Chapter 9: Who Is the Good Person

Ye Bufan was brimming with confidence—there was no way the assailant could have survived. Just as he was about to leave, a few security officers surrounded him, guns raised in his direction. He had no choice but to raise his left hand in a careless, nonchalant manner and replied, "That was self-defense. If you don’t believe me, check the surveillance footage!"

Nevertheless, he was still taken in to assist with the investigation. By the time the body of the vagrant was retrieved, he was already dead.

Ye Bufan couldn’t stop thinking about his phone. But when the security checked the surveillance footage, they discovered it had been picked up by a man in a baseball cap, and the device was now switched off.

The one who took the phone was Qiu Tianyi, acting on Cao Mang’s instructions, in exchange for a single marshmallow.

Whether he liked it or not, Cao Mang dragged Qiu Tianyi into the amusement park, not forgetting to call Ye Xingmei.

"Your people are useless! I told you to send more!" he complained.

Ye Xingmei’s voice was tinged with tears. "How can you blame me? That was my uncle—he’s always doted on me since I was little..."

At that moment, she was full of regret. She hadn’t wanted to involve her family in this matter, so she’d asked her uncle for help—which had ended in disaster.

"Next time, let me handle it myself. Sigh!" Cao Mang hung up with a sigh, thinking that if it hadn’t been in such a public place, he would have dealt with it himself.

Back at the Qiu family mansion, Qiu Yurou was restless. She had already learned that Ye Bufan had been detained and hurriedly arranged for a lawyer to get him out.

Although it was self-defense, a life had been lost; it wouldn’t be easy to secure his release without a thorough investigation.

When the identity of the deceased was confirmed, Qiu Yurou’s face was a mix of anger and helplessness—she knew Ye Xingmei was seeking revenge for Duan Xingyu.

The thought of Ye Xingmei marrying her younger brother gave Qiu Yurou a headache. When she saw Cao Mang return, she quickly dragged him into a corner.

"Ye Xingmei sent someone to assassinate Bufan," she whispered.

Cao Mang remained calm. "What’s that got to do with me?"

"He’s avenging Duan Xingyu, and you were the one who did it."

"I was just following orders. You’d better convince your father to call off the engagement."

Remembering who had truly given the order, a chill ran through Qiu Yurou, and she hurried to her father’s study.

She failed to realize that she herself was the true cause. If she hadn’t gotten involved with Ye Bufan, none of this would have happened.

Before long, she ran out of the study in tears, having been thoroughly scolded.

It wasn’t just for trying to persuade him to call off Ye Xingmei and Qiu Tianyi’s engagement—she had also accused Cao Mang of having improper intentions toward her, which sent Qiu Zhenhu into a rage.

If she hadn’t had an affair with Ye Bufan, none of these troubles would have arisen.

He was even more convinced that she was slandering Cao Mang, thinking she only wanted to help Ye Bufan vent his anger.

He had already heard from his wife about how his seemingly well-behaved daughter was falsely accusing Cao Mang.

The next morning, Ye Bufan was finally released, thanks to connections he had from his military days.

He bought a new phone to let Qiu Yurou know he was safe, but didn’t mention the matter of the photos.

He still believed they were fake and, having failed to catch the person behind the smear, felt embarrassed to bring it up.

His sweet words filled Qiu Yurou with delight, her psychological defenses gradually crumbling. She began to waver in her resolve to wait until their wedding night to give herself to him—instead, she considered offering him some other form of pleasure.

After hanging up, she frowned in deep thought. Both Cao Mang and Ye Xingmei were a menace—she had to eliminate the threat.

Since Ye Xingmei and Qiu Tianyi’s marriage couldn’t be stopped for now, she would have to deal with Cao Mang first. After careful deliberation, she devised a plan and had a servant summon Cao Mang.

When he entered, Cao Mang greeted her respectfully. "Miss, how can I be of service?"

Qiu Yurou’s expression was grave. "Name your price. How much will it take for you to delete those photos?"

Cao Mang looked genuinely surprised. "What photos?"

"Don’t pretend! The ones you forced me to take." She picked up a check. "Here’s ten million—surely that’s enough for you?"

With a look of wounded indignation, Cao Mang tore up the check.

"Miss, I was raised by the Qiu family and am loyal to it. If Ye Bufan hadn’t attacked first, I never would have hurt him. If you’re trying to take revenge on me for that, there’s no need..."

He picked up a fruit knife from the table, startling Qiu Yurou.

"What... what are you doing?"

A scream followed as Cao Mang drove the knife hard into his own left arm.

"Does that satisfy your anger?"

"You... you scoundrel! You did take those photos..."

Cao Mang pulled out the knife, about to stab himself again, when Su Meiqi emerged from the inner room.

"Stop!"

She turned to Qiu Yurou. "Enough! Talented people are hard to find—do you really want Cao Mang to leave and join another family?"

Qiu Yurou had called her in as a witness, but ended up shooting herself in the foot.

"You’re all being deceived by him—he’s not a good person..."

Su Meiqi snorted coldly. "In your eyes, only Ye Bufan is a good man! You wanted to use me to frame him—what a delusion!"

She turned to Cao Mang. "Go get that wound dressed!"

Cao Mang’s injury was shallow; he’d avoided the artery on purpose, and his strong muscles had already closed the wound. With a look of sorrow, he left to ask a servant for a medical kit, bandaged himself, and then went to the hospital for stitches.

He only needed three stitches—it hardly affected him at all—when he received a bank notification.

Old Yang had transferred a hundred thousand to his account, called to comfort him, and told him to take the night off and relax.

Yet Cao Mang returned to the Qiu home, claiming he had nowhere else to go and would continue looking after Qiu Tianyi.

Late that night, he left Qiu Tianyi’s room. The Qiu family was typically lax within their own walls, and there were no surveillance cameras in the villa.

He stood outside Qiu Yurou’s bedroom door. She had never developed the habit of locking her door at night, and it opened easily.

She was sleeping soundly. Cao Mang pressed his thumb to the carotid artery in her neck; in her dreams, Qiu Yurou’s brain was deprived of blood and she fainted instantly.

At dawn, Qiu Yurou woke feeling sore all over. When she sat up, the pain made her grimace as she staggered to the bathroom.

Soon, a scream rang out and the maid who was making the bed rushed in.

"Miss, what’s wrong?"

There was a large patch of blood on the toilet paper. The experienced maid knew it wasn’t her time of the month.

"Don’t worry, miss. It’s probably just hemorrhoids. Shall I have a look for you?"

Qiu Yurou was too embarrassed to let her, but the pain was too much. She had the maid help her to the hospital—an opportunity to meet Ye Bufan in secret.

But the attending physician was male, so she refused to be examined.

When Ye Bufan arrived, he checked her pulse and reassured her. "You’re fine—nothing to worry about. You’ve just been under a lot of stress lately and built up too much internal heat. Eat less spicy food and I’ll prescribe you some medicine."

That was the conclusion given by his department. He had planned to take things further with her today, but seeing her so uncomfortable and unable to lie on her back, he let it go.

Near noon, two female bodyguards were ordered to bring her home. She could only lie facedown on the sofa, chatting with Ye Bufan on her phone.

As they talked, Ye Bufan suddenly stopped replying, claiming he had urgent matters to attend to, clearly agitated and anxious.