Chapter 74 Chapter 74 End

Flashbulbs were going off all the way, and microphones were practically shoved right in front of her, but Ying Shixue didn't even flinch as she got into the car under escort.

The vehicle drove onto the asphalt road, the roadside scenery rushing past. The driver drove silently in the low-pressure atmosphere. Half an hour later, the huge iconic SK sign appeared in the field of vision.

A group of reporters had also gathered in front of the SK Building. They had been waiting there for most of the day. Someone with sharp eyes spotted a car coming from the road and shouted out, causing them to swarm towards it.

The long Bentley came to a smooth stop at the roadside. Then the door opened, and Ying Shixue stepped out, pressing down her black coat that was billowing in the wind.

Three or four security guards blocked the reporters behind them. Ying Shixue strode into the main hall. The receptionist stood up immediately when she saw him. Before she could even call him "President Ying," her eyes widened as if she had seen something.

Song Song Song Song... She stared dumbfounded at the tall, handsome man following behind Ying Shixue, Chairman Song?

Ying Shixue walked straight to the elevator, which opened with a ding on the top floor.

The photo was numbered 35279, a five-digit number that corresponds to the password, suggesting that Song Qi may have left something else behind.

The files and USB drives that were collected at the time were all kept in his office since he was not often at home, just in case of leakage. He had a habit of classifying and organizing them, so it was not difficult to find them again.

The dark blue USB drive popped out with a "ding" when I plugged it into the computer, and sure enough, the screen was blank.

Ying Shixue tightened her grip on the mouse, repeatedly pressing several keys on the computer keyboard—and sure enough, the password command appeared.

35279

The blank document reloaded, and a page of data appeared in a flash. Everything was neatly organized by year, month, and day, and even categorized according to the types required above.

Ying Shixue read through the lines one by one, her fingers holding the mouse trembling slightly.

Song Mingli gently covered his hand from behind with his right hand, protecting both the mouse and his hand in his palm.

On the day of the trial, the two arrived at the court early to prepare. The judge sat high on the platform, surrounded by the crowd and reporters. The lawyers on both sides engaged in a heated debate, arguing about everything from the completeness of the chain of evidence to whether there were eyewitnesses to corroborate their claims, and even their respective gains.

Ying Shixue listened quietly for a while, then made a gesture. The lawyer stopped immediately and turned around, looking somewhat puzzled.

Ying Shixue stood up, her face appearing transparently white in the sunlight.

All eyes were on this obviously too young person. Ying Shixue’s voice was not loud, but it was extremely clear in the silent courtroom: “Judge, I am a witness.”

“I am a witness to the arson case in Liuhe Lane back then.”

The entire room fell silent, then erupted in uproar.

Song Mingli clenched his fingers in an instant, and Xi Bojian's expression also changed.

Sheng An had calculated that all the evidence from back then would be burned cleanly, and was determined to drag things out to the end. Currently, besides the court, the most important thing is public opinion. Netizens' attention to a matter is always limited. As long as they drag it out and wear it down, they can try their best to get leniency...

They had considered this possibility before, but they hadn't expected Ying Shixue to be so resolute, daring to say it in front of so many cameras. But what good would it do him? Rumors about him not being the biological son were already rampant, and many people questioned the legitimacy of his board seat.

In addition to their actual business operations, listed companies also need to pay attention to stock prices, which are easily influenced by public opinion. Multiple senior executives are eyeing the market, especially since Song Mingli has returned. At this time, such unfavorable news has been exposed.

The judge looked serious, and staff immediately took him away separately to give a new statement.

Bright lights hung in the ceiling. Ying Shixue looked at the blank notebook in front of her, her long eyelashes lowering to conceal the expression in her eyes.

A few days ago, Fumon Private Hospital

The chief physician personally led him to a ward. Ying Shixue nodded slightly to thank him, and the chief physician repeatedly said no, no, and then left after glancing at the ward number one last time.

Ying Shixue's gaze lingered on the list of patients staying in the ward.

Xi Zongbo.

When Sheng An was exposed more than ten days ago, he fell seriously ill and his long-standing ailments flared up all at once. He has been in the hospital for emergency treatment several times since then and almost did not survive.

It was clear that he was truly on his last legs. The robust appearance he had previously maintained with the help of medication was gone. His cheeks were deeply sunken, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had IVs in his hands and was connected to several instruments. The room was filled with a putrid and extremely unpleasant smell.

Outside, the atmosphere was tense and turbulent, with rumors and gossip spreading constantly. The situation had changed dramatically in a short period of time, and it was clear to everyone that Sheng An was truly beyond saving this time. Even though they had found a famous private hospital to keep him alive, the nurses' attitudes were becoming increasingly perfunctory, and they had almost forgotten to change his IV to allow the blood to flow back.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Xi Zongbo's first reaction was to shout at them, but he had long forgotten that he was still on a respirator and his voice was hoarse. Before he could utter a single word, he nearly coughed his lungs to burst.

He was furious. When he looked up, he was met with Ying Shixue's cold and mocking face.

The loose, dry skin on his face sagged with each cough. He stared intently at the pale, handsome face of the young man before him, his throat bobbing before he finally managed to utter a few hoarse words: "--Ying-shi-xue".

The corridor outside was quiet and silent. The bodyguards and doctors who should have been watching over the ward were not moving at all. The sky was covered with thick, heavy clouds, and the shadows cast through the windows were dark and indistinct, like some kind of gaping alien monster, silently and menacingly encroaching and spying on us inch by inch.

Ying Shixue's gaze was directed downwards, the sunlight reflecting off his face, giving it a transparent, icy white appearance. His long, slender eyelashes cast pale shadows, and the lines from his nose to his jaw were clear, firm, and cold.

The old man chuckled, his voice like a crow circling in an empty valley, carrying a chilling coldness that sent shivers down one's spine in the room where there were only two people.

"What are you doing here?" "You know what I'm here for."

Two voices rang out at the same time, and the smile on Xi Zongbo's face gradually disappeared. If his cloudy eyes were real, they could probably gouge a piece of flesh off his face.

"Are you really that confident you can beat me? You think you've grown up, that you're all grown up now, that you can trample others underfoot, that you have nothing to fear... I remember back then," Xi Zongbo gestured with his withered fingers, "you were skinny and small, begging for food and water like a lapdog every day, even eating breadcrumbs that had dried out for days. You escaped once, and when you were caught, you wouldn't behave, insisting on being beaten until you were lying on the ground like a dead dog..."

Ying Shixue's eyelashes didn't even tremble. Xi Zongbo followed his gaze and then stared at him with his eyes bulging red.

Indifferent, utterly indifferent, as if the person he claimed to be humiliated was not him at all, not even worth a glance.

"Isn't it you who's lying in bed like a dead dog, unable to take care of yourself?"

"In their twenties and thirties, they fawned over their uncles like lapdogs, begging for the meager profits that slipped through their fingers. In their thirties and forties, they willingly sold their conscience to the powerful, becoming their tools for making money, their lackeys, using external forces to make your siblings 'die accidentally' or forced to flee due to their bad character, engaging in forgery, tax evasion, prostitution, gambling..."

Ying Shixue pulled up a chair from the side and sat down. The sharp, cold curve of her eyelids could almost pierce straight into one's soul.

"A complete scumbag, utterly worthless trash."

"Even with all your scheming and conscience-driven efforts to sell yourself in, you still ended up disgraced and utterly defeated. Your life's work vanished into thin air. Not just in Sheng'an, but throughout Fancheng and Liancheng, all your former friends, enemies, lovers, relatives, those who fawned over you, those who depended on you, those who respected you, those who looked down on you, those who knew you, and those who didn't—all of them will know what a despicable and incompetent scoundrel you are. From now on, when people mention you, the first thing they'll think of will be—"

"loser."

The moment the last word landed, Xi Zongbo roared and lunged at him, crashing to the ground with a thud. The IV stand and the medicine bottle shattered on the spot, and bloodshot veins and dark blue veins bulged from his yellowish eyes. His face was contorted as if he had gone mad or suffered a mental breakdown. If a young child had seen this, they would probably have been so frightened that they would have nightmares.

"I didn't lose!! I didn't lose!!! I've led Sheng'an for over forty years, guiding the entire Xi family to glory!! So many who looked down on me have been trampled under my feet, you think you've won? No!"

"The police officer has already gone to Kanghe Community to investigate," Ying Shixue interrupted him.

Xi Zongbo froze, as if his last trump card had been revealed, his entire movement appearing extremely comical.

"Perhaps it won't be long before you see news in the newspapers about a group of high-ranking officials being brought down one after another."

"Oh, if you're still alive by then."

Ying Shixue stepped forward a few paces and stopped two steps away from him, the edge of her leather shoes flashing coldly in the cold light.

"But don't worry, I will make sure you live a good, good life until you die of old age."

In this context, this way of living clearly carries a different meaning. Xi Zongbo stared at him intently, while Ying Shixue casually kicked away some of the broken glass from the medicine bottle on the ground.

"When you treated so many lives as worthless, plundered blood and organs for drug testing and abuse, and casually bought other people's lives with money, did you ever think you would end up like this?"

Xi Zongbo was still breathing heavily, his voice hoarse and labored, like a broken bellows echoing throughout the room. Huge, bulging veins on his forehead were visible.

"Are you here to take revenge on me?"

He laughed strangely: "You who were born with healthy bodies, of course you don't know how difficult it is for someone with a rare genetic disease to live. You know how blood flows out of your body bit by bit, and the first feeling when blood spurts out is coldness, a coldness that pierces your heart... I feed you and give you water. If it weren't for me, you bunch of abandoned orphans would have died somewhere long ago!"

"Do you think feeding and water will make people die for you?!" Ying Shixue shouted. "If you really just wanted to relieve your own pain, the initial dosage and speed would have been enough for you! But you didn't. You dragged more innocent people into this, causing them to die in agony after being beaten to death. Even those who managed to escape later mostly suffered from mental illnesses and physical defects that they could never get rid of for the rest of their lives."

"You have no power to demand anything from your promiscuous parents who gave birth to you, and you can't compete with your privileged siblings. You use your pitiful illness as a pretext to satisfy your dark, twisted jealousy and insatiable desires, and to exploit those weaker than you even more ruthlessly."

The weak wield their swords against the even weaker.

Ying Shixue slowly exhaled and looked at him coldly: "Among those people whose blood type you found matched and who were kidnapped as experimental subjects, even those who were orphans on the margins of society, many of them may not be able to become rich and powerful... but at least they will not live such a miserable life."

People in this world are busy walking and running around, suffering or happy about this and that. Most of them may not have any dramatic, legendary, or thrilling stories like those in novels. They live a plain and simple life, suffer some losses and gain some small advantages. They live their lives steadily and honestly, but they bear the most solid foundation of the world. At the end of their lives, they pass away with a faint smile on their lips.

"I'm not here to seek revenge on you." Ying Shixue lowered her eyelashes, the tips of which were refracted by the sunlight, creating a pale golden shimmer.

"What you need to repent for are all the people who have suffered because of your exile during these forty years."

True strength comes from among the people, lifted up step by step by countless hands, wielding swords against fate, power, and injustice.

Xi Zongbo's face was contorted in extreme pain: "How much can you do by yourself? Who do you really think you are?"

Ying Shixue gently shook her head: "I don't need to do much."

"I am simply doing what I can to offer a tiny bit of hope to all those who have suffered, whether in the past, present, or past."

One day, a real prairie fire will be ignited.

·

Meanwhile, the court

Ying Shixue went to make a new statement. Even though only one person left, the entire hall seemed to suddenly become empty.

He had been running around these past few days, and the dark circles under his eyes and his overall appearance were much more haggard. His usually well-fitting suit looked rather empty. Now, surrounded by police officers, Xi Bojian looked at Song Mingli sitting on the other side and suddenly smiled mockingly:

"He didn't tell you that he was going to be a witness, did he?"

Song Mingli remained motionless. Xi Bojian leaned back, adjusting to a slightly more comfortable position, shrugged, and said something that was hard to define as resentment or something else: "You know, that's the kind of person he is. He keeps everything to himself. If he doesn't want to, you'll never know what he'll do until the very last moment."

"Even if he is really very charming, it must be a lot of trouble for him as a partner."

Song Mingli then lifted his eyelids and looked at him. After a long while, a cryptic smile appeared on his face. It was hard to tell what it meant, but it carried a natural sense of superiority over something. However, he did not give him a direct answer.

Do you know why, even though he's always so cold and aloof, there are always people willing to be devoted to him?

“For example, Fang Zhi and Cheng Cheng are both sensitive and value their dignity extremely. Fang Zhi worked for me for eight years without regard to wind or rain or pay raises. When I imprisoned him, Cheng Cheng risked being discovered and losing his job by sneaking in to ask Ying Shixue if she needed his help to leave.”

Xi Bojian gritted his teeth. Song Mingli put down the teacup on the table, the glass making a crisp sound as it collided with the surface.

"Because no matter how cold and ruthless he may appear on the outside, he always has a heart that cares for others."

The world is a treacherous place where everyone pursues their own interests. Even close relatives turn against each other and friends betray each other. False and cheap concern is everywhere, and everyone assumes it's just polite talk. Those who can speak eloquently are quick-witted, while those who are bad at it understand each other implicitly.

But wiping away snow is different.

No matter how intelligent and resourceful he is, or how insightful he is about people's hearts, he can never stand idly by and do nothing to help others who suffer. He can't be generous with other people's money. His charity is not superficial. You would feel that he is the kind of person who takes every word he says seriously.

This trait is very, very, very attractive.

“A long time ago, I also hated this about him.”

“I hate him for not taking care of himself, I hate him for facing everything alone when he was already at his weakest point, I hate him for never telling me anything, and I hate myself even more for being helpless and powerless in the face of this.”

"But I don't hate anymore."

If one day a raging fire were to engulf everything, and people were to flee in panic and go their separate ways, he would be the only one to go against the tide of fire and say that one day he would bring all the injustices and tears to light. He would be willing to stand in front of him and protect him forever, until the fire burned out and his life ended.

“Xi Bojian, you don’t understand him.”

He looked at Xi Bojian's face, which looked as if he had been punched squarely in the face, his spirit severely damaged, and his mockery reached its peak.

Xi Bojian was foolish, and so was he himself, who genuinely considered him a competitive rival in love.

Song Mingli stood up from his chair and dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeves:

"I'm going to pick him up and take him home."