…
After questioning everyone, the police officer ultimately listened to Jing Yuanxi’s words.
In the end, they found something unknown at He Zhiyuan’s home and took Zhao Yupeng back to the police station.
“Do you have evidence to arrest me? If not, you’d better think carefully about the consequences.”
“Bang—”
The officer slammed the table forcefully, his tone cold and stern. “Zhao Yupeng, this is a police station. I suggest you adjust your attitude!”
Zhao Yupeng stared straight ahead and sneered, “You’re new here, aren’t you?”
The young officer sat upright. “That has nothing to do with the case.”
Zhao Yupeng chuckled, pressing his tongue against his cheek, and waved a finger. “Fine, I’ll give you credit. Go ahead, ask.”
“Why did He Zhiyuan keep helping you cheat on exams? As far as I know, Di’an International’s regular grades are also factored into academic advancement scores.”
“He was trying to suck up to me because I’m rich. What else could it be? What, is the police going to meddle in this too?”
The officer questioned sternly, “On the first day of school, He Zhiyuan left campus with bruises and swelling on his face. Surveillance footage shows you were with him.”
Zhao Yupeng replied casually, “What’s wrong with a little conflict between classmates? Didn’t you get into fights when you were in school? He didn’t even report it himself, yet you’re sticking your noses into other people’s business.”
“In the last exam, because his score was higher than yours, you went to his home during the holiday and made threats like ‘you just wait,’ didn’t you?”
“I paid him, and he sold me answers. But he tricked me—can’t I even vent a little?” Zhao Yupeng dug at his ear with his pinky, his face full of disdain.
Suppressing his anger, the officer forced himself to continue calmly. “That day, you forcibly took him from his home. In the afternoon, he returned home covered in blood, clearly having been beaten. Were you aware of this? And since then, the windows of his home have been smashed from the outside every few days…”
“Hey, are you done yet? After I talked things out with him that day, I left. He’s a grown man—do I have to personally escort him home? Who knows if he went out and got beaten up while fooling around? Besides, what does his broken windows have to do with me?”
Zhao Yupeng looked utterly impatient. “Are you even police officers? Do you have evidence? If you do, show it. If not, let me go.”
“You…”
The officer was both furious and anxious but had no way to deal with him.
Their only evidence now was the video played earlier in the classroom.
His colleagues had already identified the individuals through body shape and basic facial features—they were well-known troublemakers.
Moreover, Zhao Yupeng had an alibi for the same time period.
Now, they could only hope to extract something from those troublemakers’ mouths.
Just as the young officer was about to continue the interrogation, a phone call came in.
“Yes, I’m interrogating him now… We’ve already identified them—they’re a few troublemakers, but I suspect they were hired by someone… What? Let him go? But he and the deceased…”
Zhao Yupeng watched him with amusement as the young officer’s expression turned grim.
He wanted to say more, but the person on the other end refused to listen to his excuses, simply throwing out the words “let him go” before hanging up.
Zhao Yupeng picked up his jacket with his fingers and stood up triumphantly. “Officer, see you next time.”
“Not right.”
He stared at the person before him with an eerie smile, glancing twice at the police uniform he wore. “You probably won’t have another chance to see me again.”
The young officer met his gaze, unable to decipher the unfathomable amusement in his eyes.
For some reason, he thought of that girl again.
“Even if you find out who the murderer is, can you really bring him to justice?”
In this empire controlled by power, could it really be done?
…
In an abandoned, unfinished building, several disheveled men hurried up to the rooftop.
A black bag was thrown in front of them with a thud.
Opening it, they found it filled with red banknotes.
“This is your hush money. You’ll get another payment after you’re released,” the man in a suit said.
The men nodded and bowed, their faces full of sycophantic expressions. “Don’t worry, sir. We’re tight-lipped. We won’t let Young Master Zhao get involved in the slightest.”
The suited man gave a faint smile and waved them away.
The small-time thugs grabbed the black bag and ran, afraid the other party might change their mind.
Not to mention they were the ones who took money to do the job that night, even if the Zhao family hadn’t offered hush money, they wouldn’t dare casually implicate Zhao Yupeng.
Beating someone up only meant detention, but offending the Zhao family could cost them their lives.
After the thugs left, the suited man took out his phone and made a call. “The task you assigned has been taken care of.”
“Yes, yes… I’ll contact He Zhiyuan’s family right away.”
Intermittent voices drifted from the rooftop.
…
He Zhiyuan’s case was closed in less than three days. Since he had committed suicide in public, the thugs were only detained for fighting and brawling.
The Zhao family handled it swiftly and cleanly. The incident barely affected Di’an International, and not even a single piece of news was leaked.
But Zhao Yupeng no longer appeared at school.
After this incident, not only was his attempt to cheat exposed, but the young officer stubbornly reported his bullying of classmates to the school as well.
The school ordered him to reflect at home for a month as a form of punishment.
However, none of this had anything to do with Jing Yuanxi.
Her mood was unusually foul at the moment.
Homeroom teacher Du Ren squinted with a smile, the blackboard clearly displaying “Jing Yuanxi: 21 votes” and “Kong Shixuan: 1 vote.”
“What’s wrong with all of you? I told you not to vote for me. Why did you vote for me again? Do I have to be your servant for three years?”
Jing Yuanxi couldn’t understand why class committee elections had to be decided by voting every semester.
And why everyone insisted on voting for her.
Jin Mingzhen lowered her head, not daring to meet her gaze.
The 21 votes represented everyone except Jing Yuanxi herself, which meant Jin Mingzhen had also voted for her.
Jin Mingzhen’s reason for voting for her was simple—or rather, the reason all the lower-ranking students voted for her was simple. It had become an unspoken consensus in Class 3-1.
If someone from the lower-ranking students became the class representative, all tasks and activities would face obstacles, especially with troublemakers like Jin Mingzhu around.
But if someone from the higher-ranking students took the role, the trouble would be even greater.
Han Shixu was famously indifferent—nothing ever earned so much as a glance from him. Yin Meiyan and Zhao Yupeng would only use every means to torment others.
And as for Kong Shixuan…
She had a feeling that if Jing Yuanxi weren’t the class representative, he wouldn’t take the role either.
Another reason is that serving as a class committee member at Di’an International actually provides extra points for college admissions.
If someone skipped the higher-ranked candidates and voted for someone else instead, they would undoubtedly be pushing that person into a pit of fire.
Those in lower positions wouldn’t take the risk of doing so, fearing they might face retaliation themselves.
So, regardless of the reasoning, their only choice and consensus was to vote for Jing Yuanxi.
Strictly speaking, her temper wasn’t great either—she could even be described as picky and difficult. A single word, glance, or gesture could easily upset her.
But she was arrogant and domineering enough that, in a way, this actually came across as a kind of condescending mercy.
As for why people like Yin Meiyan and Han Shixu voted for Jing Yuanxi, it was probably just to get this part over with quickly, so they simply followed the crowd.
Du Ren superficially offered a mix of flattery and reassurance to Jing Yuanxi, but deep down, he was extremely satisfied with the outcome.
He still remembered that in the first semester of their freshman year, she hadn’t been the class monitor. That semester had been nothing short of a nightmare in his teaching career.
Fortunately, things improved significantly starting from the second semester.
That was when they re-elected Jing Yuanxi as class monitor.
Ever since then, whether it was organizing events or coordinating exams, everything went remarkably smoothly.
Du Ren led the applause. “Alright, then Jing Yuanxi will continue to serve as our class monitor this semester, and Kong Shixuan will remain as the academic committee representative.”
Jing Yuanxi leaned back against her desk, visibly annoyed. Bai Huina tugged at her sleeve and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Yuanxi. I’ll help you out like I always have.”
In previous semesters, Jing Yuanxi had been the nominal class monitor, but in reality, Bai Huina had handled all the work for her.
At this point, Pei Jize, sitting in the back row, raised his hand in an annoyingly casual manner. “Teacher, didn’t you say we were changing seats today? I’d like to sit with the class monitor. As a transfer student, I’m sure my classmates will look out for me, right?”
“Ha, talk about shameless. Who said we’d look out for you?”
Yin Meiyan rolled her eyes at his audacity and sneered, “I suggest you tone it down. She has a fiancé.”
Pei Jize looked genuinely surprised. “A fiancé? Who?”
He really hadn’t known about this.
Almost instinctively, the other students turned to look at Han Shixu, who was sitting behind Kong Shixuan.
But after casting his vote, Han Shixu had buried his head and fallen asleep, completely ignoring the commotion around him, let alone acknowledging anything.
Jing Yuanxi suddenly remembered the daughter of the housekeeper. Turning to look at Pei Jize’s annoyingly handsome and youthful face, she couldn’t help but smirk.
If Han Shixu could secretly keep a lover, she could certainly make things uncomfortable for him too.
As for what the other students might think or say behind her back—what did she care?
“Sure, I agree to let you sit with me,” Jing Yuanxi said.
As soon as she spoke, the classroom fell into an awkward silence.
Many students glanced subtly or openly at Han Shixu, unsure whether he was genuinely asleep or just pretending.
Since the person involved had agreed, the homeroom teacher naturally didn’t object.
Pei Jize cheerfully dragged his bag to the front. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the banners that had been hanging on her desk were all rolled up and stuffed into the corner like trash.
Wow, is this how she treats the honors I gave her?
These are awards, you know!
Jing Yuanxi watched as her new desk mate reached into her desk, pulled out the two banners, and neatly hung them back up.
“…”
“I agreed to let you sit with me, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”
“That was specially prepared by me to thank you. You have no idea how carefully I planned—”
His words were mercilessly cut off before he could finish.
“So what? Once you gave it to me, it became mine, didn’t it? I can put it wherever I want. Mind your own business!”
Jing Yuanxi expressionlessly took down the banner and tossed it into the trash can from a distance.
“Hey, hey, hey! That really hurts my feelings!”
Pei Jize wore an exaggerated look of heartbreak. Right in front of their homeroom teacher, he climbed over the desk, retrieved the banner from the trash can, and glanced at the two banners now mixed together. He then tossed Officer Xue’s banner back into the trash and returned to his seat, clutching his own.
Jing Yuanxi: “…”
Jing Yuanxi smiled at him. “What exactly do you want?”
“Wait, what’s with that threatening look?” Pei Jize resisted stubbornly. “Are you planning to break my heart again?”
Jing Yuanxi sneered and reached out forcefully to grab the banner.
Pei Jize held on tightly with both hands. “Wait, wait! I know your desk is already full of stuff. Let me keep it for you for now, okay?”
“If you want trash, take it. Don’t shove it my way.”
Pei Jize was so angry he laughed. He turned his head and smiled faintly. “This isn’t trash. It’s my heartfelt gesture.”
Jing Yuanxi smoothed out her skirt, which had wrinkled during the intense struggle, and smiled back. “A heartfelt gesture? Then you should carry it with you at all times. That would better express your sincerity.”
Pei Jize: “…”
Wow.
So she’s treating him like an enemy.
“Jing Yuanxi, didn’t I help you before? Don’t you feel even a little bit of gratitude toward me? Not even a tiny bit?”
“Wasn’t that what you were supposed to do? After all, I saved your life.” Jing Yuanxi spoke with righteous confidence.
“Wow…”
Pei Jize couldn’t help but applaud.
“Fine, then according to you, we’re barely even. Let’s coexist peacefully. I’ll take the loss and look out for you from now on. With me as your protector, you can afford to offend ten people like Zhao Yupeng. How about that?”
She should know about the famous Pei Family, right?
Even if she didn’t know before, she should know now. Just like him—after learning her name, he immediately looked up everything about the Jing Family.
Pei Jize caught a glimpse of his handsome face in the small mirror on the desk and felt secretly pleased.
He was this good-looking—even a queen should be curious enough to look up his name!
Jing Yuanxi gave a cool glance at the inexplicably excited person.
Using ignorance as a shield was getting boring.
Seeing the mocking and inexplicable look on her face, Pei Jize’s wide grin instantly vanished.
He keenly understood.
He understood that she had brushed him off again…
Pei Jize laughed in frustration. “What’s with that look? Do you look down on me?”
Jing Yuanxi twirled a pen lazily with one hand. “Can you just be quiet? Otherwise, go sit in the back again. Get this straight—I’m not here for idle chatter, especially not with you.”
“…?”
Pei Jize held back again and again, finally managing to talk himself down.
No rush, no rush. There’s a banquet at the Han Family tonight, and all the noble families will be there.
He’ll definitely give her a big surprise then!
…
The night was as calm as water.
The entire Han Family estate was brightly lit, with countless luxury cars coming and going.
The wealthy aristocrats who had alighted from their cars greeted familiar faces with laughter as they walked inside together.
Further in, groups of young people could be seen scattered in twos and threes throughout the garden.
Jin Mingzhu took a glass of champagne from a servant and, while sipping, suddenly remembered something. “By the way, Shixu, did you fire that nanny in the villa?”
“Hey, why bring them up all of a sudden? Do you think I’m in too good a mood?”
At the mention of this, Li Chengshuo’s expression instantly darkened.