After a moment of consideration, Xia Yu felt that the priority now was to find out where that Buddhist pendant came from and what exactly had happened during the two days he was away, leading You Xue down a path of no return.
Because they were siblings, no preamble was needed, so he asked directly: “Where did you get that pendant?”
“It was given to me by Senior Sister Weiwei; we got it from Qianfo Mountain!” You Xue replied happily.
So it was Yan Wei after all.
Xia Yu mentally noted this grudge, relieved that it wasn’t something the girl had obtained herself.
He said, “Can I have it? I feel something strange recently.”
Upon hearing Xia Yu’s words, You Xue became anxious: “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
“I just feel a bit uneasy; maybe having a Buddha image might help,” Xia Yu vaguely replied.
Without hesitation, You Xue took off the necklace and placed it around Xia Yu’s neck, reminding him to be careful.
Holding the pendant, Xia Yu took a sip of Sprite, thinking how easy it was to deceive humans.
After a while, having finished packing the suitcase and placing it properly, You Xue sensed something was off.
She folded her arms, trying to figure out where this feeling came from.
Ah, right! Although her older brother didn’t reject the idea of gods or Buddhas, he had never truly believed in them. Why did he suddenly want a Buddhist pendant today?
Touching the pendant on her chest, a realization flashed through You Xue’s mind.
Could it be because…
…it was a gift from Senior Sister Weiwei?
Was her older brother still harboring feelings for Weiwei?
Frowning, You Xue pondered whether she should pretend not to know or quietly warn Yan Wei. But since Yan Wei seemed to have feelings for her older brother as well, even if warned, it probably wouldn’t change anything.
The fairy tales always spoke of pure one-on-one relationships; indeed, they were all lies. The adult world was truly chaotic.
Feeling she had now grasped the truth of society, You Xue sighed for this ugly world and decided to act as if she knew nothing.
After she finished tidying up, Xia Yu entered the room. He first petted the black cat, then lay down on the bed.
He took out his phone and informed An Siyao that he was back.
An Siyao wanted to visit, but it was already late, and she was stopped by Yu Ningmeng, so they agreed she would come the next day.
Xia Yu comforted An Siyao, though in reality, even if the girl came, he wouldn’t have time. Tonight, he had promised to go to Tina’s place to check out her extremely unreliable adoptive father and decide which relative to leave her with.
With over an hour until their agreed meeting time at six, Xia Yu turned on a video call and chatted with An Siyao.
Behind An Siyao, Hu Lianglu also entered the frame.
Looking at Xia Yu on the screen, Hu Lianglu hugged An Siyao and gave a provocative smile.
Her expression seemed to say: I can hug your wife now, can you?
Never expecting this vicious dog to mock him, Xia Yu’s mood immediately soured.
He struck back immediately.
“You don’t need to bring Hu Lianglu when you come tomorrow; she’s missed too many days of school and should return to class,” Xia Yu said solemnly to An Siyao.
Hu Lianglu immediately protested, but An Siyao, who listened to Xia Yu, merely gave Hu Lianglu an apologetic look.
Hu Lianglu slumped aside, reflecting on why she had ever wanted to provoke Xia Yu.
After successfully taking revenge, Xia Yu’s mood improved. He talked a bit more with An Siyao before ending the call.
He then checked his QQ messages; Zhong Yunxin had sent him another message, still inquiring about Hu Lianglu’s disappearance.
“She’ll be attending class tomorrow,” Xia Yu told Zhong Yunxin.
“How do you know that?” Zhong Yunxin replied instantly.
“I know her guardian,” Xia Yu referred to An Siyao.
Zhong Yunxin misunderstood and thought he meant the real guardian. Convinced of the reliability of the information, she excitedly sent several lines of “w” characters.
After ending the conversation with Zhong Yunxin, Xia Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He wondered what reaction Zhong Yunxin would have if she saw her good friend Hu Lianglu, already tamed by An Siyao.
This would require Zhong Yunxin, An Siyao, and Hu Lianglu to meet, which was somewhat difficult since Zhong Yunxin’s usual range was around the school, and she rarely encountered An Siyao.
Come to think of it, it was about time to let Hu Lianglu keep an eye on Zhong Yunxin.
If Xia Yu had wanted, he could have An Siyao tell Hu Lianglu right away, but with some anticipation, Xia Yu didn’t want Zhong Yunxin to know about Hu Lianglu’s situation so soon.
He would deal with it after finishing Tina’s matter.
After dinner, Xia Yu went to Tina’s place.
The girl was just heading downstairs with her adoptive father.
They waited by the roadside behind for five minutes before finally hailing a taxi.
Although her adoptive father had a driver’s license, it was only valid in District 2, so he couldn’t drive in District 1.
The relative’s house wasn’t far away; fifteen minutes later, the taxi arrived at its destination.
It was a village within the city’s outskirts.
The adoptive father led Xia Yu to the door of a small self-built villa.
The villa had two stories, a typical rural-style house.
After the adoptive father knocked, a woman opened the door. She was middle-aged, her hands wet, clearly having been doing chores before.
Seeing the two white people outside, the woman was astonished.
The adoptive father spoke first in English: “Hello, I’m Steve-Joe. May I ask if a person named Qiao Lian lives here?”
It seemed the adoptive father had no prior contact with this relative; this visit was merely based on following some information, without even prior notice.
Xia Yu translated for the adoptive father, repeating in Chinese.
“That’s my grandmother. Who are you two?” The middle-aged woman looked at Xia Yu and Mr. Qiao with confusion.
Then, recalling the adoptive father’s name, Xia Yu couldn’t help but turn to look at him.
He really wanted to ask the adoptive father if he had a nickname called Qiaoqiao.
Seeing they had found the right place, Mr. Qiao smiled happily: “According to the family hierarchy, I’m her nephew.”
After translating, Xia Yu noticed the middle-aged woman’s expression was somewhat surprised, indicating she hadn’t known her grandmother had such a nephew.
“Please come in,” the middle-aged woman allowed Xia Yu and Mr. Qiao inside first.
“This is a gift, not much, though,” Mr. Qiao said in the awkward Chinese he had learned in the past few days.
The middle-aged woman took the gift box, glanced at it, and froze.
It was two bottles of wine, brought by Mr. Qiao from District 2.
Xia Yu knew why the middle-aged woman was surprised—it was a well-known brand of good wine.
In Xia Yu’s opinion, Mr. Qiao wasn’t particularly rich, but as a director at a hospital in District 2, he was practically a life winner with modest wealth.
After thanking Mr. Qiao, the middle-aged woman shouted upstairs twice, calling those above to come down, then went to the backyard to call her grandmother.
Soon, an elderly woman with white hair and leaning on a cane appeared before Xia Yu.
This was Mr. Qiao’s aunt.
From this aunt, Xia Yu sensed neither kindness nor malice. His gaze then shifted to the middle-aged woman.
Because from her, he sensed…
…malice.
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