No wonder Lin Xue’er had such strong possessiveness-it must have been influenced by her parents and triggered by some event that caused a psychological shift.
Xia Mengxi put aside her thoughts and stepped into the storage room.
She didn’t search meticulously because this room wasn’t as important as the others, and there were too many items to go through one by one-it would only waste time.
So, she planned to just take a quick look around.
“Just ordinary stuff…”
After walking around, Xia Mengxi didn’t find anything particularly noteworthy.
With that, she turned to leave.
But just then, her gaze inadvertently landed on a section where the label bore Lin Xue’er’s name.
Lin Xue’er’s storage area…
Seeing this, Xia Mengxi approached the labeled section and, following the principle of proximity, opened one of the boxes.
“Huh, old clothes…”
Finding that the box contained Lin Xue’er’s childhood clothes, Xia Mengxi didn’t pay it much mind and proceeded to open the other boxes.
The remaining boxes held school textbooks, sports equipment, and toys.
Though the variety wasn’t extensive, each category filled an entire box.
Notably, aside from the textbooks, everything else was branded—meaning Lin Xue’er came from a wealthy family?
“A rich kid, huh…”
Lin Xue’er’s family background was crucial information, as it could help Xia Mengxi better deduce the reason behind Lin Xue’er’s dark turn.
So, she committed this discovery firmly to memory.
“Hmm? Why is there a photo frame in the toy section?”
As Xia Mengxi closed the boxes one by one, she noticed an item that didn’t belong in the toy box.
Out of curiosity, she reached in and pulled it out, only to find the glass on the front of the frame shattered.
“Strange… It’s broken, yet it wasn’t replaced or thrown away. And… there’s still a photo inside. Something’s off!”
Her intuition told her the frame held a secret. Sure enough, after a closer inspection, she uncovered several key details.
The photo inside the frame was a picture of two little girls.
The one clearly visible bore a striking resemblance to Lin Xue’er-undoubtedly, this was Lin Xue’er as a child.
The other girl, however, was practically invisible—or more accurately, her face was obliterated by a large hole in the photo.
The cracks in the glass radiated outward from where the girl’s head should have been, leading Xia Mengxi to conclude the frame had been deliberately damaged.
“Holy-! This…!”
If she was Lin Xue’er’s childhood friend, then logically, this photo should be of the two of them together.
Instantly, Xia Mengxi broke out in a cold sweat.
No… no way! Had she somehow offended Lin Xue’er as a kid?
To the point where the other girl wanted to kill her?!
But if that were the case, why was Lin Xue’er still so close to her?
She couldn’t see any signs that Lin Xue’er was just pretending to be friendly…
“Wait, the person in the photo with Lin Xue’er probably isn’t me.”
Xia Mengxi analyzed the situation carefully.
While the likelihood was high that the other girl was her, it wasn’t definitive. Here’s why:
She had interacted with the corrupted Lin Xue’er and knew well that even in her corrupted state, Lin Xue’er treated her kindly with pure intentions.
The motive behind all her actions was to make sure she was the sole focus of her attention.
Even when she defied Lin Xue’er multiple times, sparking homicidal intent, the latter only ever wanted to keep her confined, never once intending to end her life.
Given such circumstances, she couldn’t believe Lin Xue’er harbored such intense hatred for her.
After all, if Lin Xue’er truly hated her, why would she wear a mask and treat her well in her normal state?
And in her corrupted state, wouldn’t she just kill her outright instead of imprisoning her?
Of course, one could argue that Lin Xue’er’s corrupted mindset became abnormal, and imprisoning her might have been a form of revenge.
But as mentioned earlier, Lin Xue’er never showed any such intention.
Therefore, she speculated that the other little girl in the photo was someone else entirely.
Wait a minute! If that’s the case…!
Xia Mengxi had always suspected that the reason for Lin Xue’er’s corrupted tendencies stemmed from an unforgettable past event.
If her speculation was correct, then… could the little girl in the photo be the key figure in that unforgettable incident?
In an instant, Xia Mengxi’s thoughts cleared up again.
She felt she was just one step away from fully uncovering Lin Xue’er’s past and experiences.
“Whoo-hoo~!”
Celebrating her major breakthrough, Xia Mengxi struck what she thought was a cool pose on the spot.
But adhering to the principle of not celebrating prematurely, she quickly composed herself, carefully placed the photo frame back in its original position, double-checked it several times, closed the box, and left the storage room.
Next up were the guest room and the master bedroom.
Honestly, there wasn’t much difference between the two rooms-both had uniformly furnished beds, wardrobes, desks, and so on.
The only notable distinction was that the master bedroom was slightly larger and had a dressing table.
To gather more clues, Xia Mengxi disregarded politeness and searched both the guest room and the master bedroom.
However, what surprised her was a crucial detail she noticed: Lin Xue’er’s parents slept in separate rooms!
“Wow… the wardrobe in the master bedroom is filled with women’s clothes, while the one in the guest room has only men’s clothes. This practically confirms the couple didn’t share a room!”
She had another piece of evidence to support this—both the master and guest beds had only one pillow each, aside from the blankets.
“Parents in discord… parents with unique personalities… wealthy family… tsk tsk.”
The situation with Lin Xue’er’s parents was pretty much confirmed.
Their influence was likely the root cause of Lin Xue’er’s psychological issues.
But what about the trigger that led to Lin Xue’er’s corrupted tendencies the little girl in the photo whose face had been scratched out?
Who was she, and what exactly happened between her and Lin Xue’er?
If she was lucky, she might find some answers in Lin Xue’er’s room.
Before searching the last room, Xia Mengxi deliberately checked the bathroom on the first floor and noticed the shower was running at that very moment, which eased much of her tension.
“Perfect, let’s get started!”
Having already prioritized her investigation mentally, she immediately headed to the desk upon returning to Lin Xue’er’s room.
After flipping through a few pages of the notebook on the desk, Xia Mengxi’s face lit up with joy.
“Just as I thought this is the diary!”