You all chase after the innocent school beauty, then I'll choose the rebellious female school b

They found a coffee shop and sat down. Xu Lingjing didn't ask Lu Yuan what he wanted to drink, but instead ordered two Americanos on her own initiative.

Lu Yuan doesn't really like black coffee; it's too bitter, and no amount of sugar can mask the astringency.

But Xu Lingjing had already ordered, so he didn't have much to say. Anyway, he hadn't come here for coffee.

"Just tell me, what have you learned?"

Lu Yuan sat up straight and looked at Xu Lingjing.

He always harbored some wariness towards Xu Lingjing.

As the saying goes, "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them." But Lu Yuan knew he had doubts, yet he still chose to use her.

This isn't about creating trouble for oneself, but rather because Xu Lingjing's current value already outweighs the risks.

In Lu Yuan's view, everything comes with risks and rewards; if you can't even bear the risks, it's hard to get a good return.

Managing risk is a skill in itself.

Xu Lingjing took a sip of coffee, pondered for a moment, and then asked a very strange question: "How much money does Ye Yixian have right now?"

Lu Yuan was taken aback, not expecting her to ask such a strange question.

"I'm not quite sure." He shook his head and said, "She received at least 200,000 yuan in scholarships during her university years. I give her 30,000 yuan a month for living expenses, but she spends very little. She buys no-name brands for cosmetics, so she should have saved a lot of money."

"By the way, why are you asking this?"

Xu Lingjing smiled faintly: "What if I told you that she doesn't actually have that much money right now, would you believe me?"

"Hmm?" Lu Yuan frowned.

Xu Lingjing explained, "A few days ago, a friend came to me seeking information. He asked about the details of Ye Yixian's father, Ye Xinnian's, illegal fundraising case more than ten years ago. Of course, I was only a few years old at the time and knew nothing about those things, but my parents seemed to know a little bit."

As she spoke, she took out her phone, showed Lu Yuan her chat history with her friend, and handed it to him.

Her friend works at the historical archives in Jiangcheng, which gives her access to many old archives.

Around November of last year, Ye Yixian contacted him and asked him to help investigate what happened back then.

This is not allowed in principle, but Ye Yixian paid 30,000 yuan and promised to continue paying if he found any useful information.

Money makes the world go round, so the man naturally accepted the commission.

After reading it, Lu Yuan was shocked. He had no idea that Ye Yixian was investigating these matters in private.

"So, you know nothing about this, right?" Xu Lingjing asked tentatively.

Lu Yuan shook his head.

"You don't know anything at all?" Xu Lingjing asked again to confirm.

Lu Yuan shook his head again.

"I thought you would know what she was doing." Xu Lingjing was also a little surprised. In her opinion, Lu Yuan and Ye Yixian were so close that he should know something.

It seems Ye Yixian doesn't intend for Lu Yuan to share the burden of her past.

Xu Lingjing continued, "If she's determined to investigate her father's case, she probably won't just ask one person for help. To be honest, she's really willing to spend money on this."

"Will this reveal any results?" Lu Yuan asked.

"It's hard to say." Xu Lingjing took back her phone and showed Lu Yuan some photos. "These are what I learned from my parents. The tragedy back then wasn't caused by one person."

"I know." Lu Yuan nodded. "Besides Ye Xinnian, there's another person named Xia Ruijie who has already fled abroad and can't be found."

"No, not two people, but three."

"What? Three people?" Lu Yuan's eyes widened. "Besides Ye Xinnian and Xia Ruijie, there's a third person?"

"Yes, a foreigner." Xu Lingjing nodded affirmatively. "An aunt of mine participated in the investigation of this case back then. Based on Ye Xinnian's testimony and multiple verifications, there is indeed a mysterious third party. This person is very likely the real mastermind behind the whole scam. He orchestrated making Ye Xinnian a scapegoat and also planned Xia Ruijie's escape. Without his behind-the-scenes manipulation, Xia Ruijie would not have been able to escape at all."

As Lu Yuan looked at the materials, his fists clenched unconsciously, and he gritted his teeth.

Xu Lingjing said, "This is all the information I have right now. Ye Yixian probably knows more than we do, but she just doesn't want to tell you."

She paused, then continued, "Ye Yixian used to be poor, struggling to even afford food and clothing, so she couldn't afford to investigate these things. But not being able to investigate and letting go are not the same thing. Judging from the current situation, she can't let go of the people who caused her family's ruin back then. She's secretly spending money to investigate, just to give herself and her family an explanation."

"In this respect, I admire Ye Yixian quite a bit. He endured for many years, waiting for the right opportunity to act, and he always sought revenge."

Xu Lingjing's analysis is correct.

Ye Yixian truly couldn't let go of the past. Because of that incident, she was bullied for many years, and not only her, but her father and brother also bore the stigma.

The reason she has been avoiding the topic is not because she has let go of it, but because she has hidden her hatred and is waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Now that she has money, the first thing she does is seek revenge.

Lu Yuan could understand Ye Yixian's feelings, but he didn't support her doing so.

The fact that Xia Ruijie and his group could devise such a massive scam shows that they are no ordinary people, and now they are probably even more extraordinary.

Even if they find them through in-depth investigation, what can Ye Yixian do alone?

Even if she were to add Lu Yuan, Gao Zhe, and all the connections she currently has, she might not be able to overturn the case.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Xu Lingjing then said, "Lu Yuan, you should have a good talk with her when you have time. Some things are better left unresolved after suffering a loss; there's no need to bring them up and keep harping on them. It would be great if you could completely destroy the other party, but... the worst thing is if the other party is too tough. If they bite you, even if you grind your teeth to pieces, it won't help."

"Yes, I understand what you mean." Lu Yuan nodded.

Xu Lingjing wanted to say a few more words, but felt it was pointless.

She glanced at the time, stood up, and said, "Alright, I've said what I needed to say. How you handle it is your own business. I have to go; I can't leave my brother for too long. That's all."

After saying that, she picked up her bag and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute," Lu Yuan called out to her.

Xu Lingjing turned around, puzzled: "Is there something else?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Xu Lingjing remained silent for a while. From her perspective, she really shouldn't care whether Ye Yixian put herself in danger or not; in fact, she should have hoped that Ye Yixian would be blinded by hatred and lose himself.

But she didn't do that at the moment; she even hoped that Lu Yuan would find the lost Ye Yixian again.

After a long silence, she gave a beautiful smile: "Lu Yuan, I'm not a bad person. At least not to you. Happy New Year."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Lu Yuan watched Xu Lingjing's departing figure until she was out of sight, then smiled with relief.

Perhaps, Xu Lingjing really isn't a bad person.

Well, it's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy.

However, Lu Yuan didn't have time to celebrate Xu Lingjing's transformation right now; he had to worry about Ye Yixian.