Tang Xiaonan stopped and turned toward the source of the voice. A group of people were planting rice seedlings, all moving quickly. The rows were perfectly straight, as if measured with a ruler, but one man stood out. He was slow, and the seedlings he planted were crooked and messy.

The man said nothing, merely straightening up to pound his lower back a few times. He was handsome, but with fair skin and refined features—not the rugged, thick-browed, and large-eyed look currently in vogue. He was more of a pretty boy.

The man wore old clothes, his pant legs rolled up high, his feet caked in mud. Yet his aura was completely different from the farmers around him. He was like a crane in a flock of chickens—impossible to ignore.

"What’s the rush? It makes no difference to your work points whether I plant slowly or quickly."

Storm Xavier spoke leisurely. The person who had shouted at him realized he had a point. After all, he was earning his full work points, so why meddle in someone else’s business? He bent back down to continue planting, though his movements had noticeably slowed.

Tang Xiaonan was now certain this Storm Xavier was Phoenix Golding’s lover. No wonder Phoenix Golding didn’t mind his "landlord" background. Storm Xavier was an incredibly handsome man. Vernon Spann was good-looking enough, but he paled in comparison to Storm Xavier. They weren’t even in the same league.

Storm Xavier was working in the fields, so Phoenix Golding couldn’t have been coming to see him. ’So if she’s not going home, where did she go?’

Tang Xiaonan felt a little disappointed, but she didn’t lose heart. ’It’s not like I have to catch them right away. I’ll just take my time. I’m bound to get results sooner or later.’

Since catching the adulterers was a bust, the two of them had no choice but to head home. The Qingming Festival was approaching, and the roadsides were blooming with calla lilies and Chinese milk vetch. The latter sprouted from seeds scattered along the field ridges. Chinese milk vetch was incredibly easy to grow; it could survive in any soil and would produce beautiful, small, purplish-red flowers.

Tender Chinese milk vetch could also be used to stave off hunger. The people of Vessaria didn’t call it by its proper name but referred to it as "grass seed." It was delicious stir-fried on its own or with rice cakes. During the famines of the past, many people would sneak into the communal fields at night to steal it for food. Compared to bitter roots, Chinese milk vetch was a delicacy.

Tang Xiaonan picked some wildflowers and foxtail grass, weaving them into simple crowns. She and Amanda Chapman each wore one on their heads. Amanda Chapman was overjoyed and took off at a run, quickly getting far ahead before dashing back to wait for Tang Xiaonan. Her energy was boundless.

The next two days passed peacefully. Phoenix Golding continued to give her the silent treatment, but Tang Xiaonan couldn’t care less. ’I don’t want to answer her childish questions anyway. If it weren’t for my plan to expose her affair, I wouldn’t even bother coming to class.’

Tang Xiaonan’s mind wandered during class. ’I wonder how Goldie Thorne and Frederick Thorne are doing with their investigation. There hasn’t been any news at home. Knowing the Thorne family’s impatient nature, it wouldn’t be this quiet if they’d found something.’

’I also wonder how Adrian Hawthorne’s business is doing. I haven’t been over in two days. I should go check on him after school today. I can turn in my homework while I’m at it. Grandpa Tate gave me a special assignment, and I need to give him my answers.’

After school, Tang Xiaonan went to the bike shed to check things out again. The bicycle was still there. Ulysses Spann was waiting by the shed. When he saw Tang Xiaonan, he flinched and didn’t dare make a sound.

Tang Xiaonan knew today was another bust. If Phoenix Golding had her son waiting, she definitely wouldn’t be going to a secret rendezvous. She shot Ulysses Spann a venomous glare. ’He’s the bastard who ran over my body’s previous owner and killed her.’

Ulysses Spann jumped, startled, and shrank back even further, not daring to make a peep. He was afraid of getting beaten up, and he knew he was no match for Jim Thorne.

Tang Xiaonan frowned slightly. The Ulysses Spann of today was just as the book had described him: a timid, cowardly good-for-nothing, spoiled rotten by Phoenix Golding. He was terrible at school and couldn’t seem to learn anything. But the guy was born lucky. As a child, he was pampered by Phoenix Golding, and when he grew up, he’d be pampered by Jacqueline Spann.