She’s Being Naughty - Chapter 22

The silence inside the car was terrifying.

Xu Zhaoyi stared at Jiang Yao’s slightly trembling hands, that single sentence echoing repeatedly in her mind.

“If something happens to me in the future, do you know where the evidence is hidden?”

When Jiang Yao said it, her tone was calm, as natural as asking “What’s for dinner?”

But the question itself was as heavy as a stone, crashing violently into Xu Zhaoyi’s heart.

“What… what are you talking about?” Xu Zhaoyi’s voice tightened. “What evidence? Why would something happen to you?”

Jiang Yao didn’t answer immediately.

She focused intently on driving, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. It wasn’t until they hit a red light that she turned her head to look at Xu Zhaoyi.

The glow of the streetlights filtered through the window, falling across her face. In the dim, yellowish light, her complexion appeared hauntingly pale.

“Zhaozhao,” she said softly, “Listen carefully to what I’m about to say. You must remember this. It’s very important.”

Xu Zhaoyi’s heart began to race. “Okay, tell me.”

“I do have some evidence in my possession,” Jiang Yao said slowly. “It’s regarding certain illegal things members of the Jiang family have done. If this evidence is made public, it will cause them a massive amount of trouble.”

She paused. “That’s why they are doing everything in their power to take it back. I’ve kept it hidden all this time, but now… I might not be able to hold onto it much longer.”

“Why can’t you hold onto it?” Xu Zhaoyi asked. “Didn’t you say you’d handle it?”

“Originally, I could have.” Jiang Yao gave a bitter smile. “But recent events have made me realize… I may have underestimated their resolve.”

She glanced at the rearview mirror, her brows furrowing slightly. “At tonight’s gala, people from the Jiang family were there.”

Xu Zhaoyi suddenly remembered the young man who had approached her. “That… guy who talked to me?”

“Not him.” Jiang Yao shook her head. “Someone else. I saw him, and he saw me. We… said hello.”

The way she said “said hello” was strange. Xu Zhaoyi realized that this “greeting” was anything but simple.

“Did he give you trouble?”

“You could say that,” Jiang Yao replied. “He gave me a warning.”

“What kind of warning?”

“He told me to hand over the items within three days, otherwise…” Jiang Yao smiled, though the expression was cold. “They won’t just be targeting me anymore.”

Xu Zhaoyi understood instantly.

They would target her. Or… her father.

“So,” Jiang Yao turned to look at her earnestly, “I’m going to tell you where the evidence is hidden. If anything happens to me three days from now, you go and get it. And then…”

She faltered.

“And then what?” Xu Zhaoyi pressed.

“Then you have to make a choice,” Jiang Yao said slowly. “You can hand the evidence to your father and let him use it to protect the company and yourselves. Or…”

“Or?”

“Or you can destroy the evidence.” Jiang Yao watched her. “The choice is in your hands.”

Xu Zhaoyi was completely stunned. Why would she choose to destroy it? If that evidence could protect them, why get rid of it?

“I don’t understand,” she admitted. “Why destroy it?”

Jiang Yao fell silent for a moment.

The light turned green, and she began to drive again. The car glided through the night streets, the neon lights of the city flowing past them like a river of color.

“Because that evidence is dangerous,” Jiang Yao finally spoke. “It’s not just dangerous to the Jiang family; it’s dangerous to whoever holds it. It’s like… holding a bomb. You never know when it might go off.”

She glanced at Xu Zhaoyi. “If you give it to your father, it might protect you for a while, but it could also bring you even greater trouble. Those people in the Jiang family… they won’t just let it go.”

“And if I destroy it?”

“If you destroy it, the danger disappears,” Jiang Yao said. “But you also lose the card you could have used to protect yourselves.”

She paused. “So it’s a choice. You either take the risk of holding the bomb, or you throw it away but you throw away your protection along with it.”

Xu Zhaoyi stared at her profile. “What about you? What do you want me to do?”

Jiang Yao didn’t answer right away. She drove on, eyes on the road, remaining silent for a long time. It wasn’t until they were almost home that she whispered, “I just want you… to be safe.”

She didn’t tell her which one to choose. She only said she wanted her to be safe.

Those words struck Xu Zhaoyi’s heart with the force of a physical blow.

“Tell me,” she said. “Where is the evidence hidden?”

Jiang Yao glanced at her and then said, “In the house. In my walk-in closet, there is a vanity table. In the bottom most drawer, there is a hidden compartment. The switch for the compartment is on the inner top-left corner of the drawer.”

She described it in great detail, as if she had memorized it a thousand times.

“Open the compartment, and there’s a USB drive inside. All the evidence is in there.”

Xu Zhaoyi committed every word to memory. Then she asked, “The password? Does the USB have a password?”

“Yes,” Jiang Yao said. “The password is your birthday.”

Xu Zhaoyi froze. “What?”

“Your birthday,” Jiang Yao repeated. “Year, month, day, eight digits.” She smiled slightly. “I know you might find it strange that I used your birthday. But I thought… this way, you would never forget it.”

The explanation sounded logical. But Xu Zhaoyi felt instinctively that there was more to it than just that.

The car pulled into the villa’s garage. After parking, Jiang Yao didn’t get out immediately. She sat in the driver’s seat, hands still gripping the steering wheel, head bowed as if deep in thought.

“Jiang Yao,” Xu Zhaoyi called out to her. “Tell me, what do you plan to do?”

Jiang Yao looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“The three day deadline,” Xu Zhaoyi said. “How do you plan to handle it?”

Jiang Yao was silent for a few seconds before saying, “I have other ways.”

“What ways?”

“I can’t say yet.” Jiang Yao shook her head. “But I promise, I will do everything in my power to make sure the worst doesn’t happen.”

Xu Zhaoyi stared into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your hands were shaking just now.”

Jiang Yao reflexively withdrew her hands. “It’s just a bit cold.”

“It’s summer,” Xu Zhaoyi said bluntly.

Jiang Yao laughed again, but this time she looked exhausted. “Zhaozhao, you’re getting harder and harder to fool.”

She unbuckled her seatbelt. “Let’s go. Let’s go home.”

They got out of the car together and entered the villa. The housekeeper was already asleep, leaving only a single nightlight on in the living room. Jiang Yao said she was tired and went straight upstairs to rest.

Xu Zhaoyi stood there, watching her disappear around the corner of the stairs. That sense of unease was growing stronger by the second.

She thought about everything Jiang Yao had said. The three day deadline. The possibility of something happening. The evidence. Her heart began to race again.

After going upstairs, she didn’t go to her own room. Instead, she went to Jiang Yao’s.

The door wasn’t locked. She pushed it open gently. The lights were still on, and Jiang Yao was sitting at her vanity, removing her makeup.

Seeing her in the mirror, Jiang Yao paused. “What’s wrong?”

“You…” Xu Zhaoyi walked in and closed the door. “Are you sure you don’t need help?”

Jiang Yao turned around. “How do you want to help?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Zhaoyi said honestly. “But I can do something. For example… I could help you keep an eye on those people, or… help you contact someone you trust.”

Looking at her serious expression, Jiang Yao let out a soft sigh.

“Zhaozhao,” she said, “You really don’t need to do this. This is between me and the Jiang family. You shouldn’t be dragged into it.”

“But I’m already in it,” Xu Zhaoyi countered. “That man tonight, didn’t he use me to threaten you? They’ve already factored me in. So, I can’t just do nothing.”

Jiang Yao stared at her for a long time. Then, she stood up, walked over to Xu Zhaoyi, and reached out to gently brush her hand against the younger girl’s face.

“You really are a lot like my mother.”

Xu Zhaoyi was taken aback. “Like her how?”

“Stubborn, just like her.” Jiang Yao smiled. “She was the same back then. She knew perfectly well that marrying into the Jiang family would bring nothing but trouble, but she went ahead with it anyway.”

Her hand was warm and comforting. Xu Zhaoyi didn’t pull away; she just looked at her.

“Did your mother… love your father very much?” she asked.

Jiang Yao’s hand faltered before she pulled it back.

“I suppose,” she said. “But sometimes, love can’t solve everything.”

She walked to the window and pulled back the curtain, looking out at the night. “That’s why I choose not to be easily swayed by emotions. If I stay a bit more rational and a bit colder, maybe I’ll live a little longer.”

Her voice was light, but Xu Zhaoyi could hear the exhaustion and a trace of irony hidden within it. It was as if she were mocking her own words.

“And right now,” Xu Zhaoyi walked over slowly to stand beside her, “Are you acting out of logic, or out of emotion?”

Jiang Yao turned to look at her, her eyes bright. “What do you think?”

Xu Zhaoyi couldn’t guess. She always felt that Jiang Yao was a complex person, rational and calm on the surface, but likely hiding a deep well of emotion within. She just refused to show it.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

Jiang Yao laughed. “I’m not sure either.” She paused. “But I am sure of one thing.”

“What?”

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Jiang Yao said with total conviction. “That’s a promise I made to myself.”

Looking into those earnest eyes, Xu Zhaoyi felt a surge of impulse. She reached out and gently took Jiang Yao’s hand.

“Then I won’t let them hurt you either.”

Jiang Yao’s hand trembled slightly in hers. Then she smiled, a gentle, warm smile.

“Okay,” she said. “We’ll protect each other.”

The two of them stood by the window in silence for a long time, watching the night. Eventually, Jiang Yao said softly, “Go to sleep. It’s late.”

Xu Zhaoyi nodded, let go of her hand, and turned to leave. At the door, she remembered something and looked back.

“Jiang Yao.”

“Yes?”

“That three day deadline… when does the countdown start?”

Jiang Yao was silent for a moment. “Starting tomorrow.”

That would be Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Only three days left.

Xu Zhaoyi’s heart sank. “I understand. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

She stepped out of the room and closed the door softly. Standing in the hallway, she stared at the closed door and made a silent vow. No matter what happened, she would protect Jiang Yao. Just as Jiang Yao was protecting her.

She went back to her room, took out her phone, and sent a message to Zhou Xiaoxiao:

“Do you know anyone… who is an expert in cybersecurity?”