They surrounded me right after the breakup.

After leaving Liu Meng's house, Xia Yutong did not go home.

She drove straight back to the law firm, leaving her briefcase on the passenger seat.

It contained all the original evidence that Zhao Xiulan had given her.

Handwritten ledgers, quality inspection reports, pay slips, and social security transfer records.

She photographed every document and made electronic backups of them.

However, the original document must be taken back to the archives in person.

The only sound in the law firm's corridor was her footsteps.

Xia Yutong pushed open the door to the archives room and placed her briefcase on the table.

Unzip the zipper and take out the documents one by one.

The handwritten ledger, with its neat penmanship on the cover faded to grayish-black.

Yuantao Building Materials' accounts receivable and payable details.

Xia Yutong placed the account book on the far left of the long table.

Then there are the quality inspection report, pay slips, and social security transfer records.

Arrange them in order, categorized by year and number.

Then she took out the old case files she had brought back from Judge Zhou from the safe.

List of creditors, withdrawal agreements, property distribution tables... covered the entire long table.

Xia Yutong began comparing page by page.

The figures in the ledgers and the records in the creditors' register match perfectly.

The timing of Liheng Real Estate's cancellation of its order, and the timing of Jiasheng Real Estate's subsequent cancellation of its order.

The date when Rongbang Construction's last accounts payable was indefinitely postponed.

The three lines converge, pointing precisely to the same conclusion.

This is no coincidence!

Someone is making coordinated plans at the same time!

Xia Yutong marked the intervals between the cancellation dates of the three companies.

Liheng made the first move, and Jiasheng and Rongbang followed suit within a week.

She picked up a red pen and drew a circle on the timeline.

Next to the circle, a line of text reads: Synchronization rate error.

Normal market behavior would not exhibit such a synchronization rate, especially considering that these three companies are located in different places.

Despite having little business dealings, they cancelled orders in the same month for the same reason.

so funny!

Xia Yutong flipped through the materials in which Zhao Xiulan raised objections, as well as the application for withdrawal.

All the timelines matched perfectly.

Xia Yutong leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes to rest, and rubbed her eyes, which were sore and tired.

The hum of the fluorescent lights was particularly clear in the quiet archives room.

Before I knew it, the night outside the window in Jingzhou had deepened.

A few office buildings in the distance had lights on sporadically.

Xia Yutong arranged all the materials in chronological order, numbered them, labeled them, and put them into a kraft paper file bag.

A label was affixed to the seal.

The document above reads: "Complete chain of evidence in Jiang Yuantao's bankruptcy case."

……

The next day, Xia Yutong walked into Jiang Han's office with the materials she had prepared.

Jiang Han had just finished looking at the box office data for the Nezha movie after two days of release, and glanced at the yellowed paper lying on the table.

"What are these?"

"Your father's case." Xia Yutong placed her hand on the cover of the leftmost ledger.

"Yuantao Building Materials went bankrupt more than a decade ago, not because of poor management, but because they were set up."

She turned to the page marked in red, turned the ledger around, and pushed it toward him.

"Your father's company had its three largest accounts receivable cut off simultaneously, and its cash flow completely collapsed within two weeks."

Jiang Han frowned and looked down at the account book.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed against the edge of the paper.

Two opposing forces were churning in Jiang Han's mind at the same time.

A chill ran through him; having transmigrated, he felt no real father-son affection for Jiang Yuantao in this world.

The middle-aged man who appeared bankrupt, haggard, and eventually disappeared from his memory was, to him, just a name in a file.

But another sensation was heat, rising from my chest and pressing directly into my throat without going through my brain.

This emotion didn't belong to him; it belonged to the lingering instincts within this body.

It was the hatred that emanated from that seventeen-year-old boy who once squatted in the hospital corridor, clutching his mother's death certificate, grinding his teeth in despair.

The two emotions collided, but did not merge; they simply coexisted.

Jiang Han knew perfectly well that he shouldn't be angry about Jiang Yuantao's situation, but his fingers clenched uncontrollably.

Xia Yutong continued speaking.

"Tracing the controlling shareholders of all three companies back two levels, it all points to the same person."

"Jiang Boyong was a local bigwig in the Jingzhou real estate circle back then."

"I investigated this case for a long time. There was someone who knew the whole story, and she gave me all the key original evidence."

Xia Yutong paused, trying to read Jiang Han's thoughts from his expression.

"Who is it?" Jiang Han asked urgently and forcefully.

"Zhao Xiulan, the finance director back then."

"You've met her; she's Liu Meng's mother..."

Jiang Han picked up the document; it was a copy of a testimony transcript, the handwriting messy and forceful.

The signature bar in the lower right corner reads "Zhao Xiulan".

Jiang Han stared at that name for a few seconds.

"Does Liu Meng know?"

"I don't know yet. When Aunt Zhao handed the evidence to me, she only had one request."

"We won't tell Sister Liu Meng for now, but we can't keep this a secret forever."

Jiang Han looked at Xia Yutong with unfamiliar eyes.

During this period, she shuttled between Junhe Law Firm and Xingyue Media, handling the company's daily legal work during the day and spending her time in the archives after get off work reviewing old case files.

No one made her do it; she just felt she should.

Jiang Han didn't even ask for it; Xia Yutong had already investigated everything she could.

"When...did you realize it?"

Xia Yutong's voice was gentle, and she could even empathize with Jiang Han's current state because she had devoted so much energy to the case.

"I overheard the receptionist mention Zhao Xiulan's name and it looked familiar. I confirmed it by comparing it with the ID card in the old case file."

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid there might be some misunderstanding, but now there's no misunderstanding."

Jiang Han nodded, approving of her approach.

He didn't say thank you, because those two words were too light and insignificant compared to Xia Yutong's sacrifices.

"So, you were investigating a case when you didn't go to Xiao Xiao's family's hot spring resort?"

"Yes, we can't waste any time."

Jiang Han, disregarding the lady's presence, reached out and lit a cigarette.

Whether Liu Meng should know about this matter is a matter for Zhao Xiulan, who is involved and Liu Meng's mother, to decide.

Jiang Han picked up the transcript of the testimony again, looked at Zhao Xiulan's signature once more, and then put it back on the table.

"Yutong, what are you planning to do next?"

"The chain of evidence is now closed. The timeline of the three companies withdrawing their orders, Zhao Xiulan's original accounting books, quality inspection reports, and testimony transcripts can all corroborate each other."

"My dad suggested starting with civil litigation, while also reporting clues about commercial bribery and collusion to the regulatory authorities."

Xia Yutong opened her notebook: "Of course, most importantly, I need to confirm what you mean."

After she finished speaking, she stared directly into Jiang Han's eyes, waiting for his reply.

However, in a place where she cannot hear.

A long-lost "ding" sound rang in Jiang Han's mind.