19 Chapter 19

"I heard you slapped Daiyu's hands?" Wang Jing asked.

Qian Ru's eyes widened.

"Master Wang, t-that's –

"Tang Yun." Wang Jing turned his back. He had enough talk with this maid.

"Send them a gift for me. Since she likes jewelry so much, I'll be gracious enough to give them to her… Along with the hands she used to help her in her schemes."

Butler Tang's eyes widened.

"… Right away, Master Wang." Butler Tang bowed before facing Qian Ru.

"Follow me."

Qian Ru obediently followed the man. She knew that this was the end of her stay at the mansion. She sighed. However, when she noticed that they were leaving through the back entrance, she furrowed her brows in question.

"Butler Tang? I haven't packed my bags yet."

"… You don't need to." Butler Tang slowly faced her.

Behind him where three men. Two of them came forward and grabbed her arms. Shocked, she started struggling.

"W-what's going on?!"

"Here." Butler Tang handed the third man a check. The man nodded.

"Any special instructions?"

"Send her hands back."

"… Just her hands?" The man raised a brow in question.

"Yes. We will be sending them to someone… as a gift."

The man shuddered. What was this man thinking? He looked so prim and proper but his thoughts were too dark…

'My hands? You mean…' Qian Ru's eyes widened when she realized what was going on.

"N-no! What are you going to do to me? Th-this is illegal!"

"Finish the job quickly." Butler Tang instructed before walking away, ignoring the maid's screams and pleas.

"You heard him." The third man signaled the other two to move faster. They shoved her inside a white van and it speedily drove off.

---

On the brighter side of the mansion, Daiyu laid on the living room floor, drawing. She wanted to talk more with her new big brother but she couldn't understand their conversation. Nevertheless, she was content with being in the same room as them.

"So? What took you so long?" Liu Jin asked as he brought a tea cup to his lips.

"I forgot! I totally forgot that I only transferred to your academy on my second year of primary school!" Zhihao pulled his hair in exasperation.

"So you'll be joining me at the academy next school year?"

"Yeah." He sighed.

"That's fine. There's only a few months left anyway."

"Oh! By the way, I have important news."

"Mmm?" Liu Jin took a sip from his cup.

Zhihao turned his head towards Daiyu. When he saw that she was not paying attention, he whispered.

"The evil witch has reincarnated too."

"Evil witch?" Daiyu's ears perked up and she quickly turned her head towards Zhihao.

Liu Jin sighed.

"Continue drawing, Daiyu."

"Where's the evil witch, Zhihao-gege?" Daiyu stood up and dusted off her dress. She trotted towards the two boys and sat down in between them.

"She knows who I'm talking about?" Zhihao raised a brow.

"Yeah. I called Xiulan a witch and it just stuck with her."

"She knows her name now too?"

"A maid accidentally blurted out her name a while ago. So? You were saying?"

"Uh… you sure you want her to hear this?"

"It's alright. She won't understand anyway." Liu Jin gently patted Daiyu's head and she smiled back at him innocently.

"Okay then. So I was saying. Xia Xiulan reincarnated too."

Zhihao then recounted to Liu Jin what happened after the couple left the tavern.

"… That explains the difference in events."

"What do you mean?" Zhihao asked.

"Earlier, some missing jewelry were found underneath Daiyu's bed. The maids had all believed that Daiyu stole them. But I doubt this little dumpling is smart enough to do that." He looked at the child in front of him who continued staring at him with big innocent eyes.

"Xiulan must have set her up in advance." He continued.

"You mean, she stole the jewelry in advance and hid them underneath her bed?"

Liu Jin nodded.

"Daiyu's room right now continued to be her room in the future. At least, from what I remember. Xiulan must have guessed that she'd use the same room. So before she got kicked out of the mansion, she hid the jewelry there in advance."

'She must have tipped off that maid who kept defending her as well…'

"That sounds troublesome. If she could do that, then the possibility of her setting up other traps seems very likely." Zhihao concluded.

Liu Jin nodded. Zhihao was right. But at least now that he knew this crucial piece of information, he could reevaluate his plans and be more careful.

"Does she know?"

"Huh?"

"Does Xia Xiulan know that Daiyu and I reincarnated too?"

"No. I stopped her from going to the train station right away to avoid meeting you guys."

Liu Jin nodded. Luckily, Zhihao was there.

"Thanks."

"No prob. So? What next?" Zhihao asked.

"Not much. She won't be able to afford staying at the academy any longer. She'll be forced to drop out soon. When Daiyu enters next year, she'll be gone by then. So we won't have to worry about her until Daiyu reaches fifteen."

"Unless…"

"She decides to show up earlier." Liu Jin finished for him. Both boys looked each other in the eye, understanding that they still had to be careful.