The great tormentor Li Yao mentioned was, of course, Jiang Yichen. Shi Yu shook her head, her spirits sinking, and told Li Yao everything she had found out, holding nothing back. Li Yao looked as if she’d been blindsided by a massive piece of gossip, her eyes widening in disbelief. As any loyal best friend would, she took her side, however shaky her own conviction. “Look… I think your birth father is the one who deserves to be strung up for this. And besides, it sounds like Jiang Yichen’s dad had a thing for your mother too… This has nothing to do with you. Don’t let it consume you.” A suffocating frustration welled up inside Shi Yu. She took a long, hard swallow of her beer, but it did nothing to wash away the tightness in her chest. After going through her mother's belongings, she knew there was one more thing she had to do: find her birth father. She had to deliver the letter her mother never got to send, to hand it to that heartless man. At the very least, he needed to know what a bastard he was, to know that he had ruined a woman’s life. Suddenly, a familiar female voice cut in. “Dr. Shi, fancy seeing you here. I never would have pegged someone so prim and proper in a white coat to hang out in a place like this after hours.” Li Mengxi seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Shi Yu looked up, dazed, at her scantily clad, flashy figure. A wave of dislike washed over her, likely because this was the woman who was involved with Jiang Yichen. Seeing that Shi Yu had no intention of responding, Li Yao stepped in. “‘Dr. Shi’? You run into your patients everywhere? Who says doctors can't come to places like this? Everyone needs to unwind.” Li Mengxi made herself right at home, sliding into the seat next to Shi Yu. “Dr. Shi, is there something going on between you and Jiang Yichen?” The question was so blunt it made Li Yao roll her eyes. “Listen, lady, what business is it of yours? Why don't you crawl back to whatever hole you came from?” Li Mengxi pouted. “What I was trying to tell you at the hospital last time… I happened to see a picture of you on Jiang Yichen’s phone.” Shi Yu froze. “What?” How could her picture be on his phone? Didn't he despise her? Li Mengxi deliberately paused for effect, a sly, ambiguous smile playing on her lips. Shi Yu couldn’t figure out Li Mengxi’s motive for telling her this. If she had really seen Shi Yu’s picture on his phone, shouldn’t she view her as a rival? Why wasn’t there a trace of hostility? She didn’t press about the photo. Instead, she tried a different, cautionary tack. “You just had surgery not long ago. Does Jiang Yichen know you’re out partying in a place like this?” Li Mengxi burst out laughing. “Ha! Why would he care what I do? You didn’t actually think the baby I got rid of was his, did you?” Shi Yu was stunned again. “It… it wasn’t?” Li Mengxi shrugged. “Of course not. I wish it had been. Maybe then I could’ve married into a wealthy family. The father was some notorious playboy who never takes responsibility for anything. Just my luck.” Shi Yu couldn’t care less who the father of Li Mengxi’s child was. Her mind was racing with two thoughts: Li Mengxi had nothing to do with Jiang Yichen, and her picture was on his phone… Could this mean he didn’t hate her as much as she thought? A flicker of warmth sparked in her chest, followed instantly by a deeper, richer wave of guilt. A few moments later, Li Mengxi left with a sleazy-looking man with slicked-back hair. Li Yao didn’t bother to hide her disgust. “God, I can’t stand women like her. She plays that overly-familiar card way too well. You can just tell she's one of those trashy social climbers.” Shi Yu didn’t reply, her mind silently turning over Li Mengxi’s words. Was her picture really on Jiang Yichen’s phone?