “Have you seen it before?”

Wu Jiajia smiled politely at her: “No. I was working on my internship portfolio when it was in theaters, so I was really busy. By the time I remembered it, it was already taken down. I finally waited for the official online release. I was planning to pull the curtains and screen it on my TV at home, but I’m glad Xiao Xue invited me over. Her house has a much better atmosphere. Plus, I’m pretty timid, and since my family won’t watch it with me, I might never have dared to see it alone.”

Yue Lei glanced at Mo Yingxue’s serious face. “Mmm, that’s true. I wouldn’t dare watch a horror movie alone either.”

The movie started, and the plot quickly captivated them. Yue Lei had a low tolerance for horror films. Mainly because she rarely watched them, she wasn’t used to the jump scares, and she screamed every time she was startled. For one thing, she didn’t have much free time for movies. For another, if she were choosing, she would lean toward comedies or dramas; horror was definitely out of the question.

She guessed Mo Yingxue was the same and hadn’t seen many horror films, but surprisingly, she wasn’t scared at all. She never screamed from beginning to end, whether seeing a ghoul chomping on a living person or a terrifying ritual scene. She remained composed, without a ripple of emotion on her face. When she saw particularly artistic shots, she would wear a contemplative expression, as if trying to fully analyze why the shot was so beautiful.

Mo Yingxue seemed so reliable. The two timid-yet-eager viewers beside her kept inching closer. If the chairs hadn’t had armrests forcibly separating them, Yue Lei suspected she and Wu Jiajia would have squeezed Mo Yingxue completely flat, with three people sitting in one spot.

When the tension reached its peak, all jealousy and suspicion vanished without a trace. Halfway through the movie, Yue Lei couldn’t help but hold Mo Yingxue’s hand—or, more accurately, she forcefully gripped her wife’s hand—to resist the ubiquitous sense of terror spreading from the screen into reality.

By the time the movie ended, she had completely forgotten why she was upset earlier today.

After the movie, they ate the large steamed buns Aunt Wang had just finished, and then took Wu Jiajia to see the cats. Wu Jiajia chose Zhongyu, the darker orange cat.

After seeing Wu Jiajia off, Yue Lei looked at Mo Yingxue, convinced she needed to talk to her wife about something. But the sheer volume of information and emotions she’d taken in during the movie had suppressed her original memory. She thought for a long time but couldn’t recall it.

It was Mo Yingxue who turned her head and looked at her, her eyes dark and unreadable: “Sister, why did you move the bedroom camera to the cat room? How did you know there was a camera there?”

Mentioning that brought it all back to Yue Lei. Carrying a hint of anger, she pressed her wife against the wall, sliding her fingers down her shirt to expose a smooth shoulder: “I should be asking you, why did you put a camera in my bedroom?”

Mo Yingxue feigned ignorance, her eyes clear: “I didn’t! I unplugged the wire the moment you moved in.”

“Really?” Yue Lei bit her shoulder, leaving a shallow teeth mark. Yue Lei had never shown such invasiveness toward her before. Mo Yingxue’s heart pounded like a drum. She pretended to be calm: “Really. If you don’t believe me, look at my phone.”

Yue Lei let go of her: “…Forget it. I believe you.” Just making her point was enough. If the footage hadn’t been seen, that was good. If it had, then so be it. After today’s incident, Mo Yingxue probably wouldn’t do this again. Anyway, their relationship was better now, and Yue Lei herself didn’t really care if she was peeked at via camera. If anything, she was quite confident in her physique.

The faint ache in her shoulder excited Mo Yingxue. She slowly pulled her shirt back into place, ambiguously rubbing the area through the fabric, and smiled: “What is it, Sister, don’t you want me to look?”

Yue Lei was instantly hooked like a white perch. She nervously organized her thoughts: “Now it’s fine, but when I first moved in, we… we weren’t that close. I thought it would have been inappropriate to watch me then, but since you said you didn’t watch, I’m relieved.”

“It’s nice that Sister trusts me.” Mo Yingxue curved her eyes. She stood on her toes and kissed Yue Lei’s lips: “But actually, I only unplugged the camera after I moved into the room. Because I knew you would willingly let me see you sooner or sooner, I took the liberty of collecting interest early.”

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