Returning - Chapter 185
Chapter 185: Disgrace
Zhuang Ruyun was arrested on the spot for illegal possession of a firearm and intentional assault. The news that Zhuang Yiqing had hired someone to commit murder half a year ago, leading to a death, was also promptly dug up online. The Xu family couldn't afford to ignore this matter; after all, the two families had been far too entangled in the past.
Perhaps choosing an alliance with the Zhuang family through marriage had been a mistake from the start. Or maybe the root of it all was Xu Chengyan's impulsive decision to break off the engagement, directly leading the Zhuang family to its current ruin. In any case, with this excuse to assign blame, the Xu household was anything but peaceful.
The shouting outside continued. Xu Chengyan rubbed his temples, his left hand still holding his phone as he quietly waited for a response from the other end.
He didn't quite know why he had made this call. It was just that the moment Cui Lan's case was exposed, he understood that Zhao Yu was undoubtedly the driving force behind it.
She knew this case was connected to the Xu family. By doing this now, wasn't she not only seeking revenge on Zhuang Yiqing but also targeting him?
He asked, "Zhao Yu, you want me to go to prison, is that it?"
He also wanted to ask, do you truly hate me this much?
But the moment the first question left his lips, he realized how ridiculous he was being. She had made herself perfectly clear at the hospital that day; why was he asking an unnecessary question?
Yet inexplicably, a sliver of hope always lingered in his heart, making him think her words at the hospital might have been spoken in anger.
They had, after all, been together for so long. She had never once shown genuine disgust towards him. He didn't believe her acting skills could be that good.
There was silence on the other end. As if driven by some compulsion, he added, "I've acquired..."
"If I wanted you to go, would you actually go?"
The cold female voice cut him off. Even though her tone betrayed no emotion, he could almost see that mocking look reappearing in her eyes.
Mockery aimed at him, disdain for him, even... disgust towards him.
Xu Chengyan was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to finish his previous sentence or answer her question.
Should he say that he had acquired 4% of Lanxi's equity, and if she needed it, he wouldn't mind helping her?
But he had already inadvertently revealed this to Xue Zhan. She should have known long ago, yet hadn't mentioned a word of it.
If she said she wanted him to go to prison, would he actually go?
After a moment's contemplation, he shook his head again.
Almost simultaneously, a cold, derisive laugh came from the other end. It was very, very soft, yet it pierced his ears with absolute clarity, as if barbed.
He abruptly hung up the phone, slammed it heavily onto the table, and couldn't help but mutter a low curse.
He must be sick. Why else would he always seek out misery for himself?
He had never lacked women around him, and no woman had ever dared to deceive and use him like this, then treat him with such contempt, mockery, and disgust after using him. That being the case, wasn't it fine if they went their separate ways from now on?
"Big brother, it's not me criticizing, but that child Chengyan is just too arrogant. At such a young age, he looks down on everyone, and now he's taken a huge fall, hasn't he? I heard he broke off the engagement for a woman. Tell me, just as he took charge of the family, he poked such a massive hornet's nest..."
The door was yanked open with a whoosh. Xu Chengyan, impeccably dressed in a suit, walked out of the study and stood upstairs, looking down at the man in the living room below. "Third Uncle, at your advanced age, your voice is still so loud. Can your health handle it?"
The man downstairs shut his mouth and looked up.
Xu Chengyan adjusted his tie deliberately, leisurely descending the stairs with his usual genial smile. "Chenghe, how much was that gambling debt of yours last time exactly? I've been so swamped with things, I completely forgot. Has it not been paid off for you yet?"
Xu Chenghe's face turned pale with fright, and he could only manage a strained, dry laugh. "Paid... it's paid off. Thank you, Big Brother. I'll never touch that stuff again."
"And what about last week..."
Before Xu Chengyan could finish, the man had already kicked Xu Chenghe. "You little bastard! You said you'd quit, said you'd quit. How many times have you said that now, you..."
Seeing the man about to continue the beating, Xu Chengyan, now at the bottom of the stairs, quickly reached out to stop him, his smile perfectly gentle. "Third Uncle, why fly into such a rage? He's young; it's normal to like having fun. The only reason he owes so much now is because he has no money. Once he takes charge of the family, all the Xu family's assets will be his. Then he can play however he wants, and absolutely no debt collector will dare come knocking."
The man's face cycled through shades of blue and white at the sarcasm. He could only give his son another vicious kick, grab him by the collar, and head for the door.
"Your Third Uncle is easy to deal with. Your Second Uncle won't be dismissed with just a few words." The old man patted his shoulder meaningfully. "Your Third Uncle was right about one thing: you are just too arrogant."
Xu Chengyan swept a flat glance over him. "The son takes after his father."
Choked back by another retort, the old man was silent for several seconds before letting out a soft chuckle. "You've long since smashed the preceding wave to death against the sand."
Xu Chengyan walked to the foyer, changed his shoes, grabbed his car keys, and headed out. The old man glanced at the bright streetlights outside. "There's no rush right this moment."
Although the exposure of Cui Lan's case was somewhat sudden, the Xu family wasn't unprepared. They always acted with caution, especially after their relations with the Zhuang family broke down, having spent considerable effort on damage control.
The waters of Cui Lan's case ran too deep, involving too many people. Even if a thorough investigation were launched, it was unlikely to truly drag everyone behind the scenes out into the open. Sacrificing a pawn to save the queen was always the standard operating procedure in such events.
Xu Chengyan said, "Can't sleep. Going out for a drive."
The old man watched him curiously. "Did you really break off the engagement on the spot for a woman? In all the years I've raised you, I've never seen you act so impulsively."
Xu Chengyan scoffed lightly. "It was simply because of Zhuang Yiqing. Before we were even married, she was already reaching so far to interfere in my affairs. That was a lesson for her."
This wasn't just a convenient fabrication to fob off the old man; it was the truth. Zhao Yu must have known this deeply as well, which was precisely why she framed Zhuang Yiqing.
Xu Chengyan had even been thinking all along: even if the person injured back then hadn't been Zhao Yu, but any other woman, as long as the blame could be successfully pinned on Zhuang Yiqing, he would have still done something like calling off the marriage. It couldn't be considered all that impulsive.
It was just that whenever he recalled witnessing Zhao Yu change her dressing at the hospital that day, seeing that horrifying wound of hers, his heart felt unbearably heavy again.
The weather had already turned cool. Xu Chengyan drove himself, not bothering to close the window, allowing the night wind to pour in recklessly. Yet it still couldn't extinguish the inexplicable restless irritation burning in his chest.
It was only after driving around in circles for a while that he somehow found himself steering into a narrow alleyway, and he realized this was Cui Lan's home.
He had never been here, but he remembered the address. Although his Second Uncle had handled the entire matter back then, since it involved his fiancée, he had also learned about some of the specifics.
At the time, the Zhuang family had given Cui Lan's mother a large sum of money and arranged a respectable job for Cui Lan's younger brother. Cui's mother had agreed to keep her mouth shut, insisting her daughter had died from an accidental post-surgery infection due to inadequate recovery.
However, Cui Lan's grandmother seemed unwilling to accept it, insisting on finding the murderer. Ultimately, it was Cui's mother, cooperating with the Zhuang family's mixture of threats and bribes, who forced the old woman into silence.
Having received such a huge sum, Cui Lan's mother and brother probably no longer lived in this old house. But as Xu Chengyan got out of the car and casually walked over following the house numbers, he saw an old woman with graying hair sitting in the wide-open courtyard.
She was probably around the same age as his own grandmother. But compared to his grandmother, who was waited upon daily and emanated an air of dignified luxury, this woman in the courtyard was clearly far more desolate.
"You and Zhuang Yiqing are birds of a feather. You can solve everything with money. You're all high and mighty upper-class people. The lowly lives of us lower-class people are worthless in your eyes."
"Xu Chengyan, an upper-class person like you disgusts me."
Zhao Yu's words rang unexpectedly in his ears again. Xu Chengyan shook his head sharply and spun around to leave.
"Lanlan?" The old woman in the courtyard spotted the figure outside and lunged over from the ground instantly, clutching tightly at the hem of his clothes. "Lanlan, you're back! You've come to see your grandmother! Lanlan..."
Her clothes were filthy and disheveled, her wrinkled hands grimy. The moment they grabbed Xu Chengyan's immaculate, light-colored suit, they left a clearly visible handprint.
Xu Chengyan, always fastidious about cleanliness, instinctively dodged to the side. The old woman stumbled and fell to the ground. He quickly reached out to help her up, but she moved even more swiftly than he did, rapidly evading his touch.
"I knew it, you won't forgive me. You must hate your grandmother so much. Grandma is useless, can't seek justice or revenge for you, can't put those bad people in jail, leaving you unable to rest in peace. Grandma has failed you..."
In the quiet alley, the old woman's shrill, mournful cries pierced the night sky. Xu Chengyan stood frozen, watching. Before his eyes flickered the image of his own pampered, privileged grandmother, and then, in turn, the image of Zhao Yu, weeping just as heart-wrenchingly.
Four years ago, having endured an ordeal even more tragic than the Cui family's, how had she ever managed to walk through it?
A neighboring resident was woken by the noise. Someone cursed, someone offered words of comfort, and judging by the sounds, someone else seemed to be heading this way.
Xu Chengyan jolted awake from his stupor, turned around, and fled in utter disarray.
He probably would never again experience a moment more disgraceful than this in his entire life.
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