Chapter 18 — My Best Friend's Older Brother Took Responsibility for Me

Before the weekend, Wen Ruyue invited Li Yingqiu out for afternoon tea at a hotel tea room near the Ye villa. Li Yingqiu accepted; I didn't stop her because I went too. Dragging Ye Zhiyi along, we arrived ten minutes before Wen Ruyue, sitting in the adjacent tea room with the door left ajar—enough to hear everything next door.

Wen Ruyue arrived, exchanging pleasantries before steering the topic to me. "Auntie, I don't mean to sow discord, but there are things I feel you need to know." She pulled out a binder containing all her gathered "evidence"—reviews from former colleagues, statements from old roommates, insinuations from Chu Yan, and screenshots of that anonymous smear post. "Auntie, take a look. I don't dare claim these are 100% true, but if even one detail is real, is this marriage worth reconsidering?" Li Yingqiu flipped through the papers without speaking immediately.

At that moment, I pushed open the door to step into their room. Wen Ruyue turned, her expression stiffening for half a second. "Miss Lin? Why are you here?" Stepping to the table, I said, "Miss Wen, you prepared this binder meticulously. Unfortunately, several points are wrong." I pulled out my own folder: First item—screenshots from the four colleagues who refused her, where she blatantly offered bribes: *Just say a few bad things about her and I'll introduce rich clients.* Second item—Chu Yan's *staged video* post, beneath which his own best friend commented: *Stop lying—you got drunk at the club and did it yourself, witnessed by many.* Third item—the recording of her conversation with Li Yingqiu in the study: *If Mr. Li truly loves her, why not hold a makeup wedding? Could it be that he himself feels this marriage lacks seriousness?*

As the recording played, the tea room fell dead silent. Li Yingqiu's face gradually shifted as she turned to look straight at Wen Ruyue. "Xiao Yue, you started scheming while visiting my house?" Wen Ruyue's face flushed red. "Auntie, I was just worried—" "Bribing my daughter-in-law's former colleagues to lie—that's what you call worry?" Wen Ruyue stood up. "Those things are true—" "Truth comes with photos, dates, and chat logs," I interrupted. "Miss Wen, would you like to compare them item by item?" She stood tongue-tied.

Ye Zhiyi poked her head in from the doorway. "Miss Wen, one thing to tell you." "What?" "When you badmouthed my best friend in front of me, I recorded it all—because I didn't trust you from the start." Wen Ruyue's face turned instantly pale. Li Yingqiu stood up, gathered the "evidence" on the table, stacked it neatly, and shoved it back to her. "Take it back. I know what kind of person my daughter-in-law is better than you. From now on, our families' affairs need no concern from you."

Wen Ruyue's hands trembled slightly as she snatched the papers, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door, glancing back at me with resentful yet unresigned eyes. With her gone, Li Yingqiu sat down, sighing deeply. "Hi Bao, you've suffered grievances during this time." "Not at all, Auntie." "Yes you have—from now on, that stops." She held my hand tightly. "You're my daughter-in-law—nobody touches a single hair of yours."

Footsteps sounded in the hallway as Li Hangzhi stood leaning against the outer wall—who knew how long he had been there. Looking at me without words, a light flickered in his eyes that I had never seen before.

Wen Ruyue remained silent for three days. On the fourth day, she pulled an unexpected stunt—posting a long essay on her social media titled *An Unrequited Waiting*. The post detailed how family elders arranged a blind date, how sincerely she prepared, and how an interloper ruined everything. Naming no names, everyone acquainted understood who it implied. At the end she wrote: *I hold no hatred. I just feel some people win everything too easily to cherish it. While my three months of preparation wasn't worth a penny.* Comments leaned heavily toward sympathizing with her: *So pitiful... Three months losing to three days... That jump-in third party is terrible.*