Chapter 37 Chapter 37: Dispelling Doubts
Chapter 37: Dispelling Doubts
However, it was also possible that his understanding wasn't comprehensive enough.
After all, Dongfang Yang had indeed changed his view of Chi Xiaocheng quite a bit, and he didn't believe that the person he saw, who was so stupid, clumsy, and utterly spineless, was faking it.
He paid more attention to details.
And some of those details simply didn't add up.
Just then, two knocks sounded on the surveillance room door.
Dongfang Yang turned to see Su Tao enter, her apron covering the fresh red stains. "How is it?"
Dongfang Yang stepped aside, gesturing to the monitor. "The cause was Chi Xiaocheng trying to get money back from that blondie. Her hostility was quite obvious, but Chi Xiaocheng was too cowardly and still let her into the house."
The outcome, of course, needed no explanation.
The surveillance couldn't pick up sounds from inside the house, only an occasional laugh or two could be heard.
"Su Tao, what's your take on this?"
Dongfang Yang pulled up a chair and sat down, deep in thought.
Su Tao's eyes held suppressed anger. After a long exhale, she said, "Xiaocheng probably wanted to pay you back, which is why she went to Liu Guijia for money. But I had no idea Xiaocheng owed her so much!"
That was seven thousand!
It might not seem like much over three years, but Chi Xiaocheng's family was already poor, and her current frailty was due to early malnutrition.
But to his surprise, Dongfang Yang wasn't focused on that. "What I mean is, what do you make of Chi Xiaocheng's contrasting behavior?"
Su Tao paused, startled. "What do you mean?"
"I won't beat around the bush." Dongfang Yang manipulated the surveillance footage, pausing it at the scene where Chi Xiaocheng, shrinking her neck in fear, entered the door with Liu Guijia and her followers.
He continued, "We learned earlier that Chi Xiaocheng was willing to risk her life for you, even showing hostility towards Ye Liang in various ways, and for a while, she was hostile towards me too. But having interacted with her, you and I both know she's so weak. So where did she get the courage to confront Ye Liang? Who gave it to her?"
"Remember, if you hadn't stopped Ye Liang in the basement last time, something terrible would have probably happened to Chi Xiaocheng, right?"
Su Tao lowered her head, nodding slightly as if in thought.
Her information was different from Dongfang Yang's.
She knew very well.
Chi Xiaocheng's courage came from her!
Xiaocheng was a yandere; anything related to herself would make her impulsive and irrational. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that she dared to confront Ye Liang, even disregarding her status.
But when it came to Liu Guijia...
Dongfang Yang continued, "There's another very important question. Although I've been mindful of your feelings and haven't asked, I just can't understand how Chi Xiaocheng kidnapped you. You could easily subdue her with one hand, couldn't you?"
"Uh..."
Su Tao lowered her head and fell silent for a moment.
"Regarding the kidnapping, that was my fault." Su Tao sighed, explaining the situation at the time. "Didn't I owe Ye Liang a favor because of what happened last time? He insisted I attend a banquet with him. I figured it was just to show my face and have a meal, so I agreed."
"After that, Xiaocheng found me and said she knew she had made mistakes before and wanted to make amends with me."
Dongfang Yang nodded. "Mm, and then?"
"Then she said that as an apology, she specifically bought me orange juice." Su Tao sighed. "I didn't think much of it at the time, just listened to her. What happened after I drank it, I don't know."
"When I woke up, I was already locked in the basement."
A few strands of beautiful hair fell from her temples, sliding down her cheeks.
Because she was looking down, her bangs slightly obscured her eyes, making her gaze unreadable.
The sunlight reflecting on her from outside the window gradually faded.
Su Tao continued, "As for the courage you mentioned, Dongfang Yang, for confronting Ye Liang, that must have been given by me..."
"You?"
Dongfang Yang was somewhat taken aback; this was something he had never considered.
"Yes," Su Tao said, putting her hands behind her back, raising her head, a helpless yet doting smile on her face. "She's done a lot these past two months, but I've never blamed her once. Whether it was you or Ye Liang, I was always trying to smooth things over, wasn't I?"
Dongfang Yang paused, as if recalling something.
Indeed, whenever he had disliked Chi Xiaocheng in the past, Su Tao would always try to mediate.
"So that's how it is..."
He murmured to himself, the doubts in his heart gradually dissipating.
It was her tolerance that gave Chi Xiaocheng courage.
Dongfang Yang looked at Su Tao again. "Then, about her being bullied..."
At this, Su Tao immediately clenched her fists.
Anger flared in her eyes.
Staring intently at Liu Guijia on the monitor, she said, "I know this blondie. She was a delinquent in high school, her grades were awful, and she went around bullying the weak to feel important."
"She used to bully Xiaocheng back then too, but after I beat her up twice, she got scared."
"And after that, she never showed up in front of me again."
"I originally thought she was letting things go, but now it seems she's been secretly retaliating against Xiaocheng for a long time!"
"And I knew nothing about any of this."
Su Tao's tone grew increasingly guilty. "Before, when Xiaocheng came home, she would occasionally have scrapes. She was always clumsy, so she'd say she fell, and I didn't think much of it."
"She'd foolishly smile and tell me not to worry. At the time, I just thought she was very sensible and truly good."
"Now it seems those injuries were from being bullied."
Dongfang Yang took a soft breath. "Then why didn't she ever tell you? That blondie mentioned seven thousand over three years, meaning she was bullied for three years?"
"She probably didn't want to implicate me?"
Afraid of getting hurt herself, afraid of being bullied like Xiaocheng, so she hid every injury, returning home with a silly smile, saying—I'm fine, don't worry.
Thinking back carefully, all she ever showed her was a smile!
Su Tao glanced at the surprised Dongfang Yang, hesitated, and then quietly said, "And also, perhaps because of these things I didn't know about, Xiaocheng developed some psychological issues. Then, with further manipulation, that's why everything happened these past two months."
At this, Dongfang Yang suddenly understood.
Everything now made sense.
No wonder he felt that Chi Xiaocheng's personality varied so greatly between then and now; there were so many hidden complexities he hadn't known about.
Thinking of the large pool of fresh red on the floor when he had just entered the room, Dongfang Yang sighed inwardly.
It seemed he had misunderstood Chi Xiaocheng.
The faint suspicion that had lingered was instantly dispelled.
He should talk to Ye Liang later and convince her; Chi Xiaocheng was a pitiful person too.
Seeing Su Tao's spirits were a bit low, Dongfang Yang comforted her, "Although the process was a bit winding, the outcome is good, isn't it?"
"Chi Xiaocheng isn't like she was two months ago either; she's become normal, hasn't she?"
Reconciled with Su Tao.
Reconciled with him too.
The only one left was Ye Liang, right?
But hearing this, Su Tao felt a pang in her heart. "Yes, she's become... normal."
Her smile was a bit forced, and her eyes revealed a hint of unease.
"Let's not talk about that anymore," Dongfang Yang said. "Regarding those people who bullied Chi Xiaocheng, how do you want to handle them? Or perhaps I should do it? I'll dig up everything on them and then make them disappear."
The thunderous methods of a powerful family.
Sending a few people to Siberia to plant potatoes was simply too easy.
However, Su Tao shook her head.
The anger in her eyes was no longer suppressed. "Dongfang Yang, you've already helped me so much, I won't trouble you any further. They dared to treat Xiaocheng like this; I will personally teach them a lesson!"
Thinking of Chi Xiaocheng's loud sobbing earlier, when she feared losing her, Su Tao unconsciously clenched her fists.
No one can bully my Xiaocheng!
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!