Chapter 580 Growing Older but Not Wiser

Chapter 580: Growing Older Without Gaining Sense

With the old man's promise, Director Zheng felt relieved.

He wasn’t so distrustful as to doubt even Old Man He.

"I’ll let him go once the army weighs in."

The old man was about to nod when the office door was flung open, and He Jingyi barged in, fuming.

"Zheng Yuchuan—"

Under the old man’s frosty glare, He Jingyi’s voice caught in his throat.

"Dad, why are you here too?"

The old man sneered, "I shouldn’t have come."

He should’ve stayed out of He Dongqi’s mess at all—should’ve let him be taught a real lesson.

He Jingyi shuffled forward, sheepish, but was met with a slap before he could speak.

This strike was heavier and more painful than the last, whipping his head sideways.

Director Zheng sat stone-faced, not even sparing him a glance.

"Your son committed a wrong, yet you dare yell in someone else’s house? What kind of logic is that?"

He Jingyi gritted his teeth. "I’ve asked Eastern Qi—he didn’t push Jiang Yu!"

Director Zheng shot back coldly, "So many witnesses saw it. Are you suggesting they’re all lying through their teeth? He Jingyi, you’ve got older but not smarter!"

The old man closed his eyes. "I’ll handle Eastern Qi’s matter. Stay out of it. Go home."

Given Director Zheng’s attitude, he wouldn’t release him easily.

Fine—the old man had his limits.

He Jingyi was furious but knew he couldn’t force the issue now.

"Dad, this can’t be reported. The impact on Eastern Qi would be too severe."

He’d already pulled strings with a buddy: He Dongqi had proved himself in disaster relief and could land a full-time gig this time.

If he were penalized now, his merits would offset his faults. Not only would he lose the chance for promotion, but he’d also face disciplinary action.

He’d never recover from that.

"Dad, I’ve already stepped back as you asked. Just cut Eastern Qi some slack this time."

Not that the old man didn’t care—he understood this all too well.

But Director Zheng...

"Yuchuan, if not for this matter..."

Director Zheng cut him off. "Old Master, if it were up to me alone, I’d hand it to you, no question."

He Jingyi didn’t believe him and snapped, "You run the show here at the Second State Cotton Mill. If not you, who else calls the shots?"

Nothing but excuses! Factory Director Zheng is going out of his way to make trouble for the He family!

Factory Director Zheng sneered coldly, "One man calling all the shots? Then why don’t you see how many people witnessed He Dongqi’s actions? Wei Xiuru came first, then he followed—isn’t this making it obvious to everyone they’re here to pile on when someone’s already down?"

He shot He Jingyi a look of pure contempt.

"Both are your sons, but you can’t play favorites this blatantly! Ask anyone around here—who is Jiang Yu? She’s a top exec at our mill! You think I’m protecting her? Look at how many people are watching her case!"

Even if he didn’t step in today, others would’ve raised hell over her.

Jiang Yu’s prestige in the Second State Cotton Mill goes way beyond what people realize.

"Let me make this crystal clear—without me, Zheng Yuchuan, He Dongqi’s punishment would only be harsher. Don’t take my word for it? Go ahead and see!"

Seeing the tension between the two escalate, the old man quickly intervened.

"Yuchuan, just follow your method."

Zheng Yuchuan nodded and stood to see him out.

"Don’t worry, Old Master. I’ll try to keep this under wraps."

At this point, even if the old man was uneasy, he had no choice but to comply.

Stepping out of the Second State Cotton Mill, he looked up at the glaring sunlight, his eyes glinting briefly.

Ever since He Jingyi and Wei Baiyun divorced, the He family had long ceased to be what it once was—he’d been in denial.

Today, he finally gave up.

He Jingyi followed him into the car, fuming with resentment.

He even complained to the old man, "Dad, Dongqi is the hope of our He family now. When something happens to him, you should stand up for him first. How could you side with outsiders to throw him under the bus?"

"Throw him under the bus?" The old man found it laughable. "What do you call Wei Xiuru and He Dongqi’s actions, then? That’s the real piling on when someone’s down!"

He Jingyi flushed with momentary shame—he knew full well that He Dongqi was at fault first.

But people favor those close to them. Even if he had to choose between two sons, he’d pick He Dongqi without hesitation.

"You think Zheng Yuchuan is bluffing? After all these years in the world, you still haven’t learned—he’s right, you’ve gotten older, not smarter!"

Among his sons, He Jundao might look down on others, but he wasn’t as foolish as He Jingyi.

The dust from the Hebei earthquake hadn’t even settled, and Jiang Yu, as one of the initiators of the earthquake warning, was riding high.

Ordinary folks might not know her contributions, but how could he not?

For He Dongqi to provoke Jiang Yu now was like picking a fight with a tank.

"He Jingyi, a woman not even twenty-five has already achieved so much—do you really think she got here relying on Ting Yue? You’ve been riding my coattails all this time, yet I don’t see any great accomplishments from you."

It’s no exaggeration to say Jiang Yu’s contributions surpass even He Jingyi’s during his tenure.

"Use your head—Ting Yue and his wife are not people you can afford to provoke."

He Jingyi, unwilling to concede, half-heartedly argued: "But he really didn’t lay a hand on her."

This was all Jiang Yu setting He Dongqi up—otherwise, He Dongqi wouldn’t be so stupid as to make a move with everyone watching.

The old man snorted twice, "What does it matter?"

Whether He Dongqi was truly wronged or not didn't matter; what mattered was how the onlookers saw it.

From the factory executives at the National Cotton Mill down to the residential area, everyone regarded Jiang Yu as the victim.

"Wasn't it He Dongqi who treated Fei Yan the same way back then?"

Pressed by Ting Yue and unable to fight back, he took his anger out on He Feiyan.

He made mistakes, then shifted the blame onto He Feiyan, making her take the fall.

At the time, didn’t Wei Xiuru know the truth? Wasn’t He Jingyi aware?

You all could play dumb—why shouldn’t others do the same?

"Stay in line."

Otherwise, after his passing, he feared everyone would take advantage of the He family.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu heard the news that He Dongqi would face military punishment and was quite satisfied with the outcome.

She had stayed home these past two days without stepping out, while visitors coming to check on her had nearly worn a path to her door.

None of them failed to curse He Dongqi a few times.

"Sister-in-law, you’re not faking it, are you?"

After observing for two days, He Feiyan noticed Jiang Yu didn’t seem unwell at all.

Jiang Yu glanced at her, "Mhm."

Though she had guessed it earlier, He Feiyan was still shocked when she heard the admission.

"Why?"

He Dongqi might be annoying, but he hadn’t actually harmed Jiang Yu.

For such people, Jiang Yu usually couldn’t care less.

Jiang Yu took Fei Yan's hand and looked at her steadily.

"Didn’t he treat you the same way before?"

He Feiyan froze, locking eyes with her as a warm tingling ran down her spine, seeping into her bones.

"For me?"

As soon as she spoke, her nose stung, and tears fell without warning.

"Anyone who bullies you, we must hit back twice as hard. Now he’s gotten a taste of what it’s like to be wronged."

"Sorry" is the most useless thing—anyone can say it.

Unless the wrongdoer experiences the same pain, they haven’t really learned their lesson.

Wu Yue, standing by the doorway, silently sank down, wrapping her arms around her knees with her chin resting on her knees.