You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 18

Her heart stopped for a fleeting moment. Xu Qingqiong lost all sensation, staring blankly at the screen in a dazed stupor, overwhelmed by a suffocating illusion of drowning.

Standing behind her, Lin Konglu’s gaze was fixed intently on the monitor. Realizing something was terribly wrong, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. The moment the call connected, she spoke with rapid-fire urgency: “Barfu, bring two reliable people over. I’ll send you the address in a moment.”

“Specifically, I need you to pack up the books here and move them to my house in the suburbs.” Lin Konglu was about to say they should clear out the other belongings as well, but she caught sight of Xu Qingqiong’s expression out of the corner of her eye and paused. “Don’t touch anything else.”

“Also, contact Lawyer Zhuang. Schedule a meeting as soon as possible—the sooner, the better.”

She pocketed her phone and rested a hand on Xu Qingqiong’s shoulder, hesitating. “Qingqiong?”

Xu Qingqiong’s eyes were bloodshot. Her breathing was shallow and ragged as she turned to look at her.

After a moment, she suddenly stood up, brushing heavily past Lin Konglu’s shoulder, and stormed out of the room.

Fearing that her emotions might drive her to do something reckless, Lin Konglu followed closely at her heels.

Ye Jianguo was standing not far from the room. Having been startled earlier by Lin Konglu’s sharp glare, he had reluctantly exited the study, but he hadn’t given up. He harbored a petty conviction that the old woman must have left something for Xu Qingqiong, and he was lurking nearby, waiting for a chance to sneak back in and observe.

He didn’t expect Xu Qingqiong to come charging out so suddenly, and he jumped in fright.

Seeing him, Xu Qingqiong stopped in her tracks. She turned a cold, piercing gaze toward him, her eyes swirling with intense emotion—disgust, fury, and raw hatred.

Cowed by her gaze, Ye Jianguo instinctively took a step back, momentarily terrified that she had discovered something. But a quick second thought reassured him: the surveillance footage in the study had been deleted. There was no evidence. He puffed out his chest in a show of false bravado, stepped forward, and barked with a frown, “What’s with that look?”

Xu Qingqiong’s lips were pressed thin. Without a word, she swung her arm and delivered a ruthless slap across Ye Jianguo’s face.

Slap!

The atmosphere froze instantly. A deathly silence spread through the hallway.

Wen Lanjing stood beside Ye Jianguo, her hands wringing together nervously. Her expression was unsettled and laced with unease as she watched Xu Qingqiong.

The two primary actors were too emotionally volatile to notice her, but Lin Konglu spared a fraction of her attention to sweep a glance over the woman.

Likely not expecting Lin Konglu to notice her, Wen Lanjing panicked the moment their eyes met and quickly looked away.

Stunned by the slap, Ye Jianguo’s brain went numb. He instinctively clutched his face, his rage boiling over. His speech became slurred with anger as he pointed a finger at Xu Qingqiong. “You… you…”

Without hesitation, Xu Qingqiong swung her arm again, landing a second slap squarely on the other side of his face.

Having been struck twice in quick succession, Ye Jianguo was floored by the realization that she actually dared to hit him. Feeling his dignity stripped away, he lost all reason and lunged forward to retaliate. “Fuck you!”

Xu Qingqiong stared him down coldly, her chest heaving.

Lin Konglu stepped in immediately, grabbing Xu Qingqiong’s hand and shielding her. “Qingqiong.”

Seeing Lin Konglu in the way, Ye Jianguo nearly spat out a curse but managed to swallow it. He held his throbbing face. “President Lin, this is a family matter. Step aside.”

Lin Konglu had no desire to waste words on him. She glanced to the side and gave her driver a subtle signal. Understanding perfectly, the driver—a tall, imposing man—stepped forward and stood in front of Ye Jianguo, physically separating the two parties.

“!!” Ye Jianguo’s eyes looked ready to burst from their sockets with rage. However, knowing he was no match for the driver, he could only seethe in silence. His blood pressure soared, and his head throbbed with dizzying anger.

Lin Konglu leaned in slightly, looking into Xu Qingqiong’s eyes, and whispered, “Qingqiong, calm down first.”

Xu Qingqiong’s chest was still heaving violently. Her eyes remained fixed on Ye Jianguo with murderous intent as she tried to wrench her hand from Lin Konglu’s grip. “Let go.”

Lin Konglu didn’t let go. She called her name again. “Qingqiong…”

“Just calm down for a moment, okay?”

Lin Konglu knew Xu Qingqiong would listen to her.

With the surveillance footage gone, there was no proof. Becoming hysterical would achieve nothing; it would only make Ye Jianguo more guarded. The priority now was to find other evidence to ensure he didn’t escape justice.

A few seconds later, under Lin Konglu’s steady gaze, Xu Qingqiong’s resistance faded. With reddened eyes, she released her grip, turned, and walked toward the exit.

Lin Konglu motioned for the driver to stay behind to wait for Barfu and to ensure Ye Jianguo didn’t touch anything in the study before she hurried after her.

Sitting in the car, Xu Qingqiong’s mind was still a blank void. She hadn’t been calm since the discovery—no one could stay rational in the face of such a revelation.

She forced herself to try and settle, but as she sat with her head bowed, her fingers resting on her knees wouldn’t stop trembling. Her face was deathly pale.

Lin Konglu watched her with deep concern.

Xu Qingqiong tried to find a way out of this nightmare, but her thoughts were a tangled mess. She turned to Lin Konglu with a desperate, pleading look. When she spoke, her voice was unnervingly dry and hollow. “What… what should we do?”

She had no one to lean on and no one to help her. Except for Lin Konglu.

At the very least, Lin Konglu was far more composed than she was.

Lin Konglu cupped Xu Qingqiong’s face, her thumb gently wiping away unshed tears. Her voice was resolute. “Don’t worry. We will definitely find a way.”

Just then, Barfu called. She had already contacted Lawyer Zhuang and explained the basic situation.

Lawyer Zhuang was the long-term legal counsel for Ses—highly capable, but his expertise lay in commercial disputes and copyright infringement. He wasn’t confident in a case of this nature.

Consequently, Lawyer Zhuang had put them in touch with another lawyer, a Mr. Chen, who specialized in criminal law.

If their suspicions were true, this was undeniably a criminal matter.

Lin Konglu squeezed Xu Qingqiong’s cold, trembling hand and made a prompt decision. “We’re going to see the lawyer first.”

Xu Qingqiong bit her lip, her face pale, and nodded.

Lin Konglu took the wheel while Xu Qingqiong sat in the passenger seat. They sped toward the law firm.

A journey that should have taken thirty minutes was cut down to twenty.

Because they had coordinated in advance, Lawyer Chen was already waiting for them in his office.

The two sat on the sofa. Lawyer Chen poured them each a cup of tea and sat down opposite them.

Xu Qingqiong fought for composure as she explained the events and the suspicious points one by one. Lin Konglu filled in the missing details.

After hearing all the information, Lawyer Chen helped them organize the facts. He started with a blunt conclusion: “In this situation, the existing medicine bottle cannot be considered evidence. Even if there are fingerprints on it, it’s not enough.”

“If the surveillance footage were still available, that might have served as evidence.”

Hearing this, Xu Qingqiong’s heart sank. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it fruitlessly.

“Actually…” The lawyer continued, offering a sobering reality check. “Even if there were surveillance footage, it might not necessarily prove anything. If the suspect simply failed to take active measures to save the patient when the illness struck…” She paused. “In layman’s terms, what we call ‘failing to come to the rescue.'”

“In such a case, there is often no legal liability.”

“According to the law, if there is no pre-existing legal duty to assist, the person can only be condemned on a moral level, but cannot be punished through the legal system.”

Xu Qingqiong froze.

“This is why these situations are very difficult; they fall into a very hard-to-define grey area.” Lawyer Chen tapped her finger on the desk. “If you want to prosecute, you need clear evidence to prove that the suspect posed a direct threat to the victim’s life, resulting in their death.”

She emphasized: “It must be definitive evidence.”

Lin Konglu frowned, taking Xu Qingqiong’s hand. “Can you be more specific? What kind of evidence are we looking for?”

The lawyer’s tone grew professional and detached. “For example, proof that after the victim had already obtained their emergency medication, the suspect intentionally and maliciously snatched it away, leading to the victim’s death… things like that.”

“Of course, surveillance footage is best. If you don’t have that, you can try to find other evidence. Past medical records, for instance…”

“But,” she said quite frankly, “I’ll tell you straight: the chances are slim.”

Support You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt!