What else are you hiding from me?

As if suddenly recalling something, Qiao Yanxin’s expression softened.

"Back then, because he loved eating Wang’s steamed buns, I also went to negotiate franchise terms with them. But no matter how generous the conditions I offered were, they refused. Over the years, countless people have tried to get their secret recipe. What makes you think you are such a favored child of fortune that they would just hand the recipe over to you?"

"Not to mention that the process of making these buns is extremely complicated. Although a steamed bun looks simple, every single step from kneading the dough to preparing the filling requires precise control. Without a veteran master craftsman, how could anyone make such delicious buns? Don’t you dare tell me you practiced this in secret many times."

"No matter how many times you practiced there, unless you started making steamed buns the moment you were born, how could you possibly possess such skillful craftsmanship? What are you trying to use to make these buns—that lying mouth of yours?"

Having finished this long tirade, Qiao Yanxin cast a cold gaze at Gu Tingchu sitting opposite her.

At this moment, Gu Tingchu had completely panicked, keeping his head lowered in utter helplessness.

I watched in a daze, entirely unable to anticipate that Qiao Yanxin could utter such a series of remarks.

It seems I will never be able to scold her for having a brain as foolish as a pig's from now on; today, she was truly firing on all cylinders.

Though I was already dead, hearing these words still brought me a great deal of comfort.

Qiao Yanxin, oh Qiao Yanxin, you should have known these things much sooner!

With his lies abruptly exposed, Gu Tingchu was now in an absolute panic.

After a moment of thought, he ultimately decided to resort to his usual method of crying.

Within the blink of an eye, two tears welled up and spilled over.

"Yanxin, I'm sorry. Actually, I just wanted to learn how to make them myself so I could make them for you. It's just that back then, I went to Wang’s steamed buns wanting to buy their recipe, but no matter what I said or how much money I offered, they were unwilling to sell it to me. With no other choice, I could only buy their buns and tell you I made them myself. I'm sorry, Yanxin, I shouldn't have lied, but I only did it because I wanted to do this little thing for you."

Gu Tingchu raised his head, a single tear trembling at the corner of his eye, hovering as if it might fall at any moment.

Qiao Yanxin shook her head with deep perplexity. "I don't understand why you would do something like this. If you had just told me you bought the buns, would I refuse to eat them? Why lie? And of all things, tell a lie that would be exposed instantly? Did you even use your brain before you lied?"

***

Gu Tingchu looked utterly wretched, his cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson.

Yet, in order to make Qiao Yanxin stop being angry with him, he could only offer a dry and feeble explanation, "I'm sorry, Yanxin. I will never lie to you again. Can you forgive me this time? I'll never lie to you ever again; I only did it because I care about you too much. Can't you really forgive me this time?"

His words sounded exceptionally pitiful. To be honest, as a bystander, even I was on the verge of softening my heart, yet Qiao Yanxin remained completely unmoved.

"Gu Tingchu, you say you lied just because you care about me too much, but what good did lying like this do for me? It did you no good either. Why on earth would you do such a thing?"

"Besides, you even lie to me about such trivial matters. I can't help wondering, in other matters, have you lied to me just like this as well?"

Gu Tingchu shook his head in absolute panic. "No, there's really nothing else. This was the only thing I ever lied to you about."

Qiao Yanxin let out a cold laugh. "Was it really Yunzhou who pushed you at the café that day? I'll ask you one last time: how on earth did you fall to the floor at the café that day? Let me tell you, don't think that just because the surveillance footage is gone, you can distort the truth at will. There wasn't just the two of you in that café; there were other people present too. I have already found two eyewitnesses. You had better figure out how you're going to answer!"

Gu Tingchu was filled with panic, yet he did not reply immediately.

Perhaps he was also wondering whether Qiao Yanxin's words were just a bluff to trick a confession out of him.

After all, the only reason he had dared to lie in the first place was because there was no surveillance in the café at that time. He simply hadn't expected that Qiao Yanxin would actually go looking for eyewitnesses.

I was also somewhat bewildered. Now that I was already dead, what was the use of her investigating all this?

Still, if it could clear my name and redress my grievances, it could at least be considered something that brought me a hint of solace.

Qiao Yanxin stared fixedly at Gu Tingchu across from her. "Why aren't you speaking? Are you too afraid to answer me? What was the actual truth of what happened that day? The reason you don't dare answer me is because Yunzhou didn't push you down at all, but rather you deliberately threw yourself down before I arrived, isn't that right?!"

"No, I didn't!"

Gu Tingchu screamed in sheer panic, but Qiao Yanxin refused to listen to him any longer.

"Aside from these matters, you've done other things too, haven't you? Why did Yunzhou go abroad in the middle of the night back then, and why was he beaten half to death by a gang the moment he landed? It was his very first time going abroad."

***

"He was unfamiliar with the place and didn't even know a few people there; why would he be cornered and beaten by a mob? Was your handiwork behind this incident as well?!"

Gu Tingchu widened his eyes in utter shock. "Yanxin, you are severely wronging me by saying such things! When have I ever done something like that? Besides, you just said yourself that Brother Yunzhou was a stranger in a foreign land. Do you really think I have such extensive connections abroad? Think about it—he is the young master who was born and raised in the Qiao family since childhood. And what about me? I am nothing more than a commoner. Where would I even go to meet foreigners overseas, and where would I find people to beat Brother Yunzhou up?"

Gu Tingchu's words sounded exceptionally wronged.

However, I figured he probably wasn't the one who orchestrated that either.

Just as he himself had said, he was merely an ordinary citizen—where on earth would he find connections abroad, let alone summon a whole gang of thugs to beat me up?

It was simply because the situation at the time was too chaotic that I, a stranger with unfamiliar features, happened to become a target for those people.

Yet Qiao Yanxin stubbornly refused to believe it.

Perhaps having experienced so many things, she had already lost the most basic trust she once had in Gu Tingchu.

"Gu Tingchu, I don't believe you anymore. Is there even a single honest sentence left in your mouth?"

Gu Tingchu shook his head desperately. "Yanxin, you have to believe me, I really knew nothing about this matter!"

Qiao Yanxin let out a cold sneer, turned around, and pointed directly at the house before them.

"You claim with every breath that you knew nothing about it, so tell me then—why are your personal belongings scattered all over the bedroom that belonged to me and Yunzhou?"