Chapter 354: Whistleblowing – The Daily Life of the Sickly Aunt in the Courtyard

Chapter 354: Snitching – The Sickly Young Woman’s Compound Gossip Chronicles

Truthfully, Su Dazhuang hadn't risen early merely to loiter around—he and his family simply wished to warn the Cen household, suspecting they might be in danger.

After Su Shengnan left, Su Dazhuang had been waiting for the perfect moment. Finally seizing an opportunity when no one was paying much attention, he quietly slipped into the Cens’ kitchen.

Lin Qing was poking at her breakfast, attempting to prolong the meal as long as possible. She genuinely did not want to drink that bitter herbal medicine too soon.

Everyone else in the family—her father, mother, and Cen Xi—had already figured out her delaying tactic but chose not to expose it, going along with her act instead.

When Su Dazhuang rushed through the door, he startled the entire family.

"What on earth are you doing here, kid?" Lin's father whispered anxiously, half annoyed and half concerned.

"I..." Su Dazhuang scratched his head awkwardly. He had noticed the shocked reactions from the Cens just now—he had definitely acted too hastily.

"I didn’t mean any harm. I came because I have something important to tell Master Cen."

Cen Xi and Lin Qing exchanged glances, immediately understanding each other. They silently agreed that this unexpected visit must relate somehow to Su Shengnan's earlier move.

"Brother Nan is here for you. Please speak with him," Lin Qing murmured softly, hoping that by having Cen Xi take Su Dazhuang aside, her parents wouldn’t grow worried.

Cen Xi, being her husband, clearly understood her intentions—even without a full explanation.

"All right," he said, gesturing for Su Dazhuang to follow him toward the back room where Lin’s parents slept.

Behind his thin-framed glasses, Cen Xi’s eyes gleamed with calculation. "Speak. What did you come to tell me?"

"Hem!" Su Dazhuang cleared his throat. "That woman, Su Shengnan—she’s acting suspiciously. Yesterday she kept approaching me, trying to get me to steal some documents from your study."

Cen Xi was genuinely surprised. Earlier, they had speculated about what would happen if Su Dazhuang actually tried stealing for money—but today brought an unexpected twist.

This boy hadn’t even attempted the theft. Instead, he had turned around and reported her immediately.

"Is that true?" Cen Xi asked coldly, his tone sharp enough to unsettle anyone.

Su Dazhuang dared not lie. "Y-yes."

"Did she say anything else? Like what to do after obtaining the documents?"

That part intrigued Cen Xi the most—it involved their unique drop-off method.

"Oh yes! She told me to bring the items to a certain house. But I know that place is abandoned—even boarded up."

"How can you be sure it's empty?"

He chuckled nervously. "Well... I happened to wander inside a couple of times before. It was completely deserted, no one living there. Later, I heard people claim it was supposedly haunted."

Cen Xi nodded slowly. A thought struck him—could the rumors of ghosts have been deliberately spread by spies or agents? Perhaps it was a tactic to keep others away and secure an unoccupied house.

After all, nowadays housing was so scarce that people were practically fighting over it. Why would a house sit vacant unless there was some hidden reason?

The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. He decided later to inform the team so they could remain vigilant.

Once they finished discussing the location of the abandoned house, Cen Xi stood up. "Understood. Anything else?"

"Nope," Su Dazhuang replied, shifting uncomfortably. "That's everything."

He remained standing there briefly, waiting to be dismissed.

"Okay, go on back now!"

Su Dazhuang nodded and was about to leave, but after taking just two steps, he stopped again. "Um... I said all that stuff. What about a reward?" His eyes lit up eagerly.

It suddenly clicked for Cen Xi—so *that's* why this kid had come running over with all this information?

"Who told you there'd be a reward?"

"No reward? But my grandma promised me one!" Su Dazhuang pouted, his expression already turning teary.

Cen Xi caught the sudden shift in his face and immediately understood. A twitch tugged at his lips. "You’ll get your reward, don’t worry."

The boy’s would-be frown instantly flipped into a grin. "Heh, sweet!"

When Lin Qing saw Su Dazhuang disappear in a flash after stepping out of their room, she couldn't help thinking—the title "Thief Saint" might actually be legit!

"Done asking questions?"

Cen Xi nodded. "Got some info. Don’t sweat it, this isn’t your problem. Just relax and focus on your performance."

"Okay!" If Cen Xi said not to worry, then she really didn’t need to. Judging by his calmness, everything must already be under control.

Thanks to the unexpected addition of Su Dazhuang, plans got reshuffled accordingly.

—

Lin Qing weaved her way through the thick crowd toward her department’s waiting area.

"Holy crap, backstage is jam-packed!" she gasped, patting her chest.

"Pfft, this is nothing. You should’ve seen it during rehearsal this morning—it was worse!"

"If *this* is ‘nothing,’ how packed was it earlier? Like a total sardine can?"

"Nah, not that extreme. Just… turning around meant bumping into someone."

"Uh…" Wasn’t that basically the same thing?

"You guys aren’t freaking out? There are so many people out there!" Lin Qing suddenly felt like backing out.

"Why would we be nervous? We're a whole group together!"

"Then maybe I shouldn’t go? I can’t sing anyway. I’ll just watch from the audience." The more she talked, the more she talked herself into it.

"No can do!"

"You’re stuck with me," Wang Jiaojiao quickly hooked arms with Lin Qing, stopping her escape.

"Exactly, how could we pull this off without our not-so-secret weapon?" After all, Lin Qing was their department’s ace in the hole.

Who gave a damn if she could sing? As long as she looked good, that was enough.

Just standing there, Lin Qing alone would make their team pop for the bigwigs.

They weren’t wrong. Her presence alone had the crowd hyped about the performance.

Lin’s parents had come early from home to watch the show. When their daughter’s turn came, they were beyond excited.

Even though they knew she couldn’t sing to save her life, it didn’t make a lick of difference. Just getting on that stage was honor enough.