0p0 Chapter 208: What Goes Around, Comes Around
Chapter 208: What Goes Around, Comes Around
School hadn’t let out for the day yet. As soon as Shanshan walked out of her classroom, she spotted a shady figure lurking by the school gate.
"Ling Xueshan, please, save me! I can’t take it anymore!"
"Hey, what are you doing?! Get up and talk. The ground is cold!"
Shanshan was startled and quickly reached out to pull her up.
Students immediately stopped to watch, and a few even took out their phones to record.
She quickly grabbed Cao Jiajia’s arm and pulled her up. "Don’t put on a show out here. Come inside with me first."
The hallway was crowded with prying eyes, and Cao Jiajia’s sudden kneeling drew a lot of stares.
Shanshan had no choice but to drag her into an empty stairwell.
Seeing her about to kneel again, Shanshan stopped her flat-out. "Just say what you have to say. Cut the phony act. I’m not buying it."
She hated it when people played the victim to get sympathy, especially two-faced ones.
"Fine, fine, I’ll talk!"
Cao Jiajia sniffled and wiped her face messily.
She leaned against the wall to catch her breath, and her voice trembled as she haltingly explained what had happened.
But Shanshan still managed to get the gist of it.
After listening, her disgust for Cao Daqiang reached a new low.
"Ha, it seems the tables have turned."
She let out a soft, barbed laugh.
Cao Jiajia shrank back, not daring to breathe too loudly.
In truth, Shanshan didn’t really hate Cao Jiajia that much. Besides, she had no intention of letting Cao Daqiang remain scot-free. So, she decided to give things a little push with a pointed remark.
"Your mom... would really kill herself over a man? Don’t be ridiculous."
"B-But everyone said she committed suicide..."
Cao Jiajia muttered blankly, her voice trembling.
Shanshan sneered, staring at her. "Do you really think a selfish person like your mom would be willing to give her life for someone else? Especially for a man she’d long since looked down on?"
The words struck Cao Jiajia like a bolt of lightning. She shuddered, her pupils contracting.
Memories suddenly flooded back. She remembered her mother’s indifferent face before her death, the constant arguments at home, the way her mother had long since stopped wanting anything to do with her father.
It seemed nothing was as simple as it appeared.
"You... What are you saying?"
"I didn’t say a thing."
The corners of Shanshan’s mouth lifted slightly. She watched as the light in Cao Jiajia’s eyes slowly darkened, replaced by a spark of ferocity. She was immensely satisfied.
She knew the seed had been planted. She wouldn’t have to waste any more words on what came next.
"However, I do have some things here that might be useful to you. If you want revenge, we can take him down together."
She slowly took a USB drive from her bag and placed it on the table, her movements calm and unhurried.
It contained all the evidence she had secretly gathered over the years, enough to utterly ruin Cao Daqiang.
"Deal! I’m with you!"
Cao Jiajia blurted it out without a moment’s hesitation.
’Even if I’m just being used, could it be any worse than this?’
She looked up at Shanshan, the cowardice in her eyes replaced by grim determination.
She was sick of depending on others, sick of groveling, and even sicker of living under the shadow of that man’s name.
Besides, she knew Ling Xueshan.
The girl might be cold, but she played by the rules and wouldn’t stab you in the back.
Once she made a promise, she wouldn’t go back on it. And she wouldn’t scheme against her partners during a collaboration.
On that point, she could be trusted.
The two of them hit it off immediately.
Shanshan had a frightening amount of dirt on him. Combined with Cao Jiajia’s willingness to go all out, they quickly figured out where all of Cao Daqiang’s mistresses were.
They had a clear division of labor: one provided the intel, the other carried out the plan.
Every strike was precise, ruthless, and left no room for recovery.
Following Shanshan’s plan, Cao Jiajia brought along Yu Yeping, who had recovered his spirits, and they went to "visit" them one by one.
To top it off, they even managed to find Cao Daqiang’s favorite illegitimate son and gave him a beating so bad his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.
The boy tried to run, but Yu Yeping yanked him back.
No one held back as the fists flew, each blow carrying years of pent-up rage.
Cao Linlin, his face covered in blood, stumbled his way home.
The moment Kang Yueyue saw her son in that state, she burst into tears.
She demanded that Cao Daqiang step up immediately, find the people who hurt their boy, and get justice.
But by the time Cao Daqiang sent his men to settle the score, he discovered that Cao Jiajia and Yu Yeping had already moved.
Not only had they left their old place, but they had also taken refuge in a territory under Shanshan’s protection.
The place was well-hidden and heavily guarded; outsiders couldn’t get in.
The men Cao Daqiang sent asked around everywhere, scouring several nearby blocks, but they couldn’t find a single clue.
It was as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
Shanshan was lying on the rooftop of a nearby building, a pair of black binoculars clutched tightly in her hands.
Cao Daqiang charged over with a group of men, looking furious.
They threw open the door only to find the room completely empty. The tables, chairs, and beds were all gone.
The walls, however, were covered in gaudy writing.
The words were scrawled crookedly in red paint, making them especially jarring.
Every sentence was a stab to the heart, listing all the terrible things Cao Daqiang had done.
There was the time he bullied his neighbors, the story of how he abandoned his wife and daughter, and the scandal of him docking his workers’ wages.
These deeds were listed one by one, written out in crystal-clear detail.
The onlookers grew more and more ashamed as they read, their faces flushing with vicarious embarrassment.
"Haha, look at that scumbag’s face! You’ve gotta see this, it’s so satisfying!"
Shanshan was so delighted she slapped the ground. She pulled the binoculars away from her eyes and quickly thrust them at Cao Jiajia, urging her to look.
Cao Jiajia took them, put them to her eyes, adjusted the focus, and took in the whole scene.
All the words on the wall came into view, and the more she read, the more cathartic it felt.
"Serves him right! Serves him right! He’s finally getting a taste of his own medicine! I’m so happy I could die!"
The three of them watched the commotion from the rooftop for a long time, standing at the edge and looking down at the chaotic scene below.
They watched Cao Daqiang fly into a rage inside the empty room, and they watched as his men stood by, helpless.
Before they left, Shanshan pulled a stack of cash from her bag.
She expressionlessly stuffed the money into their hands.
Cao Jiajia tried to refuse. She had just opened her mouth to say no when Shanshan forcefully pushed her hand back.
"You two have been running all over the place with me these past few days and haven’t been able to work properly. You have to take this money. Just consider it wages for a job I hired you for. Don’t argue with me."
After speaking, she packed up the binoculars, folding them and putting them in her backpack.
She zipped it up and walked away.
Cao Jiajia clutched the roll of cash, standing frozen for a long time before she snapped out of it.
She stared down at it, her mind a blank, yet it also felt as if many things had suddenly become clear.
Yu Yeping watched Shanshan’s retreating figure until she disappeared completely down the stairwell.
He was silent for a moment, then looked down at the girl beside him.
"Jiajia, who is that girl, really? Why is she being so good to us?"
He asked cautiously, lowering his voice.
He had a feeling that there was more to Shanshan than met the eye, that she wasn’t just a friend helping out of kindness.
"Because she’s just like us. We’re all dealing with the same person."
Cao Jiajia wiped the corner of her eye, the pad of her finger brushing away the last trace of moisture.
She didn’t need to hide anything anymore, nor did she have to bear it all alone.