The moment Zhu Lexing stepped through the Zhu Family gates, she launched into targeted nitpicking. Several Betas stood there silently under her scolding until one of them finally couldn’t take it anymore and retorted. Only then did Zhu Lexing turn to him with keen interest. “Yan Xin.”
Yan Xin had never been addressed by his full name by Zhu Lexing before, and a chill ran through him. Still, he dismissed her inwardly as just a crazy girl who couldn’t cause any real trouble. Straightening his spine, he said, “Miss, I…”
“You’re the one who’s been cleaning Yan Mian’s room, aren’t you?”
Zhu Lexing took a sip of her iced red tea and drawled lazily, “Daddy gave Yan Mian a watch right before he left the country, but she hasn’t worn it once in all these months.”
Yan Xin’s body went rigid.
Officially, he was the one cleaning Yan Mian’s room. But ever since he’d picked up on Zhu Lexing’s attitude toward her, he’d stopped bothering with that chore. He had, however, visited Yan Mian’s room plenty of times since—for no other reason than to pocket anything valuable he could find.
Yan Mian’s temperament was mild-mannered; even if she noticed things going missing, she wouldn’t dare demand them back.
That watch was the very one Yan Xin had swiped.
Noticing his reaction, Zhu Lexing let out a cold scoff. “That thing belongs to me. Where is it? Go find it and bring it to me right now.”
Cold sweat beaded on Yan Xin’s forehead. “I… I never saw any watch.”
Zhu Lexing’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Never saw it? Then search Yan Mian’s room and bring it to me.”
Of course, Yan Xin couldn’t produce it.
He’d sold the watch for cash the instant he’d gotten his hands on it, using the money to buy himself new toys.
But produce it or not, he still had to put on a show of searching Yan Mian’s room.
Because that was what Zhu Lexing demanded.
When he returned to stand before her, Yan Xin found himself hunching involuntarily. “Miss, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Maybe Miss Yan stashed it…”
“Stashed it? Where could she possibly stash it?” Zhu Lexing propped her chin on her hand as she eyed him. “The room’s not that big. If she’s not wearing it, she wouldn’t just toss her own watch, would she?”
Yan Xin stammered, “Well, there’s no…”
Zhu Lexing ignored him entirely, continuing on her own. “It’s not in Yan Mian’s room, and it’s not on her person. So where did it go? Do you know?”
Her gaze shifted to the “small clique” that had been hovering by Yan Xin’s side moments ago. In the span of just a few sentences, the group had scattered to the winds—no one daring to stay anywhere near him now. The man she singled out shrank back several steps. “I-I don’t know.”
“And you?” Zhu Lexing asked another.
Naturally, the answer came back the same: “I don’t know.”
Hearing the “brother” who had just been of one mind with him respond like that, Yan Xin broke out in cold sweat. “Miss, I…”
Zhu Lexing asked the driver, “How much is that watch worth?”
The driver still hadn’t recovered from her series of actions. He replied cautiously, “Mr. said he was afraid it was too expensive and would attract attention, so it’s only worth two hundred thousand.”
“Two hundred thousand, huh.” Zhu Lexing smiled gently. “The watch isn’t on Yan Mian, nor is it in her room. In the Zhu Family, besides you, no one else has entered her room. So where did this thing go? Do you all know now?”
In the near-dead silence, Yan Xin swallowed with difficulty. “Miss, it wasn’t me…”
“Who can vouch for you?”
No one made a sound.
Zhu Lexing said, “Two hundred thousand. Not a penny less.”
Two hundred thousand wasn’t a small sum for Yan Xin. Even if he had stolen it, Zhu Lexing had no evidence on the surface.
How could she say such a thing?!
Yan Xin’s eyes finally turned red with urgency. “I said it wasn’t—”
“Not you? Then what were you doing on the afternoon of the third?”
Zhu Lexing’s lips curved in a smile, but her gaze was utterly indifferent.
Yan Xin’s throat tightened. Deep down, he knew the answer.
He had stolen that watch.
Watching Yan Xin crumble his own mental defenses, Zhu Lexing raised an eyebrow slightly. Resolving the issue with him so easily had been beyond her expectations.
She swung her bag and smiled with genuine feeling. “The watch or two hundred thousand—I want to see it within three days.”
When she reached the third floor, she gazed down the hallway, her voice casual. “Oh, and you lot—leave with him.”
Just as they had once belittled Yan Mian.
The group was sent packing. The driver’s emotions were complicated. He sensed that Zhu Lexing’s sudden mention of the watch was, on one hand, to enforce family discipline and, on the other, a warning directed at him.
Her relationship with Yan Mian was already anything but ordinary.
He immediately imagined a saga of love, hate, and rivalry. After contacting the housekeeping agency, he recalled Yan Mian’s request from that morning. For the first time, he truly regarded her and turned to call Zhu Lin.
That day.
Yan Mian deliberately returned to the Zhu Family an hour late, but the food was still piping hot.
The television played on, its sound filling the empty living room. Amid the silence, someone asked enthusiastically, “Miss Yan, what dessert would you like after the meal?”
Yan Mian stood in the entryway and looked up toward Zhu Lexing’s room on the third floor.
The light was on. Zhu Lexing was back.
During the meal, Yan Mian noticed that the servants in the villa were all unfamiliar faces.
She rarely interacted with the servants, but that didn’t mean she failed to recognize them. She keenly observed that every one replaced by these newcomers had been among those who once spoke rudely to her.
In that wordless moment, Yan Mian understood it all stemmed from Zhu Lexing’s orders.
She couldn’t quite describe this abrupt “kindness.” All she felt was unease, and her appetite for the exquisite spread vanished entirely.
At that moment, her phone buzzed. She glanced down to see a video call from Zhu Lin.
【Yan Mian is about to talk with Zhu Lin. Host, please pay attention.】
The light was on in her room.
Zhu Lexing had been dozing at her desk when the system’s sudden prompt snapped her awake. 【What are they talking about?】
【Just chatting about schoolwork for now.】
But that might change soon.
Zhu Lexing wasn’t afraid of Yan Mian reaching out to Zhu Lin.
Still, her own sudden change required a “catalyst,” and Zhu Lin’s return would serve as one.
She pushed open the door and headed downstairs at once.
Unexpectedly, Yan Mian in the living room wasn’t pouring out grievances as she might have imagined.
The girl didn’t betray even a flicker of distress. She maintained a gentle smile, her eyes curved softly, her brows and the corners of her eyes radiating a warm amiability that felt like a spring breeze, drawing people in without effort.
The call was on speaker, and Zhu Lin’s laughter rang out clearly. Zhu Lexing paused mid-step and watched the scene in silence.
Until Yan Mian turned her face and spotted Zhu Lexing. A subtle shift flickered in her gaze. A few seconds later, she rose slowly, stepped out of the camera’s view, and lowered her voice. “Uncle, Lexing is here.”
“Xingxing?” Zhu Lin said at once. “Come here quick—it’s been ages!”
The man on the screen had sharp brows and bright eyes, strikingly similar to Zhu Lexing.
Zhu Lexing blanked for an instant, then curved her lips in a smile. “Daddy.”
The word came naturally from her, and Zhu Lin responded in kind. Yan Mian’s gaze trembled faintly as she turned her face away.
“Right, what was Mianmian about to ask?” After the greeting, Zhu Lin didn’t forget Yan Mian and called out enthusiastically.
Zhu Lexing thus confirmed they hadn’t broached the topic of whether Zhu Lin should return.
Yan Mian said, “I just wanted to check how your health is.”
Zhu Lin laughed right away. “I’m doing great. What about you—have you had your check-up lately? What did the doctor say? If it’s nothing serious, just find Uncle Li. He’ll take care of everything.”
Uncle Li was now Zhu Lexing’s driver, of course, and he would selectively share the good news.
Yan Mian mustered a smile. “I will. Then I’ll—”
Here, her brows suddenly furrowed. Her hand drifted instinctively toward her left chest. But it lasted only an instant before she restrained herself, her voice growing much softer. “I’ll head back to my room to preview my lessons.”
Zhu Lin couldn’t see her, so he suspected nothing. But Zhu Lexing stood mere meters away and caught every motion.
“You—”
She started to ask if it was her heart acting up, but Yan Mian mistook it for an advance and retreated several steps. As their startled gazes met, Yan Mian withdrew on her own and returned to her room.
She was a sickly thing. Even the original host wouldn’t go out of her way to provoke her during an episode. A dead bug held far less appeal than a living one she could torment day and night.
“Zhu Lexing” had no good reason to show concern for Yan Mian.
Zhu Lexing could only adopt a coquettish tone. “When are you coming back? Lately I’ve—”
She chatted idly about everyday trifles. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Yan Mian’s steps falter slightly—she was clearly listening.
Zhu Lin’s response caught them both off guard. “Filming’s wrapping up soon, so I’ll be back. What does Xingxing want? Ask Mianmian again—”
Zhu Lexing let out a long sigh of relief. The next second, the door clicked shut.
“I can have anything…”
Zhu Lin went on, “I’ve prepared a gift for you and Mianmian. It should be ready in a few days.”
The thought of the Zhu Family’s garish, eye-searing decor made Zhu Lexing grit her teeth. “Actually, we don’t need a gift.”
Zhu Lin’s easygoing nature came as a surprise to Zhu Lexing. The man didn’t act like a steady, serious director at all. He was more like a stand-up comedian, capping nine out of every ten sentences with a burst of “hahaha”s, as if he were a walking encyclopedia of jokes.
After hanging up, Zhu Lexing asked the System: 【How’s Yan Mian doing?】
The System replied: 【She’s taken her medicine and is feeling much better.】
Zhu Lexing paused in the living room for several seconds, hesitating. Then she headed to the kitchen, warmed up a glass of milk for Yan Mian, and set it on the coffee table next to the phone.
Sure enough, after fretting over Yan Mian half the night, Zhu Lexing overslept once more.
By the time she threw on her clothes in a rush and hurried downstairs, the milk was still sitting untouched on the coffee table. And where the phone had been, her school badge now lay.
