The people inside the room were stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter. Even Mo Xiang, who was reading at the back, couldn't help but chuckle.

Huo Pingping's eyes widened as she glared at Ye Qing and said, "Ye Qing, what do you mean by that? If you didn't talk about her, then you were talking about me!"

Mu Qingrong pulled Huo Pingping aside and laughed, "Come on, Pingping, let the cute things be seen by themselves. Don't meddle unnecessarily."

"This isn't about me and Cutie now, this is about me and this dead soldier!" Huo Pingping glared angrily at Ye Qing and said, "Ye Qing, I'm giving you a chance now. Apologize to me quickly, or else, I'll... I'll..."

She couldn't come up with any threat credible enough against Ye Qing and felt extremely embarrassed for a moment.

Chen Keai laughed and said, "Come on, Ms. Ping, how long have you known Ye Qing? What could you possibly threaten him with?"

Huo Pingping, feeling even more embarrassed as she looked around at everyone, suddenly blurted out, "If you don't apologize to me, then I'll cling to you for a lifetime!"

The crowd laughed even harder. Could this even count as a threat?

However, Ye Qing, after being quiet for a while, said softly, "I'm sorry."

The women were taken aback, but Huo Pingping looked smugly at Ye Qing, saying, "Trying to compete with me? You're still too green. I thought you were just a chick, but turns out you're actually shy!"

After a long while, the women burst into laughter again, and Huo Pingping suddenly realized something was amiss. She glared at Ye Qing angrily and yelled, "Dead soldier, what do you mean by that? Where can't I match up to you, that you actually apologized to me!"

Ye Qing shook his head and murmured, "You're not my type."

Taking the opportunity, Huo Pingping asked, "Oh? Then who is your type? Xiao Fangfang?"

All the women looked at Ye Qing, who didn't answer the question. He wouldn't consider these issues until he found his brother Ye Jun.

"Alright, let's drop it. Watch out lest Xiao Fang comes out and makes trouble for you!" Chen Keai intervened.

"Right, let's not talk about Xiao Fang anymore. Let's continue discussing your matters," Huo Pingping, showing a flair for playing matchmaker, pulled Chen Keai closer and said, "That White Horse Prince must be a doctor at your hospital, right? He seems quite alright, but who knows what he's really like?"

"Help me!" Chen Keai's face showed utter despair, as Huo Pingping's gossip skills were no less than those of any housewife.

Ye Qing didn't join in the idle chatter but walked to the door, silently staring at it, seemingly lost in thought.

Mu Qingrong came over, looked outside, and curiously asked, "Ye Qing, what are you looking at?"

Ye Qing shook his head and asked, "Do you have any elastic bands and pop cans?"

"Yes, what do you need these for?" After Mu Qingrong handed over some elastic bands and a few pop cans to Ye Qing, the others, except for Mo Xiang, looked at him curiously.

Huo Pingping scoffed, "Yo, are you planning to moonlight as a garbage collector?"

Ye Qing didn't respond but measured the door frame with his hand, compared it with the elastic bands, and then tied the bands around the door handle.

"What's he trying to do?" Chen Keai wondered.

"Who knows? Strange people do strange things. Just ignore him," Huo Pingping was still mad at Ye Qing, so she wasn't polite at all.

Mu Qingrong watched Ye Qing's every move in surprise and couldn't help asking, "Ye Qing, what are you doing?"

Ye Qing replied, "Making a simple alarm device."

"An alarm device?" All the women were astonished, and Huo Pingping's interest piqued as she squeezed forward to take a closer look, saying, "This is an alarm device? Never mind whether it works or not, even if it does, why do we need this?"

Ye Qing didn't answer. Instead, he tied a few knots in the elastic band on the door frame, then stretched the other end to the top of the door. He also placed two pop cans there and secured them with the elastic band, hanging them on the door frame.

"Ye Qing, what exactly are you doing with this?" Mu Qingrong couldn't help but ask again.

Still not answering, Ye Qing closed the door and then casually pulled it open.

As the door opened, the movement tugged on the elastic band on the door handle, which in turn yanked down the pop cans, causing them to fall to the floor with a clattering sound.

Listening to the loud noise, Ye Qing nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the women and explained, "This simple alarm device might be crude, but it's effective. If you don't want to use it, just remove the elastic band here. When you do want to use it, just reattach the band, and it will serve as an alarm!"

The women watched everything in amazement. They had only seen such contraptions in movies. They never imagined that Ye Qing could create such a device with such simple materials.

In her astonishment, Huo Pingping remained dissatisfied with Ye Qing, waving her hand dismissively, "We don't want to know how to use this device, we just want to know, what use is this device to us? What, do you think someone might harm us?"

All the women also had the same confusion and looked at Ye Qing together.

Ye Qing said, "The group that installed the pinhole cameras for you last time should be an organized group. That time, although we caught three of them, I don't think they only had these three people. The rest might come to seek revenge on you. With this mechanism in place, when you hear any noise while sleeping, you'll have time to call the police."

The women suddenly realized, and Chen Keai couldn't help saying, "Wow, hearing you say that, I'm really a bit scared now. This mechanism is good, having it makes me feel a bit more at ease."

"What's there to be afraid of? I don't think it's dangerous," Huo Pingping scoffed and said, "Ye Qing, not to criticize you, but you really worry too much. Is society really as dark as you say? Your mindset is too pessimistic!"

Ye Qing replied, "Worrying too much is not necessarily a mistake—preventing problems before they occur ensures survival. On the battlefield, one must always be fully alert; any small oversight could lead to a failure, or even cost a life."

Huo Pingping said, "But this is not a battlefield."

Ye Qing was silent for a while, then quietly said, "This society is even more dangerous than a battlefield!"

The women looked at each other, and Ye Qing's words really struck a chord. In this society, deceiving each other and hiding swords behind smiles have long become the rules of interaction among people. And under the glitz of this city, the bones buried are definitely much more than those on any battlefield!

"Even if we have an alarm, it's useless if several strong men come; we'd be doomed," Huo Pingping said.

Ye Qing shook his head, "At least you can alert the authorities in advance and also prepare yourselves mentally. And you are most familiar with the environment inside the house, which you can use to your advantage, surely enough to hold on until the police arrive."

"What can the environment do?" Mu Qingrong asked curiously.

Ye Qing looked around and his gaze landed on a bottle of Mosquito Repellent in Mu Qingrong's room, and said, "For example, this bottle of medicine could be used as a weapon in a critical moment. Spray it into someone's eyes, and without hospital treatment, they won't be able to see, which could buy you some time!"

"What are you all talking about?" Just then, Fang Tingyun came out of the kitchen with dishes and said, "Come and help with the dishes, look how lazy you all are."

At the smell of the delicious food, the women immediately forgot Ye Qing's words and ran to the kitchen to help with the dishes.

"Xiao Fangfang, your cooking skills are getting better and better." Huo Pingping exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Any man who marries you is truly blessed for three hundred lifetimes!"

Fang Tingyun blushed and whispered, "Pingping, stop it—keep this up, and one day I won't cook for you!"

Huo Pingping laughed, "No worries, if you won't cook for me, then I'll just follow Soldier Brother. Whatever he eats, I eat. You might not mind not cooking for me, but I don't believe you would bear not cooking for him!"

Fang Tingyun blushed even more and quickly pulled Huo Pingping into the kitchen, not daring to let her continue.

The meals were served, and Fang Tingyun's dinner was very plentiful. The women were busy eating, and for a while, it became quite quiet.

"Ye Qing, no matter what, we still have to thank you!" Mu Qingrong raised her glass and said, "If it weren't for you, our lives would have been ruined!"

The women nodded in unison, and even Huo Pingping raised her glass and said, "Tough Soldier, although what you say is unpleasant to hear, I want to give credit where credit is due. I still have to thank you for helping us last night!"

Ye Qing said nothing, clinked glasses with the women, and slowly finished the wine in his glass.

After a few drinks, the women were nearly done eating, and the conversation eventually picked up again.

"Big boss, I heard that you've been involved in that project with the Feiyun Group recently, how's it going?" Huo Pingping asked.

"Who knows," Mu Qingrong sighed, her expression somewhat grim. The project with the Feiyun Group had already consumed much of the company's energy. And this project was very important to the company. If it failed to yield results, the company would suffer a huge loss.

"Big boss, no offense, but the Feiyun Group is notoriously stingy in Shenchuan City. They have high demands for business plans and are tight-fisted; making money from them is tough," Huo Pingping said, "When you were preparing to contact this company for the project, I had warned you. You've been struggling for months now, and it's still so uncertain—it's completely a waste of time."

Mu Qingrong sighed again, all too aware of what Huo Pingping was saying. But she was truly at a loss. Their company was too small, and when seeking business, nobody paid them any mind. It was only because the Feiyun Group had accepted their business proposal that Mu Qingrong saw a glimmer of hope, and had Wang Xuan continue following up.

Unfortunately, it had dragged on for so long, and now the company was in a difficult position. If they couldn't secure this project, the company's financial situation would become problematic.

Looking at Huo Pingping, Mu Qingrong asked, "And you? What projects have you been working on recently?"

"Of course, it's that project from Lin Corporation. When the project was first up for bidding, many people were envious. Although our company is not strong, getting a subcontract shouldn't be difficult," Huo Pingping said.

"Lin Corporation's project?" Mu Qingrong was surprised, "Wasn't that project supposed to be stopped?"

"Stopped or not, you know, there was a problem at Lin Corporation a while ago. Because of that incident, they paused the project. But later, Lin Corporation resumed the project, probably because the problem was solved!"

"Solved?" Chen Keai exclaimed, "Did they... did they really pay those thugs?"

"I don't know if they paid, but the person is back. Besides, the important thing for us is that the project has started—we can make money from it, and we shouldn't worry about anything else!" Huo Pingping said.

Mu Qingrong was disheartened. She was also very envious of Lin Corporation's project. But with her company's capabilities, even the smallest subcontract was out of reach—they could only watch from the sidelines.

(A reader's group for this book has already been established, group number: 310323423; friends are welcome to join the group chat. Additionally, I recommend a friend's new book, "The Fake Young Master," which can be found by directly searching for "The Fake Young Master.")