Chapter 99 Lingering Fear

Zhao Yaqin was completely at a loss: "Then...what should we do?"

Nan Zhiyi said, "Find a young soldier who is unfamiliar and has no connection with either of your sides, and have him wait nearby. When he sees Li Weidong, tell him... tell him that you have something urgent to attend to and that he should leave immediately and absolutely not go into the warehouse... I'll stay with you tonight, and we'll... wait and watch the show."

Zhao Yaqin composed herself and nodded vigorously: "Okay! I...I know a logistics soldier, he's very honest, nobody pays attention to him...I'll go find him!"

She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, her eyes filled only with lingering fear and resolve. "Zhiyi, thank you... If it weren't for you..."

Nan Zhiyi gently shook her head; there was no point in saying thank you now.

She nudged Zhao Yaqin, "Go quickly! Be careful, don't let anyone see you looking for Little Soldier X. I'll wait for you here."

Zhao Yaqin glanced at her before opening the door and disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Nan Zhiyi leaned against the table, listening to the footsteps fade away, before letting herself slide weakly into a chair, her stomach churning.

As darkness fell completely, the streetlights in the residential compound lit up one by one.

Zhao Yaqin hurriedly returned to the publicity department office, her face still showing signs of tension.

"How is it?" Nan Zhiyi asked immediately.

"It's done!" Zhao Yaqin lowered her voice and spoke quickly. "Xiao Qin saw Li Weidong walk towards the warehouse with her own eyes, and immediately went up to relay the message as I told her. After hearing it, Li Weidong turned around and left without entering the warehouse!"

She breathed a sigh of relief, then a wave of intense fear washed over her. "Zhiyi, thank goodness..."

Nan Zhiyi also breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that no one went in. Now, we should 'go home'."

"Go home?" Zhao Yaqin was taken aback. "No...no going to see them?"

"How do we see it? Go directly to the vicinity of the warehouse? Wouldn't that tell everyone we know there's something going on there? Xu Nannan doesn't need to show herself at all. All she needs is an anonymous tip or a phone call from a 'concerned citizen,' and the security department or political department will naturally come to 'inspect' her. All we need to do is... appear on the 'right' road at the 'right' time."

Zhao Yaqin understood: "You mean...we just happened to bump into each other?"

"Yes. Let's go, go home as usual after get off work."

Nan Zhiyi straightened up, packed her things, and walked out of the office building side by side with Zhao Yaqin. They pushed their bicycles and embarked on the path leading home to the family compound.

The two deliberately slowed their pace.

The night wind was cold, carrying the desolation of early winter.

This road passes a fork in the road leading to an abandoned warehouse.

They walked in silence until they were about ten meters from the fork in the road, when a series of chaotic footsteps and a man's dissatisfied complaints came from ahead, which were particularly clear in the quiet night.

Several beams of flashlight swayed as they turned off the side road leading to the warehouse and headed in their direction.

"...What the hell is going on! The whistleblower letter was written so definitively, but what happened? They didn't even catch a hair on the ground!" A gruff voice cursed as he walked by.

"The warehouse was locked tight, and it was pitch black inside! What a wasted trip!"

"I think someone's just making baseless accusations out of boredom! It's making me stand in the cold wind all night!"

"Alright, that's enough. Just go back and write a statement," a voice that sounded like a minor leader said impatiently.

The group complained as they passed the two men and headed straight for the camp's office area.

Once the group of people had gone far away, their footsteps disappeared into the night.

Zhao Yaqin grabbed Nan Zhiyi's arm, her voice trembling with relief: "...Did you hear that? A whistleblower letter! It really is a whistleblower letter! She...she really dared to do that!"

Nan Zhiyi grasped her cold hand: "It's confirmed now. Sister Yaqin, Xu Nannan's 'kindness' was just a conspiracy."

Zhao Yaqin was shocked, angry, and mostly confused: "Why?! I have no grudge against her! Why would she do this to me? What does she want?"

"Having no grudge doesn't mean there's no motive. Sister Yaqin, Xu Nannan's sudden approach to you, inducing you to make a mistake, and then reporting you—this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it was premeditated. There's likely someone behind it, or... she can gain some benefit from this. Perhaps not a direct benefit, but perhaps to curry favor with someone, or... to hurt you..."

Zhao Yaqin gasped, stunned by the complex possibilities.

She had only thought about personal grudges before, not realizing that it might involve something much deeper.

"Then... what should we do? Go and question her?" Zhao Yaqin asked, somewhat bewildered.

Nan Zhiyi shook her head.

"What if we confront her now, but we don't have solid evidence and she vehemently denies it?"

"Doing that will only alert her. If she knows we've seen through us, she and the people behind her will only hide deeper or come up with more insidious tricks. Don't forget, what happened between you and Li Weidong in the warehouse before, although you weren't caught in the act, is still something that someone else has leverage over you."

Zhao Yaqin's face turned pale, and she panicked even more: "Then...what should we do? Are we just going to let her hurt me like this?"

Nan Zhiyi looked earnestly into her eyes, "Asking your parents for help is your best option right now."

Zhao Yaqin instinctively resisted, "Tell my mom? No way! If she knew about me and Li Weidong... she'd kill me!"

Nan Zhiyi had no choice but to explain it to her in a detailed and thorough way.

"This isn't about admitting your mistakes and getting punished; it's about seeking help and protecting yourself! You need to proactively tell your mother that you've found Xu Nannan to be very suspicious. She's deliberately trying to get close to you, manipulate you, and even set a trap tonight to completely ruin you with her 'moral issues'! You need to show fear, apprehension, and confusion! Have your family investigate whether someone is behind Xu Nannan."

Zhao Yaqin was stunned, her mind racing.

Nan Zhiyi continued, "If your mother knew that someone wanted to harm her daughter like this, she would never sit idly by! She would use her connections and influence to investigate Xu Nannan and even dig out the person behind her. This is a hundred times better than the two of us fighting alone! If your mother takes action, she could very well kill Xu Nannan or force out the mastermind behind her."

As night fell, Zhao Yaqin's eyes slowly brightened.

Nan Zhiyi's analysis is correct: using the mother's anger and protectiveness to deal with the enemy lurking in the shadows... this is indeed the key to breaking the deadlock.

She took a deep breath, her eyes hardening. "Thank you, Zhiyi. ...I understand. I'll ask for leave first thing tomorrow morning to go home and explain things to my mom in person!"

At least he's not completely stupid.

Nan Zhiyi's tense nerves finally relaxed a bit. "Okay, you get a good rest tonight and think about what to say. Let's go back."

"Are you... okay riding a bike by yourself?" Zhao Yaqin looked at Nan Zhiyi, somewhat worried.

"It's alright, it's not far." Nan Zhiyi got into the car. "Be careful yourself."

"Mm," Zhao Yaqin replied.

The two went their separate ways.

When Nan Zhiyi got home, she didn't even want to eat dinner. She quickly washed up and went to bed.