Seemingly unfazed, the tour guide asked again, “Were you together the entire night?”
The actress had almost buried her face in the table. Mr. Nick responded unkindly, “You suspect us, but what about yourselves? You don’t have the power to enforce the law, do you? And how can we be sure that the real culprit isn’t among you?”
“You suspect the killer is among us, and I also suspect that your resort itself is the murderer. You’re using this excuse to imprison us and kill us one by one.”
“The road was fine at other times, but as soon as someone died, there was a landslide? It’s definitely suspicious.”
“Something is definitely not right.”
The people at the dining table, who were already in a daze, all raised their heads alertly and looked at the strange tour guide who always wore a fake smile.
The director among the group of four actors continued, “That’s right.”
“I remember on the first day we arrived at the resort, you told us we could take anything from the resort, but since the establishment of the resort, no one has been able to take anything out. When we asked you about the reason, you just smiled mysteriously. You all have serious issues.”
The eldest daughter rubbed her hand on her stomach and said, “So when will the meal be served? I haven’t had breakfast, and I’m hungry.”
The tour guide smiled apologetically at the eldest daughter, “I’m sorry, Miss Nick, because of the two murders, the kitchen was in chaos and forgot to prepare the meals. I just informed them, and they are preparing them urgently.”
“Based on the time,” the tour guide looked at his wristwatch, “it should be ready soon.”
The eldest daughter’s stomach kept growling, and she impatiently scraped the table with a steel fork. The screeching sound echoed in the room, causing many people’s eyebrows to furrow.
The director pounded the table and said, “Hey, Tour Guide, don’t change the subject. Hurry up and tell us, is the killer among you?!”
The tour guide smiled helplessly, “Sir, just look at these attendants standing in the corners of the room. They are only a part of the resort, and also look at the food you’re eating and the place you’re sleeping. If the resort really wanted to kill you, you would have died many times already. How could there only be two deaths and one disappearance? Anyway, here, calling on heaven won’t be answered, and calling on the earth won’t be effective, right?”
“Pointlessly being suspicious will only create internal conflicts. It’s almost ten in the morning now. Instead of wasting time suspecting us, it’s better to quickly provide your alibi to eliminate suspicion.”
Thomas slowly scanned the dozen people in the room and said, “Mr. Nick and Miss Elizabeth are temporarily cleared of suspicion, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they are covering for each other or providing false testimony. So, from now on, the two of you should not act together.”
“Next, Mr. Aisli, where were you last night?”
Mr. Aisli elegantly wiped his hands with a silk cloth and replied, “My wife and I have a very affectionate relationship. From the first night, we stayed together in my room. My wife came to my room.”
Mrs. Aisli’s complexion had improved, but one could still see traces of fatigue and faint tears. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk cloth and nodded sadly, “Yes, I can testify for my husband. We were together all night.”
The tour guide stared at the two for a few seconds. “Does anyone else have evidence to support their alibi?”
Mr. Aisli replied, “No, I think as a lawful couple, we don’t need to report to anyone else. After all, not every couple can sleep together.”
Mr. Nick’s eyes widened instantly, and the actress Elizabeth remained silent, only lowering her head to look at the table in front of her.
The tour guide smiled, “I apologize, Mr. Aisli, please forgive my unintentional offense. I’m just doing my duty, without any other implications.”
“While you two can testify for each other, there is still suspicion of false testimony due to your marital relationship. Therefore, the two of you should also not act together from now on.”
Mr. Aisli’s face flashed with displeasure, but he took a deep breath and didn’t say anything more.
The tour guide moved his eyes and landed on the eldest daughter’s face, “Miss Nick, where were you last night?”
She lazily slumped on the table, as if the sky was about to fall, “I was in my room the whole time. As soon as I touched the pillow, I fell asleep.”
The tour guide said, “So, you were alone in your room last night, without anyone to testify for you.”
“I was sleeping in my room. Do I have to invite someone to stand by my bed and watch me sleep?!” The eldest daughter knocked on the table with her fork. “Didn’t you say the food would be ready soon? Why hasn’t it been served yet?”
The tour guide smiled apologetically again, “I’m sorry, please bear with us a little longer. It should be ready soon.”
Just as the tour guide finished speaking, there was a knocking sound at the door, “Ladies and gentlemen, your meals are ready.”
The closest attendant to the door opened it, and the attendants pushing the food trolley filed in, placing the food in front of each person in an orderly manner.
As soon as the food was placed in front of the eldest daughter, she immediately grabbed the knife and fork and started eating greedily.
The sound of her devouring food echoed in the room, but it didn’t ignite anyone’s appetite. Instead, it caused a slightly nauseating feeling that made some people even feel like vomiting.
The philanthropist couple, Mr. and Mrs. Aisli, wrinkled their brows in disgust.
This was far from the elegant dining of a noble lady. It was more like a fat pig eating pig feed!
Before all the dishes were served, the eldest daughter had already wolfed down the last bit of food.
She grabbed the sleeve of an attendant standing behind her with greasy fingers and eagerly said, “Give me another portion. I’m still hungry.”
The attendant looked at the tour guide, then at the eldest daughter, with a guilty look in their eyes. “I’m sorry, miss. Because the road is blocked, our purchasing vehicle can’t go out for supplies. The food stored in the kitchen is running low. In order to ensure everyone has food for the next few days, we prepared only one portion per person.”
After hearing this, the eldest daughter immediately sat up straight in her chair and roared, “What?! Only one portion?!”
She forcefully opened the plate, finding it empty.
“What kind of joke is this? With such a small amount of food, I will starve. I need at least ten portions.”
“What kind of garbage resort is this? Are you trying to starve me?!”
The attendant bowed apologetically, “I’m truly sorry, Miss. We didn’t intend for this to happen, but we have no other choice. In order to ensure that all of you have meals, we have already reduced our own portions to one meal a day. We really can’t provide more food, as it would result in us starving.”
The eldest daughter glared at the attendant, and then she suddenly had an idea. She turned and snatched the food that the eldest son in law was about to eat, grabbing the bread and taking a big bite as if proclaiming ownership.
The eldest son-in-law nodded meekly and didn’t dare to touch the food anymore. He simply held his knife and fork, slowly placing them back down, and softly said to the eldest daughter, “If you want it, it’s all yours. Just don’t overeat.”
The eldest daughter paid no attention to him. She looked at Bai Lixin and Richard, who were sitting opposite her, and demanded rudely, “You don’t like the food here, right? You always eat so little or don’t eat at all. Give me your food, don’t waste it.”
Without waiting for Bai Lixin’s reply, she reached out and took the food in front of him, pulling it towards herself.
After doing that, she planned to take Emil’s food as well.
Emil’s eyes widened, and his knife and fork were thrust towards her hand, causing the eldest daughter to quickly retract her hand, afraid to touch even a bit of Emil’s food.
She couldn’t snatch food from Hongyue either. Although Miss Jia’er’s food was untouched, it was too far for her to reach, even if she stood on her tiptoes.
Unless the other party offered it to her.
But did Miss Jia’er offer it?
No, she didn’t.
The eldest daughter didn’t feel embarrassed, for her priority was filling her stomach rather than preserving her dignity.
She turned her head again, directly reaching out and taking the plate of bread and the half-eaten dish in front of her younger sister.
The younger sister’s body stiffened, and her shoulders tensed up.
Pale-faced, she cast a glance at the eldest daughter, her eyes full of fear, but she couldn’t do anything except clench her teeth and bear it.
Her long brown hair covered her cheeks, and beneath her hair, tears fell silently, landing on the table. She looked at Mr. Nick with a pitiful gaze, but Mr. Nick casually said, “You eat less normally, so you can handle being hungry. Your sister is different. If she doesn’t eat enough, she’ll feel uncomfortable the whole day. You only have one sister, why do you care so much about these trivial things?”
Upon hearing this, the younger sister lowered her head, disappointed and desolate.
Three more portions of food were added in front of the eldest daughter, and she had already abandoned any pretense of elegance and courtesy. She grabbed them and began eating. Though three portions were still not enough to satisfy her hunger, it was better than before.
In the room, everyone else had already finished eating, and only the sound of the eldest daughter’s swallowing could be heard in the air.
Five minutes later, the dining table was in complete disarray.
The attendants quickly tidied up the table, and in the blink of an eye, the dining hall was once again in its initial cleanliness.
When these few attendants pushing the food trolleys left the dining hall, the eldest daughter eagerly asked the tour guide, “When is lunch?”
The tour guide checked his watch and replied, “It’s now ten o’clock in the morning. Lunch is scheduled for around 12:30, madam.”
“Now that you’ve all finished your delicious breakfast, let’s continue with the unresolved issues from earlier.”
“Miss Nick, you were alone in your room, without any evidence,” the tour guide said.
“Next is your turn, sir,” the tour guide pointed to the eldest son-in-law.
The eldest son-in-law turned pale instantly, his gaze wandering, and he sneakily looked at the youngest daughter beside him.
The girl had a pale complexion and an expressionless face.
The eldest son-in-law stuttered, “I, I was in… in…”
“Why are you so nervous?” The eldest daughter forcefully patted her husband’s back. “Be confident. What’s the matter?”
“Hehe, of course he’s nervous because he’s guilty,” the younger sister’s husband suddenly spoke up. “Elder sister, where was your husband last night? My wife has the most say in this matter.”
The younger sister and the eldest son-in-law looked at the younger son-in-law, their eyes filled with shock and fear.
The eldest daughter was still unaware of the situation and asked, “What’s going on?”
The youngest son-in-law sneered and suddenly grabbed the youngest daughter’s hair, forcefully pulling her neck up. “What I mean is, in the long night, our beloved partners didn’t want to find us but sneaked out secretly for a rendezvous. If I hadn’t woken up thirsty in the middle of the night and overheard their conversation at the stairwell, I would still be in the dark.”
“She appeared harmless like a little rabbit, but she’s actually a cunning fox. She eats from us and wears our clothes, yet she betrays us. Tell me, how long have you been having an affair?!”
The youngest daughter was thrown to the ground, the sound of a heavy thud resonating as her body hit the cold floor, her face instantly distorted in pain.
She lay on the ground, struggling to lift her head, and saw the youngest son-in-law raising his arm. Seeing this, her pupils constricted, and she instinctively protected her vulnerable areas with her arms, a move that was so skillful it was heartbreaking.
It was always like this.
The youngest son-in-law would beat her in every corner of the house. Even if her father passed by, her sister passed by, or her sister’s husband passed by, no one would come to her aid.
Not only would they not help her, they would even intensify their attacks on her.
Just like before, nobody came to save her, and nobody would come to save her now.
Although she was the second daughter of the Nick family, her life was more miserable than that of a servant. If they didn’t love her, why did they bring her into this world? Was it just to torment her?
However, a long time passed, and the expected pain did not come.
She opened her arms, cautiously raised her head, and saw that someone had firmly grabbed the youngest son-in-laws arm.
That person was very beautiful, and she had noticed him the moment they got on the bus.
His eyes contained the stars of the sky, and it felt like you will sink into them after looking at them for a long time.
She never dared to look into that person’s eyes for too long.
She always felt that that person was very similar to her, even though the other two always claimed to treat him as their own family, they still treated him like a lowly person.
He was actually very pitiful.
Now, in the entire dining hall, nobody dared to stop the youngest son-in-laws actions except for him.
The light above illuminated the young man, casting a faint halo around his body. For a moment, the youngest daughter felt as if there was a pair of pure white wings behind the young man.
The savior, in her most desperate moment, appeared before her like a savior.
The youngest son-in-law’s features that were contorted with anger, wrinkled even more, and he spoke to the meddling Bai Lixin, “What are you doing? This is our family matter, don’t meddle in it.”
Bai Lixin replied, “Sir, what I am currently addressing is not a family matter. Although I don’t have much knowledge of our laws, I believe our country should have a sound legal system, right? Is it not against the law to assault someone? Although there are no police officers present at the scene, there are still many witnesses. If this lady wishes, she can have you sent to jail as soon as the police arrive and make you experience what it feels like to be beaten.”
The youngest son-in-law angrily exhaled through his nose, “She betrayed me, so I’m not allowed to hit her?”
Bai Lixin gestured towards the person next to him, “One slap doesn’t make a sound. If you’re going to hit, you should treat everyone equally. Why should only women be punished and not men? There’s still one over there, right?”
The eldest daughter’s husband trembled.
Seeing the youngest son-in-law looking over, the eldest daughter widened her eyes and said directly, “You dare! Lay a finger on my man, and you’ll see.”
With a disdainful glance at her sister lying on the ground in a sorry state, she uttered, “Bah, wretched creature.”
