Chapter 88: Leave It Alone

Ouyang Chen and Lin Yiming were standing at the door. Ouyang Chen had a lunch container in his hand.

"Eat first."

"We can eat in the car."

Zhang Xiluo took the container and got into the car. Ouyang Chen had made her boiled eggs and steamed buns, and worried that she might have trouble swallowing them, so he had also prepared a bag of hot milk.

By the time the car pulled out of Qinyuan, a crowd of reporters was still crouched outside the gate. It had to be said, their sense of dedication was admirable.

In that bitter cold, they had stayed there all night.

"I’m practically a celebrity now, with so many paparazzi staking me out." Zhang Xiluo joked about herself, biting into a bun and speaking while chewing, completely unconcerned with her image. "This actually feels pretty good. No wonder so many people want to be stars."

What she wanted now was to live recklessly. She had been careful all her life, and in the end it had still ended in misery.

Lin Yiming looked at her and felt a pang of sympathy, unsure how to comfort her.

Ouyang Chen, on the other hand, curved his lips into a faint smile, as though he had thought of something amusing.

Zhang Xiluo asked Ouyang Chen to drop Lin Yiming off at the cafe first, warning him not to open for business these next few days so no one would come bother him.

"You treat the young guy pretty well." Ouyang Chen’s tone sounded a little strange, as if he were jealous.

Zhang Xiluo was slow to catch on and did not notice the sour note in his voice. She even explained it to him, "He’s all right. He helped me a lot. He’s a good guy."

Ouyang Chen suddenly fell silent, and the car picked up speed. The entire ride was quiet until they reached a demolition village on the outskirts of the city.

Zhang Xiluo thought Ouyang Chen must have known she was anxious, which was why he was driving so fast. Her opinion of him went up another notch.

If she had a stack of good-person cards, she would have handed him ten every day.

As they neared their destination, she was already planning how to obtain evidence, or how to make the person behind it confess.

Her expression grew more and more serious. She was so deep in thought that she did not even notice the car had stopped.

"Get out." Ouyang Chen opened the door, his face somewhat displeased.

"Okay." Zhang Xiluo nodded and got out, but she lost her footing at once and instinctively grabbed Ouyang Chen’s arm. "Good thing you were here, or I would have fallen to my death."

The corner of Ouyang Chen’s mouth twitched, and he turned to lead the way.

The village was in ruins, most of its residents long gone. The woman was hiding in a derelict building.

When they reached the door, Ouyang Chen told Zhang Xiluo to stand behind him before knocking.

After a long while, the woman opened the door and peeked out. Seeing that it was Ouyang Chen, she let out a breath of relief.

"Come in."

Zhang Xiluo looked at the filthy, chaotic room and could not help frowning. The stench was overpowering, and everywhere she looked there was trash and moldy food.

Even for a woman hiding here, this was too much.

She asked bluntly, "Why did you try to frame He Chaoyou? Tell me everything, and I can help you."

"Wasn’t I supposed to get money? Hurry up and give me the money!" The woman ignored Zhang Xiluo completely, turned to Ouyang Chen instead, and held out her hand. "Money. Now."

Ouyang Chen took out a bank card and placed it on the table. Before he could say a word, the woman snatched it up and bolted.

"I’m not stupid. If I say anything, how would I stay alive?"

She ran fast. Zhang Xiluo reached out but failed to catch her, and by the time she chased after her, the woman had already vanished without a trace.

Ouyang Chen looked around, his gaze growing colder by the moment. He went back inside and searched the room thoroughly. In a pillow, he found an envelope full of photos of the woman with Zhang Xiluo’s uncle, He Chaoyou.

There was also a letter tucked among the photos, filled with false accusations and fabricated reports, and beneath the envelope lay a bank card.

Zhang Xiluo felt that the card looked somewhat familiar.

She put everything away, took it with her, and then used her phone to snap a picture of the ruined room.

They had found the woman, but they had not managed to get anything out of her before she ran. Zhang Xiluo felt a little discouraged.

As expected, the higher the hope, the greater the disappointment. She should never have thought about this so simply, never have gone in without making enough preparations.

"Don’t rush. We still have time. She can’t get away." Seeing the self-reproach on her face, Ouyang Chen comforted her aloud. "I’ll take you back first."

"Ouyang Chen, you’d better stop getting involved in all this." Zhang Xiluo believed this was all Li Mingye’s doing. Ouyang Chen had already fought with Li Mingye on her behalf, and she truly did not want to drag him deeper into the mess.

After she spoke, Ouyang Chen’s expression darkened, but he gave no reply.

Zhang Xiluo was preoccupied with the woman’s escape and did not notice his mood.

She kept feeling that something did not add up. If it were Li Mingye, his nature would not allow them to discover the woman’s whereabouts so easily.

Ouyang Chen glanced at her several times, but she remained frowning in thought, so he gave up on speaking to her.

When they returned to Qinyuan, there were far fewer reporters at the gate, though a few stubborn ones still refused to leave.

At home, Zhang’s mother and Zhang’s father were waiting for Zhang Xiluo. Their moods were poor, their faces grave. Seeing that Ouyang Chen had brought her back, they did not lash out immediately.

"Ouyang Chen, thank you. It’s been good having you around." Zhang Xiluo thanked him again. No matter what, he had been helping her all along.

At her final words, a faint curve appeared at the corner of Ouyang Chen’s mouth.

"Luo Luo, didn’t I tell you not to meet Li Mingye again? Why did you go looking for him!" Zhang’s mother was furious and showed her the photos of her entering and leaving the villa.

Someone had been tailing her all along.

Zhang Xiluo was stunned. She asked Zhang’s mother where the photos had come from, and was told that someone had mailed them to the company.

"I just wanted to clear up a few things. I don’t have feelings for him anymore," Zhang Xiluo explained. But Zhang’s mother was still worried and warned her not to see Li Mingye again.

Zhou Yao was not a good person, and they had all seen the news online.

A girl so young, yet with such deep schemes, using one method after another.

Whether Li Mingye chose to be with such a girl was his own decision. She did not want Zhang Xiluo getting dragged into it.

Zhang Xiluo understood that too. She did not want to be caught up between Li Mingye and Zhou Yao either; she had worked hard to break free, yet the entanglement still would not let go.

She wanted to explain, but did not even know where to begin.

All she could do was promise that she would not meet Li Mingye again. Right now, she was very worried about her uncle.

"Mom, how is Uncle doing?" she asked.

Zhang’s mother sighed and shook her head helplessly. "He’s still being isolated for investigation. We can’t see him. Without new evidence, they won’t release him, and they can’t convict him either."

"If this goes on too long, I’m afraid your uncle won’t be able to hold out. He’s always been upright. How could he swallow this humiliation?"

"Don’t worry. Uncle has been wrongly accused, and he’ll be fine soon." Zhang Xiluo comforted her mother while quietly planning how to find that woman.

After what happened today, she felt that finding the woman and the evidence would be very difficult. But she could not surrender, and she could not extinguish her mother’s hope.

"Rest first. Your body needs it." Zhang Xiluo helped her mother back to her room and sat beside the bed, keeping her company until she fell asleep.

Her father, meanwhile, was busy in the study. Zhang Xiluo felt for him and did not disturb him, only hoping he would finish quickly and get some rest.

Before going to sleep, Jiang Xueting sent her a message saying she had found some useful information and asked to meet the next day.