Faced with Lin Xiwei’s rebuttal, Lin Haojie let his eyelids droop and his eyes shift, a scheme forming in his mind:
“Last night, you and Wang Ma drove over to the gallery. Moving all those goods would have been easy for you.”
Lin Xiwei couldn’t help but frown. She thought, With so many treasures there, there’s no way a small car could carry everything. You’d need a big truck.
Does this guy not even know how much stuff he has?
Wait a minute!
He’s trying to trick me!
Realizing this, Lin Xiwei couldn’t help but smirk slightly:
“Yes, we did drive over there, and I did go down into the basement.”
She turned her body, looking down from above at the kneeling Lin Haojie:
“I went to the gallery to look for my mother’s portrait. When I didn’t find it there, I naturally went down to the basement—but the basement was completely empty, there was nothing at all.”
Hearing this, Lin Haojie’s distrustful gaze flickered involuntarily. He thought: Could it be the basement was already robbed before she went in?
Wang Ma quickly added:
“Miss is right. At that time, she was the only one who entered the gallery. I and Lin Yulan stayed by the door to keep watch. Later, when Lin Yulan saw she hadn’t come out for a long time, she went inside to check…”
Suddenly, Lin Haojie caught a detail:
“Why did you two stay at the door? Weren’t you supposed to be keeping watch?”
Wang Ma panicked:
“Miss feared that Lin Yulan would lock us both in the gallery, so she specifically had me stay at the door!”
Lin Xiwei, worried that Wang Ma might get trapped in their logic, quickly added:
“If I really took the things, Lin Yulan would definitely have reported back to you. She didn’t—so let her come forward and confront you.”
“Miss is right. Lin Yulan should be called to confront. She even tore my lady’s qipao and was searched herself as she left. How could she possibly have taken even a single stitch from the gallery?” Wang Ma supplemented.
The butler, Zhang Bo, who had been listening quietly, added:
“When Miss came back, I was there. Besides the three of them getting out of the car, no so-called goods were moved. The car is in the garage behind; you two officers can check right now.”
The police glanced at each other and nodded.
Zhang Bo then led them to the garage for verification.
…
Lin Haojie observed for a long time but still couldn’t tell whether Lin Xiwei truly hadn’t taken anything or was just cleverly disguising it.
He even began to suspect—maybe she had some kind of magical artifact that could instantly carry away an entire basement’s worth of treasures.
For a moment, a mischievous thought crossed his mind: maybe he should smear her reputation, call her a demon!
After all, he himself had traveled from another world; it wasn’t impossible that Lin Xiwei had some strange magical object.
But in this era, “smash all demons and monsters” and “abolish all feudal superstitions” was the law of the land.
Lin Haojie quickly dismissed the idea—if he tried it, he’d be the first one caught and sent to reform.
Thinking this through, he had no choice but to turn to his stepmother:
“Mom, where’s Lin Yulan?”
The eldest daughter had had a falling out with Fu Cuilian and had already left the Lin residence.
Fu Cuilian’s crying was now faint and dispirited:
“That brat seemed to have taken some wrong medicine—she suddenly turned against us and said she’d cut ties. From now on, each walks their own path. She’s probably back at school.”
Her words seemed to nudge Lin Haojie’s thoughts off track:
“Who knows if they colluded to move the basement goods together and then denied everything?”
Lin Xiwei couldn’t help laughing at his thought process. Sure enough, a transmigrator’s mind works differently:
“Lin Haojie, don’t go accusing people without evidence!”
The old master, now calmer, immediately defended his granddaughter:
“Our Lin family used to be glorious. Even if the family has declined, my granddaughter has seen fine treasures. Those so-called junk in your basement, Xiwei has no interest in them, humph!”
Lin Xiwei: …-_-||”
Grandpa… I’d be interested, but you have no idea just how many real treasures were there.
…
It wasn’t long before Butler Zhang Bo returned with the two officers. Both reported that nothing unusual was found in the car, nor was there any sign that it had been used to transport goods.
Lin Haojie, having lost a small fortune in treasures, had only one suspect in mind: Lin Xiwei.
In a panic, he stood up to block the officers and blurted out:
“I suspect the three of them colluded to move the basement treasures and planned to divide them after the coast was clear.”
Before Lin Xiwei could respond, the old master stomped his cane hard:
“Nonsense! Say that again—I, Lin Weixin, raised my eldest granddaughter with my own hands. She is well-mannered and virtuous, not the sort to behave so ignorantly.”
Lin Xiwei felt no guilt at all. She clutched her grandfather’s arm, putting on a fragile act:
“Grandpa, it’s not fair! My shoulders can’t carry, my hands can’t lift—how could I possibly have taken all the treasures he’s talking about at once?”
Wang Ma hurried to defend her young lady:
“You’d better call Lin Yulan here. Everyone should confront this face-to-face and clear it up.”
Butler Zhang Bo looked at the two officers, still able to control his temper:
“You two are always fair. This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with you. We’ve already searched the car thoroughly—there truly was nothing.”
The officers nodded. One even yawned; they had been on night shift and hated being bothered unnecessarily. Daylight was approaching, and they were about to change shifts.
Lin Haojie’s antics were like dancing on their last nerve.
Zhang Bo deliberately suggested:
“Since the owner insists that my lady took the goods, perhaps you two officers could do us the favor and search the Lin residence as well.”
The yawning officer nearly blew a fuse: “What? Search your place?!”
The Lin residence was huge; it would take an entire day to search.
At any time in any era, who wanted to go crazy at work? Especially night shift workers about to leave, suddenly being asked to stay longer.
“No, we won’t. We haven’t received a search warrant from the bureau.”
The officer yawned again, tears forming in his eyes, wiping them with his hand and sniffling:
“This is your private family matter. Handle it yourselves under the head of the household. There’s no need to use police resources. Our responsibility is done—pack up!”
With that, they turned and left, giving Lin Haojie no chance to protest.
…
Lin Haojie was about to explode!
No matter how he ran the logic in his mind, it was impossible that Lin Xiwei moved all the treasures.
Yet, based on his perspective as a transmigrator, he was certain Lin Xiwei had something to do with it.
Unfortunately, he had no evidence.
The old master was extremely protective of his granddaughter, not letting him speak further.
Everyone in the Lin family treated Lin Xiwei as the family treasure, watching her every move.
Lin Haojie had no choice but to give up for now, secretly plotting how to abduct Lin Xiwei and force her to reveal where the treasures had gone.
With this in mind, he kowtowed heavily to Lin Weixin:
“Grandfather, the dead must be respected. Please allow us to handle my father’s funeral first. After that, we will return to our hometown.”
Previously, the old master had urged them to return home. Lin Haojie now used his stepfather’s death as an excuse to delay.
Lin Weixin, mentally exhausted, sighed helplessly:
“Very well. You are father and son, and it is right to guard Chengyou’s spirit and see him off. Stay for now. Once his funeral arrangements are complete, you may return home on your own.”
With that, Lin Haojie, Fu Cuilian, and Lin Juying kowtowed, each looking delighted beyond measure.
They had bought themselves some breathing room.
Lin Xiwei, having anticipated that they would try something, thought: Let them try. What if they return home and I never see them again? If that happens, how will I take my revenge? I need to stay here to strike back!
After kowtowing, Lin Haojie rose, rolling his eyes with a sinister glare at Lin Xiwei.
As Lin Xiwei helped the old master away, she suddenly turned, a subtle smile playing on her lips, almost taunting, her gaze seeming to say:
“I just love the look on your face—you can’t stand me, yet you can’t touch me either!”