Chapter 23: Clearing His Name
Xingze Gu leaned back in his chair, replaying recent events in his mind. Aside from the day he saved that woman, everything else seemed to be as usual.
Was it her? It shouldn’t be, he had saved her, she wouldn’t betray him for kindness, would she?
Could it have been someone else who had ordered the bodyguards to hit her back then?
Hospital.
Yeyun Ye picked up her mobile phone, wanting to check the latest news. The incident where Jingxian Xiang had framed her last time had caused a huge stir online. Although she didn’t care much, seeing the netizens’ comments still chilled her to the bone.
As a result, she hadn’t gone online for a long time, and she only used her mobile phone to contact others.
She opened her phone and saw that the discussion about her online had died down. She knew it would be like this, but she couldn’t help but feel a little sad.
In this era, with the development of the internet, there were many people who, under the guise of an ID, and without understanding the full story, believed themselves to be righteous and expressed their opinions without consequence, harming others with impunity…
Yeyun Ye scrolled down with her finger and saw a trending topic: “Popular video influencer suspected of taking girlfriend for abortion late at night.” On impulse, she clicked on the hot search.
Upon clicking, a video appeared. Others might not have recognized the person, but Yeyun Ye did at a glance because the female protagonist in the video was herself!
It turned out that the person who saved her that day was Xingze Gu, a popular influencer on a certain video app. Because he had saved her, paparazzi had caught him in the act, fabricating a story about him maintaining a single persona.
Yeyun Ye searched Xingze Gu’s Weibo and video accounts, finding nothing but criticism and all sorts of hateful comments! It reminded her of her own situation back then.
Guilt washed over her like a tide.
As she recalled the recent upsetting events, Yeyun Ye’s emotions became highly unstable.
She saw that Xingze Gu’s company had fired him.
He had only helped her, and he had lost his job. She wondered if it was because she had caused trouble for Xingze Gu, or if it was because of Xiuqi Chi’s indifference…
Tears slowly streamed down Yeyun Ye’s face. She dared not let out a sob, suppressing her emotions and letting out muffled cries.
“Oh, is little sister secretly crying?” Jingxian Xiang’s sarcastic voice cut through the air. Yeyun Ye heard her and suppressed her recent vulnerability, lifting her head to look coldly at Jingxian Xiang, who had just walked in from outside the ward.
“What are you doing here?” Yeyun Ye asked coldly.
“What am I doing here?” Jingxian Xiang scoffed. “Do you remember the person who saved you last time? I assume you’ve seen what’s online, right?” She glanced at her freshly manicured nails and said casually to Yeyun Ye.
“I only mentioned a couple of things to Xiuqi, and he lost his job.”
“The difference between people, you see, is that vast.” After speaking, she looked triumphantly at Yeyun Ye, but she didn’t see the reaction she expected.
Increasingly angry, she said, “Yeyun Ye, you harmed the person who saved you like this, and you don’t feel guilty at all!”
Yeyun Ye remained calm. “What do you want?” After crying, Yeyun Ye understood that crying wouldn’t solve anything.
Hearing this, Jingxian Xiang calmed down. “As long as you hand over the recording, I’ll get Xingze Gu back into his company.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You won’t?” Jingxian Xiang’s expression twisted. “Then getting fired won’t be the worst of it for Xingze Gu!”
Yeyun Ye wiped the tears from her eyes, assumed a cold demeanor again, and got out of bed. “Jingxian Xiang, when will you understand that involving outsiders in our matters is useless.”
Jingxian Xiang looked up, her eyes filled with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Between you and me, it’s the Ye Family and the Xiang Family. If this matter isn’t resolved, I won’t let it go.” As she spoke, Yeyun Ye slowly approached. “But you keep harming innocent people. Aren’t you afraid of backlash?”
“Aren’t you afraid that one day those people will retaliate against you, just as you harmed them without cause?” As soon as she finished speaking, Yeyun Ye was in front of Jingxian Xiang, her tone so cold it momentarily stunned Jingxian Xiang.
“You, what nonsense are you spouting! You forced me to do this!” Seeing Yeyun Ye’s attitude, Jingxian Xiang knew she had come for nothing today. With indignation, she scoffed, “You figure it out yourself!”
Then she left the ward. After she left, Yeyun Ye pondered for a moment.
She picked up her mobile phone, found Xingze Gu’s account, contacted his agent, and arranged to meet Xingze Gu at a coffee shop the next morning at nine.
The next morning, Yeyun Ye was dressed neatly and left the hospital.
Upon arriving at the coffee shop, she saw a tall young man wearing a black baseball cap and a casual hoodie sitting at the designated table.
Undoubtedly, it had to be Xingze Gu.
She walked towards Xingze Gu and sat down opposite him.
Xingze Gu saw her. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I’m sorry. You saved me, and it caused you to lose your job.” Yeyun Ye apologized to him first, then paused and continued, “Is there… is there any way to fix this, or compensation? I, I can…”
Seeing the woman’s flustered expression, Xingze Gu was momentarily lost in thought: the woman seemed genuinely remorseful for the trouble she had caused him.
“There is… there is a way,” Xingze Gu said slowly. He took out a USB drive from his pocket. “Of course, I wasn’t just waiting around. The local police officer in that area is a buddy of mine. The day I was fired, I got the surveillance footage from him. If you’re willing to testify for me…”
“I will!” Yeyun Ye said without hesitation.
Xingze Gu hadn’t expected the woman to agree so quickly. Knowing the conversation she had overheard between her and those two people at the hospital entrance that day, and given that she was still dealing with her own troubles, why was she willing to court further disaster?
“Are you sure?” Xingze Gu paused. “You and that woman… if this gets out, she might cause you further trouble. From what I understand, her status is not something you can afford to offend.”
Yeyun Ye inwardly sneered at this. Indeed, with the Xiang Family backing Jingxian Xiang now, and with Xiuqi Chi, she feared nothing. Yeyun Ye, on the other hand, was alone.
“I’m not afraid of her,” Yeyun Ye said, placing a hand on her abdomen, as if her child was giving her strength. “I have nothing left to lose, so what else should I be afraid of losing?”
Seeing her resolve, Xingze Gu gave Yeyun Ye the USB drive, asking her to review its contents before making a decision. If possible, he would have his journalist friends issue a statement and guide public opinion, portraying them as a victim and a rescuer.
After they finished their discussion, Xingze Gu was about to escort Yeyun Ye out when he was suddenly called away by a phone call from his agent, Brother Hu. Yeyun Ye graciously said she could take a taxi by herself.
Little did she know, a pair of eyes were secretly watching her from the shadows…
