The third floor blazed with light. Four men in black were bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground.

One of them was Du Lai.

“Miss, these men disabled the alarm system and broke into the master’s study. They were likely looking for the master’s collection.”

Fu Miaoxue’s voice was cool and flat. “Every year, a few of them show up. Not an ounce of creativity.”

The tutor Qiao Na was also present. She turned to Fu Miaoxue. “Miss, shall we notify the master?”

“Something this minor doesn’t need to trouble Grandfather, does it?” Fu Miaoxue said with indifference. “You all handle it as you see fit. Punish what needs punishing, interrogate what needs interrogating — who’s behind it, what they intended, what the plan was — get it all out of them. Otherwise, when Grandfather comes back and starts asking questions, none of us will have any answers.”

“Yes.” Qiao Na inclined her head respectfully. “To know this address and manage to get inside, they cannot be ordinary thieves. They were almost certainly hired by someone. Rest assured, Miss — we will find out everything.”

Qiao Na glanced at the bodyguard nearby. “As for these men — break their hands and feet, then lock them in the room at the end of the second floor for now.”

Bai Youwei’s eyes went wide.

A tutor — saying something like that without blinking. No wonder the Fu Miaoxue she’d raised had turned out so peculiar and unhinged.

“Wait.” Fu Miaoxue pointed at Du Lai. “This one stays. He’s my new plaything. Don’t damage him for me.”

Qiao Na said: “He doesn’t appear to be the ringleader. If Miss wishes to keep him, then keep him. The rest will be detained for now, and once I’ve interrogated them, they’ll be disposed of.”

Fu Miaoxue gave a languid wave of her hand. “Get on with it then. Getting robbed in the middle of the night — I’m absolutely exhausted… Ah…”

She yawned from sheer tiredness.

Qiao Na couldn’t help but frown. “Miss, please watch your manners.”

Fu Miaoxue was thoroughly annoyed. “It’s not something I can control…”

Before she could finish, the kneeling Du Lai suddenly exploded into motion.

A bodyguard reached out to seize him, but Du Lai twisted out of reach with startling agility and lunged directly behind Fu Miaoxue, one arm locking around her throat.

The bodyguard was stunned with fury. “We put handcuffs on him!”

Qiao Na stayed relatively composed, fixing Du Lai with a cold, narrow stare. “So it seems you’re the one who opened both the study door and the safe.”

With Fu Miaoxue as his hostage, Fu Miaoxue herself showed not a flicker of fear. The sleepiness vanished from her eyes, replaced by excitement. “Oh my! How did you get your hands free?! That’s incredible! Can you do it again just now? I didn’t catch how you did it!”

Du Lai was nothing like the fawning figure he’d been during the day. His grip tightened, and his voice came out cold as ice:

“Miss, I’d suggest worrying about yourself right now, because these hands of mine — aside from performing tricks and picking locks — can also snap your neck. Do you believe me?”

Qiao Na’s frown deepened. She said to Du Lai: “You’re holding Miss hostage because you want to leave. Tell me your conditions. As long as they’re not unreasonable, we can discuss them.”

Du Lai gave a cold laugh. “Old Mr. Fu’s most precious granddaughter is in my hands. Even if my demands are unreasonable, you’d still have to meet them, wouldn’t you?”

Qiao Na looked at him but said nothing.

Du Lai backed toward the wall with Fu Miaoxue, his eyes carrying the desperate ferocity of a man who had nothing left to lose.

“Release my men! Then get a car ready! Let us leave!”

“I can provide you with a car — I can even give you a great deal of money — but your men, I cannot release.” Qiao Na’s voice was firm. “I must find out who is behind this. Without that, I have no way to account to the master.”

“Then get ready to collect the master’s granddaughter’s corpse!” A cold viciousness flashed through his eyes as he tightened his grip on Fu Miaoxue with brutal force.

Fu Miaoxue’s voice cut off entirely. Color was flooding into her face.

Qiao Na looked at Fu Miaoxue, then back at Du Lai. “…If anything happens to her, neither you nor your men will survive either.”