Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Xi Wenlun's spirits instantly lifted. He left the mother and son behind without hesitation and rushed straight toward the source of the sound.

As soon as he moved, Xi Jinggen, ignoring the throbbing pain in his windpipe from the choking, burst forward recklessly.

Yet Xi Wenlun was faster. He found the room where Fu Xie was being held in no time.

The alarm kept blaring nonstop, but before Xi Wenlun's hand could even touch the door, his hand froze mid-reach.

The door was slightly ajar.

Xi Wenlun frowned deeply, a terrible suspicion forming in his mind.

Xi Jinggen, who had caught up from behind, seemed unable to stop in time from running too fast and nearly collided with him.

Xi Wenlun sidestepped swiftly, and Xi Jinggen, barreling forward like a bull, crashed headfirst into the door, stumbling inside and landing in a tangled mess.

Xi Wenlun: "..."

He swept his gaze across the room.

Exactly as he'd feared—the room was empty.

Shreds of broken rope littered the floor, the bed showed signs of recent occupation, and the choker lay abandoned in a corner, still pinging forlornly.

Xi Jinggen staggered to his feet, groaning, "Damn, that hurt." Blinking in confusion, he exclaimed, "Huh? Wait, where'd he go?"

Xi Wenlun's expression darkened further, his voice like ice. "That's what I should be asking you."

He'd been livid enough about this moron kidnapping Fu Xie, and now the man had vanished!

Xi Jinggen had heard this tone many times before—each instance preceded his own misfortune.

A cold dread crept up his spine, and he shuddered reflexively.

"N-no, I didn’t lose him! He should still be in the mansion, he should..."

His voice grew weaker, trailing off into nothing.

"Find him!" Xi Wenlun couldn't stomach listening to his excuses and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Fu Xie, who had hidden himself in another room, had no clue about the uproar he'd caused. He was casually admiring the decor.

The room bathed in warm hues, with lush flowers outside the window and a collection of luxury cosmetics on the vanity—telltale signs of a woman's touch.

"Pretty gaudy for my taste. You'd think billionaires would go for something more subtle," Fu Xie muttered to himself as he wandered around.

His eyes landed on the pile of trendy branded plush toys stacked beside a grand piano.

Since this was someone else’s space, Fu Xie had no intention of disturbing anything.

But with so many plush toys crowding the piano, wasn't that in the way?

He tried to figure out why the room’s owner would arrange things this way but gave up after a few minutes.

Maybe the piano was just for decoration.

Fu Xie shrugged, was about to find a good hiding spot.

This pile of toys looked promising—big enough to hide a person.

He prodded the plushies, trying to find a gap to squeeze into.

But he soon realized they were too tightly packed to move without force.

Fu Xie grabbed a bear’s leg and yanked hard. To his surprise, the plushies were tangled together, even tied with thin strings. When the bear shifted, a whole wave of pandas, bunnies, and dogs came tumbling after.

The entire pile collapsed in an instant, burying Fu Xie under an avalanche of plushies.

The soft toys didn’t hurt much when they hit him, but their weight pressed down on him.

“Ah! That hurts!”

Out of nowhere, something hard smacked his head, leaving a throbbing lump.

Wriggling out from under the plushie pile, he looked around to see what had hit him.

A finely carved wooden box had split in half, its contents spilled onto the floor.

Fu Xie’s stomach dropped—how the hell was he going to explain this to the room’s owner?

He scrambled to dig himself out, intending to reassemble the box.

His vision had been blocked earlier, but now he saw it clearly—inside the box was a dagger, its blade crusted with old blood!

His gut screamed that he’d found something he wasn’t supposed to see.

Staring at the gleaming weapon in horror, Fu Xie jumped back, only to trip over a toy and crash into a nearby side table, knocking it over.

Right on schedule, the teapot on the table toppled, sending lukewarm tea splashing across the carpet, soaking the wooden box, the dagger, and even some of the plush toys.

Fu Xie: “…”

Great. Just great. Could this get any worse?

Meanwhile.

Xi Wenlun sat stiffly on the center couch, while Zhuo Huilian and Xi Jinggen didn’t dare join him, hovering awkwardly nearby like kids in timeout.

After some time, a servant shuffled forward nervously. “Young Master, we’ve turned the place upside down, but Mr. Fu’s nowhere to be found.”

Xi Jinggen couldn’t resist a snide remark. “What if he snuck out, got nabbed by another family, and now they’re pinning it on us—”

“Enough!” Zhuo Huilian yanked her son closer.

Xi Jinggen opened his mouth to retort, but one sharp look from Xi Wenlun shut him up fast.

“The surveillance footage—has it been checked?” Xi Wenlun asked without looking up.

“That… might take a while.”

Without lifting his eyelids, Xi Wenlun ordered, “Search the master bedroom first.”

The idea of his private space being invaded made Xi Jinggen protest.

“No freaking way!” Xi Jinggen squawked.

Here’s the improved translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

His protest was in vain. Xi Wenlun took one look at him and stood up abruptly.

Zhuo Huilian hurried forward to stop him. "Of course, Wenlun. Which room would you like to start with?"

"After all, we didn’t hide Mr. Fu in any of the rooms, so a search won’t bother us. Isn’t that right, Jinggen?"

As she spoke, she shot Xi Jinggen a meaningful glance. As her son, he immediately understood the unspoken implication and mouthed a reply to her.

Zhuo Huilian nodded. "Wenlun, perhaps it’s been too long since you’ve been home, and you’re not familiar with the layout anymore. My room happens to be upstairs—we’ll take you there."

Xi Wenlun watched with amusement as Zhuo Huilian and her son put on their little show in front of him.

"Let’s go."

It didn’t take long before they arrived at Zhuo Huilian’s room.

With a smile, she swung the door open for Xi Wenlun and the others.

Before Xi Wenlun could even get a good look at the room, his eyes widened slightly in shock at the sight before him.

Familiar pale pink hair was visible among the stuffed animals. In his hands was a bloodstained dagger, its blade glinting coldly, while the carpet was soaked in some kind of red liquid.

It looked like the scene of a gruesome crime.

"See? There’s nothing here—ah!" Zhuo Huilian let out a sudden shriek.

But Xi Wenlun moved faster than her voice. He rushed forward, kicking toys out of the way with his long legs, and yanked him into a hug.

Fu Xie looked startled by the sudden crowd, his hands trembling so much that the dagger fell from his shaky hands and into the wooden box perched on his thighs. After settling it inside, the box clicked shut the moment he drew his legs back.

Xi Wenlun was momentarily stunned by his quick, practiced motions, his outstretched hand hovering uselessly as he had intended to snatch the dagger away.

Suddenly surrounded by so many people, Fu Xie felt utterly at a loss.

Fortunately, Xi Wenlun was here—he still had someone to hide behind.

So he tugged Xi Wenlun’s arm down, making him wrap both arms around him.

"You came!" Fu Xie breathed to Xi Wenlun, his voice rising playfully.

Just moments ago, he had been worrying about how to get away and avoid suffering at the hands of those two. Who knew his savior would arrive so quickly to rescue him?

Xi Wenlun asked urgently, "What were you doing here? How’s your wound? Did you stop the bleeding?"

"Huh? Oh, that’s not blood," Fu Xie explained. "I accidentally knocked something over, and the spilled tea soaked the carpet."

"There was also a box that I think I dropped open. I was trying to pick it up and put it back." He pulled his hands out from his sleeves. "See? I didn’t touch the knife, and I’m not hurt. I used my sleeves like gloves to handle it—good thing I was wearing long sleeves."

Seeing his carefree smile, like a cat caught misbehaving, Xi Wenlun couldn’t help but pinch the tip of his nose, equal parts annoyed and amused.

"Where’s the dagger now?"

Fu Xie pointed at the wooden box on his lap. "It’s in here. Is this…?"

Zhuo Huilian, in her stilettos, marched over to interrupt their conversation.

"Oh dear, is Mr. Fu hurt? That’s my personal item—here, hand it over." As she spoke, she reached out to snatch the wooden box from Fu Xie’s arms. Just before Zhuo Huilian’s fingers could touch the box, Xi Wenlun swiftly grabbed it and yanked it away.

Her face contorted briefly before snapping back into her usual smile.

Xi Wenlun swiftly scanned the room and sneered, "No matter how hard you try to copy her, you’re not fit to lick her boots."

Zhuo Huilian tensed briefly, then curved her lips in a helpless manner as if dealing with a child’s tantrum. "Wenlun, what are you talking about? Is your old illness flaring up again? You always spout crazy talk during your episodes."

"After all these years, you still haven’t improved." Xi Wenlun scoffed.

"Or perhaps you’ve been coddled too long in the bubble I made for you?"

Mid-sentence, Xi Wenlun tossed the wooden box into the air with one hand and caught it, making Zhuo Huilian’s heart leap with every toss.

Suddenly, Xi Wenlun laughed—a hearty, unrestrained laugh. "I originally wanted to watch you sweat it out a bit longer, but since you’ve personally delivered this to me, I won’t stand on ceremony."

Zhuo Huilian seemed to suffer a severe mental shock at this moment. She could no longer maintain her usual gentle, elegant noblewoman demeanor and instead screamed like a fishwife, "Impossible! How could you remember? Why would you remember?!"

"Mom! Have you lost it?" Xi Jinggen had never seen his mother falling apart like this before. Even when she was angry with him, she always kept up her high-society act—as if it were the backbone holding her up.

Xi Wenlun ignored the woman suddenly screaming her head off, pulling Fu Xie up from the floor and brushing the dust off him.

"Let’s go. We’re leaving first."

"No! You can’t leave! Give it back!" Zhuo Huilian stared at the wooden box with ravenous fixation and made a desperate grab.

She threw all her strength into snatching it but was intercepted midway by a tall figure.

It was Steward Zheng.

Regarding the struggles of their generation, as the spokesperson for Patriarch Xi, Steward Zheng typically didn’t interfere excessively.

Fighting over inheritance? That was every man for himself.

But if Steward Zheng got involved, it meant the old patriarch already knew the truth of what happened back then.

Zhuo Huilian couldn’t believe this reality. If the truth came to light, all her efforts over the decades would be in vain!

Xi Wenlun, on the other hand, seemed to be in a rather good mood, even taking the time to explain with a mocking tone, "Did you really think such cheap tricks could fool anyone?"

"You’ve been an adult for so long. The sins you committed—now that it’s time to face the consequences, you can’t accept it? Pathetic."

Fu Xie listened to their exchange with complete bafflement.

What the hell were they going on about? He genuinely couldn’t understand a single word.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one lost—Xi Jinggen beside him looked just as lost.

How could even the key figures in this wealthy family’s secrets not know what had happened to them?

Fu Xie felt a little better, though placing himself alongside this fool still felt kinda weird.

But he soon lost the mood to dwell on it further.

After leaving the Xi family’s ancestral home, he could sense the icy vibe radiating from the CEO seated beside him.

Normally, aside from the initial coldness, Xi Wenlun had been downright sweet toward Fu Xie in the following days.

Seeing Xi Wenlun like this, Fu Xie couldn’t help but get nervous too.

Looking back on the entire incident, even though Xi Wenlun seemed to have the upper hand in the end, it had all started because Fu Xie hadn’t been paying attention.

Moreover, he didn't have the full picture of the matter, and it wasn't impossible that he had touched someone's raw nerve.

Fu Xie was lost in thought, his fingers and feet fidgeting unconsciously.

Xi Wenlun, with his keen hearing, noticed Fu Xie's unease and let out a soft sigh.

"This is a long and complicated story. Are you willing to listen to me?"

Fu Xie, who had just looked away pretending to watch the scenery, quickly turned back. "I do!"