After Marrying the Officer Chapter 5 - 5 The Failure to Catch the Cheaters

Huo Shiqian stood with his arms folded, an unreadable mask on his face, choosing to ignore He Qing's clandestine movements. "Are you searching for someone? At my residence?"

"No, we didn't... we had no idea you were present..." He Qing surrendered to the inevitable as he acknowledged their defeat.

Huo Shiqian's piercing gaze, sharp as blades, swept across the trio.

His associate, currently crumpled on the floor, recoiled in terror while gulping audibly.

He Qing forced himself to offer an explanation, "It is a misunderstanding, simply a misunderstanding... my friend, my friend claimed her sister entered your room, so we..."

In his panic, he shoved Xia Lan toward the front.

Xia Lan found herself thrust into the spotlight.

Dumbfounded, she stared at Huo Shiqian with her mouth agape.

Who was this individual? This man was nothing like the person she had selected for her scheme!

How could she have harbored such vitriol for Xia Chuyi and then inadvertently handed her a man of such striking appearance? She had practically smoothed the path for her!

The man before her was imposing and tall, radiating an authoritative air. Trembling, Xia Lan felt her legs give way.

Quickly, she regained her composure, forced a few tears, and gave Huo Shiqian a look of fragile, pear-blossom-in-the-rain vulnerability. "It was—it was I who witnessed it. With my own eyes, I saw Xia Chuyi enter this room last night, and she remained inside until this morning without exiting. I was simply so anxious for her..."

"Sister Lan, what brings you here?"

A clear, crisp voice rang out through the hallway.

Xia Chuyi walked over leisurely, her fingers idly toying with the braid resting against her chest.

"Xia Chuyi? That is impossible, it cannot be... I distinctly saw you..." Xia Lan shook her head in vehement denial.

"Saw what?" Xia Chuyi's eyes arched like crescent moons.

"No, this cannot be occurring..." Xia Lan's expression was marred by disbelief.

"What is the matter? What has transpired?" Xia Chuyi inquired again, feigning the guileless innocence of a young girl.

Beside her, Huo Shiqian exuded a glacial chill, He Qing wore a look of stiff awkwardness, and the individual on the floor appeared utterly bewildered.

"Chuyi, I... you were gone all night yesterday... I was so worried about your safety..."

She cut Xia Lan off mid-sentence, "Sister, what are you implying? Were we not together throughout last night?"

"No, you departed, did you not? I saw you leave..." Xia Lan attempted to interrupt, desperate and agitated.

"What do you mean, I left? Where would I go? How could I possibly... Sister Lan, you must be suffering from sleepwalking. We came here to visit relatives, I am unfamiliar with these surroundings, and as a young woman, how could I dare venture out alone at night? More importantly, you have treated me with such kindness and care; how could you possibly let me wander into something so perilous, right?"

Xia Chuyi locked her gaze onto Xia Lan like a structural nail, her torrent of inquiries leaving the other woman speechless.

Indeed, was she not her beloved elder sister? Why then would a dutiful elder sister watch her younger sister disappear into the night, refusing to return until dawn, only to react with performative anxiety and start a search?

In her previous life, because Xia Chuyi had been distracted by the trauma of that night, she had failed to see this discrepancy.

Later, she only suspected that Xia Lan had allowed the incident to escalate, never realizing it had been a masterfully orchestrated trap.

However, this was not the moment to address those grievances.

Every debt from her past life and every account from this one would be settled by her, one step at a time.

Xia Lan, refusing to yield but lacking the courage to speak further, gritted her teeth and lowered her head, masking her face in a display of pathetic defeat.

With no proof of theft and no adulterer caught in the act, her entire scheme had unraveled.

Xia Chuyi continued to play with her braid, savoring the spectacle, and chose to ignore the venomous glint in Xia Lan’s eyes. She waited with curiosity to see how her sister would extricate herself from this mess.