The next morning, Zhou Leqi was awakened by the sound of her phone ringing. It was Yan Lin calling. She wanted to answer, but she was worried about waking the hungover man sleeping beside her, so she carefully got out of bed and went outside the room to take the call. He stirred slightly, his hand reaching out to pull her back toward him. Still a bit dizzy, his voice slurred as he asked, “Who’s calling?”

She pursed her lips, thinking that this guy had become addicted to taking advantage of her kindness. Last night, she had taken care of him because of his condition, but did he think they were back together?

What a joke.

She gently removed his hand again and turned around to speak to him in a formal tone, “Yan Lin will bring Luo Siyu over soon. You should get ready.”

Zhou Leqi ordered breakfast delivery and prepared a glass of lemon water for the hungover Hou Zihao. When he came downstairs from his room, he realized that the house had been tidied up—the white cloths were gone, making the environment resemble the home he remembered.

He felt disoriented, as if it were all a dream.

But the girl sitting at the dining table drinking soy milk was very real. She glanced up at him, who stood frozen on the stairs, frowned, and teased, “Young master, are you waiting for me to serve your meal?”

Her words snapped him back to reality. Though her tone was teasing, it oddly made him feel reassured.

He composed himself and sat down to eat breakfast. As soon as he finished, the intercom rang. On the video screen, Yan Lin and an unfamiliar woman appeared. Hou Zihao walked over to open the door.

Not long after, they came upstairs. When the door opened, Yan Lin entered first, followed by Luo Siyu, her face heavily made up and trembling slightly.

Finding Luo Siyu had not been easy for Yan Lin.

Initially, he had gone to her house to wait for her, but after more than an hour, there was no sign of her. He assumed she had fled, leaving him no choice but to find another way.

Yesterday afternoon, he had asked Zhou Leqi to send him a screenshot of Ding Peng’s social media posts. After carefully examining the photos, he identified several places Ding Peng frequented, including a bar where Ding Peng had posted a photo with Luo Siyu. Yan Lin decided to try his luck there.

When he arrived, the bar wasn’t open yet. He waited until 7 p.m. before questioning a bartender, who confirmed that Luo Siyu had indeed worked there selling drinks but had quit recently. When Yan Lin asked why, the bartender replied, “In this line of work, no one stays long.”

Just when it seemed the trail would go cold, a female server passing by saw Luo Siyu’s photo and sneered, “She wouldn’t settle for such a plain job. If you’re looking for her, try Jialin Road—it’s much fancier there.”

With that, she walked off.

Jialin Road had several nightlife venues, all with complex environments. With no other options, Yan Lin had to search each place one by one. The music inside was deafening, and staying too long made his ears hurt.

Coincidentally, Milan called him during this time. Hearing the lively background noise, she began sarcastically teasing him, “Oh, Lawyer Yan is enjoying himself? I won’t disturb you.”

Exasperated, Yan Lin had no choice but to step outside and explain, “I’m in City A. I’m not here for fun—I’m investigating a case.”

Milan wasn’t convinced and continued mocking him. Cornered, Yan Lin finally revealed, “Stop joking around. This is about Monkey’s matter. Your bestie is here too. If you don’t believe me, ask her.”

This silenced Milan.

She hadn’t expected Yan Lin to have already met with Hou Shen—and that he was calmly helping him. She was both surprised and confused, but Yan Lin didn’t have time to explain further. He said, “I’ll call you after I’m done here,” then added softly, fearing she’d be upset, “I’ll bring you a gift when I return.”

Yan Lin spent the entire night on Jialin Road. Eventually, he found her.

That day, Luo Siyu was dressed just as flamboyantly as when Zhou Leqi had seen her. Half her fingers were adorned with rings, each featuring large, obviously fake gemstones. When she stumbled out of the private room, she was completely drunk, swaying unsteadily. Since Yan Lin barely knew her and her heavy smoky makeup obscured her features, it took some effort for him to recognize her.

At first, she didn’t recognize Yan Lin either. Drunk and blurry-eyed, she thought he was just another handsome stranger trying to hit on her. Feeling flattered, she reached out to touch his face—until a cold voice cut through her haze: “Miss Luo, I’m Miss Zhou Leqi’s lawyer. Can we talk?”

Of course, Luo Siyu wasn’t obligated to speak with Yan Lin. He was just a lawyer, not the police, and had no authority to interrogate her. However, clearly lacking legal knowledge, the mere mention of “lawyer” was enough to terrify her. She sobered up instantly upon hearing “Zhou Leqi.” Her guilty conscience made her freeze, requiring no clever tactics from Yan Lin.

Now, she sat trembling like a sieve in Hou Zihao’s apartment. Her heavy makeup had smeared, making her look utterly disheveled and undignified. She dared not look up at Zhou Leqi and Hou Zihao sitting across from her. Yan Lin calmly took control of the situation.

“Miss Luo,” Yan Lin set down his coffee and spoke seriously and steadily, “We’ve already reported the car accident to the police. They’ve determined it was premeditated murder and have begun investigating the suspect’s identity. We believe the perpetrator will be caught soon…”

This was, of course, a lie. When had the police determined it was murder? And who knew when—or if—they’d catch anyone? But coming from Yan Lin, these false words sounded convincing. Luo Siyu clearly believed them, shaking even more violently.

“The crime of intentional injury carries a heavy sentence—three to ten years in prison,” Yan Lin continued in a monotone. “We suspect you’re connected to this case. If you come forward and confess, we may be able to help reduce your sentence. What do you say?”

Before he could finish his prepared speech, Luo Siyu’s psychological defenses had already collapsed. She abruptly stood up, then collapsed to her knees, bursting into tears. She repeatedly bowed to Zhou Leqi and Hou Zihao, her tears further smearing her already chaotic makeup.

All they heard her say was, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it… I really didn’t mean it…”

This story dated back seven years, to when Luo Siyu had started dating Ding Peng.

Back then, she had just failed her art exam, and Zhou Lei and Gao Xiang were in the midst of a messy divorce. With her life in shambles and no one to care for her, she naturally clung to Ding Peng, her perpetual fallback. As their money ran out, she prayed daily for some unexpected windfall—a few hundred yuan to buy a drink or a new pair of earrings.

Then opportunity knocked: she encountered a man named Zhong Heng outside Ding Peng’s house.

Zhong Heng had come to see Ding Peng’s mother, knocking on the door and offering her a “small task” with the promise of a hefty reward. Ding Peng’s mother refused, but Luo Siyu, intrigued, approached Zhong Heng to inquire about the task and its reward.

Zhong Heng told her it was simple: deliver a document, and she’d receive a commission of 100,000 yuan.

What a stroke of luck! Luo Siyu couldn’t understand why Ding Peng’s mother would turn down such an opportunity. She immediately told Zhong Heng she was willing to do it—more than willing.

But Zhong Heng said she couldn’t. When she asked why, he replied, “Because you can’t freely enter someone’s home.”

Later, Luo Siyu learned that Zhong Heng wanted her to enter the home of Su Rui’ni, chairman of Haoting International, where Ding Peng’s mother worked as a maid. Ding Peng’s mother had keys to the house and knew when the owners weren’t home.

Luo Siyu didn’t have Ding Peng’s mother’s advantages, but that didn’t stop her from stealing. She didn’t know the family’s schedule, but she could have Ding Peng extract that information.

For a high school senior, 100,000 yuan was an enormous sum. To obtain it, she was willing to put in the “effort.”

Soon, she succeeded. Ding Peng helped her by stealing his mother’s keys and extracting the family’s schedule. One day, he pretended to be sick when his mother was supposed to clean, giving Luo Siyu the chance to enter the house.

What a luxurious apartment it was! Though she had seen Die Fangwan with Zhou Lei, it paled in comparison to the top-floor duplex at Haoting International. The house even had a separate elevator for the maid—such grandeur was almost blinding.

Her task was simple: secretly place a thin document in Su Rui’ni’s study, hiding it among piles of papers. Curious about what kind of document could be worth 100,000 yuan, Luo Siyu peeked inside. She discovered it was a signed and stamped contract between “Haoting Holding Group Co., Ltd.” (Party A) and “Rongda Engineering Co., Ltd.” (Party B), detailing Party A hiring Party B to demolish houses in the Fengyuan area.

Wasn’t this just an ordinary contract? Why pay 100,000 yuan to sneak it into Su Rui’ni’s study?

Luo Siyu didn’t know, nor did she care. Once the task was done, she fled. A few days later, 100,000 yuan appeared in her account. She and Ding Peng partied for a while, and the matter was forgotten.

It wasn’t until she later saw news reports about Haoting hiring a shady engineering company to forcibly demolish homes, resulting in casualties, and the legal representative of Rongda fleeing with embezzled funds, while Haoting’s chairman, Su Rui’ni, was investigated and imprisoned…

Only then did she dimly realize… she had caused trouble.

“I didn’t mean it, I really didn’t mean it,” Luo Siyu wailed, kneeling on the ground and earnestly defending herself. “I didn’t know what it was. Brother Zhong told me to place it, so I did. I didn’t have bad intentions—I just wanted the money…”

“When you came looking for me, I panicked,” she continued, looking at Zhou Leqi, whose expression grew increasingly grim. “So I called Brother Zhong. He told me not to worry, that he’d handle you, and that I shouldn’t go home anymore…”

“I didn’t mean to harm you! I didn’t know anything!”