She swore to kill whoever it was that had touched Lu Yi’s stuff. She raced to the wardrobe and opened it for inspection. All her clothes were still there; but some of Lu Yi’s had been tampered with.
And…her pupils shrunk.
The laptop was missing.
Within that laptop was not only Lu Yi’s stored information, but also pictures of her taken during the last few… or rather, taken since her debut. Photographs are ubiquitous these days; you can take one with a simple snap of the phone. But those photographs were different, because the photographer was not around anymore. The importance of those photos didn’t lie in the photos themselves, but in the person who had taken them.
Who was the one that touched her laptop, and who was the one that entered the room?
Why wasn’t there a single soul at home? Don’t tell her that the house had been sold. But that was impossible. Ye Shuyun would have given her a heads up if she really sold the house. Plus, it’s not as though the Lu Family would be so hurting for money that they would sell their house.
She retrieved her phone with shaky fingers. She was afraid, afraid that she couldn’t get the laptop back, afraid that she would lose the last bit of memory she had. If she knew something like this would happen, she would have brought her laptop along instead of asking Luo Lin to stow it at the Lu house. She thought this would be the safest place, but as it turned out, anywhere away from her wasn’t safe.
Ye Shuyun was playing with Little Lei. It was a weekend, so Little Lei didn’t have to go to kindergarten. The day before, the little guy had beat up another kid. He was three years old, and his victim five, but he was taller and packed a stronger punch. He left his opponent bruised and wailing.
And so, Madam Lei and Ye Shuyun had to make amends and offer apologies to the child’s parents. Most people wouldn’t believe that a three-year-old could mess a five-year-old up, but it was how it was. Little Lei had inherited his height from his father and his violent temper from his mother. Lei Qingyi had a loud voice, but he had a firm belief a gentleman fights with his words, not his fists.
Yi Ling was different. She was ready to jump on someone at the very instance of discord, though her temper had gotten a little better over the years. Little Lei had taken all of his father’s looks and his mother’s nature.
At present, Little Lei was being lectured on his conduct.
He stood obediently still, toying with his little fingers, staring at the two older ladies with dark eyes as big as Kyoho grapes. That made it very hard for them to lay hands on him.
“I guess we have gotten the point across,” said Madam Lei, rubbing his grandson’s head. “It’s okay for our child to bully others, but not the other way round.”
“Right,” nodded Ye Shuyun vehemently. “We can beat up others, but they shouldn’t even think about laying a finger on us. If you encounter the same situation again, just beat him up.”
“My grandson is the best,” praised Madam Lei. She carried him in her arms and pinched his cheeks. “You are like your father. Your father always fought with others when he was little. How else would he have become the head of the Security Department? I don’t think he has lost a single fight since kindergarten. The only reason he didn’t fight more was that he didn’t want his uncomely face to become even uglier from all the fighting, and that would make it even harder for him to find a wife. Had he fought more, he might have become the best boxer in the world. Do you get it now, Little Lei? If someone bullies you again in the future, just go at him with all you got. Remember, Gram has your back.”
Yi Ling stroked her forehead in defeat.
Was that a lecture? All they did was praise him! This was no way to educate a child. Cheer him on and he would soon be making trouble every day, and she would have to follow him everywhere to clean up after his messes, swallowing her pride and apologizing.
Why didn’t she give birth to a considerate girl? That would have been so wonderful. Unfortunately, this debt-collecting ghoul was what she was stuck with.
Ye Shuyun took out her phone and glanced at the incoming call. She sighed.
“What’s wrong? Is it from Huanhuan?”
Madam Lei knew who it was at once when she saw the miserable, helpless look on Ye Shuyun’s face.
“Indeed,” she said.
Right now, there was nothing she feared more than Yan Huan’s calls. What if she finds out? Her heart could never be at ease before the timed bomb in their house is defused.
But how? She was in a wheelchair only because she tried to save Lu Yi. If they chased her out, she might return as a cripple and hound them for the rest of their lives.
She had tried talking to her, but the woman always found excuses not to leave.
All she could hope for was a speedy recovery for the woman. She can have whatever she wanted, so long as she disappeared from their disaster-prone family. They didn’t need an extra woman in the house.
“Go on,” said Madam Lei. “Keep her on her adventure, until that woman decides to leave. With Huanhuan’s temper, Lu Yi would never be able to clear his name if the two women bumped into each other.”
Lu Yi’s revival should have been a miracle, a surprise. Yet the turn of events had made it a disaster. If that was the case, it would have been better that it had never happened at all.
Ye Shuyun nodded. What other options did she have?
She answered the call with affected cheer. In truth, she wanted to cry.
“Hello, Huanhuan. Is something the matter?”
Yan Huan’s fingers tightened so much that they began to hurt.
“Who’s the one staying in my room, Mom?”
“What?” said Ye Shuyun, stunned. What room? What who?
“What happened at home, Mom? Who’s the one staying in my room?” repeated Yan Huan, trying her best to contain her emotions. But it was hard, considering how anxious she was. Even her palms were clammy from cold sweat.
“Someone touched my wardrobe. My laptop, too. Someone had stolen it.”
Ye Shuyun felt her chest tighten. She held her breath.
“Could you be… at home, Huanhuan?” she ventured at last.
“Yes. I just came home,” said Yan Huan, sitting down on the sofa. That didn’t make her any less nervous. She wanted her laptop. She wanted to wrap her arms around it. What should she do if the laptop is lost? How will she spend the next ten years without it? This would ruin all her plans.