Wen Xirou widened her eyes in surprise, looking toward the second floor. "But Wan Qian is still inside—"
Before she could finish, Liu Wen interrupted her.
"She stayed behind on purpose to delay them, to buy us time. Do you want her efforts to go to waste?"
Of course not. Wen Xirou listened to the intense noises coming from the second floor and bit her lip.
"Go!" She reached out and pulled Xiao Lin up, then followed Tian Fang and Liu Wen as they left.
That night, the harvest was considerable.
After returning to the dormitory, Tian Fang pulled out the notebook she had always kept tucked against her chest. It was the one she had taken from her bedroom at the very moment she jumped out of the window.
Opening it, she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the very diary she and Liu Wen had searched for in the study for so long but had been unable to find.
[July 22, cloudy
Perhaps I was wrong. The young master cares more for that pen pal than I thought. Is this a blessing or a curse? Never mind, as long as I am still alive, I will follow the old master's orders and take good care of the young master.]
[July 25, sunny
The young master actually asked the maid for a mirror. Hasn't he been avoiding mirrors since that incident? But it's good that he's willing to see a doctor.]
[July 26, sunny
The doctor has been called. The diagnosis didn't seem optimistic. The young master locked himself in his room for a long time.]
[July 30, sunny
So this is the treatment method. Never mind, as long as the young master can be happy, that's what matters. I'll take care of the rest.]
[August 29, sunny
I don't know where the young master heard of methods. Oh well, it's rare for him to take an interest in the family business, so I should support him. If it truly goes against heaven and reason, then let all the retribution fall on me alone.]
[September 15, light rain
I did as the young master instructed, and there were no surprises. Lately, the family's funds have indeed been a bit stretched. We must absolutely not let the young master's treatment be delayed.]
[Third day of the twelfth lunar month, snow
The weather is getting colder, and the young master still refuses to use charcoal for warmth. It seems that incident is still a shadow in his heart. But business has been good recently. The young master's method saved a lot of hiring costs.]
[December 29, heavy snow
The New Year is approaching, and the young master's mood has improved a lot. The bookshelf has filled up with more and more books, which can at least be considered a new hobby of his. I hope that before the bookshelf is completely packed with books, the young master's illness can be cured.]
[Third day of the first lunar month, sunny
What bad luck, a reporter came to interview during the New Year. Who exposed our farm's situation?]
The diary ended there, with the rest of the notebook blank. However, there was one page missing earlier in the notebook.
Wen Xirou stared at the diary for a few seconds, then took out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. She placed it on top of the notebook, fitting it perfectly. It was the same one she had found falling off the black-clad man earlier.
By now, Wen Xirou had already deduced what had happened at the farm before. However, there was still one mystery left.
Wen Xirou looked at the large wardrobe in Tian Fang's dormitory. Step by step, she walked over and stopped in front of the wardrobe.
Tian Fang was startled and immediately tried to stop Wen Xirou from opening it. But Liu Wen held her back. He shook his head at Tian Fang.
However, Wen Xirou didn't do what Tian Fang had imagined and open the wardrobe.
She lowered her head and looked at the stack of papers she was holding in her arms. She were the bondage contracts she had brought from the old study. One by one, they were filled with black ink, sealed with a red circle and handprints.
Wen Xirou pulled one out. This one had a name written at the bottom. She pushed this piece of paper through the crack in the wardrobe.
After devouring Wu Fei, the wardrobe, which had been silent for a long time, once again made a rustling sound. But it didn't show any signs of attacking Wen Xirou.
Standing still, she waited in silence for a few minutes. Then, a piece of paper slipped out of the wardrobe crack.
Wen Xirou immediately crouched down and picked up the paper from the ground.
[The Farm Employee Code of Conduct (Volume 2) – It is both the past and the future; it is both oppression and liberation; it is both death and rebirth.]
It turned out to be a clue about the so-called "Farm Employee Code of Conduct (Volume 2)."
However, in the "Farm Employee Code of Conduct (Volume 1)," the last rule states: "This code of conduct does not have a Volume 2."
Why would that woman in the red dress... No, to be precise, why would Sun Jiawang want her to find the "Farm Employee Code of Conduct (Volume 2)?"
And yet the rules emphasized that there was no Volume 2?
Wen Xirou bit her nails, unable to make sense of it.
Soon, dawn arrived. Despite having stayed up all night, the group was full of energy.
The harvest of the night was particularly great.
From the diary of the former butler, Tian Fang and Liu Wen discovered a shortcut to leave the farm. There was no need to wait until the end of the internship.
On the east side of the farm, there was a small door specifically for the thugs who had worked at the farm in the past.
As long as they could get the key and open it, they could safely leave. The key was in the old house, hidden under a small bucket with umbrellas.
Tian Fang and Liu Wen decided to go to the old house again that evening after work. If the dog had already left, they could retrieve the key.
If there were no surprises, they could leave with the survivors.
But Wan Qian still hadn't returned. In the cafeteria, Wen Xirou waited for a long time.
She waited until the bowl of instant noodles she had made for Wan Qian was completely cold, the noodles swollen and softened, losing their elasticity. Wan Qian still hadn't appeared.
Even Jiang You cautiously approached her, asking in a soft voice, "Is Wan Qian not here? I haven't seen her since I woke up this morning."
Wen Xirou looked up at her. Jiang You, nervously clutching her clothes, had a fair complexion and a rosy glow, looking unusually healthy.
She was wearing a snow-white intern uniform, moving with the same ease as anyone else, with no sign of the strange behavior she had shown while wandering outside the night before.