The girl Fatty was following was named Li Wenwen. She had attended the same high school as Lin Han, and they were good friends.
Back then, Lin Han ran away from home and came to Beijing. Chang Dachun was entrusted by Lin Zhijun to look after Lin Han, and Lin Zhijun had specifically mentioned this, asking Chang Dachun to prevent similar incidents from happening to Lin Han again.
This is how it happened.
That year, Lin Han was in her second year of high school. Because her father was wealthy, Lin Han often threw tantrums in class. Consequently, Lin Han had almost no friends in her class.
However, Li Wenwen had been Lin Han's best friend since middle school. She wasn't as tall or as pretty as Lin Han. But Li Wenwen had an easy-going personality and got along very well with her classmates.
At the time, there was a theatrical performance organized by Lin Han's school. It was a tradition for their high school to select talents from the second-year students to participate in a play for one year, with the third-year students withdrawing from the stage to focus on their studies.
Lin Han dragged Li Wenwen along to the audition. Li Wenwen didn't really want to go. She knew Lin Han's background. Lin Han didn't have to worry about her studies; from a young age, her future identity as the queen of the underground palace had been decided. But Li Wenwen was different. She came from an ordinary family and wanted to study diligently to achieve good results in her third year. She didn't want to join the theater troupe and become a stage actor who would tour other schools.
In reality, the school's stage plays were performed only about three times a year, but the school, for the sake of its reputation, would have students spend a lot of time rehearsing. However, even though she didn't want to, Li Wenwen decided to go with Lin Han to the audition.
How to put it? Li Wenwen didn't want to lose Lin Han as a friend. When they were younger, she became friends with Lin Han because of her easy-going nature. As she understood society better, Li Wenwen realized that her future life might depend on Lin Han, so she braced herself and agreed to Lin Han's invitation. The two of them went to the audition together.
...
The school's stage troupe was very strict, with a written exam followed by an interview. Lin Han was a girl with a superior memory. She spent one night reviewing the content the stage troupe was testing.
The final result was not as satisfactory as expected.
Li Wenwen was first, and Lin Han was fifth...
This result was somewhat unacceptable to Lin Han. She had memorized the written exam questions from previous years, but this year the stage troupe had new questions. This caught Lin Han, who only wanted to rely on memorization to get good grades, off guard, so her results were not good.
Li Wenwen also noticed Lin Han's expression and felt very awkward, not knowing whether to comfort her. After the results were out, Lin Han said she had something to do at home and left Li Wenwen behind, going straight home.
Lin Zhijun happened to be home that day. Seeing his daughter return, he closed himself in his study. Lin Zhijun cautiously knocked on the door: "What's wrong, my dear?"
"Nothing."
Lin Zhijun heard the tearfulness in his daughter's voice and his expression turned cold: "Who bullied you?"
"No, no, I didn't do well on the exam."
"Exam?"
Lin Zhijun was a bit confused because, for most of his daughter's life, he had instilled in her the theory that she was the sole heir of the Lin family and would eventually manage the family's antique business. She didn't need to study like other students because she wasn't someone who needed to study to change her destiny.
And Lin Han had obediently studied antique knowledge for most of her life, possessing a talent in this area.
Because of an exam? It wasn't exam season now either.
So, Lin Zhijun called the principal to understand the situation. The principal, who had been sponsored multiple times, assured Lin Zhijun that this was only a written exam and that Lin Han would definitely get first place in the upcoming interview.
In the performance part of the interview, Lin Han performed excellently, avoiding the awkward situation where the dance troupe, facing pressure from the principal, would have to force a high score on Lin Han, who wasn't a good actress.
But it must be said that Li Wenwen was also excellent in her performance. However, due to the principal's involvement, Li Wenwen was forced to become third. Li Wenwen herself was happy with this result. She didn't want to overshadow Lin Han, and for Li Wenwen, making Lin Han happy was true success.
...
However, the problem still arose. Perhaps it was a mistake by the teachers in the troupe, or perhaps teachers who refused to bow to power couldn't stand the principal's sycophantic behavior. In the total score, Li Wenwen surpassed Lin Han by 0.5 points, becoming the lead actress.
When Li Wenwen heard the results, she panicked. She glanced at Lin Han, not knowing how to explain. Lin Han could no longer control her emotions; tears streamed down her face, and she ran home.
...
Grandmother secretly smiled several times watching her crying granddaughter. Grandfather consoled Lin Han, saying that victory and defeat were common in war, and not to mind it.
"I just want to be first," Lin Han shouted at her grandfather, and her mother scolded her: "Xiaohan, don't speak to Grandpa like that. Losing is losing. Besides, didn't you tell Mom that you and Li Wenwen are good friends? She's become the lead in the stage play, you should congratulate her. Although you came in second, you can still perform in the play."
"No, I want to be the lead."
Lin Han's mother got angry: "Lin Han, if you continue to make such a fuss, I won't let you perform in the play. Forget about being the lead, you won't even get a supporting role."
Lin Han glared, turned, and went into the study, calling her father.
"Lin Han, if you want to be first, you must understand a principle: the world is unfair. If you want to get what you desire, you must use methods."
At this moment, Lin Han realized she shouldn't have called. Lin Zhijun's words sent shivers down her spine.
"Dad, I..."
"When I have time, I'll teach you. This time, I'll help you. Don't worry, my good daughter, just wait to be the lead."
...
The next day, when Lin Han went to school, Li Wenwen was absent. So, Lin Han asked the class teacher, who told Lin Han that Li Wenwen had an accident and broke her leg. How could this happen? Lin Han unhappily went to question Lin Zhijun. Lin Zhijun was unconcerned. He looked at Lin Han and said calmly, "Xiaohan, do you think I would stoop so low as to break a girl's leg?"
"You..."
Lin Han couldn't speak. Lin Zhijun was truly not that kind of person.
"Girl, you need to understand a principle: our money is different from the money of the poor. Our money is not meant for buying things. Money can protect us, and it can also allow us to control the poor."
Lin Han had never heard her father speak like this before, but she couldn't refute her father, nor could she forgive herself, because she felt her father was right.
...
This story made me feel uncomfortable, but after experiencing so much, I understood this principle: the money of the rich is not for buying things. They work hard to earn money to protect themselves and then stand above others.
"What happened to that girl in the end?" I asked Chang Dachun.
Chang Dachun sighed: "That girl's situation was not good. Her leg was broken by her father. Because of this, Li Wenwen hated her entire family and hated being born into such a family. She knew her father yielded to the Lin family. This led her to make a choice she shouldn't have. Li Wenwen, who was academically excellent, could have gotten into university, but she ran away from home and came to Beijing alone, falling in with a group of hoodlums."
"Isn't Li Wenwen a makeup artist?"
"Perhaps she learned it later. Lin Han's father, Lin Zhijun, found me because Lin Han met Li Wenwen in Beijing. At that time, Li Wenwen was selling liquor in a bar. She hated Lin Han intensely and drugged her drink, intending to incapacitate Lin Han and hand her over to those hoodlums. I arrived in time to save Lin Han."
Hearing Chang Dachun say this, I was terrified. Li Wenwen appeared on the third day after Lin Han took her wedding photos. She must have had another purpose. I quickly called Lin Han.
"Missed me."
Lin Han's sweet voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Where are you?"
"I'm with my best friend, out for dinner."
"Li Wenwen?"
"Oh, how did you know?"
"Do you know? That Li Wenwen wanted to harm you. The time you fainted in Beijing after being drugged in a bar was when Li Wenwen drugged you."
Lin Han let out a long sigh on the phone: "I know. Because of me, her father broke her leg. She harmed me once, and I harmed her once. Neither of us owes the other. Tang Nan, please let me handle things between us, okay?"
"Okay, alright! Then have fun tonight, and don't drink."
"Okay, love you!"
I hung up the phone. Chang Dachun's face looked grim. He glared at me and said, "Tang Nan, your sister is naive. You can't be so naive. Look at Fatty's photos."
I hadn't seen all the photos Fatty had secretly taken. I looked through the camera, and the more I saw, the more I was horrified. Li Wenwen had been in contact with some tattooed men. Finally, I saw their shop, the "Seductive Immortal Photography Studio."
"Let's go, Fatty!"
I couldn't sit still any longer. I had a premonition that Lin Han would be in trouble tonight.
Fatty drove, and we arrived at Seductive Immortal. No one was there; it was pitch black. I looked at their shop. The second-floor window was open, so I had Fatty watch me. I climbed up from the air conditioning unit and sneaked into the photography studio.
The first floor was somewhat like a business area. The second floor had a small darkroom that looked like a place for developing photos. When I went in, I was shocked. Inside were some indecent photos, staged after people were drugged.
Some women were photographed alone, while others were with men wearing masks.
Li Wenwen had found these people, and I could roughly guess what she intended to do.