Chapter 407 Upheaval

Chapter 407 A World Turned Upside Down

Even though Ma Liang played the sympathy card, Ye Changning felt no sympathy for him.

Such underhanded and criminal behavior deserved jail time.

"Mr. Ye, I’m sorry. I’ve got old parents and little kids to take care of. Cut me some slack this once—I swear I won’t do it again!"

Ye Changning watched the man blubbering. "You want mercy? Hand over a list of your partners in crime."

Ma Liang hesitated, wrestling with himself.

"What, unwilling? Then I’ll have no choice but to hand this matter over to the police for investigation."

Hearing that, Ma Liang quickly spilled the names of everyone he had supplied goods to.

To his shock, Hao Yanyan’s name came up.

"Well, well—Hao Yanyan. You were her supplier."

"Mr. Ye, you know her?"

Ma Liang clung to a shred of hope—if Mr. Ye was acquainted with her, perhaps he might show leniency.

Ye Changning summoned the manager on the spot and instructed him to report the matter to the authorities.

Everyone on Ma Liang’s list would also be thoroughly investigated.

The dirty money would be seized, no question.

Hao Yanyan knew something was off when she failed to receive the goods the previous night.

But she hadn’t expected the situation to be this severe.

Even with a plane ticket already booked to stay elsewhere for a while, she was arrested at the airport.

Hao Yanyan’s involvement wasn’t particularly serious. She could play dumb about Ma Liang’s actions—though it would be an excuse, it could reduce her sentence, possibly even allowing her to get off with just compensation.

Ye Changning handed this matter off to the GM, insisting that everyone involved be dealt with strictly according to the law.

Hao Yanyan’s family was notified of her situation.

He Qiaoxiang started calling in favors to get Hao Yanyan released on bail, but when she made calls, many refused to help.

He Qiaoxiang smelled trouble.

But with Hao Yanyan still detained, she had to find a way to save her daughter first.

"Hao Yanyan’s role has formed a criminal partnership with Ma Liang. They split duties—one bought, the other sold—and should bear joint responsibility."

He Qiaoxiang personally went to see the police chief but received this response.

"There’s gotta be another way! My girl can’t do time!"

"That’ll be up to the judge, but embezzlement’s not the worst charge—at most, they take the money, slap her with a fine, and maybe three years tops."

He Qiaoxiang: "No way! Chief, for the love of my husband Hao, help us out here!"

The chief wouldn’t risk giving He Qiaoxiang shady tips, only suggesting that she cut a deal with Ningyuan Company or get Ma Liang to flip.

He Qiaoxiang immediately went to arrange a meeting with the head of Ningyuan Company.

This upstart company in the capital had an unknown background, yet it managed to gain a solid foothold.

After all, the capital runs on connections.

Unfortunately, before He Qiaoxiang could dig deeper, she received devastating news.

An official she had previously been in contact with had come under investigation.

He Qiaoxiang placed call after call from home, but the recipients either hung up hastily or didn’t answer at all.

At this point, He Qiaoxiang could no longer cover things up. If the investigation reached her, it could drag her family down with her.

So, she tried to contact Hao Chengbing.

Strangely, even Hao Chengbing had gone off the grid.

Everyone in the compound knew the Hao family was in trouble. A close associate of He Qiaoxiang had already been brought down, and if the two had any money changing hands, it could easily bring disaster.

At this critical moment, He Qiaoxiang’s own brother threw her under the bus, accusing her of bribery and embezzlement. The investigation team then deepened their investigation into He Qiaoxiang.

...

The compound buzzed with tension. By the time Ye Xiaoxiao heard the news, her paper had already hit the journals.

Sun Zhengyao called Ye Xiaoxiao to congratulate her, saying her paper had been circulated throughout the institute and was a game-changer for cancer treatment.

As soon as Ye Xiaoxiao ended the call with Sun Zhengyao, Lu Hanchuan called.

He informed her that the Hao family was in trouble—He Qiaoxiang had been hauled in by investigators, and Hao Chengbing was currently benched while under investigation.

Although this matter had nothing to do with the Lu family, the Hao family had practically raised Xiao Xiao. Lu Hanchuan felt she should know.

Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t expected anyone to actually investigate. The book she read didn’t include so many details.

Hao Chengbing and He Qiaoxiang, as the protagonist’s parents, were naturally written as squeaky-clean high-fliers.

At this moment, Ye Xiaoxiao fully snapped out of the world described in the book.

Indeed.

How could He Qiaoxiang’s actions skate past the authorities?

The current turn of events was the only way this could've gone.

"I understand. I won’t help them," Ye Xiaoxiao stated flatly.

Now that He Qiaoxiang could no longer seek assistance, and the He family resented her deeply—even He Wenqiang had personally come forward to report her—Ye Xiaoxiao was sitting pretty, completely untouched.

Hearing Xiao Xiao’s response, Lu Hanchuan said, "I understand. I won’t interfere either. The higher-ups are all over this. Whether Hao Chengbing was involved or not, the classiest move for him is to bow out."

But Hao Chengbing wasn't entirely innocent either.

A family is a unit of shared interests. The resources they previously enjoyed were gained at others' expense, and now they must be returned—naturally, everyone bears the responsibility together.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't react. After all, she had no emotional ties to the Hao family and had hardly met them.

"I'll let you know if there's any other news. Beijing's been unstable recently, so bring some bodyguards when you go out," Lu Hanchuan reminded her.

"Alright, got it."

...

Ye Xiaoxiao really did have an academic conference to attend this Friday, and the reason for organizing it was precisely because of the paper she had published.

Since its publication, it had garnered widespread attention in the industry. To facilitate learning and progress, they specially organized this conference.

Before heading out, Ye Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and decided to ask someone from Song Guangjing to accompany her.

"Master (her mentor), do you want to come along?"

Song Guangjing waved his hand. "No."

"Right, if Master were to go, they'd have to pay an appearance fee."

Ye Xiaoxiao got a bodyguard/driver to take her there.

Just as she arrived at the entrance of the conference, she was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Qiao Yunhu, long time no see."

Ye Xiaoxiao had barely seen him after graduating.

Qiao Yunhu had originally studied Western medicine, which was way more in demand than Traditional Chinese Medicine like hers.

However, Qiao Yunhu didn't have a steady job yet. He was balancing work and studies and had already been admitted to graduate school at Peking University.

Qiao Yunhu stood waiting for Xiao Xiao to approach. "Long time no see.

I thought you'd go straight to grad school too. I didn't expect you'd go straight to work after graduation. But you’re amazing—I read your paper, very professional."

Speaking of which, Qiao Yunhu looked even more confused. "Didn’t you study Traditional Chinese Medicine?"