Under the curtain of night.
A petite figure nimbly climbed over the estate's fence, crouching as she crept closer to the mansion.
She moved as if unseen, yet every move she made was already observed by a man.
"Master Fu, this young lady showed up this afternoon; her identity and intentions remain unclear," said the assistant.
Seated on a genuine leather chair, Fu Lingxiao watched the scene with a detached expression, his dark gaze fixed on the monitoring screen. His fingertip tapped on the armrest lightly — casual actions underlining his powerful aura.
On the monitoring screen, the young girl deftly navigated through the garden. She crouched down, took off the backpack she was carrying and began to rummage through it.
"Zoom in for a closer look," the man ordered in a deep voice.
Following his orders, his bodyguard, Yun Tuo, typed a few keys on the keyboard, enlarging the screen image.
The next second, viewers could clearly see a large white bun being drawn from the girl's backpack. She took a few bites, savoring the taste, then cautiously looked around. Finding no danger, she held the bun in her mouth, put on her backpack, and continued her advance, grabbing bites in between.
As the girl came closer and closer to the mansion, Yun Tuo asked: "Master Fu, should we apprehend her?"
A faint smile flashed within Fu Lingxiao's enigmatic eyes, he paused for a moment, then suddenly got up and headed out.
As Yun Tuo was about to follow, Fu Lingxiao instructed, "You don't need to come."
"Master Fu, where are you going?" Yun Tuo asked.
"Catching a rat."
-
Mu Xing arrived at the base of the villa's wall. After an encompassing observation, she involuntarily furrowed her graceful brows.
The villa was so large, which room was the study?
However, to investigate the fire case that occurred twelve years ago in the Mu family, she must find the object her master had hidden. She must pass the test and demonstrate her full capacity to her master.
Stuffing the last piece of steamed bun into her mouth, Mu Xing quickly stepped back, planning to take a run-up in order to climb to the second-floor window. Unexpectedly, she bumped into a muscular swathe - a "meat wall".
Suddenly hitting her back of her head on strong muscles made Mu Xing’s head buzz. She rubbed the back of her head and turned to look.
At this moment, a tall man was standing suddenly behind her.
His black shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a sexy clavicle. The bottom half of him was dressed in black trousers. The simple outfit breathed an air of precious elegance inherent to a mature man.
The moonlight shone on his face, his facial features intricately defined, like they were meticulously drawn. The deep recesses in his pitch-black eyes were holding mysterious lights that kept staring at her.
His expression was indifferent, a faint shimmer of a smile played on his lips, icy yet distant - an enchanting aura of abstinence around him.
Mu Xing, chewing on the steamed bun, looked at the man who appeared suddenly, her mouth unconsciously moving. After a moment, she reacted, jumping backward like a small rabbit, swallowed the bun she was munching, and nervously asked, "Who are you?"
The man did not speak, and calmly took in the sight of the "little mouse."
A pink top paired up with a pair of faded-to-white jeans, just simple clothing.
Her hair was combed into two braids, without a trace of make-up on her delicate and beautiful face. She looked pure and clean, almost like a porcelain doll, her pretty nose held high, tender cherry lips appearing even more charming.
Under the moonlight, the pair of eyes watching him are clear and bright, like a clear spring reflecting a few stars.
He looks to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, quite youthful yet demonstrating a commendable courage, daring to barge into this place all by himself.
He silently retracts his gaze, and speaks slowly: "Don't be nervous, my purpose for coming here is the same as yours."
Mu Xing instantly breathed a sigh of relief, she thought she had been discovered.
"You're also here to look for something, huh?"
Mu Xing felt as if she had met a kindred soul, and skipped a few steps back to the man.
The man is very tall, with long legs, and a faint scent of agarwood lingers about him, smelling particularly pleasant.
Looking up at him, Mu Xing speaks in a soft, sweet voice: "So, have you found your thing yet?"
Her big eyes blinked as she spoke.
It was as if she was asking to be teased.
Fu Lingxiao looks down at her, "Not yet."
"Let's quickly go in and search then."
Mu Xing prepares to run towards the second floor, just as she is about to step forward, she suddenly hears the man's deep magnetic voice from behind: "No need for the trouble, there's nobody inside."
As his words fall, the man already starts walking towards the villa's grand entrance. After hesitating for a moment, Mu Xing also follows him.
The luxurious crystal chandelier lights up, illuminating the entire living room. The villa is vast and imposing. Mu Xing sweeps her gaze around, and finds the place completely deserted.
Yet in the evening, she clearly saw a car entering the place. Strange.
What she didn't know was that all the servants were in on it, pretending to sleep in their rooms. As for the group of bodyguards, they were hiding on the roof, stargazing and moon-gazing, ready to move from discussing poetry to life philosophy.
Fu Lingxiao's hand was in his suit pocket, speaking softly, "Take your time."
His expression was calm, showing no signs of guilt as if he was a thief. If it wasn't known that he was here to look for something, Mu Xing would have thought this was his home.
"Do you know where the study is?"
Mu Xing asked. From the clues, she was sure that her master had hidden something in the study.
Fu Lingxiao's eyes darkened, "Upstairs."
"Okay! Thank you."
Mu Xing couldn't wait any longer and ran upstairs. Although she was fast, her footsteps were nearly inaudible.
Fu Lingxiao followed leisurely, watching the small figure ahead of him. His thin lips were tightly closed.
The study contained many confidential company documents...
Mid-thought, Mu Xing, who was running ahead, seemed to think of something, suddenly stopped, turned around. Fu Lingxiao also stopped, being tall and short, standing on different stairs, their eyes were at the same level.
Tilting her head, she stared at the man unabatedly, "Why are you so familiar with this place?"
Fu Lingxiao's expression remained calm, his tone indifferent, "I've been here once before."
"Oh."
So that's the case, fair enough.
Mu Xing let her guard down, a sweet smile blooming on her face. She continued her race upstairs.
Fu Lingxiao lowered his gaze a bit, chuckling softly. She was truly a simpleton.
The study was rather simple in layout: an office desk, a leather chair, a wall of bookshelves, and a large liquor cabinet.
Upon entering, Mu Xing swept the room with a swift glance, then rolled up her sleeves and started searching.
Various objects and books were recklessly thrown on the floor. Within just a few minutes, the once neat and tidy study had turned into a mess.
From outside the study, the man's gaze became unreadable.
He had initially thought that this little girl was here to steal business secrets, but she seemed uninterested in those documents. So what was she looking for?
His eyebrows furrowed slightly. After a moment, he decided to probe her, "The documents from earlier, they'd get quite a bit of money if you sold them."
However, the little missy didn't react at all.
Fu Lingxiao held back his annoyance and continued to observe.
After another ten or so minutes, the little mouse buried in the liquor cabinet suddenly let out an excited laughter, "Hahaha! I finally found it!"
Following that, she emerged from the cabinet, cradling a bottle of red wine.
She was here just to steal wine?
Fu Lingxiao's eyes narrowed slightly and he said with an indifferent tone, "The one in the center of the top shelf is the most pricey, the one on the far left of the second shelf has the best taste."
"You sure know a lot!"
Mu Xing looked towards the man in the doorway with admiration. Immediately after that, she added: "But what I was looking for was not wine."