Reborn to Outshine My Ex and His White Moonlight-Chapter 140 Turning into a Joke

Chen Hongwei clutched at the lifeline like a drowning man, hastily chiming in, "Yes, yes, no wonder I couldn’t remember these things. It turns out it was during the meal that Lin Zhiyi arranged last time. She got me drunk to wring these words out of me. How could that be considered legitimate?"

Hearing this, Lin Zhiyi’s heart skipped a beat, her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out, as if she was frozen in place by an invisible force.

She still hadn’t considered everything thoroughly.

She had anticipated that Chen Hongwei would deny everything, but she hadn’t expected him to admit to his words in such a manner.

Gong Yan elegantly stepped down from the stage and walked over to Lin Zhiyi, extending his hand.

"Zhiyi, I believe you wouldn’t steal the sapphire, there must be some misunderstanding here. Trust me, I will help you."

What a clever move to advance by retreating.

Lin Zhiyi glared at him angrily, but even so, he was still smiling.

He stared at her, his gaze sweeping across her face, then finally landed on her scarf and raised his eyebrows slightly.

Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, he whispered, "Zhiyi, you can’t outwit me. In this world, truth and lies aren’t just about evidence, but also about who is speaking. No one will believe you, and even your younger uncle can’t help you now. You can only rely on me."

Lin Zhiyi’s chest heaved with anger, her breathing was rapid, like a small animal struggling in a cage.

And Gong Yan was like the hunter standing outside, toying with her.

Just at that moment, the big screen suddenly lit up again.

Lin Zhiyi looked at the screen and breathed a sigh of relief, "Big brother, why don’t you turn around and take a look for yourself?"

Gong Yan turned his head, his smile freezing on his face.

In the video, Chen Hongwei was sitting on a sofa, each arm wrapped around a glamorous woman.

The two women were not dressed cheaply or vulgarly, rather, their dresses bore famous brand logos, suggesting they were from high-class venues.

All of them appeared tipsy.

One of the women leaned close to Chen Hongwei and said, "Mr. Chen, you’ve become quite the celebrity in Jing City recently, impressive indeed."

Chen Hongwei let out a burp, "You understand how things work, following me won’t leave you without benefits."

"Really? Then we must see for ourselves. We heard you won a very impressive sapphire at the auction, could you give us a sneak peek?"

"No way," Chen Hongwei immediately refused.

The second woman, very understanding, interrupted her friend, "Don’t just demand things. Could we see the items from the auction house? Do you think Mr. Chen is like that Mr. Li from before who, after a few sweet words, brought his family’s antiques for you to admire? Don’t ask for the impossible. Isn’t that right, Mr. Chen?"

Anyone could tell, the two women were playing a rehearsed game.

But fueled by his recent inflated ego and alcohol, Chen Hongwei could not be stirred.

"What nonsense is this Mr. Li? Can he compare to me? If I say you can see it, then you can see it."

Soon enough, Chen Hongwei had a bodyguard bring the item to the two women.

One of the women purposely lifted the sapphire high, clearly capturing it in the camera’s view.

It was the missing Kashmir Sapphire.

Pointing at the sapphire, Chen Hongwei boasted, "This stone has done me a great favor."

"Mr. Chen, what great favor?"

"I pulled off a little switcheroo while working at Xue Man’s, just wait until Lin Zhiyi realizes she’s been tricked, she’ll have no choice but to do as I say. I can hardly wait." Chen Hongwei sneered smugly.

"Mr. Chen, you’re badass."

The video ended there.

But the farce was far from over.

Into this grand and luxurious banquet, a garishly dressed middle-aged couple barged in, their faces weathered and shrewd.

The surrounding guests, not wanting to associate with them, stepped aside to let them through.

The couple made their way unimpeded to the front and, upon seeing the collapsed Shen Yan on the ground, immediately hissed and cursed.

"Good for nothing girl! I wondered why you’ve been so elusive, turns out you’ve been doing this sort of thing! Completely disgraceful!" the middle-aged woman went straight for Shen Yan’s ear and pinched it.

Shen Yan winced in pain, her voice frantic, "Mom, let go of me, don’t make a scene here, let’s go outside and talk!"

"Why do we need to go outside? You can’t just be slept with for free! Your brother is still saving up to get married! You’re worthless now, and this man must take responsibility."

The middle-aged woman ranted, her eyes then turning venomously toward Chen Hongwei.

Her eyes narrowed, "It’s you! You old thing! At your age, to dare defile a virgin! I’m telling you, if you don’t pay up, don’t expect a moment’s peace! Besides, there’s a video all over the internet!"

Having said that, Shen Yan’s father pulled out a sickle from his waist.

"If you don’t cough up the money today, I’m going to fight you for it!"

Shen Yan, clutching at both, pleaded, "Please, can we go outside? Please, I’m begging you!"

Her parents threw Shen Yan to the ground and berated her, "Don’t you forget, we agreed to let you go to university because you promised to make a lot of money for your brother. Now that your reputation is ruined, what good are you!" frёewebnoѵēl.com

Hearing this, Shen Yan felt as if her last shred of dignity had been stripped away; she sat on the ground like a discarded rag doll.

At this moment, the celebration banquet had turned completely into a joke.

Eventually, the guests conscientiously dispersed.

Before long, the hall was left only with a towering champagne tower and the dazzling array of blooming flowers.

Chen Hongwei threw down a check for two hundred thousand as hush money and took off with his entourage.

Shen Yan’s parents, ecstatic with the cash, left without even tending to their still-bleeding daughter.

Lin Zhiyi no longer paid attention to Shen Yan and turned to leave the banquet hall.

As she was about to exit, she saw Xue Man stopped in front of her, and upon approaching, she realized there was someone else there, crying and wailing.

Bella.

"President Xue, please give me another chance, I won’t dare to do it again."

"Bella, from the moment you betrayed me, there was no room for negotiation. You should know what the studio means to me. You actually helped someone plunge the entire studio into crisis; I will never keep you on."

Xue Man shook off Bella’s hand, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lin Zhiyi and gestured to her.

"Zhiyi, let’s go."

"Mhm."

Lin Zhiyi followed her toward the hall.

On the way, she looked at Xue Man gratefully, "President Xue, thank you for the video of Mr. Chen, I couldn’t have refuted it otherwise."

Xue Man looked at her skeptically, "You mean that video of those two women with Mr. Chen? That wasn’t me."

"It wasn’t you? Then who was it?" Lin Zhiyi asked in surprise.

Xue Man glanced at her and smiled faintly, "The woman in the video deliberately brought the sapphire into frame. Clearly, someone had arranged it on purpose."

"Should we go ask those two women?" Lin Zhiyi frowned.

"As if you could? The Chen Family is probably sending people to track down those women right now. Catching them would be a miracle. Besides... can’t you guess at all? Sometimes, we just don’t want to think about it."

Saying this, Xue Man raised her hand to adjust the scarf around Lin Zhiyi’s neck.

A cashmere scarf, soft and warm.

In the corner, embroidered with a gold thread, was the character "Chen."

Lin Zhiyi’s body stiffened, deliberately ignoring the existence of the scarf the entire time.

Xue Man chuckled at her stiff-necked posture.

"Let’s go."

Lin Zhiyi nodded her head.

As they were leaving, someone called out Lin Zhiyi’s name from behind.

"Zhiyi."

It was Gong Yan.