Zhou Zijian nodded slowly.

“Han has a point. As the saying goes, a slander or rumor repeated by many will eventually become true. She might not be able to explain herself in this, but that car accident had quite a lot of loopholes. Remember the surveillance cameras in the hotel? Several of us were caught on camera. This should be settled as soon as possible.”

“And then there’s today’s incident. Both the hotel’s surveillance footage and Zhou Li might sell us out. We must be extra careful of the latter, as Lin Wan will definitely ask for her help to prove her innocence. We have to make sure she zips up.”

Han asked, “Mr. Zhou, just tell me what to do.”

“The two of you can split tasks. Send me the evidence of Zhou Li’s being involved in promiscuity. I’ll go do some background checks and talk to her. This woman hooked up with both Wu Heping and Wang Shen. This evidence would act as a threat to her if she’s already married. We don’t need to worry about her blabbering away then.”

“You guys can go ahead and contact our boss. Ask him to find a way to get the video footage from both hotels. Destroy the former one, and splice the latter to act as an affirmation on the evidence of Lin Wan’s hookup in the hotel room.”

The next day, when Zhou Li received a phone call when she was about to get home from work. After putting down her phone, she hesitated for a long time before she left the school uneasily.

“Beep! Beep!” A SUN honked at her. Zhou Li walked near the car door, uncertain whether to get in or not. Clenching her jaw, she mustered enough courage to pull the door open and got in.

The car sped off and stopped in front of an abandoned factory. A man with a mask and sunglasses on stepped out of his car and waved at Zhou Li.

Scared, Zhou Li stepped out of the car, her body slightly trembling with fear.

“Brother, what do you want to talk to me about?”

The man sneered, “Ms. Zhou, I am pretty curious about something. Who is better in bed? Is it Wu Heping, Wang Shen, or your husband?”

The man said as he threw a pile of photos on the machine cover.

“Take a look yourself!”

After looking at the photos, Zhou Li shivered and said, “Sir, did I do something that has offended you? Please leave me alone, will you?”

“Leave you alone? That depends on your cooperation, Ms. Zhou. What do you think will happen to you if I spread these photos in the school and send them to your husband?”

Zhou Li flung herself on her knees and cried, “Sir, sir, please leave me alone. I won’t make such mistakes again. I beg you. Please don’t do it!”

“Get up!” The man bellowed in a low voice.

Zhou Li stood up obediently, with snot and tears running down her cheeks.

The man’s voice turned gentle, “Ms. Zhou, I’ll be honest with you. I have nothing against you. I just want you to do me a small favor. When this is over, I promise to destroy everything you see here!”

“What kind of favor?” Zhou Li asked hurriedly, with a glimpse of hope shimmering in her eyes.

Without a word, the man opened the car trunk. He took out a file pocket and handed it to Zhou Li.

“Open it up and have a look!”

Zhou Li was unsure of his intentions, but she did not dare to disobey him. She was unable to stop her eyes from widening when she looked inside the opened file pocket.

There were two thick stacks of money, probably summing up to a total of twenty thousand dollars. Zhou Li looked up at the man, confused.

“These twenty thousand dollars are for you. If you’re willing to do me a favor, the money is all yours. On top of that, I’ll destroy all the evidence I showed you earlier. Sounds pretty good right? Don’t worry. It’s not anything illegal, and it’s risk-free too.”

Zhou Li felt relieved and less afraid now.

“Sir, what favor do you need from me?”

The man beckoned her over and whispered the instructions in her ear.

After hearing what he said, Zhou Li hesitated. Although she was unclear about what had really happened, she knew one thing very well. If she followed what she was instructed to, it would ruin Lin Wan’s reputation for sure.

The man looked at her silently without rushing her to make a decision. After a while, Zhou Li nodded with mixed feelings, “Okay, I know what to do.”

“That’s more like it. It’s no big deal for you at all. She’s merely someone who’s leaving the school and poses no threat to you at all. But I’d better warn you that don’t even think of pulling any tricks. Or else I will not hesitate to spread these pieces of evidence online.”

“Don’t worry. I know what to do!”

The man looked at her up and down and said with a smile, “I’ve paid you so much, and even kept your secret for you. Don’t you think I’m at a loss if I don’t ask for something else?”

“What more do you want from me?” Zhou Li asked nervously.

“What are you being nervous about? I can’t compare myself with how smooth Wang Shen is, but I am better than Wu Heping. If you can accept him, I shouldn’t be a problem!”

With that, he reached out to pull Zhou Li, who was frightened and begged while stuttering, “Sir, sir, please let me go. Don’t do that!”

He ignored her cries and pressed her face down on the machine cover.

At night, all the lights were on at the boss’s office, as Zhou Zijian and the others placed the evidence on the boss’s desk.

After examining them one by one, the latter instructed Zhou Zijian, “That’s great. This is more than enough. Contact He Xiaoyu immediately, and hand over this evidence to her.”

“Good morning Mr. Li!”

“Good morning Mr. Li!”

The colleagues in the business department greeted Li Mu politely, while the latter politely pushed open the glass door of his office room.

“Xiaoyu! How amazing is this? For the first time in all the years I’ve known you, you’re earlier than me! I always think that you may do that when pigs fly perhaps!”

Li Mu mocked her with a smile but got no response from He Xiaoyu. He glanced at her out of curiosity, only to see her sitting on his chair with a sober expression.

“What’s wrong with you? Did your mother force you to go on another blind date?”

He Xiaoyu stood up and gave him his seat. She then dragged over another chair and sat next to Li Mu, her eyes gazing straight into his.

“Will you stop that? You’re scaring me out. What’s wrong with you?”

“Li Mu!”

“Hmm?”

“Take me as your wife!”

“You’re nuts!” Li Mu turned He Xiaoyu’s chair around. With his leg, he kicked on the back of the chair. Its wheels scraped against the floor and made an ear-piercing noise.

He Xiaoyu got up and walked to him. Face to face with him, she sat directly on his desk.

“Get down. This is inappropriate!”

“I’m not joking with you. I mean it. Make sure you remember this when you’re sad. I love you, and I want to be your wife!”

“What’s wrong with you, Xiaoyu? Stop scaring me out. Are you diagnosed with some kind of disease?”

Li Mu misunderstood and thought Xiao Yu was saying her last words. Cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

“Ugh! I’m not dying yet. The only thing that’s dying is your marriage! I’m just giving you a heads up!”

He Xiaoyu pouted and looked at Li Mu. Her gaze was complex. It was as if all the heartache, pity, hope, and grief were all in her gaze. It was indescribable.

She expected herself to cheer and laugh ecstatically when she got the evidence of Lin Wan cheating. But for some reason, when the evidence was laid out in front of her, instead of joy, she felt her heart ache for him.

“What the h*ll are you trying to say? Don’t play dumb with me. Can you talk properly?”

Li Mu’s tone turned dull. His gut feeling told him that something was up with He Xiaoyu, and it might be related to his wife.

“Lin Wan cheated on you!” He Xiaoyu said softly.

Li Mu shuddered and looked at her, annoyed. He didn’t like jokes like this, even if it was from He Xiaoyu. He couldn’t tolerate others tarnishing Lin Wan’s innocence.

“I have evidence. There is solid proof that she cheated on you!”

He Xiaoyu kept her tone low and avoided Li Mu’s gaze. However, she still insists on saying such words.

Li Mu’s face turned pale, and his fingers twitched slightly. He knew very well that He Xiaoyu was not joking. If she had the courage to talk to him like this, she was definitely not fooling around.

He subconsciously reached for his cigarette and felt nothing, which reminded him that he hadn’t smoked for a long time.

He Xiaoyu jumped off the table and pulled out a packet of cigarettes from her bag. Tearing open the wrapper, she pulled one out, put it on Li Mu’s mouth, and helped him light it.

These were times when she understood him better than his wife did.

“Show me!” Li Mu said in a deep voice.

He Xiaoyu pulled out a file pocket from her bag and placed it on the table gently.

She said nothing more, but Li Mu knew the contents inside was something he would never want to see in his life. It was something evil that will tear his lovely life apart.

He Xiaoyu sighed and walked out of the office, instructing the department secretary who was sitting not far away, “Mr. Li and I have something important to discuss. Remember, no one is allowed to be near the office!”

“Okay, Assistant He, noted.”

When she returned to the office, she found Li Mu still sitting stolidly in his seat. His gaze was fixed on the file pocket, with no intentions of opening it.

She understood Li Mu well and knew that the file pocket was like a Pandora’s Box to him. He didn’t have the courage to open it, nor could he bear to open it.

“Why don’t you just forget it? I’ll go talk to her and get her to change her ways. You don’t need to see what’s in here.”

He Xiaoyu persuaded softly. Li Mu hesitated, and after a long battle inside his heart, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and reached for the file pocket.

His action was as slow as a sloth. He pulled out all the items from the file pocket as He Xiaoyu watched on.

There wasn’t a lot of stuff. There was nothing else other than a pile of photos sequenced by their dates taken and a USB stick with unknown recordings.

Li Mu chose to look at the photos first. The first thing that caught his eye was the scene of his wife and another man drinking a “cross-cupped wine” from each other’s glasses. The two of them looked at each other, clinked their glasses, and crossed their arms. Everything looked so natural and intimate, but it sparked indescribable feelings in him. It was an annoyance and constrain.

The next photo was of them going to the hotel. Looking at the date and time, it should be on the night of the party. The two of them walked in and out of the hotel together. With Lin Wan’s smile and a considerate Wang Shen beside her, bystanders would easily take them as a loving couple.

The last set of photos was a hookup in the hotel. Judging by the time, it must have happened at noon the day before. The two of them could be seen to be meeting at the hotel, going upstairs, entering the room, and leaving the room together.

Each photo was time-stamped. Judging by the time interval, everything that he didn’t hope for happened.

Li Mu’s hand trembled so much that He Xiaoyu said painfully, “Stop looking at these pictures, okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Li Mu turned on his computer and inserted the USB into it.

There was only one video on the USB. It was footage of the meeting for the hookup. Judging by the angle, it was probably captured by the hotel surveillance. The footage was complete without any lag. Clearly, it was evidence of the two of them entering the room and leaving together an hour later.

Li Mu clenched his fists so hard to the point where his joints turned white.

After a long time, he put all the evidence back into the file pocket, got up, and asked He Xiaoyu, “Where did you get all these from?”

“I told you before that I wanted to investigate whether Lin Wan was cheating on you. Hence, I hired a private detective. He was the one who captured all this evidence.”

Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Li Mu instructed He Xiaoyu, “No matter whoever asks you about this, shrug it off, and say you don’t know anything about it. Listen to me. You must follow what I said. Do you understand?”

He Xiaoyu looked at Li Mu and nodded gently.

Li Mu continued, “I need to go back home and clean things up. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything illegal!”

“How do you plan on questioning her? Judging by how she usually acts, she’ll definitely come up with a bunch of reasons to disprove this evidence. She’s very manipulative and good debating. I’m worried your soft-heartedness will be the death of you again.”

“It won’t happen again this time. But I can’t judge based on this one-sided evidence. I need to verify it first. Please understand my situation.”

“Okay, go ahead. You don’t have to worry about the company. I got it!”