After Tricking Liangliang, Trick Xinxin

After some thought, Xia Yu felt that the most important thing now was to find out how the Buddha statue necklace came into being and what had happened during the two days he was away that led Yuxue to embark on the path of no return.

Since they were siblings, there was no need for any preamble. He asked directly, "Where did you get that necklace?"

"It was given to me by Sister Weiwei, who got it from Qianfoshan!" Yuxue said happily.

So it was Yan Wei.

Remembering this grievance, Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the girl hadn't obtained it herself.

He said, "Can you give it to me? I feel a bit strange lately."

Upon hearing Xia Yu's words, Yuxue became nervous: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"It's just a little uneasy. Having a Buddha statue might be a bit better," Xia Yu vaguely replied.

Without any hesitation, Yuxue took off the necklace and put it around Xia Yu's neck, reminding him to be careful.

Holding the Buddha statue, Xia Yu took a sip of Sprite and thought that people were gullible.

After a while, Yuxue cleaned up the suitcases and put them away, but she felt something was wrong.

She thought about where this unease might come from.

That's right, although her brother did not reject gods and Buddhas, he had never believed in them. Why did he suddenly want a Buddha statue today?

Touching her chest where the Buddha statue lay, a light flashed through Yuxue's mind.

Could it be because

- it was given by Sister Weiwei?

Did her brother still have thoughts about Weiwei?

Frowning, Yuxue considered whether to pretend she didn't know or to secretly remind Yan Wei, but Yan Wei seemed to want to get close to her brother as well. Even if she reminded her, it would be of no use.

It turned out that the one-to-one relationships depicted in fairy tales were all lies. The real adult world was so messy.

Feeling like she had grasped the true essence of society, Yuxue sighed at the ugliness of this world and decided to pretend she knew nothing.

After she finished tidying up, Xia Yu entered the room. He pet the black cat and then lay down on the bed.

He took out his phone and told An Siyao that he had returned.

An Siyao wanted to come over, but it was already late, and she was stopped by Yu Ningmeng, so they agreed to meet tomorrow.

Xia Yu comforted An Siyao. In fact, even if the young girl came over, he wouldn't have time. Tonight, he promised to go to Tina's to check on her unreliable foster father, who was planning to hand her over to some relative.

There was still more than an hour before the agreed six o'clock. Xia Yu initiated a video call and chatted with An Siyao.

Behind An Siyao, Hu Lianglu also entered the camera frame.

Looking at Xia Yu on the screen, Hu Lianglu hugged An Siyao and showed a provocative smile.

The expression on her face read: I can hug your wife now, can you?

Unexpectedly, this vicious dog would ridicule him. Xia Yu's mood suddenly soured.

He immediately counterattacked.

"You don't have to bring Hu Lianglu with you tomorrow. She's missed so many days of school; she should go back," Xia Yu said sternly to An Siyao.

Hu Lianglu immediately objected, but An Siyao, who always listened to Xia Yu, looked apologetically at Hu Lianglu.

Hu Lianglu slumped to the side, reflecting on why she antagonized Xia Yu.

After successfully retaliating, Xia Yu's mood became pleasant. He talked with An Siyao for a bit, and then hung up the phone.

He checked his penguin messages, and Zhong Yunxin sent him another message, still talking about the disappearance of Hu Lianglu.

"Tomorrow she will be attending class," Xia Yu told Zhong Yunxin.

"How do you know?" Zhong Yunxin replied quickly.

"I know her parents," Xia Yu was referring to An Siyao.

But Zhong Yunxin thought it was her real parents, and after confirming the credibility of the information, she excitedly sent several lines of text.

Ending the conversation with Zhong Yunxin, Xia Yu rubbed his chin and thought:

What would Zhong Yunxin's reaction be if she saw her good friend Hu Lianglu, already tamed by An Siyao?

This would require the three of them, Zhong Yunxin, An Siyao, and Hu Lianglu, to meet together, which was a bit difficult since Zhong Yunxin's activity area was mainly around the school where she couldn't meet An Siyao.

By the way, it was almost time to let Hu Lianglu see Zhong Yunxin.

If Xia Yu was willing, he could let An Siyao and Hu Lianglu know now, but he didn't want to inform Zhong Yunxin of Hu Lianglu's situation too early, holding some expectations.

They would wait until Tina's matter was dealt with.

After having dinner, Xia Yu went to Tina's place.

The girl was with her foster father, walking towards the downstairs.

They stood by the road behind them for five minutes and finally waited for a taxi.

Although the foster father had a driver's license, it was for the second district, so he couldn't drive in the first district.

The journey to their destination, a relative's home, was not far – the taxi arrived in just fifteen minutes.

It was an urban village on the edge.

The foster father led Xia Yu to the door of a self-built small western-style building.

The small western-style building had two floors and followed the ordinary style of a rural western-style house.

After the foster father knocked on the door, a woman opened it – a middle-aged woman with wet hands, who seemed to be working just moments ago.

The woman was astonished to see the two foreigners outside.

The foster father spoke first, in English: "Hello, I am Steve Joe, is there someone named Joe Lian living here?"

It seemed the foster father had no connection with this relative, and this visit was only based on the information they had; they couldn't even give advance notice.

Xia Yu translated for the foster father and repeated it in Chinese.

"That's my grandmother, who are you...?" The middle-aged woman looked at Xia Yu and Mr. Qiao with doubt.

Thinking of the foster father's name, Xia Yu couldn't help looking at him.

He really wanted to ask the foster father if he had a nickname called Qiao Qiao.

Seeing that they had found the right place, Foster Father Qiao smiled happily: "By generation, I am her nephew."

After translating, Xia Yu noticed that the middle-aged woman's expression was somewhat surprised; it seemed she didn't know her grandmother had such a nephew.

"Please come in," the middle-aged woman let Xia Yu and Mr. Qiao in first.

"This is a gift, just a small token," Mr. Qiao said stiffly in the Chinese he had just learned recently.

Receiving the gift, the middle-aged woman glanced at it and froze.

It was two boxes of wine, brought by Mr. Qiao from the Second District.

Xia Yu knew what the middle-aged woman was surprised about because it was a famous good wine.

Although in Xia Yu's view, Qiao's adoptive father didn't have much money, but as the director of the Second District Town Hospital, he was actually considered a winner in life, with some assets.

After thanking Qiao's adoptive father, the middle-aged woman shouted twice towards the upstairs, calling for the people above to come down, and then she called for her grandmother in the backyard.

In a short while, an elderly woman with gray hair and leaning on a crutch appeared in front of Xia Yu.

This was Qiao's adoptive father's aunt.

From this aunt, Xia Yu could not feel any kindness or malice; his gaze turned back to the middle-aged woman.

Because what he felt from the middle-aged woman was malice.