"Little sister, we..." Xu Nian’an had barely started speaking when he paused, not knowing what excuse he needed to concoct to return. His pleading gaze turned toward Pei Yicheng.
Pei Yicheng cleared his throat and said, "There’s a bit of a situation at the factory, so, Nian’an and I were thinking of heading back for a bit. It’s nothing important, which is why I didn’t mention it to you."
Xu Nianhua clearly did not believe them. With a look that said ’don’t lie to me,’ she said, "Yicheng, brother, you sneaked back to South City because you worried I’d be concerned, right? Brother, I remember, exams are coming, and you are busy every day, do you even have time to go home? Don’t hide things from me; has something happened at home?"
"Nothing," Xu Nian’an answered quickly.
Pei Yicheng looked down, unwilling to lie to Xu Nianhua.
Xu Nianhua pursed her lips, holding her ticket tightly, and went straight to the ticket counter to purchase another train ticket.
"Little sister, what are you doing?" Xu Nian’an asked anxiously as he saw her buy an extra train ticket.
"Since you both don’t want to tell me, then I’ll go back too."
Xu Nianhua gave him a sidelong glance, saying, "Brother, I’m also part of the family. If something has happened at home, I have the right to know. Or do you not consider me family at all?"
The last sentence, spoken by Xu Nianhua, was laden with hurt feelings. The innocent, aggrieved look in her eyes instantly made Xu Nian’an’s heart ache.
"Of course not, how could I not consider you family? I, I was just..." Xu Nian’an sighed, knowing he could no longer keep it from his little sister, and finally said, "Little sister, actually, there’s a bit of a problem at the Chili Factory, and that’s why we wanted to head back."
"What happened at the Chili Factory?"
Xu Nianhua asked, though she felt a slight relief inside, thankful it wasn’t their parents or her eldest brother involved in any trouble.
Xu Nian’an knew he couldn’t hide it any further and began to explain in detail.
Xu Nianhua fell silent, saying, "Brother, the Li Family is definitely being paid by someone to blow this up."
"It’s not easy to find out if they received money from someone else," Xu Nian’an frowned in thought. If it were him, he would make sure there were no loose ends so that no one could trace the money back.
"Every chain has a weak link. If we are careful enough, we will find out," Xu Nianhua firmly said, "As long as he really took someone’s money, there will be traces to follow."
"Tomorrow, I will have Ling Dong look into it," Pei Yicheng started, drawing a sharp look from Xu Nianhua, her glance seemingly accusing him, ’Liar, you said you’d never lie to her again.’
Feeling guilty, Pei Yicheng changed the subject, "Nianhua, you haven’t taken leave from school. How are you going to go?"
"I’ll call Jiayi," Xu Nianhua said, holding the ticket and heading to make the call. Fei Jiayi had gone home today, and she remembered her home phone number very clearly.
It wasn’t long before Xu Nianhua had secured a leave of absence. It was Saturday today, so a two-day leave, excluding travel time, meant she could still spend two days at home. If necessary, she could ask for a few more days. Probably, her teachers wouldn’t mind.
The main concern was her French course, which Xu Nianhua had only just started and couldn’t afford to fall behind on progress.
The train clattered and rattled toward South City. Xu Nianhua, pulling Xu Nian’an along, asked many questions about the factory. The one thing she could be sure of was this: the incident was certainly not accidental but orchestrated by the Gu Family—most likely the scheming beauty Gu Mingzhu herself. Whether Fang Yue was involved, she couldn’t be certain yet.
Xu Nianhua stared out the window at the swiftly retreating scenery, her expression slightly cold. "Gu Mingzhu, in this lifetime, I will not let you hurt my family anymore."