31: Chapter 31 The Ironclad Evidence in the Fried Chicken Shop

Zhang Fan quietly pulled out his phone, pressed the record button, and placed it on the table face down.

"What happened next?"

"Next? It blew up, that's what!" Doctor Huzi took another sip of alcohol. "Who knew the original wife was also pregnant, two months along? Her husband beat her up at the hospital, and she lost the baby! Now it's reached the Police Station, and I heard the police are still investigating!"

He smacked his lips. "I'm regretting it so much now that my guts are turning green. That ten thousand yuan feels like a hot potato in my pocket. If I get investigated, I'll lose my job!"

"Then what were you thinking at the time?"

"How was I supposed to know she'd make such a big mess of it?" Doctor Huzi's voice lowered. "That woman was quite pretty and spoke softly, saying she just wanted her husband to feel sorry for her... Who knew she was so vicious!"

"What's that woman's name?"

"Seems like her name is... Yuan Mubai? Sounds like such a gentle name, why is her heart so cruel..."

Doctor Li's words were like a needle, pricking Zhang Fan's eardrums painfully.

The fingers gripping his phone tightened abruptly, his knuckles turning white—it really was her!

Bribing a doctor to forge a pregnancy test report, framing Zhou Yurou for assault, and indirectly causing the death of that two-month-old baby...

Is this woman's heart made of stone?

Gu Jingshen keenly sensed that something was wrong with him. He raised an eyebrow and asked with his eyes, "You know her?"

Zhang Fan glanced at the next table. The three of them were drinking heavily, Doctor Huzi's face flushed like a pig's liver, and he was still muttering, "That ten thousand yuan isn't enough to keep my mouth shut."

He lowered his voice, his lips almost touching Gu Jingshen's ear. "That original wife is a sister I know; she lives right across from me."

"Damn it!" Gu Jingshen's voice rose sharply before he hurriedly lowered it, flames of anger flickering in his eyes. "What are we waiting for? Let's go confront this bastard right now!"

As he spoke, he went to stand up, but Zhang Fan pressed him back down.

"Sit down." Zhang Fan's voice was as cold as ice. "Look at the three of them; they're so drunk they can't even stand steadily. If we start a scene, who knows who will end up in the Police Station."

He scanned the empty bottles at the next table—five beer bottles piled up, and half a bottle of baijiu gone. "I'm here to help, not to cause trouble. It's not worth getting ourselves tangled up for these drunks, gaining nothing but trouble."

Gu Jingshen gritted his teeth and sat down unwillingly, but he still glared at the next table. "We can't just let it go! This bastard took dirty money to forge evidence; he's completely devoid of morals!"

"We aren't letting it go." Zhang Fan patted his pocket where his phone was, the screen still pressed against his thigh. "The evidence is right here. Later, we'll give the recording to Sister Zhou and let her hand it over to the police; that's more useful than us starting a fight here."

Gu Jingshen's anger subsided slightly, and he picked up his glass and took a big gulp. "Fine, I'll listen to you. Let's eat first; we need to be full to have the energy for anything else."

He shouted to the owner, "Boss! Four more bottles of beer!" Then he pointed to the empty baijiu bottle, "Another bottle of this Qinghuaci?"

"Forget it," Zhang Fan stopped him. "This liquor is too expensive; you'd better just stick to your beer."

He turned his head and shouted to the owner, "And another serving of noodles, wide ones!"

"Coming right up!" the owner replied. The stir-fried chicken in the iron pot sizzled, and the aroma mixed with the pungent scent of chili drifted over, dispelling some of the oppression.

Doctor Huzi at the next table remained oblivious, still bragging to his companions: "...That woman only wanted to pay five thousand at first. I told her no deal for less than ten thousand, and she agreed through gritted teeth. If I had known she would make such a big scene, I should have asked for twenty thousand more! Now, the money is a hot potato, and if the police investigate me..."

"They won't find out, they won't," the person next to him urged. "It's just one report; who would know you altered it?"

"That's what you say..." Doctor Huzi's voice lowered. "But that woman's husband works in finance; I heard he has some connections. If he really gets serious..."

Zhang Fan didn't listen any further. He quietly pressed stop on the recording, tucked his phone into his inner pocket, and zipped it up tight.

This recording was crucial—not only could it prove Yuan Mubai forged the pregnancy test report, but it could also expose the doctor who took the dirty money, enough to make her suffer at the Police Station.

Gu Jingshen watched his movements without speaking, simply handing over some peeled garlic. "Eat it with the garlic; it cuts the greasiness."

"Thanks." Zhang Fan picked up a garlic clove and took a bite. The pungent spiciness rushed straight into his nasal cavity, dispelling some of the stifling feeling in his heart.

The two of them ate their noodles in silence. The wide noodles had soaked up the stir-fried chicken broth, making their lips tingle with spice, but they ate with great satisfaction.

The people at the next table finally finished drinking and helped each other to pay the bill. When Doctor Li left, he stumbled and nearly knocked over the beer crate at the door.

"Let's go." Gu Jingshen wiped his mouth and paid the bill.

Walking out of the stir-fried chicken restaurant, a cold wind rushed in, carrying the sour smell of trash cans in the alley, but it cleared their heads.

Zhang Fan wrapped his jacket tighter and shivered. The anger that had been suppressed by the alcohol earlier quietly bubbled up again—thinking of the hollow look in Zhou Yurou's eyes in the hospital ward and the baby she had lost, he felt a tightness in his chest.

"What now?" Gu Jingshen kicked a pebble on the side of the road. "Going straight to the hospital to give your Sister Zhou the recording?"

"Yeah." Zhang Fan nodded. "This is what she needs most right now."

"Do you need me to go with you?" Gu Jingshen asked. "In case you run into that Yang Lei or Yuan Mubai, it's good to have some backup."

"No need," Zhang Fan smiled. "You go back. Didn't Aunt Tang tell you to go home early? Besides, there are police at the hospital; they won't dare to cause trouble."

Gu Jingshen thought for a moment, took out his phone, and sent a contact card via WeChat. "This is the number of a lawyer I know from the legal department of Gu Corporation. I heard their success rate for divorce cases is quite high. Give it to your Sister Zhou and have her consult with them so she doesn't get taken advantage of."

Zhang Fan looked at the introduction on the contact card: "Lawyer Wang Lidong." He had a long list of titles and looked quite reliable. "Thanks."

"Don't be polite with me." Gu Jingshen punched him lightly. "Call me anytime if you need anything; don't shoulder it all by yourself."

"Got it."

Watching Gu Jingshen flag down a car and leave, Zhang Fan touched the phone and business card in his pocket, feeling much more at ease. He stood at the alley entrance and looked up at the sky. The lead-gray clouds hung very low, as if it were about to snow.

On the way to the hospital by taxi, he listened to the recording twice. Doctor Li's voice was clear and distinguishable, and the mentions of "Yuan Mubai," "stillborn," "forged report," and "ten thousand yuan" were all crystal clear. Handing this over to the police would be enough to make Yuan Mubai suffer.