Chapter 15: Guilt

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Shen Qingyao’s sudden appearance left Jiang Yan momentarily stunned. His emotions had remained calm throughout, but seeing Shen Qingyao clearly caught him off guard.

“I remember that every batch produced at the steel mill is assigned a batch number for record-keeping, right?”

Many eyes turned toward her, causing Shen Qingyao to grow nervous. She glanced at the factory director, who nodded in confirmation.

Jiang Yan immediately ordered someone to check the batch numbers, and Xu Kaifeng quickly walked over to Shen Qingyao’s side.

“Yao, what are you doing here? Are you working at the factory too?”

Shen Qingyao replied softly, “Do you think I could get into a place like this?”

The steel mill was notoriously hard to enter, typically employing only men strong enough for the work.

“Then what are you doing here? That outburst of yours just now might cause you trouble.”

“That’s my brother,” Shen Qingyao said quietly, locking eyes with Jiang Yan.

“Yao Yao, this has nothing to do with you. Go home quickly, don’t cause a scene,” Shen Qingye urged, trying to lead her away. But Shen Qingyao clung to his arm, refusing to leave.

“Brother!”

“I’m not going unless you promise to take me home afterward.”

“Stop fooling around, I’m too busy right now.”

Shen Qingyao gripped him tighter. “Then I won’t leave.”

Just as Shen Qingye was about to respond, the factory director returned with his men.

“Director, that batch hasn’t been assigned a number yet.”

Jiang Yan silently stepped beside Shen Qingyao. “When was it produced? Shouldn’t it have a batch number after production?”

“Shouldn’t the factory have records? Where’s the person in charge of that?” Jiang Feng demanded sharply.

“It was too late yesterday after work; there wasn’t time to assign the batch number,” said a tall, thin man who had just stepped forward. Shen Qingyao found his voice familiar.

“What did you just say?” she asked, moving closer. The man had to repeat himself with difficulty, looking apologetic.

Hearing his voice, Shen Qingyao was certain he was the one who had whispered earlier.

She looked at Jiang Yan, her eyes fixed firmly on him.

“This man is suspicious.”

Jiang Yan understood Shen Qingyao’s implication and asked the man for his name.

“My name’s Wang Tieshuan. I’m responsible for guarding the factory warehouse.”

No wonder—it was because he guarded the warehouse that he could let people in so easily.

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“The factory’s machines have problems; sometimes the products don’t meet standards. It’s normal not to assign batch numbers,” explained one of the workshop supervisors. But Shen Qingyao shook her head.

This batch was brought in from outside. So where did the good goods go?

Jiang Feng looked at the group and immediately sensed something was wrong.

“A batch of steel with no known origin has recently appeared on the market. We’re here to investigate that.”

Xu Kaifeng chimed in, “We’ve checked several other steel mills, and your factory has the most defective products.”

“Can anyone give me an explanation?” Jiang Yan’s eyes swept over many people, but they just stared blankly at him.

Wang Tieshuan put on a show of reluctance. “Old Shen, don’t blame me for this…”

His tone made everyone suspect there was more beneath the surface.

Most of the people leaned in to listen as Wang Tieshuan spoke, twisting and fidgeting, his eyes anxious.

“Lately, Old Shen has often come to borrow my warehouse key at night, saying he’s helping me on duty. My child’s been sick, so I agreed. That’s why…”

He didn’t need to finish; everyone understood what he meant.

Recalling that someone had mentioned Shen Qingye bought candy and such, it was clear he had embezzled quite a bit.

“You…” Shen Qingye grew angry but couldn’t find the words.

He had been helping Wang Tieshuan watch the warehouse partly out of selfishness and partly to help him.

He used the warehouse as a place to buy and sell goods, but it was absolutely not for trading items stored inside.

The reason for choosing the warehouse was because it was rarely visited; apart from Wang Tieshuan, who held the keys, only a few workers ever went in.

Shen Qingye felt a chill in his heart, never expecting his goodwill to be turned into a weapon against himself.

“I helped you with good intentions, but you…”

Wang Tieshuan avoided Shen Qingye’s gaze. “Old Shen, since we’re close, I want to help you, but this trouble is about to fall on me.”

Shen Qingye’s face betrayed his worry.

One part feared his secret dealings would be exposed; another realized he was being framed.

Shen Qingyao tried to soothe Shen Qingye but didn’t know what else to do.

“Brother, don’t worry.”

[Dead system, give me some advice!]

[Host, you have to figure this out yourself. The system is currently powerless.]

Biting her lip, Shen Qingyao was furious at the system.

[Then what use are you!?]

[Systems also need upgrades.]

Listening to this irritating mechanical voice, Shen Qingyao nearly spat blood.

She now had 1,300 points but couldn’t use them at all?

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It seemed she could only try to talk to the other person.

From the tone of the other man’s speech, he didn’t seem eager to frame Shen Qingye.

If he was still hesitant, maybe he could be swayed.

But right now, this matter couldn’t be resolved.

Shen Qingyao gasped, growing anxious.

She scanned the crowd until she saw a short, stout man standing apart.

Wasn’t he the one living next door to her brother’s dorm?

No wonder he couldn’t bear to let her brother take the blame.

It was as if hope was rekindled within her.

As the investigation continued, Shen Qingye and Wang Tieshuan exchanged words, each standing their ground.

Seizing a moment when no one was paying attention, Shen Qingyao slipped up to the stout man.

“You know what kind of person my brother is, right?”

“I…”

That voice—no doubt it was him.

Suppressing her inner joy, Shen Qingyao pressed on, “You entered the factory with my brother. You know who he is better than anyone. You must know what he does in the warehouse, right?”

She didn’t expect to move him, only to make him suffer.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly buried his face in his hands and began to sob bitterly, drawing many eyes.

Wang Tieshuan glared at Shen Qingyao with venom, his tone harsh.

“Old Shen, your sister’s really stirring things up. Big Niu’s been living a hard life lately. How could you…”

“I didn’t say anything. I just asked if he knew something,” Shen Qingyao raised her hands in innocence.

“Damn it, you’re trying to kill Big Niu!”

Shen Qingyao looked confused but heard someone mention that Big Niu’s wife had run off with another man, and that their child had died recently from illness.

Now, he had nothing left.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt welled up inside Shen Qingyao.

She hadn’t known Big Niu’s life had turned out this way, but that wasn’t a reason for him to frame Shen Qingye.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Qingyao stood still.

She could understand why Big Niu did what he did—perhaps it was to save his child.

The money was surely split evenly between Wang Tieshuan and Big Niu.

But after committing those despicable acts, Big Niu still couldn’t save his child.

What he must be feeling now—Shen Qingyao truly could not say.