She pretended to be oblivious: “Huh? Really? Missing something?”
Su Mother, afraid she had misread the situation, rummaged through the drawer again: “The earrings we returned—where did they go? And a few bracelets too?”
As someone who worked in the jewelry industry, she was extremely sensitive to missing items; she could spot something missing at a glance.
Normally, she rarely opened this drawer, and even when she did, she wouldn’t rummage through it carelessly.
Moreover, the drawer’s surface looked untouched at first glance, so Su Mother hadn’t noticed anything missing.
But this time, after overturning the entire drawer, she immediately found the problem.
“How could they have disappeared? You haven’t been home the whole holiday, Dad wouldn’t have gone into your room to take jewelry, right?”
Su Yan feigned casual innocence.
As soon as those words left her mouth, Su Mother’s expression darkened instantly.
“Go ask Qian Qian. That kid probably took them out to play and forgot to return them.”
Su Yan nodded and watched as Su Mother left.
She could have told her mother directly that some jewelry was missing, but that would only make her mother angrier when she discovered it herself.
When they last spoke on the phone, Su Yan noticed how satisfied Su Mother was with Zhao Qian, thinking she was a good girl.
If Su Yan confronted Zhao Qian herself or told her mother that Zhao Qian had stolen something, it would easily be dismissed as making a mountain out of a molehill.
After all, Zhao Qian’s appearance and behavior were pretty convincing—she probably had a good way of smoothing things over.
More importantly, Su Yan didn’t want her parents to think she was guarding against them.
To rummage through the jewelry box immediately upon returning home and notice something missing so precisely—it would be a chilling move toward the parents who had always cared for her.
Although she was on guard against Zhao Qian, to avoid hurting her parents, Su Yan staged this little play, letting Su Mother discover the problem on her own.
She strolled out of her room leisurely and went to the living room to watch the show unfold.
Zhao Qian had already been called out by Su Mother.
“Qian Qian, have you been in Xiaoyan’s room?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qian’s pupils shrank slightly, then she obediently nodded: “Auntie, I just wanted to see what my sister’s room looked like from childhood, so I went in to have a look.”
“Then…”
Before Su Mother could finish, Zhao Qian quickly added in a seemingly innocent tone: “I saw a drawer open, so I wanted to help close it. But then I found lots of plastic jewelry inside!”
She happily ran over and grabbed Su Yan’s hand.
“Sister, do you like collecting these fake jewelry pieces?”
Hearing this, Su Mother’s eyes softened a bit, and the tension in her entire demeanor eased.
Su Yan said nothing but silently marveled at how well this girl spoke—just a few words and the nature of the matter seemed less serious.
From stealing at someone else’s house, it had turned into a curious child playing with some insignificant toys.
Although Su Mother was less angry, her expression remained serious. “Those aren’t fake jewelry. And didn’t I tell you before not to play in your sister’s room? Why didn’t you listen?”
Zhao Qian immediately ran to Su Mother’s side and coquettishly said, “Auntie~ I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to, I was just too curious and forgot what you said. I promise I won’t step into my sister’s room anymore.”
Her eyes reddened as she added, “Usually, I’m all alone at home. Knowing sister was coming back soon, I really wanted to understand her and become good friends.”
Su Mother nodded and patted her head: “It’s good to recognize your mistake. Your sister wants to be friends with you too.”
Zhao Qian got up and cutely ran to her own room, pulling out the jewelry and handing it to Su Yan with an apologetic tone: “Sister, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to take these things before.”
She sincerely said, “Thankfully, you care so much about these jewelry pieces that you noticed immediately when something was missing. Otherwise, if I lost any, that would really be a serious offense.”
Tsk tsk tsk!
Listening to her sweet talk, Su Yan couldn’t help but feel glad she had been cautious.
On the surface, Zhao Qian’s words were flawless.
But a closer analysis revealed a hidden meaning—she was subtly accusing Su Yan of guarding against her own family, rummaging through the jewelry as soon as she returned to check if anything was missing.
Unfortunately for her, she miscalculated.
Su Yan smiled as she took the jewelry and said, “It’s okay, I forgive you. But I really have to thank Mom—if it weren’t for her sharp eyes, I wouldn’t have noticed anything missing.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qian’s eyes widened slightly as she glanced at Su Mother.
Su Mother, unaware of the undercurrent between the two, thought this was just a sibling-like friendly scene and watched happily.
She turned her head, feeling a bit unsettled.
Zhao Qian was no fool.
To maintain a good reputation among relatives, she clearly had a sharp mind.
She didn’t believe it was purely by chance that Su Mother noticed the missing jewelry now.
Why hadn’t she noticed before?
Why did her own daughter discover it as soon as she came home?
There must have been some covert prompting from Su Yan.
It seemed Su Yan was not a simple character…
Zhao Qian’s thick lashes concealed the complexity in her eyes.
Raising her gaze, she once again put on that innocent look: “Auntie, you’re really amazing!”
After this brief confrontation, things temporarily settled down.
As the biological daughter, Su Yan held absolute advantage at home.
Zhao Qian was smart and wouldn’t target Su Yan until she had a perfect plan.
The two spent a quiet stretch of time in uneasy truce.
Time flew by quickly, and soon it was time for the show recording again.
Su Yan locked her room door and opened the app.
“Master!”
Seeing Su Yan appear, Xiao Ya immediately greeted her energetically.
Su Yan smiled and nodded, “Good morning, Xiao Ya, time for recording again!”
Xiao Ya stretched her tiny body with a big yawn: “Yeah! Master, if you win a round this time, you get 150,000! That’s a huge sum!”
Su Yan clenched her fist with determination: “Just for that 150,000, I’ll give it my all!”
Xiao Ya raised her tiny fist too: “Go, go!”
Su Yan clicked the envelope, and a line of words quickly appeared before her:
Wooden Figure—Don’t Move
The next second, she was already inside the phone’s virtual space.
This time it was the game Wooden Figure.
Su Yan couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
Honestly, ever since starting high school, she hadn’t played these games.
“Wooden Figure—Don’t Move” was a classic from her childhood!
She didn’t have to wait long before the system’s prompt sounded:
Game Start.
After a moment of dizziness, Su Yan entered the instance world.
Regaining her composure and observing her surroundings, Su Yan was somewhat surprised.
It was very empty around her; the entire instance had only five other guests.
In other words, there were just six guests on the show this time?
Why was the number getting smaller?
They seemed to be in a very small stadium.
Several people stood on a red rubber running track, flanked by high gray walls on both sides.
The track was the kind used for sprints, straight and only about fifty meters long.
At the end of the track stood a tall wooden post, standing upright.
Su Yan counted six lanes.
She instantly understood—the six guests each had one lane and would run together toward the wooden figure.
Though she hadn’t played in a long time, Su Yan still remembered the rules of Wooden Figure—Don’t Move somewhat.
She recalled that this game didn’t require players to fight each other much.
If that was the case, she could relax.
Su Yan hated fighting people; human nature was the scariest thing of all.
With her small frame, who knew if she’d really get a bone broken?
Seeing that the Host hadn’t arrived yet, everyone started chatting.
Well, it wasn’t really chatting—more like trying to get some information about the show.
Su Yan was never the one to start the conversation; she quietly listened to everyone else’s words.
The first to speak was a guy in basketball clothes, red-haired and strikingly similar to Sakuragi Hanamichi: “Everyone’s played Wooden Figure before, right? Remember the rules?”
He spoke cheerfully but fixed his gaze on the oldest-looking person in the group, openly showing his skepticism—he didn’t believe an older person could really join this game.
That man was indeed a bit older, probably in his forties, with some gray at his temples.
He stood out among the younger crowd.
Su Yan had been through two instances and encountered around forty or fifty people, but in her impression, the oldest guest had never looked older than thirty.
The older man naturally felt the redhead’s hostility and calmly replied, “I think everyone had a childhood, and those with a childhood have naturally played this game. As for the rules, won’t the Host explain them shortly?”
Su Yan nodded approvingly.
His words were neither arrogant nor defensive—reasonable and thorough, leaving no weak points.
This made the redhead’s challenge seem rash.
She studied the middle-aged man with a discerning eye and silently analyzed.
This show was clearly aimed at young people; many games probably involved physical activity like “Duckling Crossing.”
In this context, an older man wouldn’t have any advantage—he might even struggle with stamina or mental agility.
But judging by his appearance, this man was clearly not a novice.
It was likely he had been on the show for a long time.
After all, his demeanor and quick reactions far surpassed the redhead’s.
Su Yan felt he must have some extraordinary qualities to stay on the show so long.
Interesting, truly interesting.
Meanwhile, the redhead was losing face and was at a disadvantage in his exchange with the middle-aged man.
Flustered, he said, “You’re definitely going to hold us back later, what are you dragging on for here?”
He glanced at the others: “Everyone remembers Wooden Figure, right? It’s obviously a game that requires physical activity. And anyway, according to how I played it as a kid—Wooden Figure Don’t Move—we’re actually cooperating. Some people are clearly dragging their feet. Why did I get matched with such teammates?”
His analysis wasn’t wrong, but his mind was still not sharp enough.
He only knew how to analyze the instance, not realizing that anyone who passed the initial test and was chosen by the show must have some real skill.
Su Yan twitched the corner of her mouth and turned to look at the middle-aged man.