Stepping into the villa, she was greeted by an extravagantly luxurious hall.
Elegant marble floors, a magnificent chandelier studded with crystals, delicately carved ornaments, and bespoke wooden furniture-it was luxurious without being free of tackiness.
It was enough to show that the owner had considerable taste.
As Xie Mi toured the mansion, she watched the butler's and servants' expressions out of the corner of her eye.
They looked at her with a mixture of apprehension and sympathy.
Since the novel had never described the original Xie Mi's family situation in detail, she knew nothing about it. Her only information was that her mother had died young, her father had married a new wife, and that wife had brought along a younger stepbrother who had no blood relation to her.
"Go have a look at your room. You haven't been home in so long. You must miss it."
Li Meiyan walked up beside her, her curved red lips unable to conceal her malice.
"Sure, let's take a look. I'm pretty nostalgic."
Xie Mi asked the butler where her room was and calmly headed upstairs.
That left Li Meiyan at a loss.
Why was she so calm? That wasn't right!
Refusing to believe it, Li Meiyan immediately followed her. As soon as she reached the second floor, she saw Xie Mi standing in the doorway of a room.
The door was already open, so Xie Mi must have seen what was inside.
Li Meiyan couldn't help smiling. "Well? Hasn't it stayed exactly the same? I specifically told the servants to make sure your room was... restored to its original state."
The windows were boarded shut, horrifying graffiti covered the walls, medicine bottles lay scattered everywhere, and the mirror had been painted black.
Rather than a bedroom, it looked more like a haunted house.
Xie Mi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
The original Xie Mi had grown up in an environment like this? But why had the novel never mentioned her being abused? All it had said was...
{From the moment she first saw Xiao Jingxi, Xie Mi fell in love with him. He entered her dark world like a ray of sunshine and became her salvation...}
In the novel, the original Xie Mi had first met Xiao Jingxi in the school cafeteria. They had both wanted the last serving of sweet-and-sour ribs, and Xiao Jingxi had let her have it.
From that moment on, she had fallen hopelessly in love with Xiao Jingxi, living for him, going crazy for him, and banging her head against walls for him.
At the time, Xie Mi had thought that plot point was absurd. Thinking about it now, though, if the original Xie Mi had grown up abused and starved of affection, she really could have mistaken a tiny bit of kindness for the salvation of her entire life.
"All right, next."
Xie Mi didn't go inside. After a quick glance, she closed the door. "Take me to the study."
Li Meiyan, who had been waiting for some sort of reaction, lost her smile. "Do you think I'm your tour guide?"
"Aren't you?" Xie Mi tilted her head and blinked, looking perfectly innocent. "I thought you'd come specifically to help me get familiar with the place."
Of course she was going to tour the entire villa.
Traces of the original Xie Mi's life still remained in this house. Those clues could help her deduce the original Xie Mi's position in the family.
How could she stay here and live the rich life without getting all that straight?
"The study's on the third floor, right?"
Xie Mi turned breezily and headed upstairs without looking back.
Li Meiyan was furious. She had deliberately brought Xie Mi to that room to stir up those dark memories and make her back off. Who would have thought Xie Mi would remain completely unmoved?
Looks like I'll have to resort to something more drastic!
"Xie Mi, stop right there!"
Li Meiyan chased her upstairs, cursing, and shoved open the study door, only to find Xie Mi already sitting in the leather chair behind the desk.
She held a photo frame in her hand, a faint smile curving her lips.
"I get it now."
"You get... what?" For some reason, Li Meiyan felt that something about Xie Mi had changed.
Xie Mi pushed off with her foot, sending the leather chair spinning.
"My situation isn't actually that difficult after all."
The photograph in the frame showed a middle-aged man and a little girl.
The man wore a stern, serious expression, while the little girl riding on his shoulders held both hands high and beamed.
Unless she was mistaken, these were the original Xie Mi and her father.
The fact that he had kept this photograph and always displayed it on his desk was enough to prove that this father loved the original Xie Mi.
But he was a stern father who wasn't good at expressing himself.
Judging by the state of the original Xie Mi's room and the medication on the floor, she had once suffered from mental illness.
Her stepmother hadn't dared physically assault her, so she could only provoke her with words and drive a wedge between her and her father. That had led the original Xie Mi to see this home as hell and eventually run away.
Of course, that was only the story she had pieced together.
There was no need to investigate the exact circumstances any further.
After all, she was already completely confident.
Xie Mi set the photograph of the loving father and daughter back on the desk and gave Li Meiyan a brilliant smile.
"Old punk, go clean up my room."
"What did you say?!" Li Meiyan instantly flew into a rage.
Xie Mi walked up to her unhurriedly, brushed a fingertip across her cheek, and whispered into her ear.
"Why would my dad allow a room full of my childhood trauma to exist?"
"If my dad finds out you deliberately recreated it just to upset me, take a guess... which one of us will he kick out?"
Li Meiyan shuddered, her gaze turning fearful as she looked at Xie Mi.
When had she evolved?!
Xie Mi smiled teasingly. "Kids really are easy to fool, but don't forget, I'm all grown up now. A friendly reminder: you're running out of time."
"I... I'll go. I'll go, all right?" Li Meiyan hurried away, afraid to linger even a second longer.
Xie Mi smiled in satisfaction.
Another successful day of looking badass.
"You seem to have gotten smarter."
A cool male voice abruptly sounded from outside the door.
At some point, Xie Lian had appeared there, half his body hidden in the darkness, his entire presence exuding an indescribable gloom.
"Mom told me to show you around the rest of the place."
Xie Mi raised an eyebrow.
She'd just sent the old punk packing, and now a young punk had arrived.
She hadn't forgotten the threatening words this young punk had thrown at her by the gate.
That left her no choice but to bring out Na Ying's classic line.
I can't stand people who act all badass.
"Let's go. I'm bored anyway."
"Keep up." With those words, Xie Lian turned and left.
Xie Mi followed him out of the villa and through the back garden to a sunlit greenhouse. The flowers here had clearly been tended with care, and they were all flourishing.
Seeing her stare at the flowers, Xie Lian suddenly smiled, his eyes curving as a low, eerie chuckle rose from his throat.
"Did you miss these flowers too? They're still blooming beautifully, aren't they?"
"Beautifully, my ass. Speaking of which, isn't it time you took your meds?"
Xie Mi looked at him seriously. "You seem to be having an episode."
Xie Lian: "?"
Before you continue