He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

Two days later.

Police found Zhao Jianhui in a small hotel near Guangzhou Railway Station.

He was hiding in a moldy little room, his beard unkempt, his eyes sunken, and an unfinished letter lying on the table—the letter began: "Yaoyao, I've arrived..."

"You! How did you find me? I..."

The police didn't say anything.

When he was handcuffed, "was it Yao Yao who said that?"

"Don't make wild guesses. You should worry about your own business." The police officer glanced at him but didn't say anything more. According to regulations, they were supposed to protect the witnesses.

But Zhao Jianhui still guessed it from the man's expression.

It must be her. Only she, only I, went there. Before I left, I only looked for her, only told her, and didn't even tell my own mother.

But she betrayed herself...

Shen Yao, who was always so obedient and looked at him with such admiration, actually betrayed him...

Zhao Jianhui closed his eyes.

Didn't she say she was coming back to find me? Everything she said was a lie.

I took her out to restaurants and bought her clothes. I showered her with all the good things in the world.

Even when her father said that she didn't have a high level of education and suggested that she go to high school to improve her education, he was worried that she would have a hard time studying, so he would pick her up and drop her off whenever he had time.

It turns out I wasn't her lover at all; I was just a sucker being exploited!

He's a complete idiot, an absolute idiot!

He was escorted back to the Northwest like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, without uttering a single word.

The evidence is overwhelming: the supplier's testimony, the receiving slips, the delivery slips, and the consumption records—the chain of evidence is complete and impeccable.

Confess.

There's not much to say.

When the news reached the factory's residential compound, Shen Yao was washing her hair at home.

She heard someone shouting outside:

"Zhao Jianhui has been caught!"

"He was caught in Guangzhou!"

Shen Yao paused for a moment, then continued washing her hair.

The water flowed through her hair, carrying away the foam.

Clean and tidy.

Zhao Jianhui, you did this yourself, it has nothing to do with me.

……

The news of Zhao Jianhui's arrest swept through the entire machinery factory's residential compound like a gust of wind.

"They caught them so quickly?! The investigation team is amazing!"

"There must have been a lead, someone must have given it a tip, otherwise how would anyone know to go to Guangzhou to arrest them?"

"Someone? Isn't that Shen Yao? Someone saw Zhao Jianhui meet her before he ran away, so she must have told me. Otherwise, who else would know where Zhao Jianhui is?"

In the alleyway of the residential compound, groups of two or three workers and their families stood together discussing the matter.

Factory Director Zhao had already been suspended from his duties, but the formal disciplinary action hadn't been issued yet. He was taken to the investigation team for questioning. Now that his son has been contacted, he has been released because he wasn't involved in the matter.

"Jianhui has been brought back and has confessed," Factory Director Zhao said to his wife in the living room, his voice hoarse. "Everyone in the factory is saying that Shen Yao reported him. I saw Jianhui; he didn't say anything, but judging from his expression, it seems to be true, otherwise he would have denied it."

Zhao's mother was stunned for a second.

"Shen Yao?" she forced out through clenched teeth, "Is that vixen—the one who betrayed my son?"

Her face went from ashen to ashen, then to a furious dark red.

Factory Director Zhao nodded with difficulty, tears streaming down his face.

Zhao's mother suddenly stood up, grabbed her coat from the table, and rushed towards the door. Ever since the incident at the factory, she hadn't dared to leave the house. Now that her son had been brought back, what did she have left to worry about?

"Where are you going?" Factory Director Zhao shouted.

"I'm going to find that bitch!" Zhao's mother's voice shrill and distorted. "If it weren't for her, how could Jianhui have ended up like this—now that things have gone wrong, she's betrayed him?! I'm going to tear her apart!"

"Calm down!" Factory Director Zhao stopped her. "What time is it now—you're causing trouble, do you think the Zhao family isn't shamed enough already?"

"Shameful?!" Zhao's mother shook off his hand, her eyes bloodshot. "My son's already in jail! He might even be dead! What am I afraid of?!"

She pushed open the door and rushed out.

Factory Director Zhao stood at the door, opened his mouth, but ultimately did not chase after them.

Oh well, let her be.

……

Shen family.

Shen Yao was hanging clothes out to dry in the yard.

Since Zhao Jianhui was brought back, her life has become much better. The investigation team is no longer keeping an eye on her, and the people in the family compound are no longer besieging her.

Because all the attention and hatred have been transferred to Zhao Jianhui.

She even overheard people who had previously been on good terms with the Shen family gossiping privately: "Actually, Shen Yao is quite pitiful—she was scammed. She doesn't even know where the money came from. Wasn't it just Zhao Jianhui pretending to be rich despite his ordinary appearance?"

That's right. She was just an innocent girlfriend who was kept in the dark. She provided the clues by turning her own family away, and she was also a victim.

Shen Yao unfolded a white shirt and hung it on the clothesline.

The sunlight shone on my clothes, making them blindingly white.

"Shen Yao!"

A sharp, piercing shout came from the alley entrance.

Shen Yao paused for a moment.

She turned her head—

Zhao's mother stood at the gate of the courtyard. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was filled with a crazed hatred. Behind her were seven or eight neighbors, some who had come to watch the commotion, and some who were relatives of the deceased.

"Auntie—" Shen Yao subconsciously took a step back.

"You dare call me 'Auntie'?!"

Zhao's mother rushed into the courtyard, her finger pointing at Shen Yao, her fingertips trembling.

"You jinx—not content with ruining my son, you even betrayed him! What's your heart made of? Stone or iron?!"

More and more neighbors gathered in the alley, looking on with a sense of morbid curiosity and a desire to see the drama unfold.

"Auntie—" Shen Yao's eyes immediately reddened, her voice trembling and choked with sobs, "I didn't want this either... but the investigation team asked me... I can't lie... three people died..."

She looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, at the crowd of onlookers.

"I really don't know what Jianhui did... He never mentioned the parts to me... I'm just his girlfriend. You're his mother, and he didn't even tell you. Why would he tell me? And now you're questioning me... Isn't that too much of a bullying?"

Seeing Shen Yao's tearful face, Zhao's mother trembled with anger: "If it weren't for you, you vixen, constantly pestering him to buy this and that, would my son do such a thing?! He's never lacked money since he was a child—why would he take this risk?! It's all for you!"

Shen Yao bit her lip, and tears slid down her cheeks even faster.

"Auntie... Jianhui insisted on buying it for me... I said I didn't want it, but he wouldn't listen..."

She paused, as if she had hesitated for a long time before speaking, her voice carrying a hint of hurt pride:

He told me to dress up nicely so I'd look good when I went out with him...

She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm just... a display piece. I don't even want to wear those clothes..." She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Auntie, I'm still in school... I'm very busy with my studies... I even made time for him to save face... I didn't do well on my exams this time... I don't blame him... but I never expected him to be so foolish..."