Chapter Five: A Twist of Fate

At seven o’clock in the evening, Yin Nian returned home.

“Zhicheng, I have something to ask you.” Yin Nian called out toward the bedroom.

When Liang Zhicheng emerged and saw a man in a suit standing behind Yin Nian, he asked, “Who is this?”

“He’s my lawyer.” Yin Nian sat down with a grave expression and gestured to the chair opposite her.

Liang Zhicheng sensed something was off in Yin Nian’s demeanor. He didn’t ask further and quietly sat down.

“Zhicheng, the morning before last, did you go to the hospital?” Yin Nian looked Liang Zhicheng straight in the eye.

“Well…” Liang Zhicheng’s expression shifted slightly, and he squirmed uneasily in his seat.

“Did you sneak into my car and delete a segment of footage from the dashcam?” Yin Nian pressed on.

“I…” Liang Zhicheng swallowed, words catching in his throat.

Seeing his hesitation and his anxious, shifty gaze, Yin Nian knew without doubt that he was the one responsible.

“Tell me—why?” The last word was almost bitten out between clenched teeth. On her way home, she’d considered countless explanations, but none made sense.

Liang Zhicheng lowered his head and remained silent.

At some point, Yangyang had appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, silently watching everything unfold in the living room.

“Why did you follow me? Why did you delete the footage? Why did you pretend nothing had happened?!” Yin Nian demanded angrily.

“Can we talk about this in private…” Liang Zhicheng said awkwardly, glancing at Yan Ming.

“No. Right now, in front of my lawyer, I want a clear explanation of what’s going on.”

Liang Zhicheng hesitated, but as he sensed Yin Nian’s temper about to erupt, he finally began, “I didn’t follow you… Yangyang messaged me about what happened. When I called to confirm, you were already at the hospital. You said it was nothing and that you’d handle it, then hung up. I wanted to help, so I drove to the hospital. I saw your car in the underground garage—thought I’d grab something from it before coming up to find you… Out of curiosity, I checked the dashcam footage…”

“And then?” Yin Nian pressed.

“I saw, in the footage, you—” Liang Zhicheng forced out each word, “did, indeed, hit that old man.”

“What?!” Yin Nian shot up from the sofa.

“In the video, you did hit him. At the time, I thought you were trying to hide the truth and had forgotten to delete the footage. Just then, I saw you coming down with the police. In a panic, I didn’t think—I just deleted it…”

“You’re lying!” Yin Nian pointed at him, voice shaking. “Why are you lying?”

“I really saw it…”

“How could you have seen something that never happened?!”

At this point, Yan Ming, who had been silent until now, interrupted. “Excuse me, Mr. Liang, but do you realize that by deleting the footage, regardless of whether Yin Nian hit anyone or not, you’ve made it impossible to prove her innocence?”

“I just wanted to help her. I thought the old man was dead, and that the police had come for evidence. I panicked and deleted it without thinking… If I’d known things would turn out like this, I’d never have done it.” Liang Zhicheng scrubbed his hair in regret.

“So, you’re certain you saw Yin Nian hit the old man in the footage?” Yan Ming asked.

“I was sure then, but now I’m starting to doubt myself. Compared to the video, I trust Yin Nian more.” Liang Zhicheng glanced at his wife. “Maybe I was too nervous and didn’t see clearly…”

“You deleted the footage even though you weren’t sure what you saw?”

“It’s all my fault…”

“That’s quite a serious mistake,” Yan Ming turned to Yin Nian. “So, Ms. Yin, just to confirm—you truly didn’t hit anyone?”

“Of course I didn’t!” Yin Nian met his gaze steadily. “Do you not believe me?”

“I’m your lawyer. I will always believe you—that’s my reason for being here.” Yan Ming drew a deep breath. “Now that the footage has been accidentally deleted by your husband, we’ll need to change our strategy and formulate a new plan. Also, your husband mustn’t mention seeing the footage to anyone else. It would be very damaging to us. Let’s say the video was deleted by Madam Yang’s children. Is that all right?”

“Yes,” Liang Zhicheng answered immediately.

“Good. It’s getting late. I’ll go organize the documents and contact you tomorrow.” Yan Ming stood and headed for the door. After a few steps, he looked back at the little boy standing at the bedroom doorway. “You must be Yangyang?”

Yangyang silently withdrew into his small room and closed the door, giving Yan Ming no chance to ask further.

Yan Ming shrugged. “Seems he’s a bit shy.”

After Yan Ming left, Yin Nian turned to Liang Zhicheng. “Now tell me—what’s really going on? Why did you lie?”

Liang Zhicheng spread his hands. “I told the truth. I only deleted the footage because I saw the police coming and panicked… As for what was in the video, maybe I didn’t see clearly. Everything happened so fast…”

Yin Nian stared at her husband—the gentle, understanding man a year younger than herself. She knew he had a habit: whenever he lied, he’d unconsciously scratch his chest, but tonight, he hadn’t done it once. Instinct told her he wasn’t lying. Still, there was one thing she didn’t understand, so she asked, “After you deleted the footage, why didn’t you come find me?”

“I didn’t actually leave… I stayed in the garage. I saw you arguing with the police, saw you suddenly drive away, saw those two people chasing after you… Everything happened so fast, I didn’t have time to come out. Then you called and said it was all sorted, and that you wanted to continue the outing. I didn’t want this to affect your plans, so I kept quiet…”

“And when you got home, why didn’t you mention it?” Yin Nian pressed.

“Things moved so quickly—I hadn’t figured out what was really going on before you found out…” Liang Zhicheng looked at Yin Nian, his gaze sincere.

After a moment of silence, Yin Nian let out a long sigh and sank back onto the sofa. “You’ve really put me in a terrible spot this time.”

Liang Zhicheng sat beside her and hugged her tightly. “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry…”

From the small bedroom, the door opened just a crack. A pair of wide, inquisitive eyes peered out, unblinking, at everything transpiring outside.