"Who?"
Qin Nan noticed Ye Sibei's uneasy expression as she answered the phone and asked. Ye Sibei looked at him: "Fuqiang Real Estate. They want to talk to me."
"Don't go."
Chen Jun immediately chimed in: "It's a trap," he said, turning to Qin Nan. "Definitely a trap, Nan-ge. Sister-in-law shouldn't go."
"What do you think?"
Qin Nan ignored Chen Jun and kept his eyes on Ye Sibei. She put away her phone: "I agreed to go."
Qin Nan nodded: "I'll take you there."
Ye Sibei paused, chopsticks in hand, then nodded after a moment of thought.
After the meal, Ye Sibei tidied up before leaving with Qin Nan.
Outside the shop, Qin Nan wheeled out a motorcycle and handed her a helmet from the back: "Here."
Ye Sibei was taken aback. "You ride this?"
"I used to ride it before we got married," Qin Nan grinned. "Haven’t touched it since. Wanna try it today?"
Ye Sibei smiled, taking the helmet and clumsily putting it on. She carefully perched sideways on the back of the motorcycle, one hand resting on Qin Nan’s shoulder, the other gripping the metal bar behind her.
"Ready."
"Never seen anyone sit so properly."
Qin Nan complained, but he rode slowly, as if accommodating her.
Ye Sibei sat behind him, watching the sunlight fall on the young man’s face. He remained calm and composed, as if the hurtful words had never touched his world.
She studied his handsome features, his deep-set eyes.
The longer she looked, the more she realized—he was such a good man.
So handsome, so kind.
She gazed at him greedily from behind, wanting to lean closer but not daring to.
The bike rolled slowly to Fuqiang Real Estate. Qin Nan parked, and Ye Sibei dismounted. He reached up to remove her helmet as she stood before him.
"Remember to record," he reminded her.
"Mm."
"Curse if you need to. Don’t let them bully you. Recite the insults again."
"Okay." Ye Sibei laughed. Qin Nan hesitated, then added, "Maybe I should go with you—"
"Qin Nan," she interrupted, meeting his gaze. "Bringing me here is already more than enough."
She spoke earnestly: "I can walk the rest of the way alone."
Qin Nan was momentarily stunned. Ye Sibei turned and stepped out of the shade, heading toward the entrance of Fuqiang Real Estate.
The moment she entered, all eyes turned to her. Ye Sibei walked straight to the front desk, ignoring the stares.
"Manager Tao asked to see me."
The receptionist stared at her briefly before nodding. "One moment, please."
After a quick call, she said, "Sister Ye, Manager Tao is waiting for you in the conference room."
"Thank you."
Ye Sibei nodded and walked toward the meeting room.
Inside, Tao Jie and her team scrambled. "Hurry, turn on the recorder," she urged.
Just then, Ye Sibei appeared outside the door. A man hastily activated the recording device under the table as she pushed the door open.
Ye Sibei scanned the room—three people sat inside. Tao Jie was on the side, a middle-aged man in the center, and a woman in her thirties beside him. The woman wore plain clothes and looked weary.Ye Sibei recognized the man—it was Song Ming, the CEO of Fuqiang Real Estate. But she didn’t know the woman.
The three of them sat in a row, and when Ye Sibei entered, Tao Jie quickly stood up. “Sibei, come, have a seat.”
Ye Sibei closed the door and sat across from them. Tao Jie remained standing as she introduced, “Sibei, this is our company’s owner, CEO Song Ming.”
Ye Sibei nodded and greeted, “CEO Song.”
“And this…” Tao Jie gestured to the woman beside her, seeming slightly awkward, “is General Fan’s wife, Zhao Shuhui.”
Ye Sibei looked up at Zhao Shuhui and nodded. “Hello.”
Zhao Shuhui turned her head away, as if impatient.
“We called you here today,” Tao Jie said after introductions, sitting back down, “to discuss the matter regarding General Fan.”
Ye Sibei stayed silent. Tao Jie hesitated for a moment, then stood up and retrieved a small box from the side, placing it in front of Ye Sibei. She opened it to reveal a thick stack of cash.
“Let’s not beat around the bush. This is 100,000 yuan—enough to pay off your loans and still leave you with savings.”
Ye Sibei stared at the money. It was the first time she had seen so much that could “belong” to her. She remained quiet. Song Ming frowned at her reaction. “Ye Sibei, if you have any thoughts, you can speak up. The company is willing to negotiate a resolution.”
“Is this money,” Ye Sibei looked down at the cash and smiled faintly, “the company’s compensation?”
“You can interpret it however you like,” Tao Jie pressed on, seeing her waver. “Just take the money and go clarify things.”
“Clarify what?”
Ye Sibei turned to Tao Jie, who smiled. “Don’t play dumb. You’ve accused General Fan—do you know how much damage this has done to the company’s reputation? We could have sued you, but CEO Song is magnanimous and wanted to settle this quietly. Isn’t money what you want? Take it, and we’re even.”
“Is that what Fan Jiancheng told you?”
Ye Sibei fixed her gaze on Song Ming. “That I’m just after money?”
Song Ming didn’t answer immediately. After a pause, he spoke slowly. “If you feel the amount isn’t appropriate, we can discuss it further.”
“Discuss what?”
Ye Sibei glared at them. “Do you think I’m framing him?”
“No one’s saying you’re framing him,” Tao Jie hurriedly mediated. “There must be some misunderstanding.”
“I didn’t expose him—the police did. If there’s a misunderstanding, take it up with them.”
“Ye Sibei, who are you trying to fool?”
Zhao Shuhui, who had been listening silently, suddenly slammed her hand on the table. “You’re just unhappy with the amount, aren’t you? If you didn’t want money, why did you even come today?”
“Why did I come?” Ye Sibei laughed. She tapped the table, staring straight at Song Ming in the middle. “I came to ask you—what does Fuqiang Real Estate plan to do about that scumbag Fan Jiancheng?!”
“Who are you calling a scumbag?” Zhao Shuhui shot to her feet.
“Sister-in-law,” Tao Jie quickly intervened, “please step outside. Let me handle this.”
Zhao Shuhui didn’t respond. She glared at Ye Sibei, her chest heaving as if holding back fury. Ye Sibei met her gaze until Zhao Shuhui finally turned away and stormed out.
Tao Jie whispered something to Song Ming, who then stood up and left as well.Only Ye Sibei and Tao Jie remained in the conference room. The two sat in silence for a long time before Tao Jie slowly spoke: "Sibei, the matter between you and General Fan... truthfully, we don't understand it. The company can't take any action against General Fan without fully understanding the situation."
"What about me?" Ye Sibei asked directly. "You can't take action against him, but you can offer me money to retract my statement?"
"That's not retracting a statement," Tao Jie corrected quickly, mindful of potential recordings. "We just want you to tell the truth."
"What truth?" Ye Sibei laughed bitterly. "Every word I'm saying now is the truth."
"Fine." Tao Jie nodded. "You may not care about the company's reputation or even your own, but don't you need to make a living?"
Ye Sibei fell silent. Tao Jie looked at her and smiled. "Found any work recently?"
Without waiting for an answer, Tao Jie continued, "If you had, you wouldn't have time to come today."
"Tell me, who would believe a female employee who goes out drinking at night, gets sent home by her superior, and is drowning in debt when she accuses a respected, well-off family man of rape? What employer wouldn't worry about hiring someone like you who might pull the same trick again? Ye Sibei, your only way out is to tell the truth, apologize sincerely, and return to Fuqiang. Don't you understand?"
"Do I have to stay in Nancheng?" Ye Sibei responded to Tao Jie's threats with feigned calm. "I can leave."
"Sure," Tao Jie spread her hands. "Make your husband abandon his shop and home, get Zhao Chuchu fired, subject your parents to humiliation, and ruin Ye Nianwen's future prospects. Relocate the whole family, is that it?"
Ye Sibei couldn't speak. She remained silent, her hands under the table tightly gripping the strap of her bag.
Tao Jie pushed the money toward her and leaned in, lowering her voice. "Ye Sibei, one must learn to lower their head and take shortcuts. Take the money, and everyone's happy. Refuse it, and you'll only bring harm to yourself and others."
Ye Sibei's gaze fell on the money. She stared at it without speaking, her hands trembling slightly beneath the table. Her mind flooded with images: Qin Nan being mocked, Zhao Chuchu getting fired, Ye Nianwen losing his job.
But behind these scenes was the memory of that night when she took the pills, lying on the cold floor, desperately reaching for her phone. That moment reminded her—she hadn't survived just to live on her knees.
Seeing her silent stare at the money, Tao Jie thought she had relented and began to smile, about to speak, when Ye Sibei suddenly said, "I thought about giving in."
"But I can't." Ye Sibei raised her head and met Tao Jie's eyes. "I can't force myself to accept this injustice. I can't bear to watch the person who deserves punishment live freely in this world while I suffer in agony."
"Ye Sibei," Tao Jie laughed in frustration, momentarily forgetting about the recording, her tone laced with threat. "Have you really thought this through? This path won't be easy."
"I know." Ye Sibei held her gaze without flinching. "But someone has to walk it."
"You can threaten me, but let me tell you this—if you dare fire Zhao Chuchu, this matter won't end quietly. I'll take it online and expose everything I know. Do you think this is the worst outcome? It's not.""Ye Sibei, have you lost your mind?" Tao Jie stared at her in shock. "Do you think anyone would care if you post it online? With your current state, people would tear you apart!"
"Then let's try," Ye Sibei stood up, stepped closer, and pulled out her phone. "I'll upload the recording online and tell everyone how you tried to persuade a victim to recant. I'll make sure people know exactly who you are, what you look like, and what you've done. Tao Jie, you'd better pray that none of you ever have a single stain on your record—otherwise, you'll stand trial with me before the world."
"Ye Sibei," Tao Jie finally showed a trace of fear, "you're insane."
"Yes," Ye Sibei looked at her calmly, "I am insane. So don’t even think about threatening me or trying to stop me. I’ll keep fighting this case all the way."
"As long as I’m alive, I won’t give up. I will fight for what’s right, I will demand justice. I will make sure you all understand," Ye Sibei paused, her eyes reddening as she steadied her voice, "that in this world, the innocent should not be punished, and the guilty must pay the price."
"There is always justice hanging above our heads—and I will make sure it’s served."
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