Li Qiao cast him a lazy glance. "Nope. My dear uncle is far too busy running the world to meddle in trivial matters like this."
Duan Yuanhui let out a helpless laugh and dropped his hand, giving her a once-over. "Be honest with me—was that forum post your doing?"
"Oh…" Li Qiao answered with a straight face, "Li Shaoquan did it."
Duan Yuanhui: "..."
He shook his head with a soft sigh and reminded her, "Last week I was out of town for an academic conference. I could only have the Academic Affairs Office lock the thread remotely. Next time something like this happens, don't handle it yourself. Tell me immediately."
Li Qiao lowered her gaze to her toes, her expression calm. "There won't be a next time."
"Alright then. You go in first—her husband just pulled up outside. I'll go meet him."
…
About five minutes later, Duan Yuanhui returned to the Academic Affairs office with a tall man in tow.
The man looked to be in his thirties—not particularly handsome, but with fair skin and watery eyes that glinted with a flirtatious gleam, hinting at a playboy nature.
"Honey, y-you're here?"
As soon as Lu Wen saw him, she stood up abruptly, visibly nervous.
The man was Chen Lizhou. His face was clouded with anger. He clenched his jaw and snapped with disdain, "Look at what you've done! Since when is the school a place for your tantrums?"
Lu Wen's face turned pale. All the arrogance from before vanished as she stammered, "I—I only did that because you cheated first!"
"You better get one thing straight." Chen Lizhou glared at her. "You live off me, spend my money. A parasite like you has no right to question anything I do."
He cursed her mercilessly. In his eyes, Lu Wen was nothing more than a parasite wearing the label of a wife, leeching off the Chen family.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yi, who had been watching from the side, looked absolutely thrilled. To her, this was a glimpse of the near future—her triumphant takeover.
Chen Lizhou barked a few more insults at Lu Wen, then finally took a breath and turned his gaze to Jiang Yi.
"All this—was it your doing?"
Jiang Yi froze, feigning innocence with a shaky shake of her head. "No, I… I don't know what you're talking abou—mmph!"
No one expected Chen Lizhou to raise a hand to her.
He strode up and slapped her hard across the face with the back of his hand, voice full of loathing.
"You really are cheap. When I first started keeping you, what did you promise me?"
"It's barely been a year, and you're already pulling tricks behind my back? Jiang Yi, have I been too nice to you?!"
With that slap, Chen Lizhou openly confirmed their relationship: he was the patron, she the mistress.
Jiang Yi clutched her face, slumped over the armrest of the sofa, completely stunned.
How could this happen?
Back when they plotted everything, Chen Lizhou had clearly been in on it.
He had said it himself—he was sick of Lu Wen. That's why they set up the whole scene.
First, they could pin the "mistress" scandal on Li Qiao and ruin her graduation eligibility, which would push the research institute's coveted recommendation spot to Jiang Yi.
Second, Lu Wen would lose her cool and embarrass herself, ultimately losing her position as the Chen family's daughter-in-law.
It was supposed to be a perfect two-birds-one-stone plan.
So why was Chen Lizhou suddenly flipping the script and blaming it all on her?
Jiang Yi's eyes filled with panic and tears. She was at a complete loss.
And though Lu Wen finally felt a sense of vindication, she didn't dare speak another word.
At that moment, Duan Yuanhui looked at Chen Lizhou with a hint of disapproval—hitting a woman was utterly disgraceful.
But before he could speak up to reprimand him, Chen Lizhou took a moment to compose himself, then suddenly turned and started walking toward Li Qiao.