The Forgotten Hamster... Mengmeng, how come you actually have someone you like

On the way back to the Dongfang Family home.

“Mom, what are you talking about?” Dongfang Zhixia sat in the back seat, her voice weary as she asked the question and yawned.

She still hadn’t figured out what was going on, yet she had already been dragged out of the orphanage. To be honest… Dongfang Zhixia had even considered packing Xiao Chun up and taking her along, so she could slowly ask about Ye Cheng on the way.

And… she absolutely had to find out whether that bastard had told anyone anything about her!

Damn it! Why? Why did Shen Qinghan have one too? And that damned maid… Xiaxia? What the hell was with this “Xiaxia”? I’ll remember you!

The scene from earlier at school came to mind: she had seen the Head Maid and Xia Tongxin by the pond. At the time, she hadn’t paid it much attention.

After all… what threat could a silly, dumb-looking Little Blondie possibly pose?

Nothing to worry about!

Who would have thought that, after all this, the person she really needed to watch out for wasn’t Little Blondie at all, but the inconspicuous maid beside her—that damned scheming maid!

Originally, Dongfang Zhixia had planned to make time to come back to the orphanage with Ye Cheng. After all, Ye Cheng was an orphan with no home, and the orphanage was his home.

Coming back for a look might have led to some unexpected discoveries…

What she hadn’t expected was that someone else had moved faster than her and gotten there first—and it was some completely unknown nobody!

The Head Maid’s appearance had finally made Dongfang Zhixia resolve that from now on, she would be wary of everyone around Ye Cheng. No… every single female around him would have to be watched!

A place where she had fallen once was absolutely not a place she could fall a second time.

Come to think of it… Tang Yuyao needed watching too!

If Dongfang Zhixia had merely suspected Tang Yuyao before, then after the Head Maid incident, that suspicion had become outright vigilance. Even without any solid evidence, Tang Yuyao had still been placed on the list of suspects!

That status would only be removed if Tang Yuyao got married—or if she got married herself!

There would be no discussion on this matter!

People always said that a woman’s sixth sense was terrifying. If Ye Cheng knew what the President was thinking right now, he probably wouldn’t stay in the Northwest any longer. He would run straight overseas to avoid the storm.

These people were all so ridiculously overpowered. How was anyone supposed to play the game anymore?

Su Su asked, “Zhixia, think about it. Why were those two perfectly fine just now, only to suddenly become unable to go on and have to leave?”

Dongfang Zhixia fell silent. She seemed to have realized that something was off too. She couldn’t be certain about anything else, but Lin Baizhi had clearly been full of energy moments ago, rummaging through every nook and cranny of the orphanage in search of something.

Yet after Lin Tianxiong came back and said a few words, she suddenly became “too weak to continue,” collapsed, and fell asleep. Then… that problem child had fallen asleep too and been taken away.

Dongfang Zhixia: “!!!”

Exactly! What were the odds of something like that happening by coincidence?

Dongfang Zhixia suddenly realized that she had been tricked. Those two had put on an act right in front of her!

Lin Baizhi was one thing. Her personality had always been rather sinister, and they hadn’t known each other for very long, so Dongfang Zhixia could accept it.

But she never would have imagined that Shen Qinghan would act the same way.

How was that possible?

The problem child’s personality wasn’t supposed to be like this. She wasn’t supposed to be capable of something like that. So how…

As though she had thought of something, an unprecedented sense of danger welled up inside Dongfang Zhixia.

Could it be that the problem child was starting to become normal?

At least… she was beginning to become normal to some extent!

No!

“What did those two find out?” Dongfang Zhixia’s pupils contracted, shock filling her eyes.

That shouldn’t have been possible. Everyone had been at the orphanage just now and had never left her sight. Even though Lin Baizhi had been searching around everywhere, Dongfang Zhixia had specifically assigned people to keep watch over her.

The moment anything unusual was discovered, she was to be informed. Everything had gone according to plan. So how had she somehow fallen a step behind?

Su Su sighed. “Ah, Zhixia, your mother has failed you. Those two old foxes must have found out something, but they’re refusing to tell me.”

At the same time, Su Su’s resentment toward Shen Ming began to grow again.

Shen Ming: As if I care what you think…

Doudou Bro had once been a respectable man too. But after enduring Madam’s “sonic attacks through the brain” and her relentless elbow jabs for so long, he had eventually become exactly the kind of person he used to hate. If you can’t beat them, join them—he had successfully been assimilated by Madam.

Thus, Shen Ming had undergone a glorious transformation into Doudou Bro!

“It doesn’t matter, though. We just need to keep a close eye on what they do. We’ll follow them when the time comes.” That was Su Su’s plan.

The process wasn’t important. As long as they knew the outcome, that was enough.

Ye Cheng definitely wasn’t in Great Sea City anymore. Both families were acting so urgently that they would certainly have to take a plane. With such a large-scale operation, and with Su Su’s side watching them the entire time, it was impossible for them to slip away unnoticed!

As long as both families went to the same place, Su Su and Dongfang Zhixia would follow them there!

Dongfang Zhixia nodded. “Okay. I’m going to sleep for a while. Wake me when we get there…”

She closed her eyes and rested for quite some time. Then, as though she had suddenly remembered something, she abruptly opened them.

“Wait! That idiot is probably still in the villa!”

“Quick, turn around! We need to go back to the school first!” Dongfang Zhixia’s voice was tinged with panic.

Su Su: “???”

Meanwhile.

At the villa.

The Little Secretary had completely run out of energy. She lay sprawled on the floor, rolling her eyes while the phone beside her—its battery long since drained—sat uselessly nearby.

The charger was on the first floor.

There was no one else in the house.

Before Dongfang Zhixia had left the villa, she had arranged for someone to come and look after the Little Secretary, since the girl’s legs were inconvenient. The person was supposed to take care of her for one day.

According to the original plan, Dongfang Zhixia would be back that evening. But then… the plan had changed at the last minute.

The person responsible for looking after the Little Secretary hadn’t come the next day. There was no one to cook for her, and her phone had run out of power. She also needed to use the bathroom. Fortunately, through sheer force of will, she had managed to crawl to the bathroom and take care of one urgent matter.

However, that had exhausted the last of her strength. In the end… she passed out.

Before losing consciousness, she had still been waiting for her young lady to come and rescue her. She had nearly started hallucinating from hunger and exhaustion…

Click!

The villa’s front door opened. Dongfang Zhixia hurried up from the first floor, only to see the Little Secretary lying on the second-floor landing.

“Aaaahhh—!”

Dongfang Zhixia let out a piercing shriek.

Outside the villa, Su Su had just gotten out of the car and was preparing to go inside. The moment she heard her daughter’s scream, she hurriedly covered her ears.

Even so, her eardrums still throbbed painfully. Only after quite some time did she lower her hands and walk into the villa in her high heels.

Come to think of it… had it been some time since she had last come here?

“Idiot, are you all right? Wake up!” Dongfang Zhixia held Little Secretary in her arms, pinching her philtrum over and over… her “mouse-trum”!

Hearing that familiar voice, Little Secretary gradually came to. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly as she opened her eyes.

Her eyes, brimming with wisdom, looked weak as she finally made out the person in front of her…

“Mi… Miss… This hallucination feels so real this time. And so soft, hee hee…”

Little Secretary’s eyes widened in disbelief. Realizing that this hallucination seemed unusually vivid, she grew excited. Her expression became even more “intelligent” as she rubbed herself against Dongfang Zhixia and giggled foolishly.

Dongfang Zhixia: “…”

Su Su: “…”

This girl… Why did she still seem just as stupid as before?

Su Su stood at the foot of the stairs, the corner of her mouth twitching as she watched the silly little girl and her own daughter. She suddenly understood.

When her daughter was young, she had clearly been hot-tempered—the kind of person who couldn’t tolerate even the slightest imperfection. So why had she gradually become gentler over the years?

She was still very domineering, of course, but she had gained quite a bit of warmth. She was no longer so absolute about everything…

If nothing unexpected had happened, it was probably because Little Secretary had worn her down. Taking care of a fully grown child every day had gradually smoothed away all her sharp edges. If her temper hadn’t improved, that would have been the real miracle.

A few minutes later, in the living room on the first floor…

Little Secretary sat alone on the sofa, slurping instant noodles. Her eyes blinked rapidly.

Oh, just look at those wise little eyes! She was clearly one of the elite warriors who had crossed the single-plank bridge of the gaokao, China’s fiercely competitive college entrance exam!

Su Su: “…”

This child’s eyes were almost too clear.

No wonder her daughter liked her so much. Anyone would have trouble disliking someone who clearly had no ill intentions and was so easy to read. Who could hate a girl who obviously had no ulterior motives?

“Slow down, Mengmeng. Don’t choke.” Su Su picked up a glass of milk from the side and handed it to her.

Little Secretary blinked at Su Su, took a huge slurp of noodles, and her wise little eyes suddenly became resolute.

“Understood, Madam!”

Su Su: “???”

Why did she sound so energetic?

If she remembered correctly, Little Secretary used to say something like, “Mm-hmm, thank you, Madam.” So why did she suddenly sound like a soldier?

Could she have watched something strange again?

The corner of Su Su’s mouth twitched.

There had been similar incidents in the past, so Su Su didn’t think much of it. She simply assumed that someone had corrupted Little Secretary again.

The enormous living room held only Su Su and Little Secretary. Dongfang Zhixia was nowhere to be seen.

“So, Mengmeng,” Su Su began, breaking the silence and choosing the approach favored by the older generation, “how old are you this year?”

Little Secretary slurped up another mouthful of noodles, blinked, and stared motionlessly at Su Su.

“I think I’m twenty-one?”

Su Su: “…”

“I think”?

Did this child not even remember her own age?

“Is something wrong, Madam? Slurp, slurp, slurp… chew, chew, chew… slurp, slurp…”

Little Secretary blinked her big, wisdom-filled eyes, then slurped up two more mouthfuls of noodles and chewed noisily.

Su Su: “…”

This child…

“It’s nothing. It’s just that, Mengmeng, do you have a boy you like? You’re not getting any younger, you know. A girl’s youth is most precious during these few years…”

At those words, Little Secretary stopped chewing. In her not-too-bright mind, Ye Cheng’s face suddenly appeared.

“Hee hee hee, no, Madam. Hee hee hee.”

Little Secretary fidgeted shyly, her cheeks turning red. She stopped eating her noodles altogether and sat there bashfully, letting out a series of foolish giggles.

Su Su: “???”

Wait, she really did have someone?

Wasn’t the answer supposed to be no?!

No… who was it?!