“Great, we will submit this background information to the judge so that he can recognize that you are a very loving, kind, and socially responsible person.”
“But,” I swallowed and said somewhat embarrassedly, “the reason I volunteer is because I can’t bear to donate money to them.”
"You idiot!" Yin Tianyu said, both amused and exasperated. "I'm not asking you to lie, it's just that you don't have to say everything!"
Attorney Tang nodded and said, "Mr. Yin is right. So, the second point we must find out is how Zhengdong Company, which you work for, obtained your personal bank account details before the procuratorate filed a case. If they engaged in any illegal activities in this process, it will directly affect their credibility as the plaintiff. As far as I know, the whole thing happened because someone photocopied your bankbook and reported you to Zhengdong Company."
"That's really strange. You hid your bankbook so confidentially, how did someone manage to make a copy? I've tried looking for it in your room several times but couldn't find it," Xia Mengmeng couldn't help but interject, revealing her own secret.
I only glared at her, not bothering to delve into her trivial gossip. I simply said to Attorney Tang, "I'm sorry, I think we don't need to investigate this matter further. I don't want our company to face any embarrassment. I just want to clear my name."
“But I think this is the key to the whole thing,” Yin Tianyu suddenly said from the side. “I don’t think this incident was Zhengdong Company’s doing against you personally. It’s more like a conspiracy orchestrated by someone, and Zhengdong is just a tool in that person’s hands. Think about it again, who could possibly know where you keep your savings book?”
I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, and a thought sent shivers down my spine: "Impossible, impossible." I shook my head in denial.
My movements didn't escape Yin Tianyu's eyes; he followed up relentlessly and asked, "Tell me quickly, what did you think of?"
For some reason, Yin Tianyu's tone was somewhat sinister. I was already frightened by my own thoughts, and when he pressed me like this, I knew that speaking out, whether true or false, would be a big deal, so I just shook my head and refused to say another word.
Attorney Tang sighed softly, "It's a real shame, this was an excellent lead. But it's alright, we have a second plan. I've read your statement; you said the 200,000 was payment for the slippers you were representing. This transaction was conducted through a website. Because you transacted by phone, your transaction record can't be found on the website. You said you shipped the goods the day after the other party transferred the 200,000 to your account, via railway, and you even provided a shipping invoice, but upon investigation, this shipping invoice is fake!"
The cup in my hand fell to the ground with a "bang" and shattered. I couldn't believe my ears. "How could this be? I had to attend a bidding meeting the day after I received the payment and couldn't take the day off, so I asked Yi Rou to arrange the freight for me. I even made the pickup call myself! Yi Rou handed me the freight bill herself!"
"Ah! Lin Yirou..." Xia Mengmeng cried out as if waking from a dream.
"Impossible!" I cut her off decisively, not letting her continue.
"Why is it impossible?" Xia Mengmeng retorted.
“If I knew I hadn’t done it, I could guarantee that Yi Rou wouldn’t!” I said without hesitation.
“It’s enough if everyone is only responsible for themselves,” said Attorney Tang, who had been reluctant to speak much.
I opened my mouth, but ultimately said nothing. After all, he was trying to help me, and I really had no reason to retaliate against him.
"If I'm not mistaken, you won't be able to see your little Lin when you go back now," Yin Tianyu said softly, looking at me with a pained expression in his eyes.
I jumped up and ran outside, ignoring Xia Mengmeng calling me at the top of her lungs. Yin Tianyu seemed to know what I was going to do, and at the same time stood up and followed me outside, saying, "My car is on the side of the road, hurry up."
Standing at my front door, I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths before I had the courage to take out my keys and open the door, my hands trembling slightly.
Everything in the living room was as usual; everything was where it should be and it looked very tidy. Clearly, someone had cleaned it that morning. I glared at Yin Tianyu angrily, but he didn't even look at me, and walked to Yi Rou's room: "Is this her room?"
“Yes, but that’s a girl’s room, you shouldn’t…” Before I could finish speaking, Yin Tianyu had already pushed the door open. I was furious and rushed over to shove him away: “Are you kidding me!” I said as I closed the door, but my hand froze in mid-air: Yi Rou’s room was empty except for the wardrobe I had given her. There was only a light blue silk scarf tied delicately on the windowsill, swaying slightly in the summer breeze. It was the one I had given her in Shanghai.
I couldn't believe my eyes. I walked in, somewhat dumbfounded, and opened the wardrobe. My heart sank: it was empty except for a piece of paper with Lin Yirou's handwriting. It was just a sentence: "Dear sister, didn't you know that I hate blue the most?"
I smiled wryly at Yin Tianyu and said, "You charlatan, since you know everything, why don't you just tell me the winning numbers for this week's 46-choose-7 lottery? We won't have to waste time going to court and waiting for that 200,000 yuan to be unfrozen."
"Only an idiot like you can't see that she's not on your side at all. Hey, aren't you going to hug me and have a good cry?" Yin Tianyu asked, unwilling to give up.
"I don't have the strength to cry. I need to start finding evidence to prove my innocence."
Part One, Chapter Twelve
Privately, I admire Lin Yirou. It's unimaginable for someone to go to such lengths for something that isn't about money. Even with someone as devoted as Willson, I wouldn't think of anything I could do to win him back. Thinking of him made my heart tighten, and I immediately forced myself to stop thinking about it.
From that day on, I began searching for a job while simultaneously gathering evidence. The bidding manager at Shengyu Company was also detained for bribery. He confessed to all the charges, but insisted that I had appointed Lin Yirou as an intermediary to contact and transmit bidding documents, and that my account information was given to him by Lin Yirou. Attorney Tang, a responsible and meticulous person, inspired me to recall an incident when Lin Yirou was waiting for me in the office while I was working overtime. She said she was hungry, and I was in a hurry to make her instant noodles, so I left without a screensaver on my computer. It was very likely that this oversight led to the leak. Although there was a lot of evidence, all the scattered clues pointed to the vanished Lin Yirou, like a severed thread, leaving me at a loss. My job search was also going poorly; more than a dozen job applications were sent out, all seemingly disappearing without a trace. Xia Mengmeng pointed her finger at me and scolded, "You really think you're all set? What if you lose the lawsuit? You won't even know who sent you the clothes, and you're still looking for a job?! What are you thinking? The company didn't even pursue it, and you still went to them yourself. Do you think you have too many lice?"
Honestly, I don't know what the final outcome will be. There's a high chance I've already lifted a huge rock and it'll fall right on my own feet, crushing me and leaving me driving a tricycle for the disabled! I have absolutely no confidence. It would be a lie to say I'm not worried, but I've never regretted it. I completely cannot understand Lin Yirou's meticulous planning, even at the cost of her own future. Even now, I don't hate her too much, but I think she owes me an explanation. She should at least tell me what she wants? For Willson? Then her pursuit of love is far too noble.
My phone suddenly beeped with a text message, interrupting my reverie. It was probably from A-Ce and his gang. Ever since the day of the accident, they'd been bombarding me with texts whenever they had a spare moment, all jokes, some even downright obscene. I'd been so busy running around that I hadn't even had a chance to say "thank you" to them.
"Hey beautiful, this is a huge problem. The company computers are infected with a virus, and we're recovering the data. Could you come back and help us review our department's files? Ah Ce?"
I grabbed my handbag and ran towards Dongzheng Company. Before I even reached the company building, I could already see A-Ce coming to greet me from afar.
"Hurry up, beautiful lady, the documents for my business trip tomorrow all depend on you." He seemed genuinely anxious, with veins bulging on his neck.
However, since I am still an unwelcome and suspicious person to the company, I secretly slipped into the fire escape on the rooftop with A-Ce's cover as he opened the fire door.
One afternoon, two members of A-Ce's group kept watch at the door, while I stayed inside with a few others, working on recovering the data. It was truly inhuman work. Finally, by the time we finished get off work, we had recovered 80% of the data, and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. When you're busy, you don't feel it, but as soon as you relax a little, you realize you haven't been to the restroom all afternoon. Luckily, it was already past closing time, and most of the company staff had left. A-Ce scouted ahead for me, and when he saw no one around the corner, he waved, and I jogged over. Carefully making my way to the restroom, I felt an unprecedented sense of relief. After tidying myself up, I quietly pushed open the door, took a deep breath, and ran out. Just as I rounded the corner, I frantically looked for A-Ce, only to bump into someone turning that way. I thought to myself, "Oh no, I'm going to drag A-Ce down with me this time!"
"Miss Li! Oh my, it's you!"
Upon hearing that voice, I felt a little more at ease; it was Aunt Zhang, the cleaner.
"Shh!" I put up my index finger. "Keep your voice down! I'm just back to help them with something, I'm leaving soon!"
"Yes. You need to take care of yourself! I've heard about what happened to you. I know you're not that kind of person, so don't worry, everything will be alright. Look at you, you've gotten so thin in just a few days!" Aunt Zhang said in a low voice.
For some reason, patting her hand on the shoulder reminded me of my home thousands of kilometers away, and my eyes welled up with tears. The thought of having to sneak around like this even when I go back to the company made my parents feel incredibly ashamed. I took a deep breath, smiled, and said, "I will."
I helped Aunt Zhang to her feet, then continued walking with my head down, my mood at its worst. Where had A-Ce gone? All men are so irresponsible! I thought angrily. Reaching the office door, I reached out to push it open, and before I knew it, the person inside slammed the door open. I only vaguely saw A-Ce's panicked face flash behind the glass, and then my head was slammed into the at least 8mm thick glass door. I clutched my head and squatted down, tears streaming down my face, too painful to wipe away. Good heavens, what kind of day is this? First I hit a living person, then I hit glass! Thank goodness it was my head; if it were a watermelon, it would be split open by now!
Someone stopped in front of me and then slowly squatted down.
"You bastard Ce! Pay the medical bills right now!!!" I roared angrily, clutching my head. When I looked up, I froze as if I had been poisoned and rendered mute—it was Willson squatting in front of me.
I hadn't seen him for days, but he hadn't changed a bit—clean, tidy, and still so handsome that I couldn't breathe easily in his presence. He didn't say a word, just stared at me. When I looked into his eyes, it felt like a red-hot whip had lashed me, making me wince in pain. I hurriedly stood up to cover my discomfort, and glancing at A-Ce standing beside me with a look of utter dismay, I quickly remembered my place and said, "I'm sorry, General Manager, I have some personal belongings that I need A-Ce to give me. He has to work overtime, and I couldn't wait, so I came up here myself. I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time, I'll leave now." After saying that, I turned and left. I didn't even bother to listen to what A-Ce suddenly said loudly, and I ran like I was escaping, not even waiting for the elevator, running down the fire escape. Only after running out of the office building, until I reached the street lit up with evening lights, and finally felt like I had escaped his gaze, did I stop to catch my breath. But then it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach, a surge of heat rising from the bottom of my stomach, and I vomited. I didn't eat much in the morning, so I had nothing to vomit. In the end, all I vomited was bitter bile.
"Li Hao!" Willson's voice came from behind.
Was it a hallucination? I turned around in disbelief, and Willson was standing three steps away, staring at me with a distorted expression on his face.