Chapter 34.1
Following Cheng Lingxue’s operation, the recorded footage connected to the television and was adjusted directly to today’s portion.
At first, the screen was black. Snoring sounds came from inside. It seemed Pai Pai was sleeping.
After roughly some time passed, there was a click. That was the sound of the door opening.
The fast-forward immediately stopped and changed back to normal playback.
Rustling footsteps came over. It was clearly not just one person.
At first, they were still quiet, but after the door closed, the people who entered seemed to let loose and no longer had so many reservations.
Perhaps their movements woke Pai Pai. The camera shook a little, and light began to appear in the center. From blurry to clear, then a piercing voice sounded.
“The things she uses are really nice. She’s just an adopted daughter, yet she sure knows how to enjoy herself.”
At the same time, the image froze on Ah Xiu’s face.
She was opening Cheng Lingxue’s wardrobe and looking at the expensive clothes inside. The sourness in her tone could be felt even through the screen.
“Don’t mess around. We need to finish quickly. Set everything up and get out. Once the money arrives, it’s not like we can’t afford them.”
Ah Hua hit Ah Xiu lightly and warned her.
“…Oh…”
At this, Ah Xiu curled her lips and nodded perfunctorily, but her eyes were still wandering over those exquisite clothes.
She reached out and tugged at one of the outfits, only to accidentally tear off the lace on one of the skirts.
Ah Xiu guiltily looked at Ah Hua’s back. Seeing that she had not noticed, she immediately stuffed the lace in her hand into her pocket. Then she even spat quietly at the clothes, reached out, shifted them around, and hid the damaged outfit deeper inside.
Bending down, Ah Hua opened the black box.
Inside was gray shock-absorbing foam. Aside from two strange silver instruments, the middle contained white objects about the size of grains of rice.
The whole set looked extremely precise, not like something ordinary people could obtain.
The two each picked up an instrument, then took several white rice-grain-sized objects. After attaching the grains to the front end of the instruments, they split up and wandered around the room.
Because the two separated, Pai Pai seemed unable to figure out what they were doing. He looked left and right from time to time, causing the image to become clear one moment and blurry the next.
But at the same time, it also recorded the places the two had touched.
The bed, ceiling, chandelier, balcony, dressing room, bathroom, even the potted plant on the desk—all of them had been touched by their hands and had white grains placed inside.
The number did not look like much at first glance, but in total, there were actually around thirty of them!
Seeing them install things like this, even Xie Shuyun, who did not have a basic concept of what those objects were, faintly guessed something. Her fists clenched until they cracked, and she could barely suppress the anger in her heart.
But what infuriated people was not only this.
Ah Xiu, who came in from the balcony, suddenly discovered Pai Pai.
“Hey, Sister Hua, that dog she keeps. Why is it here?”
“Don’t bother with it. It won’t know what we’re doing anyway, and it can’t reach the devices. It’s just a mute beast.”
Glancing sideways at Pai Pai, Ah Hua’s tone carried disdain. Clearly, she did not take Pai Pai seriously at all, and reached out toward Cheng Lingxue’s desk.
“Aow! Aow aow aow!”
Pai Pai, who had been quiet from the beginning, suddenly began barking at this moment. The loud barking made both their expressions change.
“Make it shut up!”
Ah Hua scolded in a low voice.
Hearing Ah Hua’s words, Ah Xiu actually backhanded Pai Pai across the face.
The force was so great that a loud sound came through the camera. At the same time, the image violently shook, spinning between the ceiling and the floor before finally turning dark.
“Wu… aowu…”
Pai Pai let out a low whimper.
But in the next second, the camera brightened again. One could feel that the camera had reached a height Pai Pai had no way of reaching by himself.
From the mirror not far away, they could see that Ah Xiu was actually grabbing Pai Pai by the collar and lifting him like a piece of pork.
Pai Pai’s four paws waved helplessly. His neck was being strangled by the collar, causing him to make rough, labored breathing sounds.
“When I first saw this little thing, it was still so small. After coming to the Xie family, it eats and drinks well every day. Its life is even more leisurely than ours.”
Ignoring Pai Pai’s pained appearance, Ah Xiu even shook the collar and curled her lips.
“But at least in your hands, it can’t resist at all. Don’t tell me you want to be a beast?”
Ah Hua’s mocking words came out, making Ah Xiu unable to hide her embarrassment and anger. She casually threw Pai Pai to the side.
After being thrown twice in a row, Pai Pai was clearly already unable to stand steadily.
But no one knew where he got the strength. When Ah Hua reached out to pull open the chair at Cheng Lingxue’s desk, Pai Pai staggered over and directly bit Ah Hua’s leg.
“Damn it, you little beast!”
His teeth had not fully grown sharp yet and did not have much attack power. But biting with all his strength was still enough to hurt.
Ah Hua immediately cursed and kicked Pai Pai away, then heavily kicked him again.
The camera showed Ah Hua’s ferocious face as she was about to continue approaching Pai Pai.
But Pai Pai lay slanted on the floor, seemingly unable to move.
At that moment, Ah Xiu said,
“Sister Hua, there seems to be movement outside.”
Ah Hua furrowed her brows slightly, stopped, and said in a low voice,
“Let’s go out.”
“But—”
“We’ve already installed enough. It’s not like we didn’t do the work. Let’s go. If we get discovered…”
The sound of the door closing rang out.
The room quieted down.
After a long time, the camera slowly moved. No one knew how Pai Pai returned to the bed. He seemed to hide somewhere dark, and low, mournful whimpers came from his throat.
===
“Good. Good. Good.”
Three good’s came from Xie Shuyun’s mouth in a row, each one louder than the last, and each one harsher than the last.
Her sharp gaze looked at Ah Hua and Ah Xiu, who had collapsed on the floor. At this point, there was no need for the bodyguards to restrain them. Now that the matter had been exposed, they no longer had the will to struggle.
“Tell me, what was inside that thing…”
Reaching out to grab Ah Xiu’s collar, Xie Shuyun lifted her whole person up. She glared at her angrily and questioned her.
“No… I… I…”
Tears and snot kept flowing from Ah Xiu’s eyes and nose. Her words became incoherent.
At this moment, a dripping sound suddenly came from beneath her, and a strong stench of urine rushed over.
This person had actually been scared into wetting her pants!
Disgustedly throwing away the person in her hand, Xie Shuyun fanned the air near her nose and mocked,
“I saw you were pretty brave when hitting a dog and damaging things. Why are you scared into this state now?”
“Miss Cheng, do you mind if we search your room? Don’t worry, we’ll only search the places they touched. We won’t pry into your privacy.”
As Qin Yu spoke, she turned the computer screen in her hand toward Cheng Lingxue.
On the screen, all the places Ah Hua and Ah Xiu had touched earlier were actually marked.
To be able to find them all from such blurry footage showed that Qin Yu’s ability was extraordinary.
“Of course.”
Cheng Lingxue nodded slightly.
After receiving her answer, Qin Yu immediately brought the bodyguards upstairs in a hurry, disappearing at the top of the stairs.
Looking at their backs, Cheng Lingxue’s arms tightened around Pai Pai.
So Pai Pai had been injured because of her.
Dogs were humans’ most loyal friends, and far smarter than people imagined.
Perhaps because Cheng Lingxue usually showed how much she cared about her desk, Pai Pai realized that place was a very important area to his owner. So despite the huge difference in strength, he still rushed forward to stop them…
Her fingertips lightly stroked Pai Pai’s scalp, which was covered in fine, soft golden fur.
Seeming to feel Cheng Lingxue’s unusual emotions, Pai Pai lifted his head and stuck out his tongue, licking the back of Cheng Lingxue’s hand.
Her thin lips parted lightly.
Cheng Lingxue felt she could not explain her current feelings with words. In the end, she could only gently touch her forehead to Pai Pai’s little face and silently say in her heart,
Thank you.
Thank you for being willing to protect me too.
“Lingxue, sit on the sofa. Qin Yu and the others will probably take some time. Do you want to eat some fruit?”
Xie Shuyun came to Cheng Lingxue’s side and gave the maids standing in the corner several looks.
They immediately entered the kitchen and brought out brewed tea and a freshly cut fruit platter.
Looking at the person before her, whose tone was careful and whose eyes were full of hope that she could relax a little, Cheng Lingxue felt a trace of helplessness.
The other girl truly could make her compromise.
She still walked to Xie Shuyun’s side and sat down.
Holding the tea Xie Shuyun handed her, Cheng Lingxue turned her head to avoid the piece of fruit Xie Shuyun was practically about to feed into her mouth. She reached out and took the fork.
“I’ll do it myself. You eat too.”
“Okay, okay. This cantaloupe is very sweet. You’ll definitely like it. Eat more, eat more.”
The two girls sat on the sofa and chatted idly, eating snacks. They did not look at all like two of the people involved in that tense atmosphere from earlier.
They were like a little couple on vacation, surrounded by pink bubbles and an ambiguous aura they themselves had not noticed.
But the other people around them—
Ah Hua and Ah Xiu’s faces flashed with irritation at being ignored, as well as jealousy. As for the bodyguards, they uniformly looked away.
When it came to the masters’ affairs, touch what could be touched, and don’t even listen to or look at what could not be touched. Otherwise, the next one “silenced” would be you.
After finishing the search of Cheng Lingxue’s room, Qin Yu came downstairs and felt the completely polar-opposite atmosphere in the living room. She raised her brow slightly, but still walked to Cheng Lingxue and Xie Shuyun, interrupting their casual conversation.
“Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, the results are out.”
As she spoke, Qin Yu beckoned.
A bodyguard immediately brought over a tray. On it were thirty white rice-grain-sized objects, neatly arranged. Another bodyguard carried a familiar black box, the very one Ah Xiu had held in the video.
“So what are these?”
Xie Shuyun asked.
Qin Yu paused, looked at Ah Hua and Ah Xiu, then spoke in a voice even lower than before.
“Micro long-distance cameras. As for the signal receiver, we’ll need professionals to trace it.”
“Cameras…”
Although she had already mentally prepared herself, the fork in Xie Shuyun’s hand made cracking sounds. Finally, with a crisp crack, it was snapped in half by the young girl.
This showed just how angry she was.
As for Cheng Lingxue beside her, she seemed calm. But in her slightly lowered eyes, storm-like emotions were almost overflowing.
Her fingertips tightly pinched the corner of her skirt. She did not even notice that it had wrinkled.
She had already completely sunk into her memories.
Back then, when she discovered that there was something wrong with that person and wanted to resist, that person had given her a heavy blow to the head.
Her private photos had been widely spread online. The reputation she had finally built up turned into nothing overnight.
During that period of time, she tasted the warmth and coldness of human relationships.
No.
Where had there been warmth?
All she tasted was the ugliest betrayal and ridicule of human nature.
Every day, she faced disgusting, covetous gazes and countless trash messages bombarding her. She had nearly collapsed more than once.
She had always wondered how that person had obtained those things.
Now, she finally had the answer.
And it was the most disgusting, filthiest answer.
However, in her memory, the age shown in those photos had not been this early. The timing of the action had probably been moved ahead.
Perhaps that person wanted to give her a warning?
Thinking that if she had not been sharp enough to discover it, photos and videos of her changing clothes, sleeping, and even bathing would have fallen into that person’s hands again, Cheng Lingxue felt not only anger, but also disgust.
Negative emotions wrapped around her like they wanted to suffocate her, leaving her unable to breathe.
Just as Cheng Lingxue’s gaze became somewhat unfocused and her breathing grew hurried, she felt a scorching warmth cover the back of her hand.
Her vision gradually refocused.
Cheng Lingxue saw the source of that heat.
It was Xie Shuyun’s palm.
Like warm sunlight appearing in cold winter, merely touching her was enough to drive away the chill on Cheng Lingxue’s body. It even slowly seeped inward, warming her heart.
Looking at Xie Shuyun’s face, both angry and unable to hide worry…
This person had that kind of magical power.
Cheng Lingxue thought this as her hand slowly lifted.
When Xie Shuyun thought she was going to pull away, Cheng Lingxue turned her hand over instead.
In an instant, palm touched palm.
Just like that, they touched.
Their fingertips did not show any intention of interlocking, but this action made them feel each other’s emotions and temperature even more.
Xie Shuyun had not expected Cheng Lingxue to do this. Her eyes widened slightly, and a happy smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
But very quickly, she returned to seriousness and said earnestly,
“Lingxue, don’t worry. The Xie family will definitely give you an explanation.”
As she spoke, her gaze returned to Ah Hua and Ah Xiu.
“You already have no room to quibble. Tell us who ordered you to do this. Perhaps it can reduce your criminal responsibility.”
Compared to Ah Xiu, who was silent out of fear, Ah Hua seemed to have thrown caution to the wind. She had the attitude of, “things have already become like this, so what else can you do to me?” She shrugged and said indifferently,
“I don’t know.”
Seeing Xie Shuyun raise her brows slightly and seem about to speak, she immediately continued,
“Even if you interrogate me, that’s the only answer. That person only communicated with us through text messages and didn’t reveal any information.”
“And you believed they would pay you just like that? You weren’t afraid they’d break their promise?”
Xie Shuyun asked in disbelief.
“You don’t understand… don’t understand… That person seemed to know everything…”
Ah Hua mumbled indistinctly. Only this sentence allowed Xie Shuyun to barely understand, yet she did not know what it meant.
How could there be someone who knew everything?
It was not as if they were a god.
“In any case, they promised a large sum of money, and also promised to introduce us to children from rich families. They even paid the deposit first. Since we accepted the money, isn’t it normal to do the job?”
Ah Hua shrugged, speaking as if it were only natural.
Qin Yu immediately sent people to investigate Ah Xiu and Ah Hua’s accounts. Aside from their own, the accounts of their family members were also checked.
Sure enough, they found an unexplained transfer of five million in one person from each family.
“How ridiculous. You gambled with your own futures. The Xie family didn’t treat you poorly, yet you still did something like this. Truly contemptible.”
Xie Shuyun laughed in anger and pointed at the two as she spoke furiously.
This time, however, it was not Ah Hua who spoke. Instead, the trembling Ah Xiu suddenly exploded. Like a madwoman, she shouted and screamed,
“Yes, the Xie family treated us well. I came here to serve the Xie family. But why should a little bitch who became an orphan be able to live better than me? Eating well and dressing well every day, like a little princess.”
Intense jealousy and hatred sprayed from Ah Xiu’s eyes. She glared at Cheng Lingxue as if treating her as the source of all evil, without reflecting on her own actions at all.
“That person promised me that as long as I handled this matter properly, they would find a way to make me a member of the Xie family…”
Toward the end, Ah Xiu’s tone carried a trace of shyness. She even threw Xie Shuyun a coquettish glance and continued, shaking her head,
“Although you’re young, your looks and everything else are good. But I’d rather become the family head’s wife. I also want to live a life where maids surround me and people serve me…”
Her tone was full of yearning. Ah Xiu kept talking to herself, completely ignoring everyone around her, including Ah Hua’s shock toward her “grand ambition.”
Xie Shuyun, frightened into taking a step back by Ah Xiu’s coquettish glance, was covered in goosebumps and also dumbfounded.
She had never expected that this person was not only interested in her, but also interested in her mother. She even wanted to become her stepmother!
She wanted to replace her mama!
Mama…
Xie Shuyun only felt her vision blur.
A vague figure seemed to surface in her mind.
Although blurred, she could feel that person’s charm and gentleness. That person gently stroked her head and called her softly with a tender and doting voice:
Little Yun.
But that person was already gone.
In an instant, her eyes reddened.
Xie Shuyun did not know why her heart felt so sad.
At the same time, she was especially furious at Ah Xiu’s words about wanting to replace her mama, like a raging little lion.
She came before Ah Xiu, crouched down, and grabbed Ah Xiu’s collar, pulling her close.
Gritting her teeth, she said word by word,
“Replace my mama? What virtue or ability do you have? Are you suffering from delusions? My mama could be replaced by someone like you? Even if Mother went blind, that kind of thing would never happen. Absolutely never! Recognize reality properly. You. Are. Not. Worthy!”
The last three words were almost roared.
Xie Shuyun’s voice carried a trace of choking. She threw away the stunned Ah Xiu.
In an instant, the raging little lion wilted. Her straight back bent slightly, and a sorrowful aura surrounded her.
Almost everyone present knew that the wife of the Xie family head had been gravely injured back then while saving the Eldest Miss of the Xie family, and had eventually died.
This was undoubtedly a pain in the hearts of the Xie family mother and daughter.
Ah Xiu’s ambition and words had stepped very accurately on this landmine.
A hand stroked the heroic young girl’s head.
Like an animal tamer soothing a little lion, it gently calmed the little lion’s exploding emotions.
Xie Shuyun turned around and looked at Cheng Lingxue, who was lightly stroking her head.
The wounded little lion seemed to have found someone she could rely on. She rubbed closer, though her movements remained cautious.
Tentatively, she used her forehead to lightly nudge Cheng Lingxue’s shoulder.
Seeing that the other girl had no reaction, the little lion finally relaxed.
The young girl’s fragrance came to the tip of her nose, soothing the restless emotions in her heart.
Xie Shuyun narrowed her eyes slightly and did not want to leave right away. Instead, she wanted to secretly keep this brief quiet moment.
“Housekeeper Qin, there’s no need to call the police, right?”
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was shocked.
Even Ah Hua and Ah Xiu were stunned.
The young girl who had been pressing them so aggressively just moments ago had suddenly become kindhearted in the blink of an eye. No matter how one thought about it, it did not make sense.
Facts proved that the two of them were right.
How could Cheng Lingxue possibly let the two of them go easily?
“Miss Cheng, this isn’t—”
Before Qin Yu could finish, Cheng Lingxue raised a hand and stopped her.
The young girl’s black eyes stared straight at the two of them. The hidden malice inside made people timid.
She was like a god of death, holding a black scythe, preparing to announce their sins.
“Prison? Is that supposed to be punishment? Letting taxpayers’ money support people like this is far too wasteful. Wouldn’t it be better to let them stay outside and properly taste the bitter fruit they planted?”
Her voice was clearly cold and clear like flowing water, cleansing the body and mind.
But the meaning inside her words shocked people with her thoughts. Yet, after thinking about it carefully, it did not seem unreasonable.
If someone had installed thirty cameras in their own room, they would probably have the urge to beat that person to death. Merely going to prison truly would not vent enough anger.
“This…”
Qin Yu could not easily refute Cheng Lingxue’s words either. After all, she was the victim. How she wanted to handle it should have the greatest say.
So Qin Yu wanted to ask Xie Shuyun’s opinion.
Unexpectedly, Xie Shuyun had already lifted her head and said very directly,
“Do as Lingxue says.”
Just as the two maids wanted to open their mouths and beg for mercy, hoping to use their families to soften their hearts, Xie Shuyun continued faintly,
“Don’t worry. Once the investigation is clear, the Xie family will sponsor your families, such as the parts involving illness and schooling. But as for you…”
She gently picked up a strand of Cheng Lingxue’s hair that had slipped down to her chest and tucked it behind her ear. At the same time, the corner of Xie Shuyun’s eye watched the two of them, cold light flickering inside.
“Everything you did today will follow you like a shadow and become a stain on your entire lives.”
Those final few words were sonorous and powerful. They also made the two maids’ lips tremble slightly.
Xie Shuyun no longer wanted to see the two of them. She instructed Qin Yu,
“Please escort these two out. They are not welcome here.”
“Yes.”
“Wait… wait! Eldest Miss… Eldest Miss, I beg you… I…”
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