Hearing this, Yang Xueyan’s expression stiffened for a moment. It took her a long while before she let out a dry laugh. “Who is it?”
There was nervousness and tension in her eyes that others couldn’t read, Lin Aiyun was too eager to voice her thoughts to notice anything unusual.
“Luo Cheng! Can we send someone to look into him?”
Upon hearing the name, Yang Xueyan let out a breath of relief—then immediately felt that her reaction was improper. Caught in a tangle of emotions, she clenched her fists and swallowed hard. She gave orders for someone to investigate Luo Cheng while asking out of curiosity, “Who is Luo Cheng?”
“Vice President, you’re so busy with important matters that you probably don’t know—Luo Cheng is from our logistics department.” Someone stepped forward to explain.
Logistics department? Yang Xueyan’s heart tightened again. She turned to Lin Aiyun. “Aiyun, why do you suspect him?”
“Auntie, do you remember how on my very first day at the association, I almost got splashed with ink? That person was Luo Cheng. I honestly don’t think I’ve offended anyone at the association. Apart from him, I can’t think of anyone else. Plus, just now he was at the forefront, leading the narrative against me…”
The unspoken implications were clear to everyone. Following the principle of “better to wrongly accuse than to let go,” Luo Cheng had to be investigated. Jiang Run volunteered for the task, promising to give everyone a satisfactory answer.
The others didn’t disperse immediately either, lining up to examine the stitching marks on the embroidered fabric.
In light of the incident, the association tightened its security, arranging for patrols every night, especially around the warehouses storing valuable items.
The project’s progress couldn’t halt because of this and continued as scheduled.
Having endured this unwarranted calamity, Lin Aiyun earned everyone’s sympathy and special care. Zhang Yaoyao and Qin Shuang, who knew she was pregnant, kept finding excuses to check on her frequently, afraid that any emotional distress might affect her physically.
But Lin Aiyun herself wasn’t taking it too much to heart. Now that she’d been cleared, her only concern was who had gone to such lengths to frame her.
Were they trying to ruin her reputation, or drive her out of the association?
Either way, there were too many mysteries.
Though she suspected Luo Cheng, there was another name lurking in the back of her mind—Zhuang Dongping. But she was the vice president’s only disciple. To voice an accusation with no evidence, based purely on speculation, in front of so many people, would be slapping Yang Xueyan in the face and wouldn’t be convincing anyway.
Besides, ever since she’d made the decision to keep her distance from Zhuang Dongping, the two of them hadn’t spoken in a long time. To suddenly suspect her over this incident felt, even to Lin Aiyun herself, a bit far-fetched.
Beyond Zhuang Dongping and Luo Cheng, it could have been someone else entirely. The possible motives were too numerous and too complicated.
Maybe she’d just happened to be the unlucky one—as a newcomer who hadn’t yet found her footing at the association, she was undoubtedly one of the best choices for a scapegoat.
—
Meanwhile, after leaving the temporary workshop, Yang Xueyan hurried straight back to her office. Locking the door behind her, she frantically began rummaging through her things. In her haste, many items were scattered carelessly on the floor.
Though she knew exactly where everything was, her hands wouldn’t obey, pulling out every drawer and searching through them before finally locating the neatly folded embroidery pieces in their designated spot. One or two were even framed under glass and wood—exquisitely displayed.
One look and it was clear Yang Xueyan treasured these embroideries dearly. But now, holding them in her hands, her fingers trembled uncontrollably. Only by straining her eyes could she make out the patterns on them. The more clearly she saw, the heavier her breathing grew.
After a few moments, Yang Xueyan slumped to the floor, as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She sat motionless, staring blankly at the mess around her.
Though autumn had brought cooler temperatures, she seemed oblivious, sitting there for over half an hour.
“No, it can’t be. Why?” Yang Xueyan murmured, barely audible. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t understand why!
Not long after, her eyes reddened as she grabbed the cabinet and stumbled to her feet, wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes. Forcing herself to appear composed, she pushed the door open and rushed out. When people greeted her along the way, she lacked her usual patience, offering only a perfunctory nod before brushing past them.
She finally stopped when she spotted the person she was looking for in the logistics department office. Jiang Run was already there, questioning Luo Cheng, whose workstation had clearly been searched, leaving it in disarray.
“Vice President?” Jiang Run raised an eyebrow in surprise at her arrival. Normally, after handing over full responsibility to him, Yang Xueyan wouldn’t meddle further—so why was she here now?
Yang Xueyan forced a smile. “Go on with what you’re doing. I need to talk to Ping’er about something.”
Hearing this, Jiang Run instinctively glanced toward Zhuang Dongping in the distance. “Alright.”
“Teacher.” Zhuang Dongping had been tidying the items on her desk. When she saw Yang Xueyan, she tightened her grip on the pen cap but wore her usual obedient smile as she greeted her.
“Come here. Let’s step outside to talk—I don’t want to get in the way of Member Jiang’s investigation.” Yang Xueyan smiled as well, though it didn’t reach her eyes. After taking a deep breath to suppress her turbulent emotions, she kept her expression steady and beckoned her over.
Even though nothing had been uncovered yet and it was unlikely they’d find anything, for some reason, when Zhuang Dongping heard the word “investigation,” her heart still gave a jolt.
“Alright.” Zhuang Dongping stepped outside, only to realize after leaving the office that she’d brought her fountain pen out with her. With nowhere to put it, she simply tucked it into her pocket.
From behind came Jiang Run’s indifferent voice: “Alright, let’s continue. Luo Cheng, what are you looking at?”
“N-nothing. Please go on, Member Jiang.”
Zhuang Dongping’s hand was still in her pocket. Hearing Luo Cheng’s voice, her fingertip unconsciously traced the sharp pen cap. A slightly sharp pain jolted her, clearing her thoughts somewhat.
By now, the two had gradually moved away from the association building and, before she knew it, had arrived at a lakeside. This was an artificial lake—rumor had it that a new association building would soon be constructed nearby, specifically for exhibiting and storing outstanding embroideries.
The scenery by the lake was lovely: weeping willows and soft, fluffy grass swaying in the breeze, carrying the full scent of autumn.
There weren’t many people around. The two stopped one after the other on the lakeside path, and a long silence stretched between them. But the longer the silence dragged on, the more guesses churned in Zhuang Dongping’s mind. Unable to bear the torment any longer, she broke the quiet first.
“Teacher, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
Yang Xueyan turned to look at her. Their eyes met, carrying a mix of emotions—some understandable to both, others not.
“Ping’er, you call me teacher—do you remember how old you were when you became my disciple?”
The wind ruffled Zhuang Dongping’s short hair, a few strands catching in her eyes. She reached up to tuck them behind her ear, her lashes fluttering repeatedly. A suspicion crept into her heart, and even the words she spoke carried a trace of unease.
“Nine.”
As the number left her lips, both of them froze for a moment, lost in reflection.
“Nine. That was eleven years ago.” Yang Xueyan curved her lips in nostalgia, but the next second, her smile vanished and her gaze turned cold. “Have you ever done anything bad behind my back? Like framing someone?”
Almost before the words had fully landed, Zhuang Dongping stumbled backward several steps in disbelief, putting distance between them. She gasped for air as she stared at Yang Xueyan—the meaning was blatantly clear, leaving nothing unspoken.
“T-teacher…” Zhuang Dongping stammered, then instinctively denied it: “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“You don’t understand? Didn’t you take those silk threads? Wasn’t it your doing to frame Aiyun?” Yang Xueyan pressed forward relentlessly. Looking at the woman in front of her, so quick to deny everything, she felt as though she no longer recognized her.
Was this still the innocent, playful Zhuang Dongping who used to snuggle up to her?
In all these years, she’d never known she possessed such cunning!
“You think you covered your tracks perfectly? Even though you’re not an association member, you’ve participated in the embroidery competition so many times—with so many people at the association, can you guarantee that none of them will recognize your stitching? I could see it at a glance because I’m your teacher!”
“And for them, it’s only a matter of time before they find out too!”
“Aiyun just arrived—you’ve only met her a handful of times. Why would you use such filthy tactics against her? Didn’t you admire her skills? Didn’t you say you wanted to learn from her so you could join the association sooner? How did it come to this?”
“What kind of deep-seated grudge is this? How has Aiyun ever wronged you?”
“Is it just because she’s around your age but made it into the association? All these years, what have I taught you? Haven’t I told you that everyone has different talents in embroidery? Don’t envy, don’t be jealous, don’t take the wrong path—keeping a calm heart and genuinely improving your skills is the right way!”
“But I never expected you to be foolish enough to use such a vicious scheme against a newcomer. If this gets exposed, not only you, but I too, would have no face left to stay at the association!”
“How could I, Yang Xueyan, have raised such a disciple? If only you had half the sense of Jiang Run or Aiyun…”
Each disjointed accusation, each sigh of profound disappointment, felt like grinding Zhuang Dongping’s heart into the dirt. Her chest heaved violently, her face burning red. “Aiyun this, Aiyun that—do you like her that much?”
“Hah, yes, you’ve been dying to have Lin Aiyun as your disciple, haven’t you? If you hadn’t taken on such a stupid disciple like me back then, if you hadn’t made that promise, you’d probably have taken on hundreds of talented, sensible embroiderers like Lin Aiyun by now!”
“You wouldn’t have to worry every year about when I’d finally join the association.”
“I’ll tell you—I hate Lin Aiyun! I wish she’d disappear! I wish she’d crawl back to Jiangming Province!”
“Ping’er…” Yang Xueyan was startled by her outburst, her mouth hanging open, unsure how to respond. At the same time, regret flooded her heart for having blurted out those hurtful words in anger. She should have spoken to Ping’er calmly—she shouldn’t have been so impulsive.
But now it was too late to make amends—the damage was already done.
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