This gossip probably won't stop being discussed for a while.
Xia Yan opened the safe in front of Lu Zhengting. Aside from some jewelry left by Xiao Lanzhi, the rest consisted of account books and diaries from her father Xu Guang's company. Lu Zhengting skimmed through the account books but found no useful information.
Xia Yan stared at Lu Zhengting's serious expression, somewhat puzzled. "Nothing in the account books either?"
"No."
"What about the diaries?" Xia Yan asked urgently. Whether Lu Zhengting's words were true or false, she was now desperate to understand what happened back then. The fact that these items, which had once seemed promising, suddenly lost their meaning was inevitably disappointing.
Lu Zhengting pondered for a long time before saying calmly, "I'll take these things with me first."
Xia Yan didn't object. Her instincts told her these items would be safer with Lu Zhengting than in her own possession—perhaps deep down, she trusted him more.
They returned empty-handed, and Xia Yan felt disheartened. Lu Zhengting glanced at her, paused, and said in a low voice, "I've been investigating this for nearly a year. Looking into something from over a decade ago really requires patience."
Hearing this, Xia Yan lowered her head and nodded. Suddenly, her stomach let out a loud growl. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she secretly looked up at the man who was smiling faintly with pursed lips. How embarrassing.
Lu Zhengting raised his wrist to check the time, then ordered the driver, "Dongshan."
"What are we going to Dongshan for?"
"Home. To cook."
"...Shouldn't I be going back to my own place?" Xia Yan rolled her eyes. Lu Zhengting clearly wanted her to cook for them. She wanted to go back to her apartment, but on his car, she had no say. After a moment, she resigned herself to her fate.
Xia Yan had lost count of how many times she'd been to Dongshan. She walked into the villa with ease. Only Aunt Chen was home. As soon as she saw Xia Yan, she couldn't stop smiling. "Miss Xia, you're finally here! The young master has been talking about you every day since you've been gone."
"Aunt Chen, are you sure Xiao Han was talking about me and not about cake?" Xia Yan had always liked Aunt Chen, perhaps because she felt a sense of maternal warmth from her.
******
After Xia Yan took Xiao Lanzhi's inheritance, Xia Minghui had been restless. Prolonged insomnia had left him exhausted. He paced back and forth in his study, knowing that getting Xiao Lanzhi's belongings from Xia Yan would inevitably involve Lu Zhengting.
The thought gave Xia Minghui an even bigger headache.
Xia's grandmother sat on the nearby sofa, watching her son's worried expression. Her anger flared, and she brought up the past again. "Back then, I was dead set against you marrying Xiao Lanzhi, but you insisted. And when she got sick, I, as her mother-in-law, never got to enjoy her care. Instead, my son had to run around taking care of her. Now that she's gone, she leaves everything to her daughter, and our Yueyue gets nothing..."
"Mom, Lanzhi is gone. What's the use of talking about this now?"
"I'm saying she didn't even do right by our Xia family after she left. She just had to stir up trouble."
"Mom, enough. I've been feeling uneasy lately, like something big is about to happen."
"Son, the people who knew about those things back then are either dead or gone. There aren't many left. Don't borrow trouble."
Xia Minghui glanced at his mother but didn't deny her words. Investigating something from over a decade ago couldn't be done overnight. But right now, he needed to figure out what Xia Yan had in her hands, or this uneasy feeling would never go away.
After a pause, Xia Minghui asked, "Where's Yueyue?"
"Out with Chengfeng."
Hearing this, Xia Minghui's expression darkened. He still remembered how Mu Chengfeng had acted indifferent when Yang Jinkuan came looking for trouble with the Xia family. Still, if Xia Siyue could win Mu Chengfeng's affection and marry into the Mu family, it would be nothing but beneficial for the Xia family.
******
Xia Yan was now curled up on the sofa watching TV. Lin Xujia had called ahead to say she wanted to chat. Since she got off work early today, she came home early to wait. But when Lin Xujia arrived at the apartment building, she didn't expect to run into Xia Siyue and Mu Chengfeng.
Lin Xujia tried to pretend she hadn't seen them and walk past, but Xia Siyue suddenly reached out and blocked her way. Lin Xujia frowned, glancing sideways at her. "What are you blocking my way for?"
"Lin Xujia, why put on airs in front of me? Do you think I don't know what you're really like?" Xia Siyue's gaze was full of disdain.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Wrong. You definitely know," Xia Siyue said, linking her arm through Mu Chengfeng's. She looked up at the apartment building and added, "Here to see Xia Yan?"
"None of your business. Move."
"Getting defensive, are we? Hmph, Lin Xujia, I happen to know a secret about you. Want to hear it?" Xia Siyue smiled. She had a delicate face but wore heavy makeup, her bright red lips parting to let out a mocking laugh.
Lin Xujia's heart tightened, but she kept her composure. "A secret? What secret? Go ahead, tell me."
Xia Siyue didn't even look at her, just let out a cold laugh. "I've been looking for the right time to tell Xia Yan about the bar."
Those seemingly light words made Lin Xujia's heart leap into her throat. She steadied herself and stared at Xia Siyue. "I don't know what you mean."
"Lin Xujia, I've changed my mind. What if I told Ye Yunchen instead of Xia Yan? Wouldn't that have a better effect?"
"Xia Siyue, what exactly do you want?" At the mention of Ye Yunchen's name, Lin Xujia deflated like a punctured balloon, her eyes fixed on Xia Siyue.
"I just want to see you two sisters turn against each other."
With that, Xia Siyue took Mu Chengfeng's arm and walked past Lin Xujia. She had just happened to run into Lin Xujia and decided to give her a little warning.
When Xia Yan opened the door and saw Lin Xujia, she was startled. The woman looked utterly lost, which struck her as odd. She quickly pulled Lin Xujia inside. "Xiao Jia, what happened to you?"
"I ran into Xia Siyue just now."
"Xia Siyue?" Xia Yan frowned, as if beginning to understand.
Lin Xujia stared blankly at Xia Yan, let out an inexplicable sigh, and hesitated as if she wanted to say something.
"Say what you want to say."
"Xia Yan, be careful of Xia Siyue." Lin Xujia thought about Xia Siyue's threat to use Ye Yunchen against her. She might as well give Xia Yan a heads-up now.
"Be careful of her?"
"Yeah. Xia Yan, do you remember that time at the bar when I got drunk and you came to find me? Later, somehow we ran into Yang Jinkuan. You know what? Xia Siyue was at that bar too..." Lin Xujia's face grew paler as she spoke, as if recalling bad memories. She took a deep breath and added softly, "Xia Yan, do you think this might have something to do with Xia Siyue?"
Hearing Lin Xujia bring this up again, Xia Yan said bluntly, "It's very likely Xia Siyue was behind it." But back then, Xia Minghui had sternly warned Xia Siyue not to pull any more stunts, so Xia Yan believed Xia Siyue would heed his authority and not act against her easily.
Xia Yan didn't say this out loud. Watching Lin Xujia almost steering her suspicion toward Xia Siyue, she felt a bit confused. In her memory, Lin Xujia and Xia Siyue had always kept their distance from each other.
Xia Yan didn't dwell on the topic and subtly changed the subject. Seeing this, Lin Xujia grew wary—could Xia Yan be suspicious of her?
To avoid things backfiring, Lin Xujia quickly followed Xia Yan's lead and shifted the conversation from work to Ye Yunchen. Every time Lin Xujia mentioned Ye Yunchen, her expression changed. Xia Yan clearly noticed something off this time. Though her eyes still showed affection for Ye Yunchen, it wasn't shy or reserved anymore.
Lin Xujia left after dinner. Xia Yan had just seen her off downstairs when her phone rang. She picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, and swiped to answer. Xiao Han's childish voice came through clearly.
"Sister Yan, I'm so sad, so upset."
"Did someone bully you at school?"
"Who in school would dare bully me?" Xiao Han said boldly, glancing at Lu Zhengting's glare and pouting.
"Then who bullied you? Tell Sister, and I'll take care of them for you." The only person who could bully Xiao Han and make the little troublemaker this委屈 was, naturally, Lu Zhengting.
Hearing this, Xiao Han secretly smirked. After a deliberate pause, he took a sharp breath. "The one bullying me is you, Sister Yan..."
"Me?" Xia Yan's voice shot up in disbelief.
"Yeah. Are you only cooking for Dad? But I want to eat your cooking too."
Hearing this, Xia Yan's face was covered in exasperation. "No, Sister Yan loves cooking for you the most."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. You can tell Sister whatever you want to eat."
"Ah, but it's a bit late to come over now..." Xiao Han sighed, and as if hearing Xia Yan's strange tone, he quickly added, "Tonight's definitely out. How about tomorrow?"
Xia Yan was afraid that if she refused, the little rascal would come up with some other trick, so she readily agreed. Xiao Han's cheerful laughter came through the phone, and she couldn't help but smile. Was it her imagination, or did she just hear Lu Zhengting's voice?