By the time Liwu and Weijun returned home, the news of the stolen system had already outrun them. It was the talk of the servants in the corridors, the guards in the shadows and the family members. Weifeng and Manman had gone to the hospital from the precinct, as if that would somehow fix her voice!

Madam Xu was in such a great mood that she hugged Liwu. "My best daughter-in-law," she said, enthusiastically.

Weijun snorted. "She is your only daughter-in-law."

"And she will be the best no matter who your brothers marry in future." Madam Xu declared. She linked her arm with Liwu’s, pulling her to the table to join the rest of the family for dinner.

They had arrived just as the last dish was set down. Dishes were steaming, everyone was noisy, laughter was echoing. Officer Bun was loudly chomping on a carrot in the custom made chair Liwu had given the little grand aunt as a gift.

"Is it true?" Shen Mingxuan asked, eyes focused on Liwu. "Is it true that Manman has lost her voice?"

Liwu nodded and tilted her head, seeming unsure. "Well...technically she has not lost her voice. She lost her beauty system and a silence system was stuffed into her mind. Apparently, she can only say one sentence a day. She tried to write down what she wanted to say but the paper went up in flames. Her system also has a limit on how many words she can write per day."

Someone whistled.

"Serves that rotten fish right." Yuening declared. "At least we will have some peace and quiet around here."

"Maybe Weifeng will finally have the sense to move her out." Someone commented.

Suddenly, Madam Xu burst into loud laughter. "This must be the curse of the billion yuan necklace. Someone jealous must have stolen the system because of it."

Liwu raised her brows, sipping soup slowly with a white spoon. A curse! she thought. Was that what her mother-in-law was claiming? It was quite funny. Although in a way, that necklace truly did curse Manman, because it was the reason why Madam Xu sought every way to get rid of the beauty system.

The silence system on the other hand; it was probably the work of her mother.

Arguments at the table rose over the curse claim.

Madam Xu’s eyes sparkled with unrestrained joy.

But then two people arrived.

Weifeng stepped into the room, supporting his ever weak and distressed girlfriend. She was pale and her throat was bandaged. Her lips trembled, but no words came. The silence system clung to her like chains.

Liwu lowered her head into her shirt, making small laughing noises that sounded like the whimpering of a dog.

All conversation at the table halted. The carrot’s crunch froze mid-bite. Weijun’s jaw tightened, while Madam Xu rose with a look of concern on her face. "Oh Manman," she said in a soft, distressed voice. "I heard what happened to you. Someone stole a system!! What kind of jealous people are we living with in this world?"

Liwu almost burst into laughter, but she covered it by coughing quickly and pointing to the bowl of soup.

Weijun looked away from his brother, and patted her back. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Mmm, I am okay."

Weifeng’s glare swept the table. "I hope none of you will make light of this situation because its not funny. Manman is in pain."

Mr. Shen looked up from his plate. "Weifeng, where are your manners?" He barked at his son. "Your mother is showing concern for your girlfriend. The rest of us have been pondering how to help the both of us. If you are going to be hostile and blame your own family for something some stranger did, then I think you should not eat with the rest of us."

Weifeng sat down. But dinner became a battlefield of glances between the young couple’s suspicion, Liwu’s constant coughing. Madam Xu’s devouring of her favorite ice cream and the unease of other relatives.

Officer Bun, oblivious, crunched on the carrot. Somehow, it came loose, flew through the air and smacked Weifeng in the eye.

It was so absurd and comical that Liwu burst into laughter. "You are right mother, these two might be cursed. We should add anyone with a blessing or cursing system on the list of suspects. Someone must be jealous of them because of that necklace."

Weifeng snorted.

Liwu looked at the couple. "I hate to say this but have you two considered selling off the necklace and giving the proceeds to charity? Have you even seen the comments online? A lot of people were outraged because of it. The odds of some stranger having done this to you because of it are large. But, that is just my opinion."

"Let me read some of them for you." Shen Yulan offered.

[I can’t even afford tuition for my next semester and she gets a necklace worth more than a building in my school. Life is unfair. I hope it breaks.]

[This is why dynasties fell. Not because emperors started wars but because they were like this idiot. They gave women necklaces worth more than the salary of the scholars who served in court. My cousin works for the Shen group and she is eating instant noodles as I type. I hope that bitch chokes on her necklace,]

[She’s not even that pretty. I have seen better faces at the vegetable market. A billion yuan for cabbage-level beauty? Ridiculous.]

[Imagine being an ugly duckling and getting a beauty system and suddenly men are throwing money at you. I have never hated someone so much. Someone should dunk her face in acid.]"

Manman suddenly stood up. There were no tears this time, just silence. Weifeng naturally followed her, as he always did.

Yulan put her phone down. "These are not my words. They are the most liked comments under her own post.

"Well, at least the dramatics are silent now." Mr. Shen said.

"He did not tell us what the doctor told them at the hospital." She Mingxuan said, chewing slowly. "Am I the only one that is curious about that thick bandage around her neck. Why is it there? Did she have surgery?"

"Eat your food." Madam Xu told him.

Mingxuan shoveled more food into his mouth, but his heart was burning with curiosity. In truth, he was not the only one at the table who wanted to know what had happened at the hospital.

After dinner, Liwu returned to the villa, leaving Weijun in the main house. He was determined to have a word with his brother, even if he waited all night.