After Black Moonlight revealed her true feelings, everyone panicked.

Lu Sijian hung up the phone with great satisfaction.

So why make trouble out of nothing? Your own answer was clearly the same.

She had been hoping for a different explanation, but it was all for nothing.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Lu Sijian got up and opened the door, and saw Shen Baolin and Zhou Guyang standing outside.

Shen Baolin spoke first: "I was shopping with A-Yang and happened to see Wang Ma, so I guessed you must be here too."

She frowned when she saw Xia Youyou.

Have these two been getting a little too close lately?

The previous times we bumped into each other by chance at dinner parties and banquets, and were able to barely manage to chat. Isn't it a bit too intimate to arrange to have afternoon tea together in private like this?

Xia Youyou stood up: "I'm going to the restroom."

She noticed the wariness in Shen Baolin's eyes, so she simply made an excuse to leave for a while.

As soon as Xia Youyou left, Shen Baolin immediately closed the door. "Jian, why did you meet with her in private? You know she's not a good person!"

Wang Ma disagreed and retorted, "Miss Xia is a very nice person, gentle, sensible and polite."

Shen Baolin glared at Lu Sijian. "See? It hasn't been long, and Wang Ma has already sided with that wicked woman, Xia Youyou!"

Lu Sijian was somewhat confused.

Why are you staring at me like that?

[Then I'm even less of a good person. I'm the most vicious female villain in the whole book. Xia Youyou should be afraid of being tricked by me, okay?]

Shen Baolin forced herself to calm down, "Didn't you see that exposé accusing you of being a mistress? Aren't you afraid that Xia Youyou will deliberately try to trick you into revealing information and then post it online for netizens to judge?"

Even though Lian Buman has many flaws, she is very generous to her close girlfriends.

That group of people opened a shop together, and they made some money on a small scale.

That little bit of money was nothing to Lian Buman, but it was enough for a girl like Xia Youyou from a privileged background.

Otherwise, Xia Youyou wouldn't have been able to come up with tens of thousands of yuan to pay the bill at the restaurant last time.

Lu Sijian: "No, it's not like Youyou posted the post."

Shen Baolin was furious with her. "She didn't post it, but it's definitely related to Lian Buman! Can't you see? The whistleblower is accusing you of being a mistress, but she's clearly biased towards Lian Buman, portraying her as an innocent and pitiful victim, making her suffer all the sympathy!"

Zhou Guyang suddenly interjected: "With this matter suddenly becoming so popular, do you believe there's no one pulling the strings behind it?"

Lu Sijian glanced at him.

Zhou Guyang fiddled with the lighter in his hand, a nonchalant smile on his face.

"Didn't you ever wonder why the matter that the Lou and Lian families kept secret for five years suddenly became the talk of the town? Few people knew about the marriage alliance before, but the banquet that night was the source of the rumors. Almost everyone who attended the banquet heard the rumors. Who was the first to spread them?"

Lu Sijian: "Your analysis is correct. The person spreading the rumors must be someone in the know."

She then looked at Shen Baolin and said, "You're right. In this public opinion storm, who benefits the most and who is the most suspicious?"

"First, there's Lian Buman, then Baolin, many people sympathize with her for being used by her best friend; and finally, there's Lou Xiao, who gained the most fans in this media war!"

Shen Baolin's face froze: "What does this have to do with me? And what does it have to do with my cousin!"

Lu Sijian: "Don't get agitated. I'm just making a reasonable guess; I'm not doubting you."

Why is she so agitated? Doesn't she really want this to be exposed?

Shen Baolin was somewhat annoyed. She didn't want to take the blame for Lu Sijian anymore, but she would never take the initiative to expose this matter!

What kind of person does Lu Sijian take me for? After so many years of friendship, is my character so untrustworthy?

Zhou Guyang saw their reactions, his eyes flickered, and he remained silent.

"Don't worry, my cousin said he'll clear things up for you," Shen Baolin finally said dryly.

Lu Sijian smiled meaningfully: "Yes, Brother Xiao will clarify this matter for me. I just need to wait for him to speak out."

After a pause, she added, "Would you two like to sit down and have afternoon tea together? We can eat while we wait."

Shen Baolin was somewhat unwilling, but Zhou Guyang pulled her to sit down.

“Okay, it’s my treat today. You good friends can sit down and chat.” He waved to the waiter to bring the menu and ordered a few desserts and drinks.

Xia Youyou saw that it was almost time and turned back.

"Sijian, since there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

She was still a little worried, but Shen Baolin clearly didn't welcome her, and staying would only make things more awkward, so she decided to leave first.

Shen Baolin's eyes were full of sarcasm: "You're just leaving like that? Aren't you going to try to help A-Jian?"

Xia Youyou ignored her and simply picked up her bag to leave.

Shen Baolin: "Actually, there is another way. If you can persuade Lian Buman to publicly clarify that A-Jian is not a mistress, it will definitely be more convincing than your cousin's clarification."

Xia Youyou stopped and turned to look at her with a frown.

Shen Baolin: "But Lian Buman will definitely not speak out publicly. After all, the current public opinion is sympathizing with her. She only needs to remain silent to become the biggest winner."

What is Shen Baolin doing, forcing Xia Youyou to take sides? It's a bit baffling.

I only treated Xia Youyou to afternoon tea, did she really have to go to such lengths?

"Youyou, Baolin was just joking. You should go now if you have something to do." Lu Sijian quickly gave Xia Youyou a look.

Shen Baolin sneered: "What, you want to be friends with A-Jian, but you can't even help with this little thing?"

She deliberately provoked Lu Sijian, wanting him to see just how sincere Xia Youyou truly was.

The answer is obvious: not a single point.

Xia Youyou is a sophisticated egoist. She gets along well with anyone who can help her climb the social ladder.

While Lu Sijian's sudden closeness to her was undoubtedly because Lu Sijian wanted to use her to incite Lian Buman, wasn't she also hoping to gain something from Lu Sijian?

You should know that Lu Sijian has three older brothers, and each of them dotes on their younger sister, Lu Sijian.

If Xia Youyou manages to get close to Lu Lingjun through Lu Sijian's connections, wouldn't she be making a fortune?

Lu Sijian should be familiar with this tactic. Didn't she also use herself to steal Lou Xiao back then?

Xia Youyou frowned at Shen Baolin: "Are you kidding me?"

"Just take it as a joke," Shen Baolin said with a mocking smile, showing how easily she could be tested.

Xia Youyou handed her the phone. "Look carefully, I already sent a message to Manman outside to advise her. Who gave you the right to tell me?"

Shen Baolin looked at the chat history in disbelief. Xia Youyou had not only offered advice, but had offered many different pieces of advice.

But how is this possible?

"No, that's not right, you're helping Lian Buman! You said if she helps clear things up, both the Lu family and the Lou family will be grateful for her magnanimity!"

Xia Youyou looked at her as if she were a fool. "I advised her to speak out. If I don't talk about the benefits, am I supposed to talk about the drawbacks? So, do you want me to persuade her or add fuel to the fire?"

[Shen Baolin is being a bit unreasonable. They've already tried to persuade her; their kindness is truly commendable.]

Lu Sijian said sincerely, "Thank you, Youyou."

Even Zhou Guyang couldn't help but speak up: "Baolin, stop fooling around."