Lu Ming laughed sardonically.

“You’re quite well-informed.”

“Well, of course. We are a family living under one roof. Anyway, I just wanted to see you before you leave. Do you plan to return to the Yan family once you’re in Beijing?”

The main Yan family resided in the capital. Needless to say, they were far wealthier and more powerful compared to the Yan family in City A.

Lu Ming was originally the eldest young master of the main Yan family. Unfortunately, he had been abandoned not too long ago.

He walked over to the window and looked outside, sounding as indifferent as ever when he said, “It’s none of your business what I do after I leave this place. You should stop asking pointless questions. Is that all you came here for?”

He had heard the ridicule in the woman’s tone, had seen the disdain in her eyes. He couldn’t help the wave of self-mockery that followed. Lu Ming might indeed be the young master of the Yan family, but no one valued him. The title meant nothing.

Even so, none of this had anything to do with this wretched woman.

To her credit, she didn’t take offense to his remark and merely returned the book she had taken. She straightened her dress and said, “Well then, Little Ming, I’ll take my leave now. Do get some rest.”

Lu Ming didn’t reply. He kept his gaze on the darkening sky until he heard the door close.

As for the woman, she hurried downstairs and sneaked into the bathroom, where she turned on the tap to muffle the sound of her voice. Then, she made a call.

“Hello, Second Young Master Yan. It’s me.”

“Lu Ming is all packed up and ready to go. I saw his luggage with my own eyes. I have a feeling that he’s going to Beijing. You may have to make arrangements in advance.”

“I don’t know what he’s planning, either. Something must have happened.”

“Oh, haha! Don’t worry about him being a threat to you. That fool is worse than trash right now. I took a look at the results of his exams last week, and he barely scored ten points in every subject. If I’m not mistaken, his total score didn’t even reach a hundred points. It’s so tragic, it’s laughable.”

“Yes, yes, of course. I’ll help you find out everything you need to know. Okay, if anything comes up, I’ll let you know right away.”

…

Lin Xin and Yao Tang sat in silence inside the car.

No matter how hard she tried, Lin Xincouldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right. “Sister Tang, why did you stop me from interrogating that security guard? With a little persuasion, he might have let us in, or given us some information. That man knows something, I just know it.”

“Didn’t you realize it yet?” Yao Tangcountered softly.

Lin Xin’s eyes widened. “What? Realize what?”

“Lu Ming was in that house. He just didn’t want to see us.”

Lin Xin gasped before lowering her head dejectedly. Her distress was fleeting, though, as determination flashed in her eyes. “Sister Tang, shall we ask around the neighborhood? Maybe they can give us a clue about what happened.”

“Sure.”

Yao Tang nodded and quickly shifted her clouded gaze outside the window.

A while later, the two girls were at Yan Yu’s doorstep again, and again, they were told that he wasn’t home. Of course, by now, they knew that it was just an excuse.Yan Yudidn’t want to see them, either.

This soured Lin Xin’s mood, and her expression turned sullen.

“Do you think they hate us, Sister Tang? Why won’t they even hear us out? We did nothing to provoke or hurt them. Do they really not want to be our classmates anymore?”

“Maybe,” Yao Tangsaid pensively.

The other girl huffed and stamped her feet. “Sister Tang! This isn’t the time to agree with me. Instead, you should assure me that they still want to be friends with us!”

Yao Tang stifled a smile. “Maybe… I mean, maybe they’re all busy at the moment.”

They eventually trudged back to the car and asked the driver to take them back to school.

Just as they were about to enter the gates, they spotted Qin Jing’s family car. The window of the backseat instantly rolled down to revealQin Jing, who was waving at them in earnest.

“You’re here, too?” Lin Xinexclaimed as she skipped over.

Qin Jing opened her mouth to reply, but someone else beat her to it. “Let’s go eat,Sister Tang. I ran into them, and Brother Qin Rui invited us all to a meal.”

Meng Yang emerged from the other side of the car and beamed at them.

“All right, let’s go.”