Chapter 24: The Thief Calls for the Thief’s Capture

Shen Tingting was momentarily stunned. The girl before her was actually the hideous creature who had reeked so terribly before! How could this be possible? Even with surgery, no one could recover so quickly!

Shi Shaoxun stared coldly at Shen Tingting, his tone icy. “You claim to have saved my sister and accepted a reward worth thousands from us, yet you don’t even recognize her. Shouldn’t you explain yourself?”

Shen Tingting forced herself to appear calm. “I was just joking with everyone earlier. Miss Shi looks completely different from that day—she’s like a new person.”

Lu Beiqin, standing nearby, signaled to his assistant and whispered a few words. The assistant immediately left.

Shen Tingting looked at Shi Hanhang and pressed on, “But I think Miss Shi must be mistaken. The one who saved you couldn’t possibly have been Shen Chutang. She’s just a wild girl who’s lived deep in the mountains her whole life. She barely knows a handful of characters; how could she possibly know medicine? I may be inexperienced, but I studied medicine abroad. Acupuncture is a trivial matter for me.”

Shen Chutang covered her mouth and laughed, drawing the attention of everyone present.

“Sorry, I don’t usually laugh, but I couldn’t help it. I’m just amused that our country’s traditional medicine apparently requires you to go abroad to study it. You truly have a unique approach.”

Shen Tingting’s cheeks flushed as she quickly retorted, “Of course I didn’t just study traditional medicine! If anyone doubts me, feel free to investigate.”

Tian Xiaowei, standing beside her, chimed in, “Exactly! Tingting is a top student—she received a full scholarship while studying abroad. Shen Chutang has spent the past ten years in the mountains and never attended proper school. How could she have saved Miss Shi? Miss Shi must have gotten confused after her illness and mixed up the sisters.”

Hearing this, the crowd began to believe them a little more. They had long heard that the eldest Miss Shen was a rustic country girl, while the second daughter was an academic star. Most likely, Shi Hanhang had mistaken the sisters.

Seeing that more and more people doubted her words, Shi Hanhang nearly burst into tears from frustration. Shi Shaoxun, seeing his sister so distressed, was instantly furious. How could he bear to see his sister suffer?

At that moment, Lu Beiqin, who had been standing quietly by, spoke up. “Miss Shi has always had Mrs. He by her side. Why don’t we just ask her?”

Shen Chutang glanced at Lu Beiqin. She had noticed him long ago—his striking appearance drew attention wherever he stood. But now was not the time for banter; she was curious how Shen Tingting would continue her act.

Mrs. He hurried in from the backyard. Lu Beiqin addressed her, “Mrs. He, please tell us—who was it that saved Miss Shi?”

Upon entering, Mrs. He immediately saw Shen Tingting and Shen Chutang and spoke up, “Miss had an attack in the mall that day, and it was Miss Shen Chutang who saved her. Miss Shen Tingting actually tried to stop her and prevented her from giving the necessary acupuncture.”

Shen Tingting immediately rebutted, “Everyone, Lu Beiqin is Shen Chutang’s husband, and Mrs. He must have been bribed by them. The two are colluding to slander me!”

Mrs. He anxiously denied it, “I haven’t! I’m telling the truth!”

Shen Chutang was amused by her shamelessness—she could still deny everything so brazenly. She walked to Lu Beiqin’s side, squeezed his hand gently to reassure him, guessing that Lu Beiqin’s claim about working as a private driver for a wealthy family referred to the Shi family.

Lu Beiqin must have seen her being bullied and stepped in to help, only to have Shen Tingting accuse him of the very thing she was guilty of.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered.

Lu Beiqin lowered his gaze, his expression momentarily stiff. Was she worried that he might be wronged?

Just then, a servant hurried in with a laptop. “Mr. Shi, we’ve retrieved the mall’s surveillance footage.”

Shi Shaoxun was surprised for a second, then quickly realized this was Lu Beiqin’s idea.

Shen Tingting scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous! That mall is famous for protecting customer privacy. Unless it’s an official investigation, they never release footage. If you say you’ve got it, it must be because my dear sister paid you off to put on a show and deceive us.”

Shi Shaoxun let out a cold laugh, truly amazed by Shen Tingting’s shamelessness. She had no idea that the entire mall belonged to Lu Beiqin, and getting the surveillance was as simple as saying the word.

Soon, the laptop was connected to the multimedia screen, and the footage was displayed for all to see.

Shen Tingting watched as the evidence appeared on the screen, her smile freezing bit by bit.