Bai Youwei lifted her gaze to watch the two people by the railing.

Hua Jiang was offering Cheng Qian his unwavering comfort.

Shaken to her core, Cheng Qian desperately needed that attention. She buried her face against his chest and sobbed without stopping, the two of them falling into an ever more intimate pose.

Bai Youwei withdrew her gaze, no longer watching the man and woman, and instead lowered her eyes to look at her own palm.

There, resting in it, was a button.

One she had just torn from Hua Jiang’s shirt.

— Because Hua Jiang had been rushing back and forth between the floors without pause, he had lost the gentle attentiveness he’d had at the start, and had simply been dashing up and down at full speed, paying absolutely no attention to Bai Youwei’s movements.

She studied it for a moment, then tucked the button away, and steered her wheelchair toward the dining room.

At that moment, a sound of shouting suddenly erupted from upstairs!

“Cheng Qian! Are you really so incapable of change?! Not even a few minutes out of my sight and you’re already throwing yourself into a man’s arms?!” Hu Ya’s voice was loud and sharp, carrying a blind, formless fury. “What’s next — a little while longer and you’ll be rolling into bed with him?!!”

Cheng Qian, who had already been reduced to trembling like a frightened quail, now had a finger jabbed at her nose along with the tirade. Her face went a ghastly white, tears pouring down her cheeks in a rush, and she couldn’t get a single word out.

Yu Yaqing, too, found Cheng Qian’s behavior inappropriate — at such a life-or-death moment, she was still flirting with an NPC. It was simply incomprehensible.

But even so, Hu Ya’s words were unbearably ugly.

She frowned and said, “Is this really the time for this? What are you arguing with her about?”

Hu Ya yanked Cheng Qian out of Hua Jiang’s arms and then flung her away with undisguised contempt. Cheng Qian stumbled and sat down hard on the floor, eyes wet with tears, looking pitifully fragile.

Seeing that delicate, pathetic look on her face only fanned the flames in Hu Ya’s chest. She raised her hand to slap her!

“Hu Ya!” Yu Yaqing couldn’t stand by any longer. She reached out and blocked Hu Ya’s arm. “Have you lost your mind?!”

“I want to teach her a lesson!” Hu Ya said furiously, her eyes boring into Cheng Qian with venom. “I want to cure her of this disease that can’t keep away from men for even three minutes!”

Yu Yaqing snapped coldly, “Enough! What she does is none of your business! Mind your own affairs! The key you were supposed to find — did you find it?!”

Hu Ya bit her lip. “No!”

Yu Yaqing’s brow furrowed again as she turned to Su Man and Zhu Shu. “And you two? Did you find a key?”

“No.” Su Man shook her head, her voice tight with frustration. “There are too many rooms — we have no idea where to even begin.”

Yu Yaqing pressed her brows together tightly and said nothing.

She thought back to what Hua Jiang had said about real keys and false keys…

Now Hu Ya, Zhu Shu, and Su Man had all said they found nothing. That meant, of the six of them, she was the only one who had found a key — and a real one at that.

Not a single false key had turned up. Was that even possible?

Were they hiding information? Like Hua Jiang had suggested — did they all want to become the “final bride” in order to claim the enormous reward? Were they even willing to betray their companions for it?

…Companions?

No. They were never companions to begin with.

There had even been bad blood between them.

Yu Yaqing pressed her lips together tightly, the scales inside her heart swaying back and forth without ceasing.

The real key was in her hands.

But — should she tell them?

……

At that same moment, a different kind of turmoil was raging inside Hu Ya’s heart —

I trusted her so completely! And she actually publicly berated me right in front of everyone — all for that cheap woman Cheng Qian!!

What does she take me for?! Some servant girl she can order around and lecture whenever she pleases?! Since she looks down on me like that — why should I listen to a word she says?! Why should I?!!

I won’t hand over the key. I won’t tell anyone.

I’m going to survive until Sunday and become the final bride!

……

Bai Youwei swept a glance over these women with their varied expressions, then withdrew her gaze, and steered her wheelchair straight toward the dining room.

It was still a little while before dinnertime, and the Inspector was busy preparing the meal.

“Dinner,” such as it was — nothing more than raw flesh and fresh blood that turned the stomach.

Bai Youwei settled into her seat in silence and studied the Inspector.

It looked back at her, offering a slight smile. “Is there something you’d like to ask?”

Bai Youwei rested her chin on her hand and slowly said, “Today I found a gardener in the manor. His manner and aura are very similar to yours.”

She paused, then added: “Though he’s not as ugly as you.”

The Inspector: “……”

—