Leading the Forest to Fall into a Pit

"Ms. Jiang, I truly don’t understand why you’re accusing me of setting this up," Lin Xuan feigned ignorance. "He was the one who got involved with those two men—how could I possibly have forced him in that hotel room?"

"If you had nothing to do with it, would you dare let us check the surveillance footage?" Jiang Shuqin said coldly.

Once the footage was reviewed, Lin Xuan’s true nature would be exposed, and there’d be no way for him to deceive everyone any longer.

"You want to check the hotel’s surveillance?" Lin Xuan frowned.

Jiang Shuqin replied, "Exactly. The hotel staff said that since you’re involved, we need your consent to access the footage."

Lin Xuan said, "I refuse."

Jiang Shuqin wasn’t surprised by his answer.

Lin Xuan had orchestrated this whole scheme—of course he wouldn’t want anyone to see the footage or expose his true colors to the public.

"Lin Xuan, are you hiding something? Is that why you won’t let us check?" Jiang Shuqin sneered.

Netizens quickly began voicing their suspicions.

—Lin Xuan won’t agree to the check. Could it really be him behind Lin Li’s downfall?

—I bet it’s Lin Xuan’s doing. Otherwise, why block it? If he were innocent, he’d be eager to clear his name.

—Lin Xuan is disgusting. A hypocrite!

Lei Hui, who had been closely following the situation, watched as the crowd turned against Lin Xuan.

He raised an eyebrow.

Well, these people were in for a rude awakening.

He was certain his boss was playing a deeper game—deliberately provoking Jiang Shuqin and Lin Li to walk right into his trap.

If Lin Xuan had agreed too readily, they might have sensed something off and backed out.

Lei Hui calmly leaned back, enjoying the show.

Lin Xuan put on an innocent expression. "Ms. Jiang, you’ve misunderstood me. I’m only concerned that if the footage shows Lin Li was a willing participant, it’ll damage his reputation—and the Lin family’s. I’m thinking of their best interests."

He had given her fair warning.

If she insisted on digging deeper, well, that was her choice.

Jiang Shuqin scoffed. "Lin Xuan, don’t think your excuses will stop me. I know my son—Lin Li would never be involved with men like that."

Besides, if Lin Li had truly been willing, why would he have asked her to investigate in the first place?

"Lin Xuan, if you’re truly innocent, then prove it. Let the entire nation watch the footage with us!" Jiang Shuqin challenged.

"Fine," Lin Xuan sighed, as if reluctantly giving in. "Go ahead and check."

Lin Li frowned.

Lin Xuan was agreeing just like that?

Something felt off.

A cold smirk curled on Lin Li’s lips.

Maybe Lin Xuan was just putting on a front.

Or perhaps he had already bribed the hotel staff to delete the footage.

Hah.

Did Lin Xuan really think deleting the evidence would save him?

If anything, it would only make his guilt more obvious.

This would be the proof everyone needed to see Lin Xuan’s scheming for what it was.

He couldn’t wait to watch Lin Xuan’s downfall.

Jiang Shuqin said, "Lin Xuan, make sure you tune in to the livestream. I want you to see your own disgrace unfold in real time."

With that, she hung up.

Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Livestream?

Unnecessary.

He already knew how this would play out.

Knowing the ending in advance took all the fun out of it.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Right now, he had more important things to do—like cooking for Hua.

No time to waste on Jiang Shuqin’s drama.

Lin Xuan stood and headed to the kitchen.

Butler Wang, as usual, followed closely behind.

He watched intently as Lin Xuan prepared the meal.

The young master’s culinary skills were exceptional.

Learning a few tricks from him would be a treat for his own palate.

After hanging up, Jiang Shuqin turned to the hotel manager.

"Well? Lin Xuan agreed. Can we see the footage now?"

"Don’t tell me the surveillance just happened to malfunction."

"Of course not," the manager chuckled. "The footage is intact."

This must mean Lin Xuan really wasn’t involved—otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed the check.

Interesting.

This was going to be entertaining.

"Please follow me," the manager said.

Jiang Shuqin and a crowd of reporters trailed behind as they were led to a room with a large screen and a long table.

It looked like a conference hall.

Jiang Shuqin frowned. "I thought we were going to review the footage. Why bring us here?"

The manager explained, "There are too many of you. It’s not practical for everyone to enter the surveillance room. Instead, we’ll have two representatives retrieve the footage and stream it here for everyone to watch."

"Fine. I’ll go," Jiang Shuqin said.

The manager smiled. "Ms. Jiang, you’re welcome to stay here. Just appoint two people to go in your stead."

If Jiang Shuqin saw the contents of the surveillance footage and didn’t want to display it on the screen for everyone to see, how else could he enjoy the show?

"Fine," Jiang Shuqin nodded.

After all, many of the reporters here were invited by her—there was no way they would fake anything.

Jiang Shuqin let two journalists she trusted enter the surveillance room.

"This—"

The reporters stared at the footage in shock.

The hotel manager also clicked his tongue and shook his head.

In the hotel conference room,

the journalists waited nervously.

Jiang Shuqin paced back and forth, her brows tightly furrowed.

"What’s going on? Why is it taking so long?"

The sooner this was clarified, the better it would be for Lin Li’s reputation.

And the sooner everyone would see Lin Xuan’s true colors.

One reporter said, "Ms. Jiang, why don’t you sit down for a while? Checking surveillance footage isn’t something that can be done quickly."

"I’m not tired. I don’t need to sit."

Jiang Shuqin continued pacing around the room from time to time.

Meanwhile, Lin Li, lying in his hospital bed, kept staring at his phone.

Soon.

Very soon, everyone would realize that Lin Xuan had pretended to be drunk just to lure him into that room.

And Lin Xuan’s two lackeys were accomplices.

He was the victim!

Soon, Lin Xuan would end up just like him—a despised outcast, hated by everyone!

And the reputation of Lin Xuan’s Tianmu Group would be ruined too.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Lin Li laughed triumphantly.

Lin Qingwan happened to enter the hospital room at that moment.

"Lin Li, what are you laughing about?" she asked, puzzled.

After everything that happened yesterday, how could he still be laughing like this?

Lin Li grinned. "Nothing, I just thought of something funny."

Finally, he’d get to see Lin Xuan’s downfall—how could that not be amusing?

"What’s so funny?" Lin Qingwan pressed.

"Nothing much. I just watched a show where a villain who always had good luck finally got what he deserved," Lin Li replied.

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