Chapter 456: Chapter 455: Infinite Stream Cannon Fodder: Lying Comes at a Price 10

"You want to go out? Shall I take you out?" Bai Chao asked.

"No, no, no, I don’t want to go out. I’m just a cactus, what’s the point of going out? What if I end up being cut open for research? Maybe when they see a cactus like me, they’ll study if eating me will grant immortality." Xiao Pan quickly refused. If his brother were going out, he’d feel less afraid, but going out alone as a cactus was out of the question.

"Your thorns are tougher than steel. It’s actually not as dangerous as you think," Bai Chao said.

Xiao Pan: "No, no, no, they have ways to cut through steel, bro, don’t fool me. If they find out how awesome I am, they’ll just be more eager to cut me up."

"Speaking of which, bro, your Bai family members are pretty smart. This one who just came in doesn’t seem to have a death wish, so he shouldn’t trouble you too much." The reason they appeared here was because his brother sensed another Bai family member entering. Usually, unless they were exceptionally annoying, his brother was willing to protect them until the end.

Bai Chao responded, "Hmm."

But his attention was on Ah Chen. From the moment she appeared, he couldn’t help but focus more on her.

As for Bai Xingwen, there wasn’t much to worry about. That kid was clever and quick-witted, and he hadn’t done anything foolish so far.

Among this group, there actually was a fool, the one with the surname Wei.

But it had nothing to do with him.

"Miss Li is looking at me like this, could she be considering me?" When Xiao Pan mentioned Bai Xingwen, Ah Chen glanced at him.

Bai Xingwen asking this question wasn’t setting a trap or being foolish; he knew Li Chen had no interest in him and wouldn’t lie outright. Besides, she was very smart.

"We have some sort of connection, but not that kind," Ah Chen said with a smile.

If it was like Xiao Pan said, and Bai Xingwen had a connection with Bai Chao, then Bai Chao should be considered Bai Xingwen’s elder, or... ancestor? Wouldn’t that be a kind of connection?

Bai Xingwen knew this outcome; he was just joking.

But why did Li Chen look at him so strangely? It was really weird.

Out of caution, Bai Xingwen didn’t say more, but it was certain that Li Chen seemed to be somewhat friendly towards him? He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she seemed friendlier than at the start? Really strange.

[Hahaha, host, you’ve got this kid confused. Given his thoughtful nature, he’s probably wondering why your attitude has changed, but alas, no matter how much he thinks, he won’t figure out the reason.] 997 couldn’t help but interject; Bai Xingwen’s silent demeanor just now was somewhat amusing.

Huo Jingchen actually had a lot he wanted to say to Qin Lin, but now was not the time. He was afraid of making mistakes with his words. Matters of the heart could easily lead to emotional fluctuations, so he held back. At least he had to get through this hurdle before he could really have a good talk with Qin Lin.

Qin Lin hugged a cushion, silently nestled on the sofa.

"This cactus is quite a looker," Wei Wenlan’s sudden voice immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Ah Chen couldn’t help but look over, wondering when Wei Wenlan had noticed the cactus.

"Too bad it’s in the wrong place, otherwise..." Wei Wenlan shook his head regretfully, "I’d really want to take it home to nurture."

Bai Chao teased, "Xiao Pan, someone wants to look after you."

Xiao Pan: "Wishful thinking, do you think just anyone can look after me? Could she afford me? Does she know what I eat? I like spicy chicken chunks, braised fish balls, fragrant herb carp, potato and rib stew..."

Bai Chao: ...

"She probably has enough money to afford these, eating them every day wouldn’t be a problem."

Xiao Pan: "But can she handle a talking cactus?"

Bai Chao: "That I don’t know, you could ask her."

Just then, there was a noise from upstairs—He Qiaomin and Tan Ruifeng were coming down, both looking unhappy, and it was unclear what had happened.

Seeing the hosts in such a state, as guests, they certainly couldn’t ignore it.

"Brother Tan, Sister He, is something wrong?" Huo Jingchen asked.

Tan Ruifeng and He Qiaomin exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat hesitant. In truth, they believed this matter had nothing to do with these guests; the guest rooms were on the second floor, while the Tan family lived on the third floor. Only the Tan family had permission to use the staircase door or the elevator to go up.

With jewelry and cash missing, and the guests present, they feared mentioning it might upset the guests.

But the matter needed resolving, and it couldn’t be hidden from the guests. Rather than resolving it secretly and causing misunderstandings, they might as well explain to the guests first.

"There’s a thief in the house. The 50,000 cash in our room and two pieces of Qiaomin’s jewelry are missing," Tan Ruifeng said. "If it’s not an insider, what else could it be?"

Besides, the thief couldn’t be the butler; his annual salary was high enough that he wouldn’t need to steal a few thousand in cash or any relatively average jewelry.

The housemaid shouldn’t be a suspect either; they always went upstairs in pairs. The Tan family treated them well, granting benefits annually far exceeding the stolen amount.

Both thought of the children at home, immediately suspecting Tan Sui.

They realized they hadn’t given Tan Sui money in a while, and she often went out early and returned late. Even if she didn’t pay for lunch at school, she’d still need to eat dinner, right? Where would the money come from?

Could it really be Tan Sui?

The plot thickened; everyone anticipated that there had to be another storyline for the first challenge, otherwise they wouldn’t be placed in this villa.

"Butler, arrange for a car to bring Tan Sui and the others back. I need to ask them properly," Tan Ruifeng said. "Whoever took it, if they admit and apologize, that’s fine. If not, they need a good lesson to remember."

"Sorry for the embarrassment," Tan Ruifeng sighed. "We’ve just been too busy and neglected our children’s education, leading them to do such things."

As guests, Huo Jingchen and the others naturally refrained from saying more.

In the couple’s minds, they were already convinced that Tan Sui was responsible. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Tan Rui and Tan Yao had plenty of pocket money and didn’t need to secretly take or sell He Qiaomin’s jewelry.

Tan Rui and Tan Yao returned first. Hearing about the theft of cash and jewelry, the two kids were utterly confused, claiming no knowledge of the matter.

Tan Ruifeng and his wife didn’t suspect them. At ten and eight years old, how could they pull off such a thing?

It indeed seemed that Tan Sui had done it.

The girl was getting more and more out of hand.

Tan Yao hesitated to speak, and Tan Ruifeng noticed. He asked, "Yaoyao, do you know something?"

"I saw Big Sis with a new phone once, the latest model. She didn’t use it often, but I noticed it at her door that time. That phone should cost over ten thousand, right?" Tan Yao hesitated but spoke up. That was truly what she had seen. Now that the house had been burgled and their parents hadn’t given Big Sis money recently, where did she get the money to buy such an expensive phone?

Tan Sui came back, confused as to why the person who picked her up was so insistent this time.

Did they want her to drop out of school now? Could she not even wait until she turned sixteen?

The door made a sound as it opened. Ah Chen saw Tan Sui walk in, and her face had a look of determination, as if she had made up her mind about something.

Perhaps it was because of her intense gaze, but Tan Sui looked back at her. What kind of eyes were those? Very calm, as if everything she saw was the same. Strangely, the restless feeling in Tan Sui’s heart suddenly settled.

"Why did you call me back?" Tan Sui looked at Tan Ruifeng and He Qiaomin. With some money saved up, if they wanted her to drop out, she would. Too bad she wasn’t sixteen yet; she didn’t know if she could leave.

Where would she go in the future?

Where could she go?