Xing Tianwei knew Su Zhisheng was short on money. As soon as the reward application was approved, he sent him a message.
But to his surprise, Su Zhisheng said he would come to collect the money in a couple of days.
It turned out that Su Zhisheng’s adoptive mother’s surgery was approaching. As her family member, he needed to stay at the hospital to accompany and care for her, so he couldn’t get away.
[Okay. Wishing her a speedy recovery.]
The wording seemed rather official, yet it didn’t forget to offer care and concern. Su Zhisheng, knowing the aloof officer’s personality, immediately replied with thanks.
[Thank you. (Cute kitten bowing, jpg)]
Xing Tianwei fell silent for a moment.
Even though Su Zhisheng had grown up in poverty and endured many hardships in life, he had still developed a lively and cheerful personality. If he hadn’t been switched at birth by that nanny, his life wouldn’t have had to be so difficult.
Xing Tianwei opened a folder containing the documents on the Su family child-switching case.
Back when that case was being handled, Xing Tianwei had been on leave due to family matters. Other colleagues had been in charge of it. To find the whereabouts of the real young master, they had investigated the nanny—the one who had quit not long after working for the family.
When the police retrieved the nanny’s records, they discovered she had gone missing years ago. They then interviewed the public and looked into which families had adopted a baby boy around that time—which led them to Su Zhisheng.
During that investigation, the police also uncovered something important. Although some women back then had hidden pregnancies and births, the nanny’s family members and neighbors all confirmed that she had not been pregnant or given birth during that period.
To be thorough, the police had also collected DNA samples from the nanny’s family and compared them with the fake young master’s.
The result: the fake young master had no blood relation to the nanny whatsoever.
Initially, the police had assumed this was a case of the nanny intentionally swapping the children so that her own child could live a wealthy life. But now, it seemed there was more to the story.
The sudden appearance of a fake young master with no ties to the nanny suggested that a child trafficking case might be involved!
From a motivational standpoint, Su Zhisheng’s stepmother was a very strong suspect.
The problem was… there were no leads and no evidence.
Xing Tianwei furrowed his brow but had no intention of giving up.
His father had spent years investigating child trafficking rings in G Province back in the day, but due to the limitations of investigative methods at the time, he had only managed to capture part of the network. Until his death, it had remained a lingering regret.
Xing Tianwei placed the documents on the real versus fake young master case into the larger case file on the serial child trafficking ring in G Province.
Once he finished handling the urgent case at hand, he would continue looking into it…
Just as he was deep in thought, a subordinate’s frustrated voice broke in.
“Not a single person in this Zhou Jiale case is straightforward!”
“Zhang Weilong crumbled and confessed on the spot when he saw the blood. But now he’s sticking to the story that they were in a relationship—he just had some twisted kinks. When Zhou Jiale found out, he couldn’t accept it and threw something at him in a fit of rage, accidentally causing the fatal blow.”
“His statement about the sequence of events matches our findings at the crime scene. But Zhang Weilong and Zhou Jiale always used other people’s phones to contact each other. Zhou Jiale even went as far as to disguise himself in the village and take a private car to the villa…”
The young officer slammed the table in frustration. “The whole process was like sneaking around like a thief. Only an idiot would believe they were just protecting their privacy!”
Xing Tianwei flipped through Zhang Weilong’s records, which included his chat logs. “Zhang Weilong did only date one boyfriend at a time. That’s not illegal.”
The real problem was likely the person who had made the introductions.
After all, only a pimp couldn’t guarantee whether a client was looking for a relationship or just paying for a one-night stand.
The phone Zhou Jiale had used, which could have cracked the case wide open, had been physically destroyed by a guilt-ridden Zhang Weilong, making the data irrecoverable. But the phone number associated with that device remained forever saved in Zhang Weilong’s contact list.
“I’ll issue a request for the telecom provider to cooperate in tracing the origin of that number. Following the trail should yield some new leads.”
Xing Tianwei tapped his fingers against the desk, one strike after another.
“Zhang Weilong is giving up the chance to earn leniency by reporting others. That means either the person behind this is closely connected to him, or he’s afraid of their power. Either way, after Zhou Jiale disappeared, that person has likely been destroying evidence and will keep a low profile for now.”
“Go notify the victim’s family to come in for a meeting. We can also start preparing the closing announcement for this homicide case.”
The young officer nodded. “Got it.”
Once those people let their guard down, they would probably become active again—and reveal more of their vulnerabilities. In the face of vast wealth, they wouldn’t stay quiet for long…
In early August, the afternoon sun in G Province was still brutally harsh.
The luxury hospital room at Yuntian City Private Hospital was decorated like a hotel suite. If it weren’t for the bulky medical monitors, the room might have given one the illusion of being on vacation.
After days of recovery, Su Mingjie had finally traded his hospital gown for regular clothes, preparing to be discharged.
In truth, his allergic reaction had cleared up long ago. But he was too embarrassed to face anyone, so he’d stayed a few extra days to hide in peace.
When Su Jingye arrived with his entourage to pick him up, Su Mingjie flashed a sweet smile—just as innocent and carefree as ever, as if his ivory-tower-rich-young-master persona had never crumbled.
“Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have framed Zhisheng out of jealousy.” Su Mingjie put on a pitiful expression. “Is he still refusing to come home? I can kneel before him—as long as you don’t lose your real son, Dad.”
Hearing this, Su Jingye’s expression instantly turned cold.
“This isn’t your fault. Zhisheng wants to come back—he can bask in your reflected glory and get a good marriage prospect. He was the one who went to meet the prospect that day…”
Su Jingye’s gaze shifted to his current wife. “And you picked such a fine marriage prospect!”
“Thank goodness we hadn’t gotten around to arranging the engagement yet. If I ended up with in-laws behind bars, where would that leave my reputation?!”
Stepmother Hu Xiuchun had been taking quite a beating these past few days.
The Zhang family hated her—they pulled their investment from her beauty salon, leaving her in a frenzy. Her husband, humiliated, had cut off her living expenses for three months.
She had always spent money lavishly, living paycheck to paycheck. If she were the frugal type, why would she have become a mistress back in the day, chasing after a middle-aged womanizer like Su Jingye?
Without her allowance, keeping the beauty salon afloat was even harder. But if she could just survive the initial difficulties, the salon would become a cash cow. She couldn’t give up now.
She had to make Su Jingye cool down and lift the financial sanctions.
Hu Xiuchun took a deep breath.
“It was my fault. I didn’t realize he had just killed someone. Next time I find a marriage prospect for Zhisheng, I’ll have their horoscopes matched and bring them to you for approval.”
Su Jingye’s expression finally softened a little. After all, it wasn’t Hu Xiuchun’s mistake—it was just fate playing tricks.
Hu Xiuchun spoke softly. “I’ve already sent Zhisheng an apology, but he still hasn’t replied. There’s nothing I can do…”
“Zhisheng is probably just sulking. He’ll come around once he cools down. I’ll also make a public apology to help him let go of his anger.”
Su Mingjie smiled sweetly and tugged at Hu Xiuchun’s sleeve. “Mom, you can do a thorough check next time and find him an absolutely perfect match. Maybe then he’ll stop being angry.”
The tug was gentle, but Hu Xiuchun felt as if she were being pushed by a ghost to do someone else’s bidding.
No money, just bossing people around. Hu Xiuchun decided to pay lip service while doing the opposite.
“Alright, I’ll start looking carefully later.” Hu Xiuchun patted Su Mingjie’s hand affectionately, her words not matching her heart.
She had been way too busy lately—no time to stir up trouble for Su Zhisheng.
Maybe if he came back, the old man would be happy, and her allowance might be reinstated.
Seeing their display of mother-son devotion, Su Jingye felt satisfied.
“A harmonious family brings prosperity.”
The other two: “…”
Seeing that he hadn’t mentioned lifting the punishment, Hu Xiuchun’s heart sank halfway.
Realizing she wouldn’t be getting her hands on a large sum of money anytime soon, she gritted her teeth and opened her phone, starting to give orders.
Three months at most. Once she got through this crisis, she wouldn’t take such risks anymore…
Su Mingjie, wearing his usual fake smile, began drafting a saccharine, melodramatic apology announcement.
He glanced up briefly at Hu Xiuchun, then lowered his lashes to conceal the contempt in his eyes.
Useless—good for nothing but sabotage!
If he wanted to provoke Su Zhisheng into another explosive confrontation with their father—making sure he could never return to the Su family… he would have to handle it himself.
He should never have counted on Hu Xiuchun in the first place. The woman couldn’t even secure her own position as the second wife without scheming—what could she possibly accomplish? Other mistresses, by successfully bearing illegitimate children, had actually disqualified themselves from becoming a stepmother to raise the first wife’s kids.
Tch…
Su Mingjie’s fingers tapped against the screen a few times. “It’s done.”
“Hold on, let me take a look…” Su Jingye walked over to review the wording.
It was a public apology, but he didn’t want the public to think Su Mingjie had poor character—that would affect the Wei family’s perception of him…
Meanwhile, in a ward at Yuntian City First People’s Hospital, Su Zhisheng was keeping his adoptive mother company.
From the bedside, Su Yingmei pulled out a long-sleeved yellow sweater.
Even though she had only knitted one, the yarn was fine and the pattern was intricate—it had been no small amount of work.
Su Yingmei’s face was full of anticipation. “It’s the beginning of August now, still hot. By this winter, you’ll be able to wear it.”
“This new sweater is so beautiful. I’ll save it for the New Year.”
Su Zhisheng reached out and took the heartfelt gift.
He pulled out his phone. “I ordered some congee. I’ll keep it in a thermos. You can eat it whenever you’re hungry…”
“Alright. Our Zhisheng is so thoughtful.” His adoptive mother held his hand and rubbed it gently, as if trying to memorize his warmth.
Even though the surgery had a high success rate, both of them were understandably anxious right now.
Just then, a nurse walked in. “Come with me.”
Soon, the light above the operating room door lit up.
Su Zhisheng sat on the bench outside the door, waiting agonizingly.
He opened his phone, wanting to look at photos of himself and his adoptive mother.
Instead, a Weibo notification popped up, delivering a piece of news to his screen.
[Young Master of the Su Family, Regretful Over Rivalry, Begs His Second Brother to Come Home]
Su Zhisheng: “…”
He clicked on it and, unsurprisingly, found that Su Mingjie’s apology omitted the entire framing incident entirely. It only said that his second brother’s arrival had divided their parents’ affection, and he had acted out of jealousy. Their parents favored him, which led his second brother to storm off in anger.
He hadn’t told any outright lies, but he had omitted the most crucial details.
And netizens, predictably, fell for it, rushing to defend Su Mingjie.
After all, for a legitimate wealthy young master to have to compete for affection with an “adopted son”—who was most likely an illegitimate child to begin with—how could the public not be outraged?!
Su Zhisheng raised an eyebrow, his expression turning ice-cold.
His adoptive mother hadn’t even come out of surgery safely yet, and his mood was already sour.
Now, Su Mingjie had picked the worst possible time to provoke him!
He had originally planned to wait until after the engagement banquet to expose the fake young master’s identity. But now, he thought causing chaos at the engagement banquet itself wouldn’t be so bad.
What could he say? He held grudges.
“A lawn engagement banquet… that means I’ll have lots of small animals to work with. What should I choose…”