Chapter 53: She Must Win

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: She Must Win

Song Yao’s heart leaped, and she spun around.

She saw Xiao Li, his forehead beaded with sweat, dragging a man in by the arm. He shouldered his way through the crowd, taking two steps at a time.

Song Yao recognized the man at once, and her eyes lit up!

She straightened her back instantly, lifted her chin, and her voice rang out, clear and bright. "You wanted ironclad proof, didn’t you? Fine! I’ll put it right under your noses!"

"Zhang Laosan!"

The man being hauled in by Xiao Li swayed, his knees went weak, and he crumpled to the ground with a THUD.

"Song Yao! I was wrong! I really was! When Liu Yumin came to me about that... that business, it was members of your family who approached me first! I’m just a go-between! You’re a bigger person than this, please, spare me!"

The moment Shen Shuangshuang heard the name "Zhang Laosan," a buzz went through her head.

Liu Yumin had originally planned to force Song Yao on this old man as his new wife.

She instinctively started to back away, but caught Ji Xianbei giving her a slight nod out of the corner of her eye.

Only then did she swallow hard and force her racing heart to calm down.

"Who’s this Zhang Laosan? What good is dragging him here?"

Ji Xianbei sneered, his face full of disdain.

He had already taken care of everyone they had encountered that night; this man’s name wasn’t on the list at all.

But he and Ling Qinghan had miscalculated.

Zhang Laosan had never been spotted by them. He had long since dived into the roadside bushes, curled up in a ball and cowering like a quail.

But Song Yao remembered everything perfectly.

That night, it was Zhang Laosan and Liu Yumin who had chased her.

They had chased her all the way to the concrete road at the turn of the alley, right when Ji Xianbei and Ling Qinghan happened to drive up.

Her gaze swept across the room, from Yao Yuzhen to Shen Shuangshuang, then to Ji Xianbei, finally resting on Ling Qinghan.

She began to speak, her voice calm and measured. "Doesn’t everyone want to know what really happened that night? When I tell the story myself, you don’t believe me. So, I went ahead and invited someone who saw and heard it all with his own eyes and ears."

Everyone was stunned. The smart ones simply shut their mouths, crossed their arms, and settled in to watch the show.

Shen Shuangshuang had just opened her mouth to speak when Yao Yuzhen grabbed her by the wrist.

"Say too much, and you’ll step in a trap."

Yao Yuzhen had lost to Song Yao before and knew perfectly well that she couldn’t win a war of words with her. Arguing head-on was a sure way to lose.

By staying quiet now, they could let others take the lead and put Song Yao on the hot seat.

She would just watch quietly, wait for Song Yao to reveal her cards, and then, the moment she saw an opening, she would crush her.

Ji Xianbei frowned, his tone aggressive. "Alright, alright, stop wasting time! Who has the patience to listen to your sob story? Besides, who knows if this guy you brought isn’t just an actor you hired in advance?"

He took a half step forward and lowered his voice. "Or are you saying you’ve been colluding with Ling Qinghan all along, planning to set this whole thing up together?"

A corner of Song Yao’s mouth lifted. "I knew you’d say that. Perfect. I came prepared with another move."

She spoke slowly. "Weren’t you just threatening to drag me away and ’take care of me’? Sorry to disappoint you, but my father, Shen Zhenwu, can’t even save himself right now. His superiors are investigating him for disciplinary issues. Do you really dare to lay a hand on me now? You have no ironclad proof, and you’re going to accuse me of being a spy based on nothing but words? That’s a heavy accusation, and it won’t stick."

As soon as she said this, the room fell silent.

In truth, Song Yao was a quick thinker.

She had a plan from the very start: even if it meant taking a beating, she had to hold her ground.

Because this birthday banquet wasn’t a celebration at all; it was a stage Yao Yuzhen had built for Shen Shuangshuang.

It was a way to declare to the bigwigs of the Beijing Community that Shen Shuangshuang was the true heir of the Shen Family. And Song Yao? She was nothing.

In the future, even if Shen Zhenwu issued a statement or changed the household register, as long as today’s events were loud and "proper" enough, the old foxes in Beijing would still only recognize Shen Shuangshuang.

This was the safest and most effective move.

But what about Song Yao herself?

She had no foundation and no connections in Beijing.

While Shen Zhenwu was still in power, everyone was polite to her face.

But behind her back?

Who had ever given her a second glance?

Even if she truly became the Shen Family’s daughter, she would still be trampled underfoot, still not worth a fraction of Shen Shuangshuang.

What’s more, if Yao Yuzhen’s plan succeeded, it would actually harm Shen Zhenwu!

Political rivals were as numerous as hairs on an ox. In the future, at the slightest hint of trouble for Shen Zhenwu...

...his enemies could immediately bring up tonight’s "family reunion" spectacle and crucify him for mixing public and private affairs and allowing his family to abuse their privileges!

Therefore, Song Yao not only had to win, she had to win so flawlessly that no one could find fault.

If she had really been dragged away by Ji Xianbei for interrogation, once Xiao Li arrived with Zhang Laosan, she could have just reused the same old trick she’d used to deal with Sheng Hui.

She could have followed the trail and exposed all the dirty work Ji Xianbei had done for Shen Shuangshuang!

But now that Xiao Li was back in time, she could stick to the original plan!

That helpless and flustered act from before?

It was all a performance to buy time and wait for her moment.

"Me, you can’t touch. But Zhang Laosan—"

She pointed to the side. "He is a real suspect! He conspired with Liu Yumin—the evidence is irrefutable! It’s perfectly reasonable for you to interrogate him, and you don’t have to worry about offending anyone."

Her words were like ice picks stabbing into Zhang Laosan’s ears. He immediately began to tremble like a leaf.

If Xiao Li hadn’t been holding him down firmly by the shoulder, he would have already bolted out the door!

Ji Xianbei’s face darkened. "He has nothing to do with me! The only one I’m investigating is you!"

"Exactly!"

Song Yao chuckled. "You say you can’t trust Zhang Laosan? Fine. Then take him away and interrogate him—brutally! If you won’t believe me, you have to believe the truth that’s beaten out of someone, right? Otherwise, what was the point of all that clamoring to arrest me just now?"

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Ji Xianbei was frozen in place, looking as if he’d been struck by lightning.

How could this girl say something like that?

How could a girl who grew up in a village speak and act with such sophistication?

"How can you be so cruel!"

Shen Shuangshuang blurted out, her voice cracking. "Even if he wronged you, you can’t just torture him to death, can you?!"

As she spoke, she turned her head and cast a pitying glance at Zhang Laosan.

Seeing the crowd nodding along as if they actually believed her, Song Yao’s lips twitched into a cold smile.

She stared at Shen Shuangshuang, her expression mocking. "A lowlife who sells people out gets a few rough questions, and you call it cruel. But when I, the person who pulled your father out of a fiery pit, am about to be dragged away, you’re happy to applaud. Shen Shuangshuang, is your moral compass made of syrup?"

Shen Shuangshuang opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

She wanted to argue, but she couldn’t find a single word that would hold up. She knew just how weak her own argument had been.

Song Yao couldn’t be bothered to argue with her any further.

She turned and walked straight over to Zhang Laosan.

"If you want to live, tell the truth."

"How did Liu Yumin make a deal with you? What did you hear that night? What did you see? The more details, the better."

She paused for half a second, her gaze sweeping over the crowd before pinning Zhang Laosan once more.

"The more clearly you speak, the more they’ll believe you."

She raised her hand and pointed to Xiao Li and two plainclothes officers standing nearby.

"If you’re vague, then I’m sorry, but we’ll have to send you to the interrogation room for a ’cup of coffee’."

Before Xiao Li brought him here, he had made it crystal clear: do whatever Song Yao says. No tricks.

He didn’t dare to disobey, and he certainly didn’t dare to disbelieve.

With Song Yao’s words now driving a blade to his back, forcing him to come clean, how could Zhang Laosan dare to be evasive?