CHAPTER 229: CHAPTER 215: WHO EXACTLY DID IT

However, Hu Jiaojiao’s call went through but was never answered. She was puzzled for quite a while until she suddenly remembered that Gu Qili hated her so much, she must have been blacklisted by her a long time ago. Therefore, she resorted to using a public phone at a roadside newsstand.

Gu Qili was changing clothes in the locker room. She was on the day shift today, and after arranging the evening’s work, she was ready to go off duty.

Before leaving, she made a point of stopping by the kitchen. Luan Yi was transferred there today and seemed very uncomfortable with it. Confronted with a pile of dirty dishes, she reluctantly fished one out of the sink, and felt disgusted the moment her delicate hands touched the greasy surface.

Originally, after becoming the supervisor, Gu Qili hadn’t intended to make things difficult for her, nor had she reassigned her post.

The colleague working with her showed a displeased face, "If you don’t want to finish work, I still do. Don’t think someone else will do your job if you don’t. I’m not that kind-hearted. Really, a rich girl like you should just enjoy your easy life at home and not hold the rest of us back."

Gu Qili just watched through the glass for a while before leaving. She believed these dishes would keep Luan Yi busy until midnight.

Just as she finished changing, her phone in the bag rang. She glanced at the caller ID, and it was from a landline. Without hesitation, Gu Qili answered the call.

"Gu Qili." The moment the other party uttered her name, Gu Qili wanted to hang up out of disgust.

Hu Jiaojiao, guessing she was about to hang up, quickly shouted, "Mu Shuoqian already knows."

Indeed, faint breathing was heard from the phone; she didn’t hang up.

Hu Jiaojiao was somewhat triumphant. She knew Gu Qili’s greatest fear was being discovered by Mu Shuoqian, as her image of innocence would no longer hold, and she would also lose her backer in Mu Shuoqian, along with everything she currently had.

"Do you regret it now? I only wanted that translation job, yet you persistently refused to help. Gu Qili, I didn’t want to fall out with you this badly. You’ve always been forcing my hand. Now, driven to the wall, I’ve made my decision, and you bear an undeniable responsibility. So, don’t blame me, blame your own indiscretions from the past."

Gu Qili seldom let her finish speaking. She couldn’t fathom how someone could be so shamelessly unprincipled; Hu Jiaojiao was a narrative of unreasonableness, leaving her feeling almost outdone.

"Since you’re unwilling to help me,

While speaking, Hu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but giggle coyly, sounding incredibly pleased with herself.

"Are you done?" Gu Qili’s voice was unexpectedly calm, catching her off guard.

Hu Jiaojiao was not pleased, her brows deeply furrowed. At this moment, shouldn’t Gu Qili be hysterical, or pleading with her not to expose those photos? Why did her voice sound so poised, as though Hu Jiaojiao was putting on a heated performance on stage, while Gu Qili was watching from below, utterly unmoved.

"Now that you’re done, it’s my turn," said Gu Qili, her eyes clear as water. She picked up her bag and walked out, her voice flat and unrippled, "Hu Jiaojiao, I’ve told you before, if you dare to make those photos public, I’m not afraid to break off relations with you. Since you’ve taken this step first, don’t blame me for being heartless."

)

Before Hu Jiaojiao could react, Gu Qili decisively hung up the phone.

"What’s there to be smug about? Without Mu Shuoqian, what are you? Do you think I’m scared to fall out with you? If you’ve got the guts, come at me, let’s see what tricks you have up your sleeve," Hu Jiaojiao angrily ended the call, using so much force that the shop owner stuck his head out, irritated, "Don’t take your anger out on my phone; I rely on it for my business."

"How much is a broken phone worth? The thread on my skirt is worth more than your phone," Hu Jiaojiao flung some change on the counter, "Keep the change."

The shop owner picked up the five yuan she left and mumbled: "Just five yuan, she speaks as if it’s fifty thousand. You say don’t bother with the change, but I insist on giving it." He quickly counted out a bunch of coins and flung them back, shooing her away like a fly: "Hurry up and go, don’t block my business."

Before Hu Jiaojiao had a chance to scold the owner, a youth wearing a hat brushed past her. He bumped her shoulder hard, and just as she was about to turn around, the phone in her other hand was snatched away.

Stunned, it took Hu Jiaojiao a moment to realize her phone had been stolen. She stammered with rage and pointed at the fast-retreating figure of the young man, yelling, "Thief! Someone’s stealing my phone!"

"You..." Hu Jiaojiao didn’t want to argue, she started running after him.

The young man walked swiftly and soon broke into a run. Hu Jiaojiao gave chase for fifty meters before she couldn’t keep up. There wasn’t a single person willing to help on the roadside, prompting her to curse in the street about how callous people had become.

Hu Jiaojiao didn’t care much about losing her phone, but there were a lot of important information in it, including the photos and videos she regarded as her secret weapon.

She went to the telecom service hall to replace her SIM card, and also bought a new phone. Due to the long queue for service, it took her until late to finally get her new card in hand.

Hu Jiaojiao felt utterly unlucky today; not only was her phone stolen, but she also couldn’t open her apartment door, and after many unsuccessful attempts, she had to call a locksmith.

The locksmith arrived half an hour later, fiddled around for a while, and finally opened the door. Hu Jiaojiao paid the fee, feeling completely drained.

As soon as she entered, she threw her bag aside, kicked her shoes off in different directions, poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen, and then, holding the glass, went to her computer. Though the photos and videos on her phone were gone, she had backups on her computer.

The moment the computer screen lit up, her heart skipped a beat. The screensaver should have been an artistic photo of her, but now it had changed to the most common blue interface. She clicked the mouse rapidly, her face almost pressing against the screen.

She opened the documents folder, but it was completely empty. She continued to click through the other drives: aside from some program software in the C drive, the others were spotless. Without a doubt, her computer had been reformatted, and everything she had saved was deleted.

She logged into the school’s website next. Those photos had once caused a huge stir, but now no matter how she searched the forums, she could find no trace of their existence, not even a single comment—they had been thoroughly scrubbed clean.

A buzzing noise filled Hu Jiaojiao’s head as a layer of cold sweat broke out instantaneously.

"It’s okay, I also have my email. I have backups of those photos and videos in my inbox. As long as I log into my email, I can download them again." After sinking into despair, Hu Jiaojiao found a sliver of hope and began typing rapidly on the keyboard. However, each time she entered her email password, the system kept notifying her: The account does not exist.

She tried again and again, with the computer endlessly repeating the reminder, the dialog box popping up and disappearing. In the end, she threw the keyboard onto the floor with force and hysterically screamed while grasping her hair: "Who did this, who exactly did it?"

The photos and videos she had spent a lot of money on obtaining had now vanished without a trace. Her weapon to use against Gu Qili had instantly become feeble and ineffective.

After her initial panic subsided, Hu Jiaojiao calmed down, picked up her newly purchased phone to call that person, but as soon as she opened her phone, she despaired again. The number of the person who provided the photos was always stored in her phone; she never made an effort to remember it, and now with the phone lost, she also lost his contact information.

What should I do, what can I do?

Hu Jiaojiao tapped on the table irritably, until she smashed her fist so hard on the corner of the table that tears came from the pain, which snapped her out of it and her brain gradually resumed functioning.

Who could have done this? Was it Gu Qili? If it were her, she wouldn’t wait until now to act. She should have destroyed the evidence before I could pass the photos to Mu Shuoqian.

But aside from Gu Qili, no one else knew she had those photos.

No, no, there was a second person.

A chill suddenly ran down Hu Jiaojiao’s spine as if she had stumbled upon a realization.

Mu Shuoqian, right, Mu Shuoqian. Other than Gu Qili, she only showed those photos to Mu Shuoqian today.

Could it be that Mu Shuoqian, fully aware of Gu Qili’s checkered past, still opts to conceal it on her behalf?

Hu Jiaojiao felt as if she had been struck by lightning. What kind of spell did Gu Qili cast on Mu Shuoqian to make him so devoutly loyal to her, not minding even if she were a social butterfly known to everyone?

No, this won’t do; she still needs to figure out how to recover the photos.

The words that had almost left Hu Jiaojiao’s mouth were silently swallowed back down when she heard a voice she had never heard before, but at this moment, the person taking Mu Hewen’s call must be his wife, Qi Meihui.

She wasn’t foolish enough to challenge the authority of Qi Meihui, the legitimate wife, after all, her relationship with Mu Hewen was nothing more than using him for her own ends.

Without a second thought, Hu Jiaojiao hung up the phone, and before the screen went dark, another call came in.