Chapter 245 Conscience Tortured

It's been almost five years since the two of them met.

She worked at a research institute, but because she disliked crowds, wasn't gossipy, and didn't actively socialize, she hadn't made any friends even after a long time there.

There are already few female students in research institutes.

Later, Jiang Yufan took the initiative to approach her. The two ate together, worked together, and their relationship improved as they spent more time together.

Lin Xiyin may appear aloof, but she is actually an exceptionally sincere person.

Once she considers someone a friend, she will treat them very well.

She's the kind of person who would want to repay even the smallest kindness tenfold.

Moreover, Jiang Yufan was genuinely good to her back then.

He would ask her if she had eaten, bring her some snacks, and be indignant about Pei Muye and Ming Qingwan's affair.

Thinking back on everything that had happened, Lin Xiyin was even more puzzled as to why Jiang Yufan would do such a thing.

Lin Xiyin was in a daze when her phone rang.

She looked down and saw that Huo Xianyang had sent her a picture.

He said: These are Jiang Yufan's contacts. See if you recognize any of them.

The two actually have many mutual friends, all of whom are colleagues at the research institute.

Lin Xiyin opened the picture and scrolled down little by little, when she suddenly saw a name that shouldn't be there.

Ming Qingwan.

Ming Qingwan?

Did Jiang Yufan know Ming Qingwan?

Yes, she knew this person because Lin Xiyin had told her about him.

But shouldn't they be strangers?

How could they be friends?

However, if this matter is related to Ming Qingwan, then it seems to make sense.

Lin Xiyin smiled and first called Qu Jianhang on her phone, then called Jiang Yufan.

"Meet up? Sure, it's Saturday, I'm not working."

Jiang Yufan readily agreed to meet her.

The two met at a coffee shop near the school, the kind with private rooms.

When Jiang Yufan arrived, Lin Xiyin was already sitting in the private room.

After she went in, she smiled, put down her bag, and sat down opposite Lin Xiyin.

"Xiyin, why the sudden need to meet? Is something the matter?" She asked with a smile, "Or is there something you need my help with?"

Lin Xiyin looked at her.

A genuine smile, flawless.

Although Lin Xiyin did not treat her as a close friend like Xiao Ruoyi, she still gave her heart.

Unexpectedly, she wore such a mask to deceive and hurt herself.

"I have something to ask you." Lin Xiyin looked at her. "We've known each other for over five years, haven't we?"

"Yes, it's been almost six years."

Lin Xiyin asked, "What do you take me for?"

“You’re my good friend.” Jiang Yufan looked at her strangely: “Why do you ask that?”

"You really consider me a friend?" Lin Xiyin looked at her calmly. "Do you know what friendship means?"

"Xiyin, what's wrong?" Jiang Yufan noticed something was off. "Did something happen to you? Are you upset that I sent you that audio? But... but I can't just ignore it. It's like when I saw Pei Muyi and Ming Qingwan having dinner together three years ago..."

"You know Ming Qingwan."

Jiang Yufan felt a pang of panic: "You told me that."

"Yes, I told you." Lin Xiyin's gaze was cold. "But I don't remember sending you her contact information. Why is she your friend?"

Jiang Yufan was stunned, then blurted out in a panic, "What? How could she be my friend..."

"Don't lie," Lin Xiyin said. "Why did you lie to me?"

"I don't……"

Lin Xiyin smiled and said, "I know everything. You put a listening device in my bag. That audio was recorded at my house; it wasn't posted in the group by someone else..."

"What!" Jiang Yufan exclaimed in panic. "Xiyin, what are you saying? I don't understand!"

"Stop pretending." Lin Xiyin even picked up her coffee and took a sip. "I just want to know why you did this."

"I don't……"

"Do you want me to put the evidence in front of you?" Lin Xiyin said, "Your records of buying eavesdropping devices online, the surveillance footage of you putting the devices in my bag... If you want, I can show them to you."

Jiang Yufan's face turned deathly pale.

“If you have nothing to say,” Lin Xiyin said, “then I can only hand it over to the police.”

"No!" Her voice was hoarse and her expression panicked. "Xiyin, no, I, I'm not..."

Lin Xiyin said, "I have time to listen to you slowly. So, tell me why you did this."

Jiang Yufan didn't say anything.

Lin Xiyin smiled and said, "I consider myself to have treated you well, both back in the research institute and now. If you couldn't finish your work, I would do it for you. If you like anything I have, I'll give it to you... You say we're friends, and this is how you treat your friends?"

"No..." Tears welled up in Jiang Yufan's eyes: "Do you really consider me a friend? You've always looked down on me!"

Lin Xiyin was completely bewildered: "When did I look down on you?"

"When have you ever respected me? Do you even consider me a friend? The work I didn't finish is because I'm not competent enough, but you never tell me how to do it; you just go and take credit for it from the boss!"

Lin Xiyin was shocked: "I didn't..."

"Then why didn't you teach me!"

Lin Xiyin thought for a moment before saying, "You're the one who said you didn't understand..."

"Yes, I don't understand." Jiang Yufan looked at her with red eyes: "What about Li Yuanxi?"

Lin Xiyin searched her memory for a moment before remembering who Li Yuanxi was: "What happened to Li Yuanxi?"

"You knew I liked him, yet you kept getting close to him, trying to get him to confess his feelings to you, and then you rejected him. He was heartbroken and left the research institute!"

Lin Xiyin was even more shocked: "When did I get close to him? Besides, I had no idea you liked him!"

“Of course you can say whatever you want now,” Jiang Yufan said. “You have everything: beauty, talent, and even your husband is so outstanding and loves you so much…”

"Wait!" Lin Xiyin looked at her. "He loves me? How do you know?"

Jiang Yufan shut her mouth, but the look in her eyes as she looked at Lin Xiyin was filled with resentment.

Lin Xiyin had no idea that Jiang Yufan harbored so much resentment towards her.

She always thought she had made a friend she could truly trust.

"You think it's just a coincidence that every time I go out, I run into your husband with another woman?"

Lin Xiyin also realized: "You knew Ming Qingwan back then."

"Yes." Jiang Yufan knew that she had been exposed and could no longer hide it: "She gave me a sum of money and asked me to monitor you and tell her your every move."

Lin Xiyin instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

"Just for the money..."

"Just for money? Do you know how important money is to me?" Tears welled up in Jiang Yufan's eyes. "You'll never worry about money, so of course you can't understand my pain!"

“I also worry about money,” Lin Xiyin said. “But no matter how down on my luck I become, I will never betray my integrity or my friends.”

"Don't talk so high and mighty." Jiang Yufan scoffed coldly: "You think you can do whatever you want and get what you want just because you have a pretty face? This world is simply unfair!"

Lin Xiyin stared at her quietly for a few seconds.

Jiang Yufan felt guilty, yet stubbornly looked at her: "Did I say something wrong?"

“You’re right,” Lin Xiyin said. “Because the problem is you. You’ve been blinded by jealousy and can’t see other people’s efforts. You only want to see what you want to see. I was blind to consider someone like you a friend.”

“You have everything.” Jiang Yufan lowered her head and murmured, “Lin Xiyin, yes, I’m jealous. You have no idea how sad I am every day when I’m with you. Back then, I liked Li Yuanxi so much, but he liked you. When I confessed to him, he said I wasn’t even worth a single hair on your head…”

Lin Xiyin's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to begin.

"I may not be as good as you, but I've tried my best!"

Lin Xiyin stood up: "I met with you to tell you that from now on, let's pretend we've never met. And don't do what you did to others again... Why not focus your energy on improving yourself and becoming a better person?"

Jiang Yufan covered her face, her shoulders shaking.

Lin Xiyin used to treat her as a friend, but now... she has no feelings for her at all.

She walked to the door of the private room, without turning around, and said, "Goodbye, Jiang Yufan."

Jiang Yufan heard the sound of the door opening and closing, but when she looked up, Lin Xiyin was already gone.

She knew that her goodbye meant never seeing each other again.

Yes, she was jealous of her, but she wasn't happy about it either.

No one could feel at ease betraying their friends for money.

Lin Xiyin could only blame her, but what could she do?

Her family was poor, and after finally getting into university, she still had to support her younger brother's education.

My younger brother has graduated and we still need to buy a house.

She felt an immense burden on her shoulders.

But Lin Xiyin knew nothing about it; she only blamed her!

Moreover, if this whole thing goes wrong, what will happen to Ming Qingwan...?

Thinking of this, Jiang Yufan couldn't sit still, so she grabbed her bag and chased after him.

"Lin Xiyin!"

She called out to the woman in front of her in the parking lot.

“Yes, I admit it, I did all those things,” Jiang Yufan said. “But do you think Pei Muyi is any good? No man is immune to temptation. He and Ming Qingwan have been having an affair for a long time! You were the only one kept in the dark!”

Lin Xiyin didn't turn around, but said, "Are you still so stubbornly clinging to your delusions?"

“I’m telling the truth!” Jiang Yufan said, “You’ll regret it if you don’t listen!”

“Ming Qingwan asked you to sow discord,” Lin Xiyin said coldly, “If you fail, she won’t give you the money, right? Or she might take back the money she gave you before, so you’re scared…”

Jiang Yufan was furious. She stepped forward and tried to grab her arm.

Suddenly, an arm reached out from the side and grabbed her wrist tightly.

Jiang Yufan screamed in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

Lin Xiyin turned to look at her: "Jiang Yufan, stop doing meaningless things. You're only in your twenties, do you really want to keep doing things that will torment your conscience?"

After she finished speaking, the bodyguard opened the car door for her, and she quickly got in.

The bodyguard who had been holding her wrist released her and got into the car.

The car drove away quickly, leaving Jiang Yufan alone, tears streaming down her face.