Chapter 54: Completely Messed Up

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Completely Messed Up

He spilled everything he knew right then and there.

As soon as they heard him, everyone fell silent.

No one dared to interrupt, nor did they whisper amongst themselves. The room grew unusually quiet.

Zhang Laosan was speaking from personal experience. As he talked, a flood of details that Song Yao had never even mentioned came pouring out.

As they listened, the looks in their eyes changed—from suspicion to shock, and then from shock to utter disbelief.

The final blow came when Ji Xianbei heard that Zhang Laosan had been lying in the bushes, watching the entire time. The color instantly drained from his face.

He staggered back instinctively, catching his left foot on the doorsill and swaying for a moment before catching his balance.

Those with sharp eyes immediately noticed his loss of composure. What more was there to understand?

Zhang Laosan recounted everything in detail—even how Ji Xianbei had later returned to the village to pay off the villagers, and the secret meeting with Liu Yumin’s family!

When he finished, he wiped the sweat from his face. "I was sighing about it back then, thinking about how they all got rich while I worked for nothing! So when they came looking for me, I thought my luck had finally turned. I never imagined that instead of good fortune, I’d have a prison cell waiting for me!"

Zhang Laosan was a blubbering mess of tears and snot.

The tide of opinion in the crowd shifted in an instant.

The way the crowd looked at Ji Xianbei and Ling Qinghan was suddenly filled with suspicion.

"Ji Xianbei, you’d actually stoop to something like this?!"

Once one person shouted, the others quickly jumped on the bandwagon, eager to shift the blame.

Yao Yuzhen and Shen Shuangshuang watched helplessly as Song Yao turned the tables once again, so furious they could have fainted.

"Comrade Yao Yuzhen, don’t be in such a hurry," Song Yao said. "Weren’t you just beating your chest, swearing that your own daughter would never let Ji Xianbei harm me?"

"The witness and the evidence are right in front of you. Are you still going to be stubborn and insist that Shen Shuangshuang is really your biological daughter?"

Song Yao gave them no opportunity to play dumb and catch their breath.

She stared at Yao Yuzhen without blinking and advanced until she was right in her face.

"If Shen Shuangshuang is really your daughter, then why did she go behind everyone’s back to find Liu Yumin and have her sell me to Zhang Laosan, trying to trap me in Shunping Village for the rest of my life?"

"If she’s really your daughter, then why did she send Ji Xianbei to do her dirty work?"

"Yao Yuzhen, are you telling me you truly haven’t seen Shen Shuangshuang’s true colors? Or... does she have some kind of dirt on you, something so shameful that you’d rather lose all face than stop protecting her?"

"Enough!" Yao Yuzhen’s roar was deafening, veins bulging on her temples.

"Are you saying I don’t get to decide who my own daughter is? Do I need your approval for it to be official? Where is the sense in that?"

"Let me make this crystal clear to everyone. Shen Zhenwu accepting you as his daughter is his business! But today, I, Yao Yuzhen, will state this plainly for all to hear one more time—"

She pointed at Shen Shuangshuang. "She is the one, the only true biological daughter of me, Yao Yuzhen!"

As her words fell, Yao Yuzhen turned to glare at Song Yao. "Shen Zhenwu is letting you run wild, but sooner or later, he’ll pay the price for it."

With that, she turned and stormed straight into the house.

It was as if those piercing accusations hadn’t affected her in the slightest.

Shen Shuangshuang slowly turned her head and stared directly at Song Yao. "One day, everyone will see through all your little schemes."

Then, she turned to Ji Xianbei. "Comrade Ji Xianbei, I know you only got involved because you were trying to help me. But if you really did something you shouldn’t have... I suggest you report yourself to the authorities and ask for lenient treatment."

A chill shot through Ji Xianbei. He was utterly doomed.

Song Yao had somehow managed to bring a witness like Zhang Laosan all the way to Beijing without anyone knowing!

This carefully planned birthday tea party was meant to put Song Yao in her place, but instead, it had become her grand stage.

Everyone present was an important and influential figure in Beijing.

They had all witnessed everything Song Yao said and did.

With Zhang Laosan’s appearance, it seemed the mother-daughter duo hadn’t lost any ground, but in reality, they had just sacrificed Ji Xianbei.

The birthday party was an absolute disaster!

Shen Shuangshuang was seething inside, but she didn’t break a single drop of sweat.

In that moment, she showed she’d learned a thing or two from Yao Yuzhen, gritting her teeth and refusing to show any weakness.

’At least now I know,’ she thought, ’when it really counts, Mom will be on my side...’

She raised a hand to smooth her hair, then smiled at the guests. "The tea has gone cold. I’ll have the kitchen make a fresh pot, and we can continue our chat."

It was as if she had made the whole storm blow over with a single, casual remark.

But then Li Hanchen suddenly walked over and stopped in front of Ji Xianbei.

They were about the same height, though Ji Xianbei had a slightly larger build, with broad shoulders and a thick chest.

But when Li Hanchen stood there, his presence was as imposing as a mountain.

"Ji Xianbei, Mr. Shen gave orders long ago: if you were seen, you were to be taken in for questioning immediately. Are you coming on your own, or do I have to help you?"

Ji Xianbei’s face went deathly pale.

But then he remembered what Shen Shuangshuang had just said, and a sudden resolve sparked in his mind.

’No matter what, I can’t let Shuangshuang get dragged into this. Not in the slightest.’

He took a deep breath and walked out of the Shen family’s main gate on his own.

Li Hanchen shot a quick, subtle glance at Song Yao before looking away.

He turned and followed him out, taking Zhang Laosan with him.

"Look at Ji Xianbei. He almost certainly did it. I doubt Song Yao was framing him."

"Sigh! What a shame! He seemed like such a steady young man. He and Shen Shuangshuang grew up together. Who would’ve thought he’d be willing to cross any line for her sake?"

"But from the way Shuangshuang tells it, Ji Xianbei made this mess all on his own, and she knew nothing about it."

"That Shuangshuang is a soft-hearted, honest girl. She has a very small circle of friends. How could she have possibly tracked down Song Yao before Mr. Shen did? I think Ji Xianbei, just like Mr. Shen, was used as a pawn by someone."

"It’s hard to say! You can never know what’s in someone’s heart. They might say nice things, but who knows what they’re really thinking?"

The people in the room chattered excitedly, their voices jumbling together.

The entire room was a chaotic mess of noise.

Some people thought Song Yao was the unlucky victim and suspected Shen Shuangshuang wasn’t as innocent as she appeared.

Others were adamant that Shuangshuang was completely innocent, viewing Song Yao as a plant sent to stir up trouble.

’Staying here is a complete waste of time.’

Song Yao turned and made to leave.

With Xiao Li gone, standing there by herself would just make her look foolish.

Just as she stepped out the main gate, she heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Comrade Song Yao."

She stopped in her tracks but didn’t turn around.

Ling Qinghan hurried to get in front of her, then stopped.

Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his breathing was slightly rushed as his eyes locked onto hers. "That day, when Ji Xianbei and I went to find you, we just wanted to quietly send you somewhere to settle down, far away from Beijing. We never intended to lay a single finger on you."

’I can’t be bothered to waste my breath on him,’ Song Yao thought.

’He was silent when it mattered most, and now he decides to open his mouth to try and fix things?’

’Where was he then?’

She just gave a noncommittal "Mm."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Ling Qinghan grew anxious and spoke again quickly. "Since you’ve come to Beijing, you’ve seen for yourself what a mess things are in Mr. Shen’s family and what ugly rumors are spreading outside. The reason I agreed with the plan to get you away from here was to avoid all this. Even now, I still think you shouldn’t be here."

Song Yao whipped her head around and retorted, "So according to you, you were just being considerate of your old boss?"