80 village women marry military officers; it was supposed to be a fake marriage.

Zhou Long feigned concern, saying, "I wanted to let this young girl off the hook because it was her first offense, so I didn't pursue the matter and just kicked her out."

I never expected her to be so unrepentant, still causing trouble and damaging the image of our garment factory. It seems that children need to be educated promptly when they make mistakes, otherwise it will ruin their future.

Lin Mei knew he was trying to frame her; she had done this countless times before, and Zhou Long was no match for her.

"Brothers and sisters, don't listen to his nonsense. He thinks he's in the wrong and wants to frame me. How could I possibly steal anything?"

You have no evidence; you're just making empty claims. I won't let this go easily.

Zhou Long raised an eyebrow dismissively, "When we catch a thief, we usually search them on the spot, so we can know immediately if there's any evidence."

He paused, looked Lin Mei up and down with disdain, and said with difficulty, "We are all men in the security department. We can't exactly search a girl's body. Is there any female colleague around who would be willing to help?"

Everyone nodded.

The woman who yelled the loudest stepped forward. "I'll do it. Of course, I can't let you men search me. Otherwise, how can this young girl have the face to live?"

Lin Mei wasn't afraid at all, and confidently stretched out her arms, allowing the woman to examine her carefully.

The woman moved gently, avoiding sensitive areas as much as possible. "Don't be afraid, little girl. If they don't find anything, let's see what they have to say. We will definitely get an explanation for you."

After searching her body, it was time to search her bag. The woman confidently rummaged through the bag. "There's nothing there at all, just some things a young girl would use. Hmm, what's this?"

The woman took out a crumpled piece of paper from her bag, slowly unfolded it, and looked at Lin Mei with disbelief when she saw the words on it.

Lin Mei had never seen this before. She craned her neck to look at it and saw a picture of a piece of clothing drawn on it, along with the size and material.

She turned around abruptly to look at Zhou Long, and seeing his confident expression, she realized where the paper came from.

Lin Mei's nose tingled, and she looked like she was about to cry again. "No, these aren't mine. They put them in secretly."

The woman's gaze shifted from sympathy to coldness. "We've already found this stuff, and you're still trying to argue. Young lady, you can't be like this."

"That's right. This isn't just petty theft; it's stealing secrets from the garment factory. We can't let this kind of behavior get out of hand, or people will follow suit, and how will the garment factory survive?"

"That's right. My relative also works at this garment factory. I heard it was about to go bankrupt last year, but thanks to the master craftsman who came from the main factory in Beijing, the clothes he designed were very popular, which brought the factory back to life."

"I think a competitor is unwilling to give up and sent this girl to steal the design drafts in order to produce sample garments ahead of schedule."

"I never expected this little girl to be like this. She even has the nerve to cry and whine here. Call the police and have her arrested immediately."

"Yes, call the police, find the police, we can't let her get away with this."

Lin Mei panicked. If she were arrested for theft and taken to the police station, it wouldn't be as easy to get out as it was last time.

She covered her face and sobbed, "You're framing me. I didn't do it. I just came to the garment factory to see my sister. Her name is Lin Yue, and she works there."

Zhou Long snorted coldly, "Stop talking nonsense. Lin Yue was sick and took leave yesterday. She didn't come to the factory at all. You are her own sister. Don't you know she was hospitalized?"

She's not at the factory, so what are you up to by coming to see her? Everyone, please be the judge; am I right?

Everyone understood what Zhou Long meant and shook their heads as they left.

Seeing that no one was speaking up for her anymore, Lin Mei anxiously stepped forward to try to pull the woman away, but the woman shook off her arm.

She wiped away her tears, feeling wronged. "Brother and sister, please don't leave! You can't just stand by and watch me die! They're framing me like this; they're trying to drive me to my death!"

Lin Mei is truly aggrieved; she never expected to fall into Zhou Long's trap.

But the items were found in front of so many people, and no matter how eloquent she was, she couldn't explain it clearly, and no one would believe her.

Zhou Long followed closely behind Lin Mei and whispered in her ear, "You brat, you think you're so clever? You dare to fight me? You won't even know how you died."

"You weren't even born when I started using these underhanded tricks. It's only because Mingyue is such a naive and honest girl that she fell for your schemes that you're going to end up in jail."

Lin Mei trembled, then collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears. "I don't want to live anymore! You're framing me and settling a personal score. You're deliberately trying to drive me to my death!"

People passing by saw the little girl crying with tears streaming down her face and wanted to help, but were stopped by others.

"This little girl stole from the clothing factory and got caught red-handed. She's here crying and playing the victim, but don't fall for her tricks."

People just stood at a distance and watched, no one came forward. Lin Mei cried until she had no more tears left, then looked up to the sky and cried out, "Heaven has no eyes! I am an honest student, and I have been framed, and no one is willing to help me. They are all just watching the show."

Li Mingyue was ordered to stay home and wait for the outcome of the investigation. She walked out of the garment factory with her head down and heard Lin Mei's shouts.

She glared at him angrily, then, not wanting to pay him any more attention, turned to leave.

Lin Mei saw her while wiping away her tears. She scrambled to her feet, ran over, and grabbed Li Mingyue's clothes tightly. "Mingyue, please help me. I didn't steal anything. Please talk to your uncle and ask him to clear my name."

Li Mingyue impatiently pulled at her clothes, but Lin Mei grabbed her tightly, saying, "Mingyue, you're my good friend. You can't just stand by and watch me die. I've been so good to you before. You can't be ungrateful."

With a crisp "snap," everyone held their breath.

Lin Mei released Li Mingyue's clothes, covered her face with her hands, and stared at Li Mingyue in disbelief. She couldn't say anything for a long time, and finally only managed to utter a few words, "You dare to hit me."

Li Mingyue raised her hand again, ready to slap Lin Mei, who turned her face away in fright and took a step back.

"You still have the nerve to call yourself my good friend? How did you treat me just now? You lied to me, trying to get me to stand up for you and ruin Lin Yue's reputation."

"When something happened, you pushed me out to take the fall, to be your scapegoat. Lin Mei, you're a treacherous, cunning, and disgusting creature. Whatever punishment you receive, you deserve it."

Huo Qingyan and the others arrived at the gate upon hearing the commotion. The person who had been watching recounted the events to them. Wang Yiming spat, "Serves her right. This bad girl has met her match with Zhou Long. However, the devil is always one step ahead, and she's still too green."