You Should’ve Said Earlier that you’re Such a Little Flirt! - Chapter 21

Lin Konglu frowned, her heart skipping a beat. She almost thought she’d misheard. “What did you say?”

Buffy repeated herself. “Surveillance footage. Her exact words were: ‘I have a few clips of surveillance footage—very important footage. I hope to speak with Miss Xu and Miss Lin.'”

“She emphasized several times that this video is vital.”

Surveillance footage…

Hearing those sensitive words, Xu Qingqiong gripped her phone tighter, subconsciously knitting her brows. Isn’t this exactly what they need right now? Why would Wen Lanjing have it? And how did she know they were looking for it?

Suspicion immediately flared in Lin Konglu’s mind.

She found it hard to believe; she felt Wen Lanjing was untrustworthy. It came back to the same point: Wen Lanjing and Ye Jianguo were husband and wife, and Ye Jianguo’s character was beyond reproach—in the worst way possible.

Besides, could it really be this coincidental? They just happened to need footage, and Wen Lanjing just happened to have it. It was far too suspicious.

Buffy remained silent for a few seconds before she couldn’t help but mention a detail she’d noticed, her tone tinged with sympathy. “Ms. Wen looked like she’d been a victim of domestic violence this afternoon. When she came upstairs to find me, I saw bruises on her face.”

Buffy loathed men who resorted to domestic violence—men with no real ability, only hollow pride, who vented the frustrations they gathered from the world onto their wives and children. It was pathetic. Because the upstairs study was well-insulated, she hadn’t heard anything. It wasn’t until she was leaving that evening that the driver told her what had happened downstairs.

After hearing the story, she’d wanted to go back and give Ye Jianguo a few more kicks herself.

She didn’t know exactly what was happening on Xu Qingqiong’s end, but she privately sympathized with Wen Lanjing. Having seen the swollen handprint on the woman’s face up close, she felt pity, which is why she agreed to pass on the message.

Lin Konglu remained silent for a few seconds on the other end, lost in thought. Finally, she spoke: “Send me her contact information. I’ll reach out to her.”

…

The next morning, as Lin Konglu sat in the cafe waiting for Wen Lanjing, her back ramrod straight, she still harbored deep doubts. After careful consideration, she had decided not to tell Xu Qingqiong about this meeting yet.

If the footage was a fake—some trick played by Ye Jianguo’s side—or if the footage was real but inadmissible as evidence, it would all be for nothing. To be given hope only to have it snatched away was a devastating emotional roller coaster. She didn’t want Xu Qingqiong to go through that again.

Last night, Lin Konglu had woken up in the middle of the night to find her limbs entangled with Xu Qingqiong’s. She felt hot and realized something was wrong. When she turned on the light, she saw Xu Qingqiong’s eyes squeezed shut, trapped in a nightmare. She was crying in her sleep; when Lin reached out to touch her, her face was covered in warm tears.

Xu’s hands and feet were ice cold, her sense of security shattered. She clung to Lin as if her life depended on it; the moment Lin tried to pull away, she would wrap herself around her again.

Near dawn, Lin Konglu gave her a sedative. Only after seeing her fall into a deep sleep did she leave to meet Wen Lanjing.

Lin picked up her water glass and took a sip, steadying her thoughts as she watched the cafe entrance. Soon, at the appointed time, a familiar figure appeared.

Wen Lanjing was wearing a mask and a long-sleeved outfit that completely covered her arms. she pushed the door open cautiously, looking far less confident and natural than she had the day before. There was a look of trepidation in her eyes.

It seemed Buffy was right. However, Lin Konglu did not let her guard down. Her gaze swept over the woman with calculated scrutiny.

She made a slight inviting gesture. “Ms. Wen, please, have a seat.”

Wen Lanjing nodded at her uneasily, murmuring a greeting before pulling out a chair. Lin Konglu didn’t rush into business. Instead, with a calm and composed expression, she signaled the waiter. She asked Wen Lanjing, “What would you like to drink?”

Wen Lanjing didn’t want coffee. Her heart was racing; she wanted to get straight to the point. She shook her head quickly. “Miss Lin, there’s no need. Let’s just talk about the business at hand.”

Unfazed, Lin Konglu gave a slight nod, her legs crossed. She didn’t give the woman a chance to refuse. “A glass of water for her, please.”

The water was served quickly. Wen Lanjing clutched the glass, peering at Lin Konglu through the rising steam. For some reason, she felt intimidated. Lin looked like someone you didn’t want to cross.

Only then did Lin Konglu look at her, gesturing with her chin. “Go ahead.”

Wen Lanjing shifted uncomfortably. “Say what?”

Lin Konglu’s tone was leisurely, showing no sign of urgency as she listed her questions: “Three things: What exactly do you have? How did you get it? And what are the specific contents?”

Wen Lanjing tightened her grip on the glass. She hadn’t expected Lin Konglu to be this assertive or formidable. When she’d seen her with Xu Qingqiong yesterday, Lin had seemed a bit cold, but not this icy.

Yes, icy. Wen Lanjing was certain she wasn’t misreading it. There was an air of ruthless indifference.

What she didn’t know was that this was Lin Konglu’s true personality. Humans are naturally deceptive; in front of someone they like, they pretend to be harmless. In front of anyone else, the mask isn’t necessary.

Wen Lanjing hesitated, glancing at the empty seat beside Lin. Avoiding the question, she asked, “Where is Miss Xu?”

Lin Konglu let out a short, dismissive laugh. “Does it matter if she’s here?”

Wen Lanjing pursed her lips, her voice dropping. “Of course it matters. It concerns her, after all.”

“Does it concern her, or do you just think she’s easier to talk to? Easier to squeeze for demands?” Lin Konglu set her glass down on the table with a sharp thud, looking at her with a half-smile. “Your calculations are a bit too loud, don’t you think?”

Under Lin’s piercing gaze, Wen Lanjing felt as if her hidden motives were being stripped bare. That had indeed been her plan. From the moment she entered the cafe, she had been projecting weakness—from her posture to her expression. The uneasy brow, the “accidental” glimpse of the bruise behind her mask—all were signals designed to show she was fragile, harmless, and in need of help.

If Xu Qingqiong were the one sitting here, she likely would have softened quickly, making it easy for Wen Lanjing to get what she wanted.

She adjusted her posture, smoothing her hair. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’ve misunderstood me, Miss Lin.”

Lin Konglu took another sip of water and smiled thinly. “Perhaps. I do have a rather cynical mind.” She paused. “Can we get to the point now?”

Wen Lanjing picked at her fingers. “Fine.”

They had moved into that house in May, the day after Grandma Xu’s funeral. She had originally copied the surveillance footage because, after moving in, Ye Jianguo’s temper had become erratic. He would fly into rages over nothing. Sensing trouble, she thought she’d keep the footage as a safety net.

Initially, she truly didn’t know what had happened; Ye Jianguo certainly wouldn’t tell her. The act of copying it was almost incidental. It wasn’t until she grew curious as to why Ye Jianguo was so intent on deleting those specific files that she secretly watched them while he was away… She hadn’t expected to see that.

She had met Grandma Xu twice. She was a good woman who had earnestly advised Wen Lanjing to reconsider, to not rush into marriage with Ye Jianguo, and to spend more time getting to know him first.

But she hadn’t listened. At the time, Ye Jianguo was kind to her, generous with money, and above all, handsome and sophisticated. She wanted a better life, so she dove in headfirst.

Only after the wedding did she realize that Ye Jianguo was a chauvinist—vain, obsessed with his pride, and unable to handle the slightest setback. Most importantly, perhaps because he had spent so much of his life living off others, he was incredibly controlling. If the slightest thing went wrong, he would scream. Eventually, it escalated to physical abuse.

By the time she realized her mistake, it was too late for a simple divorce. She deeply regretted not listening to Grandma Xu. And after discovering that Ye Jianguo was essentially a murderer, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She had nightmares lying next to him at night, never daring to sleep soundly. She was terrified that one day, in a fit of rage, he would do the same to her.

The surveillance footage became a double-edged sword. If Ye Jianguo found out she had copied it, he would never let her go. But she couldn’t bring herself to destroy it; it was her only leverage.

When she saw Xu Qingqiong return from abroad, she began considering how to use the footage to secure her own interests. Yesterday, she had tried to tip Xu Qingqiong off outside the study and even left a note, but the note seemed to have gone unnoticed. She had decided that if Xu didn’t find anything during her cleanup, she would find another way to let her know.

Hearing this, Lin Konglu couldn’t help but sneer. “Why couldn’t you just tell her directly? Or is a human life not that important to you?”

Wen Lanjing avoided her eyes and ignored the question. “I know you need this. I can give you the footage. And I won’t say a word about this to anyone else.”

Lin Konglu tapped her finger on the table, her gaze turning stern. “And your price?”

She didn’t believe for a second that Wen Lanjing would hand over the video for nothing. If there were no strings attached, she wouldn’t have asked for this meeting.

Wen Lanjing looked up at her, then quickly looked back down at her hands. Her voice was strained. “I want a divorce from Ye Jianguo. During the process, I need my safety guaranteed. I’m not going back there.”

“And… I want money.”

Lin Konglu replied, “The first request: if the footage is usable, Ye Jianguo will go to prison. A divorce will be easy.”

“The second request: fine. I can provide you with an absolutely safe place to stay. As long as you don’t wander off, there won’t be a problem.”

“The third request,” Lin Konglu leaned back against her chair, her eyes narrowing as she asked bluntly, “How much do you want?”

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