When the intense headache abruptly struck Leslie just now, she thought her head would split into two. Then, it vanished in a blink of an eye as if the pain was never there.
This feeling was similar to when Leslie first visited the Li family’s ancestral ho. A barrage of images and scenes flooded her mind, bringing Charlene’s suppressed mories to her.
A deserted hallway. An abandoned staircase at the corner. A loud gasp ca from herself. A piercing sensation of her body was thrown down from a higher place.
In the end, Leslie saw the blurry outline of soone. Even though it was not clear, her heart was telling her that it was Sarah.
Leslie closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. After an agonizing battle to regain her composure, she opened her eyes again and looked at Calix.
"Sarah is the culprit. I saw her... before I fainted."
Calix listened to Leslie repeating her previous words. A grave look replaced his usually cheery and easygoing vibe from his countenance.
"Don’t worry, Leslie. I’ll do your part."
In punishing the wrongdoer.
Leslie said nothing as she heard Calix’s deep voice turn hoarser. She watched Irene approaching the table again.
The high school girl’s eyes had faint traces of redness but, she didn’t look as downcast as before.
Without looking at Calix, Leslie warned him, "Don’t tell Irene yet. Let her still assu the perpetrator is Sarah. I don’t want her to act rashly."
Calix nodded, understanding what Leslie ant.
If Irene knew Sarah was indeed the culprit instead of just a suspect based on their assumptions, rage might take over her unsteady emotions. Leslie wanted to avoid that.
"Let’s go now," Calix swiftly returned to his cheery self. He pushed the chair back to its place, "Your mom might worry ah. It’s nearing six."
Jadeite Peak was only ten minutes away from Blossom Jade High. Bianca might question why Calix and Irene hadn’t appeared at their house yet.
"I’ve told Mom and Dad that we’d get ice cream first," Irene grinned, revealing her pearly white teeth, "Brother-in-law, next ti I’ll get you to treat again."
"Yeah, yeah. Think where you wanna go next. Even if you and your sister spend so much money, I won’t get bankrupt easily."
Irene burst out laughing while Leslie shook her head in helplessness. The latter was reminded of her conversation with Calix this noon.
On their ride to Jadeite Peak, Irene asked once again about their plan.
"So, I’ll just need to bring up the lost pendant when Sarah is around, right? Is it enough, Brother-in-law? What if she can fake her behavior?"
Calix tapped one finger on the steering wheel, humming to a tune. He replied, "Just do that. Leave the rest to an adult like ."
Irene pouted, "What? I can do more ah. Just tell what to do."
"If sothing happens to you, your sister will get worried," Calix glanced at Irene, smiling faintly at the young teen, "Trust your brother-in-law here. I’m her husband. I’ll handle the rest."
Irene had no choice but to listen to Calix. She told herself to be grateful for his assistance. If not, she would still keep this matter all to herself.
"Okay... I’ll listen to you."
"Good, good," Calix chuckled, "Once we’ve successfully exposed the maid to everyone, I’ll treat you to sothing."
Irene pursed her lips, thinking of an idea before asking, "Can I claim my reward after Big Sister wakes up? I wanna do sothing with her."
Irene’s words amazed Calix. At the sa ti, Leslie’s heart was touched by the teenage girl’s earnest care toward her elder sister.
"You can do it twice," responded Calix swiftly, "Just take the first one as , her husband rewarding you. You can enjoy whatever you want with your sister in the second round."
Irene’s eyes lit up. Admiration filled her gaze on Calix.
"Wow~ Did my sister save the galaxy in her previous life, huh? I get to have a rich brother-in-law because of her."
Leslie almost choked while Calix guffawed at Irene’s remark. The man’s laughter drowned the songs playing on the radio.
From the ice cream shop, Calix took around fifteen minutes to reach Jadeite Peak. The guards imdiately allowed him entry.
"Oh, Mom."
Irene shouldered the backpack properly before heading to Bianca. The latter had just walked out of the main door when Calix parked the car on the front porch.
"Welco ho, Irene," Bianca patted Irene’s back. She drew her gaze to Calix, "Thank you for sending her ho, Calix. Co inside. How about having a drink?"
"That sounds good, Mother," Calix smiled politely. He walked alongside Bianca and Irene, "Father hasn’t returned ho yet?"
"Not yet. Your father should be on his way back now," Bianca replied a little stiffly. She still hadn’t gotten used to having Calix as her son-in-law, "Your grandmother is inside. Well, your Aunt Deena is there too."
Calix followed the two won to the lounge. Leslie tailed along as always. Once they got there, they saw the butler pouring tea for Old Madam Li and Deena.
"Oh, you’re here already," Old Madam Li plastered a smile on her wrinkly face, looking at Calix, "Aren’t you busy with work? You don’t have to pick up Irene again, Calix."
"How are you, Grandmother-in-law?" Calix gave the old woman a slight bow, "It’s fine. I want to visit my wife’s ho so, I can fetch Irene up. Her school is just nearby."
Calix sat on the couch opposite Old Madam Li. He flashed a huge smile at Deena whose expression suddenly stiffened.
"Second Aunt Deena, are you in good health? Why do you look pale?"
Leslie smiled in amusent, knowing that Calix purposely asked Deena that question. He was just ssing with the latter for what her daughter did last week.
"N-nothing. Perhaps, I feel a little cold today," Deena mumbled her reply. She averted her eyes from the smiling young man.
Calix nodded. He stopped ssing with the poor woman.
At the sa ti, Irene called Butler Yang. The old man had just finished serving tea to Calix.
"Butler Yang, please tell Sarah to get my art book in my room. I want to show it to my brother-in-law."
"I will tell her, Third Miss," Butler Yang placed one hand over his abdon. He straightened his posture, "Please wait for a mont."
"Yes! Tell Sarah, alright? She knows where I put it," Irene reiterated her words.
"Understand."
Calix held back from smiling too much. His younger sister-in-law had stepped into her role. Leslie also saw that.
"Calix, did you share a good conversation with Irene?" asked Old Madam Li after sipping her tea, "Didn’t you treat her to so ice cream earlier?"
Old Madam Li was still surprised to hear that Calix offered himself to pick Irene up from school. She wondered what might the young man try to do.
"Brother-in-law bought ice cream," replied Irene before Calix could do it, "He asked about my sister. Hehe, Brother-in-law cares so much for Big Sister."
Bianca gently patted Irene’s arm, telling her not to interfere when Old Madam Li directed the question to Calix. The teen girl simply grinned.
Under Old Madam Li’s tensed look, Calix spoke, "Irene’s right. I’m worried about Charlene even though her report states that her condition is stable. Grandmother-in-law, you know that I’m still surprised by the accident."
Old Madam Li unconsciously tightened her hold on the tea cup. She smiled faintly, "Well... what to do? Unfortunately, we don’t have a security cara installed at the staircase."
"Yes... what a sha."
An awkward silence enveloped the lounge. Calix picked up the tea cup, wanting to moist his throat.
The show would begin soon.
Reviews
All reviews (0)