Chapter 65: The Second Young Miss of the Chen Family

"I want to know the secret behind Jinbaolai's trading of pain oaths." Lin Xiao looked straight into Chen Xin's eyes and said sincerely, "I am not sure what price must be paid, but as soon as you name it, I will make it happen."

The moment Lin Xiao finished speaking, Chen Xin's gaze turned abruptly sharp, and the temperature inside the office seemed to drop by several degrees.

She slowly lowered the fountain pen in her hand, the metal barrel colliding with the solid wood desktop to produce a crisp sound.

"It seems I underestimated you." She stared directly at Lin Xiao. "I originally thought you were just a law-abiding little shopkeeper."

The next moment, her tone abruptly heightened. "But are you in that much of a rush to court death? If you get tangled up in this matter, you will definitely face certain death with zero chance of survival!"

Lin Xiao answered truthfully, "Certain reasons have already made it impossible for me to extricate myself, so now I can only keep walking down this path."

Chen Xin sighed. "What a pity. I originally thought you might be able to accompany Xu Tao for a longer stretch of the journey."

Lin Xiao shook his head. "Xu Tao is not as fragile as you think, and I am not necessarily going to lose."

Chen Xin fell silent for a moment before speaking. "I can tell you this secret, but you must first do me a favor."

"Deal!"

Lin Xiao had already mentally prepared himself; no matter what kind of difficult problem Chen Xin handed him, he would find every possible way to accomplish it.

Chen Xin pulled open a drawer, retrieved a sticky note, and her fountain pen scratched a rustling sound across the paper.

She finished writing rapidly and handed the note to Lin Xiao. "Go to the address I wrote down, find a girl named Chen Han, and help her erase her most vexing memory. If you can pull this off, I will tell you Jinbaolai's secret."

Lin Xiao could not hide his surprise as he took the slip of paper: he had expected some dangerous mission, not a request of this nature.

Sensing Lin Xiao's astonishment, Chen Xin remarked, "What? Do you find it strange? You are a memory-attribute awakened being. If I don't have you deal with matters concerning memories, are you expecting me to send you out as an assassin?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao thought to himself, *Actually, that wouldn't be out of the question either. Come to think of it, with my current abilities, carrying out assassinations is probably even more formidable.*

Chen Xin added solemnly, "Don't assume this matter is simple, or else I wouldn't be handing it over to you."

Lin Xiao nodded to show he understood, tucking the note into his pocket. "I'll set off right now."

"Wait a moment." Chen Xin called him back.

"Is there anything else that needs to be explained?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Go in Xu Tao's name!"

Lin Xiao: "..."

That was truly impossible—lying would get him killed!

Therefore, he could only say helplessly, "This violates my principles. Can't I just tell the truth, that you were the one who sent me?"

"If you say I sent you, she will choose to throw you out directly!"

"Dare I ask your relationship with her?"

"She is my only younger sister."

***

Lin Xiao: "..."

What a truly "touching" sisterly bond...

He felt he could already vaguely guess the nature of Chen Xin's pain oath.

This younger sister was extremely important in Chen Xin's heart, making her willing to trade Jinbaolai's secret just to have someone help her.

Yet she had a terrible relationship with her sister and did not want her sister to know that she was the one who sent him.

Combined with her concern for Xu Tao and their somewhat distant relationship...

"Stop letting your imagination run wild!" Chen Xin saw through Lin Xiao's thoughts at a glance. "Knowing too much about certain things does no good for you."

She knew that the Lin Xiao sitting across from her was too clever; at the slightest trace of a clue, he would be able to deduce a great deal.

Knowing that Chen Xin was not going to dwell on the matter, Lin Xiao continued, "I still plan to pay a visit under my own name."

"If you do that, there is a high probability she won't see you."

"Is she really that difficult to get along with?"

"Several memory-attribute awakened ones were rejected by her previously, without even being given a chance to try."

Lin Xiao thought to himself: *What kind of situation is this? Why refuse even to give a chance to try?*

If things were like this, it would be tricky indeed. The task Chen Xin had assigned him was果然 not simple after all.

Yet Lin Xiao still insisted, "I'll still go pay a visit and try my luck. Who knows, maybe I'll succeed?"

Chen Xin leaned back into her chair, the sunlight casting staggered shadows across her face. "Suit yourself. In any case, you will bear the consequences if you fail to pull it off. If you can't accomplish this, you can forget about getting Jinbaolai's secret from me."

Lin Xiao gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

Stepping out of Chen Xin's office, he exchanged a greeting with the secretary, Li Ting, who was waiting outside, and headed straight for the address written on the note.

***

The taxi Lin Xiao took drove slowly into a tranquil villa area in the suburbs.

Through the car window, he caught sight of a white three-story building surrounded by flowers. Pink hydrangeas grew densely along both sides of the pebble-paved path, and wisteria vines drooping from the balcony swayed gently in the breeze.

The porch of the villa was painted a pale blue, adorned with a few cute wind chimes that tinkled with a crisp, pleasant sound.

"This is practically the dream home of most girls," Lin Xiao remarked with a sense of emotion.

After paying the fare, Lin Xiao got out of the car, walked up the steps to the front door, and pressed the doorbell.

"Ding-dong!"

Accompanied by the chime, the front door swung open.

***

The person who opened the door was a robust woman nearly two meters three tall. She wore a neatly tailored black and white uniform, the muscles of her thick arms straining the sleeves of her blouse tight, and her sharp gaze swept up and down over Lin Xiao.

This was a woman?

Lin Xiao felt a wave of oppressive pressure washing over him.

Beneath the woman's oppressive gaze, Lin Xiao introduced himself, "My name is Lin Xiao, a memory-attribute awakened being. I heard that Miss Chen Han in your esteemed household required assistance, so I have come to pay a visit..."

Before he could finish speaking, the woman waved her hand dismissively. "Go, go, go! Our young miss doesn't need you memory masters!"

Memory master was simply an abbreviation for memory-attribute awakened beings.

Lin Xiao was pushed outward a step, momentarily dazed.

He hadn't expected that he wouldn't even be able to get through the front door?

Yet the next moment, a clear female voice rang out from inside the house, "Aunt Li, wait a moment. Have him repeat his name."

The woman named Aunt Li looked down from above at Lin Xiao and asked, "Our young miss is asking what your name is."

"My name is Lin Xiao."

"You are Lin Xiao? Come right in then!" Her voice carried an undisguised joy.

Filled with astonishment, Lin Xiao wondered how this Miss Chen could possibly know him.

Walking into the living room amidst his bewilderment, Lin Xiao saw a young woman in her early twenties sitting on the sofa.

She had her hair tied into two perky blonde pigtails with the tips dyed a gradient pink, and she wore a loose T-shirt and shorts printed with cartoon patterns.

"Have a seat!" After gesturing for him to sit, Chen Han simply stared at him without saying a word.

After being stared at for a long time, Lin Xiao could not help asking, "Does Miss Chen know me?"

"Not really acquaintance, I suppose. I frequently hear Big Brother Xu Tao mention you," Chen Han said.

Xu Tao?

Lin Xiao had not expected that he still wouldn't be able to bypass Xu Tao.

He had not followed Chen Xin's request to visit in Xu Tao's name.

Yet Xu Tao had already mentioned him to Chen Han?

Lin Xiao could not help asking, "What did Xu Tao say about me?"