Tang i was first stunned, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and then slowly relaxed.
"Ah, it’s all grandma’s fault for dragging you into this. Those people might be afraid... of the secret being leaked, so that’s why they... but from now on..."
She hesitated, her words faltering.
Tang Xiaowan bit her lower lip, quietly watching, waiting, and stifling her emotions.
Yet, she eventually interrupted.
"Grandma, are you keeping sothing from , trying to think of the right words to deceive , is that it?"
Those eyes seed to penetrate everything with a fiery intensity that made it hard to look directly at her.
Tang i cleared her throat, scolding, "Nonsense, why would grandma lie to you! Alright, no more talk, go to sleep, it’s so late, it’s almost dawn."
With that, she yawned greatly.
Her voice was very loud—if soone had been outside the door at that mont, they certainly would have heard it.
Tang Xiaowan pouted, staring at the ceiling.
The hidden map in the oil painting made her even more suspicious that her grandmother, with her inconsistent words and deeds, was definitely hiding so unspeakable secret.
"Grandma."
"Uh... what?"
Another large yawn!
"Is that secret really important?"
"Uh... important."
"Then it makes sense. If they really were afraid of you passing the secret on to ... my injury wouldn’t have been just a hurt shoulder; it would have been fatal. But the people who attacked that day didn’t seem to really want to kill . I’ve only recently thought of this. They appeared fierce but were not targeting lethal spots. And about that voice recorder ssage, you don’t want to go to Country Y..."
Tang Xiaowan spoke mysteriously in great detail, feeling like a true detective with her thorough analysis. But when she turned around, she saw Tang i had fallen asleep.
Her breathing was even, her hands crossed over her abdon.
"Grandma, Grandma?"
"Oh, I forgot, it’s really late now."
"Let’s ask tomorrow!"
Looking at Tang i’s white hair, Tang Xiaowan felt both distressed and content, suddenly overwheld with a sense of ho’s warmth, so she quickly hugged her neck and kissed her wrinkled forehead several tis.
"Grandma, you won’t run away again, will you?"
"Don’t leave again, okay? Tangtang is scared, really, really scared. It feels terrible inside, having no one to talk to."
Tears stread down her cheeks, yet her lips held a smile.
Gradually, Tang Xiaowan fell asleep.
Gentle breezes stirred, and outside the window, the Lingxiao Flowers swayed alluringly under the street lamps.
An hour later...
"Grandma, Grandma!"
Startled, Tang Xiaowan woke up.
Seeing her grandmother right beside her, she stared back at her and imdiately cald down, though her heart pounded uncontrollably.
"Grandma!"
"Having a nightmare?"
"Uh, no, no nightmare."
"It’s still early, sleep a bit more, it’s only five o’clock, close your eyes and sleep."
My gosh, she had only slept for an hour!
Thank goodness it was just a dream, grandma is still here, nothing happened, scared to death!
Evil people, go away, get lost!
Get lost, get lost!
Looking at Tang Xiaowan’s puffed cheeks, like a little squirrel, Tang i felt a multitude of emotions, an unpleasant feeling in her heart, feeling like she owed her a lot.
mories flooded back...
Tang Xiaowan was very young when Tang i focused solely on training her, hoping she’d be independent, strong, and brave, but she forgot one very important thing: she was still just a five-year-old child.
Other children her age were probably still being pampered in their mothers’ arms, but Tang Xiaowan’s days were filled with endless physical training.
Constantly running, constantly swimming.
Sotis even withholding als from her, making her overco various oddly shaped obstacles on an empty stomach.
And to make matters worse, Tang Xiaowan was quite mischievous, always causing trouble, so receiving double the punishnt beca the norm.
At the age of 15, Ling Xiao beca her savior.
Despite their ten-year age difference, the two of them always had endless conversations and often sneaked out to play while Tang i took her afternoon nap.
All sorts of snacks and rare playthings continuously found their way into i Garden, comforting Tang Xiaowan’s young soul and satisfying her curiosity about the world.
Gradually, Tang Xiaowan grew up.
Not only did she run at shocking speeds, but diving into the sea, walking high in the air, fencing, and racing cars were also second nature to her. Even her sense of sll, self-defense, and mory were far superior to the average person.
Tang i thought this would be enough to keep her safe, but then the night raid happened.
"Grandma, what are you thinking about?"
The inquiry interrupted her reminiscence, and Tang i smiled slightly, playfully pinching Tang Xiaowan’s nose.
"It’s nothing, why aren’t you asleep?"
"Hurry and tell , what are you thinking about, please, pretty please?"
Tang Xiaowan thought that her grandmother was pondering an escape plan, and was planning to leave her behind again, which made her particularly anxious.
For her, guarding her grandmother was more important than sleeping or investigating the mastermind behind the scenes.
Unable to resist, Tang i answered with a smile, "I’m wondering if I should head down now. It will be dawn soon, perhaps..." Tang i paused and then continued, "Let’s talk about this later."
"Is it Huahua coming?"
"Yes, Tangtang, you are so clever, calculating the ti he should indeed be arriving!"
"Are you hiding sothing from ?"
"Yes, that’s right, it’s sothing you cannot know about, so stop asking, haha."
Her grandmother’s casual admission made Tang Xiaowan feel like perhaps it wasn’t a big deal, and her heart instantly relaxed, knowing for certain it was not about escaping.
As for the rest, it wasn’t a big deal.
"Oh, okay, I get it. When can I go down again?"
Her voice was soft, filled with anticipation.
"Tonight, after 10 p.m., and take the storage room route from the basent. Don’t use this secret door; that way is too winding."
"Okay, it’s a promise. Don’t fool , Grandma. I’ll head down at 10."
"The condition is you must be obedient and eat your als on ti."
Tang Xiaowan nodded vigorously, almost as if she had springs installed.
"Grandma is going down now."
"Wait a mont, take the thin quilt; it’s cold downstairs, don’t catch a cold."
Her words hadn’t finished falling before she had already reached the mahogany bed.
Tang Xiaowan grabbed the dark grey sumr quilt in one swift motion and ran towards her grandmother, as if afraid a slight delay would an missing out.
"Be good, Tangtang, take care of yourself."
After Tang i spoke, she opened the secret door and dove in without looking back, clutching the sumr quilt.
Her movents were incredibly agile, resembling those of a youth.
At that mont, behind her, a pair of watery eyes were staring intently at that spot.
Tang Xiaowan felt sowhat uneasy, suspecting the thod of entering through the secret door might differ from the exit, so she watched extrely carefully.
It turned out she was right.
Monts later, the bedroom returned to its usual silence, and Tang Xiaowan then lifted her chin high, her brilliant smile blossoming like a flower.
"I knew there was a trick, clever !"
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