Chapter 22: The Trail Goes Cold

The last remark was something Yang Ning brought up intentionally. He was giving Dongfang Fei'er and Lin Manxuan a heads-up. After all, after three doses of the medicine, the unabsorbed components would linger in the body, restructuring any innate genetic flaws.

In a while, the harmony of their facial features would undoubtedly improve.

It was similar to increasing physical attribute points, just not as effective or immediate.

“I’m all natural!”

Dongfang Fei'er couldn’t be bothered to protest about minor cosmetic tweaks. Hearing this, she couldn’t stay calm. “Manxuan, come here, help me check. Does my nose look straighter?”

In reality, Dongfang Fei'er's nose was the same as always. But today, both of their skin had improved dramatically, becoming whiter and smoother. Women are naturally sensitive to such changes. So, faced with this question, Lin Manxuan also seemed hesitant.

After scrutinizing for a while, Lin Manxuan said uncertainly, “It does seem a little different. If you don’t look closely, you wouldn’t notice.”

She had examined as carefully as she could and still couldn’t figure it out. So why could Yang Ning spot the difference so easily?

But it wasn’t surprising. This guy had incredibly sharp eyes. Didn’t that mean her own nose or lips might also become prettier?

At this thought, Lin Manxuan couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

Just then, the phone rang. Lin Manxuan immediately pulled out her phone, glanced at the caller ID, and frowned slightly.

Both Dongfang Fei'er and Yang Ning stopped talking. Lin Manxuan didn’t make any move to step away. She picked up the phone and swiped to answer.

As the seconds ticked by, Lin Manxuan’s expression shifted from initial hesitation to shock, anger, confusion, helplessness, and finally numbness.

After hanging up, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. The joy from her whiter, smoother skin had completely vanished.

“Manxuan, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me.” Dongfang Fei'er hurriedly embraced her.

“Fei'er, Uncle Fu is dead.”

Those simple words made both Dongfang Fei'er and Yang Ning furrow their brows.

Dongfang Fei'er had suspected Uncle Fu before. She always believed there was no smoke without fire. Since the thugs had specifically named Uncle Fu as being involved, there must be some truth to it.

Otherwise, why not name her or someone else?

Yang Ning clearly thought of this too. After all, he had been there during the incident. He could say with certainty that if he hadn’t been present, and if he hadn’t had the 20 points to buy the [Strength Amplification Scroll], the fate of the two Lin sisters would have been utterly horrific!

“Do you know who’s behind it?” Despite her suspicions about Uncle Fu, Dongfang Fei'er didn’t believe he had the guts to act alone.

“The trail has gone cold. Just now, Uncle Fu jumped from the 27th floor of a newly bought apartment.” Lin Manxuan’s voice carried a tinge of sorrow. “Uncle Lu sent people to investigate and found that Uncle Fu’s son owed ten million in high-interest loans. Unable to repay, Uncle Fu recently came into a large sum of money. Uncle Lu suspects it’s connected to the kidnapping.”

“Uncle Fu probably chose to jump to beg you to spare his family.” Dongfang Fei'er mused thoughtfully. To be honest, she wasn’t part of the Lin family and had no emotional attachment to this driver-turned-servant.

“How could I make things difficult for his family? Besides, if Uncle Fu was in trouble, he could have told me. Why…” As she spoke, Lin Manxuan broke into tears. Dongfang Fei'er quickly held her, offering constant comfort.

Though Yang Ning didn’t know much about Uncle Fu, seeing Lin Manxuan so heartbroken, and recalling Little Loli’s reaction the other day, he figured the old man must have treated the sisters well on a daily basis.

For such a kind-hearted person to change so drastically seemed far-fetched. Even if driven by money to get involved in a kidnapping, Uncle Fu wouldn’t harm Lin Manxuan or hire someone like Liu Hu, with his vile personality.

Yang Ning rubbed his chin. In his opinion, the whole matter wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface. There had to be more to the story.

“Don’t let Tongtong know. If she asks, just say Uncle Fu had family matters to attend to and is busy taking care of them.” After a while, Lin Manxuan, who had gradually calmed down, said this with a serious tone.

“Don’t worry, I know what to say.” Dongfang Fei'er nodded.

“Let’s go. We still have the Six Division Assessment today.” Lin Manxuan’s mind was clearly weighed down.

Yang Ning acknowledged her words, aware that Lin Manxuan wasn’t in a good mood. He nodded and followed behind.

Just as they went downstairs, before they could even put on their shoes to leave, they heard Little Loli shouting from behind, “It’s not fair! Fei'er, you’ve gotten prettier… Wow… Sister, your skin is whiter too! I want a beauty pill too… Boo hoo… Sister doesn’t love Tongtong anymore… Boo hoo…”

Little Loli was already pouting. When she ran to the front hall and saw Lin Manxuan, she burst into tears, sobbing with grievance.

It seemed that yesterday, Little Loli probably didn’t get even a single beauty pill.

Lin Manxuan, burdened with heavy thoughts, didn’t pay her any attention. Little Loli pouted even more, feeling utterly wronged. Her sister didn’t care about her anymore.

“Kid, listen up. Your sister isn’t in a good mood today. Let’s figure this out tomorrow, okay?” Yang Ning tried to console her.

Little Loli kept pouting and sobbing. Yang Ning squatted down and whispered in her ear, “How about this? If your sister doesn’t give you any, I will. Deal?”

Hearing this, Little Loli stopped crying. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and grinned, “You’d better keep your word.”

Holy shit, how do you change expressions faster than flipping a page? With a few more years of practice, you might even have a shot at an Oscar for Best Actress!

Seeing the sly glint in Little Loli’s eyes, Yang Ning instantly knew what this girl was thinking. He was left speechless. “Don’t worry, I’ve got at least that much integrity.”

Pausing for a moment, Yang Ning suddenly smirked mischievously.

Little Loli’s hair stood on end, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She took half a step back, glaring at Yang Ning as if facing a great enemy. “What do you want?”

“Kid, do you want to grow up to be prettier than your sister and have a better figure than Fei'er?” Yang Ning grinned wickedly.

Even though she sensed Yang Ning wasn’t being entirely sincere, she couldn’t resist the temptation and nodded eagerly. “Yes, I do!”

“Then be my wife. Raise you for a few years, and you’ll definitely turn out stunning.” Yang Ning’s smile grew even more sinister.

“Dream on!”

Little Loli clenched her tiny fists in anger and turned to run back to the living room, muttering as she went, “I must’ve been blind with my gacha eyes. This toad just keeps dreaming of eating swan meat.”

Seeing Little Loli’s amusing reaction and her petulant muttering, even the troubled Lin Manxuan couldn’t help but curve her lips into a faint smile.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

The two left the villa, one after the other…

At the Lin Family Auction House, the heads of the six divisions had already gathered. At this moment, they were seated around the conference table, engaged in a heated debate.

“A wet-behind-the-ears kid? I don’t think he’s got what it takes,” said Minister Niu of the Oil Painting Division, his tone dripping with disdain.

“Niu Qingzhong, from the sound of it, are you saying young people can’t withstand the test of great challenges?” Meng Jianlin frowned slightly.

“It’s not about whether they can withstand it. They simply don’t have the qualifications. Youngsters should learn properly from their seniors,” Minister Niu replied, still full of arrogance.

“That’s a fair point.”

Meng Jianlin took a sip of tea, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. “Little Niu, you and Little Zhou are about the same age here. Us old folks could be considered your fathers’ generation. Young people should indeed keep a low profile and learn from the older generation.”