RYEY -Chapter 459 Turns Out It’s an Old Acquaintance

Clearly, that trip was now impossible. Without a second thought, she went straight to Liangzhou Daily. Being quick-footed, the elderly security guard noticed a flicker in the office, as if someone had entered the newspaper office.

When he stepped out of the guard post, no one was there. He muttered to himself, teasingly blaming his old eyes. Luckily, the guard work wasn’t strict, or he might have been fired.

Hantong quickly made a round inside the newspaper office and then saw the women’s restroom, walking in with the intent to gather information. The women’s restroom was a good place for that.

She picked a stall, locked it from the inside, and stood there waiting. She didn’t know how long she waited before she heard the voices of a few women outside.

“Do you think Lu Xiaoyan really hooked up with that Li Huan? But I have to say, Lu Xiaoyan has good taste. That man is indeed excellent—handsome and rich. I’d want a piece of him myself.”

“Come on, really? She already has three kids, and now she wants to get with some family farm owner? But tell me, who took those photos? I don’t think Lu Xiaoyan had anyone take them—she’s not that stupid. If her own dad and brother were stealing things, they’d show up in the photos too.”

“I don’t think Lu Xiaoyan orchestrated it herself either. Probably someone at our newspaper who doesn’t like her took them.”

“Who could like her? Poor, sour, and always insisting on being right.”

“But she makes a decent salary every month—how can she be so poor?”

“She’s got a good mother, always thinking of her two sons. She’s just here to repay debts.”

“Come to think of it, Lu Xiaoyan is kind of pitiful. Most of her monthly salary goes straight to her mother’s pocket. Do you think that’s her real mother?”

“Who knows? Yuan Mengzhi, why are you quiet? Oh, right, you’re close to Lu Xiaoyan. Too bad she’s been caught; you don’t have a friend anymore.”

A silence fell over the scene. Aside from the sound of someone urinating, no one spoke. Even the person using the stall was startled, their stream intermittent—the conversation was too direct, leaving no room for a reply.

“Mengzhi, Xiaoxiao is too young to speak properly. Don’t bother arguing with her. Let’s go out first.”

Yuan Mengzhi nodded and waited quietly at the end. Only after everyone else had left did she enter a stall. Hantong smirked in her heart—she already had a target.

Stepping out of the stall, she inspected it carefully, then went to lock the restroom door, patiently waiting for Yuan Mengzhi to come out. When Yuan Mengzhi finally emerged, she saw Hantong blocking her path:

“Who are you? You’re not a reporter at the newspaper. What are you doing here?”

“Don’t worry about who I am. You answer one question at a time.”

Yuan Mengzhi furrowed her brows. She felt something strange about the woman in front of her and tried to look away, but her eyes were drawn in, irresistibly falling into Hantong’s eyes, which swirled with countless circles.

“You took the photos, submitted the articles, all to ruin Lu Xiaoyan and Li Huan’s reputations.”

“Yes.”

“You know Li Huan?”

“Yes, he’s the village chief of Xiangyang Village.”

“Why did you want to ruin Li Huan?”

“Because he’s the man of that bitch Cheng Qiao.”

“You have a grudge against Cheng Qiao?”

“No grudge.”

“No grudge? Then why target Li Huan? What do you gain?”

“Nothing to gain, just feels good. Cheng Qiao is prettier and living better than me.”

“Then you should target Cheng Qiao. Why Li Huan?”

“Li Huan isn’t a good man either. A rogue like him as village chief—makes me laugh.”

Hantong struggled to control the rage boiling inside her. How could such a person exist in the world—so petty, so incapable of letting others succeed. Such people were a waste of resources.

“So you also have a grudge against Lu Xiaoyan. Weren’t you good friends?”

“Damn good friends. Just trash that can’t stand to see others do well.”

Hantong was speechless. Someone who can’t stand to see others succeed but also hates people who do the same—was this person split in half? But now wasn’t the time to overthink that. The priority was to take her away first.

Snap!

Hantong snapped her fingers. Yuan Mengzhi came out of the swirling circles in her eyes. Her mind went boom—what had she just said?

“Come with me. Turn yourself in to the police—you might get a lighter sentence.”

“I won’t go. My husband is Zhu Qingde from Liangzhou Medical College. If you arrest me, it affects his reputation. He’ll never be able to work in the military district again.”

Hantong was shocked. She realized Yuan Mengzhi really didn’t know Zhu Qingde—and even more so that he was already divorced from her.

If this woman truly were Dr. Zhu’s wife, she could not be openly arrested. Otherwise, there would be no place for Zhu Qingde at the military district clinic.

“I’ll investigate. If what you say is true, it’s Zhu Qingde’s misfortune. You, a cockroach born in the gutter, don’t deserve a respected doctor like him. And don’t try to escape, or your punishment will be worse.”

On the surface, Yuan Mengzhi seemed compliant, but inside she snorted. Who was this shameless woman daring to play tricks with her?

But for now, the tiger had entered Pingyang and the dogs were bullying it. She would take this opportunity to leave. After all, she was just a temp at the newspaper, barely earning enough to survive.

But the world was so big—where could she go? She had been too hasty back then. Once back in her hometown with Zhu Qingde, she wanted a divorce immediately to go to Port City to find her parents.

Years ago, her parents had fled with her younger brother and all their gold. She was supposed to go too but her brothers tricked her, saying there were no tickets to Port City.

Disappointed, she secretly hid the large sum of money and gold her parents gave her in a small redwood box, burying it under a willow tree in the backyard.

Once free, Yuan Mengzhi’s first thought was to leave the destitute Zhu Qingde, dig out the redwood box, and go to her parents.

But she hadn’t expected that her former home had become a messy compound, the willow tree was gone, and someone had built a public kitchen there. Even if she wanted to dig, she had no chance.

She regretted her haste. If she had known, she would have delayed the divorce. Now she had no home and could only rely on her papers to sleep in a guesthouse.

Yuan Mengzhi didn’t despair. She racked her brain for someone to rely on and finally thought of Yuan Guangming, her elder brother.

But Yuan Guangming did not welcome her. Years ago, Yuan Mengzhi’s flashy behavior had drawn attention, forcing him to flee to this desolate place to buy time for their parents.

Now she had arrived, her once-pretty face marked with dirt. He couldn’t find the heart to send her away.