Events unfolded exactly as Chu Yifeng had predicted. When Yu Hongming discovered his son really had caused trouble, he immediately started using his connections to get Yu Hongzhi off the hook.
From surveillance footage collected at various locations, the police established that Yu Hongzhi had indeed driven along that street on the night in question. They also located the vehicle involved. There was a dent in the front, and traces of blood were detected. Testing confirmed the blood belonged to the victim.
Yu Hongzhi had never imagined there would be a witness that night. Fortunately for him, the witness had only said the car involved belonged to him, not that he had personally seen Yu Hongzhi behind the wheel at the moment of impact. Yu Hongming seized on this distinction and decided to find someone to take the blame for his son.
The people who had been with Yu Hongzhi that night were all rich young heirs. There was no chance of convincing any of them to be a scapegoat. Instead, Yu Hongming approached the family’s chauffeur and promised him one million yuan if he agreed to go to prison in Yu Hongzhi’s place. With the money, the driver’s son could study overseas, and his wife and parents would enjoy a comfortable life.
The driver agreed. For one million yuan, he stepped forward and confessed that he had been driving the car that night.
Many people refused to believe it. Passing blame to an employee was an all-too-familiar trick among wealthy families. Besides, the car belonged to Yu Hongzhi, who ordinarily drove himself and never used a chauffeur. But everyone involved told the same story, and the police had no proof that Yu Hongzhi himself had been driving. They had no choice but to release him.
Because the chauffeur’s family was not well off, he had no money to compensate the victim. Yu Hongming therefore stepped before the media, hypocritically declaring that the incident involved his son and that he was willing to cover the compensation on the driver’s behalf. He hoped to build a benevolent public image. It was a clever enough plan, but Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had no intention of letting him get away with it.
Just when everyone thought the matter was about to end, a series of photographs appeared online. Their contents were devastating for Yu Hongzhi.
The first five showed Yu Hongzhi and his companions taking drugs and engaging in indecent activities inside a private room. Everyone’s face except Yu Hongzhi’s had been pixelated. Beginning with the sixth image, the photographs showed them leaving the bar. Three people stumbled drunkenly into Yu Hongzhi’s car, followed by a clear photograph of Yu Hongzhi sitting in the driver’s seat. He was unsteady on his feet, his face flushed and his expression unfocused. One look was enough to tell he had been drinking.
The remaining photographs showed the accident.
The collision, Yu Hongzhi getting out to inspect the injured man, and his hasty flight from the scene were all captured clearly.
While the internet erupted, an anonymous package arrived at the police station containing the same photographs.
Because Yu Hongming had so publicly played the good Samaritan, people were furious when the truth came out. Those who had admired him as a successful and generous businessman now despised him just as strongly.
Yu Hongming had never imagined someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. The moment he saw what had happened, he realized he had fallen into a trap. Shock and rage overwhelmed him. The person behind it was not only targeting his son; they were targeting Yu Hongming and Shenghui Pharmaceuticals as well.
The police soon came to arrest Yu Hongzhi. With the evidence now so conclusive, he had no way out.
Yu Hongming had only one son. How could he stand by and watch Yu Hongzhi go to prison? He frantically called in favors, but the scandal had grown too large. Public outrage could not be suppressed, and the authorities were watching. Even those who might have had the power to help did not dare intervene.
“Dad, I heard the police took Hongzhi away! What happened? Didn’t they say our chauffeur was the driver?” Yu Jing hurried home as soon as she heard.
Yu Hongming had scarcely been home in the past two days, busy dealing with his son’s case. He looked haggard, as though he had aged ten years overnight.
“Hongming, what’s going on? Is Hongzhi going to prison?” Yu Jing’s mother, Li Xin, had rushed back too. She had spent the past few days at her parents’ home. She had planned to return earlier but stayed away when told her son would be fine. Yet only two days later, disaster had struck again.
“This isn’t so simple. Whoever it was had someone follow Hongzhi, which means Hongzhi must have offended them.”
At first, Yu Hongming suspected a business competitor. Shenghui Pharmaceuticals’ position on the stock market had become decidedly unfavorable because of the incident. But the fact that someone had deliberately followed Hongzhi made that explanation less likely. Hongzhi was the heir to Shenghui, but he did not yet wield much power within the company. Even damaging photographs of him would not necessarily harm the business. Yu Hongming therefore concluded the person behind it was probably targeting Hongzhi personally.
And Yu Hongzhi had offended plenty of people.
Both Li Xin and Yu Jing knew exactly what he was like.
“Hongming, you have to save our son! Hongzhi absolutely cannot go to prison!” The mere thought of it made Li Xin burst into tears.
“There are witnesses and physical evidence. What do you expect me to do?” Yu Hongming could think of no way to save his son. The people he normally dealt with did not dare show their faces, so he could not even bribe anyone. “The only thing we can do now is hire the best lawyer we can find and try to get his sentence reduced.”
Li Xin’s vision darkened. She almost fainted.
“Dad, is there really no way to get Hongzhi off?” A sudden idea made Yu Jing’s eyes light up. “Wait. Doesn’t someone with a mental illness avoid criminal responsibility for an offense? We could get Hongzhi a certificate saying he has a mental disorder.”
“Yes, yes! Jingjing’s right.” Hope returned to Li Xin’s face.
Yu Hongming shook his head. “It’s too late. If we’d done it from the beginning, maybe.”
“Why?”
“When the driver was taking the blame for your brother, Hongzhi appeared in public and even gave interviews. Getting a certificate now would only establish his condition after the accident. It couldn’t prove he had a mental disorder when the crash happened.”
Only now did Yu Hongming see how carefully the person behind this had planned. Even their avenues of retreat had been cut off. The thought of someone so calculating lurking in the shadows and working against his family sent a chill down his spine.
Wang Ning’an had never imagined Wang Cheng would go this far. Yu Hongzhi was certain to face prison, and Shenghui Pharmaceuticals had been dragged into the scandal too. Everything was moving much faster than he had expected.
There was, however, a hidden danger for Wang Ning’an. If Yu Hongming learned that the incident was indirectly connected to him, he might no longer be able to stay at Shenghui. With Yu Hongzhi facing imprisonment, this was no longer a matter of petty revenge.
As he was thinking, his phone rang. It was Wang Cheng.
“Big Brother, do you like the present I sent you?”
Wang Ning’an smiled. “You had someone follow Yu Hongzhi?”
“The same private detective agency that followed you last time. I wasn’t originally planning to ruin Yu Hongzhi’s life. I just wanted to teach him a lesson. Who knew he’d go out of his way to destroy himself?”
In other words, when you went out of your way to court trouble, trouble was exactly what you got.
“Well done. But how did you think of using it to destabilize Shenghui Pharmaceuticals?” Wang Ning’an’s recent purchases of Shenghui stock had gone unusually smoothly because of the scandal. He had saved a great deal of capital too. For all the risks, the situation had its advantages.
“That part wasn’t my idea. It was Chu Yifeng’s.”
“Sounds like you’ve found yourself quite a diamond bachelor,” Wang Ning’an teased.
“Big Brother, when did you get so bad? Is that any way to tease your own little brother?” Wang Cheng immediately changed tack. “Besides, I don’t think ‘diamond bachelor’ is the right expression for Chu Yifeng. ‘A golden catch’ suits him better.”
Wang Ning’an laughed. He had thought Wang Cheng was embarrassed, but apparently his younger brother’s skin was as thick as ever. “All right. I don’t object to you being with him, but have you thought about how you’ll deal with the obstacles between you?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Very well. Still, be careful. Your status is different now. There are plenty of people waiting to get something on you. Be discreet when you’re with him.”
“I will.”
With Aimer’s assistance, Zhou Group officially entered the international market. Since Wang Cheng had contributed to the deal, Zhou Shichang made an exception and allowed him, a complete outsider to the business, to participate.
Zhou Lin objected when she learned of it, but her objections were dismissed. She still had no idea Wang Cheng had been the one who brought the partnership together. They had never managed to obtain the Hengyu information they wanted, but some of it had already been made public, so it hardly mattered anymore.
Wang Cheng used the opportunity to spend time with Chu Yifeng openly. Unfortunately, his good luck soon ran out. Just before the end of the workday, Mother Zheng called and asked him to make time to have dinner with her.
“I can’t go back to the apartment with you tonight. My mom wants to have dinner with me.” Wang Cheng sounded regretful as he told Chu Yifeng.
“Are you going back to the Zheng residence?” Chu Yifeng asked.
Wang Cheng shook his head. “No. We’re eating at a restaurant. Judging from the name, it sounds like an authentic Chinese place. You’ll have to eat alone tonight, but I’ll try to get back to the apartment. If I can’t, I’ll call and let you know.”
He could not be certain Mother Zheng would not insist he spend the night at the Zheng residence.
“All right.” Chu Yifeng stroked his head.