29: Chapter 29 The Insignificant Character in a Pampered Novel 29

Fan Zhiang's arrest was unexpected.

Xu Nian had been following several major cases in A City. From Miao Jie's death in a car accident to Li Yan's accidental amputation and Liang Yiqing's disappearance, the three cases seemed completely unrelated. However, a detective's intuition told him that he was just missing a main thread to tie them all together.

This whole affair had felt off ever since Miao Jie's accidental death. At the time, the vehicle involved had no brake marks at all. After discovering this, Xu Nian specifically investigated the surveillance footage of the road for one kilometer before and after the accident site. He found that a week before the accident, different vehicles had been scouting the area. That stretch of road happened to be the only way Miao Jie could drive home.

To avoid alerting the culprit, the Criminal Investigation Team had always publicly declared Miao Jie's case an accident. In reality, they were quietly investigating in private. Before they could find the mastermind, Li Yan of the Li Family also met with an accident. The method was similar to Miao Jie's case—no brake marks and the car rolling off the road shoulder. Li Yan just had better luck; when the car fell, it happened to get stuck between two trees instead of rolling all the way down.

These successive cases involving wealthy families were already a headache, and the pressure from above was immense. To make matters worse, the public security situation in A City seemed to be changing. Informants provided clues that the 'Darkness Emperor' of A City had changed, and the new leader was a lunatic who dared to do anything.

Even so, Xu Nian still hadn't linked Fan Zhiang to the three cases mentioned above.

The breakthrough came with a phone call this morning.

—A call from the National Security Bureau!

While they were protecting a talent in an important national field, they discovered someone tailing their target. Before this group could even attempt anything nefarious, they were all captured alive by the National Security Bureau.

The people from the National Security Bureau were also somewhat shocked. Researcher Xu had finally overcome countless obstacles to return to the embrace of the motherland, yet foreign hostile forces were so arrogant that they dared to strike at her doorstep. Who were they looking down on?

Immediately, troops were mobilized to surround the small van that had been tailing her and waiting for an opportunity. When Fan Zhiang's underworld lackeys opened the car door and saw a group of people in SWAT gear, armed with heavy weapons, surrounding them—with several red dots aimed at their heads—they were instantly scared shitless.

They were just thugs who had done their fair share of bad deeds, and many were repeat offenders, but they had never seen such a display. It was as if they were being treated like terrorists, when they had merely been sent to kidnap a young girl.

The Ministry of National Security A was also very efficient. After one night of interrogation, they had extracted most of the information.

This group was indeed after Researcher Xu Zhao, but they weren't foreign forces; they were a local underworld power from A City. The current boss of this underworld force was an illegitimate son who had only been recognized by the previous boss over a year ago, named Fan Zhiang.

In a matter of moments, all of Fan Zhiang's life records appeared at the Ministry of National Security A, including his experiences living and studying abroad. This dangerous individual was an antisocial criminal!

When the state takes action, results are guaranteed.

The dark empire Fan Zhiang had spent over a year painstakingly building was completely dismantled in less than three days. He was even captured alive for a secret interrogation.

Fan Zhiang kept his mouth shut, but naturally, others would talk.

He didn't do everything personally, and as long as orders were given, there would be traces. So, by following the trail from Fan Zhiang, these people were found one by one.

This investigation yielded incredible results. Although the Ministry of National Security A felt a slight regret at not catching any spies, they had conveniently solved three major criminal cases in A City.

That night, Xu Jiao was taken away from the Xu Family villa.

The Xu Family didn't understand the situation at first and hired a lawyer. However, as soon as the lawyer entered the police station, he was escorted out and told that the case involved national secrets and no meetings were allowed during the investigation phase. Only then did the Xu Family panic. After fruitlessly asking around for information, they thought of Li Yan.

Li Yan had thought Xu Jiao was looking down on him and had betrayed their love since she hadn't answered his calls or returned his messages for days. He was just about to lash out at the Xu Family when they arrived at his door.

Hearing that Xu Jiao had been taken by the police, he also began to pull strings, but all inquiries were rejected. Finally, Li Shaoheng personally brought a warning—this case was being handled specifically by the National Security Bureau and involved the attempted harm of a top-tier high-tech national talent, Xu Zhao. The Li Family would not dig their own grave.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Li Yan's hands were clenched into fists, the veins on his arms bulging from the force.

Xu Zhao, it was Xu Zhao again!

That name, which had caused him so much humiliation back in high school, was being mentioned once more!

He hadn't expected that in just a few years, she would have entered a classified national unit. Now, he could no longer touch her.

Originally, Li Shaoheng had intended to support him like a useless person for the rest of his life, but seeing him like this, he feared he might do something else that would implicate the Li Family. Thus, he took drastic measures and cut off the entire First branch of the Li Family. This time, no matter how much the Old Master of the Li Family protested, he did not compromise.

Xu Jiao was interrogated repeatedly and detained for nearly 20 days. Her spirit was crushed, and she confessed everything she should and shouldn't have. This included being threatened by Miao Jie, drugging Li Yan... and so on, in meticulous detail. But the National Security Bureau was more interested in whether there were threats to their target's safety, so they questioned her specifically about Xu Zhao.

This line of questioning revealed quite a lot. For instance, when she was little, she accidentally broke her father's favorite vase and, out of fear, framed Xu Zhao for it. Another time when she was six, her mother accidentally slipped on a fruit peel, fell down the stairs, and miscarried; afterward, she said she saw Xu Zhao throw the peel, when in fact she had tossed it aside after eating it that morning. She was afraid her mother would blame her, so she pushed it onto Xu Zhao. Also, she was the one who ruined her second brother's first relationship because she felt he didn't love her as much after getting a girlfriend... As for why everything was pushed onto Xu Zhao, it was because they were twins, and she didn't want her love to be taken by another. It was enough for the Xu Family to love only her.

Even the people from the National Security Bureau had their eyes opened. This seemingly frail and pure-looking girl had done plenty of wicked things, short of intentional murder and arson, and all directed at the same person—her own younger sister, the high-priority protected Researcher Xu!

After cross-referencing several testimonies, everything finally lined up.

Although Fan Zhiang had committed crimes for her sake, Xu Jiao had not participated in them, so she was released without charges.

When Xu Jiao came out, her face was bloodless and exceptionally haggard. The dark circles under her eyes were particularly prominent, as if she hadn't slept well for many days. But mostly, she was afraid. Because she feared being implicated, she had confessed many old secrets... If... if those things were revealed... she didn't dare think about it.

As soon as Mother Xu saw her, tears began to flow. This was the darling she had pampered for over twenty years; how had she ended up like this?

Xu Jiao's mind was also dazed, like a mess of mush.

That kind Big Brother Fan was actually the boss of A City's underworld.

Brother Jie had been killed in a car crash orchestrated by Big Brother Fan.

Li Yan's car accident was also his doing; surviving was just a stroke of luck.

And Liang Yiqing was dealt with because Xu Jiao had once complained to him that she didn't like her. Liang Yiqing had been thrown into the sea to feed the fish on the very day she disappeared.

And the reason Fan Zhiang did all these things was for her.

Xu Jiao felt like she was going crazy. It was one thing for Miao Jie and Liang Yiqing to die, but why did he have to harm A-Yan? If A-Yan ever found out that Fan Zhiang caused his amputation because of her, how could she ever face him again?

Xu Zhao, and then there was Xu Zhao!

If it weren't for the attempt to deal with her, how would Big Brother Fan have been exposed?

Xu Jiao refused to say a word to any of the Xu Family's questions, until Li Yan's mother came to the door and, without a word, slapped her to the ground.

“I knew you were a jinx! Our A-Yan meeting you was truly eight lifetimes of bad luck.” Mother Li was acting like a wildcat, with none of the poise of a noble lady left, looking as if she wanted to tear her apart on the spot.

“What is going on? Even if you are Li Yan's mother, you can't hit Jiao Jiao! Our Jiao Jiao spent whole nights in the hospital room taking care of Li Yan without a single word of complaint.”

Mother Li shoved aside Mother Xu, who was blocking her. Her strength was surprisingly great, pushing Mother Xu directly onto the sofa.

“Taking care of A-Yan? If it weren't for her, would my A-Yan have been in a car accident? Would my son be missing a leg? He almost lost his life because of that paramour of hers!” Mother Li strode up to Xu Jiao again and slapped her repeatedly. With her thin frame, Xu Jiao was no match for her.

“What on earth is happening?” Father Xu came downstairs and grabbed the striking Mother Li.

Mother Li was eventually taken home by Father Li, who arrived late.

“President Li, what exactly is going on?” Father Xu stepped forward to ask.

Father Li's gloomy eyes swept over the Xu Family, finally settling on Xu Jiao, whose face was swollen like a pig's head. He said through gritted teeth, “Ask your precious daughter. It's not just the Li Family; the Miao Family and the Liang Family won't let the Xu Corporation off either.”

After the parents of the Li Family left, the Parents of the Xu Family pressed Xu Jiao to tell them what had happened. Xu Jiao gave them a lifeless look, said nothing, and went upstairs to lock herself in her room.

In just two short days, the Xu Corporation went bankrupt.

The Parents of the Xu Family finally knew what had happened.

Fan Zhiang had been caught and would undoubtedly face the death penalty, but that couldn't heal the wounds of the Miao and Liang families. Both victims were heirs and had died so miserably. Since they couldn't take revenge on Fan Zhiang, Xu Jiao, the root cause, was a viable target!

The law said she was unaware and hadn't participated, but she was the cause of everything. This didn't stop the Liang, Miao, and Li families from venting their anger on her.

Li Yan's Aode Technology was still a shareholder in the Xu Corporation, but he didn't care anymore. This act of 'killing ten thousand enemies at the cost of eight thousand of one's own' was purely driven by the madness of his rage toward Xu Jiao.

The Xu Corporation went bankrupt, and Aode Technology went bankrupt as well. Li Yan now had no heart to manage the company. He had lost a leg because he was implicated by the woman he loved, and this woman had already given him a massive green hat before they were even together, even drugging and deceiving him. He had been played like a fool, spinning in circles. Under these circumstances, how could there be any of the old love left?

His body was crippled, his career was gone, and his woman had betrayed him. Li Yan felt like his entire world had collapsed. He lost his past ambitions and relied on drinking all day to numb himself. The people of the Li Family's first branch lost the protection of the Li Family and were marginalized by the Miao and Liang families, gradually fading from the business world and becoming no different from ordinary people.

After the Xu Corporation went bankrupt, the villa was auctioned off. The Xu Family became penniless in an instant. Even the Old Master of the Xu Family, who had been living a carefree life abroad, was forced to return to the country, as he could no longer receive any dividends from the Xu Corporation.

The family of five squeezed into a three-bedroom apartment of 100 square meters. The balcony was also padded with wooden boards to be used as a bed.

Xu Congtao hadn't expected Xu Zhao's words to come true so quickly; the Xu Corporation he cherished most had truly gone bankrupt. For the sake of survival, before he could even process his feelings, he had to quickly send out resumes to find a job to support the family.

Xu Congxuan had always been arrogant but lacked ability. He found a few jobs but couldn't keep them for long, always getting fired for offending customers. Over time, he took to hiding in his room to play games.

The Third brother of the Xu Family dropped out of his university abroad because of the family changes, as they could no longer afford the high tuition. When he learned he would have to support a large family, he immediately cut off all contact with home and vanished without a trace.

The Parents of the Xu Family were used to living in comfort and could no longer work honestly for a salary to support the family; they even struggled to support themselves. Fortunately, there was still the several thousand in monthly support money from Xu Zhao, which barely allowed them to scrape by.

They had thought about going directly to find Xu Zhao, but she had already returned to H City. When the Xu Family found their way to H City, they didn't even get to see her face before being taken away by a group of people in uniform. Only then did they learn that Xu Zhao had long since been recruited into a secret national unit and was under state protection. Even family and friends had to undergo strict vetting. People like the Xu Family who had harmed her, and someone like Xu Jiao who harbored great malice and brought danger to her, would never have the chance to stand before her again unless she was willing to see them.

The Xu Family eventually found out what Xu Jiao had done to Xu Zhao. While they cursed Xu Jiao, they also wondered how they could have been so blinded. Xu Zhao had tried to explain herself time and again, but no one had believed her.

Xu Jiao couldn't stand the Xu Family treating her like a beast of burden, hitting and scolding her at every turn, so she eventually ran to Li Yan's house.

Li Yan took her in, though his motives were unclear. From then on, Li Yan's bedroom was never quiet, with the hysterical cries of a woman always echoing in the middle of the night.

But all of this no longer had anything to do with Xu Zhao.

Many years later, when a wrinkled and gray-haired Xu Jiao tremblingly brought hot soup to Li Yan, only for him to heartlessly brush it aside, causing her to scream as she was scalded, she saw Xu Zhao on the television. It was at a national commendation ceremony, and she was receiving a commemorative flag from a leader. Though she was already in her forties, Xu Zhao looked very young on camera; time seemed to have treated her with special favor. She was dressed in a military uniform, solemn and dignified.

The Parents of the Xu Family and the two Xu brothers also saw this scene.

Mother Xu looked at the untouchable person on the television, her face covered in tears, and murmured, “Why on earth didn't we like her? She was clearly so well-behaved since she was little, never crying or making a fuss. She was willing to do whatever we asked... She just didn't know how to act spoiled like Jiao Jiao. She was always so independent, never relying on us...”