Chapter 431 The Inside Story

Chapter 431 The Truth Behind It

As luck would have it, Tong Fang was spotted by He Tingyue while buying ointment.

"You injured?" He asked casually.

Tong Fang felt inexplicably guilty.

"Just a scrape, no big deal."

He was torn—if he wasn’t guilty, why couldn’t he just bring up Jiang Ningning?

He Tingyue snorted. "Tong Fang, has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar?"

Tong Fang winced. "Brother Yue, can we just drop it?"

"Whatever, not my problem."

He Tingyue had only asked idly, not really caring about Tong Fang’s business.

But just as he turned to leave, Tong Fang stopped him.

"Brother Yue, maybe you can help me make sense of this?"

He Tingyue glanced at him. "Make sense of what?"

Tong Fang explained Jiang Ningning’s situation, stressing over and over that he was just being sympathetic.

"Brother Yue, if it were you, you’d have done the same, right?"

"I wouldn’t," He Tingyue answered without hesitation.

Tong Fang was speechless.

Wasn’t He Tingyue supposed to be the most righteous guy around?

"Tong Fang, what’s your goal in doing all this?"

Tong Fang was stunned—since when did helping Jiang Ningning need a reason?

She was in trouble, so he helped. What was wrong with that?

From what you’re saying, if she’s truly being abused by her husband, then the root of her suffering is him. If you really want to help her, are you planning to help her divorce?"

Tong Fang didn’t know how to respond. Jiang Ningning had brought it up before, but as an outsider, how could he possibly intervene in their marriage?

He Tingyue pushed further, "If you’re not helping her divorce, then what’s the point of what you’re doing now?"

Once Jiang Ningning went back to her in-laws, wouldn’t she just suffer the same abuse again?

Tong Fang gritted his teeth. "Her husband’s a beast! Jiang Ningning hasn’t even been married to him that long—how can he treat her this way?"

"So you want to help her divorce?"

Tong Fang faltered. "Brother Yue, what if I did?"

"You used to be engaged to her. If you butt into her life now, what’s her husband gonna think? And what about Teacher Yuan?"

He Tingyue's pointed question cut straight to the bone, leaving Tong Fang speechless.

Tong Fang fumed inwardly, "Did I do something wrong? Helped her out—was that wrong?"

"I’m not the one to say what’s right or wrong."

He Tingyue never let people play him because he wouldn’t give them the chance.

He ignored the downcast Tong Fang and turned to leave.

But once home, he had to bring it up with Jiang Yu.

After all, Jiang Yu had just told him that Yuan Jiayin and Tong Fang had gotten together.

Jiang Yu was indeed angry upon hearing this, though not surprised.

"He’s always been like this. I wouldn’t be shocked if he did something like this."

Speaking of Jiang Ningning, Jiang Yu couldn’t quite describe her feelings.

"Does her husband really beat her?"

He Tingyue replied, "I don’t know."

Tong Fang had spoken with certainty, so it was probably true.

Jiang Yu’s eyes flashed with disgust. "If it’s true, she ought to go to the Women’s Federation for help. According to Tong Fang, this isn’t the first time Jiang Ningning has been beaten. She should get a medical report and keep records."

In such cases, official organizations usually push for making up rather than breaking up.

But if it happens repeatedly, it can be treated as a special circumstance.

"Tong Fang’s being an idiot. Stashing Jiang Ningning away solves nothing—he should report it to the police and the Women’s Federation!"

He Tingyue looked at her fuming expression and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I’ll talk to him tomorrow."

But Jiang Yu pushed him out the door. "Tell him now. And he should be honest with Yuan Jiayin. If his intentions are honest, he should help openly, not skulk in the shadows."

The more he hides it, the harder it’ll blow up in his face when Yuan Jiayin finds out on her own.

Fortunately, He Tingyue’s persuasion had some effect. The next day, Tong Fang came clean with Yuan Jiayin.

Surprisingly, Yuan Jiayin wasn’t angry. Instead, she gave Jiang Ningning a game plan to help her break free.

Only Jiang Yu knew the truth—Yuan Jiayin wasn’t fine with it; she just didn’t show it in front of Tong Fang.

Yuan Jiayin had picked up a habit living with Jiang Mingrui—always bending over backward.

She was used to pleasing others, and even after leaving Jiang Mingrui, she couldn’t completely change.

"Jiang Ningning may be a victim, but she’s sly as a fox. If Tong Fang hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known how she twisted things against me."

It was Jiang Ningning who got in her way, making her lash out by accident.

Yet in Jiang Ningning’s words, it became intentional.

When Tong Fang recounted the incident pointing fingers, Yuan Jiayin seethed with frustration but had no way to defend herself.

She did push Jiang Ningning—that much was undeniable.

After she brought up getting the Women’s Federation involved to support Jiang Ningning, Jiang Ningning appeared obedient on the surface but kept finding excuses to show up in front of Tong Fang.

Tong Fang, convinced she was just naive and sweet, walked right into her trap.

"Jiang Yu, don’t you think Jiang Ningning is just awful?"

Jiang Yu brushed off her complaints and instead asked, "What are you wearing tomorrow?"

Yuan Jiayin blinked. "It’s freezing—gotta wear my puffer coat."

"It’s indoors—they’ll have the heat cranked up. You’re really going to wear a puffer coat?"

Jiang Yu was, of course, referring to the social gathering the next day.

Landing a role was one thing, but this was a rare chance to dress up.

Yuan Jiayin waved it away. "I’ll check when I get home. I’m talking about Jiang Ningning right now—why are you ignoring me?"

Jiang Yu side-eyed her. "What’s not to get? I’m not interested."

She didn’t want to listen, but the name Jiang Ningning kept popping up around her.

After Tong Fang reported Jiang Ningning’s situation to the Women’s Federation, they conducted an investigation, but the results were unexpected.

Turns out, Jiang Ningning had it coming.

Ever since Jiang Ningning married into the family, she had repeatedly stirred up trouble. They were being downright merciful not divorcing her.

On the very first day of the marriage, Jiang Ningning flexed on her sister-in-law, insisting on marrying her off, claiming she wouldn’t tolerate her freeloading at home.

Tong Fang knew about this and quickly explained, "Her sister-in-law is lazy and has a terrible temper. Jiang Ningning claimed she just wanted the girl to ‘grow up’ fast."

The Women’s Federation worker scoffed. "Her sister-in-law is only eleven! Jiang Ningning wanted to marry her off as a child bride—how could the family agree to that?"

They also mentioned that Jiang Ningning’s husband had been married before and divorced, leaving a son in his care.

Jiang Ningning knew about the son before marriage but insisted on sending him away, calling him a burden.

Tong Fang fumbled for an excuse. "The kid belongs to both parents. His ex-wife’s on the hook for him too. He was just sent to stay with her for a while—it’s not like he wouldn’t be brought back."

"But his ex-wife is paralyzed, bedridden all day—how could she raise a child? After Jiang Ningning sent the boy over, his mother, ashamed of being a burden, hanged herself!"

Tong Fang went pale—he hadn’t known about these details.

"Don’t even get me started on her playing poor to her mother-in-law, mixing sand into her food, hiding meat for herself just to drive the old woman away—have you heard about that?"

Tong Fang tripped over his words. "She only told me her husband likes to drink and hits her when he’s drunk."

"Please! Her husband’s a saint—even after all her outrageous behavior, he never laid a hand on her. The few times he snapped were when he was wasted, and Jiang Ningning whispered in his ear, urging him to send his mother away. He said he’d agree to a divorce—as long as Jiang Ningning returned the family’s savings. He wasn’t even asking for the dowry back."

"Jiang Ningning cleaned him out—" No way was he signing those papers.