So… where should I start?
Could it be hidden in the books again?
After all, the reason Lin Xue’er kept missing pages in her Diary was to constantly remind herself of certain things, so it’s very likely she placed them in equally obvious spots.
With that in mind, Xia Mengxi began searching through the books on the bookcase. Unfortunately, after carefully flipping through every single one, there was no sign of any paper like before. It seemed her guess this time was wrong.
If that’s the case, then let’s check the desk—there’s probably nothing in the bookshelf anymore.
Standing in front of the Cherry Wood Desk, Xia Mengxi opened the drawers on both sides one by one. There weren’t many things inside—just a few pens, some sheets of paper, and some documents she couldn’t understand. That was all.
“Ah? No way…”
Because there were so few things in the study, Xia Mengxi finished investigating quickly. She even ran her hands along the desk drawers’ sides—top, bottom, left, right, and back—checking for any hidden compartments or mechanisms. She also fiddled with the ornaments on the bookcase, hoping to find something.
But… still nothing.
“Uh…”
Actually, from the moment she stepped into the study, she had a feeling there wouldn’t be much here. It was just that in the past, she’d never experienced an investigation ending empty-handed, so finding nothing here made her feel a bit frustrated and unwilling to accept it.
But no matter how much she resisted, there really was nothing else to check in the study. What else could she do?
Although Xia Mengxi quickly came to terms with it, she didn’t realize the same dead-end awaited her in the servant room and the storage room under the stairs.
“Are you kidding me? Three places, not a single clue? This is ridiculous!”
If nowhere on the first floor could hide anything, then could the missing Diary pages be upstairs?
In an instant, Xia Mengxi reached this conclusion. Compared to the cramped second floor with hardly any places to check, the first floor had much more space to explore. So after a moment’s thought, she decided to continue searching thoroughly on the first floor. If she still found nothing new, then she’d go up to the second floor to investigate more carefully.
But she’d already searched everywhere on the first floor. It couldn’t be hidden in the Entrance or Main Hall or Kitchen, right?
“Wait a minute. If Lin Xue’er used the missing pages in her Diary to warn herself, then those obvious places like the Entrance Vestibule might actually be possible…”
Realizing this key point, Xia Mengxi immediately discarded common sense and began investigating those areas. Following the principle of proximity, the first place she checked was the kitchen.
“The kitchen… hiding things here would actually be a pretty good spot. There really are a lot of cabinets.”
Xia Mengxi opened cabinet after cabinet in the kitchen. The number of pots and pans wasn’t large, but everything was complete.
But that wasn’t the important part. The key moment came when she examined one particular cabinet.
“Whoa, could it really be hidden here?”
The cabinet in front of her had noticeably half the space of the adjacent ones. If there were pillars, or pipes, or ductwork inside, it might make sense—but there wasn’t.
Xia Mengxi lightly knocked on it with the back of her hand, and a hollow sound echoed from within.
Seeing this, a small smile crept onto her face. She hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise to come just in time.
The next moment, after finding the switch and opening the Hidden Compartment, her smile instantly vanished.
“Damn…!”
She was so shocked because inside the hidden compartment were numerous bottles filled with transparent liquid. Next to those bottles, inside a small box, there were metal tube-like objects and white tubes.
For a moment, Xia Mengxi even wondered if Lin Xue’er or her family were that kind of people. But recalling her own experience before being abducted to the underground prison, she immediately understood these were things used to knock people unconscious.
Come to think of it, she had never considered when Lin Xue’er obtained such items. Back when Lin Xue’er had only just started turning dark and stayed mostly by her side except during naps, when exactly did she get these knockout tools? It seemed Lin Xue’er’s family had been hiding them at home all along!
Wait! Why would Lin Xue’er keep such things at home? And carry them around? Huh?
The sudden explosion of information left Xia Mengxi a bit dumbfounded. She had a bad feeling.
“This is… the third part of the missing pages from the Diary!”
In the layer between the small boxes holding the tubes, Xia Mengxi found several sheets of paper. On these pages were not only dates but also her own name.
There was no doubt these were the missing pages from the third part of the Diary she had been looking for.
The neighbors next door moved in again—a family of three, huh.
…
The new neighbors came over to greet us. At first, I didn’t want to interact with them, but their child spotted me on the second floor balcony. The look she gave me made it hard to look away.
…
Xia Mengxi—that’s her name. Even though I didn’t want to make friends anymore, there was something almost magical about her that deeply attracted me. So… I talked to her.
…
After spending a month with Xiao Xi, I finally understood why I was willing to interact with others again. Xiao Xi is a pure person, pure to the point of… being a little naive.
She’s very easy to control but also easily influenced by other things and people. So… I have to find a way to hold her tightly in my grasp, or she’ll leave me like Xiao Xi did.
…
Turns out, if I want to keep someone with me forever, I have to get married.
Even though both Xiao Xi and I are girls, that doesn’t matter. Before we grow up, I’ll bind her to me with promises. When we grow up, I’ll make her carry my child.
That way, she will forever, forever, forever be inseparable from me.
“?!”
After reading these entries about her “childhood,” Xia Mengxi was deeply unsettled.
She had thought Lin Xue’er’s dark turn was simply a childhood trauma. While that was true, there was another factor—Lin Xue’er’s worldview had long since been distorted.
If that’s the case, then all of Xia Mengxi’s efforts last week might have been basically wasted! Even if the trauma is resolved, the distorted worldview will still cause darkness…
Just as Xia Mengxi was stunned by this new discovery, suddenly a cold wind brushed past her back, followed by a familiar yet chilling voice whispering in her ear.
“Hey… Xiao Xi, why do you want to shatter this false happiness?”