Chapter 5: The Male Lead with X-Ray Vision VS Five Female Leads (5)
Following Liu Chengpei’s shouts, Liu Chengxiang’s face darkened to the point of dripping water. He gestured to the bodyguard behind him, who immediately stepped forward, pushing Liu Chengpei aside and raising his foot to kick the door.
The door opened first, revealing Liu Xuxue’s slightly anxious face.
Liu Xuxue was still wearing her white dress, her hair slightly disheveled. Seeing the people outside, her heart, which had been hanging high, fell back into her stomach. She exclaimed in surprise, “Dad? Uncle?”
Liu Chengxiang’s dark expression changed in an instant. He stepped forward, examining his daughter from head to toe. Her clothes were intact, and her exposed skin was unmarked. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed prying eyes… Their shouting and banging had awakened other hotel guests.
“Xuxue, let’s talk inside,” Liu Chengxiang said softly.
Although Liu Xuxue didn’t understand the situation, she let Liu Chengxiang and Liu Chengpei into the room, while two bodyguards stood guard at the door.
Once inside, Liu Chengpei immediately began searching anxiously, shouting, “Huo Xian, where are you? Don’t hide, come out!”
Liu Chengxiang’s face darkened again at a visible speed. Under Liu Xuxue’s questioning gaze, he asked, “Xuxue, was anyone else in the room? Did he… did he do anything to you?”
Liu Xuxue was slightly stunned. She had mostly sobered up from her sleep, and her drunken memories hadn’t disappeared. She remembered the previous occupant of the room, Huo Xian, who had told her to lock the door before leaving, and also remembered what he had said about the room cards. She looked at her Uncle Liu Chengpei with suspicion.
Suspicious, Liu Xuxue didn’t say anything outright but asked feigning incomprehension, “Dad, who is Huo Xian? Why is Uncle looking for him in my room?”
Before Liu Chengxiang could answer, Liu Chengpei, who had searched everywhere without finding anyone, said with regret, “It’s all my useless brother-in-law’s fault. He knew about today’s welcome banquet and begged me to bring him along. Who knew… who knew he had this idea!”
Liu Xuxue tilted her head, looking confused, “What idea?”
Seeing her innocent and ignorant expression, Liu Chengpei cursed “stupid” inwardly, maintaining a regretful and heartbroken expression on his face. “He saw me give you the room key and let you go up to rest. He stole another key from me and wanted to… to do something indecent to you!” He blushed slightly while saying the last few words.
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chengxiang’s aura turned icy, and Liu Xuxue, after a brief stupor, blushed and looked anxiously at her father.
“Don’t be afraid, Dad’s here. No one dares to bully you,” Liu Chengxiang comforted her softly.
Liu Xuxue was still a little timid. She cautiously asked, “Uncle, why did he have two room keys?”
“This… that… uh…” Liu Chengpei was somewhat embarrassed by her question, looking around, unable to explain. He could only look to Liu Chengxiang for help.
Didn’t Liu Chengxiang know his brother’s nature? He probably took advantage of his daughter’s welcome banquet to slip a key to some woman he liked.
Thinking this, his expression turned colder. He temporarily ignored Liu Chengpei, turning to Liu Xuxue, “Xuxue, tell Dad honestly, did anyone enter your room?”
Liu Xuxue blinked, then shook her head, “No, Dad. After I entered the room, I locked the door. You and Uncle couldn’t open the door with the spare key, right?”
Indeed, the spare key from the hotel front desk was still with Liu Chengxiang. With the room locked from inside, even a key couldn’t open it. Moreover, there was no sign of anyone else in the room besides Liu Xuxue. Even the bed only showed signs of Liu Xuxue sleeping lightly. Liu Chengxiang felt slightly relieved.
“Huo Xian must not have had time to come!” Although Liu Chengpei was also puzzled about why Huo Xian wasn’t in room 1608, he was determined to pin this on him, “Huo Xian is a spoiled and lustful brat. Now that his family is ruined and he’s in debt, it’s my fault. I told him about Xuxue’s return, which gave him this idea. It’s all my fault…”
“Alright, stop it,” Liu Chengxiang interrupted impatiently.
Liu Chengpei nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes, luckily Huo Xian didn’t succeed…”
“Shut up!” Liu Chengxiang didn’t want his daughter to hear these upsetting things. He disliked Liu Chengpei and Huo Xian equally.
Liu Chengpei continued to apologize to Liu Xuxue, then was dismissed by Liu Chengxiang. Liu Chengxiang didn’t want his daughter to stay at the hotel anymore and planned to take her home and then have someone check the security footage to see if that Huo kid had really tried to take advantage of his daughter.
However, just as Liu Chengxiang gave the order, Liu Xuxue, who had regained her composure, handed her father two room cards. Under Liu Chengxiang’s questioning gaze, she slowly said, “Dad, I met Huo Xian.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Chengxiang’s entire body bristled, ready to transform into a raging dragon and tear Huo Xian apart.
Liu Xuxue’s next sentence calmed him down. She said, “He was already resting in the room before me and told me that Uncle gave him the room card.”
Liu Chengxiang’s eyes flashed with thought, “Your uncle said he stole it.”
“Uncle also said he tried to do something indecent to me,” Liu Xuxue’s tone was calm. “But in fact, I was still drunk when I came up and didn’t have much strength. If he wanted to, he could have done whatever he wanted to me. However, he didn’t. Not only that, but he also gave me the room and told me to lock the door. If he really had ulterior motives as Uncle said, I don’t think he would have given up such a good opportunity.”
Liu Chengxiang’s face was covered in frost: “How do you know he wasn’t afraid of the Liu family’s revenge?”
“Regardless of his reason for not taking that opportunity, there’s one thing Dad should know.” Liu Xuxue said, holding up two fingers.
The room next door.
[Host, aren’t you going to watch?]
Huo Xian pulled the blanket over himself, humming, “My eyes are tired, and I can’t hear anything either.”
The X-ray vision’s range was about twenty meters. The farther the distance, the more energy it consumed and the easier it was to tire. It could penetrate various materials, including human bodies, walls, and metals, all of which he had tested. Indeed, using this ability for jade appraisal would make him rich overnight.
However, the existence of the system and the information inadvertently revealed made him cautious. The world’s companies, enterprises, and regulatory agencies all felt crudely made. Companies could go bankrupt at will, and the relevant departments’ review and approval procedures were simple and rough, incredibly incongruous.
Currently, he was puzzled by Liu Chengpei’s motive for framing him. From their previous conversation, he could guess that Liu Chengpei was interested in the Huo family’s villa and Happy Garden. Framing him and using it to blackmail Huo En into giving up the last chips seemed reasonable. However, the Huo family’s villa, no matter how big or luxurious, had been lived in by the Huo family for twenty years. Liu Chengpei, who was at the forefront of fashion, wouldn’t like the old-fashioned decoration of the house. In terms of value, that villa, whose location wasn’t very good, was probably less valuable than Liu Chengpei’s high-end apartment in the city center.
Liu Chengpei has secrets.
=v=
The next day.
As soon as Huo Xian arrived home, he met Huo En, who was about to leave.
Huo En’s eyes lit up when she saw him. She immediately asked, “Axian, do you know where Dad’s imperial green jade bracelet he bought for Mom a few years ago is?”
Huo Xian was taken aback, “Jade bracelet?”
“Yes, the one Dad bought at an auction a few years ago for 110 million yuan as a birthday gift for Mom,” Huo En said.
Huo Xian rummaged through the original’s memories, “Didn’t Mom think the color was too old-fashioned and expensive, refusing to wear it and kept urging Dad to sell it back at the auction?”
Huo En nodded repeatedly, “Yes, that’s the one!”
There was a hidden safe in the bedside cabinet of Huo’s parents’ master bedroom on the third floor. Huo Xian had seen the jade bracelet using his ability; besides the bracelet, the safe was full of Huo’s mother’s jewelry.
“You didn’t find it?” Huo Xian asked, without revealing his knowledge.
Huo En shook her head, “I searched their room but didn’t find it, and I have something else to take care of.”
Huo Xian tilted his head and asked her, “Second Sister, what do you need that bracelet for?”
“It’s like this. An’s Jewelry accidentally broke their treasured item, a top-grade imperial green jade carving of a Pixiu. Now the shop doesn’t have a treasured item, and Miss An wants imperial green jade, regardless of whether it’s jewelry or an ornament. I thought of the bracelet Dad bought for Mom, so I came back to look for it. The An family is very wealthy. If we have this money, when Big Brother comes back, we can still make a comeback,” Huo En explained.
“Is the investigation over? When is Big Brother coming back?” Huo Xian asked.
Huo En smiled slightly, “I’ve taken care of everything. Big Brother wasn’t involved in those illegal activities under the guise of espionage. He should be back within a week.”
Huo Xian nodded, exhaling as if relieved, “It’s good that Big Brother is safe and sound.” He then changed the subject, subtly probing, “Is Miss An’s second daughter named Anna?”
Hearing his question, Huo En thought he was acting up again and solemnly warned him, “Axian, our family isn’t like before. Dad is still unconscious in the hospital, Big Brother hasn’t come back, and I have a lot of things to handle. If you continue to act up like you used to, no one can control you.”
Huo Xian understood her implication and didn’t argue. He had already gotten the answer he wanted: Anna, Miss An’s second daughter, was one of the five female leads in the system’s “plot.”
However, Anna’s last name was An, and An Chun, the “world bug,” also had the last name An?
Just as he was about to ask Huo En if she had heard of An Chun, Huo En’s phone rang. She glanced at the incoming call; it was an unfamiliar number. She frowned slightly; she usually had names saved for her contacts.
She only answered after the ringtone ended, “Hello?”
The other side said something. Huo Xian saw her eyes and mouth widening gradually, her tone somewhat excited: “Miss An? Yes, I’m Huo En, you’re too kind… Imperial green jade bracelet?” Her voice trailed off when she reached the last few words. She looked at Huo Xian, somewhat confused, “Yes, it was my father who bought it… Meet up? Yes, I have time, I have time. You want to visit my house? No, no trouble, no trouble, you’re welcome anytime.”
After the call ended, Huo En still had a dreamy expression. Without Huo Xian asking, she said, “Miss An learned about the jade bracelet my father bought and wants to discuss buying it,” she paused, showing distress, “but I didn’t find the bracelet, what should I do?”
Huo Xian didn’t respond, slightly lowering his head in thought: An’s Jewelry, world-renowned, a small jade shop’s treasured item was broken, and the huge An family couldn’t find another good jade? Or was the search for a treasured item just a pretext?
Author’s Note: Thank you to the little fairies “Liuyun” for watering the nutrient solution +2, and “windy Huashenlei” for watering the nutrient solution +1, muah =3=