Her accusations were so absurd I could barely process them.
“She had the nerve to change the main door passwords, and you're calling her a little girl? Have you lost your mind?”
Melinda scoffed.
“It's just a temporary password. You work in furniture, don't you? If something goes wrong, can't you just fix it for her?”
“And watch your tone with me. I'm your mother-in-law. Talk to me like that again and I'll slap you senseless.”
The next second, Daniel snatched the phone away.
“Spring, I'm saying this one last time. Apologize to Cece. Now. Keep making a scene and we're postponing the wedding.”
There it was. He'd finally shown his hand. I let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“Postpone? Screw that. We're done. The engagement's off.”
Daniel sounded like he hadn't heard me right.
“What did you just say?”
I hung up.
Celia wasted no time. She clipped highlights from her livestream and posted them online. The title made my stomach turn:
《What's It Like When Your Whole Building Adores You? On Move-In Day, Every Unit Uses My Birthday to Get Home》
In the video, she showed off while dabbing at red-rimmed eyes, calling me antisocial. Daniel stood beside her backing her up. The comments section ate it alive.
“The vibe in that complex is incredible. Cece really is a princess, confirmed.”
“That homeowner who left the group chat is such a buzzkill. She should just move out.”
I was about to put my phone down when Yvette Lawrence messaged me.
“Spring, we just moved our wedding jewelry into the unit today. Is this really okay?”
I wrote back.
“The password's been broadcast to the entire internet. You tell me.”
Yvette went quiet for a few seconds, then sent another message.
“But people in the group chat are saying that calling the police right now would mess up the move-in inspection. Manager James told everyone not to stir up trouble.”
I stared at that line and typed back one reply.
“Manager James is just a manager. If something actually happens, he's not the one who'll be held responsible. You will.”
Meanwhile, Celia dried her tears under the comfort of her livestream chat and broke into a fresh smile.
“Don't worry, everyone! Manager James said the inspection wraps up at six tonight, and all the passwords will be restored with one click. Ten-minute countdown, and we'll witness the miracle together!”
I pulled up the back-end rules for the smart lock system and read the security notice. The corner of my mouth twitched.
Fifteen minutes before the official lockdown, the system would halt all batch overwrites.
Celia's miracle wasn't going to make it in time.
Five minutes to system lockdown. Celia's livestream viewer count had surged past a hundred thousand.
She held up her selfie stick and walked floor by floor from the eighteenth story down, pausing at every unit's door to flash a sugary smile at the camera.
“Watch this. This is Building 18's secret code for their favorite girl.”
She typed in her birthday. Beep——
“Verification successful.”
The chat exploded.
“The whole building actually adores her! What kind of princess treatment is this?!”
“I want to live in a complex like that. Going home would be like walking into Cece's castle.”
Celia was glowing from the praise. She deliberately panned the camera across my door number.
Soon, a few comments popped up.
“You're showing every floor number and the password on camera. Aren't you worried something might happen?”
“This is already a security breach. Someone call the police.”
Celia's eyes reddened instantly.
“I'm just sharing the warmth between neighbors. Why do people always have to twist everything I do?”
“Everyone here loves me so much, and I'm genuinely touched. It's only a few bitter people who can't stand seeing someone else be liked.”
The words barely left her mouth before Daniel slammed his foot into my door. The bang rattled the vase on the entryway shelf. It teetered, tipped, and shattered across the floor.
“Spring! Open the door!”
His voice was barely controlled, fury simmering just beneath.
“I gave you an out and you threw it in my face. You actually said you want to call off the engagement? Open this door. Don't make me break it down.”
