She quickly dialed Yuan Qiuping's number and held her breath, waiting.
Thankfully, her phone vibrated, and the call was connected.
Yuan Qiuping's voice still sounded like that of a kind and caring elder sister. "Xiaoyue, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well again?"
Jiang Yue tried to control her breathing. Looking at Lu Qianzhou, she asked with a thick nasal voice, "Sister Ping, just now someone told me that what you did has been exposed. But those people don't suspect you. Instead, they have evidence pointing to me as the one who ordered Lan Mengfan's abduction."
There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone. Jiang Yue waited for a moment before saying, "What's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"
She had been completely sincere towards this woman. Instead of choosing those wealthy and famous playboys, she had chosen Yuan Qiuping as her friend, telling her everything about her life. This was the first time she had trusted a woman so much, and now she was betrayed. How could she accept this?
Since she didn't get a response from Yuan Qiuping, Jiang Yue asked again in a frenzy.
"Is it true? Did you never intend to help me sincerely from the beginning?"
Yuan Qiuping's voice was much colder than before. She only asked, "Are you doubting me? Who told you this?"
It seemed like an admission. Jiang Yue couldn't stop trembling all over. "You don't need to ask me who told me. You just need to tell me yes or no."
Yuan Qiuping was a very smart person and could probably guess what had happened.
She gave a soft laugh, her tone sarcastic. "Didn't I get your consent before doing this? It was you who agreed for me to do it that I found someone to abduct Lan Mengfan for you. As for how to do it, wasn't it all up to you?"
These words instantly plunged Jiang Yue into hell.
Her face turned paler and paler. Looking at Lu Qianzhou in a panic, she held the phone and shouted.
"No, you're just distorting the truth!" She didn't know what to do. She was very afraid that Lu Qianzhou would suspect her and never see her again. "It was you who said you would find someone to deal with Cheng Yanxia and frame Peng Shiyi. But you never told me you would target Lan Mengfan. All of this was your own idea. Why are you framing me?"
She was extremely helpless and kept shaking her head at Lu Qianzhou, hoping he would believe her.
Furious, anxious, and heartbroken, this was the first time in her life she felt so desperate. This feeling was even more suffocating than when she was violated.
Yuan Qiuping said, "Xiaoyue, if I didn't have your authorization, I wouldn't have done these things. So far, everything I've done for you has been for your own good."
"Yuan Qiuping! I've been completely sincere towards you and regarded you as my best friend. I trusted you so much and told you everything. Why are you doing this to me?" Jiang Yue suddenly roared.
Lu Qianzhou watched the whole thing from the side. Women could be really cruel when they were determined.
But at this moment, he finally understood that Yuan Qiuping was the other participant in this matter. She could seamlessly connect from Cheng Hua to Wang Keding and get out unscathed after Wang Keding's accident. She was still living so freely until now. This woman must have extremely high - end means.
All along, she seemed to have no presence, which made him ignore her existence.
Like hearing a really funny joke, Yuan Qiuping burst out laughing.
"You regarded me as a friend, Xiaoyue. Are you joking with me? You're a high - ranking young lady. When did you really regard me as your friend? You've always been ordering me to come up with ideas and do things for you. Aren't I just doing things for money? Where's the talk of friendship?"
She hated people like Jiang Yue and Lu Qianzhou who were so self - righteous. They were actually more despicable than anyone else! Why did they get to live so gloriously?
Even the last glimmer of hope was shattered. She watched helplessly as Lu Qianzhou's gaze towards her grew colder and colder, as if he was looking at a complete stranger.
Listening to the familiar female voice on the other end of the phone, she slowly widened her eyes, as if she had never known this person before.
Was this still the knowledgeable and considerate Yuan Qiuping? Why would she say such things to her? Why was she treating her like this? Was everything in the past just her sweet words? Had she never intended to treat her sincerely... but only used her?
Jiang Yue sat rigidly on the bed, shivering all over. After a while, she said in a trembling voice, "Even if I admit that I agreed for you to deal with Cheng Yanxia and frame Peng Shiyi, why did you target Lan Mengfan? She's just a child. Even if I'm vicious, I've never thought of hurting her!"
Yuan Qiuping's arrogant tone filled her mind. "Xiaoyue, do you know the biggest difference between us?"
"You're different from me. I have nothing. I've achieved everything I have today through my own hard work. You're in the spotlight. No matter how big a mistake you make, your family will take responsibility for you. Do you really think from the bottom of your heart that we're equal at birth? Since you can't even do that, why are you still asking me for a reason?"
These words seemed to hit Jiang Yue's Achilles' heel.
"By the way, I'm leaving the capital today and will never come back. The person I've always been guarding here has completely left me. He won't come back."
Looking at the plane ticket in her hand, Yuan Qiuping took a deep breath. Tears inexplicably fell from the corners of her eyes. She gave Jiang Yue one last kind reminder.
"Xiaoyue, I've just realized that men are unreliable. Especially in your current situation, don't do stupid things for Lu Qianzhou anymore. He's not worth it."
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
Jiang Yue looked at the darkened phone screen. Her hand slipped, and the phone fell on the bed.
She wanted to explain to Lu Qianzhou, but after Yuan Qiuping's words, any explanation seemed so pale and she didn't know where to start.
"Qianzhou, I'm not..." She choked up and couldn't speak.
Her voice suddenly stopped under Lu Qianzhou's expressionless gaze.
Jiang Yue shouldn't have been this stupid.
What on earth had clouded her mind and made her go down this wrong path?
"You know what she just said is false, right? I was just jealous of Cheng Yanxia, but I never thought of hurting Lan Mengfan. I'm not like this. I haven't changed. I'm still the old Jiang Yue. I'm not a bad person..."
She tried so hard to clear herself, as if she hated the self whose mind had been clouded. So the regret came so quickly.
After a moment, Lu Qianzhou calmly asked her, "A long time ago, you also made a choice. Do you still remember?"
At that time, they were all children. Lu Qianzhou, she, and Fang Jiangyi were all very good friends.
But later, a series of accidents happened to the Lu family. Lu Qianzhou lost his mother and his pillar. Everyone thought he had lost his best opportunity. Coupled with the rumors, people avoided him.
Both she and Fang Jiangyi chose to leave him and didn't stand by his side.
"That wasn't my intention. I didn't understand anything at that time. My father told me to do so, and I had no room to refuse. So later..." Jiang Yue explained incoherently.