Chapter 316: Naivety

Chapter 316: Innocence

He Jinghong’s smile froze. "Dad, what do you mean?"

He Wenqiang said, "The authorities are cracking down hard—this case will be dealt with severely. One misstep, and you could get the death penalty. Did you smuggle or deal drugs? How did you manage to draw so much attention?"

He Jinghong replied, "Dad, don’t scare me like that. I’d never dare to do such things. I just helped Yan Yan with a small favor."

He Wenqiang seized the key point. "So you’re saying you were acting on Yan Yan’s behalf?"

He Jinghong thought carefully. It wasn’t as if she had explicitly instructed him—he had simply learned of Hao Yanyan’s grievances and taken the initiative to get revenge for her.

But now, he couldn’t admit that. "Exactly. I was helping Yan Yan. Auntie and Uncle have to help me."

"Then tell me now—what exactly did you do?"

He Jinghong sheepishly admitted everything he had done.

"You hired a killer?!" He Wenqiang’s temples throbbed violently. When he heard the target was Ye Xiaoxiao, he was practically hyperventilating with rage.

"Don’t you know Xiaoxiao is already the Lu family’s daughter-in-law? You’re spitting in the Lu family’s face!"

"Dad! It’s precisely because she married so well that Yan Yan was upset. If not for the mix-up at birth, maybe Yan Yan would be the one married into the Lu family now!" He Jinghong shot back defensively.

He Wenqiang spat, "Goddamn idiot!"

His idiot son had been used as a pawn.

Xiaoxiao was practically family. Though spoiled, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Even without the Lu family, there’d be no shortage of good marriage prospects—the Zhangs, the Wangs, and so on.

But Hao Yanyan? Raised in the countryside, if not for the arranged marriage and the Hao family’s reputation, the Xu family would never have agreed to the swap.

"Even if you hired someone, you should’ve picked a competent one! Now Xiaoxiao is unharmed, but our family is in deep trouble."

At this, He Wenqiang paused. "But precisely because Xiaoxiao is fine, there might still be a way out."

"Who knew that incompetent psycho would miss from just a few meters away?"

He Jinghong wasn’t sorry at all, only impatient. "Dad, hurry up and think of something! I can’t stand another day here!"

Before He Wenqiang could respond, his time was up.

This meeting had been arranged through special favors—exposing it would harm everyone involved.

Right now, only He Jinghong was implicated. If He Wenqiang were dragged in too, the He family would be done for.

"Dad! You have to save me, Dad!" He Jinghong pleaded in a whisper, but all he saw was his father’s hurried retreat.

For some reason, a cold fear shot through him, his heart pounding in his chest.

...

The moment He Wenqiang slid into the car, Han Zhiyin asked, "Well? Is our son alright? Has he suffered? I told you to take him some food and essentials, but you didn’t!"

"Don’t you get how serious this is? My friend stuck their neck out just to let me see Jinghong. Do you want to ruin my classmate’s career too?"

Han Zhiyin shrank back. "So what's really going on?"

He Wenqiang relayed He Jinghong's words.

"So it was your niece who got Jinghong into trouble!" Han Zhiyin immediately shrieked in a piercing voice.

"He’s the one who hired a hitman—how can you blame others?" He Wenqiang scolded. "But this matter is related to the Hao family. They’d better pull some strings to get Jinghong out."

With that, the two rushed to the Hao family’s place.

Little did He Wenqiang know that the moment they left, Ye Xiaoxiao and Lu Hanchuan opened their car doors and stepped out behind them.

"Let’s go see what my so-called cousin was plotting."

Ye Xiaoxiao barely knew He Jinghong.

Hell, she hadn’t even seen him since she got here.

Lu Hanchuan accompanied her inside, heading straight to He Jinghong’s detention room.

He Jinghong looked up and immediately stood when he saw Ye Xiaoxiao.

"Ye Xiaoxiao, let me out right now!"

Ye Xiaoxiao gave him a look as if he were an idiot.

"Are you out of your mind? You had me killed in a hit-and-run, and now you want me to let you out? Do you realize this counts as attempted murder? You could get the death penalty for this."

Even though Ye Xiaoxiao survived, a few decades in prison would do just fine.

He Jinghong hadn’t expected Ye Xiaoxiao to say this. "Who the hell do you think you are? You were raised by my aunt!"

In the past, Ye Xiaoxiao might have been spoiled, but she had always kissed up to him and Jingxuan.

So He Jinghong still believed she wouldn’t do anything to him.

"Spit it out. Did you do this yourself, or were you manipulated? You probably didn’t know the lunatic you hired was from Baishi Village, did you?"

He Jinghong was still banking on his aunt and uncle to bail him out.

He wasn’t stupid—he could bullshit his own dad, but now, if he really named Hao Yanyan,

not only would Ye Xiaoxiao refuse to let him go, but he might also anger the Hao family.

For now, He Jinghong could only feign ignorance. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know any lunatics."

Those two bodyguards you hired will sing like canaries..." Lu Hanchuan spoke coldly. "It doesn’t matter if you admit it or not."

He Jinghong shut his trap and refused to speak.

Ye Xiaoxiao saw through his thoughts. If He Jinghong shielded Hao Yanyan, he would be the one landing in jail while Hao Yanyan skated off scot-free.

But at this point, Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t have to play by the rules for revenge.

She had heard that Hao Yanyan was trying to get a factory off the ground, but the paperwork wasn’t through yet.

If her business partner ended up in jail, there’d be no need for that factory to open at all.

Ye Xiaoxiao grabbed Lu Hanchuan’s hand.

"We should go."

Lu Hanchuan thought Ye Xiaoxiao would be sad, after all, he was her brother.

But the current Xiaoxiao was unnaturally calm.

"You’re really not angry?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Of course I’m angry, but I’m only angry that someone tried to kill me. Whether it was my brother or a stranger makes no difference."

A shadow crossed Lu Hanchuan’s eyes. If Xiaoxiao didn’t care, then there was no need to hold back with the Hao family either.

...

Han Zhiyin and He Wenqiang arrived at the Hao residence once again.

Unlike last time, this time they marched in boldly, oozing confidence.

"Qiaoxiang, you can’t turn your back on Jinghong. This time, it wasn’t his fault—he was just helping Yan Yan out."

He Qiaoxiang frowned slightly at her sister-in-law’s overly eager tone. "What could he possibly help Yan Yan with? First, tell me what he did."

He Wenqiang: "No big deal. He just set up a small car accident. Not a hair on the victim’s head was harmed."

He Qiaoxiang suspected something was off. "Who was the victim?"

"It was..."

He Wenqiang hesitated, unwilling to speak.

Han Zhiyin pushed him aside and said in an exaggerated tone, "Who else could it be? It was Xiao Xiao, the child you raised before. Though Yan Yan is a good girl, she must’ve been desperate to do something like this."