Xu Hao slumped on the sofa, holding his phone with the screen already blacked out, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

He Xiao's last words of advice still seemed to echo in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the heavier her unease became.

He snapped out of his daze, quickly picked up his phone, opened the campus forum, and searched for the consequences of spreading rumors and framing classmates. He found the post that the official had made just over ten minutes earlier.

The content was almost identical to what He Xiao had told him: the school promised to find out the truth and give an explanation to all teachers and students. Of course, they would not wrong any student. The school took this matter very seriously and decided to punish whoever was responsible severely!

Xu Hao almost dropped his phone. He tried to stand up, but found that his legs had gone numb and he couldn't feel anything at all. His face gradually turned pale.

He didn't notice that when he pressed his finger on the screen, the call log popped up, and right below He Xiao's phone number, there was another phone number listed.

Xu Hao felt as if he had found a pillar of support, and he quickly dialed the person's number.

...

As Jiang Zhixing stepped into the villa, a blue-and-white porcelain vase fell right at his feet and shattered into countless pieces. Feeling the pain on the back of his hand, he frowned slightly, and the next second he heard his mother's angry roar.

"Get out! All you useless things, get out! You can't even handle a simple task, what are you still doing here?!"

Jiang Zhixing stopped in his tracks, looking at the half-open door. He hesitated and withdrew his body, which was halfway into the living room, deciding that it wouldn't be too late to go in after his mother left.

He sat down in the small pavilion in the front yard. The cold night wind made his ears hurt, but his mind was unusually clear.

For some reason, the faces of He Xiao and Lin Yue inexplicably appeared before his eyes.

The details of their interactions seem to float before my eyes; they had a very good relationship, Lin Yue was very protective of her friends, and so was He Xiao…

He Xiao seemed to have always been lucky. He had a family who loved and cherished him. Although his biological mother died later, he gloated and often rubbed salt into her wounds. Just when he thought that this was all He Xiao would ever be like, he was about to die.

He Xiao now has an aunt who's protecting him...

Jiang Zhixing looked at the lanterns in the stream, narrowed his eyes, leaned over and scooped one up. Just as he tightened his grip, a destructive urge rose within him.

The vibration of his phone in his bag suddenly pulled him back to reality.

Jiang Zhixing suddenly came to his senses and threw the lantern back into the water.

"Boss Jiang, it's me." Xu Hao's obsequious voice came from the phone.

Jiang Zhixing frowned, his voice cold and sharp: "Didn't I tell you not to contact me recently? What are you doing?"

His warning words sounded like a clear threat to Xu Hao. Xu Hao froze, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead again.

"Boss Jiang, I just wanted to ask when you plan to send me abroad?" Xu Hao asked guiltily.

He couldn't help but think of He Xiao's warning again: a rich and powerful young master like Jiang Zhixing wouldn't care about the lives of small fry like them.

He Xiao already suspected him, so he had to find a way out for himself.

Jiang Zhixing wasn't stupid. Hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and said, "What does this have to do with us? He Xiao had a grudge against someone outside the school and was framed."

Xu Hao was taken aback, suddenly realizing that it seemed that none of these low-level henchmen had gone through Jiang Zhixing's hands when they were doing these things; he had always been told what to do by an intermediary.

Even if the school investigates, it won't have anything to do with him; the only possibility is that they'll find out about them...

Thinking of this, Xu Hao's heart sank even further. "Then do you still stand by your promise to send me abroad?"

"What's the rush? If this matter is even half completed, I will give you the full 1 million I promised." A hint of disgust flashed in Jiang Zhixing's eyes.

I don't know how I ever thought of choosing someone so timid and lacking in strategy to work for me.

He began to doubt his own judgment.

Xu Hao hesitated upon hearing his words, but ultimately did not reveal that He Xiao had called him. He hung up the phone with a worried expression.

Jiang Zhixing stared at the phone screen where the call had ended for a long time before looking away, then stood up and slowly walked home.

The debris on the living room floor had been swept away at some point. Jiang Zhixing walked in without even lifting his eyelids and saw his mother sitting on the sofa pretending to be asleep. His brow twitched, and he obediently went over to greet her.

"Mother."

Jiang Yanxin opened her eyes as if sensing something, and saw her tall, handsome, and elegant son in front of her. However, she felt no emotion at the moment and coldly replied, "How have you been at school lately?"

Jiang Zhixing was slightly taken aback, looking at her uncertainly, unsure of which aspect she was referring to.

"My grades have always been number one in the grade... I..."

"I don't want to hear this," Jiang Yanxin interrupted impatiently, her brows furrowing. "Is there anything unusual about He Xiao and that Lin Yue?"

Jiang Zhixing's lips moved, the light in his eyes disappeared, and his voice lowered several decibels: "As always, nothing has changed."

Jiang Yanxin, seemingly oblivious to the sadness in Jiang Zhixing's voice, said, "You're almost eighteen, you should be more sensible now, Zhixing. Just do what your Uncle Jiang tells you to do, don't do anything childish or unnecessary."

She paused, then added, "I'm doing this for your own good. I'm tired, I'm going back to rest." With that, she turned and left.

Watching his mother's figure disappear, Jiang Zhixing, who seemed frozen in place, finally moved his leg. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were filled with turbulent emotions.

What should be done? And what is superfluous?

Wasn't this something they had all agreed upon? He was just pushing it forward, haha.

A cold glint appeared in his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and made another call after returning to his room.

...

The investigation went relatively smoothly, and He Xiao uncovered several more people who had spread rumors about him on the forum. After bringing them out, the people stammered and couldn't explain themselves clearly.

After He Xiao used a combination of threats and inducements, the other party finally couldn't hold back and confessed the truth.

They said they were just emotionally manipulated and that's why they wanted to criticize his past bad behavior.

He Xiao then asked who spread the news first, and everyone pointed to one another until the whole class had pointed it out, but there was no mastermind.

After a moment of thought, the boy singled out each person and threatened them individually, then casually let them go.

This caused widespread panic throughout the grade, with everyone fearing they would be the next target of He Xiao. Discussions about him on the forums dwindled, with only a few posts from other regions remaining active.

He Xiao wasn't in a hurry, and even called Xu Hao every day under the guise of showing concern, telling him about the progress of his investigation.

"Boss, what do we do now?" The progress bar is stuck. They only need one last step to clear He Xiao's name.

He Xiao put away his phone and replied casually, "Wait."

Gu Yi'an: "..." Waiting for what?

As He Xiao expected, he soon received a text message from Xu Hao, who asked him to meet alone and planned to tell him the truth.