Lin Shuyue had truly become famous. The “Speaking of the World” program had just ended when Lou Fengqin’s phone started ringing.

Most of the calls were from relatives she hadn’t contacted in ages. For those she had a good relationship with, Lou Fengqin happily chatted for a bit. After all, her youngest daughter had made a name for herself, which brought her honor.

But there were also people whose words weren’t so pleasant. Take the current caller, for example. Lou Fengqin rolled her eyes as soon as she saw the number. Usually, she wouldn’t answer this call, but she was in a good mood today, so she picked up.

A voice immediately came from the other end, very loud, as if they were arguing: “Hey, Fengqin, was that person on ‘Speaking of the World’ just now, the one they were talking about, our Ah Yue?”

“Yes.” Lou Fengqin told her daughter and Zeng Xiaoyi to continue eating while she leaned back on the wooden sofa, the smile on her face fading slightly.

“Fengqin, our Ah Yue is so capable! I said it when she was little, that this child would amount to something, and sure enough! Fengqin, I’m really envious of you. The son-in-law Ah Xing found is good, he’s in front of you every day, practically like an live-in son-in-law.”

Lou Fengqin didn’t say anything, and the other person continued to chatter, “Ah Yue is also so accomplished. Mom even praised her when she was watching TV today. As soon as the show ended, she went out to brag about it to the villagers. Fengqin, you’ve really had your share of bitterness, and now sweet times have come.”

Lou Fengqin raised her eyebrows and followed up on the other end’s words, “That’s right, how could my children not be outstanding? How are your second and third sons doing? Where do they work, and how much is their monthly salary? Eldest Sister-in-law, your three sons must be enjoying a good life, right?”

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to choke and hung up after saying a few more words.

Lin Shuyue knew who had called.

It was the original owner’s eldest aunt, Li Chunqiu. After marrying into Lin Village, she gave birth to three sons for the old Lin family and was particularly favored in the family. Especially after Lou Fengqin entered the family and gave birth to two daughters in a row, her tail almost wagged up to the sky.

Even though the two families had separated long ago, it couldn’t stop her from showing off in front of Lou Fengqin.

The old couple of the Lin family also praised her three sons to the heavens, while they always looked down on Lin Shuxing and the original owner. If Lou Fengqin hadn’t insisted, the original owner and her sister’s names would probably have been Zhaodi^[1]T/N: 招娣 – meaning calling for a boy and Pandi ^[2]T/N: 盼娣 – meaning hoping for a boy.

When Lin Jianxin had an affair, Lou Fengqin’s uproar back then had directly caused the old couple of the Lin family to lose face. Later, when Lin Shuyang went missing, the old couple of the Lin family took the lead in saying outside that it was retribution from heaven for Lou Fengqin.

Retribution for her being a woman, but being so strong-willed. Like other families, when a woman was abandoned by her man, who didn’t swallow their pride and pain? Who didn’t just get a divorce and leave with their daughters? Only she, Lou Fengqin, was special!

Not only did she directly go to the police station to report Lin Jianxin for adultery, but she also brought her natal family to take over all the land and houses that had been allocated to Lin Jianxin. The old couple of the Lin family couldn’t even get a piece of it!

Later, Lou Fengqin sold the house and land, which further infuriated the old couple. They had stopped all contact with the original owner’s family from that day on.

Sometimes when they met on the street, they would walk past the original owner’s family without even looking at them.

But all of this change had to be traced back to three years ago. Because the eldest son of Li Chunqiu’s family was getting married. The bride’s family asked for too much betrothal money, and Li Chunqiu’s family couldn’t afford it, so they set their sights on Lin Shuxing.

At that time, Lou Fengqin happened to be at home, and she directly used a big broom to chase Li Chunqiu’s family out. Lin Shuxing wasn’t one to be trifled with either. She directly went back to their hometown and made a scene in front of everyone there.

The two families broke off contact again. Now, suddenly receiving such a call to praise Lin Shuyue made it hard not to think of the proverb about the weasel paying respects to the chicken.

After Lou Fengqin hung up the phone, she kept her eyes narrowed. After a while, she said to Lin Shuyue, “Has your dad looked for you these past two days?”

“No.” Lin Shuyue stacked her empty rice bowl on top of Lou Fengqin’s. Zeng Xiaoyi was very observant and immediately took the bowls and chopsticks out to put them in the basin of water outside.

Lou Fengqin said to Lin Shuyue, “Your eldest aunt’s call today was very unusual. She’s not the kind of person who would praise other people’s children. In her heart, her three sons are the emperor’s sons! Very precious! I’m afraid she’s up to no good!”

Lou Fengqin instructed Lin Shuyue, “If your father looks for you, no matter what he asks you to do, you agree to him and see what he’s really up to.”

Lin Shuyue nodded, “Okay.”

Lin Shuyue remembered what Lou Fengqin had said when Lin Jianxin came over last time, so she asked, “Mom, last time he said he remembered something about when Ah Yang went missing. What did he remember?”

Lou Fengqin shook her head. “He didn’t remember anything. He just wanted to use Ah Yang’s matter as an excuse to come to our door. Don’t I know his little tricks?”

“He sees that I haven’t looked for him again for so many years and thinks I still have feelings for him.”

Lin Shuyue’s expression was complicated. Was she too naive? She had thought Lin Jianxin had really remembered something, but it turned out to be just an excuse?

And using a son who had been abducted for many years as an excuse to approach his ex-wife, wasn’t this man too shameless?

“Why are all these men so confident?” Lin Jianxin’s behavior wasn’t much different from those people in the forum.

Lou Fengqin didn’t want to talk about Lin Jianxin anymore. Just thinking about this man made her feel nauseous now.

At this moment, her phone rang again. Lou Fengqin picked up the phone and smiled. “Old Bai, why are you suddenly calling me? Is there anything wrong? Or is there news about someone’s child again?”

Lou Fengqin got up from the sofa and went into her room, listening to the phone.

Lin Shuyue pondered behind her.

The original owner and her sister had both met Old Bai that Lou Fengqin mentioned.

He was from Yangcheng, had a good appearance and height, and was also a retired soldier. He was the one who organized Lou Fengqin’s family-finding team. He was also the one who came up with the plans for where to go each year.

Lou Fengqin had joined his family-finding team ten years ago. In these ten years, about twenty families had found their children.

Lou Fengqin trusted him very much. Last year during the Spring Festival, he even came to the Lin family for New Year’s Eve dinner.

Lou Fengqin’s face was full of disgust when she just mentioned Lin Jianxin, but as soon as Old Bai’s call came, she instantly beamed with joy, and her voice softened several degrees.

Lin Shuyue felt like there were peach blossoms blooming behind her.

So she got up and walked to the yard, washing dishes with Zeng Xiaoyi while asking her, “Xiaoyi, have you seen that person called Old Bai call my mom often these days while you’ve been home?”

The construction site where Lou Fengqin worked didn’t provide meals, so she had to come back home to eat every day.

Zeng Xiaoyi glanced at Lou Fengqin’s room and said, “He calls every day. I also heard them say on the phone that he’s coming here for the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Lin Shuyue recalled Lou Fengqin’s usual behavior and felt that this relationship had long been a case of mutual affection. Otherwise, with Lou Fengqin’s personality, no man with ulterior motives could get within five meters of her.

“Does my sister know?”

“Sister Ah Xing knows. Sister Ah Xing even said that she’ll ask Brother Zhengjun to roast a duck then.” Roasting a duck was troublesome, and Luo Zhengjun hadn’t done it many times in recent years. If they wanted to eat it, they would just buy it outside.

Hearing Zeng Xiaoyi’s words, Lin Shuyue knew that Lin Shuxing had no objections to Lou Fengqin finding someone again.

Lin Shuyue also had no objections. In her previous life, she didn’t care if her old man found a partner. In this life, she was even less likely to interfere with Lou Fengqin. As long as it was good for Lou Fengqin, she had no objections.

This Old Bai seemed much more reliable than Lin Jianxin!

Lin Shuyue then became concerned about Zeng Xiaoyi. She had been busy with Zhengjun’s matter for a while and hadn’t chatted with Zeng Xiaoyi in a long time.

“Have your parents come looking for you?” Calculating the time, Zeng Xiaoyi had been away from home for over a month. Lin Shuyue felt that her parents should have come looking for her by now.

The smile on Zeng Xiaoyi’s face faded. She put the bowl Lin Shuyue had washed the first time into the clean water basin. “My mom went to find Ah Hao. She told Ah Hao to tell me to go home quickly. The family has arranged a blind date for me. The guy is also from their wholesale market. The family has two shops.”

“He’s 28 this year. He had a wife before, but they got divorced. He saw me at the stall before and took a liking to me. But I was still in school then, so he was embarrassed to say anything. Now I’m not in school anymore, and I even came out of an internet addiction school. He doesn’t mind and is willing to give my mom 30,000 yuan as betrothal money.”

With the exposure of internet addiction schools everywhere, the abuse of girls inside has become common knowledge. Even if those in the know in Pengcheng kept silent about it, they couldn’t control other people’s speculations.

Ah Hao had told Lin Shuyue that well-meaning people had asked her about this.

“My mom told me not to be ungrateful.” Zeng Xiaoyi hadn’t liked going out lately. But Ah Hao and Zhou Bingrong would come to see her from time to time.

Ah Hao had told her everything her mom had said. Zeng Xiaoyi didn’t have any expectations for her parents in the first place, so she wasn’t sad or upset hearing this.

But she still had a lot to say to Lin Shuyue, “She thinks I don’t know. The person she’s talking about loves to beat his wife. His previous wife divorced him because she couldn’t take the beatings. He also has two daughters. He’s not good to his two daughters either. If his daughter says something wrong, he’ll slap her. His oldest daughter is only seven years old.”

Lin Shuyue frowned. “Tell Ah Hao not to let Ah Hao tell you where he lives.”

Zeng Xiaoyi wasn’t even an adult yet, only seventeen! What kind of marriage was this? She should be studying properly at this age. Lin Shuxing had spoken with Lin Shuyue about it, and she planned to sponsor Zeng Xiaoyi to go to high school after the new year.

Lin Shuyue decided that she and Lin Shuxing would split the costs equally, half each.

“I know.” After a pause, Zeng Xiaoyi said, “Sister Ah Yue, do you really think it’s not the woman’s fault when they’re hurt so badly by those men?”

“Of course! How could it possibly be the woman’s fault!” That night, Lin Shuyue talked a lot with Zeng Xiaoyi. The smile on Zeng Xiaoyi’s face became more and more genuine.

That night, Zeng Xiaoyi had a particularly good sleep.

The next day, Lin Shuyue’s report was published as usual. At the same time, her report also appeared on the desk of Wang Ruiying, the chairman of the Pengcheng Women’s Federation. She had been reading this report back and forth for more than ten minutes.

Not only that, but she had also found all of Lin Shuyue’s past reports and read them. After a long while, she made a phone call.

Lin Shuyue was completely unaware of this.

Her entire mind and body were now focused on the upcoming “internet addiction school case” trial.

The trial for this case was in the afternoon. It was still a public trial. This time, there were even more people attending than last time.

Besides the media, there were many students and their parents, as well as people from all walks of life who were concerned about this matter.

The trial for this case lasted much longer than the trial for the Suishan case.

One by one, teenagers walked into the witness stand and described in detail the bestial actions of Xiao Changxin and others once again to the public.

The last to take the stand were the parents of the teenager who had died on the electroshock bed in the internet addiction school.

They carefully recounted how Xiao Changxin had gone to their home to recruit students, what promises he had made to them, and how he had threatened them and offered them money to silence them after their child died.

After four hours of trial, in the end, Xiao Changxin, as the principal offender, was found guilty of kidnapping, illegal detention, practicing medicine without a license, abuse, tax evasion, operating a school without a license, and bribery. With multiple charges combined, with clear facts and sufficient evidence, he was sentenced to twenty-five years of imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life. He was also found guilty of intentional homicide, sentenced to death, to be carried out immediately, and deprived of political rights for life.

His four main henchman instructors were sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment.

Other staff members in the internet addiction school also received prison sentences of varying lengths.

Before being sentenced, Xiao Changxin made his final statement in court. He didn’t think he was wrong.

He felt that although his purpose in running the internet addiction school was to make money, and he hadn’t treated the students well, and his methods were too radical, he had also helped many internet-addicted teenagers return to the right path. He felt that he had also made contributions.

He even firmly believed in the idea that internet addiction was a mental illness and made a very idiotic statement: “Since they’re sick, why give up treatment?”

This sentence not only ignited the anger of those who came to testify, but also ignited the anger of those who came to observe.

When they were taken away by the bailiffs, one person opened their bag, took out rotten fruit from inside, and threw it directly at Xiao Changxin and the others.

Xiao Changxin was directly hit in the face by the rotten fruit, and his glasses were knocked crooked.

The media personnel present captured this scene.

Ah Hao, Zhou Bingrong, and Zeng Xiaoyi were all waiting outside the door. When Lin Shuyue came out, they all bowed deeply to Lin Shuyue in unison.

Lin Shuyue smiled at them and then treated them to popsicles. She chatted with them for a long time, exchanged contact information, and promised to keep in touch more often in the future.

Back at the newspaper office, Li Weisheng had returned.

Lin Shuyue hadn’t seen him for a while. It wasn’t until now that Lin Shuyue learned that he had also gone undercover. He had gone undercover to investigate a black factory.

And the evidence he brought back was very substantial.

After learning about this, Lin Shuyue instantly felt deep respect for him.

She relied on the help of the system to go undercover, but Li Weisheng had just taken a few undercover cameras and gone. He had endured so much hardship and so many beatings, yet he still brought back the evidence.

Lin Shuyue really hoped that there would be more people like Li Weisheng, and many more. Because there was too much suffering in this world, and one person couldn’t expose it all.

She needed more like-minded people.

Li Weisheng, who looked much darker, thinner, and had injuries on his body, couldn’t help but smile after seeing Lin Shuyue’s admiring gaze.

Ever since Lin Shuyue returned from her undercover investigation of the internet addiction school, he had been holding his breath. One day, while wandering on the street, he remembered the kind of black factory his friend had once mentioned.

Working eighteen or nineteen hours a day, with a monthly salary of only a meager hundred or two hundred yuan, not only were they not full, but they would also be beaten. But there were very few reports about this kind of black factory in the market.

So, Li Weisheng had the idea of going undercover. After confirming with Wang Mingzheng, he went with the latest undercover cameras he had bought.

He went for half a month. During this half month, the suffering he endured was more than the sum of his past twenty years. Having grown up in a well-off family, it was the first time he had experienced what it was like not to have enough to eat and still be beaten. And what pained him the most was that when facing those who were being persecuted, he could only be a recorder and couldn’t help them at all.

That feeling of powerlessness pained Li Weisheng. Whenever he was about to give up, he would think of Lin Shuyue.

The evil deeds of those people in the internet addiction school were even crueler than in the black factory. How did Lin Shuyue endure it? Thinking of this, Li Weisheng felt strength filling his body!

There was no reason why he couldn’t do what Lin Shuyue could do!

When he called the police, and the leaders of the black factory were taken away by the police, Li Weisheng felt a sense of relief.

He didn’t choose to go home but returned to the newspaper office to see Lin Shuyue.

He walked up to Lin Shuyue and said, “Lin Shuyue, what you can do, I can also do!”

Lin Shuyue was taken aback. She hadn’t expected that Li Weisheng’s initial intention for going undercover was to compare himself with her. But no matter what his initial intention was, his undercover investigation had helped many people.

She suddenly smiled and said, “You’re amazing.”

Li Weisheng smiled because of Lin Shuyue’s compliment. He said, “I can be even more amazing, Lin Shuyue. One day, I will surpass you and become the most powerful investigative reporter.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for that day to come.”

Lin Shuyue was in a very good mood because of Li Weisheng’s words.

But her good mood dissipated for the most part when she saw Lin Jianxin downstairs after work.

Lin Jianxin was very happy when he saw Lin Shuyue. With a smile on his face, he strode towards Lin Shuyue. “Ah Yue, are you busy tonight? Want to grab a bite to eat together?”

Lin Shuyue didn’t want to eat any kind of meal with Lin Jianxin, but she remembered Lou Fengqin’s words and said, “Then let me call my mom. She’s waiting for me to eat.”

“Okay, okay, you call, you call.” Lin Jianxin seemed particularly easy to talk to.

After Lin Shuyue called Lou Fengqin, she walked with Lin Jianxin to his car. His car was a black four-ringed vehicle, very new, with a very luxurious interior.

As soon as he sat in the car, he couldn’t help but say, “I bought this car last year. Everything included, it cost 400,000 yuan!”

As Lin Jianxin spoke, he also looked at Lin Shuyue’s expression in the rearview mirror.

Lin Shuyue didn’t have high material demands, but she had several tycoon friends in her previous life. What luxury cars hadn’t she sat in? Would she be moved by a 400,000-yuan car from 2004?

She fastened her seat belt and said with a sneer, “It’s indeed not bad. It seems your reward for abandoning your wife and children back then is very generous.”

Lin Shuyue’s words were truly piercing, so piercing that the expression of showing off on Lin Jianxin’s face froze.

Lin Shuyue looked at Lin Jianxin leisurely, very much looking forward to him refuting her or scolding her, so she could take the opportunity to get out of the car.

But she didn’t expect Lin Jianxin to be so tolerant, and return to normal so quickly.

He said, “Ah Yue, there were many reasons for my separation from your mother back then. I didn’t abandon you three siblings either. I often came to see you. It’s just that your mother is strong-willed, and your aunt has a bad temper. It was very difficult for me in the middle.”

“Over the years, Dad has missed out on your sisters’ growth. For this, I apologize to you. Now that Dad is old, I also deeply regret what happened in the past.”

The smile on Lin Jianxin’s face disappeared, and his tone was very heavy.

Lin Shuyue clicked her tongue, not agreeing. Instead, she looked at the street scene outside.

The sky was gloomy this evening, and clusters of dark clouds gathered in the sky. Lin Shuyue estimated that the rain tonight wouldn’t be light.

Lin Jianxin glanced at Lin Shuyue, and seeing that she was unmoved, he continued, “Dad really wants to compensate you sisters. I bought two apartments in Oriental Community, planning to give one to your sister and one to you.”

The Oriental Community was located in the city center of Pinghu District. The community environment was good, the location was good, and the apartment layouts were also good. Relatively speaking, the prices of the apartments were also quite attractive.

Lin Jianxin was so generous that Lin Shuyue raised an eyebrow, feeling that Lin Jianxin’s intentions this time were very big!

She became interested. She wanted to hear what kind of fart this scumbag of a father, Lin Jianxin, had been holding in!

“You bought us apartments? Does your wife agree?”

When Lin Jianxin heard this, he thought Lin Shuyue was tempted, and a smile appeared on his face again. He said, “Who cares if she agrees or not? Ah Yue, your dad is not who he used to be. I used to live by looking at her face, but I don’t need to anymore.”

Lin Jianxin’s words as a nouveau riche made Lin Shuyue click her tongue twice in her heart.

So, he had been with that woman before for her money. Now that he had swallowed up most of her property and his wings had hardened, he wanted to kick her family away and fly solo?

Lin Shuyue really wanted to post something on a certain forum in her later life. She believed that in just a few minutes, Lin Jianxin would be cursed out for several pages!

“Oh, you’re so impressive now.” Lin Shuyue casually perfunctorily, but Lin Jianxin took this sentence as a compliment.

On the way to the restaurant, his mouth never stopped, talking all about the hardships he had endured in Zhang Mei’s family over the years and how much he missed them, his wife and daughter.

Very noisy.

As Lin Shuyue became increasingly impatient, they finally arrived at their destination for dinner.

This was a high-end restaurant. The entire building was illuminated with lights. It wasn’t dark yet, but the lights were already on. The warm yellow light strips enhanced the restaurant’s class.

Two waiters in tailcoats stood at the entrance of the restaurant. Seeing Lin Shuyue and Lin Jianxin walk in, they opened the glass door in unison.

A gust of cold air mixed with fragrance wafted over.

Lin Jianxin, acting very pretentious, said to the approaching waitress, “We have a reservation under the surname Lin.”

“Mr. Lin, please come this way.” The waitress gave a professional gesture inwards, and Lin Jianxin nodded reservedly, following behind her.

After they sat down at their table, the waitress went to take their order. Lin Jianxin then said to Lin Shuyue, “This is a French restaurant. It’s very hard to get a reservation. All their ingredients are flown in from France.”

Lin Shuyue didn’t like Western food. She felt that the ingredients flown in from France weren’t as fresh as what she bought at the market.

She also lost her patience and was really tired of listening to Lin Jianxin’s bragging. She felt like the whole way here, the cows had been flying all over the sky. (meaning his boasts)

She leaned back in her chair with a cold face and said to Lin Jianxin, “My mom is waiting for me to go home. Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what you want from me.”

As Lin Shuyue spoke, she remembered what Lin Jianxin had said earlier about having clues about Lin Shuyang, so she asked, “Last time you told my mom you had clues about when Ah Yang was abducted. Tell me about it first.”

[Ding! Keyword ‘abducted’ triggered, limited-time mission: Search for the abducted younger brother issued, time limit: 12 months.]

[Ding! Good and Evil Detection System has been upgraded, radiation range has been increased to 200 meters. Detailed individual good and evil values can now be queried.]

The Good and Evil Detection System automatically turned on, and then Lin Shuyue’s gaze fell on Lin Jianxin opposite her.

The Good and Evil Detection System showed that Lin Jianxin’s good-evil value was as high as 60%.