CHAPTER 618: CHAPTER 535 UNMASKING

Li Si’s mind was racing now. She couldn’t help but feel that Yao Meiling’s appearance wasn’t a coincidence. Perhaps, just like Zhou Rou, she was also waiting for the moment Li Si least expected to take a vicious bite at her.

Since they’ve crossed paths, there’s no way she was letting this slide!

Yao Meiling looked shocked at Li Si’s sharp reasoning and aggressive demeanor. She hadn’t anticipated that Li Si would turn out to be this formidable.

She had always believed that even though Li Si married well, she was still that meek, submissive girl.

Yao Meiling quickly pulled herself together and started defending herself: "Li Si! I truly didn’t know ahead of time! For the sake of us being classmates, you’re married well and loaded with money now. Just let me go—don’t nitpick with me, okay? I’ve already gotten divorced. What more do you want from me?"

Her words sounded pitiful, making Liu Xiaole wonder if Li Si was being a bit harsh on her.

Their commotion had already drawn some bystanders’ attention, and among them, someone decided to comment:

"Show some mercy where you can!"

"Yeah, the woman looks pretty pitiful. Divorced, struggling just to find a job—not easy at all!"

"Probably some grudge from the past; otherwise, it wouldn’t come to this. Pretty entertaining though!"

"..."

Liu Xiaole couldn’t help but chime in: "Sisi! Maybe let it go?"

Li Si remained unmoved. "Xiao Le! Stop interfering! There are things you don’t know about."

Liu Xiaole understood Li Si’s character—if there wasn’t some deeper reason, she wouldn’t speak or act like this.

So, hearing Li Si’s response, Liu Xiaole stopped persuading her and simply waited on the sidelines to see how it would unfold.

Li Si turned to Yao Meiling, her gaze frosty: "Yao Meiling, you’re quite the actress! Back in college, we were dormmates, and you constantly slandered me, even joining forces with others to try to gang up on me! Then you collaborated with Li Fei to post rumors online about me and my husband’s relationship! And now, you’re standing here in front of me, putting on this poor-victim act!

You’re divorced, yes—but what does your divorce have to do with me? Why did you, of all places, come to work at my company’s establishment? You claim to know nothing—who’d believe that?"

If Yao Meiling managed to get a job at Wang Meishu’s store, where Mrs. Leng and others had visited, how could she claim she hadn’t heard of Li Si?

During Mo Si Furniture’s opening, Leng Mochen and Zheng Qian’s scandal made headlines, and later, Li Si and Leng Mochen appeared at a fashion gala—news about them was everywhere, in newspapers, magazines, online. Claiming ignorance—could that even be possible?

Besides, Yao Meiling’s demeanor raised suspicions: her gaze was shifty and filled with guilt. Isn’t the eye the window to the soul? She hadn’t mastered the art of deception, and it showed. Liu Xiaole pieced it all together and started glaring at Yao Meiling with hostility.

This woman truly had bad intentions!

She couldn’t help but wonder—was that drama about the mentally ill person throwing money around all orchestrated by Yao Meiling?

Yao Meiling realized how things had turned and knew Li Si would never let her keep working here. Defiantly, she tilted her head and stared directly at Li Si: "Fine! Li Si, I admit it—I found out about your situation shortly after starting the job! But I finally got a decent job where I can at least earn some money! I’m divorced, sure—but my ex-husband is in prison, and my child still needs to be fed, doesn’t he?"

Li Si sneered mockingly: "Yao Meiling! It’s not like I don’t know your family’s financial situation. Raising a child is hardly going to drive you to such desperate measures."

Truth be told, Yao Meiling’s family was far from destitute.

Yao Meiling glanced hesitantly at the surrounding crowd and offered a half-truth, half-lie: "You wouldn’t know—I broke my parents’ hearts with that scandal. After divorcing and moving back home, they still haven’t fully forgiven me.

You know how much lower wages are back in our hometown compared to Beijing. Li Si, we were classmates once. Can you let bygones be bygones? I was wrong in the past, but I promise to treat you well from now on—wholeheartedly!"

Li Si had been keenly observing her from the start and already noticed clues. Hearing Yao Meiling perform her act of submission now, she only found it laughable.

"Yao Meiling! Do you think my eyes stopped working? You’re here, sobbing about bending over backwards for a mere few thousand yuan, trying to gain sympathy! Painting me as the aggressive tyrant, forcing people to look askance at me.

But when I look at your wrist, I see a designer watch worth at least fifty thousand dollars. And those diamond stud earrings—surely they’re real?"

Yao Meiling instinctively covered her ears, knowing full well Li Si’s observations were accurate. Li Si’s sharp eyes had seen through her.

She’d worn those earrings multiple times, assuming the store clerks couldn’t differentiate between fake and real. They thought they were cheap accessories.

The watch had even been eyed briefly by Wang Meishu once, but perhaps she couldn’t fathom a mere sales clerk wearing a watch worth tens of thousands and simply dismissed it as knockoff merchandise.

Liu Xiaole’s jaw hung open, astonished. Fifty thousand for a watch!

If she could wear something that expensive, there was no way she’d bother with earning just a few thousand yuan.

Now she fully believed what Li Si said—this woman was downright malicious, harboring ulterior motives!

The crowd buzzed with excitement, voices flying:

"A fifty-thousand-dollar watch?! Diamond earrings?!"

"Oh my! There’s definitely a juicy story here!"

"What’s this woman scheming?"

Several people’s looks at Yao Meiling took on a new edge. Someone who could afford a fifty-thousand-dollar watch clearly wasn’t just an ordinary person.

If regular folks had tens of thousands, wouldn’t they rush to buy a house and a car?

Buying something like this was a clear indicator of serious wealth—or that whoever gave it to her had money to burn!

"Li Si! These were bought back when I was married. Why are you fixating on this now? Fine! I won’t work under your nose anymore, okay? I’ll leave right now!" Yao Meiling snapped and turned to leave quickly. With no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed.

Liu Xiaole patted her chest: "Sisi! She’s definitely up to something shady. It’s lucky you ran into her today—otherwise, who knows what might’ve happened!"

"Alright, let’s forget about her. Let’s head to your place!" Li Si took one last look at Yao Meiling’s retreating figure, deep in thought—who was backing Yao Meiling?

On their way to Liu Xiaole’s home, Li Si called Leng Mochen and told him about encountering Yao Meiling at Wang Meishu’s store and her working there.

She also requested he immediately investigate Mo Si Furniture’s employees to prevent more enemies like Yao Meiling from sneaking in.

After Li Si hung up, Liu Xiaole marveled: "She sure is bold! Didn’t she realize all you had to do was visit the CEO’s relative’s store once and her whole façade would crumble?"

"Maybe she had thought of ways to cover her tracks but didn’t expect me to catch on so soon!"

Yao Meiling certainly had her schemes, but her accessories revealed too much about her true status.

Otherwise, Li Si might not have been able to push her out so quickly.

Leng Mochen hung up on the other end, murmuring to himself, "Yao Meiling!"

Who was so resourceful as to plant her in Mo Si Furniture?

Their intentions were obvious—it was aimed at them. It was just by coincidence that Li Si had exposed the pawn.

Yao Meiling stormed back to the store. The other two shop assistants exchanged glances; one, a skinny woman, grumbled unhappily, "Why did you take so long in the restroom?"

We had to deal with all the new stock ourselves because of you! (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, visit m.qidian.com to read.)