Danielle slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying in the yard near the vegetable garden.
Before she could feel how weak her body was, she suddenly heard a loud bang at the door, and the next moment, many people appeared around her.
Someone was crying loudly. "I was just watering plants in the yard when she suddenly dragged me here! I... I've lost my innocence! Don't stop me—I might as well just die!"
Danielle was shocked by what she saw. In front of her was Chu Xiong, with his clothes in a mess, looking like he was about to throw himself against the wall.
As Danielle moved her hand to sit up, she realized she was holding something. When she lifted her hand, it turned out to be a piece of cloth.
Wait—why did it look like it came from Chu Xiong's clothes?
A bad feeling hit her.
Team Leader Fang Ming, who had lost face at Danielle's place before, gave a cold snort. "Danielle, explain yourself."
Leng ran down from upstairs. "Captain Fang, this must be a misunderstanding!"
Fang Ming replied with disdain, "Of course you women would protect each other. What, men's innocence doesn't matter?"
Leng didn't know what was going on either, but she was sure Danielle wasn't here five minutes ago. "Captain Fang, are you sure of what you heard? This is the Duo Family home. What if he snuck in?"
Chu Xiong cried even harder when he heard that. "You women are too much! I might as well just die!"
If Danielle still couldn't see that she had been set up, she would be a fool.
She calmed herself, cleared her throat, and stood up.
"Captain Fang, remember this is my house. I have the right to deal with someone who broke in."
Fang Ming paused for a moment, while Chu Xiong cried louder.
"But you were the one who broke into my house. If you don't believe me, go check—your shoe is still in my yard."
Danielle looked down and realized one of her shoes was missing.
She quickly looked at Chu Xiong and caught a brief flash of satisfaction on his face.
His plan was very well thought out.
Fang Ming looked smug. "Danielle, what else do you have to say?"
He turned to Chu Xiong. "She broke into your place. So what do you want? Let her deal with you, or come with me?"
In Elysium, sexual assault was a serious crime.
He could barely hide the gloating on his face.
Danielle, what will you do now?
Danielle looked at Chu Xiong. "What do you want?"
Chu Xiong pretended to be shy. "I want you to marry me."
Fang Ming immediately frowned. "Chu Xiong, you—"
Chu Xiong avoided his eyes and said gloomily, "I want to marry her."
Then he looked sneakily at Danielle. "If you don't marry me, I'll let my mom kill you. You broke into my house. My mom has the right to deal with you."
Danielle coughed and gave him a mocking look. "Don't forget, someone can only be dealt with if they're caught in the act. But I'm clearly at home now. Why should I be punished?"
She sneered.
That made Chu Xiong angry. He stood up and pointed at himself. "Then what about you assaulting me? You have to marry me, or else I'll report you."
Fang Ming had been waiting for that. "Enough. No more talking. Danielle, the evidence is clear. You committed sexual assault. Come with me."
Danielle let out another cold laugh.
That made Fang Ming furious. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing. Didn't he say he wants me to marry him? Fine, I'll marry him. This is a private family matter now. So, Captain Fang, can you leave?"
Leng stayed silent even though she opened her mouth to speak.
Chu Xiong, on the other hand, looked thrilled and confused, as if he couldn't believe what he heard.
Fang Ming's face darkened. "Chu Xiong, don't forget what you promised me."
Chu Xiong avoided his gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about. My woman already said she'll marry me, so I'm not reporting her."
He even threw a flirty wink at Danielle.
Danielle ignored him and turned a sharp gaze on Fang Ming.
"Captain Fang, you're still here? Or are you waiting for me to report you for trespassing in someone's home?"
Fang Ming breathed heavily, then finally had no choice but to glare at Chu Xiong and leave.
The moment he left, Chu Xiong rushed toward Danielle.
Danielle gave him one cold look, and he froze on the spot.
"You... you can't go back on your word. If you do—"
"I said I'll marry you, and I will. But not now. Go home."
Her voice turned serious. "Or I might forget what I promised."
That couldn't happen!
Chu Xiong got so scared he ran straight back to his own house.
Soon, his head popped up over the wall. "Danielle, don't forget! Or I'll still report you!"
Danielle sneered and waved casually before motioning for Leng to come inside with her.
As soon as they stepped in, Rain came rushing downstairs, eyes red.
"Mom, where did you go? I missed you so much."
Danielle hugged him and lifted him slightly. "Mommy went shopping."
Then she pulled two tomatoes from her space and handed them to him. "Go share these with Qingqing."
Upstairs, Fei Yang looked worried.
Danielle pretended not to notice. After comforting Rain and sending him back upstairs, she looked seriously at Leng.
"What exactly happened? Where's Zachary?"
If Zachary were around, he would've shown up.
Leng shook her head. "The day you disappeared, he vanished too. I asked people to look for him, even called the police, but no news."
Danielle froze. "I disappeared? For how long?"
Leng's face turned complicated. "Three days."
Danielle said nothing. She knew it must have something to do with her space upgrading.
And those two mysterious mother trees...
That had to stay secret. She couldn't tell Leng, so she changed the topic.
"Thank you for all your help these past few days. Please keep watching Rain for me a little longer. I'm going to look for Zachary."
Leng opened her mouth but said nothing in the end.
Danielle walked out the door and saw Chu Xiong secretly peeking from outside.
Worried he might cause trouble while she was gone, she casually said, "I'll marry you when I get back."
Then she left.
Chu Xiong grinned so hard he could barely hide it.
Soon after she left, he rolled his eyes, then pushed open the Duo family's front gate.
Danielle didn't know any of this. She kept sending messages and video calls to Zachary through her wrist device.
But there was no reply.
Biting her lip, she pulled up Jin Shan's contact info.
Given his status, he might be able to help.
Before she could call, her wristband suddenly rang…