Chapter 21: People who do wrong

Liu Qiu arrived at the police station a little past eleven.

After explaining her purpose, the officers immediately issued a public notice and released the full surveillance footage.

Liu Qiu stepped out of the station and took out her phone.

#Inferior A Harasses on Bus#

The topic was still trending at the top, yet in contrast, the video and statement released by the police had very little traffic.

Liu Qiu could understand.

Aside from the fact that it had only just been posted, very few people paid attention to official police accounts in the first place.

[System, do you think Bai Qingqing would pay to boost the traffic for me?]

The system’s mechanical voice turned smug.

[Host, what money do you need? Just wait. I’m artificial intelligence. I can push the surveillance footage to the top right now.]

Liu Qiu’s eyes widened slightly.

So the system had that function too.

The moment the system finished speaking, the surveillance video’s likes, comments, and shares began skyrocketing.

Liu Qiu felt her heart settle, her gaze growing resolute.

There was still one more thing she had to do.

Those who had slandered her would probably just laugh it off after seeing the clarification video.

Some might even mock her even more.

They would feel no regret whatsoever.

No matter how silent the original host had been, she would still have been angry about something like this.

So what she was about to do next was perfectly reasonable.

[System, we can’t just let this go.]

[I support you! My host is the female lead!]

Liu Qiu couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She was going to curse them back.

They had no grudge against her—on what grounds did they smear her like this?

Luckily, Bai Qingqing rarely went online.

Otherwise, she might even have had to deal with a divorce scandal.

Her mission was to gain Green Hat Value.

If she got divorced, there would be no relationship left.

How would she gain Green Hat Value then?

How would she complete the mission?

How would she revive?

Liu Qiu found a place with fewer people, took off her glasses, and rubbed her eyes hard until they turned red.

The system was puzzled.

[Host, what are you doing?]

[Selling misery.]

The system could give the video traffic.

She needed to produce a pitiful-looking video to go with it.

With both the surveillance footage and her tearful video working together, it would be a double-pronged approach.

Humans were creatures easily swayed by trends, yet also deeply compassionate.

Victims always received the most goodwill.

[System, can you record a video for me and upload it online?]

[Of course!]

On the internet, it was invincible.

After recording the video, Liu Qiu walked to the roadside, preparing to take a taxi to the company.

After suffering this kind of grievance, anything the original host did would be understandable.

Surely this world’s consciousness wouldn’t really allow the female lead it favored to be despised by everyone.

Liu Qiu hadn’t acted without thought.

She flagged down a taxi, and not long after getting in, she received a video call.

It was Liu Xia.

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together and hesitantly answered.

Liu Xia’s strikingly beautiful face appeared on the small screen.

“Liu Xia,” Liu Qiu called softly.

Liu Xia’s long brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Liu Qiu’s reddened eyes.

“Liu Qiu, are you okay?”

She had only just found out what had happened.

The moment she saw the video labeling Liu Qiu as a bus harasser, she had been stunned.

Her first thought had been: impossible.

Liu Qiu would never do such a thing.

The overwhelming flood of insults in the comments had made her uncomfortable just reading them.

Then came the police statement, the full surveillance footage, and a video of Liu Qiu with reddened eyes, pitifully insisting she hadn’t harassed any omega.

In that video, Liu Qiu’s voice trembled, her face pale, her eyes streaked with red veins and tears.

The clarification had come quickly.

But not everyone would see it immediately.

There were still people cursing Liu Qiu nonstop.

Liu Xia was genuinely worried about her.

Liu Qiu revealed a small smile.

The dimples at her cheeks looked sweet and soft.

“I’m fine.”

She truly meant it.

And when she thought about what she was about to do next, she even felt a little excited.

She was going to slap Zhou Yue.

She wasn’t a company employee anymore.

After slapping her, she could just leave.

They wouldn’t have to see each other again.

Liu Xia froze for a moment.

In her field of vision, Liu Qiu’s smile was especially pure, a little shy and a little adorable.

Liu Xia raised an eyebrow and slowly smiled.

“Liu Qiu, that’s really good.”

She had thought Liu Qiu would be devastated.

Liu Qiu had always been sensitive and insecure since childhood.

Even she herself had found it hard to endure so much abuse.

How much worse must it have been for Liu Qiu?

Yet Liu Qiu had surprised her.

Though her eyes were still red, there was no shadow in her smile.

Liu Xia couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d last seen Liu Qiu smile.

In the past, Liu Qiu’s presence had been gray and colorless.

Now it was bright and vivid.

Just like at the airport last time.

There had always been a faint smile at the corner of her lips, as if she was truly happy Liu Xia had returned.

Eight years ago, they had parted on bad terms.

When Liu Xia left the country, she hadn’t told Liu Qiu.

They had clearly been each other’s only family.

Yet in the end, they’d cut contact after an argument.

At the time, she hadn’t understood why Liu Qiu liked her.

Nor why she had resorted to secretly taking photos.

She still didn’t understand.

But if she had been a little more patient back then…

Liu Xia’s brows softened.

Her lips curved into a beautiful smile.

“Liu Qiu, I’m really happy to see you like this.”

“You’ve grown much stronger.”

“I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye.”

“It’s all in the past,” Liu Qiu said.

“And you’re willing to come find me now.”

Her emotions were stirred, perhaps by the original host’s lingering feelings.

Or perhaps because she had once returned to the past and spent time with Liu Xia.

Liu Qiu’s eyes shone like they were filled with stars.

“Liu Xia, thank you.”

Liu Xia’s eyes curved.

“Liu Qiu, do you know what you look like right now?”

A flicker of confusion passed through Liu Qiu’s eyes.

“Like what?”

Liu Xia pondered for a moment.

“Like… a puppy. Haha.”

With wide, innocent eyes, pitifully looking at its owner, as if begging to be petted.

Liu Qiu’s lashes trembled.

Her cheeks flushed slightly.

“R-Really?”

Liu Xia’s smile deepened.

She was truly glad that Liu Qiu hadn’t stayed stuck in the past.

In eight years, Liu Qiu had gotten married.

Her personality had grown brighter too.

Though she was still shy, it was already a wonderful change.

“Yes. By the way, Liu Qiu, want to have a meal together?”

Liu Qiu nodded.

“Okay.”

It was a good chance to grow closer.

The taxi arrived at the company entrance.

Liu Qiu hung up the call.

[System! Time to go all out! How’s the online opinion shifting?]

[Very well. After all, it’s a police statement. And that pitiful video you filmed worked great. Lots of people are apologizing in the comments.]

Liu Qiu nodded slightly, satisfied with the system’s efficiency.

Soon enough, Zhou Yue would experience everything she had gone through.

So what if she was an omega?

Wronging an innocent person still made her a villain.

No matter how much this world favored omegas, it wouldn’t completely lose its sense of right and wrong.

Liu Qiu clenched her fists and walked toward the company.

This was probably the last time she would come here.

The entire building belonged to the company.

But since they didn’t need that much space, they had rented out several lower floors.

Liu Qiu felt fortunate there was an elevator.

Otherwise, she might have had to pass through other companies.

Office workers were still diligently working.

Surely some people didn’t know the truth yet.

If she passed other companies, she might still receive those disgusted looks.

At this very moment, Zhou Yue was gleefully listening to her colleagues mock Liu Qiu.

“The boss is amazing. Fired Liu Qiu immediately.”

“Hahaha, yeah. Someone that disgusting should’ve left long ago.”

“Xiao Zhou’s the real victim. Finally takes the bus once and gets harassed.”

Hearing her name, Zhou Yue quickly smiled.

“Everyone, don’t talk about Liu Qiu like that. She really didn’t do anything.”

That disgusting person had finally been driven out.

And everyone was cursing her.

The satisfaction in Zhou Yue’s heart was indescribable.

She lowered her eyes, hiding the mockery flashing through them.

If Liu Qiu hadn’t tried to get close to Director Song, she wouldn’t have been kicked out.

With that kind of stain on her record, no one would want her anywhere.

She wondered whether Liu Qiu’s wife even knew about this.

Zhou Yue’s eyes gleamed.

It would be best if she knew.

Then she could divorce Liu Qiu.

A rat belonged in a rat’s nest.

Zhou Yue kept her head down, working.

At some point, the surroundings had fallen silent.

She didn’t notice.

She was immersed in the joy of her successful scheme.

Suddenly, cold water poured over her head, soaking her hair, face, and clothes.

Zhou Yue froze for a second, then shrieked.

“Who did that?!”

Her eyes flashed with vicious light as she abruptly looked up.

And met Liu Qiu’s pale face.

Liu Qiu wasn’t wearing her glasses.

Her eyes were red.

Her already soft and delicate features made her look even more innocent now.

She withdrew the water bottle and blinked her misty eyes.

“I did.”

In an instant, Zhou Yue’s anger exploded.

“Liu Qiu! You’re not an employee of this company anymore! What are you doing here?!”

Her carefully styled hair hung in messy strands.

She looked utterly disheveled.

“That’s exactly why I came,” Liu Qiu said slowly.

She pressed her lips together and grabbed Zhou Yue’s arm, forcibly pulling her up from her seat.

She might be weak against alphas.

But against an omega, she still had a bit more strength.

Zhou Yue struggled, her shrill voice piercing.

“Let go of me! Disgusting freak! I said let go!”

Liu Qiu raised her hand and slapped Zhou Yue across the face.

She didn’t hold back.

Zhou Yue’s cheek and lip split open, blood seeping out.

Zhou Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Liu Qiu actually dared to hit her?!

Liu Qiu withdrew her hand.

Her drooping, large eyes made her look extremely innocent, as if she weren’t the one who had just slapped someone bloody.

Someone quickly rushed over from their desk to stop her.

“Liu Qiu, let Zhou Yue go! Sexual harassment wasn’t enough—now you’re openly bullying her? If you don’t let go, I’ll call security!”

Liu Qiu looked at the tall alpha in front of her and said seriously,

“I didn’t sexually harass her. You can watch the video. The clarification the police released for me.”

Her words plunged the office into brief silence.

Some had already begun searching.

If she was invoking the police, there had to be truth to it.

The footage wasn’t long.

After they finished watching, the office fell into deathly silence.

Zhou Yue inwardly cursed.

But she couldn’t break free from Liu Qiu’s grip.

Liu Qiu pulled Zhou Yue in front of her.

Her soft, harmless appearance clashed with words that stabbed straight into the heart.

“I don’t understand.”

“Every day I just quietly mind my own business.”

“Why do you all hate me so much?”

“Because of my gender? Because of my personality?”

“The truth wasn’t even investigated, yet you all subjectively decided I must have done it.”

“I’ve already lost my job.”

“I won’t be coming back.”

“I know you’ve always talked badly about me behind my back.”

“But everything you said—I never did any of it.”

“Why should I bear all that malice?”

“You’re the disgusting ones.”

“Stupid and cruel!”

As she finished speaking, Liu Qiu blinked.

Crystal tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

Her words left them ashamed.

They didn’t even know when speaking ill of Liu Qiu had become routine.

Such a thin, small person had borne an unfounded accusation and even lost her job.

Breathing rose and fell unevenly.

Suddenly, someone shouted,

“I’m sorry, Liu Qiu. I was brainless.”

They were all in their twenties.

How could they not understand how terrifying rumors were?

They had driven even the withdrawn Liu Qiu to violence.

It showed just how much grievance she had endured.

If they put themselves in her shoes, they would probably want to beat the person who slandered them to death.

Enduring overwhelming online abuse for no reason—anyone would explode.

Once one person spoke up, others followed with apologies.

Apologizing was easier than they’d thought.

Admitting they’d had no brains wasn’t that hard.

The police had issued a statement.

Liu Qiu hadn’t done anything wrong.

How could they continue ignoring the truth and insulting her?

There was only one exception.

Zhou Yue.

Zhou Yue clenched her teeth.

Anger clouded her mind.

As an omega who had always been pampered at home and outside, when had she ever suffered such treatment?

She trembled with rage, unable to maintain her fragile façade.

“Liu Qiu! Why don’t you just die?!”

Bang.

The office door was flung open.

Zhou Yue’s curse was cut off.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

Song Ciyu stood at the door, gauze wrapped around her forehead, her face terrifyingly pale.

Her gaze was heavy.

When her eyes fell on Liu Qiu’s reddened, tear-streaked face, her heart was pierced unexpectedly, a dense ache spreading.

Overwhelming pheromones swept through the entire space.

Alphas and omegas alike broke into cold sweats.

Betas couldn’t sense pheromones, but they could clearly feel the chill radiating from Song Ciyu.

She walked slowly toward Liu Qiu, suppressing the emotions in her heart.

The corners of her lips lifted slightly in a soothing smile.

“Liu Qiu, I already know what happened.”

“I’ll have the company issue a collective apology.”

“We’ll also acknowledge the mistake.”

“Don’t leave, okay?”

“If you want compensation, that’s fine.”

“If you want a transfer and a raise, that’s fine too.”

“Just don’t leave.”

The pheromones deliberately avoided Liu Qiu.

She felt nothing.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her voice hoarse.

“I don’t want that.”

Who would want to keep working at this lousy place?

[System, I think I rubbed my eyes too hard just now. They’re really itchy.]

She wasn’t actually sad.

Her tears were purely from dryness and irritation.

These people hadn’t committed some unforgivable crime.

After all, the main culprit was Zhou Yue.

Song Ciyu stepped closer, softening her expression as much as possible.

“Liu Qiu, what the company did was wrong.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Don’t go, okay? Aren’t we friends?”

With Song Ciyu present, Liu Qiu couldn’t do anything more to Zhou Yue.

After all, she was her superior.

Song Ciyu wouldn’t ignore it.

Still, pouring water over Zhou Yue and slapping her once might have broken character under normal circumstances.

But today was an exception.

After being falsely accused and subjected to online abuse, hitting someone was understandable.

The fact that she was still standing here unharmed meant the world’s consciousness approved of her actions.

Liu Qiu shook her head.

“I don’t want to come back. Everyone here bullies me.”

She wasn’t crying or complaining.

She was simply stating a fact.

But in this moment, she looked unbearably pitiful.

Her cheeks were smeared with tears.

Everyone bullies her?

Song Ciyu clenched her fingers, her chest swelling painfully.

Her cold gaze fell upon Zhou Yue.

Zhou Yue was pressed down by Song Ciyu’s pheromones until she could barely breathe.

Her whole body trembled.

“Director… Director Song…”

Her dry voice shook.

The moment their eyes met, terror flooded her heart.

The coldness in those eyes was too horrifying.

As if she would be devoured alive.

Zhou Yue collapsed onto the floor.

That wasn’t Director Song.

How could Director Song have such a terrifying gaze—looking at her like she was already dead?

Liu Qiu had originally only come to slap Zhou Yue.

Afterward, there would be online backlash waiting for her.

She wasn’t someone who retaliated over every slight.

But she also wasn’t someone who would endure unprovoked bullying without striking back.

What Zhou Yue had made her suffer, she would naturally return.

She was already exhausted from playing the original host’s personality every day.

Why should she also be bullied by someone this stupid?

Liu Qiu pressed her lips together and crushed the empty water bottle in her hand.

“This place is disgusting.”

“I won’t come back again.”

Song Ciyu’s breathing faltered almost imperceptibly.

She couldn’t even maintain her smile.

Her expression went completely blank.

Her pupils were too deep, too dark.

No one could read any emotion from them.

“Liu Qiu, I’m truly sorry I didn’t handle this sooner.”

She had anticipated Zhou Yue might do something.

After all, she had deliberately baited her.

But she hadn’t expected her to do something so foolish.

Driving Liu Qiu away had never been her intention.

She had only wanted Liu Qiu to draw closer to her.

In an environment filled with malice, if she alone treated Liu Qiu kindly, Liu Qiu would naturally and unknowingly fall into her net.

Unfortunately, reality hadn’t followed her plan.

Liu Qiu had been forced away by malice.

Song Ciyu’s nails dug deep into her palm.

This wasn’t the outcome she wanted.

She didn’t stop Liu Qiu from leaving.

She withdrew her pheromones and looked at Zhou Yue with terrifyingly dark eyes, as if a demon might crawl out of them.

“Zhou Yue, what made you slander a colleague like this?”

Those who did wrong should be punished.

“Old Song, why are you running so fast?!”

Xu Man’s breathless voice rang out from behind.

She bent over, hands on her knees, panting heavily.

She had been lying on the hospital sofa watching short videos when, one second, she saw a clip of the inferior A Song Ciyu had taken an interest in harassing an omega on a bus.

The next second, she saw the surveillance footage and the inferior A’s pitiful little face.

“I didn’t do that. Don’t scold me.”

“You’re too mean. Can’t you look at the truth?”

“I’ve already lost my job. Why slander me?”

Even her scolding sounded soft and tearful.

Xu Man had found it a little funny.

What kind of alpha was this?

She was softer than a soft omega.

Red eyes, red nose.

Pitiful and adorable.

She had treated it like a joke and told Song Ciyu.

Who would’ve thought Song Ciyu would leap to her feet and run out immediately?

By the time she reacted, Song Ciyu was already gone.

As for how she knew Song Ciyu had come to the company—

Wasn’t that obvious?

It was because of Liu Qiu that Song Ciyu had rushed out of the hospital like she’d been injected with adrenaline.

Damn it.

That woman’s concussion hadn’t even healed yet.

Why was she in such a hurry?

It’s not like she was her wife.