Chapter 29: Qin Huairu’s Scheme Backfires, Chen Mo Turns the Tables

Chen Mo looked at Qin Huairu standing in the doorway. Seeing her meticulously groomed appearance and the particularly resentful look in her eyes under the dim light, he felt not a ripple of emotion, but only absolute clarity.

He had long since seen through her intentions using the new ability he had acquired from the system: [Insight into the Human Heart].

[Role: Qin Huairu]
[Status: Jealous, resentful, desperate]
[Current Plan: Force her way into the room, tear her own clothes, scream for help, and falsely accuse Chen Mo of sexual harassment to extort compensation or entrap him.]

"Is something the matter, Qin Huairu?" Chen Mo blocked the doorway, his tone as flat as if he were asking about the weather.

Qin Huairu’s heart hammered against her ribs. Chen Mo’s calmness made her panic, but things had reached the point of no return; the arrow was already on the string. She took a deep breath, her eyes instantly reddening, and her voice took on a sobbing tone: "Chen Mo, I... my mother-in-law had another spell and beat me out of the house. I have nowhere else to go. Could you... let me come in and hide for a bit?"

As she spoke, she tried to squeeze past him, her body pressing softly against his arm. Just as she thought she was about to succeed and move on to the next phase of her plan, Chen Mo remained as immovable as a wall, blocking her path.

"Is that so?" A playful curve touched the corner of Chen Mo’s mouth. "Old Lady Jia beat you again? This is a serious matter!"

His reaction was completely unexpected. The next second, Chen Mo suddenly sidestepped. Instead of closing the door, he threw it wide open and shouted at the top of his lungs toward the courtyard.

"First Uncle! Second Uncle! Third Uncle! Come out quickly! Something has happened!"

His voice was resonant, piercing through the night and instantly startling the entire residential compound.

"Qin Huairu was beaten by her mother-in-law and is now homeless! Everyone, come and judge this!"

Qin Huairu was completely stunned. Her mind went blank, and she stood frozen at Chen Mo’s door, still holding the bowl of cold noodles, unable to move forward or backward. This... this was not the script she had imagined! Shouldn't he have been flustered, pulling her inside, and then she would fall to the ground screaming? Why was he the one taking the initiative to blow things out of proportion?

"What’s going on? What’s going on?"
"What kind of trouble is being stirred up in the middle of the night?"

Lights began to flicker on in the surrounding homes. Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and others rushed out, throwing clothes over their shoulders. Shazhu was the first to arrive; seeing Qin Huairu standing at Chen Mo’s door with a bowl in her hand and red-rimmed eyes, his anger flared.

"Chen Mo! What have you done to Sister Qin again!"

Qin Huairu finally snapped back to reality. She knew her plan had half-failed, but she had to gamble to the end. Hardening her heart, she slammed the bowl she was holding onto the ground with a sharp, crisp *crack*.

"Ah—!"

She let out a shrill scream, then grabbed her own collar with both hands and tore it with all her might!

*Rip—*

The clean, patched shirt she was wearing was instantly shredded, revealing the white undershirt beneath.

"Chen Mo! You are no human! You are bullying a widow!"

Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground, her hair disheveled, pointing at Chen Mo and wailing, "You lured me to your door and then laid your hands on me! You animal! I’m going to call the police and have you arrested!"

She acted with tears and cries, casting herself as a violated victim. The people in the courtyard were stunned by the scene. Tearing clothes! That was a serious crime of sexual misconduct!

Shazhu’s eyes turned red, his knuckles cracking as he prepared to lunge forward. However, Chen Mo’s reaction once again left everyone dumbfounded. Far from being flustered, he stepped back two paces to maintain a safe distance from Qin Huairu, then looked at her with a look of "heartbroken" disappointment and shook his head.

"Qin Huairu, Qin Huairu, you really have lost your mind."

He turned to the onlookers who had rushed over in shock, spread his hands, and analyzed the situation in a calm tone: "Uncles, neighbors, look closely."

"First, she came to my door with a bowl of noodles herself, and I didn't even let her in. If I were planning to do something to her, would I be stupid enough to do it at the doorway where she has every chance to call for help?"

"Second, she just said her mother-in-law beat her, and now she says I bullied her. It hasn't even been a minute, and her story has already changed. Does that make sense?"

"Third, and most importantly." Chen Mo pointed at Qin Huairu’s torn clothes. "Everyone here is experienced; take a good look at that tear. It starts from the collar downward, the force applied was uniform, and the edges are neat. If it had been torn during a struggle, it would never look like this. She tore it herself!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his voice rising sharply: "Why would she do this? Because she sees that I am now a doctor and living a good life, and she is jealous! She is resentful! Since she couldn't get what she wanted through soft tactics, she decided to use force, using these despicable means to frame me and ruin my reputation to achieve her goal of extortion!"

Chen Mo’s analysis was well-founded and logically clear, instantly calming those who had come to watch the show. Indeed, what Chen Mo said made sense. If he were really committing sexual harassment, why would he keep the door open and shout for everyone to come over? And looking at Qin Huairu’s clothes, the tear was indeed too "deliberate."

The gazes of the crowd shifted from suspicion of Chen Mo to scrutiny of Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu’s heart sank to the bottom. She had not expected Chen Mo to be so meticulous, dissecting her plot in a few short sentences and, in turn, labeling her with the charge of "extortion."

"You’re lying! You’re spitting blood!" she could only weakly defend herself.

"Whether I am lying or not, everyone knows in their hearts." Chen Mo sneered, ignoring her and turning his gaze toward the livid Yi Zhonghai.

"First Uncle, you are the backbone of our compound. Today’s matter has taken on a different nature. This is no longer a neighborly dispute, but malicious slander and framing! It is aimed at me, a doctor at the rolling mill! It is an attempt to undermine the stability and unity of our factory!"

He brought up Factory Director Yang again.

"Factory Director Yang personally appointed me as a doctor to serve the thousands of workers in the factory. Now, someone wants to smear me with these pathetic tactics because of a personal grudge. Tell me, should we handle this within the compound, or should I go to the factory security department right now and have them come to handle it?"

"Or, perhaps we should call the police directly and have the officers conduct an inquiry to see who is lying and who is committing a crime!"

Each of Chen Mo’s words struck like a heavy hammer against Yi Zhonghai’s heart. Call the police again? Call the security department? Cold sweat broke out on Yi Zhonghai’s forehead. He knew Chen Mo was not joking. With his current relationship with Director Yang, one word from Chen Mo, and Qin Huairu would spend the rest of her life in prison. If that happened, their compound would be embroiled in another major scandal! How could he, the First Uncle, save face then?

"Chen Mo, don't be agitated, let’s talk this through calmly." Yi Zhonghai quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"I am not agitated." Chen Mo looked at him, speaking syllable by syllable. "I am simply being reasonable. Now that reason is no longer working, we have no choice but to rely on rules and the law."

He glanced at Shazhu, who had crawled up from the ground and was trembling with rage, a flash of cold light in his eyes.

"Of course, if anyone insists on being unreasonable and ignoring the rules, wanting to solve problems with their fists, I am more than happy to see it through to the end."

Shazhu felt a jolt in his heart at Chen Mo’s gaze. Remembering the silver needle from last time that had made him wish he were dead, the step he was about to take was brought to a sudden, forced halt.