Chapter 17 — My Best Friend's Older Brother Took Responsibility for Me

Wen Ruyue secretly invited Li Yingqiu to lunch. Right after that meeting, Li Yingqiu's call came in. "Hi Bao, did you see those posts online?" "I saw them, Auntie." "Who do you think posted them?" "No concrete evidence yet." "I'm not asking for evidence—I'm asking your gut feeling." I paused for two seconds. "Auntie, do you trust me?" "I do." Just one short word. "Then please wait two more days."

Hanging up, I texted Ye Zhiyi: *Help me with something.* *Say it.* *When Wen Ruyue ate at your house last time, your mom talked to her privately in the study, right?* *Yeah, about half an hour.* *Any camera in the study?* *No camera, but there's a dashcam. When my second brother had his car repaired, he placed the old dashcam on the bookshelf as a clock—looks like it still records.* *Find out if it caught anything that day.*

An hour later, Ye Zhiyi sent a video—blurry image, choppy sound, but clear enough for key sentences. Wen Ruyue's voice: *Auntie, I don't mean to destroy their relationship. I just feel this marriage was too rushed, which isn't fair to Miss Lin. She deserves a proper proposal, not just settling for a registration booklet.* Li Yingqiu's voice: *You have a point.* Wen Ruyue's voice: *If Mr. Li truly loves her, why not hold a makeup wedding? Could it be that he himself feels this relationship lacks seriousness?* Playing the "sensible third party" in front of Li Yingqiu—not inciting division directly, but raising doubts to plant seeds of suspicion. Extremely high-level tactic. I saved the video carefully—not time to release it yet, but soon.

Wen Ruyue's next move was even more vicious. She invited Ye Zhiyi out for coffee; Ye Zhiyi initially refused, but I urged her to go. "Just go—see what she intends to say." When Ye Zhiyi returned, her face was terrible. "What did she say?" "She said..." Ye Zhiyi bit her lip, "she said she investigated your ex-boyfriend and found that video was hired by you to dump Chu Yan and climb higher!" "What?!" "She also said back in Jiangcheng you relied on a few casual photos to sneak into photography circles, with mediocre skill and connections built by regular clients." "She investigated me?" "She found your college classmates, former colleagues, even former roommates—piecing together a seemingly complete chain of 'evidence'."

Ye Zhiyi looked at me. "What does she plan to do with that stuff?" "She said she just wants to protect the Ye family—if true, she feels obligated to tell my mom." I leaned back staring at the ceiling. Wen Ruyue's tactics grew increasingly sinister—from direct provocation to behind-the-scenes manipulation, now digging up my complete past. Every step under the guise of "legitimate concern"—not breaking laws, not crossing lines, but every blade sharp, stabbing straight into hearts.

"What's your plan?" Ye Zhiyi asked. "She plans to report this to your mom this weekend?" "Yeah, she invited my mom out this weekend."

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "Who are you calling?" "Your second brother." Ye Zhihang picked up. "Sister-in-law, what's up?" "Help me investigate someone—Wen Ruyue of the Wen family in Hecheng. She recently contacted my former colleagues and college classmates; can you help check who she met and what was said?" "Sure. Give me two days."

Ye Zhihang worked decisively, returning full analyzed data on day two: Wen Ruyue approached seven of my former colleagues. Four refused her; the remaining three agreed to compromise, providing tweaked information—e.g., claiming *my work was average in Jiangcheng* because those three had lost a project bid to me, or claiming *Chu Yan's video was staged by me* originating from Chu Yan's vague social post. What Wen Ruyue did wasn't "investigating truth," but "fabricating a narrative"—picking favorable details to assemble her desired story. I asked Ye Zhihang, "Can you contact the four who refused her?" "Yes." "Have them save all messages Wen Ruyue sent them." "Understood. Anything else?" "That's all for now. Thank you." "You're welcome, sister-in-law," he hesitated briefly. "You've handled so much for our family—when this is done, I'll personally vent your anger." I laughed. "No need for you to vent—I can do it myself."