Ke Muning pushed the door open with too much force, causing it to slam against the wall and bounce back, making quite a commotion.
The noise attracted Li Xiaoya, who was building with blocks on the sofa. She turned her head to look.
It was still that delicate but expressionless face, with a touch of childish innocence.
She even tilted her head slightly, her eyes revealing confusion and curiosity.
The raging anger in Ke Muning's chest surged like a violent wave, but subsided just as quickly.
Ke Muning calmed down.
Thinking back to her behavior on the island—
From the first encounter, when he took out the photo and handed it to Secretary Wang, she already knew he was her enemy!
But she didn't show it at all.
What was she doing at that time?
Drinking milk with her head down?
No wonder Wei Er and the others started to monitor him instead!
It turns out they discovered he had "captured" their precious one.
What was she thinking then?
Wasn't she afraid at all?
She even dared to follow him to Atari Island.
Did she never once consider that he might kill her there and sink her body in the sea?
Back to the present.
Did she know she was already in the enemy's lair?
Her constant talk about wanting to be crazy paled in comparison to her actual actions.
Ke Muning tried to recall his own childhood... He couldn't remember much, but it seemed he was probably not as crazy as her.
Should he expose her now? Intimidate her? Watch her cry in fear?
No.
That would be too boring.
The raging flames in Ke Muning's chest had been completely suppressed.
He walked slowly to Li Xiaoya and crouched down, saying, "Call your family."
"Hm?" Li Xiaoya let out a soft, questioning sound.
Like animal cubs, human children seem to have been specially endowed with adorable qualities by heaven to improve their survival rate.
Even though she had just deceived him.
But with a bit of sunlight mixed with the sunset falling on her face, she still looked so cute.
Ke Muning said in a somewhat harsh tone, "You're staying here tonight, aren't you? Of course you need to let them know."
The translator faithfully relayed this to Li Xiaoya.
Li Xiaoya made an "um" sound and said, "I'll call later."
Ke Muning insisted, "Call now. Maybe they won't believe you? Maybe they'll worry about your safety? It's okay, I can help you take the call and tell them how safe you are."
As he spoke, he paid close attention to her expression.
He found that the child still showed no signs of panic.
Not only was she not panicking, she seriously said to him, "But your voice sounds just like a kidnapper or a bad guy."
The corner of Ke Muning's mouth twitched.
Doesn't she know she's in big trouble? Still daring to say such things to him!
But then Li Xiaoya patted his shoulder and said softly, "But it's okay, I won't look down on you."
Ke Muning paused, then suddenly grabbed her cheeks and rubbed them hard.
It was as if he was releasing all his earlier anger through this action.
Li Xiaoya was left dazed and confused, "Ouch, ouch!"
The translator anxiously echoed her cries.
Mr. Moore's grip seemed too strong.
Ke Muning withdrew his hand and said, "Alright, make the call yourself."
Li Xiaoya took out her phone.
She dialed the number digit by digit.
Ke Muning realized that she didn't have the habit of saving contacts.
So young, yet so cautious?
The call connected quickly.
Usually, such calls would be answered by servants, but after the incident during the island vacation, whenever it was reported that Little Ya or Wei Wenjuan were calling, the old man no longer let anyone else answer.
"Hello, tell me, who are you having dinner with tonight?" The old man had become almost numb with familiarity.
Li Xiaoya hesitated for a moment.
It wouldn't be appropriate to mention Sheng Yuxiao and the others. If, by any chance, something happened to her, they would be implicated because of her words.
Li Xiaoya said, "With a friend."
The old man only knew of one.
He asked, "That Dou Dawei?"
"Not him."
"Then who?"
"Someone you've met before," Li Xiaoya said vaguely. Suddenly, Ke Muning loudly ordered his subordinates in Dutch, "Go buy some small blankets."
He wanted to see how she would rack her brains this time...
Li Xiaoya abruptly turned her head and slapped her hand over Ke Muning's mouth, covering it.
"What's that sound on your end?" Wei Xuanming became suspicious.
Li Xiaoya said quietly in Hua Country's language, "At the zoo."
Ke Muning immediately looked at the translator.
The translator stammered, "She's telling the other side that she's at the zoo."
Ke Muning: "..."
He gave a forced smile, then pulled Li Xiaoya's hand away from his mouth and leaned in closer to ask, "What pattern do you want on your pillow? How about Donald Duck? Do you want a doll? Or a teddy bear? Little kids like you get nightmares if they don't sleep hugging a teddy bear, right?"
Li Xiaoya: ?
She crawled to the other end of the sofa and said quickly, "Bye bye, it's too windy here, I can't hear clearly. I'm not coming home tonight!"
Then she hung up the phone.
Something was off.
Wei Xuanming thought.
The home phone was specially set to automatically record calls. He pressed the replay button, and the conversation from just now played again.
Little Ya's voice wasn't tense, indicating she wasn't in danger.
But it carried a hint of annoyance.
As if the abrupt background noise was deliberately teasing her.
Who was teasing her?
"It's too faint, I can't hear clearly. Get someone to process this recording," Wei Xuanming ordered in a deep voice.
"Yes, sir."
"What about the people who went to pick up the young miss? Call them back, I have questions for them."
"Yes, sir."
Initially, Wei Xuanming only had Wei Lin escort Li Xiaoya for a week, which was later extended to two weeks.
Apart from wanting Wei Lin to challenge Li Xiaoya and bring out her strengths so he could examine her more closely,
It was also an opportunity for Li Xiaoya to get to know Wei Lin up close.
However, Wei Lin had recently returned to the company, leaving only ordinary drivers and bodyguards responsible for pick-ups and drop-offs.
Wei Xuanming frowned.
Actually, having Wei Lin do the escorts had many benefits. Putting him in plain sight made it less likely for him to easily harm Li Xiaoya, as he would be the prime suspect.
Wei Lin wasn't known for any particularly strong or wise tactics, but he was good at maneuvering and liked to second-guess others.
He was perfect as a babysitter for Little Ya. Unfortunately, everyone knew the Gui family couldn't hold up anymore, and Wei Lin, as the only able-bodied person, had finally gained some experience.
And he was old now, he couldn't help it, many things could only be compromised and not pushed aggressively anymore...
Thoughts raced through Wei Xuanming's mind.
Until the driver and bodyguard who went to pick her up returned.
"You didn't see the young miss at all when you went? Didn't see her come out of the school gate?"
"No, we didn't..."
"Has anything unusual happened recently?"
"No... If we have to say something, last week there was a man who looked like a CEO who came to see the young miss. Maybe he was like that Dou Dawei? Later, Young Master Sheng also came, and they all went to dinner together. Other than that, there really isn't anything."
With so little information at hand, there wasn't much Wei Xuanming could analyze.
"Do you want to call the young miss back?" the servant asked.
Wei Xuanming waved his hand: "The little girl has too many ideas of her own, and too many friends."
He lowered his eyes and said, "Sometimes it's not up to me to protect her."
Meanwhile, at the villa.
Ke Muning deliberately asked, "Why did you cover my mouth?"
"I told you, your voice sounds too much like a bad guy. They don't let me play with bad guys," Li Xiaoya said, looking up with innocent eyes.
"Then should I send you home now?"
Li Xiaoya shook her head, "But I love playing with bad guys."
Lying again.
Ke Muning snorted inwardly.
Let's see what other tricks she has up her sleeve!
When the day of revelation finally comes, will she be scared? Will she burst into tears? Or will she say she doesn't want to be a Gui family child anymore? Will she quickly distance herself?