Chapter 87: Handle the Important Matters First

Lin Yiming nodded, pressed the horn hard, and stepped on the accelerator. The wheels spun rapidly, startling the reporters in front of the car into scrambling aside.

The car made it through the gate without trouble, and the reporters were left outside.

“Sis, I’m sorry. I’ve caused you trouble again.” Lin Yiming was full of guilt. He had meant to help her, never expecting to stir up something like this.

“It has nothing to do with you. I should be thanking you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how I died.” Zhang Xiluo took a deep breath. Her tolerance of Zhou Yao had become the very weapon that was now being used against her.

“I’m going now, then. You should rest well. I’ll testify for you. None of this has anything to do with you.” Lin Yiming was frustrated. He reached for the phone in his pocket, then did not take it out.

Zhang Xiluo stopped him. There were reporters outside, and someone had seen him driving over just now.

If he went out now, he might run into trouble.

Lin Yiming was only a college student; he had no ability to face something like this.

“Stay here tonight and talk about it tomorrow,” Zhang Xiluo said, taking him upstairs and settling him in the guest room. “The bedding is in the cabinet, and the toiletries are in the drawer.”

“Sis, I’m sorry.”

“I told you, it has nothing to do with you. Rest early. I’ll see you out tomorrow.” Zhang Xiluo comforted him, still feeling as though she had dragged him into this.

A perfectly good student had been pulled into this storm because of her.

Zhang Xiluo even began to wonder whether her original decision had been the right one. Maybe giving him a sum of money directly would have been far better than this.

“I mean Yaoyao’s matter. If we hadn’t crashed into your car, then you wouldn’t have…”

Poor Lin Yiming still had no idea what was really going on. He still thought it was Li Mingye’s forceful taking that had changed Zhou Yao’s nature and made her vain and greedy.

Zhang Xiluo opened her mouth, but in the end she still did not tell him the truth.

Perhaps, like other men, he also believed Zhou Yao was pure and good, and there was no need for her to shatter that illusory dream.

If there were a later life after all this, Zhang Xiluo would surely choose to tell him today.

Of course, that was all for later. What she had to deal with now was the trouble right in front of her.

After arranging things for Lin Yiming, Zhang Xiluo heard a knock at the door and went to check. These days, before opening the door, she had gotten into the habit of looking first; she did not want tragedy to happen again.

Ouyang Chen was standing at the door, holding two bags of things, waiting for her to open up.

“What brings you here?”

“You’ve had a lot of trouble lately. What are you planning to do?” Ouyang Chen set the things on the table, poured himself a cup of tea with practiced ease from the kitchen, and sat down on the sofa.

“News sure travels fast.” Zhang Xiluo sat across from him, her expression grave, and gave a bitter smile. “I’ll just take things one step at a time. What else can I do?”

“I found the person who falsely accused your uncle,” Ouyang Chen said after taking a sip of tea. His tone was calm, and he lifted his eyes to look at Zhang Xiluo. “Which problem do you want to solve first?”

At his words, Zhang Xiluo brightened. “You found her? Xue Ting looked for a long time and couldn’t find any trace of her. Where is she?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll take you there.”

“Why wait until tomorrow? Let’s go now!” Zhang Xiluo did not want to wait. She was afraid that any delay might bring another twist.

After one blow after another, her parents were worn down, running around outside all day.

If she could solve her uncle’s problem, her parents would not have to suffer so much.

She had promised to protect her family, yet she had failed to do so, and that left her with a deep sense of guilt and helplessness.

She really could not bear to relive the pain of her past life.

Zhang Xiluo did not want to wait even one minute.

A trace of displeasure flashed in Ouyang Chen’s eyes as the corners of his mouth sank slightly. “You’ve left him at home?”

Following his gaze, Zhang Xiluo turned and saw Lin Yiming standing at the corner, somewhat at a loss.

“Yes, to avoid trouble,” Zhang Xiluo explained briefly. “Ouyang Chen, you still haven’t answered my question.”

“It’s not safe outside. There are reporters everywhere. It’s not proper for him to stay at your place. I’ll take him with me and come back for you tomorrow morning.” Ouyang Chen stood up and motioned for Lin Yiming to follow him.

Lin Yiming looked at Zhang Xiluo, then at Ouyang Chen, and finally decided to leave with him.

“There’s food in there. Your uncle and aunt have been busy lately and have no time to cook for you.”

Before leaving, Ouyang Chen reminded Zhang Xiluo to eat well and look after herself.

Ouyang Chen really did treat her a little differently. If they were only friends, then his concern was a bit much. What he did did not seem like the behavior of a friend at all, but more like someone she could rely on.

Ouyang Chen believed her without condition and helped her investigate and confirm everything.

When she was at her weakest, it was he who stayed with her in the hospital.

Compared with that, Li Mingye was truly just a stranger.

Before she knew it, Zhang Xiluo found herself thinking of Li Mingye again, even comparing him with Ouyang Chen.

She hurriedly shook her head, casting Li Mingye out of her mind, and picked a few of her favorite ready-made foods from the bag to fill her stomach.

“Luo Luo, what’s going on with Zhou Lixun?”

“Did that homewrecker Zhou set you up again? I’m going to rip her mouth off.”

Xu Xinyi and Jiang Xueting sent messages in the group chat, while Zhou Yao posted a crying video, insinuating that Zhang Xiluo was the murderer who had caused her father’s death.

Zhou Yao said that all of this was punishment. She publicly apologized to Zhang Xiluo and said she would leave Li Mingye, hoping Zhang Xiluo would let her family go.

Her account was full of tears and anguish. She never mentioned Zhang Xiluo’s name directly, but every word pointed straight at her.

Someone else posted photos of Zhang Xiluo and Lin Yiming online, deliberately enlarging the shots of Lin Yiming handing her milk tea and supporting her. From that angle, they looked like stills taken by a surveillance camera.

“I’m so pissed, Luo Luo. I’m going to settle the score with her.” Jiang Xueting could not sit still. “That disgusting bitch is too much. Is that damn man with the Li surname just going to watch her slander you like this?”

“Xue Ting, say less.” Xu Xinyi was worried that Zhang Xiluo might be upset. “Luo Luo, maybe Li Mingye doesn’t even know about this.”

“Don’t worry. I’m fine. Since they want to make trouble, let’s see who’s more capable. Right now I need to deal with my uncle’s problem first. Zhou Yao can wait. Once I have time, I’ll drag her right back to her original form!” Zhang Xiluo was not merely comforting them. She had decided to crush Zhou Yao on the internet and bury her there; she just did not have the time at the moment.

“We support you.”

Zhang Xiluo sent back a hug emoji and did not reply further. She organized all the audio and video on her phone relating to Zhou Yao and personally wrote a statement.

By the time dawn was approaching, she finally fell asleep. Before eight o’clock, Ouyang Chen called to wake her up.

“If you don’t get up now, that woman will run.”

Ouyang Chen’s words were remarkably effective. The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Xiluo jolted upright, instantly wide awake.

She patted her face hard. “Right away. Ten minutes.”

After washing up and changing clothes, Zhang Xiluo glanced at her parents’ room before going downstairs. They had not come back again last night. She could not help feeling heartache, and while sending a message to her mother, she walked downstairs.

Zhang Xiluo thought to herself that she had to find that woman and obtain proof to clear her uncle’s name.