The Perfect Relationship

Chapter 86: Forging Evidence

Yin Chang asked, "Why?"

"Although the criminal investigation officer said they couldn't find any evidence...what if they somehow do?" Yao Manhuai turned the steering wheel, "After all, two years ago Yin Dong sent people to Shixi Village. I'm afraid the officer might have missed some details. Let's meet with them to see what cards they hold."

Yin Chang's nerves tightened again.

"Also, our relationship with those paparazzi has always been hostile. Meeting with them will let us know who is targeting us." Yao Manhuai added.

The person who provided the leaked footage and interview recordings to Yao Manhuai was none other than Luo Chao from Quick Dog Entertainment.

It had been over a month since Luo Chao contacted z1989z online and after chatting with him, z1989z agreed to meet with him.

However, z1989z wasn't as naive as Shao Junling’s orphanage director. He was a shrewd young man.

When he met Luo Chao, he didn't talk about Shao Junling, but instead calculated the cost of going to Shixi Village. He said he worked as a food delivery driver and on good days, he could earn 300 yuan a day. Accompanying someone to Shixi Village would take at least three days and he would have to take leave for that period. Thus, it would cost at least 900 yuan. Furthermore, during this time, Luo Chao was just one of many who contacted him - so he wanted to fairly weigh his options. 

After a lengthy discussion, it was clear he wanted to see if Luo Chao was really willing to pay for the information. If Luo Chao was not sincere, z1989z wouldn't help him to wade through this muddy water.

To secure this news, Luo Chao gritted his teeth and took out 3,000 yuan of his own money and forced the man to sign a contract, effectively buying his "story." Only then did z1989z take his leave and take him back to his hometown to find evidence.

They went to the local police station, the village committee, and many other places but no one knew where "Shao Jun" went or could provide evidence linking Shao Junling to the case.

Helpless, Luo Chao had to follow z1989z's lead to visit the local villagers one by one and ask.

When the villagers were reminded of the case seven years ago, they had an endless supply of gossip to offer. Their emotions were on a high as their spittle flew. They spoke as if they had witnessed the scene back then. However, when Luo Chao showed them the footage of Shao Junling taken from "Superstar Life," their reactions were mixed.

Only a small fraction of them said that Shao Junling was indeed Shao Jun.

More of them were hesitant at first. After all, seven years had passed and even if they looked alike, the boy in the video was far different from the criminal child in terms of attire, appearance, and demeanor.

Moreover, they remembered that Shao Jun was a madman. The child had suffered a trauma and had a problem with his brain. They couldn't find anything that linked the intelligent and calm boy in the video to the crazy kid they knew.

Feeling anxious, Luo Chao told them that Shao Junling had been adopted from the orphanage a short time ago. When he was at the orphanage, he had serious violent tendencies. The villagers then would agree that Shao Junling was almost certainly Shao Jun.

This was it - with just a little guidance, any perceptive person could see that Shao Junling and Shao Jun were the same person!

But feeling that they knew the truth but couldn't prove it made Luo Chao very anxious. He knew that without actual evidence, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even recover his investment of 3,000 yuan.

In a moment of inspiration, Luo Chao came up with an idea. Although he didn't have evidence, he could forge evidence!

Yin Chang and Yao Manhuai didn't even know about Shao Junling's time at the orphanage. Luo Chao suspected that they might not even know Shao Junling's background. With how much of a hot topic Shao Junling was, he could throw in bait and they might bite.

So Luo Chao fabricated some information and sent it anonymously to Yao Manhuai. The interview recordings were specially spliced and sent out.

However, three days passed with no contact from Yao Manhuai. Luo Chao felt uneasy...was that woman really not afraid of him exposing this news?

Just as he thought his plan was going to fail, Yao Manhuai contacted him and asked him to come to New Star Entertainment to discuss matters in detail.

Luo Chao was relieved and brought along his forged evidence to the appointment.

When he arrived at New Star Entertainment, the receptionist took him to the general manager's office. "Sorry, Manager Yao is in an unplanned meeting. Please wait a moment."

Luo Chao wasn't suspicious. He took the opportunity to adjust his mindset and think about how he should approach the negotiations.

As it turned out, Luo Chao waited for a full hour and a half. By the time Yao Manhuai arrived, Luo Chao was so angry that his face turned blue.

Yao Manhuai sat down in front of Luo Chao and said in a calm voice, "Hello, what's your name?"

"My surname is Luo," Luo Chao smirked. "Did you see the message I sent you, Miss Yao?"

"I did," Yao Manhuai crossed her arms. "Mr. Luo, why don't you tell me your conditions?

Luo Chao raised a finger.

"10,000 yuan?" Yao Manhuai raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Yao, you're joking," Luo Chao's expression changed. Was this Yao person really so calm that she didn't believe that Shao Junling was Shao Jun?

Indeed, Yao Manhuai continued, "To be honest, I don't know if the information you provided to me is true or not. I don't have the energy to investigate either. You should let me see what you have first and I'll decide whether or not your price is worth it."

Luo Chao pretended to keep his cool and handed over his forged evidence to Yao Manhuai.

Yao Manhuai quickly browsed through it and was shocked - there was a transfer certificate from the Shixi Village local police station indicating that Shao Jun had relocated to Huating Town's Lushe Community Household seven years ago and changed his name to Shao Junling. The officer in charge of the case was a constable surnamed Zhang!

Yao Manhuai looked at Luo Chao in shock.

Thinking Yao Manhuai had taken the bait, Luo Chao seized the opportunity and said, "Yao, do you think it's worth it now?"

Yao Manhuai flipped through the documents, looking uneasy, "This is the first time I've heard about this. Can you give me two days to verify it?"

When Yao Manhuai changed to a more reverent tone so he knew he had a seventy percent chance of success - Yao Manhuai was scared!

Ha! This woman isn't as tough as people say she is...

Feeling overconfident, Luo Chao said arrogantly, "I've waited for you for so many days, and you've kept me waiting here for an hour. Yao, do you think you're a national leader or something? I don't have time to waste with you. Give me a clear answer now, or we'll call it a night."

Luo Chao wouldn't give Yao Manhuai time to verify the information. If she had gone, the evidence provided by the police station would have been exposed.

This was a smart gamble - who would take such a risk?

After a moment of silence, Yao Manhuai carefully went through the documents and looked at Luo Chao, "So, what do you want?"

Luo Chao took out a pre-prepared privacy contract and handed it to Yao Manhuai. Facing him, Yao Manhuai pointed to the box where the amount was to be filled in and said, "You're an experienced person, you estimate the price. If I think it's acceptable, I'll fill it in."

Because of the show "Super Star Life", Shao Junling's popularity had skyrocketed. His career prospects were boundless. If this information was true, it would have had a fatal impact on him. Yao Manhuai added three zeros to the number Luo Chao proposed, and it was still too little for Luo Chao. 

Yao Manhuai examined the contract and found a lot of loopholes.

To be honest, when she saw the transfer certificate from the police station earlier, she was actually worried.

Because Xing Jianan didn't mention the name of his little brother, she wasn't sure if the police officer with the surname Zhang was another informer.

But after careful consideration, she didn't think it was possible. After all, Shao Junling was brought out by Xing Jianan's little brother from Shixi Village, and Xing Jianan said that his little brother had taken money from Yin Dong and processed it locally to cancel Shao Junling's household registration. Then, why would there be evidence of "transfer certificates" left behind for the paparazzi dogs to discover? Furthermore, the name "Shao Junling" was given to him by Xing Jianan when he went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to report orphan households.

Moreover, when she asked Luo Chao for time to verify the information earlier, and he refused, it was clear that the information was problematic. If this evidence was real, why would Luo Chao be in such a hurry to settle?

She looked up at Luo Chao and realized that if they hadn't been aware of the situation beforehand, she could have fallen into his trap.

Luo Chao was feeling confident at first, but Yao Manhuai's calm gaze made him increasingly nervous.

Yao Manhuai took a deep breath and drew a huge X on Luo Chao's contract with a pen.

"What are you doing!?" Luo Chao exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Yao Manhuai patted the "evidence" on the table in front of Luo Chao and said coldly, "Luo, if you dare to commit perjury, are you not afraid of losing your life?"

Luo Chao instinctively tried to retrieve the documents but they were snatched away by Yao Manhuai.

She stood up and pointed to the LCD TV hanging on the wall of the meeting room. A camera, unknown to Luo Chao, had long been hidden behind it and had recorded their negotiation. Yao Manhuai stared at him and laughed coldly, "Luo, come on, let's talk about how many years you will face if you are taken to court for this."

Luo Chao turned pale and unplugged the hidden camera. He glared at Yao Manhuai with red eyes and clenched his fists tightly.

Yao Manhuai shouted "security" and two burly men rushed towards Luo Chao and held him down on the conference table.

It turned out that this woman knew everything and dug a pit for him to jump into!

Looking at Luo Chao's twisted face, Yao Manhuai walked over and said calmly, "Luo, you're the one who leaked the news about Yin Dong's illegitimate child last time, right? Gu, a teacher from the Jìngxué Welfare Centre, is still holding a grudge against you for deceiving her."

Luo Chao's chest heaved. He struggled between "surrendering" and "staying strong." Finally, he thought of his family and his future. Closing his eyes, when he reopened them, all that was left was a pitiful look in his eyes. "Yao, I should have never done this. We paparazzi have to rely on these scandals to get by. I have a family to support. If you let me go today, I'll never do it again!"

Yao Manhuai was both surprised by his speed of change and felt disdain for this person.

Luo Chao added, "Yao, it's important to leave a way out. We might run into each other in the future. If you let me go now, I'll remember your kindness in the future!"

They were all in the same circle, and Luo Chao's words made sense, even though Yao Manhuai was utterly disgusted with him. Besides, based on the evidence she had, even if she sued Luo Chao, it would only be treated as attempted blackmail. She couldn't sentence him for the crime of "falsifying evidence".

"I can overlook what happened today, but mark my words, Luo Chao. If there's a next time and I find out you're targeting Yin Chang and Shao Junling or any of the artists in New Star Entertainment, then we'll meet in court. Let's skip the drama, and just meet at the courthouse." Yao Manhuai rolled up the documents and knocked them on Luo Chao's face. She had the upper hand now, and she was fearless.

Yao Manhuai looked at Luo Chao in shock.

Luo Chao (rubbing his hands together gleefully): "Yao, do you think it's worth it now?"

Yao Manhuai (looking at him like he's an idiot): "You're willing to falsify something like this? Aren't you an imbecile?"