Chapter 42: with translation of chapter title

Sister 42, little Xue misses you......

Still, Xie Shiyu understood them better, and he quickly reacted.

He gently patted Tushan Jiu's head and said softly: "It's late, you're tired too, go upstairs to rest quickly."

Speaking, he slightly bent down, whispered again in her ear: "I think I'll be detained for questioning; you go first, I'll cover the rear."

Tushan Jiu turned to look at him: "Is it what I thought?"

He winked at her.

Regarding Xie Shiyu's 'mischief', Tushan Jiu smiled, pursing her lips: "Grandpa Xie, uncles and aunts, second and third brothers, I'm a bit tired; I'll go upstairs first, you all rest early too."

Old Master Xie chuckled: "Okay, little Jiu, go rest early, good night."

Tushan Jiu went upstairs.

Xie Shiyu was surrounded.

Xie Jingting, the biggest gossip, stepped forward and asked directly: "Big brother, how did the date feel? Is sister-in-law happy? Have you two taken things further?"

Old Master Xie also looked expectant: "Right, right, right, how was it? Did it go smoothly?"

Xu Airu also put down her tea cup, hurriedly pulled Xie Shiyu over, pressed him onto the sofa, adopting a posture of 'confess leniently, resist strictly'.

But Xie Shiyu just crossed his legs, looking at them with a faint smile, silent.

As the saying goes, 'None knows a son like his father'; seeing Xie Shiyu's smirk from the moment he entered, Xie Wenmo had a rough idea.

He stood up, wrapped his arms around Xu Airu's waist, and said: "Come on, wife, let's go back to sleep; that brat's grin is almost splitting his temples—what could be wrong? We're just worrying for nothing here."

They were all worried that Xie Shiyu, inexperienced in pursuing girls for the first time, might ruin his first date.

But they all overlooked one thing: he is Xie Shiyu.

Whatever he wants, he will do well.

His attitude toward Tushan Jiu these past days says it all.

Hearing Xie Wenmo say that, everyone's gaze fell simultaneously on Xie Shiyu's face; that confident, triumphant expression was obvious as could be, yet just moments ago, when they were worried, they hadn't noticed.

Now they were completely reassured, too lazy to say a word, and instantly dispersed.

Xie Shiyu: "...... Looks like my position will be precarious from now on."

But he actually enjoyed it.

He got up and went upstairs to sleep; not long after, the lights in every bedroom of the Xie family's old residence went out one by one.

The next morning, after Xie Shiyu got up, he habitually pulled open the curtains and first looked at the garden, but today there was no sign of Tushan Jiu in the garden.

After going downstairs, he saw Old Master Xie and the others dressed in morning exercise attire, about to go out to practice tai chi.

He asked casually: "Where's little Jiu?"

Xie Jingting was buttoning up; hearing that address, he teased: "Eh~ where's little Jiu~"

Xie Shiyu glanced at him, and the snarky Xie Jingting immediately shut his mouth and stood straight: "Sister-in-law said she's out on errands; this morning she told us to practice on our own—answer done!"

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Xie Shiyu turned and headed out for a run.

Xie Jingting pursed his lips.

When not mentioning sister-in-law, your big brother is still your big brother.

Meanwhile, in a mid-range Western-style house twenty li away, the Shang family was staging a huge explosive argument.

The cause was that after hanging up the phone with their little daughter Shang Xue yesterday afternoon, they began searching for her.

But whether at her maternal grandparents' or paternal grandparents' house, she hadn't gone; her phone was also off, making contact impossible.

They also called her classmates' homes, all saying Shang Xue hadn't been in touch with them.

Yet after searching the whole night they still hadn't found her, and by chance they heard that the area had been unsafe lately, with a molester specifically targeting middle schoolers.

Upon hearing this, Shang's mother's legs went weak from fright.

Fortunately, Shang's father found a friend of a friend, a policeman at the nearby precinct, who helped retrieve the surveillance footage.

When they called in the afternoon, the music on the other end was loud, but they were very familiar with it—three years ago they used to take the kids to the arcade every week to relax.

Following the timeline, Shang's father's friend first pulled the arcade's surveillance, then the footage of her route after leaving the arcade, tracing it all the way, and finally found her in an internet café.

At that moment, the family of three had just arrived home, having slept not a wink all night, each face showing weariness.

Shang Guojun, furious, was about to go up and slap Shang Xue.

Shang's mother Liu Xiuqin swiftly hugged Shang Xue, glaring fiercely at her husband: "Shang Guojun! On what grounds do you hit her! If it weren't for your insistence three years ago on returning home for New Year, could that incident have happened? Now you only have one daughter left—are you trying to beat her to death to be satisfied?"

It was likely an emotional outburst; Liu Xiuqin almost screamed her heart out.

Shang Guojun's trembling hand rose in midair, and he finally gave himself a hard slap.

It seemed he had lost strength; the tension he'd held while searching for her dissipated, and he felt as if he'd aged ten years.

His back bent, he slumped onto the sofa, repeatedly muttering: "It's my fault; I deserve to die; why didn't the one who died be me?"

Liu Xiuqin covered her face and wept bitterly, not even noticing Shang Xue still there, and self-mockingly said:

"Hah, it's not just you who deserves to die; if it weren't for still having Shang Xue, I would have long ago atoned with my death. All these years you've made me feel better in my heart, and I dream every day of little Yu—do you know? She questions why I didn't choose her! The one who deserves to die is me, me! Do you know? Do you really know?"

Shang Guojun's eyes red, he clutched his head with both hands, pulling at his hair, then began wildly slapping himself: "Little Yu, little Yu, my daughter, it's my fault; Dad didn't save you; Dad shouldn't have insisted on going back. Rest assured, when your sister grows up, I will certainly come before you to make amends."

In the living room, Shang Guojun's self-reproach and Liu Xiuqin's sobbing mingled, giving Shang Xue a headache.

She clenched her lower lip tightly, stubbornly refusing to let tears fall, her whole body trembling with anger.

But the next second, she suddenly erupted like a volcano dormant for a hundred years, charging straight to the innermost room and kicking the door open with force.

A loud 'dong' sound.

Shang Guojun and Liu Xiuqin were first stunned, then saw Shang Xue walk out holding a memorial tablet.

She held a lighter for lighting incense in one hand and raised the tablet with the other, shouting: "You want to die? No need to wait until I grow up; let the three of us die together now—let's go find sister to apologize, huh?"

As she spoke, she pressed the lighter, and a blue‑yellow flame shot out, nearing the tablet in her hand.

But just as the flame was about to lick the wooden tablet, the hand holding the lighter began to tremble.

Shang Xue's finger suddenly released the lighter's switch.

The flame went out, and she broke down, crying out into the air: "Shang Yu! Come out, you've always been here, haven't you? Come out and help me persuade Mom and Dad, okay?"

Sister, I'm begging you, please come out, okay?

Sob, sister, little snow misses you......