Chapter 81 Lawlessness
She stood there, motionless, her eyes fixed on the spot.
Xu Xiaoting couldn't help but wave her hand in front of her eyes, frowning as she asked, "Hey? Where are you?"
Song Zhiwei was startled, her shoulders trembled, and she hurriedly turned her head, stammering, "W-what?"
Xu Xiaoting squinted at her.
"Your soul's left your body? Your face's so red, could you be in love?"
"No way, that's impossible!"
Song Zhiwei was so startled she almost jumped off her chair, and the pen in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
She hurriedly bent down to pick it up, not even caring that her head hit the corner of the table.
"I just...didn't sleep well last night and I'm a little feverish."
Seeing her strong reaction, Xu Xiaoting actually laughed.
"What's there to be afraid of? Dating in the company isn't illegal. Besides, your CEO Sheng has been single for so many years. If someone actually wins him over, I'll be the first to set off firecrackers to celebrate."
Song Zhiwei was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the table, so she could only lower her head and pretend to organize the documents.
"Don't talk nonsense... There's absolutely no way we could be together..."
She forced herself to focus on her work, meticulously reviewing the most tedious contract terms one by one, suppressing all her other thoughts.
I had finally finished the case at hand and was just packing my bag to leave when my phone suddenly started vibrating incessantly.
She looked down and saw that it was a message from Yuan Peipei, with pop-up messages appearing one after another.
[Zhiwei, go check it out! Yuan Yuexin played a recording!]
[Zhou Xiaolu, that idiot, never imagined she'd be betrayed by her own brother. It's hilarious.]
Song Zhiwei frowned, a sense of unease crossing her mind.
She quickly put on her headphones, tapped the audio player, held her breath, and listened intently.
A familiar voice came from inside, clear and distinct.
It's a conversation between Zhou Xiaolu and another man, with a noisy background, like in a private room at a private club.
"Don't worry, I just secretly slipped those million-dollar earrings into her bag."
The man's voice was lowered, tinged with a sinister smile.
"We'll stop her on the spot, search her belongings, and we'll have all the evidence and witnesses."
After a brief pause, Zhou Xiaolu's voice rang out.
"Always going against me on the field? This time we have to make sure she crashes and burns out of our circle."
Song Zhiwei froze, her fingers gripping the edge of the phone tightly until her knuckles turned white.
So, this is the truth.
She stared at the dialog box, took a deep breath, and finally typed out each word one by one.
Who leaked this recording?
Yuan Peipei replied quickly, her tone tinged with schadenfreude.
[I'm not sure. It suddenly appeared last night. At first, it was only circulating in a few small groups, but then it seemed to be deliberately spread by someone, and within a few hours it spread to all relevant social circles. Eight out of ten people who attended the banquet heard the audio; almost everyone knows about it.]
[They were adamant before that you stole it, saying all sorts of nasty things. Now, the evidence is out: it turns out their own shameful act was secretly recorded. Justice prevails, they deserve it! They brought this on themselves, no one else is to blame.]
Initially, public opinion was overwhelmingly negative, with everyone saying that Song Zhiwei had dirty hands.
However, public opinion has now reversed dramatically, and all the cold words and sarcastic remarks of the past have vanished.
Song Zhiwei stood in front of her workstation, her hands resting on the edge of the table.
Her vision was blurry, and her heart was pounding violently in her chest.
After listening to the recording, Zhou Huaiqing's face suddenly darkened.
He suddenly stood up and slapped Zhou Xiaolu hard across the face.
The loud "smack" was particularly jarring in the empty study.
"You worthless thing! What's wrong with you? How could you do such a despicable thing? Huh?"
"Do you know what outsiders will say about our Zhou family when they hear this recording? I, Zhou Huaiqing, have lived an honest and upright life, and I've never been the subject of any backbiting. Now you've squandered it all!"
Zhou Xiaolu's face was jerked to one side by the slap, and her eardrums were ringing.
She staggered, one hand tightly covering her flushed cheek, tears welling up uncontrollably and sliding down her cheek.
"Dad...someone must have deliberately framed me! These aren't my words; they've been edited! It must be Song Zhiwei! She wants to ruin my reputation and retaliate against my previous accusations!"
Zhou Huaiqing roared, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Shut up! Even now you still dare to shirk responsibility? And try to frame others? Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? The evidence is right in front of you, and you still dare to argue?"
"dad!"
Zhou Xiaolu raised her tearful eyes, which were red and full of grievance.
"Why don't you blame Song Zhiwei? This whole thing was caused by her! If she hadn't shown up at the banquet, if she hadn't taken that brooch, none of this would have happened! Now all the blame is on me, is that fair?"
Zhou Yuze, who was sitting on the sofa, finally slowly raised his head and looked at his niece with a cold gaze.
"Xiaolu, you were the one who plotted against Zhiwei first. You secretly spread rumors that she stole; you bribed the waiter to stage the scene, trying to ruin her reputation. Now that the retribution has fallen on your own head, you turn around and blame her?"
Zhou Xiaolu froze, then suddenly looked up at him.
She had assumed that her uncle, being gentle by nature, would always stand by her side and speak up for her.
But she never expected him to expose her so directly.
"Uncle, are you really my uncle? Why do you always side with outsiders? You defend her so much, but criticize me at every turn and show me no mercy? Am I really that worthless in your eyes?"
Zhou Yuze frowned, his eyes sharpened, and his tone became increasingly cold.
"You know best what you did. Don't treat everyone else like fools. If nothing happened, why react so strongly? If you're truly innocent, why are you in such a hurry to frame someone else?"
When Zhou Huaiqing saw that his daughter dared to speak to her elders like that, showing no respect for elders, he was furious and raised his hand to slap her again.
"How dare you speak to your uncle like that? Don't you have any manners? I used to think you were just a bit temperamental and willful, but now you're becoming more and more lawless. You're not like a daughter of the Zhou family at all!"
Zhou Xiaolu was knocked to the ground by the slap.
Looking at her father's ashen face and then at her uncle's indifferent eyes, the grievances in her heart finally erupted completely.
“You’re all bullying me! I’m the victim, I was framed, but instead of sympathizing with me, you all scold and humiliate me one after another! I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to find my mom! Only she will believe me and protect me!”
Zhou Huaiqing turned around abruptly, staring at the butler with a gloomy gaze.
"Uncle Chen, take the young lady back to her room immediately and lock her up! No one is allowed to let her out without my order, not even for a bite of food or a glass of water!"
"Yes, sir."
Uncle Chen nodded solemnly, said nothing more, and quickly waved to the side.
Several well-trained male servants immediately came out from the side hall and surrounded Zhou Xiaolu.
Zhou Xiaolu's eyes widened in disbelief. She struggled violently, backing away while screaming angrily, "How dare you! I am the eldest daughter of the Zhou family! Who gave you permission to touch me? Let me go! Father! You can't do this to me!"
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