Chapter 123 Inside Story

Thanks to your proper handling, quick response, and decisive decision-making in the early stages.

"Thank you, doctor."

She finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the anxiety that had been gripping her slowly subsided.

As soon as she turned around, she saw Fu Lian standing at the corner of the corridor.

Their eyes met briefly in the air. Qiao Wanyin saw the worry in his eyes, as well as the complex emotions of a long-awaited reunion.

"I'm going to check on the children."

Qiao Wanyin said softly and walked towards the ward.

The children lay quietly, breathing steadily, and the monitors emitted a regular beeping sound.

Tiger was the first to wake up, his eyes still blurry but shining: "Aunt Qiao!"

Qiao Wanyin felt the warmth of that small palm, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

"Tiger, be good, don't talk, just rest well. You're fine now, listen to me, rest first."

Looking at the child's pale face, she felt a pang of sadness.

They did nothing wrong, yet they have to bear the cruelest price for the adults' greed and evil intentions.

She is determined to get to the bottom of this!

Qiao Wanyin stood outside the rehearsal hall, her hands gently resting on the cold metal doorknob.

She peered through the glass, her gaze fixed on the figure in the center of the crowd.

Liu Piaopiao was standing at the front of the group, holding a baton in one hand and keeping time with the other.

Every move she made exuded radiance, as if she was born to stand in the spotlight.

Her chest was filled with the music and noise from the rehearsal hall, but her heart was unusually calm.

Her eyes sharpened, and she reached out and pushed open the heavy wooden door.

"Squeak..."

The door was pushed open, and the previously lively music stopped abruptly.

All the female soldiers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the doorway.

Liu Piaopiao also turned around abruptly, and when she saw that it was Qiao Wanyin, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Oh, Director Qiao? What brings you here today? What brings you here for an inspection?"

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about privately."

Qiao Wanyin's eyes, however, were as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at the other person.

"It's about the mass poisoning of children at the mutual aid center this morning."

The smile on Liu Piaopiao's face froze instantly.

But she reacted extremely quickly, regaining her composure in almost half a second.

"I heard about it too, it's terrifying! How are the children now? Are they alright?"

"We were lucky; thanks to timely rescue efforts, all the children are out of danger and their lives are not in immediate threat."

Qiao Wanyin took a step forward, getting closer to Liu Piaopiao.

"However... I'd like to ask you, is it convenient for you to say a few words now?"

Liu Piaopiao paused slightly, then nodded.

She turned to the female soldiers in the rehearsal hall and said, "Everyone, take a ten-minute break, drink some water, and stretch your legs."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the lounge next door.

Qiao Wanyin followed behind her, her gaze never leaving her back.

With only the two of them left in the room, the air seemed to suddenly become heavy.

Qiao Wanyin stood by the door and spoke directly.

"Were you at the mutual aid center around 9 a.m. this morning? Someone clearly saw you leave through the back door of the cafeteria."

Liu Piaopiao paused suddenly as she was about to pour water, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She slowly put down the kettle and said calmly, "I don't quite understand what you mean. I've been in the troupe rehearsing all day and haven't left the rehearsal hall at all. I haven't gone anywhere else."

"Yeah?"

Qiao Wanyin sneered, her eyes becoming even sharper.

"But that person described everything clearly—the time, the place, the clothing—it all matches up. Don't you think this could be a coincidence?"

Liu Piaopiao turned around, her eyes carrying a hint of probing and composure.

"Director Qiao, have you been too tired lately? You don't seem to be in good spirits. Could you have misread something? You can't just say things like that."

"Someone added laundry detergent to the porridge, Liu Piaopiao."

Qiao Wanyin took a step forward, her tone as cold as frost.

"This was not a mistake, nor a coincidence; it was aimed at 'murder'! The goal was clear, and the methods were ruthless."

Her gaze was sharp, meeting his eyes directly.

"You should know how serious the punishment is for intentionally poisoning someone in the military, right? This is no joke; it's a stain that can never be washed away for the rest of your life."

Liu Piaopiao's eyes flickered for a moment, then she forced herself to remain calm.

"Are you trying to scare me? Director Qiao, what evidence do you have? Are you trying to convict me based on just one sentence?"

"I'm just stating the facts."

Qiao Wanyin remained standing in place, her gaze unwavering.

"Just because I have no evidence doesn't mean it didn't happen. I'll ask you one more time: where were you this morning? Did you leave the cafeteria? Did you touch that pot of porridge?"

Liu Piaopiao's eyes darted back and forth between the floor, the wall, and the door, as if she were weighing the pros and cons.

Just when Qiao Wanyin almost thought she was about to confess, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"Qingqing, so you were here."

Fu Lian appeared at the doorway, a hint of anxiety on his face.

His gaze slowly swept between Qiao Wanyin and Liu Piaopiao.

"Commander Fang just contacted you, saying he wanted to talk to you about the poisoning incident and ask for your opinion."

Qiao Wanyin's fingernails almost dug into her palms as she barely managed to suppress the surging emotions.

"Let go!"

She abruptly shook off Fu Lian'an's outstretched hand, her voice trembling slightly.

“I am exceptionally clear-headed right now, more so than ever before. I don’t need you to make decisions for me, nor do I need you to ‘protect’ me.”

Fu Li'an's hand froze in mid-air, instantly becoming complicated and injured.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you... I don't want you to get yourself into trouble because of a moment of impulse."

"unnecessary."

Qiao Wanyin didn't turn her head and strode out.

Protect her?

Why do I always stand on the opposite side of her, even when she has clearly seen the shadow of the truth?

The moment she stepped out of the performing arts troupe building, a cold wind rushed towards her, making her eyes sting.

She took several deep breaths of the cold air, trying to calm herself down with the biting chill.

But her intuition kept reminding her—Liu Piaopiao definitely knew the inside story.

Her eyes, her avoidance, her composure—everything about her was off.

That wasn't the reaction of an innocent person, but rather the behavior of someone who had premeditated and meticulously planned every step of the way.

When I returned to the mutual aid center, the area had already been cordoned off.

Qiao Wanyin took out her ID from her coat pocket and stepped into the cafeteria.

"Director Qiao."

Upon hearing the footsteps, Section Chief Li from the Security Department immediately went to greet them.

"The test results are in. Laundry detergent was indeed detected in the porridge, mainly sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, which is a type of low-foaming laundry detergent."

He paused, then lowered his voice and continued, "But strangely, this component only appeared in the porridge bucket in the west dormitory. The other three buckets, including the one used by the teachers, were all normal and completely uncontaminated."

Qiao Wanyin nodded slightly, her eyes calm.

"I know that bucket was filled separately and delivered to the girls' dormitory in the west district by the dormitory supervisor."