“You said earlier that she’s a heavy sleeper?” Li Chuan turned to look at Qin Wang with a complicated expression.
Qin Wang’s face was expressionless. “Mm.”
Li Chuan didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.
Qin Wang lowered his gaze to glance at Qiao Xi, let out a barely audible scoff, and walked out the door.
As the door closed, Qiao Xi leaned against the wardrobe and silently rolled her eyes.
Early the next morning, Qin Wang, Li Chuan, and Chen Zhiang headed out to gather supplies.
When Qiao Xi got up, Xia Manman was the only one in the villa, fiddling with a burnt piece of toast downstairs. She probably wouldn’t come upstairs for a while.
Now was a good time to switch the medicine.
Qiao Xi quickly returned to her room, grabbed her things, and climbed onto the windowsill again.
She pressed her back against the third-floor exterior wall and inched her way over.
At nearly ten meters up, the visual effect was more intimidating in daylight than at night.
Qiao Xi couldn’t help but feel her legs go weak.
When she descended to the second-floor platform, she had just steadied herself when she suddenly felt something hit the back of her head.
She looked down and saw a glass marble rolling on the ground.
Qiao Xi immediately went on alert, sweeping her gaze around until it landed on a figure sitting at the edge of the rooftop of the villa diagonally across.
It was Xu Nuo.
She didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there—maybe he’d just arrived, or maybe he’d been watching this place the whole time.
That guy lounged there lazily, his legs dangling over the edge and swinging back and forth, a few shiny marbles playing in his hand.
When their eyes met, he smiled and waved in her direction, as if afraid she wouldn’t see him.
Judging by his lip movements, he was calling out “Sister.”
Qiao Xi’s face darkened. She raised her hand and flipped him off, then turned and climbed through the window into Xia Manman’s room.
Once she landed, she began rummaging quickly through the bedside cabinet. Based on her memory from last night, Xia Manman seemed to have tucked the glass bottle into some cloth bag.
The lighting had been dim at the time, so she hadn’t gotten a clear look at its exact style or color.
She opened drawer after drawer, even searched the wardrobe, but couldn’t find that cloth bag.
She stood still, sweeping her gaze around the room, until it finally landed on the coat hanging by the door.
A khaki trench coat—the one Xia Manman had been wearing yesterday—with a matching bag in the same color scheme.
She walked over and lifted the coat aside, and sure enough, found the matching cloth bag behind it.
That little bottle of medicine was tucked away in the bag’s inner compartment.
Qiao Xi unscrewed the cap, but before she could replace the contents, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway.
The sound was heading this way.
Her heart tightened. She quickly screwed the cap back on.
Then, clutching the glass bottle, she slipped into the bathroom.
The bathroom door was left ajar, right next to the bedroom door.
She’d barely been in there two seconds when the bedroom door swung open.
Xia Manman rushed in and walked further inside.
Through the crack in the door, Qiao Xi saw her crouch by the bedside cabinet, searching for something.
About a minute later, she stood up and headed toward the bathroom, holding something Qiao Xi couldn’t quite make out.
Qiao Xi shrank back in the bathroom, her back pressed against the wall.
She listened as the footsteps grew closer and closer, until they stopped right at the bathroom entrance.
At this moment, only a door separated them. If Xia Manman pushed it open, she would see Qiao Xi.
The bathroom light was off. Qiao Xi stared at the blurry figure beyond the glass door, instinctively holding her breath. Her hand hanging at her side unconsciously clenched into a fist, ready to knock the woman out the instant she stepped in.
Second by second, time passed.
Xia Manman paused for about three seconds, then raised her hand to smooth out the wrinkles on her trench coat, turned, opened the door, and walked out.
When the sound of the door closing reached her ears, Qiao Xi finally let out a breath, her taut nerves relaxing.
She set the medicine on the sink, pulled a small bottle from her bag, and took out a small paper packet.
She carefully poured the medicine into the bottle she’d brought, then turned on the tap to rinse out the original bottle and refilled it with water.
Finally, she poured the powder in and screwed the cap back on.
Gripping the bottle, she shook it vigorously.
Once the powder had completely dissolved, Qiao Xi held the bottle up to the light and examined it—colorless and odorless, exactly like the original.
A silent smile curved at the corner of her lips.
Done.
After finishing, Qiao Xi retraced her route back through the window.
Along the way, she glanced at the building across—Xu Nuo was already gone.
Qiao Xi frowned slightly. Everything was just about ready now.
The only thing left was Xu Nuo. She needed to go find him before Qin Wang and the others returned.
Tonight’s business couldn’t happen without him.
Qiao Xi lifted the curtain and landed lightly on the ground.
She brushed the dust off her clothes and was about to head out to find Xu Nuo,
when she looked up—and found someone lying on the sofa.
Her whole body stiffened. Her hand instinctively went to the hammer at her waist.
But the next second, she recognized the face. Xu Nuo was sprawled on the sofa, grinning at her with a carefree, shameless smile.
Damn!
“Sister~ What were you just doing?”
Xu Nuo wore a loose T-shirt and shorts, revealing slender calves even paler than a woman’s.
His peach-blossom eyes brimmed with laughter—fragmented and beautiful.
Qiao Xi looked at him, then at the window, and took a deep breath.
“Why the hell are you here in broad daylight? What if they suddenly come back?”
She stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him toward the window. “Get out of here, now!”
“Why are you so worked up?” Xu Nuo stumbled from her pull but clung to the sofa armrest, refusing to let go. “You haven’t even asked why I came, and you’re already kicking me out? I’m not leaving!”
Xu Nuo was being a complete scoundrel. Qiao Xi tugged a few times but couldn’t budge him.
She took a deep breath and released him. “Spit it out, then!”
Xu Nuo pouted, tugging at the clothes she’d wrinkled, his expression full of grievance. “I didn’t even get the chance to ask last night before you kicked me off the balcony.”
“So, do you want to cooperate or not?”
Qiao Xi fell silent for a moment. She’d been about to go find him, and here the kid had come to her doorstep instead.
Fine. She’d just finish the talk quickly and send him on his way.
She pressed her lips together. “Cooperation is fine, but you have to listen to me.”
Xu Nuo’s face lit up with joy at first, then shifted to confusion and wariness. “Why should I listen to you? You’re not planning to sell me off, are you?”
Qiao Xi shot him a glare. “Sell you? Who’d even want you?”
Xu Nuo fell silent.
Qiao Xi didn’t want to waste more words on him. She cut straight to the point. “Listen to me, and once this is done, Li Chuan’s energy is yours. If you don’t want to, you can leave right now.”
“No need to talk cooperation anymore.”
With that, she put on a stern face and started shooing him out.
The moment Xu Nuo heard the energy would go to him, his attitude softened instantly. “Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you, alright?”
“But you have to promise you won’t screw me over.”
“Deal.”
Qiao Xi curved her lips into a faint smile. “There’s something I need you to do tonight.”
“What is it?”
Qiao Xi leaned in and whispered a few words by his ear. When she finished, she patted his shoulder.
“Whether this cooperation works out depends on how you perform tonight.”
Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow. “What’s so hard about that?”
“Just watch me.”
Qiao Xi couldn’t shake the feeling that the guy was a little too cocky, but maybe he really did have the skills to back it up.
Either way, tonight would tell.
With the plan settled, she pushed him toward the window. “Go on, hurry.”
But just as Xu Nuo stepped onto the windowsill, the sound of a car engine rumbled from below.
Qiao Xi started. Her hand was still gripping the back of Xu Nuo’s shirt, and just as he was about to jump, she yanked him back with force.
The two of them tumbled backward onto the carpet. Xu Nuo was about to say something when Qiao Xi clamped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t speak.”
Xu Nuo blinked his peach-blossom eyes and didn’t struggle.