Everyone Thought The Fake Heiress Had Her Reasons Ch. 15
“Martial artists are a group of people with superb physical qualities or extraordinary talent. They are the reserve force for fighting against invasions from other realms.”
“The Ancient Martial Arts Alliance, like the Ability User Association, was established by the government to cultivate and recruit talented individuals. They just focus on different areas.”
As Tang Xiaoyu explained, she observed Ming Jiao’s expression. “The entry barrier for martial artists is lower and more certain than for ability users.”
The achievements one could attain through martial arts training depended on one’s constitution and talent. But as long as one wasn’t too physically frail or too old to be unsuitable for training, they could at least get a foot in the door. Ability users, on the other hand, relied on bloodline inheritance and postnatal awakening, which were filled with too many unpredictable factors.
Ming Jiao listened quietly. These were things Tang Xiaoyu had not mentioned in their previous conversation.
Of course, that conversation had been driven mainly by her questions, but since she knew nothing about this other side of the world, she couldn’t ask much even if she wanted to.
At that time, Tang Xiaoyu must have seen her as an ordinary person who had accidentally gotten embroiled in the world of ability users. There was no need for her to know certain things, and once the matter was over, she would most likely never touch this boundary again.
But now, Tang Xiaoyu was speaking to her in a deeper and more comprehensive manner. Besides probing her, it was likely that she no longer defined her as an ordinary person.
On the other hand, the existence of this group of martial artists could provide a reasonable explanation for her skills once her strength recovered, rather than having to force it under the umbrella of self-defense techniques she had practiced before.
At this thought, Ming Jiao’s mood brightened.
She stood up again. “I’m going to take a shower and change first. You should rest for a bit, too. I’ll tell you about my findings from tonight later.”
These “findings,” of course, referred to the reactions of the suspected targets at the banquet.
Tang Xiaoyu’s attention was also drawn back. She had observed the reactions of some people when they saw Ming Jiao at the banquet and hadn’t found anything unusual, but Ming Jiao’s words clearly indicated she had a new discovery.
Her eyes deepened as she replied with a “Okay.” After Ming Jiao returned to her room to change, she stood in place for a moment, then simply took off her cloak and turned to enter the kitchen.
·
Back in her room, Ming Jiao said she was going to shower, but in reality, she deftly changed into a slip dress and began to watch the recorded footage with the System, reviewing the reactions of the suspected targets when they saw her.
It took almost an hour to watch the few minutes of footage from beginning to end, with some parts being reviewed more than once.
Ming Jiao sat down at the desk, took out the list of suspects she had compiled a few days before the banquet, and revealed a thoughtful expression.
Seeing her quickly pick up a pen and start scribbling on it, the System couldn’t help but say, [Host, your suspicions have shifted.]
Ming Jiao’s pen paused for a moment before she wrote down a name—Xie Chu. [That’s right. I find him particularly suspicious now, especially after you told me he’s likely an ability user too.]
[Why? He wasn’t even on your list of suspects before. I didn’t see anything too unusual about his reaction to you, either. He just looked at you a few more times throughout the banquet,] the System said, completely puzzled.
[Well…] Ming Jiao tapped her cheek with the pen, a contemplative look on her face. [I didn’t suspect him before because I was choosing targets based on grudges, romantic entanglements, and daily conflicts. He wasn’t on my list of enemies. Now, I’ve discovered that he actually has a motive to eliminate me.]
The System was genuinely confused. [What motive? He doesn’t like you, but I remember you two were going to break off the engagement anyway.]
Ming Jiao knew the System was right. In the original book, if her sister hadn’t gone on a business trip, she would have put the matter of breaking off her and Xie Chu’s engagement on the agenda. Their engagement should have been officially terminated by the end of this month at the latest.
Now that her sister was on a business trip, it would just be a little later than in the original timeline.
[But he doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know that my sister will have me break off the engagement, nor does he know that I will agree,] Ming Jiao said.
[Not all families are like the Ming family, who don’t force their children into arranged marriages. For marriages between two families, exchanging benefits is the norm.]
The System still found it a bit of a stretch. [He would hire an assassin to kill you just for that?]
It said with some concern, [Host, could you be biased against him just because you know he might be an ability user?]
[That possibility exists before the truth is investigated,] Ming Jiao said, not angered by the System’s doubt, and simply continued, [But I know him a little better than you do. Or rather, I know his family better.]
[His parents also had a marriage of convenience. His mother passed away very early, and although the stepmother his father remarried has no children, his father has countless mistresses and illegitimate children. Not to mention, his father’s siblings also have children, and his cousins are also very strong competitors. It can be said that the process for the next generation’s successor in the Xie family is destined to be filled with slaughter and struggle.]
Ming Jiao sighed softly. [The Ming family actually asked me years ago if I wanted to break off the engagement.]
This was indeed something the System didn’t know. It asked, [Why? Did they find out he had done something bad long ago?]
[Not really. It’s true that we had a childhood engagement, but what was more important was the friendship between my adoptive mother and his mother. After his mother passed away, the two families grew more distant. Besides, the Ming family felt that the Xie family was a mess and feared that if I married him in the future, I would inevitably be drawn into a bloody storm and wouldn’t find peace and happiness.]
[But I really liked him back then, so I insisted on maintaining the engagement.]
When she said “liked,” her tone was one of indifferent coldness and casualness. Then, her tone shifted again. [In the past, I was the legitimate second miss of the Ming family, a great help to him. But now, I’m a disgraced and illegitimate adopted daughter who has been kicked out of the house. Not only can I not bring him any help, but I will also tarnish his reputation. Moreover, regardless of whether we break off the engagement or not, he risks offending the Ming family. Tell me, if you were him, wouldn’t you find me an eyesore? Wouldn’t you want me to disappear?]
The System felt a chill run down its spine, its conviction wavering. [Host, you have a point. Could it really be him?]
Ming Jiao added, [Then there’s his personality. He’s a very sunny and enthusiastic person. I’m not saying that people who grow up in adversity can’t be sunny and optimistic, but he acts very harmless, very simple-minded. In a complex environment, people with this kind of personality are easily taken advantage of, but he’s been living quite well.]
The System was completely convinced.
He was possibly an ability user and came from an extremely privileged family—he had the capital to contact hunters.
His personality might be a disguise—he was scheming and skilled at plotting.
He frequently paid attention to the Host at the banquet—which could have been explained as concern for his fiancée, but could also be explained as astonishment that she wasn’t dead and an attempt to probe her.
Besides, if he really cared, why didn’t he come over to say a word or ask about the situation? Standing from a distance and making a few worried expressions looked suspiciously like he was putting on a show for outsiders.
The more the System thought about it, the more suspicious Xie Chu seemed. [Host, what do we do now?]
Ming Jiao smiled. [The first step, of course, is to tell Tang Xiaoyu about our suspicions.]
·
On the dining table in the living room were two bowls of cold noodles that looked appealingly colorful and likely tasted just as delicious.
Tang Xiaoyu was wearing a dark shirt today, its sleeves lightly rolled up to reveal her fair wrists, her cool and detached temperament unchanged.
Seeing Ming Jiao walk out of her room, still holding that familiar list of suspects, her gaze was immediately drawn to it. “Have you identified a new target?”
Tang Xiaoyu’s attention was on the list, but Ming Jiao’s was captivated by the cold noodles on the table. In the few days they had lived together, she had often enjoyed Tang Xiaoyu’s cooking and knew she was quite a good cook. Hearing her question, she answered, “Just added a new name. He’s the most suspicious one for now. Let’s talk while we eat.”
As she spoke, she eagerly dashed to the bathroom to wash her hands.
When she returned, she saw Tang Xiaoyu’s dark brows slightly furrowed. She had obviously identified the newly added name.
Like the System just a moment ago, she held the same confusion, but when she asked her question, she still remembered that she was an outsider. “What’s so special about this person that makes you particularly suspicious of him?”
On the matter of not wanting her cover blown, Ming Jiao shared the same tacit understanding with her, so she pretended that Tang Xiaoyu didn’t know Xie Chu at all. “This person is my fiancé. He might become my ex-fiancé soon.”
Ming Jiao slightly embellished the content she had just discussed with the System and recounted it to Tang Xiaoyu, then dropped the biggest bombshell. “I suspect he’s also an ability user.”
Tang Xiaoyu’s pupils contracted. She was suddenly reminded of the other ability user hidden in the shadows besides her sister when the monster invasion occurred. Could it be…
But her face remained as calm as ever. “How do you know?”
Ming Jiao put on an expression of recollection and contemplation. “I was on the second floor at the time. It was very quiet, and the sound of footsteps was particularly clear. I saw him walk in through the side door of the villa, completely lucid, and sit down next to the others who were in a state of mental chaos.”
Of course, she couldn’t have seen this with her own eyes. She hadn’t left her room on the second floor at all; the System had live-streamed it to her. However, she wasn’t worried this claim would be debunked.
Firstly, it was indeed the truth. Secondly, Tang Xiaoyu had said that electronic devices within the barrier’s range would be affected to some extent, so even if there were surveillance cameras in the villa, they would have malfunctioned during that time.
Tang Xiaoyu was clearly lost in thought, but it was difficult for Ming Jiao to discern her true thoughts from her exquisite, jade-like face. She was truly a person who was good at controlling her emotions.
Since she couldn’t figure it out, there was no need to waste effort trying to guess. Whether Tang Xiaoyu believed her or not, she would eventually give her an answer.
With that in mind, Ming Jiao very calmly picked up her chopsticks and started eating the noodles.
The sauce was sweet and sour, and every bite of noodles was filled with an endlessly savory and wonderful flavor.
She couldn’t help but show an expression of admiration and said to the System, [No wonder people always say the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. If this keeps up, I’ll fall in love with her sooner or later.]
The System had now seen through the playful nature beneath its host’s inscrutable exterior. It could now handle a few flirty remarks like this with composure. [I thought you fell in love the day the protagonist saved you. You even said you wanted to devote your life to her.]
[Not quite. Back then, I wanted her to have my body. Now, I’m allowing her to have my heart.]
System: […]
[Alright, you win, Host.]
Tang Xiaoyu quickly came back to her senses, a hint of inquiry inevitably in her eyes. “Since you two could get engaged, there should be some emotional foundation. Now that such a suspicion is on the table, you don’t seem surprised.”
There was no sadness or anger, either, as if this suspect who might have hired an assassin to kill her was a complete stranger.
But from what she knew, Ming Jiao and Xie Chu were childhood sweethearts who grew up together, and more importantly, she liked him.
But looking at her now, this seemed to be another thing that they, the outsiders, had misjudged.
“To my fiancé, I possess neither the halo of his affection nor sufficient value,” Ming Jiao said. “So it’s not strange if he wants to get rid of a nuisance like me for his own benefit. It’s not strange for his methods to be extreme, either.”
She said, “Some men are creatures who are highly driven by profit and purpose, and are also very ruthless. ‘A man who is not ruthless will not achieve greatness.’ Doesn’t that sound like their pride and praise for themselves?”
Listening to her calm judgment, Tang Xiaoyu suddenly remembered the night she had rescued her, when she had told her not to do anything.
At that time, she had felt disheartened by Ming Jiao’s distrust of the Ming family. That night, she had asked, “You don’t trust them,” and she had admitted it.
Then Ming Jiao had said, “Right now, I only trust you.”
At that time, she had thought, she trusts a stranger named Nightingale, and the person she suspects the most might be Tang Xiaoyu. How absurd and ironic.
Now, savoring these thoughts again, an endless complexity arose.
On that list of suspects were her friends, her fiancé, and she didn’t trust or intend to seek help from her family either.
She accepted it so calmly, this situation of being deserted by almost everyone.
As if this was how it was supposed to be, a matter of course.
Such a clear-headed and calm person, why had she always done foolish things in the past?
Tang Xiaoyu looked up. She had lost count of how many times she had gazed at Ming Jiao like this in just over a week, but it seemed that ever since the night she leaped into the window accompanied by the fragrance of roses, she had never been able to see through her again.
Or perhaps, she never had.
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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