Chapter 75: Seventy-fifth day of quitting the entertainment industry. Didn’t my sister take you out to eat? ...
Ever since learning his mother's death was no accident, Huo Chengji has been unable to fall asleep in bed every night, wishing he could hack Huo Gan into pieces. And now, Sang Qiqi, true to their promise, has presented him with evidence of Huo Gan's intentional homicide.
His palms holding the USB drive and recording device slowly tightened. The sharp edges of the former pressed against the soft flesh of his palms, piercing the pain bit by bit, and then spreading along the blood vessels and nerves all the way to his heart.
Huo Chengji felt his heartbeat getting heavier and heavier, and the hairs on his body stood up at this moment. This feeling of his soul trembling made him unable to calm down, and he could only suppress it by taking deep breaths.
"Also, this is a talisman made by Bai Tong Xiaodao. I snatched it from Huo Wenbin." Sang Qiqi tossed the fish-tail jade pendant to Huo Chengji and Zhao Hanhai. "It would be a waste if I kept it. Who knows, you might find it useful if I gave it to you."
Zhao Hanhai already knew what the jade pendant was for, but now that Sang Qiqi had casually thrown it to him, his face paled slightly. He frantically took it in his arms, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the jade pendant was intact. He pointed at his nose and asked, "Give it to me?"
"Um."
Zhao Hanhai smiled despite his tired face from running around for so many days, and said to Sang Qiqi without any hesitation: "Thank you!"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
This thank you makes me feel a little guilty.
After all, this thing is not hers.
After explaining the matter of those doctors, Sang Qiqi wanted to ask Huo Chengji to help her connect with Shen Wanglan, but unfortunately, the Fuping District Public Security Bureau called Huo Chengji.
Seeing this, Sang Qiqi waved at Huo Chengji and said, "Go talk to the police first. Once Huo Gan's case is resolved, I need your help with something."
Huo Chengji was quite interested in what she had to say, but the most important thing right now was the truth behind his mother's death. He didn't bother to be polite with Sang Qiqi. After giving his cousin a few words, he let Zhao Hanhai push him out of the funeral home.
Just as Sang Qiqi was about to leave, Huo Chengji's usually quiet little cousin stood up from her cushions and called out, "Miss Sang." Meeting Sang Qiqi's gaze, she pursed her lips and asked nervously, "My brother told me that grandma has gone to the underworld to be reincarnated... Is that true? Is grandma okay?"
The girl's eyes were clear and full of hope.
Sang Qiqi thought that Huo Chengji seemed to love this little cousin very much, and he probably didn't deliberately hide from her the special experience of his soul drifting away and what Huo Gan did.
So, she said truthfully: "I don't know your grandmother's situation yet. If you don't mind, you can add me on WeChat and I'll ask for you."
"Of course I don't mind!" The girl's eyes lit up, and for the first time, a smile appeared on her tear-stained face. "Thank you, thank you!"
-
The shocking scandal of Pingxi Group was exposed that night.
Along with the scandal, a report from the Fuping District Public Security Bureau also trended on Weibo. It detailed how Huo Gan, driven by hatred and resentment for the injustice inflicted on him by his mother, Huo Shuqin, sought revenge. He bribed doctors at her hospital, causing her to die in childbirth. He then used his mistress's illegitimate child as a substitute for the real second son of the Huo family. More than 20 years later, out of disgust with his eldest son and fearing exposure for his past actions, he turned on his biological mother and son, leading to Huo Shuqin's tragic death.
As soon as the news came out, the entire network was shocked.
[At first glance, it was so outrageous that I thought it was a short story that had invaded Weibo.]
[I've rewatched this eight times. Is Huo Gan mentally ill? Is he upset with his mother, so he attacks his wife? Is his brain connected to his rectum? What kind of bullshit logic is this?]
Huo Gan personified the word "waste": stupid, vicious, and useless.
[He killed his own mother and replaced his illegitimate child with his own brother. If I were Huo Chengji, I would twist this idiot Huo Gan’s head off and stuff it into the toilet/roar/roar/roar]
Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Huo Gan killed his wife and now wants to kill his mother and son... Is he crazy? He seems like a decent person and even donated a lot of money at a charity gala...
[No wonder Sang Qiqi said it was a family power struggle. The inside information is accurate.]
I can’t bear to think how disgusted Huo Chengji must have felt when he found out that the brother he’d raised for over twenty years was actually an illegitimate child… I’m about to vomit just thinking about it. You wealthy families are really exaggerating.
I heard Huo Gan is dying in the hospital right now? I hope he dies quickly. What bad luck!
[It's not just Huo Gan, Huo Wenbin seems to be in a serious condition as well. So, Chunchun got his comeuppance.]
[I feel sorry for Mr. Huo, but he has such a father.]
As netizens lamented, Pingxi Group's stock price also experienced significant fluctuations. Several veterans on the board of directors woke up and immediately called Huo Chengji, accusing him of disregarding the group's reputation and allowing the scandal to fester. Hearing the powerful roar coming from the other end of the phone, even the worldly-wise Zhao Hanhai was startled by the other party's self-righteous shamelessness.
It turns out that the ones who died were not your mother or your grandmother, so it's easy for you to talk without any worries, right?
Zhao Hanhai hung his face, planning in his mind - he wondered if he could ask Taoist Master Mingxin to cast a bad luck spell on this old guy as well, so that he could learn a lesson.
Apparently there were other people at the scene who were as righteous as Zhao Hanhai.
Kong Xingyan, who had come to join in the fun, crossed his arms and listened to the old man's chatter with great interest for a while. Suddenly, he hooked his finger at Huo Chengji. Huo Chengji was stunned for a moment, and when the other party nodded, he handed over the phone.
Then, Kong Xingyan spoke: "Mr. Huo Aiguo, right?"
The person on the other end of the line had changed. The old man was clearly a little confused, but after that, he became even more angry, thinking that Huo Chengji, this young man, was acting outrageously. An elder of his was calling him, and he had to change someone else to answer the phone. What kind of logic was that?
But before he could vent his anger, Kong Xingyan introduced himself briefly: "Hello, Mr. Huo Aiguo, my name is Kong Xingyan, and I'm the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Fuping Public Security Bureau. I heard what you just said to Mr. Huo. What you mean is... you want to pay to suppress our official police report, is that correct?"
The old man choked on the spot.
Kong Xingyan listened to the heavy breathing coming from the microphone and said with a smile, "Excuse me, who gave you this name? Your father? Or your mother? But no matter who it was, they probably couldn't have imagined that decades later, the son who was called patriotic would be thinking about the victorious country in his heart, right?"
Huo Aiguo: "..."
Huo Chengji: "..."
Zhao Hanhai: “…”
Everyone in the police station: "..."
After a stifling minute of silence, Huo Aiguo angrily said, "Nonsense," and ended the call. Kong Xingyan snorted, threw the phone back into Huo Chengji's arms, and curled his lips, "You're so timid and still trying to suppress the hype. How ridiculous."
Xiao Xiao and Chen Xin clapped their hands beside them, "Boss, your hat-calling skills are getting better and better."
Kong Xingyan glanced at him and said unhappily, "You'll learn this if you meet a few more idiots."
After watching the excitement, Kong Xingyan and his team left. Huo Chengji and Zhao Hanhai didn't stay in the police station for long, leaving through the main gate. Zhao Hanhai pushed Huo Chengji's wheelchair and sighed repeatedly, "I heard that Captain Kong has a good relationship with Boss Sang, and the people around Boss Sang are all wonderful people."
Huo Chengji couldn't help but laugh when he heard him praise Kong Xingyan and even indirectly praise Sang Qiqi. He sighed, "Boss Sang holds a very high position in your heart now."
"Isn't it the same in your heart?" Zhao Hanhai laughed.
"Yes." Huo Chengji looked at the clear, clean sky outside the police station. The passing clouds were pure white and sacred. He curled his lips and whispered, "If it weren't for Boss Sang, my mother's death would have been dismissed as a 'difficult childbirth,' and my grandmother's death would have been labeled an accident. It was she who gave them the opportunity to uncover the truth. She's someone I'll be grateful to for the rest of my life."
Sang Qiqi said that what she did had to be worthy of the 100 million yuan she received, but in fact, the help she provided to the Huo family had long exceeded the value of this cold and monotonous figure.
-
Sang Qiqi received Huo Chengji's invitation call at around ten o'clock in the morning.
She was concerned about the request of Huo Chengji's younger cousin. Last night, after watching netizens on Weibo cursing Huo Gan and Huo Wenbin in various ways, she went back to the underworld, followed the record book of people waiting in line for reincarnation, found the old lady of the Huo family, and told her the news on the Internet.
The old lady had arrived at the underworld rather early, having only seen her grandson, plagued by bad luck, banging his head against his coffin. Now that Sang Qiqi had brought the news that her grandson was awake, the old lady was overjoyed. But upon hearing the cause of both her daughter-in-law's and her own death, she sat in a chair, stunned for a long moment, before mumbling, "So it's all my fault."
Sang Qiqi wasn't very good at comforting people, so she said dryly, "We can't blame the victim. Huo Gan is mentally ill, useless, and a coward. What does this have to do with you?"
The old lady lowered her eyes and sighed: "He should have died with his father."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
I can't respond to this, I really can't respond to this.
Fortunately, the old lady didn’t say anything more, but just kept thanking Sang Qiqi for bringing her the good news.
After visiting Old Madam Huo, Sang Qiqi sent a message to her cousin the next morning when she returned to the mortal realm. The cousin said frankly, "Grandma came to see me in my dream last night. Miss Sang, thank you very much. I'd like to order some paper-made items for Grandma from you. Is that okay?"
My little cousin is as wealthy as Huo Chengji.
As soon as Sang Qiqi said "Of course", she started packing all the paper figurines in the store.
When Zhang Lin heard this, he looked at the folded, unopened packaging and then at the tape he had just removed. He felt as if the sky had fallen. Fortunately, the owner, Sang Qiqi, hadn't let money get to her head. She was very conscientious and persuaded her cousin to stop. She also took the initiative to recommend several paper-made items suitable for the elderly.
"Let's have lunch together and talk while we eat, is that okay with you, Boss Sang?" Even through the phone, one could hear a hint of relief in Huo Chengji's voice, which was completely different from the depression and coldness he displayed in the hospital.
Sang Qiqi did not refuse and asked Huo Chengji to send her the restaurant location and told him that he would arrive on time.
11:30.
Considering that the funeral service might receive delivery business, Sang Qiqi was taken to the agreed restaurant by Duan Sui in a small pickup truck.
Zhang Lin sat cross-legged on the ground, watching the pickup truck leave and then return. His eyes swept over the long legs that stepped out of the driver's seat, then up along those legs to Duan Sui's handsome young face. He was a little surprised: "My sister didn't bring you to eat?"
Duan Sui paused as he turned the car keys, then slowly raised his eyebrows.
Zhang Lin: “…”
No, no, he just asked casually, not to provoke or mock!
The other end.
The restaurant chosen by Huo Chengji is well-known in the whole northern Beijing. It is a small manor. The restaurant is built in the backyard of the manor. Through the glass, you can see the rockery, flowing water and blooming flowers. The environment can be said to be quite quiet and peaceful.
It's a good place to eat and chat.
"Boss Sang, please sit down."
Huo Chengji, who was in a wheelchair, was the only one in the spacious private room. He was dressed as usual for work today, in a suit and tie, and with his handsome face, he really had the temperament of a domineering CEO in novels.
The dishes were served one by one. Sang Qiqi didn't bother to be polite with Huo Chengji. After eating half of her food, she said frankly, "I said before that I wanted to ask Mr. Huo for help with something. Actually, I need Mr. Huo to help me make some connections. I have some information that I want to understand from Mr. Shen."
"Shen Wanglan?"
"right."
Huo Chengji was a little surprised. He thought Sang Qiqi might be looking for him for something related to those supernatural things, but she didn't expect that she was only looking for Shen Wanglan. But if she just wanted to use him to find Shen Wanglan, it wouldn't be difficult. She could just give him the contact information over the phone. There was no need to wait until the Huo family's affairs were resolved.
Unless there is something else going on here.
“Boss Sang, would you mind telling me what you want to know from Shen Wanglan?”
"I don't mind." Since Sang Qiqi chose to follow Huo Chengji's path, she naturally didn't think of hiding it from him. What's more, they just had a contract worth 100 million yuan, and they were considered allies with a good relationship. It seemed unnecessary to hide it.
She briefly mentioned the Jiuyou Tongshen Society and the financial sponsor mentioned by Bai Yuan.
"Since the sponsor has booked the entire venue at Platinum International, I'm sure Mr. Shen will be able to find out the other party's identity. However... the other party is definitely not an ordinary person. I'm not sure if Mr. Shen is willing to tell the truth."
If Shen Wanglan was a black-hearted businessman and had done anything detrimental to the people and the country, Sang Qiqi would come to him with her blunt knife and ask Shen Wanglan to check the surveillance footage in person.
But Shen Wanglan is not.
The Shen family, including Shen Wanglan, actually has the reputation of being a philanthropic family in Beijing. Since the family became rich, the money donated to charity organizations alone accounts for half of the Shen family's wealth.
He is a genuinely kind person.
Therefore, Sang Qiqi's rough methods are not effective on Shen Wanglan, so she can only try her luck with Huo Chengji.
"The Jiuyou Tongshen Society... sounds like a real cult," Huo Chengji sighed softly, then added, "I've roughly understood the situation. Knowing Old Shen, he probably won't refuse. He's here today, so I'll give him a call and have him come over to talk to Boss Sang in detail."
Um?
Sang Qiqi blinked in surprise: "What a coincidence?"
Huo Chengji explained with a smile: “Unfortunately, this place was originally the property of the Shen family. Shen Wanglan usually likes to come here to eat.”
Within two minutes of the call being connected, there was a knock on the private room's door. As the waiter pushed the door open, Shen Wanglan, also dressed in a suit and tie, stepped in. He and Huo Chengji had different temperaments. Huo Chengji had previously been gloomy, but now he was refreshing, while Shen Wanglan was a bit cold and taciturn. But perhaps because he knew that his friend's survival and the discovery of the truth behind his mother and grandmother's deaths were closely linked to Sang Qiqi, he was very polite to her and took the initiative to greet her.
"Boss Sang."
"Boss Shen, we meet again."
"Let's sit down and have something to eat together. Boss Sang wants to discuss something with you." Huo Chengji gestured to Shen Wanglan, who didn't hesitate and chose a seat between Sang Qiqi and Huo Chengji. He sat down comfortably and said, "Boss Sang, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly. I won't hesitate to help you if I can."
Just like what he had just said about the Jiuyou Tongshen Society and the sponsor.
When talking about the sponsor suspected to be surnamed Ning who had booked the entire venue at Platinum International, Sang Qiqi clearly noticed a slight change in Shen Wanglan's expression.
It was this change that made Sang Qiqi feel something different.
Perhaps there was no need for such a complicated surveillance setup. Anyone recognized as a financial sponsor by a large organization like the Tongshen Society must be someone extraordinary. The dinner venue chosen by this person was at Platinum International, so he likely had some connection with Shen Wanglan. Perhaps Shen Wanglan was also aware of the other party's booking of the entire place.
The changes Sang Qiqi noticed were clearly noticed by Huo Chengji. However, his relationship with Shen Wanglan was not as unfamiliar as Sang Qiqi's, so he asked without hesitation, "Do you know?"
Shen Wanglan glanced at him and said, "It's hard not to know."
Huo Chengji smiled when he heard this answer: "Then Mr. Shen has decided to be stingy or generous."
Shen Wanglan didn't speak for a moment.
After a long while, he finally asked Sang Qiqi: "That Jiuyou Tongshen Society—"
Before he could finish his words, Huo Chengji interrupted him: "Huo Gan found a member of the Tongshen Society and cast a curse on me and my grandmother."
A simple sentence blocked the question Shen Wanglan wanted to ask, and also told him the answer he wanted.
He originally wanted to ask if there was anything wrong with the Taoist priest in the Tongshen Society.
Now after listening to what Huo Chengji said, I understand.
Facing Sang Qiqi's gaze, Shen Wanglan stared intently and whispered, "The person who booked the entire venue at Platinum International that day was Ning Changsheng."
Ning Changsheng?
This name was unfamiliar to Sang Qiqi, but Huo Chengji knew it very well. He frowned and muttered, "The CEO of Ningchuan Real Estate?"
Shen Wanglan hummed.
As the two of them were talking, Sang Qiqi had already consciously opened her phone to search for Ning Changsheng's information. Noticing her actions, Huo Chengji briefly summarized the situation: "Ning Changsheng was born in a province known for its large coal mining industry. He initially worked as a coal hauler, but later saved some money and dove headfirst into real estate, making a killing. He changed the company's name to Ningchuan Real Estate, focusing on land development, commercial properties, and industrial parks. His career luck was good, and within a few years, Ningchuan Real Estate successfully went public. Following Ningchuan Real Estate's success, he expanded his ambitions and began investing in various industries. I remember him becoming quite interested in the entertainment industry a couple of years ago."
Shen Wanglan nodded: "Indeed, I have invested in a few movies, and the box office is quite good, so the profit should be considerable."
And also entered the entertainment industry?
Sang Qiqi sighed in her heart and searched for keywords. When she saw that the director of a movie invested by Ning Changsheng was actually Song He, she was stunned.
Songhe.
Isn’t that the director who was so troubled by Qiao Tianyi’s acting that he almost doubted his life?
Did they have some intersection at that time?
Shen Wanglan knew more about Ning Changsheng than Huo Chengji, and he generously shared what he knew with Sang Qiqi. "Ning Changsheng is well-known in the industry for his eloquence. I heard that he first got into the real estate industry because he met a fortune teller on the side of the road. The fortune teller told him that if he continued along this path, he would make his fortune."
This was the first time Huo Chengji heard this story, so he was inevitably interested and urged Shen Wanglan to continue.
Shen Wanglan glanced at him, he was used to seeing his friend’s gloomy and depressed look a while ago, but seeing him smiling at this moment, he was a little uncomfortable.
However, he still chose to satisfy his friend's curiosity.
"Ning Changsheng followed the old Taoist's advice and made a fortune, but then he became a bit obsessed. Before doing any business or signing any contract, he would consult a master for a special calculation. It is said that most of the senior executives in his company were promoted after being tested by the master."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Huo Chengji: "..."
Not missing the indescribable expressions on the two people, Shen Wanglan raised his lips and said, "He also needs to get the master's approval before finding a woman, and his current wife specially chooses an auspicious day to give birth to her children."
Huo Chengji frowned upon hearing this. "What do you mean? You can choose when you want to give birth? What if there's no auspicious day during the due date?"
Shen Wanglan: "Then do a cesarean section in advance."
After saying that, he glanced at Huo Chengji and said, "A year ago, when Ning Chang gave birth to his youngest son, you were abroad and didn't come back, but I went."
This time, the full moon banquet was not held in northern Beijing. It was said that they believed the Taoist priest's words and thought that the feng shui of northern Beijing would affect the child, so they changed the venue to Ning Changsheng's hometown.
The venue was also privately booked, and besides wealthy businessmen from all over the country, there were countless Taoist priests. Shen Wanglan had no interest in the Taoist priests, so he didn't pay much attention. He only heard people mention a few things, such as who was the master of a Taoist temple, what great skills he had, and whether he wanted to ask for a lucky fortune.
"I heard that Ning Chang's son almost died after being delivered by caesarean section because he didn't stay in the womb long enough. But within a month, the child had grown into a plump and fair child with bright eyes."
"At the full moon banquet, several Taoist priests, dressed in unusual attire and appearing elderly, performed a ritual for Ning Changsheng's son, promising him a carefree life. They also mentioned that the birth of this child would bring a brighter future to Ningchuan Real Estate."
Although Shen Wanglan, who was at the venue at the time, could not understand this, he also expressed his respect and blessings.
But at this moment, after knowing that these Taoists could easily lead to a person's death, when I recalled the whole process of that day, I actually had a terrible feeling of coldness and dampness behind me.
"Then..." Sang Qiqi finally spoke, "Two years ago, when Ning Changsheng was the financial sponsor and booked Platinum International, were you there? Did you see those Taoists?"
"No, and unfortunately, the time interval is too long, and most of the surveillance footage from two years ago is no longer available." Shen Wanglan's eyes were filled with apology, "As for the full moon banquet for Ning Chang's youngest son a year ago... I can ask Yu Cheng for you, he was also there and took a lot of photos."
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