Chapter 49: Childhood Sweethearts

“Dad didn’t take his phone! Dad’s phone is actually in their bedroom closet!” Xiao Dao frowned deeply.

I suddenly recalled that I had transferred five thousand yuan to my father some time ago, but he hadn’t accepted it.

Could it be that he had already disappeared back then? Did my stepmother receive the money?

“The day before yesterday, I asked Mom again what exactly was going on. In the end, she got angry and said that our dad ran away with another woman. Then she kept crying, scolding Dad for being heartless and always unable to forget that woman…”

My lips twitched. “So what’s the truth? Did he actually run away with another woman?”

Could that old man have found my biological mother’s whereabouts and abandoned his wife to look for his previous true love?

Xiao Dao shook his head. “Is Dad that kind of person? Don’t look at the fact that he had money when he was young, running a steel factory, but he never fooled around. He always went to and from work on time, didn’t touch alcohol or cigarettes, and was practically the perfect husband.”

“Later, when times got tough and he went out to work, no one ever spread rumors about him. If he really had something going on, the village would have already been gossiping about it.”

Looking at Xiao Dao’s innocent face, I really didn’t want to shatter the image of his father in his heart.

I could only sigh and say earnestly, “Xiao Dao, sometimes what you see with your eyes isn’t necessarily true.”

“Sis, do you also suspect Dad ran away with another woman?” Xiao Dao frowned and assured me, “Dad is really not that kind of person! We installed security cameras in the yard. I looked at the cloud recordings from a month ago and saw Dad and Mom getting into a car with two men in black. Later, only Mom came back!”

Men in black? Could it be those guys with tattoos on their arms?

“I asked Mom who those people were and whether Dad was kidnapped, but she wouldn’t say anything. In the end, I got so angry that I threatened her that if she didn’t tell me, I would call the police.”

“As soon as Mom heard this, she got anxious and scared and locked me up at home for several days.”

“Today, I lied and said I was going to play basketball with my high school classmates. She only let me out when she saw me dressed like this.”

I found it amusing. “So you came to find me? I thought you really missed me. It turns out it’s for Le Zhandong.”

Xiao Dao moved closer to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and said with a naive smile, “Sis, I really do miss you, but I’m also really worried about Dad. With Mom’s crying,闹(nào-making a scene), and threatening to hang herself, I really can’t get to the truth of the matter. I can’t actually send her to the police station. You’re the only one who can give me advice now.”

“I know that Mom and Dad sending you to Great-Grandma’s place these past few years was really unfair to you, so you don’t have to worry about finding Dad. As long as you come home with me once and ask Mom about what happened in person, she’ll definitely tell you everything.”

“Those two men in black looked like gangsters. I’m worried something bad happened to Dad…”

I took his hand down, raised my eyebrows, and cut him off. “How do you know she’ll definitely tell me everything if I go back?”

“She’s afraid of you!” Xiao Dao raised three fingers and swore to the heavens, solemnly saying, “I, Le Xiao Dao, don’t believe in that crap old Taoist saying about having a hard命(mìng-fate)!”

He changed the subject and nudged my arm. “But Mom believes it… You go back and scare her a little.”

I rubbed my forehead and glared at him. “What do you take me for? A tigress? Do you have the security camera footage saved on your phone?”

“No,” Xiao Dao shook his head.

“Fine, I’ll go home with you tomorrow,” I jumped down from the bar stool and patted him on the shoulder.

After tidying up a spare bedroom and finding him two of Wen Ye’s clothes, I went into my small room.

Seeing Wen Ye meditating on the bay window, I coughed lightly. “Why don’t you sleep in the master bedroom tonight? It wouldn’t be good for Xiao Dao to see us sleeping together.”

“What’s not good about it?” He said in a deep voice with his eyes closed.

“It would cause unnecessary misunderstandings if he saw it…” I muttered softly, “Actually, I could move over to sleep, but you’re the owner of this house. There’s no way a nanny would sleep in the master bedroom while the head of the house sleeps in the small spare room.”

After a moment of silence, Wen Ye slowly uttered two words: “Not going.”

I knew he would say that.

“Then I’ll go sleep in the other spare bedroom,” I pouted and started gathering my pillow and blanket.

Before I could roll up the blanket, Wen Ye appeared behind me like a ghost. I was already used to his teleportation and wasn’t as surprised as before.

He snatched the blanket from my hand, threw it on the bed, and crossed his arms, saying without any room for argument, “You’re not allowed to go over there.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and held up a finger. “Just for one night. After Xiao Dao leaves, I’ll move back…”

“There’s a little ghost in that room,” Wen Ye interrupted me.

I was stunned. “Huh? What did you say?”

“There’s a little ghost in that room,” he repeated, looking at me seriously. “You wanted to open your yin-yang eyes, right? I arranged for the little ghost that used to cultivate with me to stay in that room. He’s been getting familiar with your aura these past few days. If you go over there now, you’ll scare him away.”

The veins on my forehead throbbed wildly as I suppressed my anger. “You’re actually keeping a ghost at home? Why didn’t you discuss it with me? What if it backfires on us? Did it cause me to have sleep paralysis the other day when I went to sleep in the master bedroom?!”

“No, he only came in the afternoon on the day we bought the car,” Wen Ye said without any guilt. “He’s been my partner these past few years, cultivating immortality and seeking enlightenment with me. He’s about to become a ghost immortal. He won’t backfire on you.”

I was directly amused by his words and nodded helplessly. “Okay, great. Even ghosts can cultivate immortality… Wen Ye, you’re really something! I’ve really boarded your pirate ship!”

Just thinking about how I’ve been living with a little ghost these past few days made my scalp tingle!

“The other day when I had sleep paralysis and heard laughter, which ghost did that!” I asked him with my hands on my hips.

“Which day?”

“The night we came back from my great-grandmother’s house, when you locked me out and wouldn’t open the door no matter how many times I knocked, so I had to go sleep in the master bedroom!” I deliberately brought up old grievances, listing his crimes.

Wen Ye lowered his head slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, and said softly, “I did it.”

I instantly exploded with anger, stood on tiptoe, grabbed his ear, and roared, “Wen Ye! Why are you so wicked! You actually bullied me while I was sleeping! Did you also stuff the towel in my mouth?”

He grabbed my wrist, preventing me from using force, and smirked wickedly, not feeling like he had done anything wrong at all. “You made me unhappy, so I gave you a small punishment.”

A small punishment… Okay, great!

I laughed out of anger, released his ear, crossed my arms, and confronted him. “You still say you weren’t jealous of Gong Fan! Why were you so mean to Xiao Dao tonight? Was it because he hugged me?”

Come on, admit it. Admit that you have a tiny bit of affection for me.

Wen Ye was slightly stunned, then sneered. “Le Xiaomai, do you want people to be jealous of you so badly? Or are you saying you want to have something happen with a beast?”

His words caused my heart to fall from the clouds to the bottom of a deep pool.

“You! You!” My face quickly turned red, and I pointed at his nose, unable to speak from anger.

Finally unable to contain my anger, I grabbed his arm and bit it.

I wished I could bite off a piece of his flesh to taste whether his blood was impossible for me to warm or if he was just cold-hearted by nature.

However, seeing that he didn’t dodge and let me bite him, my heart softened, and I let go of his arm, wiped my mouth, and sneered resentfully. “With those words from you, I can rest assured that you won’t have any ulterior motives towards me. Le Xiaomai can boldly look for a boyfriend.”

“Oh, right, Gong Fan asked me out to dinner this weekend. I think I can try dating him.”

“After all, we’re childhood sweethearts, don’t you think?”

“Do whatever you want, it’s up to you.” Wen Ye turned his head away, his profile arrogant and indifferent, and walked past me to the bay window to continue meditating.