บท 190: The Pieces (13)
But now it just seemed like a joke. It was amusing seeing how Qing Qing tried to argue her way to innocence even though the guilty verdict had already been decided. Yes, it was rather cruel but what had the young woman done to deserve kindness?
"So you're telling me Ming Tian is purposely trying to ruin your name?" Sylvia asked even though she already knew the answer. "But according to Ming Tian, you're the one who has been trying to ruin someone else's name. Someone both of us know very well..." Sylvia allowed her sentence to trail off. She did not want to accuse Qing Qing directly because she wanted the young woman to walk into the trap herself.
By leaving her mother's name purposefully blank, Qing Qing might accidentally blurted out saying she did not once attempt to slander Joann's name and Sylvia would have her cornered then. However, the young woman proved to be more cunning and slimier than she thought. She evaded the trap that Sylvia had laid for her easily and gracefully. For someone who normally entrapped others, Qing Qing saw Sylvia's amateurish attempt from miles away. If she did fall for it, then she would not have been a master manipulator.
Through this crossing of swords, Qing Qing knew Sylvia was not her match. She could take her down if she had time but time was the only thing she did not have then. She could deal with Sylvia later after she neutralized the accusation that she knew was coming towards her.
Based on the vindication on Sylvia's face when she made those statements, Qing Qing knew she would not be able to turn Sylvia around anytime soon. It would only lead to a 'he said, she said' type of situation. Therefore, Qing Qing applied another method, appealing to the jury, which in this case was Joann. Joann was going to be the one who decided Qing Qing's guilt or innocence in this case so Joann was whom Qing Qing turned her attention to.
"Oh!" Qing Qing pretended like she had just remembered something. "Sister Joann, it just hit me who this Ming Tian is. Since Sylvia brought his name up, it has been stuck in my mind. I knew I recognize that name from somewhere.
"I remember it now. Ming Tian is the unscrupulous reporter who wrote all those untruthful articles about you in XX Papers!" Qing Qing raised her voice like she was truly indignant on Joann's behalf. "Based on that horrible man's character, he definitely wouldn't admit he was the one who slandered your name. Thus, the best solution is to push that blame onto someone else. Yes, that is the kind of person he is. Despicable!"
Qing Qing's words enraged Sylvia. 'How can this woman be so shameless to pin her error on someone else?! Does her shame know no bounds?'
"You're the despicable one! You're the one who ordered Ming Tian to release those articles to slander mom's name! He has told me everything. You're not going to turn this around on him!" Sylvia roared at Qing Qing. From an outsider's view, Sylvia appeared to be quite unreasonably angry. Perhaps, one part of it was because she could not bear to have someone slander her colleague's reputation...
Even though Qing Qing did not know why Sylvia was reacting so explosively, she took the opportunity and ran with it. "Sister Joann, you have to believe me. I'm completely innocent." Qing Qing choked and even managed to squeeze out a few tears, making her appear like the weaker party, thus winning all the sympathy points. "Sister Joann, the man must have poisoned your daughter's mind. You mustn't believe anything she says. I don't know where the man get the bright idea to push the blame onto me. Perhaps he knows we're close friends and it's easier to pin the blame on someone close to you or perhaps he just wants us to fight among ourselves so he would have something to write about. Either way, this accusation is obviously fake. Sister Joann, would you trust a stranger instead of me?!" Qing Qing managed to make her voice crack at the end like it physically pained her to even fathom that Joann would think so little of her.
It was truly a marvelous performance. Even Joann felt like standing up to give the young woman a standing ovation. If she had not been made privy to Qing Qing's real identity, she would have believed the young woman without a second thought.
However, now that she was older and wiser. She just felt sad, disappointed and slightly angry. Joann was surprised to see that Qing Qing thought her tricks would continue to work forever. By seeing Qing Qing in action, Joann had a real life taste of how big of a fool the young woman thought she was. Qing Qing believed she could just spin her around and around with her acting and words.
To be fair, she was put under her spell for quite some time so other than being angry at Qing Qing, Joann was also angry at herself. She was several decades senior than Qing Qing in the business but she fell for the young woman's acting so easily. She had truly let herself go. Thankfully, with the help of her best friend and daughter, she managed to awaken to the truth before she sunk any deeper.
Joann had no sympathy for the young woman. She looked at Qing Qing with a detached eye and uttered coldly, "The stranger you're talking about is my daughter so I advise you to watch your words."
Hearing this, Qing Qing's heart skipped a beat. Things were not going the way she planned. 'Perhaps Joann has already known the truth?' The thought bubbled up in her mind.
What Joann said next basically confirmed that thought. "Qing Qing, if you're really innocent and they're just framing you, how do you explain sleeping with my husband?"
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