The Words She Couldn't Say

The silence in the conference room lasted a long, long time.

Ben Xiangmeng had finished her story.

She sat back down, folded her hands on the table, and lowered her head, her gaze resting on her open palms.

No one spoke.

Xu Youyou's mouth hung open as though she wanted to say something, but she couldn't force out a word.

She often joked around with Ben Xiangmeng, who always seemed so carefree. She had never imagined Ben Xiangmeng had been through something like that.

All Xu Youyou could feel was respect.

Li Qi watched Ben Xiangmeng, sitting ramrod straight. At her sides, her hands had curled into fists without her noticing.

So that was what the seniors who once protected Our City were like?

She had heard stories about those seniors before and read about their sacrifices in the Association's records.

But none of that struck her as hard as hearing it from Ben Xiangmeng, who had been there.

If I'd seen that scene myself back then, would I really have had the courage to fight?

Silence lingered in the conference room. One by one, everyone's gaze began to drift cautiously in the same direction.

Yang Cheng.

Then, just before their eyes reached her, they all looked away.

They were like a troupe of bad actors following the same script.

"Um, hey!"

Xu Youyou shot to her feet, her voice so loud that she startled herself.

"H-Hengyuan Group! Right! What happened with Hengyuan Group after that?! And that Foundation! How's the investigation going?!"

"I know we don't have a lead yet, but we can't just leave ourselves wide open, right? Could you go over it again?"

The conference room fell quiet for a moment.

Lin Guo wanted to point out that she had already covered all of that.

"Youyou,