Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Tang Yue wasn't injured, but he was terrified.

He had never really wanted to die; he just wanted to gamble on Ye Zhiqiu's slight affection for him.

So, as he gritted his teeth and stepped over the railing, he was genuinely petrified.

At first, he could cling on to that sliver of hope.

But when that hope shattered, and he inadvertently looked down, his hands went so weak that he couldn't even hold onto the railing anymore.

If it weren't for the speed of those special police officers, he might have fallen.

Whether from sheer terror or utter despair, Tang Yue remained dazed and silent on the hospital bed.

Apart from Ye Zhiqiu, he had almost no other friends here.

Thus, in the ward, apart from the teaching assistant, there was no one else around.

"There's still work at the school," Teaching Assistant Zhu said gently to Tang Yue, "Later, I'll notify your family to come and keep you company, to cheer you up, okay?"

Hearing that his parents would be notified, Tang Yue finally snapped back to reality.

"I'm fine," he quickly raised his eyes.

"But with you like this, the school can't be at ease," Teaching Assistant Zhu said worriedly.

"I'm really fine now, Senior," Tang Yue straightened himself a bit, "I just got carried away by the rumors at the time, causing trouble for you and the school."

"Sorry," he said, sincerely and respectfully.

Teaching Assistant Zhu looked at him seriously for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"That's good," he said, "Making mistakes isn't a big deal. Life is long, and who knows what will happen next. We still have opportunities ahead."

"Opportunities?" Hearing this, Tang Yue seemed to smile slightly, then fell silent again.

His actions hadn't brought him any opportunities.

Instead, they reignited the scandal that was already at its peak.

With such a commotion, although the area upstairs was cleared, the crowd downstairs was dense.

The scene had been captured on countless phones.

Now, videos of him threatening to jump off the building to pressure Ye Zhiqiu were everywhere on the school forum and Weibo.

Since unconventional means were used, it meant conventional methods had failed to prove his innocence.

This act didn't move Ye Zhiqiu; instead, it solidified the accusation of plagiarism against him.

Moreover, threatening suicide caused significant trouble for the school and wasted public resources like fire and police services.

To the outside world, it didn't evoke sympathy but rather criticism.

Even the competition organizers, who initially gave him three days to prove himself, officially announced the disqualification of his work shortly after the incident.

Tang Yue sat blankly on the hospital bed, his mind empty.

"Senior," he suddenly asked, "If I say I didn't copy Ye Zhiqiu, would you believe me?"

The teaching assistant didn't believe him, but considering Tang Yue's current state, he reluctantly nodded, "Yes, I do."

Tang Yue looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled, falling silent again.

Although he tried his best to hide this from his family,

in today's highly connected world, even if his parents didn't see it on Weibo, someone in the village surely did.

Especially since the incident had been trending for so long and was escalating further.

Soon, Tang Yue received a call from his mother.

She cried and scolded him.

"... How could you be so foolish? The family spent so much money sending you to study and learn skills, not to disgrace us. Your father doesn't know about this yet, but once he does, how will he face others? You've disgraced our family..."

Tang Yue listened expressionlessly until the call ended.

Teaching Assistant Zhu had just stepped out to take a call, leaving a temporary caregiver from the hospital pamphleteers watching him from the door.

Tang Yue got up, went into the bathroom, locked the door, and called Tao Ruoqing.

"Mrs. Ye," he asked, "Did you see what happened to me?"

Tao Ruoqing was busy revising the guest list for Ye Zhixia's wedding.

She was a very face-conscious person.

After successfully becoming the mistress, due to her growing belly, she and Ye Hongxian had rushed their wedding to avoid rumors.

For many years, she felt deeply regretful about it.

So, she always thought that when her children got married, she would make sure to give them grand ceremonies.

Looking at the nearly empty guest list, Tao Ruoqing felt more pained than if she were being killed.

Especially now, it wasn't just about the scale of the wedding; the most important issue was Gao Wenye, that beast...

The pen in her hand snapped with a click, and Tao Ruoqing's usually perfect expression finally cracked, revealing a deep fissure.

It was only after the phone rang for a while that she slowly reached out to answer it.

Seeing Tang Yue's name on the screen, she felt thoroughly annoyed.

Quickly analyzing Tang Yue's remaining value in her mind, Tao Ruoqing still picked up the call.

"What is it?" she asked, her tone unusually cold, unlike her usual warmth.

"Mrs. Ye," Tang Yue said, "you must have seen what happened to me, right?"

"I did see it," Tao Ruoqing replied. "Unfortunately, you never understood Xiao Qiu's inherent coldness. With such a promising future ahead of him, how could he allow you to hold him back?"

Tang Yue's hatred for Ye Zhiqiu didn't need any further fuel from Tao Ruoqing.

He had come to Tao Ruoqing today for another reason.

"I'm at my wits' end now," Tang Yue said, staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Now, it's time for me to seek some return on my investment, Mrs. Ye..."

He paused. "My future now rests entirely in your hands."

"What have you invested? You merely reported on Xiao Qiu's activities and said a few words for me to prevent him from going astray. Even the words you used were taught by me," Tao Ruoqing laughed, her impatience almost tangible. "Moreover, haven't I given you plenty over the years? If you hadn't been so greedy and pushed yourself into a corner, you could have graduated well and earned your degree. With all the resources I have, why would I ever neglect you?"

"It's your own greed that led you to this predicament," Tao Ruoqing paused, then coldly added, "Why blame me instead of looking at your own mistakes?"

Tang Yue laughed, looking at his distorted face in the mirror, finding it terrifying even to himself.

He couldn't understand how things had come to this point, but he was too tired to explain anymore.

No matter how he explained, in front of Ye Zhiqiu's powerful and complete evidence chain, he was just a helpless clown jumping around.

Yet behind that twisted face, Qin Jianhe's tall and upright figure slowly emerged, as clear and cold as ice.

This hopeless infatuation, already unattainable, was magnified to the extreme in this moment.

The stark contrast in the mirror plunged Tang Yue into despair.

He wanted to scream, to howl, to mercilessly trample and destroy everything in front of him...

But in the end, he did nothing.

"Looks like," he heard his own voice say, "Ye Zhixia hasn't told you anything yet?"

"Told me what?" Tao Ruoqing asked guardedly.

"All those recordings of your schemes against Xiao Qiu over the years, I've saved them all," Tang Yue laughed. "What do you think Mr. Ye would think of you if I exposed these? What about those wealthy wives you've been fawning over for years? And the Ye family's assets—do you really think you can keep them under your control?"

The other end went quiet, and Tang Yue could hear Tao Ruoqing's heavy breathing.

He pressed his advantage.

"I just want a job, a position," he said. "For you, it's just a matter of making a call. For Gao Wenye, it's even less of an issue. As an entertainment company, Xinye needs stylists, right?"

"Would you rather have Ye Zhixia and Gao Wenye be ridiculed in the industry or put me in the company to continue shining?" Tang Yue smiled. "I believe this choice isn't difficult for you, is it?"

Hearing this, Tao Ruoqing clenched her teeth tightly.

Ye Zhixia and Gao Wenye's relationship was already full of leaks.

How could they withstand more?

She knew better than anyone that one should not provoke a mad dog or chase a cornered enemy.

"Fine," she said, adjusting her tone, though her expression remained icy and sinister.

"But you still need to finish your studies," she continued. "Qi Xin's business is doing better and better, and your Uncle Ye's attitude towards him has recently changed. I will try to facilitate a good marriage between him and Xiao Qiu. If I help you enter Gao Wenye's company now, it will only make Xiao Qiu resentful and wary of me, which would complicate matters."

The line went silent, neither speaking, as if engaged in a silent battle of wills.

Perhaps believing he had evidence to rely on, Tang Yue finally responded after a while.

"Fine," he said. "I'll trust you one more time."

After hanging up, Tao Ruoqing's face darkened rapidly.

She paced anxiously around the room for a moment before stopping by the window.

She needed to get Ye Hongxian to accept Qi Xin soon.

She must hasten the marriage between Ye Zhiqiu and Qi Xin to completely ruin him.

Otherwise, if Tang Yue detonated this bomb prematurely, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In the morning, fearing it might affect Ye Zhiqiu's work on gathering evidence, Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun refrained from disturbing him. Instead, they became online warriors, spreading the truth about Ye Zhiqiu on Weibo.

Now that things seemed to be settling down, both waited outside the Q.L building early in the afternoon to pick up Ye Zhiqiu after work.

*

Checking the time repeatedly, they finally reached 5:30 PM, and Li Shaojun immediately called.

Without mentioning they were waiting, Li Shaojun asked, "Still busy?"

"Almost done," Ye Zhiqiu's voice came through, no different from usual. "Why, are you here to pick me up?"

Li Shaojun: "..."

"Um," he had to say, "he's downstairs, but you go ahead and take care of your business; we're fine."

"Got it," Ye Zhiqiu said, hanging up the phone.

The half-finished draping on the mannequin was set aside as Ye Zhiqiu put away his tools, shut down his computer, packed up, and headed downstairs.

As he walked toward the elevator, he sent a message to Qin Jianhe, his head lowered.

Despite it being rush hour, the number of people in the elevator lobby was minimal due to the unique nature of design work.

But as fate would have it, Ye Zhiqiu looked up after sending his message and saw Zhou Lang waiting for the elevator.

Since returning from Fashion Week, Zhou Lang had toned down his behavior somewhat.

Firstly, Qin Jianhe had made an exception by bringing Zhao Zhi back early and persuading him to step down, which had a deterrent effect on him.

Secondly, even though Ye Zhiqiu wasn't present for the last two shows, his three exhibits narrowly surpassed Zhou Lang, who usually held the top sales position.

Moreover, Ye Zhiqiu was still in school and also working part-time on a film set, so he spent less time at the company than most employees.

Even when he did come in, he mostly worked in his office, buried in his tasks.

Privately, it wasn't easy for Zhou Lang to encounter him either.

Thus, although there were undercurrents recently, things appeared relatively calm on the surface.

However, Ye Zhiqiu's position at Q.L was becoming increasingly stable, causing Zhou Lang considerable anxiety.

Not only had his outstanding performance at Fashion Week attracted attention from other brands, but the company had also specially invited Zhang Qunqun to model his new women's collection, garnering widespread acclaim.

This led to a surge in sales of Ye Zhiqiu's already popular items on the official website, making them highly sought after.

To date, the top three most reserved items on the Q.L website all bore Ye Zhiqiu's name as the designer.

Most importantly, Ye Zhiqiu had developed several new factories on his own.

Even trying to outcompete him in resources was no longer easy.

Furthermore, he had gained the favor of Zhao Yunzhuang and smoothly joined the production team at Building No. 8.

Now, while many didn't know Zhou Lang, almost everyone knew Ye Zhiqiu.

Zhou Lang, never one to accept defeat, became more determined to kick Ye Zhiqiu out of the industry after each incident, but he hadn't found the right opportunity yet.

He thought today's plagiarism scandal might be the perfect chance.

However, Ye Zhiqiu didn't leave his office all day, and when they finally met, the issue had already been resolved.

Zhou Lang couldn't help but feel frustrated, having spent the whole day playing out scenarios in his mind.

"Teacher Xiao Ye, you didn't have a good day, did you?" Zhou Lang asked with a hidden meaning, standing beside the elevator.

"No," Ye Zhiqiu smiled.

"Well," Zhou Lang continued, "after all, staying on the trending topics is something many try to achieve but can't. But Teacher Xiao Ye, isn't it a bit too cold towards your old friend? He's almost driven to jump off a building, and you don't even go to see him. Would you let him jump if he really did?"

"The path is his choice," Ye Zhiqiu smiled, hinting, "whether it's a broad avenue or a cliff, it's never in my hands."

They stared at each other for a moment, one gloomy and sullen, the other smiling faintly.

Even the elevator's arrival went unnoticed.

Finally, Sun Chaoyang, standing next to Zhou Lang, coughed.

"Teachers," he reminded, "the elevator is here."

Zhou Lang had vowed that during the spring/summer fashion week in September and October, he would surpass Ye Zhiqiu and reclaim the championship.

Recently, not only was he working tirelessly to gather materials and create designs, often staying late, but everyone in his team was also under immense pressure.

While Ye Zhiqiu's team had long gone home, Zhou Lang's team was still working overtime with him.

This time, Zhou Lang wasn't leaving work; he was just going down with Sun Chaoyang to get food.

But after exchanging a few sharp words with Ye Zhiqiu, he lost his appetite.

"Bring me a meal," he said coldly to Sun Chaoyang, "I need to finish smoothing out that draft."

"Sure, Teacher Zhou," Sun Chaoyang replied, getting into the elevator with Ye Zhiqiu.

The elevator descended, with people entering at each floor.

Uncomfortable talking, Sun Chaoyang texted Ye Zhiqiu instead.

"Sun Chaoyang: Teacher Xiao Ye, I've always believed in you."

Ye Zhiqiu read the message and smiled at him.

At the restaurant level, Sun Chaoyang got off first, while Ye Zhiqiu continued down to the ground floor.

Exiting the elevator, he dialed Li Shaojun's number.

Before he could connect, Ye Zhiqiu saw Li Shaojun's car through the glass doors.

He hung up and walked over directly.

The car window was open, and two heads, one in front and one behind, were looking out toward the entrance.

Ye Zhiqiu had just stepped out of the door when the car door behind him opened, and Jin Baobao jumped out, jogging up to meet him.

These two had, after contacting him in the morning, compiled their previous visit to his house with Tang Yue and posted it online.

This naturally included the fact that after Tang Yue went to his workspace, he delayed submitting his work.

From the heat generated at the time, Li Shaojun seemed to have hired internet trolls to stir up more attention, ensuring more people would see it.

However, in their past life, they had been by his side, worrying and getting hurt many times.

Sometimes Ye Zhiqiu couldn't help but think that if they looked back years later, they would only find that their best years were filled with scars.

Ye Zhiqiu knew that even so, they wouldn't regret it.

But he did.

So this time, he didn't want them to be involved in such matters again.

He wanted to protect them with all his might, allowing them to live simply and happily during their carefree years.

Thus, noticing their involvement, he asked Qin Jianhe to suppress the heat on their Weibo posts.

After all, as ordinary people, with professionals stepping in, their Weibo posts quickly lost exposure.

However, there was an unexpected turn of events.

As noon approached and before the official statement came out, Baiyou forwarded Jin Baobao's Weibo post.

Then, Meng Qingyan also forwarded Baiyou's post.

With Meng Qingyan's popularity and the buzz around the movie "Building No. 8," which Baiyou and Qingyan were collaborating on, Jin Baobao's post reached an unexpectedly high peak due to their promotion.

It wasn't until noon when Q.L and Fashion China jointly released formal statements with complete evidence chains that the heat began to dissipate.

"Xiao Qiu." Jin Baobao jumped over, holding Ye Zhiqiu's hand, hesitating to say something but not daring to continue.

Back then, Tang Yue was brought into their small circle by Ye Zhiqiu.

How well he treated Tang Yue, both he and Li Shaojun saw clearly.

So even though Li Shaojun never liked Tang Yue, for Ye Zhiqiu's sake, he treated Tang Yue well, genuinely considering him a friend.

Someone once so important now stood almost without transition as an adversary; even if Ye Zhiqiu said he wasn't hurt or upset, they wouldn't believe him.

Jin Baobao held Ye Zhiqiu's hand tightly, as if trying to pass strength through this gesture.

Then he remembered that Tang Yue's work had been published for some time, meaning Ye Zhiqiu must have noticed it earlier.

"Why didn't you tell Shaojun and me anything?" Jin Baobao frowned, still holding Ye Zhiqiu's hand, somewhat resentfully.

"I didn't expect things to escalate like this," Ye Zhiqiu smiled.

Seeing Jin Baobao's worried face, he reached out to rub his cheek. "Oh, don't frown, it doesn't look good."

Jin Baobao had sensitive skin and had always used baby cream on his face for years.

The sweet scent always lifted Ye Zhiqiu's mood.

"Autumn Master," Li Shaojun started the car and glanced at the rearview mirror, "what do you want to eat?"

And then he asked, "Do you want to drink? I remember the celebration day after the fashion contest, you left a few bottles of wine at the club. Why don't we finish them today and store some better ones?"

He recalled that day when Ye Zhiqiu was quite unhappy because the good wines were reserved for the upstairs room.

"Those bottles," Ye Zhiqiu laughed, "my brother drank them when he came over."

That club was where he woke up after being reborn.

But it was also where he truly fell for Qi Xin in his past life.

Ye Zhiqiu had wondered why he was reborn there, at that specific moment.

Ultimately, it was probably because he spent many years regretting falling for Qi Xin that night.

He didn't want to go back there anymore.

Because every time he did, he couldn't help but recall what happened that night.

Others had set up traps, and he walked right into them.

Even knowing regret was pointless, he still felt it, feeling nauseous.

So he entrusted those bottles of wine to Ye Zheng.

Speaking of which, Ye Zheng's call came in just as he mentioned him.

"Done with work?" Ye Zheng asked.

"What's up?" Ye Zhiqiu chuckled, turning his head to look back.

But by now, they were already a distance from Q.L, and in the crowded traffic, Ye Zhiqiu couldn't see anything.

"You didn't come to my company, did you?" he laughed.

"Still laughing, so you're fine." Ye Zheng said, then added, "Come, let's have dinner."

"Jin Baobao and Shaojun picked me up," Ye Zhiqiu said, "go back, Brother."

The other end was quiet for a moment.

"Father called you several times today. Why didn't you answer any of them?" Ye Zheng asked.

Ye Hongxian...

What could a phone call be about?

Before the truth came out, it was probably just to scold and warn him, afraid that he would embarrass him.

After the truth came out...

Oh, after the truth came out, he seemed to have stopped calling.

Why should he answer his calls and make himself feel sick?

"At the time, I was busy coordinating with public relations and didn't get a chance to answer. Then I forgot," Ye Zhiqiu said nonchalantly.

In the previous life, although Ye Zheng rarely got involved in Tao Ruoqing and Ye Zhixia's affairs, he did put in a lot of effort to drive a wedge between him and Ye Hongxian.

He had expected him to use the same old tricks again, but all he heard from the other end was a light sigh.

"Call Father back later so he doesn't get angry when he sees you," Ye Zheng said.

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu was slightly taken aback. The faint smile on his lips remained unchanged, but his eyes turned cold.

To be honest, he suddenly found Ye Zheng a bit hard to read.

One way or another, he was somewhat different from what Ye Zhiqiu remembered.