Volume One, Chapter 17: The Best Way to Revenge a Woman

As soon as Zhuang Jie finished speaking, Xu Yao froze completely. After a long moment, she finally asked, “Who told you this? Fang Yi? Or Lin Xiaobing?”

Zhuang Jie didn’t answer but pressed on, “At that time, did you actually intend to end Lin Xiaoyang’s life that way?”

“I did consider it,” Xu Yao replied calmly, her tone detached, as if life no longer held any meaning for her. “But if I had truly wanted her dead then, she definitely wouldn’t have made it back alive.”

“You already pushed her down. She caught onto a vine by the riverbank and climbed back up,” Zhuang Jie said.

Xu Yao gave a faint, disdainful smile. “That was just a small slope, still quite far from the river. Even if Lin Xiaoyang’s life was fragile, she wouldn’t have tumbled all the way into the water.”

Zhuang Jie paused, then asked again, “So, you mean that day you specifically arranged to meet Lin Xiaoyang just to vent your inner frustrations in that way?”

“Yes,” Xu Yao nodded.

“Then why by the riverbank?” Zhuang Jie pressed.

“Because I often take walks there,” Xu Yao answered, quickly adding, “It was a place where he and I used to walk together…”

Her voice faltered, and a flicker of pain crossed her eyes.

“With whom did you walk? Can you tell me?” Zhuang Jie asked.

“My ex-boyfriend…” Xu Yao’s voice dropped suddenly. “That day I sent Lin Xiaoyang over because I wanted her to understand exactly what she had done wrong, to realize how much pain her actions caused me.”

“So you were just trying to scare her?”

“There’s no such thing as just scaring,” Xu Yao shook her head. “I was furious the moment I saw her. My heart hurt terribly—I just couldn’t hold back... When I saw her fall after I pushed her, then watch her struggle, clinging to that vine as she climbed back up, I felt an inexplicable pleasure…”

She smiled briefly before continuing, “The more miserable and helpless she looked, the calmer and happier I became... Standing above her, watching her grasp that withered vine, I was so worried it might snap.”

“Was that a sudden pang of conscience?” Zhuang Jie asked. “Were you worried she might fall and die? Or afraid you’d face legal consequences?”

“No. No,” Xu Yao shook her head again, chuckling softly. “I was thinking if she did fall, I wouldn’t get to see her suffer and be humiliated. Letting her die would be too easy on her. The cruelest thing is to make her life worse than death—just like how I feel now.”

When Xu Yao finished, Zhuang Jie was stunned. “Xu Yao, how could you…”

Before she could finish, Xu Yao spoke again. “How could I be so vicious, right? Let me tell you, the pain she suffered wasn’t even a fraction of what I endured because of her. The harm she caused me is something she can never repay in this lifetime. But it’s really a pity she suddenly died! Who could be so cruel as to deliberately go against me?”

Zhuang Jie listened, half understanding, half confused. “Xu Yao, what exactly do you want from all this?”

“I might be the person in this world who least wants Lin Xiaoyang to die easily,” Xu Yao said through gritted teeth. “She’s like a fly stuck in my throat that I can’t swallow. Just thinking of her makes me sick. But I don’t want her to die just like that—it’s too easy for her! I want to torment her slowly, make her life worse than death.”

Hearing Xu Yao’s words, Zhuang Jie felt like she was listening to a story both strange and familiar, yet she never imagined such people truly existed in reality.

Quickly changing the subject, Zhuang Jie asked, “After you left Yi Media, did you really still have any contact with Fang Yi? I mean... in terms of a romantic or sexual relationship.”

“What do you mean by romantic or sexual relationship?” Xu Yao asked. “Sleeping with him?”

Zhuang Jie blushed and hurriedly corrected herself, “Sorry, I meant emotional or romantic involvement…”

“Actually, I really want to sleep with him,” Xu Yao interrupted.

Zhuang Jie was stunned again.

Xu Yao continued calmly, “He’s so outstanding, so handsome, wealthy, and charming. Being with a man like that is a blessing for any woman. And if I could gain something from it, that would be like having saved the galaxy in a past life.”

Her tone was unusually calm, as if deliberately provoking Zhuang Jie, or perhaps using this to express her deep anger.

Just as Zhuang Jie was about to respond, Xu Yao added, “What I said just now applies to most women. If I ever sleep with Fang Yi, there’s only one reason… to take revenge on Lin Xiaoyang. If I had the chance, I’d secretly record every moment—the photos, the videos, even the audio—and send them all to Lin Xiaoyang. I want to watch her completely break down in front of me.”

For the remainder of the conversation, Xu Yao maintained this state, seeming to be the person who hated Lin Xiaoyang most in the world, yet paradoxically the one who least wanted her dead.

On the way back, Zhuang Jie kept recalling Xu Yao’s words; the more she thought about them, the more chilling they became.

She told Yang Chenxu, “I think Xu Yao is really extreme. Even if she was hurt, she wouldn’t act like this so easily, would she?”

“I think she might be depressed,” Yang Chenxu corrected.

Zhuang Jie paused. “That makes sense. Look at her wrists… it’s clear she’s had suicidal tendencies recently.”

“Isn’t there a community mental health program starting soon?” Yang Chenxu said. “We could try to reach out to Xu Yao, offer some counseling. If that doesn’t help, she should see a doctor.”

“Could depression cause someone to act irrationally?” Zhuang Jie asked. “For example, losing control of their emotions and doing something completely unpredictable?”

“You’re wondering if she might have taken Lin Xiaoyang’s life in an uncontrollable emotional state?” Yang Chenxu asked.

Zhuang Jie thought for a moment, then said, “It’s normal for her to hate Lin Xiaoyang so much and want her gone.”

“That’s hard to say,” Yang Chenxu replied. “But I think there’s some truth in what she said herself.”

Zhuang Jie turned to Yang Chenxu. “You mean she hopes Lin Xiaoyang is alive, being slowly tortured?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, Zhuang Jie had another thought. “Why do I feel like Xu Yao’s image doesn’t match at all with what Zhang Lei described?”

Yang Chenxu hesitated. “I thought maybe he was mistaken at first, but then I realized it’s normal. A sudden, crushing blow can completely change a person’s mental state.”

...

Back at the station, Yang Chenxu asked, “Have we found anything on the surveillance footage from Lin Xiaoyang’s home?”

“Yes, we checked,” Yu Yang said. “Come take a look, it’s all here…”

Yu Yang had just joined the Guangnan Public Security Bureau last month and mainly assisted colleagues with temporary tasks.

After watching some of the footage, Yang Chenxu noticed that, around the time Lin Xiaoyang went missing, no one else seemed to enter or leave her residence except Lin Xiaoyang herself. Curiously, he asked, “Doesn’t she have two children? Don’t they live with her?”