REBIRTH: THE VILLAINESS TURNS THE TABLES

Chapter 16 : SILENT COMPLICITY

The sun dipped low, casting golden rays across the sprawling Lu estate. Inside the grand sitting room, silence sat thickly between Tang Xinyue and Lu Zeyan. A fire crackled in the hearth, unlit for warmth but maintained for ambiance—luxury at its most calculated.

"You need to see this," Lu Zeyan said, handing her a tablet.

She took it and raised an eyebrow. It was a string of screenshots from the university's private student chat groups—leaked messages, voice notes, and a few blurry photos. The discussion was heated. Her name flashed in red.

> *"Tang Xinyue paid someone to set up Xinyi? Typical rich girl behavior." "You mean Xinyi paid to frame Xinyue. Don’t be naive." "I heard someone has proof but is scared to come forward."

Her fingers tightened around the device. She already knew about the rumors, but now they were morphing. The tides were shifting. And more importantly, Lu Zeyan had access to internal university circles.

"How did you get this?" she asked.

"I have people everywhere," he said simply. "You told me to pay attention to Xinyi. She's panicking. She's even tried to reach out to some of her 'witnesses' to change their stories."

"Desperation is a beautiful thing," she said coldly. "It makes people sloppy."

Lu Zeyan sat back, watching her with a mixture of amusement and admiration. "You’re playing a long game. But long games are dangerous if you don’t pace yourself."

She didn’t respond immediately. Her mind was elsewhere—back at the party, back in that humiliating moment that shattered her.

"There was a time," she began, "when I thought justice came if you waited patiently for the truth."

"And now?"

"Now I understand it only comes if you drag it, kicking and screaming, into the light."

---

The next day, she met with Lu Mei in a quiet teahouse off-campus.

Lu Mei was pale and nervous, fingers twitching with every movement. "I—I just wanted to help," she whispered, glancing around. "But now Xinyi sent someone to warn me. I think they’re watching me."

Xinyue reached into her purse and handed her a new phone. "Use this from now on. And this envelope contains the details of a lawyer you can trust. If anyone contacts you, record everything. Keep the originals hidden. I’ll handle the rest."

Lu Mei took them with trembling hands. "I didn’t think you’d protect me."

"You came forward when no one else did. That makes you braver than most."

---

Elsewhere, Tang Xinyi was fuming.

She stood inside a private booth of a boutique café, pacing.

"She knows," she hissed into her phone. "Xinyue knows everything."

The voice on the other end was calm. Male. "Then damage control. Get Lu Mei out of the way. Quietly."

"That girl’s mouth is too big. She was supposed to be scared off, not go crawling to my sister."

"Don’t call her that," the voice snapped. "You don’t have a sister."

Tang Xinyi's expression turned rigid. "Then help me. I need more than threats now."

There was a pause. "I’ll handle it. But if this spirals, it’s on you."

---

By the weekend, Tang Xinyue received a package. No return address.

Inside was a flash drive.

She plugged it into her laptop and stared.

Video footage. Hidden camera angles. The night of the party. Her drink being swapped. Lu Mei in the corner, watching, frozen.

And clear audio:

Tang Xinyi: "Make sure she drinks it. Just one sip. I want Mo Zihan to see what kind of woman she really is."

Male voice: "You sure about this? This could ruin her."

Tang Xinyi: *"That’s the point."

Xinyue leaned back in her chair, hands shaking slightly. It was real. Tang Xinyi had buried her, publicly, socially, emotionally. And now she had proof.

She forwarded it to Lu Zeyan immediately.

Five minutes later, he replied:

> "This changes everything. We move tomorrow. Be ready."

---

That night, sleep was a stranger. Xinyue sat by her window, staring at the moonlit skyline.

Was she afraid? Perhaps. But not of losing.

She was afraid of what she would become once this was over. What would remain of her after she tore down everything that had once mattered?

But as the early light of dawn broke across the city, a whisper in her heart echoed louder:

Then let it all burn.

She would rise from the ashes.

But first, they would burn with her.