Mrs. Wang looked at Li Man with confusion.
She chuckled softly and said, “Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? Alright, I’ll make a trip to the Li family and bring the nourishing soup up to your grandmother later.”
“Okay, Mom.”
Li Man couldn’t figure it out.
Why was she reacting this way?
The Li family’s bankruptcy is just a matter of time. Hmph, she’ll just enjoy the life of a wealthy heiress at the Xu family’s place.
The Xu family is her stepping stone, but what she really wants is the position of the head of the Bai family!
“Tch, not even your own home, and you’re so ungracious.”
Xu Tong, who had just come back from outside, said with disdain.
“Brother…”
“Shut up. I don’t have a sister. Any stray cat or dog trying to act like my sister—don’t have too many schemes.”
“Brother, I don’t know why you hate me. It’s not like I insisted on staying with the Xu family; Grandmother asked me to.”
“You didn’t refuse either, Li Man. There’s no one else here, so you don’t need to put on an act in front of me.”
Ignoring Li Man’s ugly expression, Xu Tong walked past her and headed upstairs.
The woman downstairs lowered her head, filled with hatred for Xu Tong in her heart.
What’s there to be so smug about? Just because she got lucky in the lottery of life?
Just wait. Soon, you will die.
She saw a servant coming out with a bowl of soup. Li Man gracefully stepped forward and said, “Give it to me. I’ll take it up to Grandmother’s room.”
Inside the room.
Old Madam Xu was enjoying Li Man massaging her legs.
“You’re such a sensible child. If only our Xu family’s children were as sensible as you.”
“Grandmother is just too kind, not minding my clumsy hands.”
“Good child.”
Li Man’s eyes darted around, and she casually mentioned that Mrs. Wang had gone to visit Li Qiao at the Li family home.
Mentioning Li Qiao, Old Madam Xu’s tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction: “Manman, you mustn’t learn from Li Qiao. That girl isn’t right in the head. She goes on and on about ghosts and spirits every day. Last time she came to our house to ‘catch ghosts,’ hmph, she was clearly trying to swindle money.”
She looked down on Li Qiao, who came from the countryside, thinking she was crazy and not right in the head.
Li Man: “I’ll listen to you, Grandmother.”
Catch ghosts?
Tch, such a hick. She just wants an excuse to get closer to wealthy families.
Building friendships and connections among the wealthy isn’t that simple. In her past life, she tried so hard but still couldn’t win everyone’s favor. Li Qiao surely wants to work hard and break into high society too, just like she did.
At the Li family home.
Mrs. Wang had brought over many gifts.
Li Qiao couldn’t refuse her kindness. After some tugging back and forth, Mrs. Wang, truly sincere, left the things behind and hurried off.
“Mom… Mrs. Wang is really warm-hearted.”
“She remembers your kindness,” Liu Yusi said with a smile. The delicate boxes contained jewelry and accessories.
“Mrs. Wang is generous. These pieces are the latest from the Xiang family. It’ll be a bit tricky choosing return gifts, though.”
Li Qiao examined a pearl necklace, a slight smile playing on her lips. “The return gifts won’t be a problem. There will be a chance soon enough.”
Oh?
That sounds like Qiaoqiao knows something.
Li Qiao smiled without explaining. It was strange, actually—
Recently, Xu Tong’s facial features hadn’t shown any problems. But today, the moment she saw Mrs. Wang, an issue appeared in his children’s palace (a term from face reading).
While Liu Yusi was tidying up the gifts, Li Qiao sent a text message.
[Don’t go out much for now. Just stay home.]
[?]
[Just trust me on this.]
[Li Qiao, are you cursing me? Did I run into a ghost again?]
[Nothing like that. Just stay put at home.]
“Qiaoqiao, move all this jewelry to your room.”
“Okay, Mom.”
Halfway there, Li Qiao received a call from a nurse at the hospital. When the nurse mentioned Nini, Li Qiao turned around and left home.
Just as she exited the neighborhood, she ran into Su Yan.
He excitedly honked his horn and waved, saying, “Qiao sis, we’re so destined to meet! I was just coming to find you. Hurry up, come with me.”
“Not right now. Give me a ride to the hospital first.”
“Huh?”
“What ‘huh’ for? Just drive.”
Under her intense, imposing gaze, Su Yan didn’t say another word and drove straight to the hospital. They appeared at Nini’s room, only to learn from the nurse that Nini had been taken home by her parents.
Before she left, Nini had cried very hard.
The nurse remembered what Li Qiao had said, so she immediately called her.
Li Qiao got Nini’s home address from the nurse.
The two rushed over to Nini’s place!
Nini’s home was in an upscale neighborhood. When they reached the 26th floor, Li Qiao didn’t sense anything unusual.
“Knock on the door.”
“O-okay.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Open up! Open up… I know you’re inside, open the door!”
“…”
Li Qiao rubbed her forehead and gave Su Yan a look that said, “I don’t even know where to start with you.”
They weren’t here to cause trouble.
The door opened. A middle-aged man with gentle features looked at them and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
“Mr. Lin, I’m Nini’s kindergarten teacher. The child hasn’t come to school for a few days. I came to see how Nini is feeling.”
“Nini’s teacher doesn’t look like you, though.”
“I’m new. Ms. Wang is on leave at home; I’m filling in for her. And this gentleman with me is our kindergarten’s new security guard.”
Su Yan, now promoted to security guard: “…”
Fortunately, she had chatted with Nini and knew some things about her kindergarten life.
Under Lin Hangxing’s watchful gaze, they entered Nini’s home.
A middle-aged woman was sitting in the living room. She looked very haggard and didn’t seem too happy to see them.
Lin Hangxing said, “I apologize. My wife isn’t feeling well.”
“No problem. Could I see Nini?”
“Of course. Nini is in her bedroom.”
Lin Hangxing led her towards the bedroom, but Li Qiao stopped him and said, “I’d like to talk to the child alone for a bit.”
“Sure, come right in, Teacher.”
After closing the bedroom door, Li Qiao entered and looked around but didn’t see Nini.
“Nini… It’s me, Sister Li Qiao.”
A sound came from the closet. Li Qiao walked over and opened the door. The little girl was curled up inside.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Li Qiao. “Sister… sob… Sister, Mommy and Daddy are fake! They’re not Nini’s real mommy and daddy!”
The little girl was very scared.
She refused to come out of the closet.
Li Qiao stroked her head gently. “Nini, with your sister here, no one dares hurt you. So come out and tell sister how you found out, okay?”
“Okay.”
Li Qiao carried Nini out of the closet.
“Sister… Mommy tried to choke me. My neck still hurts so much.” She tilted her head back, revealing bruised finger marks on her neck.
Li Qiao’s gaze turned cold. “Nini, when did you first notice that the mommy and daddy now are different from the ones before?”
Nini tilted her head thoughtfully. “On Mommy’s birthday… that day…”
Lin Hangxing and Li Wei had bought a really pretty cake and a beautiful dress for Nini. The family of three spent the evening at home. When Li Wei was making her wish, the candles suddenly went out. When they were lit again, Nini felt that Mommy and Daddy were different.
In the past, whether it was Daddy’s birthday or Mommy’s birthday, the first slice of birthday cake was always for Nini.
