Li Shichuan frowned as he watched Li Weimian’s emotional outburst, a trace of displeasure on his face.
No wonder Manman didn’t like Weimian—looking at her now, she really was unsightly, a bit sharp and petty.
Raised in the village, no surprise she had such narrow-minded ways.
Lu Shiman crossed her arms. “What mischief am I causing?”
“Who knows what you and your mother came here for? I think you came to cause trouble,” Li Shichuan said.
“Since you’re here, I’ll just say it. A large sum of money has gone missing in my house, and I now suspect it was you two,” Lu Shiman declared arrogantly, her eyes no longer just disdainful—they were filled with complete contempt.
Li Weimian felt furious at being wrongly accused. How could they, sitting there with clean consciences, commit such a thing?
Even if they were poor, they were proud of it!
Her pleading eyes turned toward Li Shichuan, but he looked away.
He said nothing, yet Li Weimian felt as if he’d said everything. Even her own father didn’t believe them?
Lu Shiman watched her trembling, inwardly amused.
“Dad, say something! Otherwise, this little nanny will just keep thinking I’m trying to hurt her.”
If she wanted to provoke Li Weimian, what fun was it if she did it herself? It was better to let father and daughter tear each other apart.
Li Shichuan cleared his throat, avoiding Li Weimian’s gaze. His voice low, “Maybe… we should search, just so Manman won’t suspect you.”
Li Weimian’s eyes widened, her hands clutching the hem of her clothes, tears streaming down like they had no cost.
She could’ve reasoned with herself before, but now?
Biting her lip, a faint taste of blood filling her mouth, she ignored it all and stared straight into Li Shichuan’s eyes.
“Fine, search,” she said, back straight, chin raised, her eyes stubborn.
“To prove my innocence, I won’t touch anything myself. You do the searching.”
Lu Shiman raised an eyebrow, dragged over a stool, and sat down leisurely in the room.
Li Weimian looked at Li Shichuan, who remained silent, and resentment simmered in her heart. Why did he unconditionally trust Lu Shiman, but not her?
Was this really her father?
Her mind spun. Her hands moved automatically, rifling through the room. When she had turned everything upside down and found nothing, Li Shichuan began to regret his decision.
“Did you check under the bed?” Lu Shiman reminded lazily.
Li Weimian gritted her teeth, glaring at Lu Shiman. How could such a wicked person not go to hell already?
“Fine, I’ll look!”
She flipped the sheets, pulled back the blankets, and even lifted the bed slats to silence Lu Shiman.
When the bed slat was lifted, a bright gold bar clattered to the floor.
Li Weimian froze. Li Shichuan’s eyes went wide. Lu Shiman looked perfectly satisfied.
She snorted. “Still saying it wasn’t you? Did the gold just crawl under your bed by itself?”
“Don’t tell me this gold belongs to you. You didn’t even have proper clothes to wear when you came to my house.”
She walked over and picked up the gold bar.
Not a single gold bar could be left for Li Shichuan. He had to have nothing, or he’d go plotting against Xiang Hongmei and her daughter.
“Impossible. Absolutely impossible! My mother would never do such a thing!”
Li Weimian instinctively protested, but the gold bar remained before her, blurring the line between reality and disbelief.
Lu Shiman waved the bar. “But the facts are right here. No wonder her expression was off when I saw her today.”
“Turns out she felt guilty for stealing.”
She knew it was most likely Li Laizi, but casting blame didn’t require concern for the truth.
“You’re lying!”
Lu Shiman rolled her eyes. “The facts are right in front of you.”
She stepped back a few paces, pretending to accidentally kick a pair of shoes.
The shoes toppled over, and the key clanged to the floor.
“Ugh, why’d I have to kick these stinky shoes?”
She looked disgusted, taking a few steps back, fully embodying the haughty young miss image—letting everyone see just how above it she was, impossible to think she could do such a thing.
Li Shichuan, however, immediately rushed over when the key fell and picked it up.
When he saw the key clearly, his face turned completely black.
He clenched it tightly, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes. He trusted Hongmei so much—how could she do something like this?
“Oh, so the key was hidden here!”
“Evil, who would dare search stinky shoes?”
Lu Shiman turned the blame around, stepping back. “See? Bringing wolves into the house!”
“I’m calling the police! Take them all away!”
Xiang Hongmei, busy in the kitchen, heard the commotion and came out. Seeing them gathered outside her room, a bad premonition settled in her heart.
“What’s happening?” she asked weakly.
Her innocent-looking expression made Li Shichuan hesitate. Could it really not be her?
But if it wasn’t her, why were gold bars and the key appearing?
He refused to believe Lu Shiman had the brains to do such a thing—her mind was all about spending money; scheming to frame others was beyond her.
“Dad, speak up!” Lu Shiman stomped her foot, urging him.
“Ugh, so annoying.”
“Dragging your feet, hmph! I’m going to tell Mom! Tonight she’ll haunt your dreams and give you a lesson!”
Hands on her hips, she let out a huff and ran off with the gold bar.
She didn’t actually leave, but hid around a corner to watch the chaos unfold.
After all, she had orchestrated this dog-eat-dog scene—of course she had to watch.
Her departure eased the tension slightly, though only slightly.
“Explain yourselves,” Li Shichuan said coldly.
“Tch, at least no one’s trying to kill each other—good on you all for having feelings,” Lu Shiman muttered from a distance, shaking her head.
If it were her, she’d already be aiming to kill someone.
“Looks like I need to step up the intensity,” she clicked her tongue and turned away.
Tomorrow, she’d increase the intensity, get back the money Li Shichuan had handed out, and then cut ties for good.
She lingered a little longer to enjoy the show, then finally left the Lu residence.
When she returned home, the house was even more silent.
“Dad, did you take them to the police?” Lu Shiman asked curiously, glancing at Li Shichuan.
Judging by his expression, probably not.
“Manman, I’ll get the money back. Don’t worry,” Li Shichuan said, pressing his temple, patiently explaining.
He sensed a setup—Hongmei and the others couldn’t have done this.
He needed to stabilize Lu Shiman. If his woman and child ended up in police custody, it’d be over.
“How can I not worry? That was all my money!”
“Dad, I heard something when I went out today—Xiang Hongmei’s husband came looking for her!”
“Maybe they teamed up to steal our money,” she added.