Chapter 17

The Qiu family was the wealthiest in Rong City, so of course, they owned more than one property.
Now, Qiu Li was living in one of Qiu Chengyi’s long-vacant villas in the southern part of the city. It was closer to downtown, but far from the main Qiu estate.
After subtly prying the address from someone, Yan Xiao secretly looked it up on her tablet, and almost cried.
Sixty kilometers away.
An hour’s drive, longer if there was traffic.
How was she supposed to keep “farming points” like that?
Whenever she’d gone to the Qiu residence before, she’d always used the excuse of visiting Qiu Yan.
But now that Qiu Li had moved out, and moved so far away at that, how could she possibly keep visiting him?
Forget “from time to time,” it would already be a miracle if she could convince her mom, dad, or aunt to drive her there once a month!
She looked up at her parents, who were enthusiastically discussing whether to spend New Year’s Eve at her grandparents’ house or to invite everyone over to theirs.
Then her gaze shifted to her aunt, who had squeezed in a visit, multitasking as she took a phone call and revised a design draft at the same time.
Her eyes moved between the three adults twice before she sighed inwardly.
What a bleak future…
She was just a baby!
A three-year-old baby!
Why did fate have to make things so hard for her?!
With a small groan, she tossed her tablet aside, curled up in her little armchair, and pulled a pile of stuffed animals over herself, trying to bury her tiny self out of sight.
If she buried herself deep enough, maybe she wouldn’t have to face the cruel, unfair reality anymore.
Chen Zilu hung up the phone and glanced over, only to burst into laughter.
What kind of pose was that?
Abandoning her work entirely, she tiptoed closer, ready to tease her niece, but then her eyes fell on the tablet lying half on the carpet, half on the couch.
Its screen was still on, showing a map, and the location was a villa district she found vaguely familiar.
“?”
She looked at the tablet, then at her niece still burying herself deeper among the plush toys.
Three years and seven months old, and already looking up maps?
She’d always known her little niece was smart, but typing? And in complex Chinese characters?
Last time she’d visited, the kid hadn’t even known how to spell her own name!
And now she was using a map app?!
Excited beyond reason, Chen Zilu whipped out her phone, snapped a photo of her niece and the tablet, and sent it straight into the family group chat.
Queen Zilu: Our little Xiao-xiao’s got a new skill! Using the map app!
The chat instantly exploded:
Aaaaahhhh!
So cute!!
Give my baby a kiss for me!
[shocked.gif]

And, of course, came the curious comments,
She can type already? Incredible!
Maybe she used voice input!
Oh right, phones have great speech-to-text these days!
Technology’s amazing!

In the middle of this excited chatter, both of Xiao-xiao’s parents’ phones went ding ding ding like machine guns. They stopped their discussion, opened the chat, then turned their heads toward the sofa at the same time.
Chen Zilu silently put a finger to her lips. “Shh” Even the shh was mouthed, not spoken aloud.
Still diligently hiding beneath her stuffed animals, Yan Xiao had no idea her aunt had just snapped her picture and broadcast it to the entire family group chat.
Nor did she realize that at this very moment, her parents and aunt were all standing there, watching her bury herself.
After a long while, the pile of toys started to feel stuffy. Irritated, Yan Xiao shoved them off her head, and came face-to-face with three smiling adults.
“...”
Her frozen expression was so cute it could melt hearts.
Chen Zilu was the first to laugh. “What on earth are you doing?”
Yan Xiao pouted. She wasn’t in the mood to act cute or childish today.
Sprawled across the couch, she sighed weakly, “Thinking about life.”
Chen Zilu burst out laughing.
Thinking about life? What are you, thirty?
“And what conclusions have you come to?” she teased.
Yan Xiao stared at the chandelier glinting above her, expression grave. “Life is hard and the future looks bleak.”
The three adults couldn’t help laughing. After teasing her a bit, her parents went back to their discussion, leaving the “philosophical toddler” to her aunt.
“Well now,” Chen Zilu chuckled, plopping down beside her and pulling her into her lap, “worried about your future already? Don’t be! Auntie will take care of you, you can relax.”
At that, Yan Xiao’s gloomy little eyes lit up.
She rolled over and fixed her gaze on her aunt.
Chen Zilu grinned. She knew that look. Whenever the little one wagged her metaphorical tail like that, she was about to ask for something.
“Auntie…” Yan Xiao leaned in close, whispering right in her ear, “I don’t need you to take care of me. But could you do me a favor?”
“That depends on what it is.”
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“Tell me what for first.”
“If you’re not busy, can you drive me to Shengyi Garden Villas?”
“…”
Chen Zilu raised a brow, pretending not to know. “And what would you be doing there?”
“To see Qiu Li.”
She almost laughed out loud. So the little girl had finally run out of excuses and decided to tell the truth?
“Can you?” When her aunt didn’t answer right away, Yan Xiao asked again, eyes full of hope.
One look into those big, expectant eyes, and Chen Zilu’s heart melted into a puddle. Forget Shengyi Garden, if her niece wanted to go to the moon, she’d build her a rocket herself.
“Of course,” she said with a smile.
Yan Xiao almost cheered, but quickly covered her mouth. “Don’t tell my mom and dad, okay? They can’t know.”
Even the brightest kids were still kids, they thought one step ahead at a time. Chen Zilu nodded solemnly. “Okay. I won’t tell. It’ll be our little secret.”
She even held out her pinky.
Yan Xiao rolled her eyes at the childish gesture but hooked her pinky anyway, giggling as they sealed the promise.
That afternoon, when she woke up from her nap, she overheard her parents talking.
They said Qiu Li’s move had something to do with Qiu Zhan. The two had gotten into a huge fight, bad enough that the whole Qiu household had been thrown into chaos. To prevent something serious from happening between the boys, the family had sent Qiu Li to live in Shengyi Garden.
Her parents didn’t mention exactly what the fight was about; it sounded like the Qius had kept it tightly under wraps.
But she could easily imagine it. Qiu Zhan and Qiu Li had never gotten along. Ever since Qiu Li had moved into the main house, Qiu Zhan had treated him like an eyesore. That they’d finally clashed was no surprise at all.
No wonder Qiu Li had always hated Qiu Zhan, and even resented Qiu Yan to some extent. It all traced back to how cruelly Qiu Zhan treated him.
The system hadn’t told her the full details, so she didn’t know what exactly had happened. But she couldn’t stop thinking about that night on Christmas Eve.
When she’d gone to the Qiu house, Qiu Li had been trapped in the elevator during a so-called “power outage.”
At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, she’d been too rushed and distracted. But now, after hearing what her parents said, it didn’t seem right.
Qiu Li was quiet and introverted. He hardly ever played, and his room was on the second floor. Why would he even use the elevator?
And what a coincidence, only he and Qiu Zhan were home that night.
Then she remembered the look in his eyes when the elevator door opened.
Back then, she’d assumed he was just frightened. But now, no. That wasn’t fear alone. That was hatred, raw and burning.
Not toward her, but toward Qiu Zhan.
Getting stuck in an elevator by accident and being locked in one on purpose were two completely different things.
And the timing, he’d moved out of the house just days after Christmas. Too much of a coincidence.
If he could knock out Chen Yao’s tooth over a few taunts, would he really have let this go?
She could practically imagine how bad that fight must have been.
That was why she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to go see him.
She needed to check how he was doing, to make sure that night hadn’t left some psychological scar that would push him toward his “villain arc.”
If he snapped too early, not only would her point system collapse, she might get wiped out right along with him.
Of course, there was a small part of her that simply worried about him.
After all, he hadn’t done anything evil yet. He was still just a child. Seeing him would ease her mind. And they had eaten at the same table for months.

The next day, December 31st, the very last day of the year.
In the end, her parents decided they’d celebrate New Year’s Eve at her grandparents’ place with the whole family.
Early that morning, Yan Xiao was already dressed and ready to go.
Once they arrived and she’d greeted the elders, she slipped away to find her aunt.
They’d made plans yesterday, and Aunt Chen Zilu was true to her word. She told the family she was taking her niece out for a little drive to buy fireworks for the evening, then got in the car and hit the highway.
Traffic was heavy that day. By the time they reached Shengyi Garden Villas, it was nearly eleven o’clock.
The streets were strung with lanterns and red ribbons for the New Year, glittering under the winter sun.
But when they parked and stepped out, Yan Xiao looked up at the quiet, three-story house standing apart from the others, still, cold, and strangely lonely, and a frown crept across her small face.
He’s not out, right?
Chen Zilu, calm as ever, stepped forward to ring the doorbell.
She pressed it a few times, and just when they thought no one was home, the gate opened.
Yan Xiao’s face instantly brightened, and then froze halfway through her smile.
Someone lived here, clearly, the house was clean, the yard neatly trimmed, yet somehow, the place felt desolate.
Remembering what her parents had casually mentioned yesterday about why Qiu Li had moved out of the main house, she bit her lip.
“Why are you here?”
Qiu Li ran over, slightly out of breath, his small face pale and tense.
He’d meant it in surprise, disbelief, even, but in Yan Xiao’s ears, it sounded like he was annoyed, unwelcoming.
Her brows twitched. “I came to see you!” she replied proudly, tilting her chin.
Chen Zilu: “…” What kind of weird little soap opera is this? Are kindergarteners always this dramatic now?
Qiu Li didn’t pick up on her tone at all. He was never good at expressing joy. He simply said, “Oh. Come in.”
“…”
So perfunctory! She’d come all this way, sweet-talking her aunt and parents to make this trip, and all she got was ‘oh’?
Still, the less he cared, the more points she’d earn, so whatever.
“You came out without a coat?” Chen Zilu frowned, noticing his red nose. “Hurry inside before you freeze.”
Only then did Yan Xiao realize he was wearing nothing but a light blue sweater.
The sweater had a pattern of tiny white-and-blue dolphins, making his features look even more delicate. Maybe it was because his face was pale from the cold, or maybe it was because she hadn’t seen him for so long, but there was a new refinement to him, almost noble.
She scratched her head. Great, now I’m hallucinating from stress.
They changed shoes and walked into the house.
The heating was warm, almost too warm, yet the place still felt empty.
Too quiet, too clean.
Everything was perfectly arranged, but there wasn’t a trace of life.
It didn’t feel like a home.
Thinking of a six-year-old living all alone in such a big, silent house, Yan Xiao’s heart softened. She glanced at him with a hint of pity as he went to fetch them drinks.
“Do you live here by yourself?” she asked, sipping her milk.
Qiu Li nodded. “Mm. Auntie went out to buy groceries.”
The Qiu family had assigned a caretaker to look after him.
She nodded, just as she’d heard.
Secretly, she studied him again. He didn’t seem too different, no visible emotional changes, no dark aura of villainy yet.
Relieved, she exhaled. Good. Not blackened.
Still, the silence pressed on her, so she started talking again. “What were you doing just now? We rang the doorbell for ages.”
Qiu Li hesitated. “Doing entrance exam practice questions for elementary school. Didn’t hear it.”
Entrance exams? But that wasn’t until next year! And didn’t he automatically get in anyway?
Her eyes darted, and suddenly, she understood. He’s competing with Qiu Zhan and Qiu Yan again, isn’t he?
The system had described him as proud, obsessive, and endlessly driven. It made perfect sense.
“What kind of practice questions?” she asked, suddenly curious. “Let me see.”
He led her upstairs.
Chen Zilu stayed downstairs, letting the kids do their thing.
Inside his bedroom, she was stunned to see piles of papers stacked across the desk, test papers, workbooks, neatly filled-in practice sheets.
Her eyes lit up. The heavens are on my side!
She lifted her chin, putting on her most confident look. “You probably can’t do a lot of these, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll teach you!”
After all, Qiu Li hated being looked down on, and he was only in kindergarten, barely halfway through the year! Elementary school material had to be way too advanced for him.
Finally, her college-level knowledge could shine! Even if her brain wasn’t fully developed in this tiny body yet, elementary questions should be a piece of cake.
She’d show off her brilliance and laugh at him a little while she was at it!
Qiu Li, who had always thought Yan Xiao was smarter than anyone else he knew, didn’t doubt her for a second. Her sudden visit had actually relaxed the tension in his shoulders.
“Okay,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips as he pulled out a chair for her. “You do it. Question nine, part two. I’ve been stuck on it for ages.”
His expression, that faintly amused, let’s-see-you-fail look, almost made Yan Xiao laugh out loud.
Oh, little villain, she thought gleefully, you have no idea what real power looks like. Just don’t cry later when I crush you.
Rolling up her sleeves, she strutted over, only to stop dead in front of the paper.
What were these weird diagrams supposed to be?
Wasn’t this a first-grade entrance test? Why were there logic puzzles?!
She was terrible at logic!
She recognized every word, but together, they made no sense.
Her confidence evaporated. The very first problem had already defeated her.
It was like lightning striking straight through her head.
And the worst part? Not only did she not understand question nine, she didn’t even understand question eight, the one he’d already solved!
Her palms grew clammy.
Panic, embarrassment, and a child’s stubborn pride all tangled together until her not-yet-fully-developed brain stopped working altogether.
“Done reading?” Qiu Li pointed to the question. “This one. How do you solve it?”
Buzz.
Her mind went completely blank.
When she finally looked up, Qiu Li was smiling at her, a faint curve of the lips, eyes bright with mockery.
Pure, unfiltered gloating.
“…”
She, she couldn’t even solve a grade school entrance test?!
“Hmm?” Qiu Li frowned, curious.
Struck by the harsh fist of reality, Yan Xiao’s face crumpled. Her mouth twitched, and then she let out a heartbroken, wailing,
“Waaahhhh!”
She burst into tears.
Qiu Li, who had been expecting amusement and maybe a little banter, froze completely. His bright eyes dimmed with panic. “?”