Chapter 54: Stalking

On that Saturday, Lin Yun dressed in casual clothes and went out alone.

On a day without commuting, he rarely chose to drive, heading alone to the central business district of Luoming District.

Regarding the incident that occurred in the apartment elevator earlier, he had hinted at it to Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, but he did not know whether the two truly did not know or pretended not to understand; in any case, they had no reaction to it.

It was just that on that night, when he explained academic knowledge to Lin Xiaolu in the identity of Senior Cuique, Lin Xiaolu's distracted expression left him unable to forget it.

Thinking carefully, in accordance with the promise made on the day he sent Lin Xiaolu to school, he should indeed have a proper talk with his daughter; at the very least, he should tell her about Anya's matter instead of letting her remain in the dark.

Calculating thus in his heart, Lin Yun silently turned the steering wheel. After turning a corner at an intersection and driving forward along the road for a distance, his eyebrows suddenly twitched.

Because he could feel that the Heart Flower he carried with him was emitting a magical reaction.

This was a sign indicating that the spell he had previously set up had been triggered.

Previously, during the initial period when he first encountered Moko, because its tracks were suspicious and its motives mysterious, in order to monitor its movements, Senior Cuique had secretly set up a positioning spell on it.

Later on, although Moko proved through its actual actions that it was a consistent fool, considering that it usually accompanied Lin Xiaolu, Senior Cuique did not remove this spell, ensuring that her position could be locked at any time if an accident occurred.

Gently touching the Heart Flower, azure magic gradually surged up on Lin Yun's outstretched hand; the palm, originally belonging to an adult male, became illusory, and within the phantom image, a small hand in the same posture rested upon the cracked gem flower.

A sensation immediately arose in his mind—the spell he had laid was right behind him.

Why would Moko be following him?

Feeling quite strange in his heart, Lin Yun did not show it; instead, he let go of the Heart Flower, allowing everything to return to normal. Pretending to have noticed nothing, he continued driving forward.

Not long after, when the car was forced to stop by a red light at an intersection, he discovered a pink head sticking out from the car window.

Without needing to look closely, he knew that head must belong to Moko; there was no need to guess.

At this moment, Moko was firmly gripping the car window with its paws, its cat eyes wide open, its face pressed tightly against the glass, looking quite comical.

For some reason, a mobile phone was hanging around its neck; judging by the model, it seemed to be similar to Xia Liang's. Fortunately, the cognitive impairment of fairies was a unified effect; otherwise, pedestrians on the road would have been terrified half to death by a floating mobile phone in mid-air.

Lin Yun continued to pretend not to have noticed the other party, glancing at Moko outside the window with his peripheral vision. After scrutinizing for a long time, he finally confirmed one thing: what was around its neck must be Xia Liang's own mobile phone.

In other words, at least this inexplicable behavior of its current was not unrelated to Xia Liang.

Considering the elevator he saw that day in the elevator lobby, which went directly to his home floor, he could not help but form a guess: could it be that the person that day was Xia Liang?

What exactly does she want to do?

With Xia Liang's smiling appearance floating in his mind, Lin Yun could not guess her thoughts for the moment, but what he needed to do now was not something requiring concealment, so he did not care about the other party's small tricks.

After all, he had previously said that as an adult, one should be tolerant of children's little whims.

Thus, Lin Yun continued driving toward his destination. What he did not know was that in a taxi several hundred meters behind him, two girls were following along.

— "We've caught the target."

Staring at her mobile phone screen, Lin Xiaolu frowned tightly: "Moko has already confirmed through the car window; the one inside is indeed him."

"I'm saying... is this really necessary?"

Xia Liang, who had not only been dragged along but also had her phone forcibly taken away, felt somewhat helpless: "Even if your father really is dating another woman, this is his freedom, isn't it?"

"I didn't say I wanted to manage that."

Lin Xiaolu muttered quietly: "Anyway, he could be so intimate with another woman at Mom's funeral; now it's just a date, so what?"

"But you were just saying before that this behavior of his was an affair..."

"Ah, really! I just spoke without thinking; don't nitpick words at a time like this!"

Pouting and denying it outright, Lin Xiaolu quickly changed the subject: "Anyway, what we are concerned with now is not the act of him going out on a date, but who exactly he intends to meet!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Watching Lin Xiaolu's reaction, Xia Liang smiled somewhat teasingly, "So, if the person is someone you don't care about, then even if they get together, it doesn't matter, right?"

"... It doesn't matter." Lin Xiaolu said stubbornly.

"Then what if it really is Sister Hong Siyu who came to our house a few days ago?"

"I will expose her true intentions for approaching us to Senior Cuique and make her know that woman... hmm, hmm?" Lin Xiaolu raised her head somewhat belatedly, "What did you just say?"

"Sister Hong Siyu?"

"I don't care how you address that woman; I'm talking about the word before that!" Lin Xiaolu corrected.

"A few days ago?" Xia Liang blinked her eyes somewhat innocently.

"Don't try to bluff your way out; you said 'our house', right?" Lin Xiaolu widened her eyes.

"Hmm, I said it."

"That means, I've corrected you many times; let me tell you, that is my house; you are really pushing your luck!"

"Can't I? I really hope we can be like a real family."

Xia Liang teased softly: "In that case, I can call you big sister, how about it, Sister Xiaolu?"

"Don't say it so sickeningly."

Glancing at her with some disgust, Lin Xiaolu sighed: "Anyway, my house is my house, and your house is your house. This concept cannot be mixed together."

Having said that, she continued staring at her mobile phone, closely monitoring the movements of Moko and her own father.

Silence filled the car for a moment.

The driver sitting in front could actually hear the conversation behind him, but this obvious family ethical issue was clearly not something he could interject on. He tried hard to tell himself not to meddle in other people's family matters and thus also remained silent.

"Xiaolu."

Xia Liang watched beside Lin Xiaolu for a while, and not long after, suddenly spoke up, calling her name: "Say, if the person your father is dating is really not that sister, but as you said, is..."

"It won't happen."

Cutting her off directly, Lin Xiaolu stared at the mobile phone without raising her head, preventing Xia Liang from seeing her expression: "I must believe Senior Cuique; it won't happen."

"But just a few days ago you were doubting it yourself?"

Lin Xiaolu said nothing.

Because she did not know how to answer this question.

In fact, until she chased Lin Yun out of the house, the possibility she least wanted to happen had been lingering in her mind. However, at this very moment, she actually calmed down somewhat.

Senior Cuique's past words and deeds floated in her mind, making her gradually regain confidence: the magical girl she admired was not the kind of person who would willfully interfere in other people's families.

Even so, deep in her heart, there was a tiny shred of longing: if she were truly to have a stepmother, perhaps...

Thus, this act of tailing was less about catching someone in the act and more about giving herself closure.

Looking at the red and blue dots on her phone representing both positions, Lin Xiaolu remained speechless for a long time.

She knew that no matter what thoughts she harbored in her heart, the true answer lay ahead.