As the saying goes, good news never travels far, but bad news spreads a thousand miles.
Even though it was late at night, the scandal had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of Guangzhou.
Zong Sisi and Zong Xiaxia were leisurely eating apples in the living room.
Glancing out the window, Zong Xiaxia struggled to suppress her grin.
She turned toward her sister, who was busy admiring herself in a mirror.
“Sis, what do you think Shen Youchu will look like when they send her back?”
Zong Sisi tilted her face left and right in the mirror.
“Didn’t you see? She was drugged unconscious.”
“What do you think she’ll look like? At best she’ll come back half-dead. Maybe she’ll be nothing more than a lifeless fish.”
“Hahaha! That bitch deserves it!” Zong Xiaxia laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.
Just then, the telephone rang.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Reluctantly, Zong Sisi lifted the cloth cover off the black rotary phone.
“Hello?”
“Are you a family member of Zong Huaiyu? He and your maid have been involved in an incident. Please come to the Revolutionary Committee immediately.”
The laziness instantly vanished from Zong Sisi’s face.
“What? Comrade, what happened to my father?”
The caller coughed awkwardly, clearly trying not to laugh.
“Well… he and your maid were assaulted by a man. Anyway, come over right away.”
Zong Sisi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
For a moment she thought she had misheard.
Gone was her usual refined demeanor.
She practically shrieked into the receiver.
“What?!”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? Just get over here.”
The caller hung up impatiently.
Zong Sisi slowly lowered the receiver.
Her entire body froze.
Her mind simply couldn’t process what she had just heard.
Zong Xiaxia looked over curiously.
“What happened, Sis? What happened to Dad?”
At that moment, the front door opened.
Humming cheerfully, Shen Youchu walked into the living room.
Looking at the two sisters, she smiled.
“It’s late. Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Waiting for someone?”
“Waiting for me?”
The sisters froze.
Seeing Shen Youchu return completely unharmed left them stunned.
“You… you’re back?”
Blinking innocently, Shen Youchu replied,
“This is my home. If I don’t come back here, where else would I go?”
Ignoring her, Zong Xiaxia hurried to her sister.
“Sis, what happened to Dad? Tell me!”
Zong Sisi’s face turned pale.
“The Revolutionary Committee said Dad and Aunt Yang were… assaulted by a man.”
“They told us to come immediately.”
“…”
For once, Zong Xiaxia was speechless.
Aunt Yang was one thing.
But her father?
“Oh my, what kind of talent does that take?” Shen Youchu remarked with obvious amusement.
“Men and women alike?”
Zong Xiaxia suddenly seemed to realize something.
Her eyes widened.
“Could that man be…”
She covered her mouth before finishing the sentence.
Everyone knew Fu Boda had a reputation as a pervert.
But she had never imagined he’d be depraved to this extent.
Shen Youchu was young and beautiful.
Yet somehow he had ignored her and instead targeted Aunt Yang—who was old enough to be his mother—and even her father.
“Stop talking and let’s go!”
Zong Sisi shoved her sister aside and rushed for the door.
Before leaving, she shot Shen Youchu a vicious glare.
She was certain something about this situation wasn’t right.
And somehow, Shen Youchu was connected to it.
She just couldn’t figure out how.
“Wait for me, Sis!”
Zong Xiaxia hurried after her.
Watching her two bargain-bin sisters disappear into the night, Shen Youchu sneered.
“Hah. Interesting.”
“Talk about digging your own grave.”
Since she had already stripped the house of anything valuable, she decided she might as well follow along and enjoy the show.
More than anything, she was curious about what expression Zong Huaiyu was wearing right now.
It was probably uglier than someone who had just eaten a mouthful of manure.
Despite the late hour, the building was unusually crowded and noisy.
After explaining why they had come, Zong Sisi and Zong Xiaxia hurried inside.
Shen Youchu pointed at them.
“I’m with them.”
Then she casually followed behind.
Just as the three reached the office door, an elderly man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit strode past them with two attendants.
His expression was grim.
He entered first.
The old man glanced at the humiliated Fu Boda before speaking in a commanding tone.
“Who is in charge here?”
“May I ask what crime my nephew has committed to warrant such a commotion?”
Although his presence was imposing and carried the unmistakable authority of someone accustomed to power, Captain Liu Tao—the man responsible for arresting Fu Boda—showed no fear.
He stood and met the man’s gaze directly.
“Chairman Fu.”
“Tonight we received reports from local residents.”
“At Number 18 Guangming Street, a suspect was found assaulting a man and a woman inside a residence.”
“My colleagues and I arrived on the scene and caught him in the act.”
“The evidence is conclusive.”
“The social impact is extremely serious.”
“So I brought him here for disciplinary action.”
Fu Boda’s uncle, Fu Dongshou, was the chairman of the Revolutionary Committee.
That wasn’t a secret.
Nor was this the first time Liu Tao had arrested Fu Boda.
Every previous case had somehow fallen apart.
Either the victims changed their testimony or evidence mysteriously disappeared.
Each time, Fu Dongshou had used his influence to shield his nephew.
But this time the suspect had been caught red-handed.
Liu Tao had finally made up his mind.
He intended to eliminate this cancer on Guangzhou society once and for all.
When Fu Dongshou heard the address where the incident occurred, a trace of ugliness flashed across his face.
It disappeared almost instantly.
Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
After all, his private property had been hidden carefully.
For years he had planned to move his secret assets elsewhere and enjoy them after retirement.
Unfortunately, political circumstances had made such a move impossible.
That was why he had given the key to Fu Boda in the first place—to occasionally maintain the property.
What Fu Dongshou had never anticipated was that his nephew would “maintain” it like this.
Messing around with women was one thing.
Messing around with men?
The thought alone disgusted him.
Standing quietly in the corner like an invisible observer, Shen Youchu caught every subtle change in his expression.
Instantly, she arrived at a conclusion regarding the vast treasure hoard she had discovered earlier.
That secret vault almost certainly belonged to Fu Dongshou.
And there was no need to wonder whether the wealth had been obtained honestly.
The answer was obvious.
Since it had ended up in her hands, she considered it justice.
Someday, she could always use part of it to do good deeds and give back to society.
Meanwhile, Fu Dongshou knew his nephew could not escape responsibility this time.
The only option was to redirect the blame.
After all, assault and consensual misconduct were viewed very differently.
Fu Dongshou nodded thoughtfully.
“Good.”
“Very good.”
“I understand the situation now.”
“In my opinion, this wasn’t an assault at all.”
“It was simply three people engaging in immoral conduct together.”
“The behavior is still disgraceful and unacceptable.”
“All three should be punished severely to set an example.”
With just a few sentences, he completely reframed the narrative.
And he delivered it with the forceful confidence of someone used to having the final word.
The moment Zong Sisi heard this, she exploded.
Her father had just been transformed from a victim into a willing participant.
How could she accept that?
With red eyes, she rushed forward.
“That’s not true!”
“The Revolutionary Committee called us and said my father was assaulted!”
“You can’t just cover up for—”
Before she could finish, one of Fu Dongshou’s attendants slapped her to the floor.
“Where did this ignorant commoner come from?”
“How dare you speak nonsense while Chairman Fu is talking?”
The loud crack echoed through the room.
Zong Xiaxia had been preparing to support her sister’s argument.
Now she immediately shut her mouth.
She didn’t even dare help Zong Sisi up.
The last thing she wanted was to get herself into trouble.