95: Shock and anger

He clicked on the folder.

The scale of this photo was even larger.

The same private room, the same group of people.

Zhong Xiaoru was straddling the lap of that blond-haired man, her hands intimately hooked around his neck, her head tilted back as she kissed him passionately.

With that blurred gaze and that wanton posture, where was there even half a trace of her pure student persona left?

"..."

Lin Chao's brows furrowed into a deep 'river' shape.

It was simply an eyesore.

He had no interest in looking further.

He directly packaged the entire [Zhong Xiaoru] folder and created a new encrypted compressed file.

Then, he opened wechat, found Lan Qingyu's avatar, and sent the file over.

Without any extra explanation, he only attached three words.

[See for yourself.]

After doing all this, he then found that unknown number in his contact list and sent a message.

[I've received the items. How much?]

The other party's reply was almost instantaneous.

[Mr. Lin is too polite, it was just a small matter.]

[President Xie's friend is my friend. Let's forget about it this time.]

[If you have any needs next time, just support my business again.]

Lin Chao looked at his phone screen, a faint, indiscernible curve appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Things that are free are often the most expensive.

He didn't want to owe this favor.

After thinking for a moment, he directly opened the transfer page and entered the amount "2000."

Not too much, not too little—just right.

Since the other party said the investigation wasn't difficult, this price wouldn't make him look stingy, nor was it too exaggerated.

[Let's be friends.]

He attached this message when he sent the transfer.

Whether the other person accepted it was their business; whether he gave it was his attitude.

Otherwise, if word got out, people would think that he, a friend of Xie Mengya, liked to take such small advantages.

However, just as he confirmed the payment and before his fingerprint had even left the screen—

The phone began to vibrate frantically.

Lin Chao swiped to answer, but before he could even put the phone to his ear—

A scream that almost blew the roof off came from the other end of the line!

"Lin Chao! What kind of things did you just send me!"

Lan Qingyu's voice was sharp and shrill, filled with shock and unbelievable anger.

"Zhong Xiaoru is such a liar!"

"I was truly blind!"

Lin Chao moved the phone a bit further away, his tone quite calm: "Finished watching?"

"I finished! I watched all of it!"

Lan Qingyu was throwing a fit on the other end, her voice even carrying a hint of a sob.

"Do you know?! In the photos! Among those thugs who cornered me in the alley that day, two of them are in here! It's them! They were in on it together the whole time!"

"Oh?"

Lin Chao clicked his tongue, his tone carrying a bit of realization.

"So, from the very beginning, this was a trap custom-made for you."

His voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over Lan Qingyu's rage.

"The hero saving the damsel in distress to gain sympathy and make you drop all your guard against her."

"Then, proceeding step by step, fabricating a tragic life story to deceive you of your feelings and then your money."

The other end of the phone went silent instantly.

Only Lan Qingyu's heavy and suppressed breathing remained.

Lin Chao leaned back against the chair and sighed softly.

"I really can't figure it out..."

He paused, his tone full of helplessness.

"Sister Yanran is such a shrewd and formidable businesswoman, how did she give birth to such a 'silly sweet' daughter like you?"

Lin Chao's words, half-teasing and half-lamenting, were like a needle that accurately punctured the balloon of Lan Qingyu's forced bravado on the other end of the line.

"That's because I'm kind!"

Lan Qingyu's voice rose an octave; one could imagine her puffing out her cheeks and stomping her feet in anger through the receiver.

"I am not some 'silly sweet'!"

Hearing this, the curve of Lin Chao's mouth unconsciously rose a bit more.

He put the phone on speaker, tossed it onto the desk, and leaned lazily back into the large executive chair in the study.

silly sweet?

One really couldn't have too high expectations for a young girl who had just graduated high school and just become an adult.

Moreover, she had lost her father when she was eight.

Her mother, Lan Yanran, had a strong, decisive personality; after working hard for her career outside, she naturally wanted to bring the best of everything in the world to her daughter at home.

Under such meticulous protection, it was only normal for her to be raised ignorant of the world's ways and a bit naive.

Lin Chao sighed softly in his heart, and his tone softened as well.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're the kindest, alright?"

His words sounded like he was coaxing a child.

"However, learn from your mistakes."

"You have to take today's lesson to heart, right?"

Lin Chao paused, but unable to resist his mischievous streak, he followed up with another question.

"Seriously, I'm especially curious, what kind of mood were you in when you nodded and agreed to pay that twenty thousand yuan for Zhong Xiaoru?"

"..."

The other end of the phone fell into a suspicious silence.

After several seconds, Lan Qingyu finally muttered in a voice as small as a mosquito's buzz.

"She said... she said she would do work-study after starting university and slowly pay me back..."

Her voice grew smaller and smaller as she spoke; clearly, she also felt this reason was indefensible.

"...Though, I didn't really expect her to pay it back anyway."

"Oh—" Lin Chao drawled his response.

Immediately after, he slowly delivered the most ruthless final blow to Lan Qingyu's already battered heart.

"She didn't get into university."

"..."

Another deathly silence.

This silence was even more terrifying than the one before, like the calm before a storm.

Three seconds later.

"Aaaaaaaah—!"

Lan Qingyu's scream almost pierced Lin Chao's eardrums.

"I saw it! I know now!"

"You're not allowed to say another word!"

Her voice carried a thick nasal tone; she was clearly exasperated to the extreme.

"If you say one more word! If you say one more word, I won't treat you to dinner!"

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Chao finally couldn't help it, leaning back against the chair and laughing out loud, his chest heaving violently.

"Alright, alright, I won't say it, I won't say it."

He finally managed to stop laughing and cleared his throat, though his tone still carried a hint of suppressed amusement.

"But you must remember today's lesson well."

Lan Qingyu naturally knew she had taken a huge fall this time.

Being played like a fiddle by a girl about her own age and almost losing a hundred and twenty thousand yuan—it was embarrassing just to talk about it.

But being nagged incessantly by Lin Chao like this, her pretty face instantly darkened.

"You're only a few years older than me!"

"Why are you so naggy, like a little old man?"

"Calling you 'Uncle' would be doing you a favor!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she got, and she simply unleashed her trump card.

"Try nagging me one more time?"

"I'm telling you, Lin Chao, if you dare say one more word!"

"You can forget about these two orders for 88,888 that I have in my hand!"

"..." In the study, Lin Chao's laughter stopped abruptly.

The expression on his face froze instantly.

It was as if someone had pressed the pause button.