Inside the mediation room, the entire family of the victim—filled with anger and grief—was cursing at Hu Xiuchun. Lawyers and police officers mediated on the side, while Hu Xiuchun put on her most professional skill—the “crying act”—doing her utmost to project a sincere, remorseful attitude in hopes of getting the other party to sign the letter of understanding.
Su Jingye sat with a dark expression, feeling as if he were in a noisy marketplace, his head buzzing incessantly.
Nevertheless, as an entrepreneur who had weathered many storms, he could still think even in such a chaotic environment.
Back when his first wife had died from an “accidental” electrocution, the police had also come to investigate but had found no issues.
And at that time, Hu Xiuchun had not yet married into the Su family. She shouldn’t have known anything, much less had any evidence.
But women like Hu Xiuchun all started off acting docile, only to later try every means possible to climb up, causing him no small amount of trouble.
Su Jingye wasn’t sure whether Hu Xiuchun had bribed the servants back then, planted spies in his house, or left behind recording devices…
Even though Su Jingye felt that Hu Xiuchun was most likely just bluffing, he didn’t dare risk the rest of his life over it. So he chose to clean up her mess instead.
Beside him, Su Minghao accompanied him, equally preoccupied with his own thoughts.
He didn’t actually want to be here, but his father had inexplicably decided to back up his stepmother and announce to the world that he wasn’t abandoning this woman.
As an heir rather than the one in power, he naturally had to follow his father’s lead and show his support.
Outsiders didn’t know Hu Xiuchun’s real standing in the family, but Su Minghao knew it all too well.
In the past, the old man had always had various flings outside. At home, Hu Xiuchun had always served him meekly. Their relationship could almost be described as that of a superior and subordinate.
Although Hu Xiuchun held the highest position among the women in the household as the Su family matriarch, in reality, the old man was playing a balancing game.
He had married a woman whose body was too damaged to bear more children as his second wife to raise the children from his first marriage. Meanwhile, the women who had borne him other children were kept outside.
The old man and Hu Xiuchun had never been a deeply devoted couple. This time, for the old man to suddenly act out of character and defend her, she must have some leverage.
Who would have thought that the woman who usually seemed so pathetic at home had actually hidden an ace up her sleeve?
It was a shame Hu Xiuchun was now in prison. He couldn’t easily probe her under the police’s noses. Otherwise, teaming up with her wouldn’t have been a bad idea…
Inside the noisy mediation room, the Su father and son each harbored their own thoughts.
With the diligent mediation of the police and lawyers, Hu Xiuchun’s final mediation agreement was finally signed.
Hu Xiuchun had to return to the detention center. Before she left, she heard her husband’s comforting words.
“Reform yourself well. We’ll wait for you to come out, and the family will be reunited.”
“Husband, you’re so good to me.” Hu Xiuchun’s face was full of emotion, but inside, she was filled with contempt.
Pah! I knew it—you killed your first wife!
That other woman had just given birth to a pair of twins and rushed to confront the first wife, trying to take her place. I was waiting to watch them destroy each other when I suddenly heard that the first wife had died accidentally.
She didn’t believe it was a coincidence. More likely, the self-made first wife, who was entitled to half the assets, had wanted a divorce and had been taken care of by the man sharing her bed.
Now, with just a little test, it was confirmed!
Hu Xiuchun turned around and slowly followed the police officer away.
Now that she was going to prison, the old man couldn’t probe her situation, which gave her an opportunity to slip through. Otherwise, whether it was him exposing her lies with evidence or him assuming she had evidence and eliminating her…
Neither scenario would end well for her.
Of course, the police also despised her as a criminal who had harmed so many families.
That Captain Xing, in particular, had questioned her about her involvement in switching the babies with the nanny.
She had, of course, denied it outright. She was middle-aged now. If she got more time added to her sentence, she was terrified she might not make it out of prison alive.
That matter had happened many years ago. The police surely couldn’t find any evidence.
And lately, the police had stopped asking about it because they had nothing on her!
Hu Xiuchun, her hands cuffed, walked along thinking these dark thoughts, and the panic in her heart finally subsided just a little.
As she neared the door of the detention cell, even the air reeked of human excrement.
“Ugh…”
Even after all these days, she still couldn’t get used to it.
Hu Xiuchun had lived a life of luxury for many years. Now, suddenly imprisoned, her haggard appearance aged rapidly.
If only she hadn’t been so greedy, if only she had just stuck to her monthly allowance and never ventured into illegal sidelines…
Not long ago, she had still been the glorious Mrs. Su.
The first wife’s youngest son had suffered outside for over twenty years. Even after he was finally brought back, the fake product she had bought had never stopped undermining him. In the end, Su Zhisheng had been driven out of the wealthy family, forced to continue his poor, bitter life.
While she… had fine food and clothing, surrounded by servants. How glorious she had been!
With a loud clang, the door to the detention cell slammed shut.
Hu Xiuchun looked at the crude communal bunk before her, realizing she would never touch a cell phone again. Tears still spilled from her already red and swollen eyes.
The bed closest to the chamber pot—that one was hers.
The stench was unbearable!
Living conditions in detention centers had always been far worse than in prisons.
Hu Xiuchun had never imagined that one day she would be so desperate to be sentenced quickly, just so she could go to prison and operate a sewing machine…
…
Inside the police station, Li Mengxi and the others were anxiously waiting for the police’s findings.
Before long, Xing Tianwei and the other officers walked in.
The cheerful, sunny young officer Zhang Zhengyang had barely sat down before he unscrewed his water bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls.
His appearance naturally exuded a friendly warmth, and he was always present for mediations and training sessions at the station.
But after just finishing the mediation of Hu Xiuchun’s messy case, his throat felt like it was on fire. He hadn’t even caught his breath yet before he had to mediate a dispute between university students.
Li Mengxi saw the police enter. “Officer, what about my computer?”
The bad news: your computer is done for.
The good news: your classmate is also done for.
Zhang Zhengyang couldn’t say that outright. The seasoned officer leading the investigation chose his words more carefully.
“Unfortunately, your computer couldn’t be saved. However, we caught the thief.” The old officer’s gaze landed on Luo Guangsheng.
“You’re still a university student. No matter what kind of conflict you had, you shouldn’t have stolen your roommate’s computer. This is illegal!”
Luo Guangsheng was stunned for a moment, then flushed with indignation. “This is slander!”
“Is my fingerprint on the computer? You’re just talking nonsense, trying to trick some poor sucker into buying him a new computer!”
Luo Guangsheng had watched plenty of crime dramas and read many detective novels. He knew that when police lacked evidence, they sometimes tried to scare a suspect into confessing.
He wasn’t falling for it!
“Sure, I argued with him today. But doing something bad right after arguing? Who would be that stupid?”
“And we’re not freshmen anymore. Am I really the only classmate Li Mengxi has ever offended? It’s obvious someone just doesn’t like him, took this opportunity to strike, and is trying to frame me!”
To be fair, Luo Guangsheng truly deserved his place at G Province First Agricultural University.
From hiding his fingerprints to crafting his defense and shifting blame to other classmates… his mind was remarkably sharp.
But he had still been caught by the school administration’s hidden surveillance cameras.
That system had originally been set up to monitor tourists. No one expected it would be used to catch a student first.
The old officer didn’t say a word. He simply played the video on his computer, letting Luo Guangsheng, the victim, and the others watch as someone sneakily disposed of the evidence.
Li Mengxi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I only said a few things about your idol, and you decided to throw away my computer? You knew full well I can’t afford a second one. You knew that some of our coursework requires a computer to complete…”
This wasn’t a poisoning or a murder—it was just a theft. But it was a calculated, malicious attack aimed at destroying the victim’s lifeline. The cruelty of it was unimaginable.
Luo Guangsheng had earlier been so confident, thinking he had left no evidence and that no one could touch him—that he could toy with both the police and his classmates.
In the blink of an eye, his crime was exposed for everyone to see.
The academic advisor and school administrators who had accompanied the students to the station felt their heads ache.
Students these days were becoming more and more capable of terrible things.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I don’t want to be expelled…”
Before anyone could even announce the punishment, Luo Guangsheng dropped to his knees.
He clung to Li Mengxi’s leg, pleading without a shred of dignity.
In the face of terrifying consequences, all self-respect could be thrown away.
Just like the brain-dead fans who acted tough online but were meek and cowardly in real life, never daring to show their true faces. Because deep down, they knew they were in the wrong and feared the judgment of the real world.
In real life, Luo Guangsheng had indeed been extreme—but only because he thought he was clever enough to evade the law. Now that the iron fist had come down, he instantly crumbled into tears.
The more arrogant he had been before, the more pathetic he was now.
Su Zhisheng raised his cup and silently took a sip.
Su Mingjie’s brain-dead fans really were like rats in the sewers.
They did all sorts of filthy things in the dark, but the moment they were dragged out into the sunlight, they collapsed.
The police and school administrators sternly reprimanded Luo Guangsheng and gave him a serious demerit. According to school rules, only repeated theft without remorse would trigger expulsion. Luo Guangsheng’s offense hadn’t reached that level.
After giving him an earful, Li Mengxi chose to mediate.
In the end, Luo Guangsheng apologized to Li Mengxi, compensated him for his financial losses, and paid additional damages for emotional distress.
Not only that, but Luo Guangsheng also had to move out of the student dormitory.
Neither Li Mengxi nor his roommates wanted to continue living with someone like Luo Guangsheng. Otherwise, they’d have to sleep with one eye open.
Of course, the biggest blow to Luo Guangsheng was the school administrator calling his parents.
These compensations added up to real money. Luo Guangsheng came from a middle-class family and didn’t have that much in savings. He would have to rely on his parents to cover it.
His parents would pay, but they would also undoubtedly give him a thorough lesson in “love.”
Su Zhisheng propped his chin on his hand and watched as Luo Guangsheng, berated by his parents over the phone, collapsed into sobs.
It was clear that Luo Guangsheng only regretted getting caught throwing away his roommate’s computer. From start to finish, he had never regretted “standing against the world” for his idol.
But what would happen when Luo Guangsheng found out that Su Mingjie wasn’t as innocent and pure as he imagined?
Su Zhisheng opened his phone and looked at the scheduled post in his draft folder.
The message was finally sent.
[Bounty – posted by proxy:
The Su family’s nanny switched Su Mingjie with the Su family’s “adopted son” years ago, ruining a person’s life. The nanny is currently missing. If anyone has information on her whereabouts, please call the police.
The Su family’s “adopted son” is offering 30,000 yuan of his own money as a reward for information. Heartfelt thanks.]